by Tahrea Maynard

Columbus Civic Theatre continues continues with the second weekend of George Bernard Shaw’s comedy, Candida, running Thursdays through Saturdays. To toast the new space at 3837 Indianola Ave., CCT opened its doors March 11th to mark the new beginning with wine and various goodies for a delighted audience, including this reviewer and few colleagues. The new compact CCT space is a renovation in progress, still boasting bare drywall, disassembled chairs, the smell of sawdust.

These details however, are long forgotten as soon as the play begins. Though Candida centers on the uncomfortable love triangle between the main character, Candida (Britt Kline), young poet Eugene Marchbanks (Doug Mondell), and Candida’s husband, Reverend James Mavor Morell (Ben Gorman), Shaw also smoothly inserts social and political commentary pitting Morell, a Fabian socialist, against Burgess, an unwavering capitalist- issues surprisingly topical given the current political climate in this country.

Now, these political subjects may seem uninteresting or downright boring to those expecting to attend a comedy, but rest assured there is nothing boring about this particular show.  Audience members may remember Kline and Gorman’s pairig in CCT’s 2009 production of A Doll’s House. They may also recall the splendid job the two did performing as husband and wife in an emotionally broken and tense marriage. In Candida, the duo again plays husband and wife, rekindling their easy onstage chemistry, only this time they portray a couple in a drawn out emotional chess match. These talented powerhouses gobble up Shaw’s words. Kline  exhibits fearsome strength as she interacts with Mondell’s Marchbanks, a young poet who has the misfortune to have fallen in love with caustic Candida. Mondell does well in this character, flouncing into chairs, moping about, and utilizing tragically hackneyed words of love in attempts to woo her away from what he feels is a dull and loveless home.

Comedic elements in this production also come from the rest of this wonderful cast: Rachel Mock, Todd Taylor, and Shane Egan. Mock portrays Morell’s faithful and no-nonsense typist Proserpine “Prossy” Garnett. Mock delights, using her harsh clicking of the typewriter and a haughty demeanor to convey crystal clear emotions every moment she takes the stage. Prossy’s single moment of lowered inhibitions and giddiness, though full of infectious giggles misses the mark in that Mock seems to play what should be a moment borne of drunkenness too steadily and too cerebrally. Otherwise, this CCT newcomer does the role justice.  Taylor as Morell’s assistant, Reverend Alexander “Lexy” Mills, stamps the small role with a sweet and charming goofiness.  Shane Egan plays Burgess, a character who demands respect and attempts to be classy with laughable results. Egan’s superior vocal work and inventive physicality help Burgess stand out as a hilarious audience favorite.

Technically speaking, CCT settles well into its new space.  The lighting includes slight shadowing of faces downstage, but this is no major distraction from Melinda Anderson’s wonderful costuming or Jon Anderson’s simple and well-dressed set. The small stage allows for ample space for the authentic setting and boasts great acoustics and sightlines.

Candida continues this weekend, Friday March 12th and Saturday March 13th in the new CCT space. If you cannot make it to this outstanding production this weekend, clear your schedule this month to come out and support these fine actors and this wonderful theatre company.

*******

Tahrea Maynard has just finished directing her  third children’s production with Roundtown Players, where she has been a board member for six years. She also frequently appears in productions with Rosebriar Shakespeare Company. Tahrea also teaches Musical Theatre classes with the Charmion Performing Arts Center in Circleville. check out her director’s blog and personal blog.

by Krista B. Threadgill

I’ll be honest—Thursday was not a good day for me. Traffic woes, meetings running over, and nasty weather were more than enough to spoil my mood before reporting to Columbus Civic Theatre to see a play that I knew little about (shameful for someone with an English degree) in a location I knew even less about. After driving past it twice, I finally found CCT’s new home: a converted doggy daycare nee garage. After sinking into the most comfortable seats I’ve found in any theater in the metro area, all of the cares and stresses of my day evaporated as George Bernard Shaw’s Candida came to life before my eyes.

Shaw wrote Candida as an answer to Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House, which CCT produced last fall. In Candida, we meet James Morell (Ben Gorman), a pastor with a full speaking calendar, and his typist, Prossy (Rachel Mock), who is secretly in love with him. After a three-week absence while their children were ill, Morell’s wife Candida (Britt Kline) is returning home, much to his delight and Prossy’s lament. Candida’s capitalist father, Burgess (Shane Egan), is also happy to hear that his daughter is coming home as he’s hoping that she might use her influence over her husband to help him secure some manufacturing contracts. Meanwhile, the young Eugene Marchbanks (Doug Mondell)—a family friend—has decided he is in love with Candida, despite their great age difference and Candida’s inconvenient marriage; and Morell’s protégé, Lexy Mill (Todd Taylor) is doing his best to emulate everything about his boss. It’s up to Candida to set everything back to rights while balancing the fragile male egos around her.

Rich Albert directs a fine cast through this incredibly funny script. Kline’s Candida is spirited and engaging, and her final speech to her dueling suitors is both endearing and playful. Mock’s Prossy is wonderful; she is able to shift from prickly irritation to sentimental warmth in the blink of an eye and with utter believability. Mondell, making his debut with CCT, has pitch-perfect timing with Eugene’s socially awkward moments. Mill’s comedic pacing with Lexy is fantastic, and Egan’s performance is also outstanding. The director chose to have the actors use only slight British variations on certain words and phrases rather than full-on accent reproduction, which is pleasing to the ear and a welcome departure. As a whole, the cast performs well together and has the audience rolling in the aisles as they animate Shaw’s words.

The set, designed by Jon Anderson, is a nice recreation of a turn-of-the 20th-century study with lovely Persian rugs and tapestry-covered chairs. Overflowing bookcases and an antique typewriter complete the look. Melinda Anderson’s period costumes are beautiful in design and flattering in construction. Rich Albert also designed the lighting, which is simple and effective. The musical selections between acts are lively and period-appropriate.

Despite a rough day, a leaky roof, and some of the worst traffic I’ve ever seen that wasn’t snow-related, CCT’s production of Candida washed away my troubles and left me smiling long after the curtain closed. Although the new space is still a work in progress, CCT are building a lovely new home. Overlook the plaster dust, partially installed seats, and unpainted drywall and experience an excellent company producing a wonderful show. I can hardly wait to see what they have in store for us next.

*****

Krista Threadgill spent her childhood following her parents around the Actors Guild of Parkersburg. After that, she wiled away her summers at Jenny Wiley Amphitheater, and she has performed in two Neil Simon plays. She has an English degree from the Ohio State University.

by Aynn Kilburger Titchenal

From the first swing number to the last slow dance, Emerald City Players’ production of Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks by Richard Alfieri is a delightfully poignant testament to the idea that love can dance its way into one’s life even when it’s least expected.

In this internationally popular play, Lily Harrison (Kathy Sturm), a woman of a certain age, with a certain style and a formidable character hires Michael Minetti (Mark Schuliger), an acerbic young dance instructor with an obvious bias to give her a private dance lesson once a week for six weeks in her beachfront condo. As age and attitude meet bravado and brashness, it appears that Lily’s dancing lessons are destined to be a crash course. But what begins antagonistically blossoms into friendship, fondness, and – can they say it? – love. As they swirl, slide, and stomp through a medley of moves, Michael and Lily alternately come close and pull apart, eventually seeing past their differences in order to uncover their highly unlikely but profound connection.

Predictability with punch

It takes good performances to keep an audience’s attention, even better ones when there are only two of you on stage, but Sturm and Schuliger, deftly guided by Director Christopher Hallam, make it seem effortless. Their interplay is charmingly sweet and salty, with the crispness needed to create captivating entertainment from a simple and predictable story line.

The set, designed by Sturm, is quintessentially “Floridian,” replete with wicker furniture, potted pants, and framed photographs of windswept scenery. Original dance music by Dane Terry teams with Steven Tyler Knauff’s well-choreographed “lessons” to add genuine realism. Good lighting by Tony Love and his team allow the single room setting to pass from daytime to evening with aplomb. And, while five scene changes in two acts could have slowed the pace considerably, they didn’t, thanks to good planning and smooth stepping by the production crew of Jennifer Carpenter, Barbara Lubberger, and John Lopez.

In fact, only two distractions were noted in the entire production – and they are minor. One is that some of the off-stage dialogue will be difficult for some people to hear clearly. The other is the nearly glow-in-the-dark “window” commanding upstage center. This oversized white rectangle could use some clouds painted on it, or at least a softer shade of white.

Style with substance

While giving the audience a warmly humorous – sometimes laugh-out-loud funny – show, Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks touches, albeit appropriately lightly, on a few of contemporary society’s serious concerns: ageism, intolerance, and the isolation of the unmarried in a “couples” culture. There’s also a nice little bonus enclosed in every program.

Emerald City Players presents Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks now through March 14 at 8 p.m. Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays and 3 p.m. on Sunday, March 14. This two-week schedule with another Thursday performance is a departure from their norm, so if you are usually a final-weekend viewer, take note! Tickets are $12 for adults and $10 for students/seniors. Call 614- 210-1111 or visit www.emeraldcityplayers.com.
*******

Aynn Kilburger Titchenal has been a professional writer for over 30 years, during which time, in addition to her “day job,” she has reviewed books and movies for the Vail Trail and restaurants for Ohio magazine.She’s been seen on stage with Bread & Circus Theatre since 2007 and will make her directorial debut with that troupe in June

Woman: Kathy Sturm Man: Mark Schuliger (Photographer: Dale Bush)

by Bob Weesner

Okay. Let’s start with the punch line. The Emerald City Players production of Six Dance Lessons In Six Weeks is the funniest two person play I’ve ever seen in my life.

Having said that, if the people on play selection up in Dublin had asked me, I would have told them – straight out – “don’t do this play.” That’s what I would have said.

“Why not,” they would have asked. (Or likely would have asked. They’re a polite bunch. Respectful.)

“Because,” I would have pounced, “it will never work. Never ever. There are only two people in the cast – two! Where are you gonna find two people in this town who can pull that off? And it deals with intolerance and acceptance! When was the last time you saw a funny play about intolerance and acceptance?”

In my mind I could see them squirming. I had them and they knew it.

And then I would have gone straight for the throat. “Nobody’s gonna come see it. If you want audiences, do something by Neil Simon, or - better yet – Richard Rogers. That’s it! Or something with lots of kids. I think Annie Five is available …”

They didn’t listen to me. In fact, they didn’t even ask me. This conversation never happened.

But it illustrates two points.

First, it’s true that Six Dance Lessons In Six Weeks will likely not draw large audiences. The show is not that well known by the general public. It does have a cast of only two people, and both of them are (a) not young, and (b) dressed throughout the production. Since the play deals with adult themes, it has adult language.

In other words, this play has everything in the world working against it as a community theatre presentation. Many times I’ve been told that these theatres can’t afford to speculate. Wistfully I’ve heard that they must stick with the proven money makers. It’s a matter of survival.

The second point is the colossal loss to the quality of life there would be if we chose not to embrace a play like this when it comes along.

Here’s what we would have missed;

We would have missed a marvelously well written work – it is at the same time warm, zany, funny, biting, and endlessly inventive. Very few topics are sacred – literally.

We would have missed two incredible performances. Kathy Strum and Mark Schuliger compliment each other perfectly. The chemistry between them is remarkable. At every moment you know you are in most capable hands.

Characterizations are strong, clear, and sustained. Actions are motivated and reactions are endearing. And as for energy levels … could two people actually sustain the necessary energy levels to keep a play interesting for a two hour period? Hint. The energy levels were still going up during the curtain calls.

Final thought. A number of plays are all being presented this weekend, all over town. Even with your best guess, every once in awhile a great one slips by, unnoticed. Don’t let Six Dance Lessons In Six Weeks be one of them.

*****

For most of his career, Bob was employed as a television director, working for stations from Los Angeles to Columbus. During this same time period he wrote and directed plays for theatres all over the Midwest. For several years he was the drama critic for the Spectator newspaper chain and for channel 6 here in Columbus. Bob has won numerous awards, including two Emmy awards, A Freedom’s foundation award, and two recent awards from the National Writers Digest Playwriting Competition.

(clockwise from left) Tom Shafer, Katie Powell, and Andrew Goodwin. Credit: Sam Blythe.

Raconteur Wobbles, Finishes Strong

by Bob Weesner

The ambiance of Club Diversity on South High Street is unmistakable, and typical of those intimate bars that have been around since the year two. This one is remarkable only because it’s carved into architecture at once familiar in German Village; remnants of plaster over lathe, ancient brick, exposed beams - all giving the impression of strength, history, dignity, and quiet repose.

After mildly curious stares by local patrons, someone led me up a flight of wide steps and down a hall to a room about the size of a small efficiency apartment. At the front is the acting area. In the rear, light and sound boards. In between, purple walls, tables, chairs, imaginative drawings on what had once been large windows.

All this is Raconteur Theatre Company – every bit of it. The experience does not begin with the play, but when you walk in the door of the building.

To begin their 2010 season, Raconteur has chosen the play Tracks In The Snow, by Neil McGowan. The story centers around a young man, forced to take shelter with a farmer and his family during a snow storm. Complications arise when the young man interacts with the farmer’s two daughters …

Yeah, yeah, it was all I could do to write that last sentence. My first impression of the plot was that it fell somewhere between a soap opera and a very old joke. The characters were less than subtle exaggerations of real people – certainly larger that life. Worse, like a parody of Greek tragedy, I knew the inevitable ending right from the beginning.

So … with this comforting feeling of condescending superiority, at what point did I become aware that the characters moved from bazaar to interesting? When – and more importantly, HOW – did I become involved in their lives?

Everything, of course, begins with the writing. Neil McGowan has purposely created characters that are “weird” by their own admission. As more intimate details of their lives are revealed, so are their social and cultural values. The young man, representing the audience, is at first distant, an observer. As he is reluctantly drawn in, so are those of us who are watching and listening. If the purpose of the playwright is to say that we are all unique, yet share variations of the same very real issues … well then, congratulations, Mister McGowan, ya got me.

But even the best of scripts is subject to interpretation. Somewhere during the roughly two-hour presentation, the characterizations went from my impression of “strange” to “strong.” I’ve tried to pinpoint when that happened – for some reason that seems important to me – but I can’t. Only after the fact was I aware that my attitude had changed.

Perhaps it was in the performance of Leslie Robinson as the family matriarch. Ms Robinson was certainly the most believable of the cast members, and always a joy to watch in whatever role she takes.

Or my involvement might have been the result of watching Sean Reid, Jonathan Carter, Lorelei Moore, and Tom Shafer. At first they appeared to tip toe around the edges of burlesque in their broad character presentations, but by half way through the show I found myself nodding my head, “yes, I do know people like that.”

From the start I was intrigued with the performance of Andrew Goodwin. Mister Goodwin starred in one of my own plays several years ago, and I was curious to see his transformation into this new character. At first he appeared stiff, even formal. But as the play evolved, so did his character, becoming softer, more sensitive, even slightly haunted.

In the end, however, the main thrust of Tracks In The Snow is carried by Katie Powell. This talented performer is a dynamo of energy, leading the direction of the plot down one seeming rabbit trail after another. Ironically, you know this very exuberance will eventually doom the character. None of her dreams will be fulfilled.

It’s a funny sad play, and if your nature is sensitive, the shadows will remain on the edges of haunted memory for some time.
*******

For most of his career, Bob was employed as a television director, working for stations from Los Angeles to Columbus. During this same time period he wrote and directed plays for theatres all over the Midwest. For several years he was the drama critic for the Spectator newspaper chain and for channel 6 here in Columbus. Bob has won numerous awards, including two Emmy awards, A Freedom’s foundation award, and two recent awards from the National Writers Digest Playwriting Competition.

(left to right) Andrew Goodwin and Katie Powell. Credit: Sam Blythe

Tracks Actors Shine in Heavy-Handed Script

by Krista B. Threadgill

After a long hiatus, Raconteur Theatre Company  opens the 2010 season with the Ohio premiere of Neil McGowan’s Tracks in the Snow. As stated by Molly St.Cyr-Reid of Raconteur’s script selection committee, this script was chosen based on the company’s belief that “this script isn’t a description of [life on a family farm] but a portrait. Through an upset in their lives we watch the Goulds, a family of hard workers devoted to sustaining [their] legacy.”

Chase (Andrew Goodwin), a disabled Marine, has recently returned from a war overseas. While driving through rural farm country during a blizzard, his car skids off the road and crashes into a fence. The farm’s patriarch, Lance Gould (Tom Shafer)—much to his family’s surprise—invites the young man to stay with them until the roads clear. Chase befriends the Gould’s fifteen-year-old daughter, Leauna (Katie Powell), which enrages farmhand Jeremy (Jonathan Carter). Meanwhile, older sister Sandra (Lorelei Moore) has some misgivings about her marriage to Bobby (Sean Reid), while mother Elvira (Leslie Robinson) tries desperately to keep her family whole and unharmed.

Ken Worrall directs a fine troupe of actors through this somewhat convoluted script that bludgeons the audience with metaphor at its anticlimactic end. Goodwin’s performance portrays a great deal of military stiffness in early scenes of the play—a bit too stiff at times to be believable—and some of his more emotional scenes disintegrate into unnecessary yelling; however his intimate scenes with Powell are very touching. Powell bursts onto the scene with vivid red pigtails, rosy cheeks, bright eyes, and an infectious exuberance that lights up the stage. Moore’s coquettishness with the “soldier man” is quite natural, and her moment of epiphany is striking in its realism. Reid’s Bobby is a bit stilted in early scenes, though he does show some genuine affection with Moore as the play progresses. Carter’s sullen, heartsick portrayal of the not-so-bright teenager Jeremy plays well, as do his more tender scenes with Powell. The most talked about and least seen characters—Lance and Elvira—are played competently by Shafer and Robinson; it is a defect of the script that these characters don’t have more stage-time so the audience can learn more about them.

Raconteur is currently using the performance space at Club Diversity, which is known for its simple set-up. The lighting is low-key but effective, particularly for scenes that take place outside during the snowstorm and at night. The small stage affords little room for furniture and props, but the stage crew makes inventive use of the space, doubling a coffee table for a train trestle. Costuming choices are also very effective, particularly for Leauna; her clothes in the opening scenes are bright and bigger than life, but devolve into muted grays and white at the play’s climax.

Although this script is not a personal favorite, Raconteur delivers a quality performance of it. The fact that they put so much thought into its selection proves that the story means a great deal to the company. It’s good to see Raconteur back in action and taking chances with new scrips, and we look forward to seeing more of their new season in the near future.

Raconteur Theatre Company presents Tracks in the Snow by Neil McGowan runs March 4-20 at Club Diversity (863 S High St, Columbus 43206). Shows are Thursdays through Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. with one matinee performance on March 14 at 2:30 p.m. Tickets are $15 for adults, $10 for students/seniors. For additional information, call 614-495-7946 or email info@raconteurtheatre.com.

*****

Krista Threadgill spent her childhood following her parents around the Actors Guild of Parkersburg. After that, she wiled away her summers at Jenny Wiley Amphitheater, and she has performed in two Neil Simon plays. She has an English degree from the Ohio State University.

by Krista B. Threadgill

I’ve been reviewing plays for Theatre Vault for nearly a year now, but this is the first time I felt the need to bring an expert critic with me—my almost-twelve-year-old daughter. Who better to help me judge the value of a children’s show than a kid? Based on her reaction as well as my own, I believe it’s safe to say that the Phoenix Theatre for Children’s latest production of Mrs. Piggle Wiggle is an unqualified success.

Director Stephen C. Anderson adapted the children’s book by Betty McDonald and lovingly captures the trials and tribulations of a host of parents dealing with their children’s problems. After they consult with each other for advice, the answer always lies with the neighborhood child expert: Mrs. Piggle Wiggle (Jacqueline Bates). Through a series of phone calls, she directs the parents through a variety of tried-and-true remedies including The Radish Cure, The Cry Baby Cure, and The Answer Backer Cure. Four actors (Michelle G. Schroeder, Ian Short, Christopher Storer, and Liz Wheeler) play an entire town—parents and children alike—in this whimsical tale.

Under Anderson’s direction, the ensemble cast sparkles in their myriad of roles. Schroeder, Short, Storer, and Wheeler adapt mannerisms, accents, and small costume changes to portray entire families, each member having his or her own completely different character quirks and personalities. Not once does the audience confuse one character with one played earlier. Bates is endearing as everyone’s favorite authority on kid-hood, Mrs. Piggle Wiggle herself.

The staging is equally impressive. Darin Keesing’s lighting is lovely, and the back wall lighting is particularly impressive. Ruth Boyd’s costumes include multiple aprons, scarves, smocks, cardigans, hats, and wigs that separate and distinguish one family from another and in lavish colors that accentuate the gorgeous set. And, oh, what a set it is! Stephanie Gerckens’ scenic design is positively darling—a purple upside-down house with precious floral curtains at the windows, an adorable gigantic rubber duck, walls containing hidden doors and windows—all painted in glorious pastels and jewel tones—please the senses as much as the superb performances from the actors.

Based on the reactions of the children in the audience—my own daughter included—this play is a winning hour-long immersion in a childhood classic. The Phoenix Theatre is well known for their quality children’s programs, and Mrs. Piggle Wiggle certainly upholds that reputation. For the young—and the young at heart—this is quality entertainment.
*******

Krista Threadgill spent her childhood following her parents around the Actors Guild of Parkersburg. After that, she wiled away her summers at Jenny Wiley Amphitheater, and she has performed in two Neil Simon plays. She has an English degree from the Ohio State University.

by Tahrea Maynard

The Phoenix Theatre for Children opened this weekend with a delightful production of Mrs. Piggle Wiggle, based on the book by Betty MacDonald and adapted for stage by director Steven C. Anderson. This hour long show amuses with several tales of disgruntled and frustrated parents of misbehaving children who all turn to Mrs.Piggle Wiggle for help. A darling woman, Mrs. Piggle Wiggle offers somewhat eccentric but hilarious remedies, like the crybaby tonic for youngsters who won’t stop crying and Penelope the Parrot for a certain answer-backer.

Leading the troupe of five wonderful actors is Jacquline Bates as the classic Mrs. Piggle Wiggle. This reviewer developed a love for the Piggle Wiggle stories in elementary school, and was glad to Bates’ performance as the main character was a perfect rendition, carrying the jovial and loving air that children can sense through the story book character’s words. Players Michelle G. Schroeder, Ian Short, ChristopherStorer , and Liz Wheeler each play an array of characters, the parents and siblings of the ornery children in question and the troublemakers themselves. Parents and children alike will laugh as these Schroeder and Wheeler both have a turn at throwing tantrums and arguing, and each time Short andStorer come onstage in dresses.

Stephanie Gerckens’ set has a a childish, cartoon-like feel to it, adding to the feel of the production with vibrant colors and a large flat rubber duck and orange car. Center stage is a small flat recreation of Mrs.Piggle Wiggle’s famous upside down house. There are several windows on the different set pieces including the aforementioned “house” which the actors use during the show to signify different residences and rooms.

Costume Designer Ruth Boyd’s choice in costume for Bates id the perfect accent to the Piggle Wiggle character and makes her that more authentic. Short and Storer are uniformed in tan slacks and blue shirts while Schroeder and Wheeler sport white blouses and long skirts. Each of these four utilize hats, scarves, aprons, and nightdresses as well as an array of accents and inflections to change into various characters.

One thing this reviewer must mention is the actors must remember to anticipate the audience’s laughter. As they are performing for children, some lines can be lost if the performers do not wait a beat for the laughter to dissipate before carrying on.

Mrs. Piggle Wiggle is a guaranteed fun time for any age and its enjoyment should be shared with all.

*****

Tahrea Maynard has spent the majority of her life onstage, appearing on stages with such Central Ohio theatres as Roundtown Players and Rosebriar Shakespeare Co. She also teaches Musical Theatre classes with the Charmion Performing Arts Center in Circleville.  Check out her blog here.