Company at Kingswood

I must say, and this is the first time I'm using "I" in a review, that this was a delight to see. Kingswood Stage II presented the Sondheim musical, "Company." Let's do this in number, shall we? There was a lot to note:
1. I'll have to write Barry Manilow. I did not realize that "Marry Me a Little" was the end to Act I of this show. It is the last song on the CD by Barry Manilow entitled "Trying to Get the Feeling Again." For those that are not Manilow fans, please, just ignore this.
2. The lighting was very dim upstage. A lot of times I was wishing for more light on the characters up-center. Dennis Lewallen's face was the only actor on stage whose eyes were not clearly visible from the audience because of shadows. Looking up in the rafters of the space, I was noticing that perhaps two more lighting instruments focused more upstage would have helped.
3. The character, Amy, played by Stephanie Harp, was definitely your stereotypical female: over-reacting to the very pleasant situation and making things complicated for poor Paul. She so needed her "girlfriends" with her at that moment. But Robert was there to help her straighten things out. Well done!
4. Paul's character, played by Steve Grundy, was absolutely phenomenal handling the shaky bride-to-be, Amy. Nicely done!
5. Susan's dress was gorgeous! Susan, played by Lisa Williams, donned a lovely white dress with a black pattern that flattered her frame and set the character. Noticing there wasn't a Costume Designer listed, I'm assuming that this is from her personal wardrobe. Well done!
6. Marta, played by the most gorgeous Rachel Miller, had interesting blocking in a scene with the lead character, Robert, played by the Director of the show, William Mahlandt. The scene had Robert and Marta discussing things downstage center. All I can remember is part of a line of Roberts where he stated she was very different or unique or something to that effect. At any rate, all of that blocking was...I wished it was different. More of Rachel standing still and showing more facial expressions of her character. When she showed her face in the light, it was excellent. She expressed the punk-rock and difference of her character's life as opposed to the rapid movement back and forth to Robert and then to the edge of the light and back. I just wished there was more for her to do.
7. Speaking of "wanting more", there was Larry, played by the incomparable Charlie Miller. Act I had me wanting to see more of the "rich man" and less of the "mouse." I wanted to see why Joanne, played by Katie Rouse, was attracted to him. Why she chose him, other than the money.
8. There are many shows in the Atlanta area where, if the Director is also an Actor in the play, it causes a lot of difficulty and the show lacks the important Director's eye that is necessary, especially during Tech Week. This is not the case, from the audience point of view. William Mahlandt, who plays Robert, had the character down to a "T." Very nicely done, pulled it off well, played well with the other characters, didn't miss a beat. It worked.
9. It also worked with Dennis Lewallen, the Musical Director, who also played Harry in the show. It worked for him and he showed a lot of emotion on stage.
10. Dennis was definitely out-shown by his wife, Gail Lewallen, who played his wife, Sarah, on stage. She was very entertaining to watch as she glided on the stage and portrayed the very hungry diet-toting wife with a lot of opinions. She should definitely be in a lot more shows in town.
11. The theater was freezing cold. Many patrons complained about the cold during intermission, but as the only person the audience knew to be of any importance to the theater, the Box Office Manager, had disappeared during Act I, there wasn't anyone to formally complain to. Hopefully someone will be around for the next production.
12. The pianist, Sindhu Giedd, was extraordinary! She was the only musical accompanist on the stage and she held her own! May the heavens continue to bless her fingers! She did a bang-up job!
13. The music in the entire show was Divine. I can definitely see why it won the Tony in 1970.
14. The acting blocks were the only real set pieces on stage. And they worked well. So well, in fact, that the audience was always transported to the different places that Robert went without explanation. Well done!
15. The choreography was great - especially in the second act. It wasn't too much, it wasn't too campy, it was just right.

This show explored for the audience the importance of friendships. In general, friendships help all of us to make the right decisions in our lives and even enjoy a little bit of life: even when we feel at our lowest. Well done to the players and the direction behind it!

Mrs. Bob Cratchit's Wild Christmas Binge

Well, it's not your typical Christmas tale. And rightfully so. This entertaining story of "A Christmas Carol" takes a wild turn when the Ghost of Christmas past, present and yet to come, all played by Ms. Fracena Byrd, has a glitch in her magic to take Scrooge to the places he needs to be. Dickins, it ain't. Fun, it certainly is. The music was wonderful. Everyone's voice on stage was in tune, in time and rang beautifully. There weren't a lot of songs, but God Bless It - they worked! The events, now, well - there were some references to the future that didn't fit. For example, the typical audience member will buy the 1800s Scrooge being visited by a timeless spirit, but they will not buy the spirit wearing something so modern as a UPS uniform. Or Tiny Tim quoting "The San Fransisco Treat" line. It was out of place. More clever things could have been inserted that would have worked just as well. Consistency: there was a little lacking of that. Topher Payne was, as always, the diva in drag and a wonderful straight man when needed. Mrs. Cratchit, played by Johann Linden, was hilarious. Very unhappy with her lot in life, but definitely the eye of Scrooge's eye. Who would've thunk it?

The idea of the Cratchits having 20 kids total was also unnecessary. The story line would have been just as good with this man having to secure enough food and money to support a family of six. The McDonald's was a bit out of place as well. Something more period would have been just as funny appearing out of the air, like the fish from Mrs. Cratchit when she came back from the river. The "It's a Wonderful Life" reference was hysterical. That added a lovely element to the story and brought in Clarence, played by Robert Wayne. The "Flicka" reference and the "Touched By An Angel" reference was just wonderfully placed. Again, a bit out of date, not consistent with the mood of where the story was going, but it was cute. Something from 1970s television would have been better, getting the audience ready for 1977, but hey - there you have it. The music was a bit too loud and over-took the singers at times, but all in all, a lovely show.

Fix Me So I Can Stand

Not often are shows so touching that they make you think for weeks and weeks and weeks afterwards. "Fix Me So I Can Stand" is one of those shows. Beautifully written by Ms. Jean Sterrett, this show captures you in the first 5 minutes of the show. And that's important. Brilliantly cast by Dina Shadwell and the Essential Theatre Company, this show was so intense and mixed laughter with shock and sadness that it had the whole audience wanting more. Patrick McColery was just so adorably slick it was unreal. Ms. Kim Salome brings charm to every character she portrays. As Miss Myrtle Jane Hogan in this show, the perfection was not a surprise. Mr. Mark Russ was very convincing as the New Jersey attorney, Buddy Watts. Mark was very intense as well and was a pleasure to watch as he defended the man, "Johnny." Spencer Stephens is another Atlanta actor that brings professionalism and charm to every character he portrays. In the 2nd act of this show, he is simply "man." But as "man" he takes on the role of "Johnny" from time to time. That was one of the problems. Not sure if it was written that way that his pronouns of "me" and "he" were intertwined so much that it lead the audience to believe that the "man" was really "Johnny" and not really "man." There were times near the end of Act 2 that it just got... if someone were following the entire time, they'd be kinda confused. We're introduced that this is "man" talking about the tale and not "Johnny" but yet, near the end, we're not real sure. Maybe this was the author's intent, but the story is - was - past tense to the actions that Mark Russ' character, Buddy Watts, explains at the very end. Or was it? Belinda was divine and her character, Ginny, was just heartbreaking for all women in the audience. She put up with a lot and the idea of seeing a doctor for his mental illness at the time "Johnny" got out was not something that was common. God bless her. All in all, the show was wonderfully written. At one time or another, anyone could close their eyes and still follow the show and well as any radio play. An intense drama in its best form.

Well done!

For some odd reason Blogger isn't letting me put a title on this so the title is:

"Greater Tuna"

Theatre Decatur's production of "Greater Tuna" wasn't as bad as it really could have been. But the audience, I'm sure, was thankful that the show lasted only an hour and 40 minutes tops.

The story jumps from the set of a radio station in Tuna, Texas, to the dining room of a family's house to a funeral parlor to different radio ads to a humane society's office to the sheriff's office. All with the set being a stationary, non-changing piece with big words center stage "WKKK." It was difficult to know if this play was mostly about the radio station, or the family, or the murder of the judge - even with the lights changing it was just very hard to know when they were on the radio and when they weren't. What would have been better on this set would have been three playing areas: one for the radio station, one for the family's house and one for every other scene.
The two gentlemen that play all the characters, Mr. Chuck Richards and Mr. Jim Marks, did their very best to provide entertainment within this realm of ever-changing situations. Chuck was very engaging to watch and very focused with the audience. His breaking of the fourth wall as the mother character was kind aodd, but as the reverend, he was dead-on with the Baptist South. Jim did not follow as well. His characters were very one-demensional and even in drag, he seemed to be concentrating more on his words than the entertainment of his characters.

As for writing in the script, there were some decent one-liners. If delivered right, this would have been a very memorable play on the positive side. There was a couple of sections about a dog named Yippee where Jim was a character talking to Yippee and Chuck was the voice "yipping" behind paper or backstage. It didn't work. Not when the audience was already introduced to something called "sound effects" controlled from the booth.

Costume-wise, the green and white dress that Jim's character had on at one point was gorgeous and perfect. On the opposite end of that, the cow print costume that Jim had on as the teenager cheerleader-wanna-be was a definite "no" - not appropriate at all for the scene.

At the funeral parlor, it was very clear where the judge was lying. The two actors on stage were not consistent with the area of the coffin and the direction in which he was laying. This was true with them both on stage and when one was gone. At times it was as if they were walking over or through the coffin to change places on stage. It was weird.

Between the two acts, Act II was more entertaining than I. God bless the boys for trying, but the show was not something I'd have people pay money to see.