The Summerhouse in April

Jean Sterrett's company Curly Willow Productions, Inc. presented a lovely story about a family in Australia during a war. Now, it wasn't real clear as to which war, but the audience followed as best as it could. You see, the program that theater guests receive did not include a synopsis of any kind, any reference to place or time, nor any Director's Notes. Perhaps things were rushed at the last minute and these things were forgotten. Or the Production Company isn't used to doing shows yet: this might be one of the first.

Some most notable things about this production are the following:

The piano at the end of Act I stopped playing and the actress playing the mother kept fingering the keys - and then the music came back up later. Interesting. Well, these things do happen. Great cover, Sheila!

Laine Binder - one can't say enough great things about this actress. Ms. Sterrett chose her actors brilliantly. Laine's costume with the purple rounded skirt and white period top created such a glowing presence for Laine on stage. This costume completely complimented the character. Lots of acting teachers say there's a little bit of the actor in each character they play: this is very true of Laine playing the character, Isabel. Very chatty, seemingly innocent, filled with fun and family love. Laine Binder is already known in Atlanta for being a musical theater actress, so the piano playing in this show was a natural for her.The audience completely fell in love with this character and Laine presented it nicely. Well done, Laine!

In general, all the costumes were brilliant. Nothing was out of place: the costume designer did a fabulous job.

Bradley Bergeron played the character, Charlie. Knowing Bradley around town as more of a technician, it was great to see him, not only onstage, but playing the piano - for real! His Aussie accent was very convincing and his concentration on stage was magnificent. Well done, Bradley!

Above all, Ms. KellyCriss was the favorite to watch on stage. Brilliant acting, excellent concentration, fluid movement - she was a dream.

Mr. Eric Mendenall had the first real noticeable accent on stage. He kept it constant, while some of the others on stage slipped in and out of either Aussie or British accents.

Set design was very beautiful. Major props to the set designer, Andrea Davinci Braun.

There was an unnecessary light change when the character, Charlie, had a cyst on his "bum" and the doctor, Ian, had to look at it. From there, the lights dimmed and then Geraldine came into the room. It seemed that a smoother transition could have come without the light change as the actors in the previous scene exited before the lights dimmed.

The scenes out on the patio seemed a little cramped, but with the set and space, not sure how else those scenes could have played out. It was just a little awkward at times.

The show was excellently cast, from on stage to tech to designers. Brilliantly done! The story was very pleasant and flowed really well.