“Tuesdays with Morrie” 2nd Story Theatre

By Richard Pacheco

“Tuesdays with Morrie” currently at 2^nd Story Theatre is a simple at times funny at times moving tale about inescapable death delivered by an excellent cast with great chemistry and impeccable skills. Written for the stage by Mitch Albion (who wrote the book)  and Jeffrey Hatcher  it is rich with laughs and simple yet ingratiating poignancy that moves the entire audience a feast for mind and heart.

                   It tells the tale of Mitch and now well known sport writer, radio and television sports commentator who once wanted to be a musician but gave it up in a dark moment to pursue the writing career which leads to great success. He was Morrie’s student at Brandeis who promised to keep in touch but never did. What altered this was when Mitch sees his former teacher on Nightline with Ted Koppel talking about dying of Lou Gherig’s disease. So despite the 16 year lapse Mitch decides to visit his former teacher. A newspaper strike makes it so that Mitch can visit Morrie more regularly and he does, faithfully. The book and play are based on the 14 Tuesdays they met.

            Jeff DiSisto is Mitch. He starts out as an eager undergraduate at Brandeis with a passion for music and an unfettered desire to be a musician.  Those goals fall aside                                                                                       and he is driven by ambition to be the best in his field as a sport writer. The only thing he can devote time to is his career. His interactions with Morrie change al that, as he goes from a man of relentless ambition to someone who cares. It is a superb performance, full of nuance and finesse. It is a sincere transformation.

            Jay Burke is Morrie a simple man well educated but full of aphorisms about life and not reluctant to share them liberally. He faces his impending death with grace, dignity and humanity, He faces it with a sense of humor that is compelling and natural. Burke is stunning in the role, always natural and on target. He offers a true humanity that is both inviting and engaging.

            Mark Peckham directs with finesse and simplicity. He keeps all on course with an underlying humanity and connection that goes from the funny to the moving, evoking the best from his actors.

            Ax Ponticelli’s set design is stunning evoking the office with a large tree and windows looming overheard and behind with fall foliage which frame the space effectively.

            The play runs for an hour and a quarter and is sheer delight. The sold out audience gave it a well deserved standing ovation for its moving and funny display which was sure to please. It sells out soon so get your tickets ASAP if you want to see it.

At 2^nd Story Theatre DownStage / June 3 to 26, July 14-17

28 Market Street, Warren, RI

1(401)247-4200 or www.2ndstorytheatre.com

“The Buddy Holly Story” at Theatre by the Sea

By Richard Pacheco

            “The Buddy Holly Story” currently at the Theatre by the Sea is a rip roaring good time with a vibrant cast full of energy and musical talent, playing their own instruments with skill and style. It is sheer fun.

            The story is a well known one for anyone who ever loved rock and roll, the rise to prominence of Buddy Holly from unknown to rock legend in a short space of time during the early golden days of rock and roll. It is packed with his songs and captures the exuberance and passion of his music. It follows his very brief career from a teenager from Lubbock Texas who abandons his country roots to become a full fledged rock and roller only to die tragically in a plane crash several years later.

            Michael Siktberg is excellent as Buddy Holly. He is poised, vibrant and talented. He has a strong voice and just the right finesse to deliver the Holly songs. He palys his guitar really well also.

            The rest of the cast is likewise exceptional.

            Jean-Pierre Ferragamo as The Big Bopper is riveting with his stage presence and singing sass. It is an impressive energetic performance. “Chantilly Lace” and “Shut” are sizzling hot and stuning.

            Albert Jennings as Richie Valens is powerhouse of raw sexual energy, full of flair and feisty. He shines when he sings “La Bamba” with relentless energy and vocal power.

            Cody Nable and Greg London as as the radio host who helps propel Buddy to ths top, Highpockets Duncan are energetic and convincing.

            Beatriz Naranjo as Buddy’s wife Maria Elena is poised, sweet and sincere.

            The songs here are rollicking and fun from the first. In fact the second half of the show is pretty much the last concert hat Buddy did before he died in the plane crash. There are songs galore to enjoy, classic Holly hits like “Peggy Sue”, “Oh Boy”, “Maybe Baby” and tons more.

            The entire cast is a delight, a real pleasure to enjoy.

            Director Richard Salbellico keeps things moving swiftly along with and underlying raw power that is exciting and entrancing. It has a rock concert feel that is enthralling and undeniable.

            Musical director Michael Crotier coaxes the best out of his talent both in terms of singing and virtuoso musicianship; it is winning.

Kyle Dixon’s scenic design works well, vividly creating the right mod and atmosphere for each scene.

            “Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story" runs through June 19 at Theatre By The Sea, 364 Cards Pond Rd., Matunuck. Tickets are $47-$67. Call (401) 782-8587, or visit theatrebythesea.com.

“Educating Rita” at 2nd Story

By Richard Pacheco

            “Educating Rita” at 2^nd Story Theater is a sheer delight, deftly acted by Ed Shea and Tammy Brown, full of verve, finesse and emotional impact.

            Ed Shea who has spent most of his time at 2^nd Story as a director has more recently returned to the stage as an actor with some riveting performances and this is no exception. He is Frank, a failed poet, once the darling of the academic world, now more ad disheveled disaster of a professor on his last legs, one his way out more dedicated to alcohol than to academia. It is a dazzling performance, full of nuance and energy as he plays the bitter professor, disenchanted with his life and too fond of the scotch nips he has hidden throughout his office.

This is all brought vividly to life with his interactions with Rita, played by Tammy Brown as the feisty, sassy hairdresser who wants to plunge headfirst into learning with passion and determination. Rita is trapped in what is for her a dead end job and a bad marriage and she views this chance for education as her way out, her escape to a better life. She plunges with all her energy and determination she can muster. She craves the world of books and theater as her rescue, her way out of the mire she finds herself trapped within. Tammy Brown is terrific and the perfect match for Shea’s Frank. Her transition from the lower class British accent to more cultured is perfect. It also offers another dimension to her performance with is robust and skilled.

It all evolves over a series of very short scenes which almost seems at times too much and too quick. But there is an emotional wave which transforms it all into something rich and resonant. It traces not only Rita’s steps towards liberation and education, but also Frank’s increasing enchantment with her, even dare say following in love with her.

Rita recounts her adventures with other students as she glides from her disenchanted ignorance to feeling she is the intellectual equal of Frank.  As she grows bolder and more self confident, Frank grows a bit angry and irritated, even to the point of being jealous when she mentions the young male students she has come to know along the way.

British playwright Willy Russell sets the play entirely in the office of an open lecturer. It was also turned into a memorable film staring Michael Caine and Julie Walters.

Director Mark Pekham deftly manages all the rapid scenes with assurance and energy. He blends it all smoothly together.

The set by Max Ponticelli is excellent, ably capturing the atmosphere of a professor’s office.

This is an excellent production that you won’t want to miss. It is a sheer delight that satisfies on so many levels.

It will be presented until May 22 at 2^nd Story Theatre, upstairs, 28 Market Street, Warren. www.2ndstorytheratre.com 401-247-4200.

“The Winter’s Tale” at the Gamm

By Richard Pacheco

            The Gamm Theatre wraps up its current season with a splendid production of Shakespeare’s “The Winter Tale” with its many twists of plot and somewhat implausible ending but all a truly enjoyable ride along the way. The large cast is winning and moves along with energy and determination.

            King Leonte is tormented by raging jealousy. The play opens with the meeting of two lifelong friends, Leontes, king of Sicilia and Polixenes, the King of Bohemia. After nine months Polixenes series to return to his own kingdom to tend to his affairs and see his son. Leontes’ efforts to convince him to stay meet with failure so he sends his wife to convince his friend. Hermione agrees and convinces him to stay. Leontes is perplexed how she convinced him to stay so easily. He suspects his pregnant wife has been having an affair with him and that the child is a bastard.  He orders one of his lords to poison his friend but instead he warns him and they both flee to his kingdom.

            Furious Leontes publicly accuses his wife of infidelity and declares her child illegitimate. He throws her in prison over the protests of his nobles. She gives birth to a girl. Despite the fact that the oracle clears his wife, all plummets into disaster with the death of his son and his wife is reported dead. His infant daughter is left on the shores of his friend’s land. Then it rolls further long with more twists and turns pilling up along the way.

            The baby named Perdita is reared by and old shepherd. When she reaches 16 she falls in love with, yes, Polixenes’ son.

            From there it is a mere matter of untwisting the twisted to resolve all well which it does.

            Fred Sullivan directs with a keen eye and supple touch. It moves merrily along with zest and finesse, well acted and energetic. His appearance in the show as the rascal and mutton chopped rogue Autolycus is pure delight, bigger than life and ribald and energetic.

            Tony Estrela, the artistic director of the Gamm is stunning as Leontes. He is a dense mixture of jealousy and remorse, all vividly conveyed with skill and flair. In his able hands the tormented king is convincing and sympathetic despite his baseless jealousy.

            Karen Carpenter is the epitome of the unjustly accused Hermione, all poise and presence. She is sympathetic in her dignity and conviction, her protestations of innocence at being wrongly accused.

            Jesse Hinton is the longtime friend, King Polixenes, an honest man, a loyal friend. Hinson is excellent in the role, poised and elegant, full of confidence and a sense of royalty.

            Mark S. Cartier is wining at the old Shepherd. Nora Eschenheimer is charming as Perdita, easy going and energetic. Florizel, King Polixenes’ son is played by Jeff Church with gusto and finesse.

            The large cast is right on the mark, full of sincerity and liveliness. It is well worth seeing, an outstanding production.

            The set designed by Patrick Lynch is a bit stark and plain with not much to it. IT is not very evocative. The Jessie Darrell Jarbadan costumes are also fairly simple, not very elegant for royalty.

            The first act seems a lot like Othello minus Iago with its severe ever mounting jealousy. The second act seems more comedic in nature.  So it is more upbeat at the end however implausible it might be.

            "The Winter's Tale" runs through May 29 at the Gamm Theatre, 172 Exchange St., Pawtucket. Tickets are $41-$49. Call (401) 723-4266, or visit gammtheatre.org.

           

“Arnie, Louis and Bob” at Trinity Rep

By Richard Pacheco

            “Arnie, Louis and Bob” currently at Trinity Rep is a world premiere by Katie Pearl who take something that would have been perfect fodder for someone like Pinter or Durang or Ives and turns it into something that is flooded with gimmicks and grows more and more pretentious and willful as it goes on. The tale of two brothers and a cousin, all of whom are eccentric and massively dysfunctional veers from amusing to indulgent playwrighting.

            It all goes awry when in the first act playwright Pearl rises to regale the cast about the goings on it is clear it is about to take a wrong turn. It is suddenly self indulgent and pretentious. 

            The three men live in their dead mother’s home and are wildly eccentric, each with their own foibles and quirks. Arnie dedicatedly follows an Indian guru while pursuing his lawn cutting business. And Bob drives a Zamboni for a living while dreaming of a better life and meeting pop stars and finally there is Louis who fights an often losing battle with depression while struggling with his autobiographical novel.

          

  The play was conceived when Perl was a graduate student at Brown and convinced the artistic director Curt Columbus to develop the play at Trinity through workshops leading to this production. Pearl has been thus far in her career a highly experimental playwright. This play is no exception. She lets her imagination run amuck here with the uncles meeting Peter Pan and Taylor Swift. What happens is it goes far off course with Pearl becoming a big part of the play often setting new directions for it mid stride.  It ends up too fantastical with little tether to reality and unfocussed and random. She consonantly regales the stage hand who also takes part to  “listen to the characters” advice which Pearl ends up avoiding regularly while pursuing her own fantasy indulgences amidst the cravings of her characters. Yes, it is about growing older, trying to find a mate and putting up with your relatives.

            It draws from the best of Trinity’s talent, Timothy Crowe, Stephen Berenson and Brian McEleney who area all delightful in their respective roles. IT also incorporates playwright Pearl who intrudes and redirects the action through out from her first appearance and stage hand Julia Atwood who also turns out to be a talent and amusing as she goes from playing Peter Pan to Taylor Swift with skill and dexterity.

            The first act offers plenty of promise and hints of richness, but the second act goes totally off track with its fantasy laden quirks like Bob after an encounter with Peter Pan floating off through the window never to be seen again. There is much potential here but largely unresolved.

Director Melissa Kievman who developed it as well as directed it needs to help the playwright clen of the self indulgent aspects which overwhelm the play at nearly every turn from when the playwright steps onstage,.

The set by Michael McGarty is insanely cluttered and overdone with too much visual clutter all over and making it at times hard to focus with a sensory overload.

It contuse through May 8. For tickets, call the box office at 401-351-4242. Group Sales at 401-351-4242 or online at online at: http://www.trinityrep.com

           

“Blues for Mr. Charlie” at Trinity Rep

By Richard Pacheco

            “Blues for Mister Charlie” is James Baldwin's second play, a tragedy in three acts. It was first produced and published in 1964. It is dedicated to the memory of Medgar Evers, and his widow and his children, and to the memory of the dead children of Birmingham.The play is loosely based on the Emmett Till murder that occurred in Money, Mississippi, before the Civil Rights Movement began.
            It opens up with Reverend Meridian Henry coaching the Negro students through their lines. They are interrupted by Parnell Jones who brings them the news that Lyle Britten will be arrested for the murder of Richard Henry. For where once a white storekeeper could have shot a "boy" like Richard Henry with impunity, times have changed. And centuries of brutality and fear, patronage and contempt, are about to erupt in a moment of truth as devastating as a shotgun blast.
            Intended as a companion piece for the current production of “To Kill A Mockingbird” it was intended as a staged reading and the actors, enthused by the material learned their lines. Yet the element of staged readings still lingers over the production in its sparse setting. The action shifts back and forth between past and present. The structure is loose and makes valid points as if they were clichés. What it has in abundance thought is raw energy and fierce passion, a call to arms.

            The play has many rants and diatribe not as well written as “To Kill A Mockingbird” the companion play at Trinity. It tells pretty much the same story without as many twists and turns. Yet it tackles racism as it once existed in this country with relentless zest and conviction.

            There are some strong moments in it. Jude Sandy is Meridian Henry, an impassioned preacher whose son is shot for flirting with a white storekeeper at least that is what the story is. Sandy is focused and powerful at many times during the production with an honest and passionate performance.

His son Richard Henry played by David Samuel has returned to his hometown after spending time up north and hitting some bad times, things like drug addiction. Now, back in his hometown, he seethes with rag and resentment is angered by the racism which surrounds him in his hometown. It makes him rebellious to the customary behavior in the town, the rampant racism which is everywhere. Samuel is a solid presence. He is vibrant and determined in the role, full of raw passion and energy.

The murderer is the bigoted Lyle Henry played by Mauro Hantman, is the husband of the shopkeeper and manages to slyly cover up his hatred and his bigotry in particular for Richard whom he despises. Hantman is on the mark as the bigoted man who oozes a slippery bigotry which he intends and does in fact cover it up.

Stephen Thorne is the white liberal newspaperman with integrity and dares to speak out against the bigotry and defend the blacks from the over racism. He is defensive of Meridian and Richard and it tests their friendship. Throne is sincere and poised in the role, utterly convincing.

Friday, Alexis Green doubled as Grandma Henry and Richard's friend Lorenzo, as she covered, script in hand, for an ailing Ashley Mitchell.

Director Brian McEleny used the same cast as “Mockingbird” and the same sparse set of a classroom setting and disperses the cast throughout the house as he does in that play.  It is not as tight as “Mockingbird” and originally  meant to be a staged reading but the actor’s enthusiasm propelled them to learn lines.

Much of the play is seen as flashback with Richard Henry already dead as the play opens. Baldwin’s characters seem more like entrenched stereotypes who are so antithetical that what divides them seems totally unbridgeable.

The ending is direct and brutal, not at all subtle.

It will be presented again On March 27 and April 1 at 7:30 pm A the Chase Theater at Trinity Rep. Tickets are $25. Trinity Repertory Company, 201 Washington Street, Providence, RI  1(401)351-4242 or www.trinityrep.com

“A Skull in Connemara” at The Gamm Theatre

By Richard Pacheco

            Playwright Martin McDonough’s play “A Skull in Connemara” currently at the Gamm is dark and funny, propelled by vivid performances and keen direction. The 1997 Olivier Award nominee for best comedy takes a look at a gravedigger; a Connemara man hired to exhume skeletons in an overcrowded graveyard and comes upon in his duties the grave of the wife he was once accused of killing. This is the middle play in the Martin McDonagh trilogy. It asks the question of who killed Oona, the wife of Mick the gravedigger.  It does not answer it but instead frolics through some dark humor with determination and quirky dialogue.

            One of the issues with the play is it meanders along seemingly looking for a direction or its plot. It is by far not McDonagh’s best work. It seems as if something crucial is missing here. There is a lot unclear and it doesn’t seem to work that well.

            The cast is excellent across the boards.

Jim O’Brien is Mick, the dark fellow accused of murdering his wife Oona. He is totally believable as the whisky swilling, sullen and dark Mick. He is a man obsessed with dark secrets or at least the impact they have left on his life.

Mick's dimwitted helper, played by Jonathan Fisher with convincing honesty and freshness is dim and slow.

Steve Kidd is the other Hanlon brother, the constable, Thomas. Thomas is bubbling and ineffectual with delusions of grandeur being an ace detective a modern Sherlock Holmes a legend in his own mind. Kidd handles the role with sincerity and skill

The final cast member is Wendy Overly as the grandmother to the two Hanlon boys, Maryjohnny. She is found of her whiskey, or let’s say Mick’s whiskey. She is still smarting for children’s insults to her many years before. Overly is wining in the role, delivering a sincere and amusing performance.

Director Judith Swift does her best to keep it all moving along despite the mysteries inserted into the convoluted plot.

            The Michael McGarty set design  which combines a cramped living room of a tiny cottage and the grave areas is vivid and evocative.

            If you are a fan of McDonagh then you might enjoy this more.

            "A Skull in Connemara" runs through March 27 at the Gamm Theatre, 172 Exchange St., Pawtucket. Tickets are $41-$49. Call (401) 723-4266, or visit gammtheatre.org