EMAV Review: 'The African Company' at NCT was funny, furious and uniquely American ★★★★

Maurice-Aimé Green as 'James Hewlett'

Images by Josh Hawkins, UNLV Creative Services

★★★★☆ - Delicious

Did you know that there was an African Theatre Company in 1821 America?

During Nevada Conservatory Theatre’s (NCT) delicious 4-Star production of "THE AFRICAN COMPANY PRESENTS RICHARD III”, we learn that 6 years before New York abolished slavery and 40 years before the beginning of the Civil War, this theatre company existed. William Henry Brown, a free black American, organized a production of Shakespeare’s Richard III.

What do the words of a dead White poet mean to a group of Black actors? Everything, actually. After all, these are artists forced to spend their days disguised as maids and waiters. Hiding their gifts along with their feelings, until the sun sets and the time comes to discover themselves in Shakespeare's poetry. His writing demanding that everyone find their own way through his words, haters be damned. A backstage story like no other -- funny, furious and uniquely American.

Breanna McCallum as 'Sarah'

Shakespeare is the chosen cultural battleground in this inventive retelling of a little known, yet pivotal event in the history of America’s first black theatre company. Knowing they are always under prejudicial pressures from white society, and facing their own internal shakeups, the African Company battles for time, space, audiences and togetherness. The Company presents classic plays at a theatre in downtown Manhattan for both black and white audiences. But they are challenged when they dare to put on Shakespeare’s Richard III at the same time as the powerful and popular Park Theatre. Carlyle Brown’s humorous and touching play, based on real-life events, dares to ask the question: does Shakespeare belong to everyone?

Brandon Dawson as 'The Constable Man' and Cameron Stuart Bass as ' William H. Brown'

Their competition, Stephen Price, an uptown, Broadway-type impresario, is producing Richard III at the same time that the African Company's production and has promised a famous English actor overflowing audiences if he plays Richard in Price's theatre. Fearing the competition of the African Company's production, which is garnering large white audiences, Price manipulates the law and closes down the theatre. The Company rebounds and finds a space right next door to Price's theatre. At the rise of curtain of the next performance, Price causes the arrest of some of the actors in a trumped-up riot charge. The play ends with the Company, surviving, its integrity intact, and about to launch an equally progressive new chapter in the American theatre: They'll soon be producing the first black play written by black Americans of their day.

Maurice-Aimé Green as 'James Hewlett' and Riyadh as 'Papa Shakespeare'

The very capable cast included Cameron Stuart Bass as William H. Brown; Maurice-Aimé Green as James Hewlett; Brandon Dawson as The Constable-Man; Nate Marble as Stephen Price; Breanna McCallum as Sarah; Riyadh as Papa Shakespeare; and Lauren Washington as Ann Johnson.

Lauren Washington as 'Ann Johnson'

Director Melissa Maxwell did an admirable job keeping the action moving and getting the ensemble comfortable and confident in their transitions between the play-within-a-play. The designers created an intimate and authentic proscenium stage, with an exposed backstage above the curtain line and an ample apron in front of the proscenium arch.

The production and design team includes scenic designer Trevor Dotson, lighting designer Andrew Killion, co-sound designers Megan Thompson and Lina Lim, costume designer Hailey Eakle, technical director Ryan Pope, dramaturg Dr. Lezlie Cross, and production stage manager M. Sohaa Smith.

Carlyle Brown is a writer/performer and artistic director of Carlyle Brown & Company, based in Minneapolis. He is a Core Writer of the Playwrights' Center in Minneapolis, and an alumnus of New Dramatists in New York. He has served on the board of directors of The Playwrights' Center and Theatre Communications Group, the national organization for the nonprofit professional theatre and is a member of the board of the Jerome Foundation. He is the 2006 recipient of The Black Theatre Network's Winona Lee Fletcher Award for outstanding achievement and artistic excellence, a 2008 Guggenheim Fellow, a 2010 recipient of the Otto Rene' Castillo Award for Political Theatre, and 2010 United States Artists Friends Fellowship.

The next production at NCT is Federico García Lorca's Blood Wedding, directed by Allegra Libonati and running March 8th through March 17th.

#EatMoreArt #vegastheatre #NCT #UNLV #Theatre #Review #Stalter #vegasculture #vegasarts

EMAV Review: Nevada Ballet sparks mid-winter inspiration with new work, a diverse program, and the L

Images captured by Virginia Trudeau Photography

The cast of Nicolo Fonte’s Crane/ing.

★★★★½ - Delicious

Nevada Ballet Theatre’s (NBT’s) mid-winter program at The Smith Center featured four Las Vegas premieres including a World Premiere, "Crane/ing" by renowned Choreographer Nicolo Fonte. Commissioned exclusively for Nevada Ballet, this never-before-seen ballet featured music by Giovanni Sollima and Donnacha Dennehy. This eclectic program offered by Artistic Director Roy Kaiser included the Las Vegas Philharmonic conducted by Music Director Donato Cabrera. Krista Baker in Crane/ing and Alissa Dale in Firebird

The February 16th evening opened with RAYMONDA VARIATIONS, which premiered in 1961 at the New York City Ballet, with choreography by George Balanchine and music by Alexander Glazounov. Throughout his life, Balanchine was attracted to Glazounov’s music for Raymonda. He wrote: “to try to talk about these dances in any useful way outside the music is not possible. The music itself, its grand and generous manner, its joy and playfulness, was for me more than enough to carry the plot of the dances.”

George Balanchine’s Raymonda Variations. Choreography by George Balanchine c The George Balanchine Trust.

Balanchine focused on various ways to use a dancer's rising on toe, the releve. The five soloists danced brightly and had a workout in this respect, mutually elegant and poised. The cascade of classical solos and pas de deux was filled with sweet waltzes and daring virtuosity.

Next was a pas de deux from LIGHT RAIN by Gerald Arpino. The NBT performance of this work was part of the Joffrey/Aprino Festival, celebrating the lives of Robert Joffrey and Gerald Arpino by having organizations nationally and internationally perform their works. LIGHT RAIN (pas de deux) included music by Douglas Adamz & Russ Gauthier.

Light Rain has been the Joffrey Ballet’s signature piece since its premiere in 1981. Created for the Joffrey’s Silver Anniversary, and presented again as the closing ballet of the Company’s Golden Anniversary, Light Rain remains the company’s most beloved and requested work.

Jaime DeRocker and Steven Goforth in Gerald Arpino’s Light Rain (Pas de Deux).

Gerald Arpino was the co-founder and resident choreographer of the Joffrey Ballet, directing the company for twenty years after Robert Joffrey’s death. He created this ballet to showcase the new young dancers of the company. “It is my gift to these talented youngsters…I am inspired by their modes and rituals, their passions.” Light Rain, with its accent on youth, its American artists, and its original music, continues The Joffrey traditions begun in 1956.

The costumes were unitards and, from far away, it was sometimes hard to tell the different genders apart, but, unlike in classical ballet, it didn’t really matter. All the dancers were awe-inspiring at handling Arpino’s mix of modern-dance and ballet.

NBT was honored to present CRANE/ING, a World Premiere ballet by renowned choreographer Nicolo Fonte -- Music by Giovanni Sollima, Aquilarco #6 (Spinning Top Prelude) and Donnacha Dennehy / CRANE version II.

Monolithic gestures and poignant subtlety were two extremes in the score that are bound up with Fonte’s own passion for both boldness and intimacy in movement. Even after discovering that the original commissioning of the score was for a dance for machinery, he still found it fiercely “bird-like” and poetically delicate.

The cast of Nicolo Fonte’s Crane/ing.

“Crane/ing takes as its main premise that perhaps viewing things from a “bird’s eye” view, we are, metaphorically speaking, able to soar up above to an “oasis in the sky” and from that perspective see the extraordinary beauty below – the extraordinary beauty that exists deep in the collective sacred spaces of our hearts and souls.” (Nicolo Fonte)

Robert Mulvey in Firebird.

The final ballet on the bill was FIREBIRD, Igor Stravinsky's breakthrough work of 1910, with choreography by Yuri Possokhov -- one of the most iconic and spectacular of the classical ballets of that era.

The story is based on a Russian folk tale where Prince Ivan, assisted by the Firebird, destroys the evil magician Kashchei the immortal, marries his princess and brings happiness to the kingdom. Alissa Dale danced the Firebird with strength and delicacy. Her pas de deux with Ivan, Sergio Alvarez, embodied the romantic lyrical brilliance of the choreography. Robert Mulvey, as Kaschie, and Jaime Derocker, as the Princess, also performed with great passion and intensity. This piece definitely stands the test of time.

Firebird's Christina Ghiardi and Sergio Alvarez.

Throughout the evening, all of the dancers performed with great beauty and control, delivering first rate performances which captured every breath of the music, and managed the choreography with comfort and confidence, making this another memorable performance. As always, NBT dancers were elegant and rousing in equal measure.

It takes a world class ballet organization, orchestra -- and their respective artistic leaders -- to bring such new creative work to Las Vegas artists and audiences. May this stellar artistic collaboration between NBT and the Las Vegas Philharmonic spawn many successors.

Correction: Due to injury, Christina Ghiardi (pictured) was replaced by Alissa Dale in 'Firebird.' An earlier version misidentified the artist in performance. Please accept our apology for this error.

#vegasmusic #vegasdance #vegasculture #EatMoreArt #vegasarts #vegastheatre #SmithCenter #dtlv #LVPhilharmonic #Stalter #Dance #NevadaBallet

EMAV Review: 'Love's Labour's Lost' brings the Bard's banter to life at NCT

★★★☆☆ - Satisfying

The Nevada Conservatory Theatre (NCT) presents a satisfying 3-Star production of Shakespeare's "Love's Labour's Lost" at the Judy Bayley Theatre (Nov. 30 - Dec. 9).

One of Shakespeare's earliest comedies, “Love’s Labour’s Lost” (written around 1594-95) details a pact made by the King of Navarre and three of his courtiers who swear off women in order to focus their energies on intellectual pursuits. The oath is quickly forgotten, however, following the appearance of the Princess of France and her entourage.

The play has all the hallmarks of a Shakespeare comedy: Letters are misdirected, disguises are donned and secret soliloquies are overheard by others. There’s a show within the show, and a few fools to keep the humor high. And through it all is that wonderful wit: wordplay in which “Shakespeare seems to seek the limits of his verbal resources, and discovers that there are none,” to quote the scholar Harold Bloom.

“Love’s Labour’s Lost” is unique in the Shakespeare canon because so much of its action relies on formal groupings of characters. In the main plot the courtly groups of men and women function very much as gender-defined units in a battle of the sexes that ultimately exposes the immaturity and pretentiousness of the young men.

Several of the male characters in the comic subplot are drawn from ancient comic traditions. The word “fool” is a technical term in Shakespeare’s plays. The fool in Elizabethan drama is someone employed to entertain a king or a duke or any other rich person who needs someone to entertain him. The convention in Elizabethan drama is that the fool is the most insightful and intelligent man in the play -- not to be confused with a clown who, in Shakespeare’s time was a simple rural man – a yokel.

These more exaggerated comic characters – which can be traced back to classic Roman comedy and the Italian commedia dell’arte tradition – are well characterized in this production: the braggart soldier (or miles gloriosus), Don Adriano de Armado (Equity Actor Jonathan Smoots) is a fantastical Spaniard who is at the center of the play's comic subplot, the courtship of Jaquenetta. Costard (Guest Artist Brandon Burk), the earthy slave (one of Shakespeare’s clowns), is an unsophisticated country bumpkin with an underlying shrewdness, who vies with Don Armado for Jaquenetta; Holofernes (UNLV senior Noah Keeling) is the stereotypical pedantic schoolmaster, conceited and quick to dismiss those he perceives as intellectually inferior, the commedia dell’arte figure of the Doctor.

Every company member handled the text “trippingly on the tongue”. Additional ensemble members include: Keach Siriani-Madden as King Ferdinand of Navarre; Delius Doherty as Berowne; Aimé Green as Longaville; Jacob Noble as Dumaine; Sarah Rice as The Princess of France; Amanda Guardado as Rosaline; Sydney Story as Maria; Gabrielle Silveroli as Katherine; Myles Lee as Boyet; Jacob Sidhom as Moth; Nicole Holbrook as Jaquenetta; Dawson Mullen as Dull; Ryan Baker as Sir Nathanial; and Johann Heske as Monsieur Marcade.

The Bard’s canon is tough work, certainly, but that is precisely why it continues to be essential knowledge and training for actors today. Luckily, Shakespeare continues to be the mostly widely taught playwright for actors and students around the world. Director and Guest Artist, Sandy Ernst, brings her considerable directing and teaching experience to bear in keeping the action moving across scenic designer Trevor Dotson’s royal outdoor courtyard of Navarre in the Pyrenees. Costume designer Katie Dennis admirably dressed the players in 1918 period attire. Lighting designer Andy Killion, along with sound designers Rosalie Chaleunsouck and Kaliah Silva, seamlessly supported time, place, and atmosphere throughout.

The Shakespeare Society’s artistic director, Michael Sexton, has said that “Becoming familiar and acquainted with Shakespeare’s work is good for any human being. It’s good for the soul. If one gets the opportunity to perform Shakespeare at a high level, it’s a privilege and an enormous joy. It’s one of the things that only we in the theater can do.”

Photos by: Katie Dennis Design

#Theatre #Review #NCT #UNLV #Stalter

EMAV Review: Nerve cells connect 'Incognito' at A Public Fit ★★★★☆

★★★★☆ - Delicious

"Who tells the story of self? That's like asking who thunders the thunder or rains the rain. It is not so much a question of us telling the story as the story telling us." (Paul Broks, neuropsychologist)

Neuropsychology is the science of analyzing the relationship between personality, performance, and the anatomical and physiological structure of the brain. Broks is one practitioner who asks the question: What is the relationship between the brain and the mind and the self?

"You can learn a lot about the brain, but you don't necessarily learn much about the self because that's a different layer of existence. What makes a person unique is how the mind utilizes the brain, and how the mind is shaped by interacting with other minds to form the self.”

Audiences are miraculously transported to a theatrical illustration of this very conundrum in a delicious 4-Star presentation of Nick Payne’s “Incognito”, the first production of the 2018-19 Season by A Public Fit Theatre Company (APF), which runs through December 16th in co-production with Cockroach Theatre Company at the Art Square Theatre.

Four gifted actors play a combined 21 characters within the play’s three artfully interwoven stories: A pathologist steals the brain of Albert Einstein; a neuropsychologist embarks on her first romance with another woman; a seizure patient forgets everything but how much he loves his girlfriend. “Incognito” braids these mysterious stories into one breathtaking whole that asks whether memory and identity are nothing but illusions.

“Incognito” features Tina Rice, Jasmine Kojouri, Marcus Weiss, and Erik Amblad. Each member of this exceptionally supple quartet transfers the dramatic energy of their multiple characters as if part of one shared central nervous system – like synapses found where nerve cells connect with other nerve cells to guarantee that the signal of the brain reaches its destination. They switch characters at the drop of a hat and fluidly move between wit and deeper emotion. Through and through it is a compelling, humane story enacted by absorbing characters with whom we feel a connection.

Directors Ann Marie Pereth and Joseph D. Kucan maintain a lively pace throughout the evening, skillfully balancing playwright Payne’s ability to meld complicated philosophic and scientific tenets with simpler human struggles. The production team has kept their components intentionally modest so as to ensure that our focus remains fixed on the thought-provoking human interaction before us. Kudos to Mariya Radeva-Nedyalkova (costumes), Ellen Bone (lighting), Yale Yeandel (sets), and The Dog & Pony Show (sound).

Nick Payne is the recipient of the 2009 George Devine Award for Most Promising Playwright, 2012 Harold Pinter Playwright’s Award, and the 2012 London Evening Standard Theatre Award for Best Play for Constellations. The play was originally produced in the USA by Manhattan Theater Club at City Center in May, 2016. As Ben Brantley wrote in The New York Times:

“Mysteries swirl in storm clouds in Nick Payne’s “Incognito,” enough to fill many seasons of cliffhanger soap operas. The subjects of these tantalizing puzzles include questions of paternity, a man who murdered his wife on their 30th wedding anniversary, the secrets that lovers keep from each other and the disappearance of an essential anatomical part of a great scientist.”

“Yet the biggest mystery of all, the one that dominates every aspect of this lively, self-examining drama of ideas, is the very apparatus that you’re using to make sense of this sentence. I mean your brain.”

Incognito, written by Nick Payne and directed by Ann Marie Pereth and Joseph D. Kucan

Presented through December 16th by A Public Fit Theatre Company at Art Square Theatre, 1025 South First Street, Las Vegas, NV 89101.

#APublicFit #Downtown #Cockroach #ArtSquare #Stalter #Review #Theatre

Sin City Opera and the City of Las Vegas co-present Richard Wagner’s turbulent opera, “A Night with

★★★★★ - Irresistible

Sin City Opera and the City of Las Vegas came together to present a synoptic, multi-media premiere operatic presentation of Richard Wagner’s turbulent opera, “A Night with The Flying Dutchman” -- the first-ever Richard Wagner opera production in Las Vegas, on October 25th & 28th at Charleston Heights Arts Center.

Created in 1843 in Germany, and performed in German in 2 Acts, the opera takes place off the coast of Norway during the 18th century. It featured a 14-piece orchestra helmed by Maestro, Dean Balan; staging by Skip Galla, Artistic Director of Sin City Opera; and multi-media video, projections and movies created by Andrew Stephenson Kurcan.

Wagner's operatic masterpiece is haunting. The music is rocked by the sound of waves as soon as the curtain rises. The drama unfolds relentlessly, based on a story that never fails to fascinate, even those who do not believe in legends. Using a number of leitmotivs (musical themes, Wagner takes his audience on an irrational journey where the Dutchman, an otherworldly, supernatural being, seeks Redemption through the love of a faithful woman. It is a breathtaking story of sacrifice, punctuated with raging monologues, dizzying duets, rousing choruses and accompanied by an orchestra that is much more than a background for the voices, acting as a full-fledged player in the drama.

The Dutchman, desperately seeks out love every seven years, and is now in the little fishing village of leading lady, Senta, who must agree to marry him and break-off with her intended Erik, to lift the curse the Dutchman and his ghostly crew have been under for hundreds of years.

The title role was sung by bass-baritone, Eugene Richards III. Eugene has spent the last three years studying with dramatic soprano, Luana DeVol and the past three summers as part of Dolora Zajick’s Institute for Young Dramatic Voices in Reno, NV, in the American Wagner Project division. In 2017 this study of Wagner led to his being selected as 1 of 16 finalists in the Lauritz Melchior International Vocal Competition which took place in Aalborg, Denmark. This summer Eugene participated in The Miami Music Festival in their Wagner program where he covered Alan Held as Wotan in Die Walküre & sang King Heinrich in Lohengrin.

“The American Wagner Project has been amazing for me. The three weeks I’ve spent there the past few years, allow me to fast forward my progress. I leave every summer a more confident and complete artist. The level of coaching is incredible and the artists it attracts are unparalleled. Luana’s and Dolora's support has opened many doors for me that I know would have remained closed otherwise. I can't thank them enough for what they've done for me,” stated Eugene.

His musicality and ability to learn quickly, coupled with a noble, bass baritone voice have won him recognition. Awards include scholarships from New York based Career Bridges as well as the Wagner Society of Washington, D.C.

The role of leading lady, Senta, was sung by dramatic soprano, Rebecca Morris. Her rich, powerful sound and commanding stage presence, accompanied by an impressive range, have made her a stand out in the Verdi and Wagner repertoire. Rebecca has spent most of her career singing the Dramatic Mezzo-Soprano repertoire, but has recently transitioned into the Dramatic Soprano roles. She attended Northern Arizona University on a vocal scholarship, where she received a Bachelor of Arts Degree. She is also a graduate of the Crittenden Opera Studio, The Bay Area Summer Opera Theater Institute, The Opera Academy of California, The American Institute of Musical Studies in Graz, Austria, and The Flagstaff in Fidenza Program in Fidenza, Italy. She has sung in numerous Productions with Phoenix Opera, Arizona Opera, Sin City Opera and Opera Las Vegas.

Born of a desire to train young dramatic singers and help them reach the world stage, the Institute for Young Dramatic Voices is the brainchild of Dolora Zajick, Rosemary Mathews, and Sarah Agler. It is an innovative 3-week intensive summer program of study for singers ages 15–36, with large or unusual voices, at varying levels of vocal development. The Institute’s carefully selected experts from across the industry work in close collaboration not only with the students, but also with each other, to provide a solid foundation of skills a professional singer really needs to embark on and survive a successful operatic career.

In 2013, the Institute developed a partnership with the Wagner Society of Washington D.C. The result is the American Wagner Project offering role study, German language diction, and specialized coaching and classes for future Wagnerian singers as well as presenting annual Wagner concerts in Washington and a series of symposia.

Sin City Opera is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization based in Las Vegas that serves the residents and visitors of the Las Vegas area.

#Theatre #Music #sincityopera #CityofLasVegas #Stalter

EMAV Review: “Oh What A Night” you'll have at Signature Productions! ★★★★★

★★★★★ - Irresistible

Oh What a Night it was, indeed! If you're looking for irresistible, 5-Star entertainment singing, banter, & precision choreography, just ask any audience member who sang along and gave a standing ovation to this crowd-pleasing production, through November 10th at the Summerlin Library Theatre.

The popular Las Vegas revue, Oh What A Night: A Musical Tribute to Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons was written by Motown producer and creative consultant George Solomon, conceived and directed by award-winning producer/director Michael Chapman, and choreographed by Paul Holmquist.

You almost don’t believe the four performers are singing live, until their remarkable a cappella rendition of “Silence is Golden” proves that to be true. Noteworthy in its tight harmonies and clarity, and without a backing track, the voices are left to stand on their own and were up to the challenge. On the opening weekend, four rock-steady musical theatre performers -- Brandon Albright (a regular with Signature Productions), Colin Cahill, Taylor Campbell, and Christian Nielsen -- "nailed it" perfectly.

They are four of nine artists who will be performing in this local production. Others include: writer George Solomon, choreographer Paul Holmquist, James Bullard, Katch Gray, and Rob Hyatt. Solomon formed the tribute group with Holmquist and director Michael Chapman in 2008; and there's a pool of about 40 singers who tour and perform across the globe.

Since the show isn't a biography, the performers aren't playing characters. They are being themselves onstage and each cast member brings something unique. Split into two 45-minute sets with a 20-minute intermission, the show did provide a number of highlights – literally hitting all of the highest notes easily, which made the program even more memorable.

Although many have compared the show to stage musical Jersey Boys, writer and performer George Solomon said Oh What a Night! is not a biography.

“It’s more of a variety show; it’s a concert but with a lot of humor, a few costume changes and a lot of great dancing.”

While Jersey Boys is a scripted musical biography of those boys from Jersey, Oh, What a Night! is an intimate concert and tribute that features the Four Seasons’ hits, several Top Ten releases not in Broadway's Tony Award-winning show, and Frankie Valli's biggest solo hit from the movie Grease!

The show actually started in Las Vegas in 2008. It was an immediate success and what used to be only four cast members has grown into a wonderful talent pool that performs all over the world. Oh What A Night! spans two decades of magic music-making, from early 1960s doo-wop (Rag Doll) to late '70s disco (Who Loves You). Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons were at their prime during the 1960s and 70s. More than 40 years after their last release, their music has managed to stand the test of time.

Executive producer Karl Larsen, his production team, lighting designer Elizabeth Kline, Board members, and all of their dedicated volunteers should be as delighted as their audiences with this top-notch, high energy production.

#Stalter #Theatre #Review #Signature #summerlin

EMAV Review: "Every Brilliant Thing" is fundamental theatre ★★★★★

★★★★★ - Irresistible

The origins of drama have often been attributed to simple storytelling, as when the storyteller adopts a false voice or adds characterization through movement and costume. In such terms, the art of theatre could be described at its most fundamental as the presence of an actor before an audience.

Visceral proof of such “fundamental” theatre is on display through September 30th at the Art Square Theater. Actor Marcus Weiss and Director Jane C. Walsh have fused their inventive talents in a truly outstanding, 5 STAR, irresistible evening – bringing playwright Duncan MacMillan’s “Every Brilliant Thing” to life under the auspices of Cockroach Theatre Company.

As a bit of background, Eric Bentley (eminent British born drama critic, playwright, editor and translator), believes that there are three elements which are essential for a theatrical performance: an actor, a character (developed by the playwright in the script), and an audience.

This play depends on little else, though there are certain benefits to having a director along for the journey. Ms. Walsh stages “Every Brilliant Thing” with an eye for detail: as with the list of every (brilliant) thing, it’s the little things that matter in this show. It’s staged in a small space with the audience on all four sides; this approach takes an already emotional story and adds to its immediacy. She navigates the space, tempo, and script with grace and efficiency. Her design team successfully enriches the simplicity of the production without disturbing the intimacy throughout: Zac Phillips (sets), Elizabeth Kline (lighting), and John McClean (sound).

Before the show starts, audience members are given slips of paper with numbered items written on them, and at certain points they are asked to call them out: ice cream, staying up past your bedtime, laughing so hard you shoot milk out of your nose. So, as a mother battles chronic depression, her young son begins the list that makes life worth living, the list that is the grounding theme for the entire show. As time passes, the list grows and what began as a naive attempt to deal with tragedy becomes an epic chronicle of life’s small joys. Staged in-the-round, this touching, funny and intimate play charts the lengths to which we will go for those we love.

Plays with audience participation are often awkward. Not everyone wants to be part of a show, and it can feel like a breach of an unspoken contract between performers and audience members to rope people in and make them the focus of everybody in the room. “Every Brilliant Thing” pulls off the trick of participation by approaching audience members beforehand (so there are no surprises), and by incorporating Mr. Weiss’ sunny personality: instantly trustworthy, in control of the room and yet, when it’s called for, courageously vulnerable. He is a marvelous storyteller, and has terrific material to work with.

Weiss is thorough and caring when connecting to each and every member of the audience, narrating the story. He’s seven years old. Mum’s in hospital. Dad says she’s “done something stupid”. She finds it hard to be happy. So, he starts a list of everything that’s brilliant about the world -- everything worth living for. He leaves it on her pillow. He knows she’s read it because she’s corrected his spelling.

As the narrator gets older, attends university, falls in love and gets married, the list -- which eventually swells to nearly a million entries -- includes such offbeat things as “peeing in the sea and nobody knows,” “the smell of old books” and “Christopher Walken’s hair.” Meanwhile, the narrator discovers, much to his heartbreak, that the list and his best intentions are not enough to prevent tragedy.

Weiss is an accomplished, versatile actor whose impish charm, warmth and naturalism serve him well here. A former clown, he had never set foot in Las Vegas until he was cast in Blue Man Group at the Luxor in the winter of 2000. He has also performed with the world-renowned improvisational troupe, The Second City, fine tuning his flexibility and inventiveness that come in handy as he must interact with new audience members every evening. His improv skills take the show to a higher level, allowing him to take liberties with the text without making the show run aground.

As a play, "Every Brilliant Thing" doesn't candy-coat the subject of suicide and family survival. But it does shine gentle theatrical light on the way sweetness and sorrow are both magnified by tragedy. While this is, indeed, a solo performance piece, theatrical art demands the collaboration of actors with a director, with the various technical workers upon whom they depend for costumes, scenery, and lighting, with volunteers across many departments, and with the business people who finance, organize, advertise, and market the productions. Cockroach Theatre Company has, yet again, successfully summoned their artistic resolve and the community support necessary to embrace local artists and patrons for their 15th Anniversary Season.

Oscar Wilde would be proud: “I regard the theatre as the greatest of all art forms, the most immediate way in which a human being can share with another the sense of what it is to be a human being.”

First produced by Paines Plough and Pentabus Theatre Company, “Every Brilliant Thing” was originally only ever meant to be performed twice: at Ludlow Fringe Festival and Ledbury Poetry Festival. It didn’t exactly turn out that way. It captured people’s hearts at the 2014 Edinburgh Fringe, played in New York for four months and has toured around the world. This utterly charming solo performance piece was also broadcast on HBO in December 2016.

Playwright Duncan MacMillan, who wrote the show with stand-up comic Jonny Donahoe, deliberately created a one-actor theater piece that could readily be adapted for a male or female performer and adjusted to fit any given time and place. The universality of the play’s themes — angst, family conflict, the fear of being an inadequate spouse or partner, time’s inevitable passage, and unavoidable loss — intersect seamlessly with its democratic approach. Should you ever find yourself phoning up an old teacher late at night to seek comfort from her sock puppet, you can take heart in knowing that even then, you’re not alone.

#Cockroach #Downtown #Theatre #Review #Stalter

EMAV Review: Sin City Opera's 'Penzance' is a rollicking romp ★★★★★

★★★★★ - Irresistible

Get your Pirate on, matey, and join the band of swashbuckling buccaneers, bumbling British Bobbies, frolicsome Victorian maidens, and the delightfully dotty “model of a modern Major-General” for a rollicking irresistible 5 star romp over the rocky coast of Cornwall. Beloved since its premiere in 1879, The Pirates of Penzance (or The Slave of Duty) is a delightful farce of a classic that is fun for all ages, which wraps up the 2018 Super Summer Season at Spring Mountain Ranch through September 22nd.

Sin City Opera presents this carefree, delightfully charming story of a young pirate-in-training, Frederic, who can’t wait for his 21st birthday, the day his accidental pirate apprenticeship ends….or does it? Born in a leap year, Frederic discovers he must remain with the raucous band of buccaneers and delay his future with the lovely Mabel who promises to wait, much to the chagrin of her father, the Major General. Bound by his own sense of duty and loyalty to the Pirate King, will Frederic be forced to sail away into the sunset alone or run off to fly high on the seas of love?

Producer Ginger Land-van Buuren and Artistic Director Skip Galla Katipunan have assembled an extremely talented cast of performers that are all “triple threats” – having the ability to sing, dance and act -- and having far too much fun onstage bringing this “ingenious, clever, wonderfully funny” piece of musical theatre to local audiences. Foremost among this gifted ensemble, in leading roles, are: Rebecca Morris (Ruth), Kayla Wilkens (Mabel), Karsten Pudwill (Frederic), and James McGoff (Pirate King). Notable in supporting roles are: Susan Easter (Police Chief),Kim Glover (Kate), Bonita Hunt (Edith), Kristina Wells (Isabel), Keith Dotson (Samuel), and Stephen Rinck (Major-General Stanley).

To that solid corps are added twenty-eight very capable chorus members – 11 swashbuckling buccaneers, 10 bumbling British Bobbies, and 7 frolicsome Victorian maidens. Under the guidance of musical director Dean Balan and choreographer Anastasia Weiss, they navigate this most riotous of comic operettas with ease, filling the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area with their joyous harmonies and rhythmically complex dance routines, accomplished with well-clipped military precision.

The design team has found a perfect balance in support of the overall artistic goals of the production: a simple yet flexible set (Steve Paladie); lighting which is almost imperceptible (Liz Kline), costumes (Ginger Land-van Buuren) that delightfully contrast pirates (swarthy nautical dress), police (ill-fitting, unkempt uniforms akin to Keystone Cops) with the more flamboyant and brightly colored pantaloons, petticoats and bobby socks of the Sisters.

The Pirates of Penzance is a comic operetta in two acts, with libretto by Sir W.S. Gilbert (1836-1911), playwright and humorist, and music by Arthur Sullivan (1842-1900). Sullivan was unofficial composer laureate of England and favorite of Queen Victoria. Gilbert and Sullivan (G&S) wrote a series of fourteen comic operettas which were wildly popular in their own time and are still widely performed by amateur and professional groups today, over a hundred years after their creation.

The operetta premiered on December 31, 1879 at the Fifth Avenue Theater in New York with Sullivan conducting -- though a single performance had been given on the previous day at the Royal Bijou Theatre, Paignton, England, to secure the British copyright. Finally, the operetta opened on April 30, 1880, at the Opéra Comique in London, where it ran for 363 performances, having already been playing successfully for over three months in New York.

It’s hard to find fault with Sullivan’s own appraisal about the operetta upon which he was hard at work in New York on December 10, 1879. He penned in a letter to his mother: "I think it will be a great success, for it is exquisitely funny, and the music is strikingly tuneful and catching."

True enough! The Pirates of Penzance was an immediate hit and takes its place today as one of the most popular and enduring works of musical theatre thanks to the efforts of Richard D'Oyly Carte, the impresario who turned Gilbert & Sullivan into big business, along with building the opera company and the Savoy Theatre which he built to produce them.

Sin City Opera “Is Las Vegas' premier contemporary opera company, dedicated to bringing affordable opera and classical music to our community in fresh and exciting new ways”. It is certainly our good fortune that they have brought Gilbert and Sullivan back to town! Let’s have more of it, please.

#sincityopera #SuperSummerTheater #Stalter #Review #Theatre #Music #Dance

EMAV Review: 'Peter Pan' brings a magical world to life

★★★½☆ - Satisfying

Super Summer Theatre and Huntsman Entertainment present “Peter Pan – A Musical Adventure,” a satisfying three and a half star winner for both children and adults that brings a truly magical world to life before our eyes. Performances continue through August 18th at Spring Mountain Ranch State Park.

“Peter Pan – A Musical Adventure,” is the 1996 version featuring a score by the British team of composer George Stiles and lyricist Anthony Drewe, and book written by Willis Hall (based on the original play by J.M. Barrie). The songs are different from those we know from the original version of “Peter Pan” but they are clever and truly add to the telling of the story -- in particular “One Big Adventure” and “Just Beyond The Stars” along with “The Cleverness of Me”. [Nothing to hum or as memorable to audiences as “I Got To Crow” or “I Won’t Grow Up”.]

However, the essential story remains the same: Peter and his mischievous sidekick, Tinkerbell – handily portrayed by Vanessa Lopez, who uses American sign language to communicate onstage -- visit the nursery of the Darling children late one night and with a sprinkle of pixie dust begin a fantastical journey across the stars to new lands that none of them will ever forget. Wendy, John and Michael arrive in Neverland to meet up with the Lost Boys, an all-female Indian Tribe, and Pan’s nemesis Captain Hook (with his motley crew of pirates).

The Producers (Steve and Sandra Huntsman) point out in their program notes that: “As we approached this lesser known musical adaptation of the classic story, we were inspired to think out of the box. What if Peter is a construct of the children’s imagination? Or a street urchin who listens at the window? What if the children see elements of their home and surrounding environment in Neverland? We asked these questions and so many more, then let our creative and technical teams and cast have fun, play and create!”

These multi-talented young producers took on a few other major responsibilities in bringing this entertaining production to the stage: Steve worked as director, costume and scenic designer; Sandra served as musical director. As Barrie wrote: “All the world is made of faith, and trust, and pixie dust.” Steve and Sandra have certainly brought an abundance of these three elements into this theatrical fantasy adventure!

We begin our journey in the Darling family nursery in London between 1900-1910. The gifted creative team then makes use of traditional “story theatre” conventions to transport the characters and audience through the streets of London, the pirate ship, into the mermaids ocean paradise and, of course, through various Neverland neighborhoods! Kudos to Jay LeDane (lighting), Katherine Gonzales (sound), Dawn Campbell (choreography).

The capable multicultural ensemble does yeoman's work in singing and dancing while moving simple set pieces to designate new and different settings while the audience watches – even while wearing fantasy or period costumes (dressed as Neverland Natives, mermaids, or couples at a high society ball).

The primary characters were confident and self-assured throughout and their singing was quite enjoyable: Joel Ruud (Peter Pan); Timothy Burris (Captain Hook/Mr. Darling); Gabrielle Cook (Wendy Darling); Blake Heller (John Darling); Leonidas Brown (Michael Darling); Cynthia Vodovoz (Mrs. Darling); Andrew Driovich (Mr. Smee); Kate Sirls (Storyteller), and Jaida Albanito (Tiger Lily).

Due to technical difficulties the show started later than expected. However, as I perused the capacity audience throughout the course of the evening – even as the closing number was coming to a conclusion much later than usual – both young and old were on their feet cheering and applauding in appreciation of the amazing adventure we had just shared together!

Stiles and Drewe are a multi award-winning musical theatre writing partnership. Their passion for new musical theatre writing is recognized via the annual Stiles and Drewe Prize for Best New Song, and their new Mentorship Award supported by Music Theatre International (Europe). They are also founding board members of Mercury Musical Developments (MMD), Associate Artists at The Watermill Theatre and patrons of the London Musical Theatre Orchestra and The Musical Theatre Academy (MTA).

#Theatre #Review #SuperSummerTheater #HuntsmanEntertainment #Stalter

EMAV Review: PIPPIN, a young man's journey to be extraordinary ★★★½

★★★½☆ - Satisfying

The Nevada Conservatory Theatre (NCT) presents a most satisfying 3½ Star production of PIPPIN through May 6th in UNLV’s Judy Bayley Theatre.

This wondrous visual treat is set in the circus-like court of the 8th Century Holy Roman Emperor. At the start, two Leading Players introduce the audience to their world, a theatrical caravan. The large ensemble cast joins the Leading Players in welcoming the audience with magic tricks, dance and other elements of spectacle, preparing the audience for the story that they are about to tell ("Magic to Do").

Pippin is the story of a young prince, heir to the throne, who is searching for his own “corner of the sky.” Pippin returns from university certain that he will find a fulfilling purpose in life. As encouraged by the Leading Players, Pippin dabbles in bloody battle, licentious and lusty sexual entanglements, and savvy political maneuvers, only to discover that true happiness is more complicated than he thought. Pippin is both a humorous allegory about growing up and a dark tale of the danger of false appearances and empty promises.

To prove his loyalty to his distracted father, King Charles, Pippin goes to war. But when the Leading Players convince the prince to fight tyranny, Pippin kills Charles and takes over the throne. Realizing his mistake, Pippin begs the Leading Players to bring his father back to life, and they oblige. The prince falls in love with Catherine, a widow with a young son, and (much to the Leading Player’s chagrin), Pippin struggles to decide whether he should settle down and pursue a peaceful life or continue to make magic with the dazzling troupe of performers.

Throughout this production, the “magic” of the setting is the simple multi-colored cubes, rectangles, triangles, and circles that are so effortlessly arranged, and rearranged on a turntable by the traveling troupe of actors to transport us to a new location.

In addition, the large and talented cast smoothly transition from combat, to shameless and robust sexual predicaments and shrewd political ploys with ease. Ryan Baker is the young and confused protagonist, Pippin; Keith Dotson and Alexis Hudson as the ultimate ring leaders, the two Leading Players; Darren Weller as Charles, Pippin's demanding father; Brandon Dawson as Lewis, Pippin’s ; half-brother; Alexandra Ralph as Fastrada, Pippin's conniving stepmother; Sherri Brewer as Berthe, Pippin's saucy grandmother; Alyssa Tortomasi as Catherine, a widow, mother and hopeless romantic.

Michael Lugering directed the fast-moving production, and was supported by a team that includes: musical director James Whiting; choreographer Cathy Allen; scenic designer Trevor Dotson; lighting designer Andrew Killion; sound designer Doniel Richardson; and costume designer Hailey Eakle. (Technical difficulties with the audio during the opening night performance had been repaired by the next performance.)

This production was dedicated In Memoriam to Emeritus Professor Robert Brewer, founder and Artistic Director NCT over its first six years: “Celebrating his enduring legacy, honoring his achievement, remembering his passion, and cherishing his enthusiasm for the magic of theatre.”

Legendary director-choreographer Bob Fosse won Tony Awards for his direction and choreography of the original production, presented at Broadway’s Imperial Theatre in 1972, running for five years and over 1900 performances; with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz, and book by Roger O. Hirson.

#NCT #Review #Theatre #Stalter

EMAV Review: Lavish 'Marie Antoinette' is dynamic and powerful ★★★★★

★★★★★ - Irresistible

This theatrical and stylistic retelling of the life and final days of Marie Antoinette is a challenging and powerfully irresistible 5-Star production of David Adjmi’s play, with a tour-de-force performance by Katie Marie Jones.

From the outset, vibrant tints of sky-high coiffure and haute couture are worn by Marie and her frenemies – as they converse like Valley Girls over a spot of tea and plates of colorful macaroons. Throughout the first act, the audience is treated to Marie’s lavish, onstage costume changes underscored by the driving beat of techno music and flashy lighting on the “Fashion Show Runway”.

Director Troy Heard and his gifted production team tease us in Act 1 with the frivolous and sumptuous finery of life in 18th Century Versailles, Paris & Environs, and then effectively strip away the nonessential accessories in Act 2 as the Royal Family attempts to escape to the country. Marie’s wardrobe is by then reduced to one plain item and, for her final days, a sullied chemise.

Three Cirque du Soleil artists head up the creative team: lavish costumes and sumptuous finery by RuBen Permel, splashy wigs by Bree Schiller, and set designer John Rager. A thrust stage reaches out into the audience, which surrounds it on two sides. This dynamic performance space amplifies the theatrical energy and tension between the actors and audience who are in such close proximity to each other. The lighting by Marcus Randolph, and sound design by Cory Covell, successfully accentuate the impact of both the palatial surroundings and the prison.

From initial Valley Girl jesting (“the linzer tarts, omigod”) to her mad-scene finale (stripped of shoes and hair), Katie Marie Jones carries off the title character with aplomb – indicative of the self-confidence or poise exhibited in a manner that borders at times on insolence most appropriate to the role. As her husband (extravagant spender King Louis XVI), Andrew Young is wonderfully immature and indecisive in attempts to address his limited sexual interest in Marie or to combat the influence of court in their efforts to improve France's government.

Other cast members include dutifully charming April Sauline and Natalie Senecal as the disingenuous high-fashion courtiers (Yolande de Polignac and Therese de Lamballe); Richie Villafuerte, a most convincing talking sheep who warns Marie to change her extravagant lifestyle; Josh Sigal (Joseph), Christopher Cipollini (Axel Fersen) and Rowan Johns (The Dauphin).

Marie Antoinette was commissioned by Yale Repertory Theatre -- with development and production support provided by Yale’s Binger Center for New Theatre and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation – and received a critically acclaimed world premiere co-production by American Repertory Theater and Yale Rep in 2012. The play won 3 Connecticut Critics Circle Awards including Best Play, received a New York premiere at Soho Rep and has been produced at Steppenwolf, Woolly Mammoth and other theaters around the world.

Playwright David Adjmi is the 2010 recipient of the Whiting Award for Drama and was awarded a Mellon Foundation Playwrights Residency, the Guggenheim Fellowship, the Kesselring Prize for Drama, the Steinberg Playwright Award (the “Mimi”), and the Bush Artists Fellowship, among others. He is the recipient of multiple MacDowell Colony fellowships, Sundance/Ucross residency and others.

Marie Antoinette continues its run at Majestic Repertory Theatre, 1217 S. Main St., Las Vegas, NV 89104, through April 22nd.

#Stalter #Review #Theatre #MajesticRep #Downtown

EMAV Review: Signature's 'Millie' is thoroughly irresistible ★★★★★

★★★★★ - Irresistible

Filled with frisky flappers, dashing leading men and a dragon lady of a villainess that audiences will love to hate, "Thoroughly Modern Millie" is a flawlessly constructed evening of madcap merriment and explosive dance numbers!

In this musical spoof of the roaring '20s, Thoroughly Modern Millie tells the story of young Millie Dillmount from Kansas, who comes to New York in search of a new life for herself. Millie’s plan is simple: find a job as a secretary for an eligible bachelor and then marry him. It doesn’t take long, however, for Millie’s “thoroughly modern” plan to go awry. Her conniving landlady (Mrs. Meers) plots to kidnap Millie’s best friend (“Miss” Dorothy Brown) and sell her into slavery in Hong Kong, her wealthy boss (Mr. Trevor Graydon) seems entirely uninterested in her flirtations, and worst of all, the man with whom she falls head over heels in love (Jimmy Smith) doesn’t have a penny to his name. This bright, funny, and charming musical comedy was the winner of the 2002 Tony Award for Best Musical.

Director Leslie Fotheringham has done a masterful job at casting and directing this multi-talented ensemble. In their first roles with Signature, Jessica Washer brings the natural sweetness and effortless charm that is essential to the leading lady, Millie Dillmount; Sydney Story effectively portrays the delicately feminine “Miss” Dorothy Brown from California. Anita Bean has a grand old time playing the campy villainess, Mrs. Meers; Jackson Langford is charming as the wisecracking young paper-clip salesman, Jimmy Smith; Aron Shanley is ideal as the plastic matinee idol, Mr. Trevor Graydon; and Linda Woodson is “mahvelous” as fabulously wealthy playgirl, songstress (and matchmaker), Muzzy Van Hossmere.

Supporting actors, Paul Villaluz (Ching Ho) and Trixia Dela Rosa (Bun Foo) handle the most cartoonish material with ease, in scenes that use the inspired gimmick of employing surtitles for their Chinese dialogue. (“Surtitles”, also known as supertitles, are translated or transcribed lyrics/dialogue projected above a stage or displayed on a screen, commonly used in opera.)

The creative and production teams have outdone themselves. Choreographer, Ashley Oblad, is to be commended for her playfully imaginative dance routines – particularly in “The Speed Test” (with the “steno pool” and their rolling desks), and the hilarious operetta-style love ballet/duet between Trevor Graydon and Miss Dorothy (“Ah! Sweet Mystery of Life/I’m Falling in Love with Someone”). Steve Huntsman’s sets and Elizabeth Kline’s lighting seamlessly transported the audience through multiple roaring '20s venues.

The winner of six Tony Awards, including Best Musical, Thoroughly Modern Millie was the 2002 Broadway season's most awarded new show. Based on the 1967 Academy Award-winning film, this high-spirited musical romp is a delightful valentine to the long-standing spirit of New York City and the people who seek to discover themselves there.

Signature Productions is celebrating its 29th Season as a nonprofit community theater company. They “provide a venue for young performers, designers and technicians to grow and develop their natural abilities while veteran performers, designers and technicians teach and inspire”. The company comes out kicking with an irresistible 5-star presentation of "Thoroughly Modern Millie," running at Summerlin Library and Performing Arts Center, 1771 Inner Circle Drive, Las Vegas, Nevada 89134, through April 28th.

#Signature #Theatre #Review #summerlin #Stalter

EMAV Review: 'Bravo Bernstein' a fitting tribute to the master ★★★★½

★★★★½ - Delicious

A most appreciative audience attended Opera Las Vegas’ delicious 4.5 Star celebration entitled “Bravo Bernstein”, at Myron’s Cabaret Jazz at The Smith Center last Sunday afternoon. Revenue generated from the Concert and Champagne Reception with the Artists supports outreach programs like Opera on Wheels (a Mozartian version of "The Three Little Pigs" in all four library theatres in May -- with free admission), Opera With Class (scenes and arias in English in 10-12 Clark County Schools, and main stage productions like Rossini’s "La Cenerentola" (Cinderella, to be presented in UNLV's Judy Bayley Theatre on 8th and 10th of June).

Leonard Bernstein is one of the most iconic and successful composers of the 20th Century, and this was just one of countless events included in the two-year centennial celebration, “Leonard Bernstein at 100,” that started at The John F. Kennedy Center on September 22, 2017 – and officially launched the celebrations which continue worldwide through the end of August 2019!

An American composer, conductor, author, music lecturer, and pianist, "Lennie" (as he was known to his friends) was among the first conductors born and educated in the US to receive worldwide acclaim!

Leonard Bernstein’s range of accomplishments was uniquely broad; in the new millennium, his legacy resonates more than ever. “Leonard Bernstein at 100” celebrates the career of this monumental artist by focusing on four pillars of Bernstein’s legacy: his work as a Composer; Conductor; Educator; and Activist/Humanitarian.

In addition to the Opera Las Vegas program this past weekend, festive performances and events will take place in other U.S. cities that Bernstein held dear to his heart — New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Washington D. C., Los Angeles, San Francisco — and in additional cities such as Austin, Atlanta, Houston, Tucson, and many others.

Kudos to OLV for sharing their talents and for bringing much of “Lennie’s” music to Las Vegas audiences! Jim Sohre, OLV General Director, produced and emceed the program, guiding the patrons and talented operatic ensemble through beloved hits from West Side Story and On the Town, as well as pieces from Trouble in Tahiti, A Quiet Place and the epic concert Mass -- commissioned by Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis to inaugurate The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington D.C. in 1971.

The accomplished singers who performed individually, in duets and all together in several choral numbers were: Marcie Ley (Soprano), Athena Mertes (Soprano), Ashley Stone (mezzo-soprano), William McCullough (Tenor) and Aldo Perrelli (Tenor), accompanied by pianist Spencer Baker.

Bernstein was a man of the globe, and so there will be major events in London, Paris, Berlin, Vienna, Prague, Rome, Budapest, and Warsaw, as well as in Japan, China, India, Brazil, Australia, South Africa and Israel — and the list goes on.

Several documentary films are in the making, covering a broad range of topics in Bernstein’s life. His musicals will receive revivals throughout the world, including a worldwide tour of the acclaimed BB Promotion’s West Side Story; productions of Wonderful Town in Germany and Austria; and performances of Mass in London, Paris, Los Angeles, Glasgow, and Austin. Bernstein’s opera A Quiet Place will be presented in Vienna and Budapest, among other cities.

Exhibitions are planned in multiple cities. The Grammy Museum is preparing a major Leonard Bernstein exhibition — including artifacts from his composing studio (on loan from Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music) —which will travel over two years to cities across the United States. Host organizations include The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts in New York City, The Kennedy Center in Washington D.C., and the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles. Additionally, the National Museum of American Jewish History in Philadelphia will be mounting an exhibition “Leonard Bernstein: The Power of Music”.

The Leonard Bernstein Collection in the Music Division of the Library of Congress contains close to 400,000 letters, manuscripts, photographs, and more. Currently, about 1,400 items from the collection are available online, but the Library is in the process of digitizing thousands of additional items from the collection — including, for the first time, musical sketches — which will be added to the site and made widely available for researchers and scholars.

The Leonard Bernstein Memory Project is a growing collection of Bernstein-related memories from around the world. Fans and friends of Bernstein are invited to contribute their reminiscences on the newly renovated Centennial website.

A pioneering educator, Bernstein early on saw the potential of television as a means of communicating the joy of music to young people. Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic brought orchestral music directly into the living rooms of families across America and around the world. Several generations were inspired and motivated by the Young People’s Concerts — 53 programs that still set the standard for music education that engages, delights, and entertains.

Bernstein’s lifelong method of using the arts as a springboard for acquiring all kinds of knowledge lives on in the educational reform model Artful Learning. The model, developed by Bernstein’s son Alexander, is being used in scores of schools around the United States. Not only do Artful Learning students acquire knowledge; they retain that knowledge by learning how to think creatively.

Three of the music festivals with which Leonard Bernstein was closely associated — the Tanglewood Music Festival, the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival and the Pacific Music Festival — will pay special attention to his contributions during the Centennial period.

Opera Las Vegas is a nonprofit professional opera company serving Nevada through full-scale productions and a variety of innovative outreach programs in local schools and community venues. Established in 1999, OLV has been producing major, high-quality opera performances since 2005. Its mission is to enrich the culture of Nevada by producing high caliber opera theatre both on and off stage, through a mix of innovative educational experiences and performance events for audiences of all ages and backgrounds.

#operalasvegas #Music #Review #Stalter #OperaLasVegas #Theatre

EMAV Review: "Whipping Man" is a surprising shared history of American identity and Civil

★★★★☆ - Delicious

“Why is this night different from all other nights?” For three Jews -- one a former Confederate soldier, two his former slaves -- gathered around a makeshift Seder table in Richmond, VA, at the close of the Civil War, age-old questions of justice and freedom find new and surprising answers. The compelling events of this delicious 4-Star drama engage the audience throughout by raising issues of race, history, religion and family as former slaves and slave masters struggle to acclimate to the new emancipated social order.

The play begins on Thursday, April 13, 1865, just five days after the American Civil War has ended – and only a few days before Passover. A wounded young Confederate soldier (Caleb DeLeon) has returned from combat to find his family home in ruins. Ravaged by the war it is now an empty shell of what was once a fine estate -- scorched and demolished by fire, all its riches ransacked by looters. His family has fled to safer territory, but Simon, an elder and faithful former slave of the family’s, is staying with the house until the DeLeon family returns.

Simon immediately notices the bullet wound festering on Caleb’s leg and insists that amputation will be necessary, much to Caleb’s fear and disapproval. He refuses to be taken to a hospital, and insists Simon be the one to perform the amputation. Against his better judgment and full of doubt, Simon agrees.

As Simon begins to ply Caleb with whiskey and make preparation for the improvised surgery, a hooded figure presents itself in the broken doorway. John, another former slave of the DeLeon family and childhood companion of Caleb’s, has taken to looting the abandoned houses around town and is surprised to find Caleb home. The three must navigate their new relationships while settling with demons from the past, culminating in a Passover Seder where former master and slaves must decide where honesty and loyalty will lie.

“In researching the end of the war and the very eventful month of April 1865, I came across a reference to the fact that Passover began that year on April 10, the day immediately following Lee‘s surrender at Appomattox. This meant that as Jews across the nation were celebrating this sacred ritual commemorating their ancestors’ freedom from bondage in Egypt, a new kind of exodus was occurring all around them. The result, I hope, is an inexorable link between the African- American and Jewish imperatives of reminding successive generations about their people‘s past. There has always been a conversation between Black and Jewish histories in the United States. It is a conversation based, I believe, on a similar history. In The Whipping Man, that similar history becomes a shared one.” [Matthew Lopez, playwright]

Ms. Joel R. Scoville (director) has assembled a gifted ensemble and adeptly explores themes of liberation and deliverance. Powerfully leading the cast is Derek Charles Livingston in the role of Simon, desperate to preserve this war-torn home and its ethnically diverse “family” while reveling in his new-found emancipation from slavery. David Kurtz gives a solid performance as Caleb, the young veteran soldier, moving from shell-shocked amputee to grieving lover. Xavier Donte Brown, in the role of John, struts his “liberation” convincingly and defiantly until realizing that he remains trapped by his own “choices” in this abandoned town and disheveled dwelling.

Director Sackville’s production team establishes and maintains a most convincing environment throughout the evening for exploring the plight of these newly-freed African-American slaves and the pangs of creating a new identity in the aftermath of war, injustice and violence: set design by Chris Davies; lighting by Raphael Daniels-Devost; costumes by Kim Glover and Candice Wynants; and sound by Sandy Stein.

“Dramaturg is the theatre’s most misunderstood field in terms of what they do and how they do it”, according to TDF’s Theatre Dictionary. There are a million things that dramaturgs do to get to that magical, alchemical moment that occurs when artists are huddled in the rehearsal room or theatre talking about what is and isn’t working in a production. Dramaturgs work with various aspects of the production of a work, including crafting educational materials, creating marketing copy, facilitating conversations amongst the artistic team, and running a post-show discussion. If you need it done for a production, a dramaturg can probably do it!

So, in this case, Joshua Meltzer deserves special recognition for his work as dramaturg on this production. “Helping with the Hebrew dialogue; molding the American Jewish experience and behavior in the deep South during this time period; keeping the actors on track about the differences between “Jews in the North and Jews in the South”; background information & trappings for director, performers and production team members to more accurately reflect historical details.”

Playwright Matthew Lopez’s first work, "The Whipping Man," has been sweeping regional and professional theaters since its debut in 2006. “It is a play of rich and brutal situational context, but it is a play about the inner man – dignity, decency, hate, longing, brutality, honesty, goodness, love, devotion." [Pacific Conservatory Theatre’s Artistic Director, Mark Booher]

#LVLT #Stalter #Review #Theatre

EMAV 10 Bites: Ralph Stalter, Jr. - EMAV, Valley Theatre Awards Coordinator

In every neighborhood, there is someone who makes the Arts a part of their life, and our community. You'd be surprised to discover how many different people use the arts to improve the quality of life in or hometown. EAT MORE ART! VEGAS will feature them regularly in our series "10 Bites."

What performing art do you do?

I cut my teeth as an actor in the theatre over fifty years ago and have been expanding my knowledge and experience as a performing arts administrator, consultant and “Cultural Provocateur” ever since.

Why do you do it?

I started singing in my church choir around the age of 10, and found that I loved making music, singing harmonies, playing with counter-melodies -- and developed a sense of musicality, aural awareness and performance well before high school.

In high school, I had an incredible choral instructor/theatre director who cast me in the role of Prince Chulalongkorn in THE KING AND I. That was my baptism by fire! My next challenge was dancing the sword dance in BRIGADOON – then performing in every high school musical and play.

Once organic chemistry and calculus dashed my pursuit of an early medical career in college, I took a hard left into the theatre. I dove into acting, directing and producing at every opportunity. After graduation, determined to get into a professional training program, I auditioned for Temple, Yale and Boston University!

Boston University's School of Theatre put me in the hands of three of America's most gifted and respected professional theatre directors:

• Zelda Fichandler: Co-founder and producing director of Arena Stage, one of the first nonprofit professional theatres in the U.S., which received the TONY Award in 1976 (the first to be given to a company outside of NYC).

• Word Baker: the director who set THE FANTASTICKS spinning into theatre history as the world's longest-running musical!

• Alan Schneider: responsible for introducing American audiences to playwrights such as Samuel Beckett, Edward Albee, Michael Weller, Harold Pinter and Bertolt Brecht.

Alan was the one who urged me to attend the prestigious Williamstown Theatre Festival (WTF) Apprentice Program after grad school. I was cast in the opening production that 1975 season: RING ROUND THE MOON, directed by Nikos Psacharopoulos, starring Frank Langella, Blythe Danner, Mildred Dunnock, Louis Beachner, Joseph Maher, with sets by Tony Straiges and costumes by Carrie F. Robbins.

After that summer, I never had a doubt about pursuing my career in the theatre – though I always expected to be on the stage side of the curtain!

Right about that time, The Historic Palace Theatre in Manchester, NH, was going through structural and aesthetic renovations: new orchestra seating was installed and it was re-opened as a restored 880-seat nonprofit, professional performing arts center. Among its many programs, The Palace hosted the Phoenix Stage Ensemble, NH Shakespeare Company, and Merrimack Valley Music Theatre – and I was a member of those resident acting companies for two seasons. During my tenure, I came to know many of the Board members, who had always been committed to achieving their mission through preserving the historic facility, responding creatively to the cultural and entertainment needs of the community and governing in a fiscally responsible and strategic manner.

I was approached by several Board members to consider stepping into the Executive Director role when it became vacant. What a novel idea (I thought) -- a regular paycheck with health insurance and vacation benefits, and I still get to work with the resident companies and other performing arts professionals! I naively accepted the challenge of “caregiving” the arts and an historic theatre facility.

That initial on-the-job training was certainly perplexing at times but I loved it. I learned to manage and motivate employees and volunteers not drawn to their jobs by year-end bonuses, and how to engage people, build consensus and raise money. After a few stressful years I had an “Aha!” moment. My skills could actually be put to better use on the administrative side of the curtain.

I knew there was more to theatre management, so I enrolled in the graduate Arts Administration Program at Columbia University. My classmates worked in diverse international arts organizations: opera and dance companies, auction houses, advocacy organizations, government ministries, community arts organizations, galleries and museums; in fundraising and development, marketing, education, programming, and executive or operational roles.

I was fortunate to land a marketing internship with 42nd Street Development Corporation on "Theatre Row": a collection of (then) newly renovated historic theatres in Times Square, New York, including The Acorn Theatre, The Beckett Theatre, The Clurman Theatre, The Kirk Theatre, The Lion Theatre, and The Studio Theatre. Andre Bishop, artistic director of the Lincoln Center Theater and one of the founders of Playwrights Horizons marveled at the developments. ''This story is so small time,'' he said, ''Modest theaters, modest budgets, modest aspirations, but big time in terms of human richness. Urban renewal was the last thing on our minds.''

I still get a huge thrill in sharing that “human richness” of live, performing arts programming with audiences. That “joy” is a driving force in my nature. In addition, my deepest and closest friendships are those I’ve made through the Arts.

Why do I do it? Caregiving, joy and friendship are three pretty good reasons, wouldn’t you say?

What’s your favorite production/performance so far?

SAVAGES, a play written by Christopher Hampton, presented by Williamstown Theatre Festival, summer 1975. Hampton was inspired to write this play by a newspaper article titled "Genocide" by Norman Lewis in the Sunday Times (February, 1969) which dealt with the systematic extermination of Brazil's Indians ranging from the 16th century to the present day.

What jobs have you done other than being an artist?

• Lifeguard; autopsy technician (the one that takes the organs out of the body cavity for the pathologist); retail jewelry sales; individual, group and subscription ticket sales; customer support specialist; technology implementation and training consultant.

• Project Coordinator for the interior renovation of 2 landmark theatres on the National Register of Historic Places, which increased seating capacity, earned income and audience comfort.

• Collective bargaining team member with the League of Resident Theatres (LORT) during sessions with Actors’ Equity Association.

What memorable responses have you had to your work?

Actually, this year’s 4th Annual Las Vegas Valley Theatre Awards (July 25th) was truly a highlight for me! Having only relocated to Las Vegas seven years ago, it was heartening to have so many wonderfully talented performers, producers, Board members, volunteers and new-found friends join in making this celebration of the performing arts such a resounding success. As Paul Atreides wrote: "The event is all about 'local' talent, but still... I found myself thinking, “If only Sandy Kastel and Paige O’Hara (two of our Presenters) could’ve been hornswoggled into doing a number. They’re locals!”

What would you be doing if you weren't performing?

Exactly what I’m doing now in “semi-retirement”: actively engaging and working to strengthen, unify and connect the arts and culture sector to foster collaboration, enhance organizational stability, and further build the power of the organizations within their respective communities… Caregiving the Arts!

Name something you love about Las Vegas, and why.

It’s still growing! Along with the sheer number and variety of talented, accessible and friendly artists, producers and staff members – and residents who support the diverse local community arts organizations as donors, audience members and volunteers.

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve been given?

''It is Sam Beckett more than anyone else who has taught me that in spite of anything or whatever, one goes on. Not distracted or disturbed by success or failure, by surface or show, analysis or abstraction, the criticism or praise of others - or even one's own self-criticism.'' [Alan Schneider, 1917-1984] Or, as my father loved to say: "Illegitimi non carborundum," which may look like Latin, but it doesn't translate exactly to "Don't Let the Bastards Grind You Down."

What superpower would you have and why?

Animal Communication/Telepathy because I am fascinated by Nature and natural wonders and personally limited as a human being to what I will be able to see and experience throughout my life span. It would be wondrous to be able to expand my knowledge exponentially by being able to “learn” from the animals who inherit all parts of the globe.

Any future projects?

Always open to brain-sailing with others about “unexplored territories” and collaborative performing arts programming!

Are you a local artist of any discipline? Do you work with a company as a designer, stagehand or administrative staff? We'd love to get your 10 Bites to share. Fill out a form here, and you might be featured in a post!

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Stream more arts news with 'The Sandy Kastel Show'

MORE WAYS TO SERVE UP THE ARTS AND DIG IN

We are so grateful to Sandy Kastel for inviting The Las Vegas Valley Theatre Awards Coordinator, Ralph Stalter, Jr., on her show to discuss the Arts in our community. EAT MORE ART! Vegas has come a long way in the two years since it began, but the truth is, we're only just getting started. No matter the effort, you can have a big impact on the quality of life in our community through the Arts, and EatMoreArtVegas.com is here to help make it easy. #VegasStrong is more than a hashtag, it is our way of life. The Arts are for everyone, and the local performing artists in in Las Vegas are creating it all for you!

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You can enjoy Sandy's coverage on WWDBTV.com or subscribe to their YouTube channel here! Follow Sandy on Twitter: @SandyKastel

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EMAV Review: LVLT's 'Butler' is a fast moving farce

★★★☆☆ - Satisfying

Las Vegas Little Theatre (LVLT) is presenting a satisfying three star production of What the Butler Saw, by the English playwright Joe Orton, on its mainstage at 3920 Schiff Drive through December 17th, part of its 40 Anniversary Season as an all-volunteer organization and southern Nevada's oldest community theatre.

Dr. Prentice, a psychiatric doctor in an exclusive private clinic in the country, is attempting to interview (and seduce) an attractive would-be secretary, Geraldine. Unwittingly surprised by his wife, he hides the girl. The affairs multiply as Mrs. Prentice, being seduced and blackmailed by young bellhop Nicholas Beckett, has promised him the secretarial post. When a government inspector arrives, chaos, underpants, and cross-dressing lead the charge. The London premiere at the Queen's Theatre in 1969 starred Coral Browne and Sir Ralph Richardson. The New York production later won the Obie Award for Best Foreign Play of the season.

The title of the play comes from an Edwardian peepshow, a type of entertainment in which people viewed pictures, often erotic, through a small lens. The implication behind the title is one of voyeurism and implies that the audience will be put in the position of voyeurs, surreptitiously watching other people’s lives. What the Butler Saw also looks at authority, particularly at the authority of psychiatrists and considers the question of madness, of who is sane and who is insane.

What the Butler Saw premièred at the Queen's Theatre in London in March, 1969, and was Joe Orton's final play and the second to be performed after his death, following Funeral Games in 1968. It's easy to see why directors choose such farces, which combine clever language with ridiculous situations and passing storms of satire aimed at cherished institutions. But that doesn't make them easy to do well.

Making his directorial debut under the wing of Walter Niejadlik, Casper Collins keeps his talented company of actors on their toes in this fast moving farce. The entire ensemble articulated their British accents most effectively and consistently throughout the evening: Steve McMillan (as Dr. Prentice), Heather Guernsey (Geraldine Barclay), Trina Colon (Mrs. Prentice), Michael Blair (Nicholas Beckett), Rob Kastil (Dr. Rance), and Chris Davies (Sergeant Match).

LVLT’s production team continued its quality work in successfully creating a physical and theatrical world – in this examination room in a private clinic -- that enabled the actors to tell the playwright’s story: Ron Lindblom (Set Design), Ginny Adams (Lighting Designer), and Rose Scarborough (Costume Designer).

Playwright Joe Orton was considered the direct successor to Oscar Wilde, George Bernard Shaw, and Noel Coward -- whose characters are never lost for an intelligent, articulate phrase. Their "comedies of bad manners" had a penchant for caustic commentary on dubious human behavior – particularly in the battle of the sexes. His witty dialogue offers a criticism and exploration of society’s standards. Entertaining as well as enlightening, What the Butler Saw is today considered a contemporary classic.

Orton’s public career spanned only three years (1964–1967), but his work made a lasting mark on the international stage and was considered the rising star of an "alternative British intelligentsia". His first stage play, Entertaining Mr. Sloane, was a huge success while his second, Loot, won the coveted Evening Standard award for Best Play.

#LVLT #Review #Theatre #Stalter

EMAV Review: Kick the “Humbug” Out of Your Holidays at NCT!

★★★★☆ - Delicious

A Christmas Carol regularly ranks as the most-produced play among resident theatres for many reasons -- one being our very familiarity with Charles Dickens’s material. Maggie Mancinelli-Cahill, artistic director of the Capital Repertory Theatre in Albany, NY, claims that the tale practically tells itself. The challenge -- and the opportunity -- is to reconnect emotionally with it. “It has to be heartfelt,” she says. “It has to be real.”

Executive Director, Norma Saldivar, and Director Christopher V. Edwards have successfully met that challenge in the current production by Nevada Conservatory Theatre, at UNLV’s Judy Bayley Theatre through December 17th. Edwards has chosen to shift emphasis from Dicken’s progressive 19th-century theme of charity amid the Industrial Age to its contemporary progressive equivalent, social justice. The contemporary settings and culturally diverse cast help to bring the lessons of Dickens’ timeless tale into the present day -- tailor made for family audiences, running just 90 minutes without intermission!

In addition to casting nearly 20 local “Community Guest Artists”, along with members of the MFA Professional Training Program, and a large number of children from the community, Saldivar and Edwards have juggled this ensemble to upend ethnic, age, and gender expectations: Mariachi Los Jaguares (Desert Pines High School) perform at Fezziwig’s Christmas Eve Party, the Cratchit Family speak both Spanish and English over dinner, and the entire ensemble complement their caroling during the final curtain call with American Sign Language.

These choices purposefully reflect the kind of country we live in today as a 21st century nation, an inclusive one, inviting every member of the audience to see themselves reflected in the classic holiday tale.

“Sometimes, when you do a period piece that deals with current issues, the period tends to give that picture a mask and a separation,” Edwards remarked. Without the Victorian-era setting, “It sits these issues in the laps of audiences… It could be anytime, anyplace, anywhere.”

The script for this version was adapted more than 40 years ago by a young literary manager at the renowned Guthrie Theater, playwright Barbara Fields, who was with us for opening night. Barbara served as playwright-in-residence at the Guthrie from1974 to 1981. Her adaptation has received annual production at The Guthrie for many years since, and at other theaters in Louisville, Kansas City, Chicago and elsewhere. She is a founding member of the Playwrights' Center, Minneapolis, and is a site reporter for the National Endowment for the Arts.

Ebenezer Scrooge (squarely represented as both miserly then eagerly philanthropic in the portrayal by Wesley Mann, known for a role the "Back to the Future" franchise, and an extensive television career) is a mean old businessman who thinks that Christmas is a frivolous holiday, just an excuse for people not to work. Despite his vast fortune, Scrooge hoards money, refusing to give to charity because he believes that the poor are just lazy and deserve no such help. He doesn’t even pay his hardworking and loyal clerk, Bob Cratchit (Angel Mendoza) a fair wage that would allow him to get his sick son, Tiny Tim (Ryzer Spicer), proper medical attention!

Despite Scrooge’s heartlessness, his nephew and only living relative, Fred (Bobby Lang), still wants to spend Christmas with his uncle, but the miser rejects him. On Christmas Eve, Scrooge is visited by the ghost of his former business partner, Jacob Marley (E. Wayne Worley), who is now paying dearly for his heartlessness and lack of generosity. Marley tells Scrooge that three spirits -- the Ghosts of Christmas Past (Rachel Wells-Dawson), Present (Delius Doherty) and Yet to Come (Nate Marble) -- will visit him that night. These phantoms will show old Scrooge how he became this hard-hearted, what he’s lost out on because of it and what will happen to him if he keeps going down this path.

The large and talented ensemble alternately portrays narrators, carolers, pallbearers, revelers and vagabonds. Cathy Allen’s choreography certainly enhanced Fezziwig’s party scene. Musical director Rosanna M. Cota adeptly balanced full-voiced choral numbers against their droning background supporting more ominous moments. Costumes designed by Katie Dennis were appropriate whether dressing festive or funereal events. Lighting by Javier A. Moreno-Bothwell transitioned smoothly and effectively to set the ever-changing mood. The flexibility and simplicity of Jesse L. Soper’s set design was evident throughout the smooth flowing location changes.

The most appreciative spectators attended last night’s opening performance: fans, cast and crew members of all ages, cultural, economic and ethnic backgrounds; students, faculty, artistic, house and production staff; donors, volunteers, residents and tourists; young families with children attending a live theatrical event for the very first time sitting beside older, devoted arts patrons who treasure every opportunity to see a different production of this time-honored classic.

Thomas Mooney said it best in his article entitled Incorporating ASL into American Theatre:

“Communication stems from understanding first, not language, and the ability to listen to each other and ‘put each other in your shoes’… A greater understanding of not only art, but of each other was formed that night between an audience and a cast of people from all different types of life and a universal passion and love was shared. Events like this restore my faith in humanity.”

Amen… and “God bless us, everyone!”

Pictured: Wesley Mann as "Scrooge"

#NCT #Theatre #Review #Stalter

EMAV Review: Consider yourself at home with 'Oliver!'

★★★☆☆ - Satisfying

Consider yourself at home with Lionel Bart's classic musical based on Charles Dickens' novel, “Oliver Twist”. Signature Productions takes the audience on a wildly satisfying, Three-Star adventure through Victorian England.

Many have come to know the general story of Oliver Twist via the Tony and Olivier Award-winner which premiered in 1960 in London, and was made into a successful motion picture in 1968 -- one of the few musicals to win an Academy Award for Best Picture.

The curtain opens on the multi-level interior of the workhouse with bare dining tables. Pale-faced wretches file in singing "Food, Glorious Food". Widow Corney, who runs the workhouse, and Mr. Bumble, the parish beadle (a minor parish officer dealing with petty offenders), enter to serve gruel to the boys. Alone amongst them, Oliver takes his bowl to Bumble and asks, "Please, Sir, I want some more." Bumble is so outraged that he parades Oliver through the streets of London singing "Boy For Sale." Oliver is sold to Mr. Sowerberry, the undertaker. Alone, plaintive and surrounded by coffins, Oliver sings, "Where Is Love?"

Oliver escapes to London and finds acceptance amongst a group of petty thieves and pickpockets led by the elderly Fagin. When Oliver is captured for a theft that he did not commit, the benevolent victim, Mr. Brownlow takes him in. Fearing the safety of his hideout, Fagin employs the sinister Bill Sikes and the sympathetic Nancy to kidnap him back, threatening Oliver’s chances of discovering the true love of a family.

As an orphan and a pauper, Oliver’s fate is more or less sealed from birth: social forces appear poised to keep him in a "low" position forever. But as it turns out, he is actually the lost relative of Mr. Brownlow, a middle class gentleman. The grand question is which fate will determine the course of Oliver's life: the fate of the pauper, or the fate of the gentleman? Oliver struggles to maintain his goodness against seemingly insurmountable odds, and manages to do so.

As a musical, Lionel Bart's work suffers from a skimpy book and lack of characterization. Yet it continues to flourish. Perhaps it is the sheer number of children who fill the stage in the opening number. Conceivably, it could also be those familiar songs like “Food, Glorious Food”, “Consider Yourself”, “It’s a Fine Life”, “I’d Do Anything”, and “Where Is Love”.

It is definitely the younger cast members that elevate this musical and save the day -- the struggling orphan boy, Oliver (played by Rowan Johns), and the roustabout troupe of vagabonds led by the delightfully spry Artful Dodger (Emily Anzell – a role alternately played by Ridge Bawden). Their youthful energy comes through in every song (under the able musical direction of Shauna Oblad) and dance (charmingly choreographed by Ashley Oblad).

Of course, there must be the contrast of the dark, seedy and tender side of Dicken’s tale, which is commendably carried by the primary adult characters: Fagin (artfully portrayed by Ariel Johnson), Nancy (charming in the person of Caitlin Shea), and Bill Sikes (whose most reprehensible and squalid spirit was admirably offered by James Claflin). Credible performances in supporting adult roles include: Jeremy Boaz (Mr. Bumble), Kathleen Etor (Mrs. Corney), Melissa Riezler (Mrs. Sowerberry), and Philip Robinson (Mr. Sowerberry, the Undertaker).

Under the experienced and skilled direction of Douglas H. Baker, the creative and production teams adeptly carried us into London and at least six interior settings and streetscapes across the North of England – with the multi-level set pieces seamlessly choreographed to shift from one location to another. Costumes designed by Roxanne Andrews and sound designed by Noah Goddard were well-suited to the period. Lighting effects often left crucial moments in the dark -- most notably the reprise of “Where Is Love” in the second act – but may have been the result of failures by follow spot operators rather than the design by Keannak Parvaz.

This worthwhile musical theatre production is playing at Summerlin Library Theatre, 1771 Inner Circle Drive, Las Vegas, NV 89134, through November 18.

#Stalter #Signature #Theatre #Review #summerlin

EMAV Review: Partnerships for a playwright launched with Speeding's 'Cat' at SST

★★☆☆☆ - Still Hungry

Super Summer Theatre has partnered with The Speeding Theatre to initiate their “Off-Season Series” with a Two Star production of "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, " by Tennessee Williams, running through October 22nd at Super Summer Theatre Studios, 4340 S. Valley View Blvd., Las Vegas 89103 -- NOT Spring Mountain Ranch State Park!

[This is the first of six different theatrical events taking place as part of the “Tennessee Williams Theatre Festival” during this 2017-2018 theatre season. More on The Festival at the end of this review.]

One of Tennessee Williams’ best-known works and his personal favorite, "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1955. It has maintained abundant popularity as a drama rooted in the tradition of theatrical realism and closely focused on the dynamics of family inheritance. Set in the 1950's, on a "cotton plantation home in the Mississippi Delta”, the play examines the relationships among members of the Pollitt family, primarily between the patriarch, Big Daddy, his son Brick and Brick's wife, Maggie the "Cat".

The interactions of this Southern clan in crisis take place over the course of one very hot evening -- a metaphor for the simmering character and cultural conflicts that eventually reach the boiling point. The gathering at the family estate is to celebrate Big Daddy’s 65th birthday. He’s "the Delta's biggest cotton-planter" and has just returned from the Ochsner Clinic with what he has been told is a clean bill of health. All family members (except Big Daddy and his wife, Big Mama) are aware of the true diagnosis: he is dying of cancer. His family has lied to Big Daddy and Big Mama to spare the aging couple from pain on this festive occasion but, throughout the course of the play, it becomes clear that the family has long constructed a web of deceit.

On the previous evening, Brick broke his leg while trying to jump hurdles at the school track. His wife Maggie chides him for his foolish behavior and his constant state of drunkenness, but mostly she is trying to impress – and seduce – her husband. Brick has refused to sleep with Maggie ever since his friend Skipper died. Maggie desperately wants Brick to sleep with her, both to satisfy her own physical needs, and because she wants to get pregnant and produce an heir -- knowing that Big Daddy is dying and he does not have a will. Maggie is terribly afraid of being poor, so she wants to make sure that she and Brick have a secure place in Big Daddy's will.

At its most basic, this play confronts the issue that runs through all great American drama, from Eugene O'Neill onwards: the conflict between truth and illusion. Williams's shows the conflict from many angles. Brick, an alcoholic ex-athlete, refuses to sleep with his vivacious wife, Maggie, supposedly out of guilt over the suicide of his old friend, Skipper. Brick is unable to confront his own, and Skipper's, latent homosexuality. Big Daddy, over whose inheritance the family squabbles, is equally unable to face up to the fact that he is dying of cancer. The two illusions meet head-on in the great father-son confrontation in the second act. While the play offers a social critique it finally asks whether it is better to live by lies or truth.

For the most part, the cast handles both their characterizations and Southern regional accents quite comfortably and consistently, including: Kate Sirls (Mae), Michael Sullivan (Gooper), Sue Ellen Christensen (Big Mama), and Ken Kucan (Reverend Tooker). However, for this powerful piece of American dramatic literature to work effectively, there must be a balance of the tension among the three major characters onstage. Unfortunately, this production suffers from a disproportionate amount of impact among these primary protagonists.

Big Daddy, as portrayed by Paul Malluk, transfixes the audience as the large, brash, and vulgar old-fashioned "Mississippi redneck," who believes he has returned from the grave. Even as the most sympathetic character -- a dying man who has fought his way up from poverty, a man who speaks freely in a house of secrecy and deceit and who, like Maggie, is “alive” -- his flaws serve to add dimension and complexity to his character.

As Brick, Joel Hengstler is convincing in his passive role as an object of desire not only for Skipper and Maggie but also for his doting parents, and his fans. Brick’s appeal is actually made potent by his emotional distance: every other character in the play is fixated on him, while he remains uncommunicative and self-involved.

Maggie runs up against the great wall of Brick’s refusal many times, but Amy Bell Reusch does not move beyond a woman desperate in her sense of loneliness to ever reveal her inner strength and determination – exposing the hard, nervous, and bitchy “Cat” that cunningly wins over her two leading men.

Director Cassie McGuire skillfully keeps the action moving on the small, newly-constructed proscenium stage at Super Summer Theatre Studios. Her production team has designed period elements to set the appropriate mood for a 1950's "cotton plantation home in the Mississippi Delta”: set by Alexia Chen; costumes by Inge Battatio, and sound by Bill Trapp.

Williams' most famous play and the one that catapulted him to success was A Streetcar Named Desire (1947), which changed the American theater and won Williams his first Pulitzer prize. Following this smash hit, however, the playwright staged a series of flops. Cat on a Hot Tin Roof vaulted Williams back into the theatrical stratosphere. It took eight years, but he had produced another serious blockbuster – a play that was simultaneously a significant artistic achievement and a box-office draw.

______________________________________________________________________________

It was a brilliant piece of fate, but several of the Las Vegas theatre companies, The Speeding Theatre, Super Summer Theatre, Majestic Repertory Theatre, and A Public Fit Theatre Company, all planned to mount Tennessee Williams plays during the upcoming 2017-18 seasons. Recognizing a unique opportunity, the Artistic Directors came together, reached out to other organizations, and created the Tennessee Williams Theatre Festival, which will celebrate the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright with six different theatrical productions throughout the season and a colloquium with the Artistic Directors discussing Williams and his work.

“It was solely by chance that all of the companies planned productions of Williams’ work,” said Troy Heard, Artistic Director of Majestic Repertory Theatre. “But it truly speaks to the iconic nature of his work.”

Williams is one of America’s most revered and celebrated playwrights. His work garnered two Pulitzer Prizes, 3 Tony Awards, 4 New York Drama Critics Circle Awards, and the Drama League Award for Best Play. In 1979, the Kennedy Center honored Williams for his lifetime contribution to the Arts.

Ann Marie Pereth, Artistic Director of A Public Fit Theatre Company, said “Williams’ work is timeless and universal. The themes and characters are still relevant in today’s world.”

Williams wrote prolifically through the 1940’s, 50’s, and 60’s. His works peeled back the veneer of gentility and exposed the frustration, violence, and sexuality that simmer beneath the surface.

“It is exciting to collaborate with other companies and build something bigger,” said Paul Malluk, Artistic Director for The Speeding Theatre. “The Tennessee Williams Theatre Festival can help elevate the theatre community in Southern Nevada.”

#SpeedingTheatre #SST #MajesticRep #LVLT #Williams #Review #Theatre #Stalter