“Les Miserables” at Ocean State Theatre

by Richard Pacheco

            Ocean State Theatre’s first full season opener, “Les Miserables” is full of verve, passion and sheer talent in all the roles, well worth watching.  The musical, one of the world’s most popular, has won 8 Tony Awards and last year was made into a highly acclaimed movie nominated for eight Academy Awards, winning three. “Les Miserables", often known as “Les Miz” is a sung-through musical based on the novel of the same name by French poet and novelist Victor Hugo. It has music by Claude-Michel Schönberg, original French lyrics by Alain Boublil and Jean-Marc Natel, with an English-language libretto by Herbert Kretzmer. Set in early 19th-century France, it is the story of Jean Valjean, a burly French peasant of abnormal strength and potentially violent nature, and his quest for redemption after serving nineteen years in jail for having stolen a loaf of bread for his starving sister's child. Valjean decides to break his parole and start his life anew after a kindly bishop inspires him to, but he is relentlessly tracked down by a police inspector named Javert. Along the way, Valjean and a slew of characters are swept into a revolutionary period in France, where a group of young idealists make their last stand at a street barricade.

            Originally released as a French-language concept album, the first musical-stage adaptation of “Les Misérables” was presented at a Paris sports arena, the Palais des Sports, in 1980. However, the first production closed after three months when the booking contract expired.

In 1983, about six months after producer Cameron Mackintosh had opened “Cats” on Broadway, he received a copy of the French concept album from director Peter Farago. Farago had been impressed by the work and asked Mackintosh to produce an English-language version of the show. Initially reluctant, Mackintosh eventually agreed. Mackintosh in conjunction with the Royal Shakespeare Company, assembled a production team to adapt the French musical for a British audience. After two years in development, the English-language version opened in London on 8 October 1985, by the Royal Shakespeare Company at the Barbican Centre, then the London home of the RSC. The success of the West End musical led to a Broadway production.

This production directed by Ocean State Artistic Director Amiee Turner is rich, vivid and memorable. At the end they received a well deserved standing ovation.

            Frederic S. Scheff is wonderful as Jean Valjean.  He is a solid presence, full of energy, passion and sincerity.  His dramatic tenor voice is superb, full of richness and subtlety. He delivers and deep performance full of nuance as he brings to life the character with the checkered past who must leave it all behind to achieve his salvation. Musically he shines in songs like “Soliloquy” and “Who am I?”

            Kevin B. McGlynn is his match as the relentless Javert, the police inspector who will not surrender his quarry no matter how many years or miles pass. His baritone bass voice is wonderful, rich and full of nuance, vivid and passionate. He shows it off to good  purpose in songs like “Stars” and Soliloquy”.

            Lindsie VanWinkle is Fantine, is the single mother of Cosette and fired from work in Valjean’s factory forced to become a prostitute to support her daughter who is left in the care of the conniving couple the Thenardiers. She is a delight with a lyric mezzo soprano voice that is superb. She evokes sympathy and compassion in her performance with skill and finesse.

            Meagan McNulty is the charming Cosette, grown and the ward of Valjean. She is a wonderful ingénue who plays the role with passion and style, full of grace. She has a wonderful soprano voice. Her duets with Marius are breathtaking and satisfying.

            Tommy Labanaris is Marius, the young student rebel who loves Cosette  He has a strong tenor voice, full of verve and energy. He shines in “Empty Chairs at Empty Tables” and in his duet with Eponine,  “A Little Fall of Rain.” He is also excellent in his trio with Eponine and Cosette, “A Heart Full of Love.”

            Alyssa Gorgone, whom I last saw in “Legally Blonde” shines again in this role as the Thenardier’s daughter who grew up with Cosette for a while. She evokes an image of great strength and tenderness in the character, sweetly endearing but strong and passionate. Her mezzo-soprano voice is superb in songs like "On My Own" where she decides to stand by Marius even though he is in love with Cosette. Then there is the superb, “A Little Fall of Rain” when she is shot and dies.

Real life husband and wife JP Sarro and Nicole Paloma Sarro are delightful as the devious, conniving couple, Thenardier and Madame Thenardier. They show a real comic sensibility and assurance is their robust songs like “Master of the House” and later on in “Beggars at the Feast.” JP Sarro is deliciously nefarious in the scene where he robs the dead bodies and sings "Dog Eat Dog."

Laurel McMahon and Grace Truslow alternate as Young Cosette and Young Eponine. Laurel sings wonderfully in the haunting "Castle on a Cloud" where she dreams of escaping her miserable life.

Scott Guthrie as Enjolras, the leader of the students is winning in his performance. His tenor voice is wonderful in songs like “Red and Black” and “Do You Hear the People Sing,” is rich and sonorous sheer pleasure and robust singing. "Drink to Me of Days Gone By" is particularly telling and touching as he sings it just before the students die at the barricades.

Iain Yarbrough as Gavroche a young street urchin is pure delight, charming and full of energy. His solo "Little People" comes when he reveals Javert as a spy and it is excellent. He dies in a heart wrenching moment when he climbs beyond the barricades to retrieve ammunition for the rebels and is shot by an unseen sniper. Bobby Miller III plays Gavroche at alternating performances.

Director Amiee Tuner makes it all a wonderful experience with splashy direction particularly in the large musical numbers like the comic “Master of the House.” She handles the direction of the large scenes with finesse and skill.

Musical director John Jay Espino, who also conducts the fine six person orchestra, shines throughout with masterful musicians and getting strong vocal performances.

Costume Designer Brian Horton has delivered some superb costumes from elegant to raggedy and everything in between.

The set by Clifton Chadwick is clever and works well in its various transformations. The lighting design by Bob Siler works well and the sound design by Ryan P. McGinty is excellent.

The scope and breadth of the production are enchanting and richly emotional. Everything comes together in this production to make it thoroughly enjoyable on all levels.

"Les Miserables" (2 - 27 October)

OCEAN STATE THEATRE COMPANY

@ 1245 Jefferson Boulevard, WARWICK RI

1(401)921-6800

“Dancing at Lughnasa” at 2nd Story Theatre

by Richard Pacheco

“Dancing at Lughnasa”, currently at 2^nd Story Theatre upstairs, is a 1990 play by dramatist Brian Friel set in Ireland's County Donegal in August 1936 in the fictional town of Ballybeg. It is a memory play told from the point of view of the adult Michael Evans, the narrator, Chrissie Mundy's young, illegitimate son. He recounts the summer in his aunts' cottage when he was seven years old. The play depicts the late summer days when love briefly seems possible for three of the Mundy sisters (Chris, Rose, and Kate) and the family welcomes home the frail elder brother, who has returned from a life as a missionary in Africa. However, as the summer ends, the family foresees the sadness and economic privations under which they will suffer as all hopes fade. The play takes place in early August, around the festival of Lughnasadh, the Celtic harvest festival. The play describes a bitter harvest for the Mundy sisters, a time of reaping what has been sown. All the drama takes place within the sisters' cottage, with events outside being reported, either as they happen or as reminiscence.

The play was originally presented at the Abbey Theatre in Dublin in 1990. It transferred to London's National Theatre in 1991, winning the Olivier Award for Best Play, and subsequently to Broadway where it won the Tony Award for Best Play as well as a Drama Desk Award nomination for Outstanding Play.

Kate is the eldest of the Mundy sisters and behaves as a Mother figure as a result. As a schoolteacher, she is the only wage-earner in the house, but her reputation as 'The Gander' in the schoolroom is seen to extend into the household. She is a fiercely devout Catholic, indicated by her distaste for the pagan practices at Lughnasa and Jack's loss of faith.  Rachel Morris delivers a telling and impressive performance as Kate, full of nuance and depth.

Maggie acts as the chief family homemaker. Throughout the play she is revealed as serving a deeper purpose as the "joker" of the family, defusing tensions as they arise. She cheekily challenges Kate's authority by calling her "Kitty", whilst being her confidant at the same time. Christina Wolfskehl handles the role with sass and spunk, full of energy and skill.

At 26 years old, Chris is the youngest of the Mundy sisters, and, like Maggie, has no paid job. Gerry Evans fathered her son, Michael, seven years ago and is seen as walking in and out of their lives as he chooses. As a result, Chris fluctuates between falling into a deep depression when he leaves, yet being renewed with optimism that his next visit will be a permanent stay. Her lack of income can lead Chris to be defensive on the upbringing of her son, shown when Kate buys Michael a new spinning top at the beginning of the play. Betsy Rinaldi plays Christina with great compassion and proficiency.  She offers a sympathetic character with depth of emotion and confusing feelings.

Rose is 32, but behaves much younger than her years, due to a developmental disability. This condition makes her particularly vulnerable to an unseen character, Danny Bradley, who Rose believes is in love with her. However, her sisters believe that Danny Bradley is exploiting Rose's simple nature for his own gain. She is particularly close to her older sister, Agnes, with whom she knits gloves to sell in the town. Erin Olson is wonderful as Rose a role which she handles with dexterity and assurance.

Agnes is quiet and contemplative, knitting gloves with Rose whilst also helping to keep a house. She appears to be silently infatuated with Gerry and is quick to leap to his defense. However, Michael's narratives reveal Agnes' future to be bleak. Her knitting fails to support her when the knitware factory opens. Tanya Anderson as Agnes is wonderful as Agnes, full of quiet intensity and depth. She last played Nurse Ratchid in “one Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” here at 2^nd Story.

Michael does not appear onstage as a child, but his presence is alluded to by the other characters, while the adult Michael speaks his lines from the side of the stage. As a child, Michael is seen as being surrounded by love, since all five of the sisters dote on him. Michael also acts as a narrator, not only dictating the action as it goes on, but revealing the futures of the other characters in the play. David DeAlmo is superb as Michael, full of finesse and with an excellent Irish accent. He has a profound emotional impact at times with his lines, touching and heartrending.

Gerry Evans is initially portrayed as an intensely negative character, particularly by Kate, for having left Chris after fathering her illegitimate son, Michael. However, upon his first appearance in the play is shown to be charming and genuinely affectionate towards Chris. His current job as a gramophone salesman (and his former job as a ballroom dancing instructor) represent his freedom in sharp contrast to the stagnant lives of the Mundy sisters. This is made all the more obvious by the fact that he is leaving Ireland to join the International Brigade and fight in the Spanish Civil War, something that is further disapproved of by Kate. James Lucey plays Gerry with charm and energy. He makes his nefarious and sneaky behavior—the man is sleazy and a perpetual flirt—highly appealing.

Jack is in his late fifties. He had left home as a young man to work as a missionary in a leper colony in Uganda. Beyond this, he had been a Catholic chaplain in the British Army in East Africa during World War I. He is well respected in Donegal for his missionary work in a leper colony. However, his sudden return to Ballybeg for undisclosed reasons has paved the way for great changes. He has difficulty with his memory, often forgetting the names of his sisters or confusing them with his former house boy Okawa, with whom we are told he was very close. Jack professes a broad admiration for the pagan beliefs of the native people of Africa, and appears to have lost his Catholic faith, which may be the true reason his superiors have sent him back. Bill Oakes plays Father Jack, who starts the play with his memory deteriorating and his faith flagging and does a wonderful job, handling the role with adroitness and zest.

Director Mark Peckham evokes the most from his fine cast.

Set designer, Trevor Eliott transforms the stage into an Irish cottage stage right and the rest of the stage into an outside area, complete with grass and a tree. It is an excellent set.

It is a winning production, full of many touching and funny moments, robust and endearing.

"Dancing at Lughnasa" (27 September - 27 October)

2ND STORY THEATRE

@ 28 Market Street, WARREN RI

1(401)247-4200

           

“Love, Loss and What I Wore” at Your Theatre

by Richard Pacheco

            Your Theatre’s current production of “Love, Loss and What I wore” adapted for the stage by Delia and Nora Ephron is a series of monologues which includes women's relationships and wardrobes and at times the interaction of the two, using the female wardrobe as a time capsule of a woman's life and is based on the 1995 book by Ilene Beckerman. It is a fun time, full of funny and some touching moments, brought vividly to life by a series of five actresses.

            The show, which has a running time of about 1 hour and 30 minutes, is composed of 28 different stories that seek to illuminate the female identity. Generally composed of comic stories, the show often addresses sad, bitter or sentimental issues A character called Gingy acts as the narrator. The show opens with her sketching various parts of her wardrobe that stir the most poignant memories. She weaves her life story among the other tales, describing her three marriages, "motherhood and the death of a child, each turning point marked by a particular item of clothing”. Her life is represented beginning with experiences in a Brownies uniform and extending through her full life.

In addition to Gingy, one character serves as the vixen, another plays a vulnerable gang member from Chicago, a third portrays a brave cancer patient, and the last serves as a mature woman pierced by vivid memories. One of these characters, named Heather, chooses conservative "think" shoes over high heels in her youth, but at a later stage in life shows a preference for high heels. The gang member likes insignias that are prominent on sweaters and their creator. Among the 28 stories, other notable tales include one about the influence of Madonna (with discourse including "Any American woman under 40 who says she's never dressed as Madonna is either lying or Amish."); one about dressing room anxiety (a story revolving around the concept that "I’m an 8. I’ve always been an 8"); and one about your mother's tastes in clothes ("I don’t understand, you could look so good if you tried"). Other stories include recollections about the dress purchased for the date with a guy who subsequently married someone else; the foibles of spandex bras that result in a look known as the monoboob; issues involving toe cleavage; the Juicy Couture tracksuit that is a prominent staple of California wardrobes; wardrobe choice on the wrong day of the month; and the story about an incarcerated lover and the strategic hole in a certain pair of pants. Three of the characters sometimes work as a trio and all characters have monologues.

There are two separate casts for this play. I witnessed Cast 1.  This cast featured Pamela Morgan as Gingy, with Chris Bailey, Anne Hart Cool, Sheila Furtado and Caroline Paradis are the rest of the cast ensemble. They are splendid, full of verve, energy and sincerity in their performances. They work well together an created an atmosphere of old friends chatting, full of familiarity and warmth shared.

Director Robin Richards takes what could have been a somewhat dry staged reading and gives it life with the cast interactions.

The set design by Mark Fuller and Lawrence R. Houbre Jr. is simple and direct as the performances.

Your Theatre until Oct.23 All tickets $15
136 Rivet Street, New Bedford, MA
508-993-0772 http://yourtheatre.org/yti/index.php

“A Number” and “Far Away” at the Gamm Theatre

by Richard Pacheco

            The Gamm Theatre opens its 29^th season with two one act plays by acclaimed English playwright, Caryl Churchill and the results are mixed. While “A Number’ is by far the most successful of the two, “Far Away,” devolves into silliness and self indulgence losing any impact it might have had.

Churchill wrote her first play in 1972, she wrote “Owners”, a two-act, 14-scene play about obsession with power. It was her first stage play and "her first major theatrical endeavor"; it was produced in London the same year. Churchill's socialist views are expressed in the play, a critique of the values that most capitalists take for granted: being aggressive, getting ahead, doing well.

Her first play to receive wide notice was “Cloud Nine“ (1979), "a farce about sexual politics", set partly in a British overseas colony during the Victorian era. It explores the effects of the colonialist/imperialist mindset on intimate personal relationships, and uses cross-gender casting for comic and instructive effect. The play became successful in Britain and in the United States, winning an Obie Award in 1982 for best play of the year in New York. She is also well known for her play “Top Girls” which deals with women’s losing their humanity in order to attain power in a male-dominated environment.

         

   “A Number” was written when cloning was often in the news. Dolly the sheep, creation of human embryos at Advanced Cell Technology in the US, and the cloning of a kitten gave rise to controversy concerning possible human cloning.

The play begins with a father, Salter, and his son Bernard discussing the fact that the son has found out that he has been cloned. The father claims not to have known this and claims that a hospital must have stolen his cells at some point and made illegal copies of him. He talks about suing the hospital for money, a lot of money. The son then mentions that there were others and the father admits that the son is a clone. He says that the original son and his mother died in a car crash and that he wanted his son back so he had him cloned. After all Bernard’ uniqueness has been damaged by the unauthorized cloning. Eventually Salter reveals how so many Bernards came into the world after lying.

Artistic director Tony Estrella is deft and acute as Bernard, managing a variety of different gestures and character traits as well as costume changes for each of the different Bernards. It is a skilled performance that is very impressive.

Jim O’Brien is his father, Salter. O’Brien does a wonderful job as the man caught up in guilt over his past decisions and troubled over the current results.

It is directed by Judith Swift with dexterity and flair.

However the play falls a bit flat with the climax faltering, almost cast aside.

“Far Away,” directed by Estrella starts off very promising and falls apart at the end into silliness and self indulgence. It opens with a sense of menace and fear at the Harper house where a young Joan awakens to a nightmare which turns out to be real and true of beatings, blood and pain galore.  It is grim and darkly disturbing. Then we proceed to a scene years later where Joan is grown and

she creates hats for parades of prisoners who are executed. The winning hats go into a museum while the others are buried with the prisoners. Joan develops a relationship with a man who works there, Todd, who is concerned about the corruption in the factory and low wages. This too is disturbing. In this world plants, animals and humans battle each other with shifting allegiances and loyalties.

But it all falls apart in the final scene back at the Harper house where it takes a turn for the silly and the self indulgent. It loses all impact there and becomes ridiculous when there are comments like “The mallards are on the side of the elephants and the Koreans" or “The elephants end up going over to the Dutch, and the Latvians are sending pigs to Sweden.” Get over it already. Enough.

The acting however is excellent which only makes the ridiculousness of the play more obvious. Lauren Durkin is fetching as young Joan, innocent, wide eyed, caught up in a nightmare that turns out to be real. It is a delightful performance, full of verve and nuance.

Casey Seymour Kim is her aunt Harper, who deftly manages to invent new stories every time young Joan comes up with some new twist to her disturbing nightmare.. She is fast and furious in her denials of wrongdoing on the part of Joan’s uncle. Kim is terrific, ably jumping between explanations with skill and finesse, full of sincerity. When the play turns silly at the end however it makes her acting seem false, but it is the material.

Marianna Bassham is the adult Joan. She is a talented hat maker full of dedication and passion for her work. She is a bit naïve about the business she is in and finds herself attracted to her more experienced co worker, Todd. It is a smooth and polished performance, full of nuances.

Alexander Platt is Todd, a man who is disenchanted with the working conditions of his industry and the corruption he sees and wants to speak out against it, take a stand. He is determined and attracted to Joan, does what he can to get closer to her. Platt is solid in the role, full of polish and conviction, sincere all the way through.

Director Estrella does the best he can with the play, which is the main obstacle here. His actors work well together when the play gives them something to work with.

The set by Michael McGarty is clever and sparse, but very effective, able to shift to the plays demand with relative ease. The millinery design by David T. Howard is stunning and highly effective.  The Amanda Dowling Carney costumes are effective.

It continues until October 13^th. Tickets are $36 and $45, depending on the day and time. For tickets, call the box office at 401-723-4266 or gammtheatre.org

“Lobby Hero” at 2nd Story DownStage

by Richard Pacheco

            2^nd Story Theatre opens its new DownStage Theatre with Kenneth Lonegran’s “Lobby Hero” a play that mixes the funny and the serious and is sparked by a wonderful cast which gives it energy and flair. It is a mixture of serous social issues with loads of humor. It is the tale of a hapless security guard in a Manhattan high rise apartment who gets caught in the struggle between his boss and two police officers investigating a local murder which his boss’s brother might have been involved in.
           “Lobby Hero” was first performed at the Playwrights Horizons, on March 13, 2001. It later had a UK premiere staged at the Donmar Warehouse between April 4 (opening April 10) and May 4, 2002. Lonergan began writing in high school at the Walden School (a now defunct private school in Manhattan with a strong drama program). Lonegran’s first play, “The Rennings Children,” was chosen for the Young Playwright's Festival in 1982 while he was still an undergraduate. Lonergan matriculated at Wesleyan University where he trained as a playwright and director; he would go on to graduate at the NYU Playwriting Program.
            Lonergan's film career began with his screenplay for the gangland comedy “Analyze This” (1999). He was subsequently offered a job writing “The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle” (2000).. Lonergan directed his own screenplay for “You Can Count on Me” (2000); the film, which was executive produced by Martin Scorsese, went on to be nominated for and receive numerous writing awards; he went on to contribute to the screenplay for “Gangs of New York” (2002).
            Jeff is the luckless security guard living under the large shadow of his father’s heroism, saving 23 men from s sinking ship. The images haunts Jeff, making his life unbearable with all that courage to face when he grows up with increasing resentment and a desire to get out from under that and leave his own mark on the world. He wants to do the right thing and have others respect him.

Jeff Church is wonderful as Jeff. He has a wide rang of facial expressions and gestures, movements, that are comic gold and sheet fun. He ably captures his character’s angst and struggles with comic aplomb.

Marlon Carey is William, Jeff’s boss. He is the captain of the security company and has been working for security companies since he was 16.  He works had and takes the worse possible shifts and turns them into opportunities for him. He is big on ambition, not just in himself, but in recognizing the potential in others like Jeff. He can be self righteous and a bit pompous and pontificating at times. He views himself as a honest fellow, a straight as they fly kind guy. All this is put on the line when his brother asks him to lie for him to cover up his part in a brutal murder.

Carey is delightful as William. He is brusque and rigid where needs be and more encouraging as required. It’s a winning performance and a great foil for Jeff and the interchange between the two is terrific.

Then there is Bill, an experienced cop on the way up, awaiting his detective’s badge. Yet he is more than a bit sleazy, particularly when it comes to women. He is ambitious but his attitude is you do for me and I’ll do for you.  He believes that cops look out for other cops, it is a matter of loyalty. He can be car charming however, but he is still sleazy underneath it all, including extra marital affairs or a pay off here and there as things arise to his advantage.

Ara Boghigian is excellent as Bill, managing to deliver charm and sleaze with equal ease and effectiveness. He is cocky and self-assured, at once endearing and repulsive.

The last member of the uniforms is Dawn, a female rooky cop. She has something to prove. It’s trough being a female police officer and she knows she has an uphill battle but relies on Bill to help see here through it all. She genuinely wants to make a difference. In that quest she is sometimes fierce and easily threatened and reacts in kind. She is disliked and resented by the rest of the all male squad, she is prey to their nastiness. She is a sucker for Bill who treats her well for the most part until it goes against his best interests like getting her to lie for him and cover up his transgressions and errors, until she is finally sexually coerced by him to cooperate of lose her career.

Valerie Westgate is wonderful as Dawn, and ably captures the mixtures of feisty and fearful with equal skill and flair.

Director Ed Shea keeps the rapport between he cast at its best, full of nuance and finesse. Even though the second act drags in spots, his wonderful cast keeps it all merrily moving along with laughs and serious moments. It’s a fun ride.

The set by Trevor Elliot is terrific. The lobby is excellent with its paneled walls, large glass doors to the outside, desk and elevator.

It continues at Second Story Theatre until October 6 in the DownStage Theatre. Performances Thursdays at 7 pm, Fridays and Saturday’s at 8 pm, Sundays at 3 pm.

Second Story Theatre 28 Market Street, Warren, RI box office 401-247-4200. www.2ndStoryTheatre.com

“Biloxi Blues” at Your Theatre

by Richard Pacheco

            Your Theatre’s current production of Neil Simon’s “Biloxi Blues” is a fun and sometimes touching romp through army life during World War II. “Biloxi Blues” is a semi-autobiographical play by Neil Simon. This play is the second chapter in what is known as his Eugene trilogy, following “Brighton Beach Memoirs” and preceding “Broadway Bound.”   It won the Tony for best play, and drama desk for outstanding new play among other awards.

The story involves 20-year-old Eugene Morris Jerome from Brooklyn, who is drafted into the United States Army during World War II and is sent to Biloxi, Mississippi, for basic training. Eugene learns to cope with fellow soldiers from all walks of life and all areas of the country and his desire to fall in love, and loses his virginity (under less than ideal circumstances), and become a writer, all while having to navigate around the eccentricities of his drill instructor.

Zane Furtado is Eugene Morris Jerome, Simon’s alter ego in the play, a young aspiring write who want to lose his virginity, find love and become a writer all in his trip to the army. Eugene is a thoughtful young man, who observes everything in distinct detail, in particular the behavior of his fellow soldiers and his observations are recorded in his journal which he keeps in hit usually locked footlocker. Furtado is charming as Eugene, full of an innocence and shrewd observation that is immensely appealing. He is delightful in the role, engaging and sympathetic.

Sgt. Merwin J. Toomey is Eugene’s arch enemy in boot camp, a man determined to break the spirit of individuality of all the recruits in order to make them into a cohesive, determined, follow orders batch of determined soldiers. He has one way of doing things, his way.  He allows for no variance and shows no compassion of tolerance. There is only the arm’s way, hence Sgt. Toomey’s way of doing things or no way. He is gruff, tough and relentless to his recruits. Chris Mac is Toomey and he delivers dazzling performance as a man with a mission. He manages to convey sincerity about his concern for the recruits behind the reason he is hard as nails, he wants them to survive and sincerely believes the only way he can do that is to break their individual wills and meld them into obedient soldiers who follow orders without hesitation or question.

Then there is the Jewish intellectual the somewhat meek milquetoast Arnold Epstein. Epstein hates any sort of conformity and often rants about Talmudic wisdom and logic and how he bases his life on that. He resists Sgt. Toomey with all his will, every inch of the way, determined not to succumb to the bullying and threats he endures. He even faces being an outcast with the other recruits in his stubborn persistence to remain above it all. He has a shrewd intelligence that is impressive even at his most stubborn and recalcitrant. David O’Connell portrays him with skill and ingenuity, a deft blend of intelligence and willfulness. O’Connell delivers a fine blend of defiance and honest intelligence.

The rest of the recruits are equally motley and different in their make up. There is Wykowski, who calls himself a dumb Polak. He is a bear of a man, who lumbers through everything with sheer animal instinct. He dislikes Jews, or at least Epstein and Jerome,  and loads of others. He is boorish and crude.  He is more than a bit of a bully and stubborn.  He takes offense easily and reacts harshly. Christopher McIntyre delivers a solid performance as the rough and tumble, crude and raw Wykowski.

Then there is Don Carney, the only black solider in the group. He likes to think of himself as a singer and often sings in his sleep, but the problem is he is a bit flat to put it mildly. He fancies himself a real Frank Sinatra type and dreams of a record contract and floods of women falling at his feet. But he’s in decisive and can’t seem to make his mind up about anything. Wil Berthaud Jr. handles the role with flair and a sense of playfulness that is appealing. He has a strong sense of comic timing.

Joel Ward is Roy Selridge, a likeable lanky guy who lacks imagination and is an attentive audience for Wycowksi. He has no clue about geography. Ward is solid as Selridge, serving as an apt devotee of Wycowksi’s tirades and rants, offering often non verbal support.

David Martin is James Hennesey, the final recruit. He quickly shows his sensitive side when they play a game to tell what they would do with only a week to live. He says he would spend it with his family. He also stands up to the bullying Wycowksi when he reads from Jerome’s diary ot the others and calls it an invasion of privacy. Martin is smooth in the role and effective.

Suzanne Bergeron is the prostitute Rowena, a woman who does not consider herself a pro because she only does it on weekends and her husband knows about it all anyway. Begeron is convincing as the sultry pro with the non-nonsense practical approach to sex, and everything else.

Cassie Porter is charming as the young woman Eugene falls in love with, the super Catholic Daisy Hannigan. She is a delight, full of an awkward, fresh innocence and shyness that is engaging and appealing.

Director Larry Hourbre Jr. keeps the pacing usually deft and fast.  He moves his cast with finesse and assurance.

The set by Houbre is highly effective, fluid and changeable to cover all the various locations it shifts walls in and out of position with ease.

The costumes by Suzanne Bergeron are highly effective from the uniforms to her prostitute outfit and Daisy’s dress.

The play is often funny, but has its share of serious moments. It is fun to watch.

Your Theatre until Sept.22 All tickets $15
136 Rivet Street, New Bedford, MA
508-993-0772 http://yourtheatre.org/yti/index.php

“Grapes of Wrath” at Trinity Rep

by Richard Pacheco

Trinity Rep opens its 50^th season with a magical moving production of a new adaptation of John Steinbeck’s class Depression era saga, Grapes of Wrath a perfect blend of superb acting, inventive direction and original music in a must see production. “Grapes of Wrath” was adapted by Frank Galati from the novel written by John Steinbeck and published in 1939. For it he won the annual National Book Award and Pulitzer Prize for novels and it was cited prominently when he won the Nobel Prize in 1962. A celebrated Hollywood film version, starring Henry Fonda and directed by John Ford, was made in 1940.

Set during the Great Depression, the novel focuses on the Joads, a poor family of tenant farmers driven from their Oklahoma home by drought, economic hardship, and changes in the agricultural industry forcing tenant farmers out of work brought about by the New Deal era Agricultural Adjustment Act. Due to their nearly hopeless situation and in part because they were trapped in the Dust Bowl, the Joads set out for California. Along with thousands of other "Okies", they sought jobs, land, dignity, and a future. Amidst the overriding sense of despair and hopelessness is an underlying binding love of family and decency which makes it all so transcendent.

The Frank Galati adaptation is brilliant and combined with the original folk rock music from Sherri Edlin and Zdenko Martin is stunning adding mood at atmosphere as well as a soulful element to the production. It is all propelled by superb acting across the boards. It is compelling and moving on so many levels. It leaves an indelible imprint on mind and soul.

Stephen Thorne is superb as Tom Joad, a Joad family member just paroled from prison after killing a man in a bar fight. When he returns home he finds his family tossed of the land and on the verge of moving to California to find work because someone passed along fliers saying that they needed workers to pick fruit in that state. Faced with this stunning predicament, Joad joins his family in the trek and invites their former preacher, Jim Casey along. Thorne is a masterful blend of seething anger, confusion and resentment and the injustices he sees, not just directed at his family but at others.

Anne Scurria., longtime Trinity Rep members dazzles as the rock steady Ma Joad, a woman bound to her family with love, dedication, steadiness and raw determination to carry on. Scurria is sheer delight, moving with extreme grace between reeling at a new disaster and a passionate desire to continue and triumph no matter what. Scurria is pitch perfect in the role, a delight to mind and heart.

Richard Donnelly is Pa Joad, a man of simple tastes and loyalties to his family an friends. Donnelly is wonderful in the role, a mixture of gritty down to earth steadfastness and persistence in the face of deep troubles and rugged simplicity. It is a deft and moving performance.

Joe Wilson Jr. is the reformed preacher Jim Casey who found himself to fond of the women at his prayer services for his own good. Wilson is right on the mark as this all to human former preacher, aware of his sins and not apologetic at all, in fact, almost taking pride in them. Wilson is a delightful mixture of home spun humor and honesty that is compelling and appealing.

Fred Sullivan Jr. is Pa’s brother John, a man beset by personal diamonds and overriding guilt which constantly gnaws away at his mind an heart and he is unable to shake loose of it no matter what he does. Sullivan aid tremendous in the role, masterfully blending the haunting despair and guilt with a passionate desire to be a better man.

Janice Duclos is Gramma Joad, a feisty old woman who speaks her mind and heart. Duclos ia a delight in the role, spirited and full of down home simplicity in winning mixtures.

Stepehen Berenson is Grapa Joad, irascible, outspoken with little or no shame. It is a winning and enticing performance, full of brash bravado and undeniable nuances.

Director Brian McEleny delivers a superbly articulated production of movement all over the stage and stairways and concocting a “truck” for the Joads to move to California.. His hand is sure and supple in this fantastic blend, guiding his actors with a subtle and inventive touch to keep this in the round production always vivid no matter where you sit.

The rest of the large cast is equally wonderful, full of honesty and energy throughout.

The original folk rock music penned by Sheri Eldin and Zdenko Martin is brilliant, aptly capturing the flavor of the Depression era with deft skill and powerful emotions. The house band for this,3pile is stunning blending in when needed adding an entire other emotional depth to the production.

The costumes by William Lane are evocative and accurate, giving the gritty flavor of Oakie dust and despair.

The set by Michael McGarty is a brilliant concoction of simplicity and evocativeness. A slab of stage in the center is surrounded by seats, while plunked in the middle is a live rustic country bar that actually serves patrons before the performance and during intermission.

The 17 member cast is pure delight, creating a vivid, palpable world of grit, dust and despair with a tingle of hope and humanity amidst it al. This is a must see production and it will leave an indelible tattoo on your mind, heart and spirit.

Continues until October 6. For tickets, call the box office at 401-351-4242. Adult ticket prices for A Christmas Carol start at Tickets are $36-$70. For information on group discounts for parties of 20 or more contact Group Sales at 401-351-4242 or online at online at: http://www.trinityrep.com