EMAV Review: LVLT delivers a funny, feel-good Godspell ★★★★

This diverse ensemble of seven talented people hits the mark.

★★★★☆ - Delicious

The interesting thing about John-Michael Tebelak’s book for Godspell is that producers and directors can choose the setting they’d like. For one of the original Las Vegas Little Theater (LVLT) productions (this is the third, to my recollection), LVLT co-founder Jack Bell set the play in an airport. This freedom gives incredible latitude for the creative process. That latitude had not been lost on this team. This is not your father’s (grandfather’s?) Godspell.

Granted, Director Hallie Lyons set this in a church basement, but she took the new lyrics by Stephen Schwartz, who also penned the score, and let loose. This cast is having fun whilst proffering up the parables of Jesus of Nazareth.

Expertly assisted by Choreographer Jessie Miles and Musical Director Susan Easter, there are sight and sound gags everywhere. If you’re able to catch them, you’ll find bits from West Side Story (theatre), Saturday Night Live (television) and Chariots of Fire (film). And, if I’m not mistaken, Mama Mia and Chicago, or maybe Cabaret…or maybe it was Sweet Charity (all Broadway and film). Toss in the original You Bet Your Life with Groucho Marx (television) and you get the picture; the menagerie of characterizations from each cast member is spot on. And funny.

Led by Joel Ruud (Jesus) and Anthony Gomez (John the Baptist/Judas) this diverse ensemble of seven talented people hits the mark.

Ruud and Gomez are both in fine voice; several other in the ensemble also stand out: Jessica Gaylor on the all-familiar “Day by Day,” Keaton Delmar Johns on “All Good Gifts,” and Easter, Gomez, and Johns team up for a gorgeous “On the Willows.” Yet, it’s the entire cast, blending perfectly on “All for the Best” that brought the house down opening night.

That is not to say there aren’t a few minor missteps along the way. In the Prologue (which is occasionally deleted in local productions for some odd reason) segueing into “Tower of Babble” (along with a couple other spots throughout) some sour notes were detected, perhaps due to opening night jitters.

Paul Iwanicki missed an opportunity with “Turn Back, O Man.” Moving center stage with an old stand microphone and a feather boa, going into full-bore drag queen the piece could’ve been a comedic standout. Whether actor or director choice, it was a lost chance to match the humor on display in the overall production.

The set by Ron Lindblom verily shouts church basement, replete with the little raised proscenium stage for the band. Lights by Ginny Adams invoke dozens of parable locales. Here and there, Ruud’s dialogue and lyrics were muffled for some reason, but Mike Olsen’s sound design doesn’t disappoint in the slightest.

You may not leave with salvation but, according to the playwright and lyricist, that’s not the point, anyway. What you will come away with are the tools to guide you through troubled times. You’ll walk out of the theatre thoroughly entertained, feeling good with a smile on your face, and maybe even a little inspired.

When: 8 p.m. Thursday - Saturday; 2 p.m. Sunday through July 28

Where: Las Vegas Little Theatre-Mainstage, 3920 Schiff drive

Tickets: $25 (702-362-7996; www.lvlt.org)

Producer: Las Vegas Little Theatre; Director: Hallie Lyons; Musical Director: Susan Easter; Choreographer: Jessie Miles; Set Design: Ron Lindblom; Lighting Design: Ginny Adams; Sound Design: Michael Olsen; Costume Design: Rose Magee; Stage Manager: Cindy Lee Stock

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EMAV Review: LVLT's quirky 'Siegel' looks at love through the eyes of a peculiar guy ★★★½

PHOTOS BY: Kris Mayeshiro and KM2CREATIVE

★★★½☆ - Satisfying

Las Vegas Little Theatre dives head first into "The Siegel," Michael Mitnick's, modern- day, yuppie romcom, presented on their main stage through the weekend. Directed by Kyle Jones and Hallie Lyons, it's full of amusing moments, moves at a brisk pace, and has a nice design aesthetic that highlights the millennial perspective. And while the energetic cast has a knack for capturing Mitnick's sarcastic and witty banter, the show feels flat and lacks immediacy, partly because the premise of the story is just very strange.

The title of the 2017 play is a homonym for Anton Chekhov's classic "The Seagull," which Mitnick emulates with themes about love and destiny, though he never manages the subtext needed to flesh out those ideas. At the start we are thrust abruptly into the plot, and it takes a few minutes to get our bearings as we are confronted with a frenetic Ethan Siegel in the living room of the befuddled Ron and Deborah. He has shown up out of the blue to ask for their daughter Alice's hand in marriage, because he loves her and it's the proper thing to do. The problem is, they broke up two years ago and now she lives happily with her boyfriend Nelson, who she slept with before she and Ethan split. Undeterred, he continues his relentless pursuit.

Living with regret, the consequences of the choices we make, and the paths we take is a theme that is touched upon throughout the play. Is Ethan chasing an idealized romantic love that exists only in his imagination so that he can rewrite his own history? The enigmatic, weird Ethan is a difficult role to play. But we all know the guy that actor Jake Taylor brings to life with his portrayal. He's that childlike, hyper dude with zero self-awareness, who has no filter and no concept of the boundaries of another's personal space. But he's cute and poetic with a kooky charm, so we tolerate his shenanigans. While Taylor doesn't always seem comfortable inhabiting Ethan and doesn't find much nuance in the character, his energy is unwavering and he truly embodies that annoying guy we all love to hate.

Alice is Ethan's opposite, and Shana Brouwers captures her pragmatic yet reflective nature and nails the many sarcastic lines that roll off her tongue with ease. A former campaign manager for a candidate who lost a recent presidential election (ahem), Brouwer's regret is palpable as she pines not for Ethan but for what could've been without that failure, which has shaped her identity and outlook on life. We don't get a glimpse of the mutual affinity the two might have shared while a couple until later on, during an intimate dinner and a tipsy walk afterward. And while those scenes are pleasant enough, there really isn't much chemistry there.

The easy-going Nelson at first is unfazed by the appearance of Ethan. Alex Bassett in the part gives the most compelling and complete performance of the show, when Ethan becomes the catalyst for a growing realization that he needs to make a proposal of his own. So while Ethan and Alice are dining he heads on over to the home of Ron, played by Jodi Solbrig, and Deborah, played by Gillen Brey, to do just that. He has a perfectly metered, epic meltdown for one of the funniest and most touching scenes in the show. Bassett and Brey share a nice rapport, and their facial expressions are priceless as she sips wine and throws amused sideways glances at his frustrated, profanity-laced asides. Solbrig and Brey feel like a well-worn couple with their comfortable, back-and-forth banter, and Rose Donahue is sweet in her cameo as computer geek Jordan.

Ron Lindblom's detailed, two-story set design with its six different locations gives the impression of looking at a collage of photos on an Instagram page. There's a clever bit towards the end where Jones and Lyons make excellent use of Alice and her parent's side-by-side living rooms with simultaneous argument scenes and slamming doors that borrow from farce. Ginny Adam's thoughtful lighting design defines and illuminates the mood and relationships of each individual mini set, the annoying text message alerts in Rebecca Sass' sound design add a touch of realism, and Candace Wynants' costumes are apropos for the two different generations and the styles of the characters.

Mitnick doesn't give much clarity into what drives Ethan's audacious behavior. A surprise twist in the denouement only muddles the issue further, and makes him seem even more like a creeper. The one thing that is clear, though, is that Alice chose the right guy.

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As You Like It by William Shakespeare @ LVLT (featuring mask designs by Bex Hanis)

Las Vegas Little Theatre present's Shakespeare's comedy, As You Like It.

As You Like It is one of the great comedy plays by William Shakespeare. Rosalind, the daughter of a banished duke, falls in love with Orlando, the disinherited son of one of the duke's friends. When she is banished from the court by her usurping uncle, Duke Frederick, Rosalind takes on the appearance of a boy, calling herself Ganymede. She travels with her cousin Celia and the jester Touchstone to the Forest of Arden, where her father and his friends live in exile. Themes about life and love, including aging, the natural world, and death are included in the play. New friends are made and families are reunited. Featuring original mask artwork by Las Vegas visual artist, Bex Hanis @bexart (www.thevastcanvas.com).

3/22/2019 - 4/7/2019

Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 8pm Sunday at 2pm

Las Vegas Little Theatre

3920 Schiff Drive, Las Vegas, NV 89103

Tickets

Natalie Senecal- Rosalind Drew Yonemori- Orlando, Corin Stefanie McCue- Celia, Phebe Geo Nikols- Touchstone, Duke Senior, Charles Josh Sigal- Jaques, Adam Brian David Sloan- Oliver, Duke Frederick, Silvius Rana Shlyan- Amiens Thomas Buscaglia- Lord of the Forest, Musician All other roles will be performed by the ensemble members

Production team: T. J. Larsen - Director Bex Harris - Stage Manager Stacia Zinkevich - Props Lighting Designer – Shawn Hackler Music Consultant - Mike Vargovich

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