THEATER: Lend Me A Tenor

LEND ME A TENOR is currently running at Millbrook Playhouse. This was not the first time that I have seen this play but it may have been the most enjoyable experience.
If you are not familiar with the show, it is classic farce. Farces depend on a “multi-doored” set and perfect timing. This production has both.

Director Adam Knight deserves credit for getting the very best out of his cast, crew and stage area. The stage size in the Cabaret at Millbrook is very intimate making chase scenes a challenge. The show is attractively mounted. The set was consistent with a posh hotel room in the 1930’s and costuming was authentic.

The actors had their timing just right. So much of the action on stage is frantic. We witness lots of chasses around the room (and bed), loud marital fights, hissy fits, and mistaken identities. In the middle of all of this confusion, the slow silent stare works very well. Actor Lawrence Lesher has his silent takes down to perfection; Jack Benny could take lessons.

The entire cast was outstanding. The acting showed great restraint; it stayed just on this side of being over the top while making it clear that we were watching a farce. Watch for these talented people: Matthew Krob, Lawrence Lesher, Stephen Guice, Ashley Klanac, Olivia Bosek, Brady Adair, Cara Maltz, and Susan Neuffer.

All of them were terrific, but Matthew Krob as Max, the rather awkward company factotum, impressed me. His physical and vocal talents were a delight. This may be one of the names to watch for in the future.

The costuming was excellent right down to footwear that made me jealous. My only complaint, and it is a biggie for me, was Susan Neuffer’s gown. Her character Julia was so elegantly performed that the dress was a distraction. It really was rather ugly especially when everything else was so tastefully done.
LEND ME A TENOR will run in the Cabaret at Millbrook through the 1st of July when it will be replaced by Dead Man’s Cell Phone. She Loves Me is on the Main Stage from June 28-July 8.

BOOK REVIEW: Fate Worse Than Death/Grace Better Than Life.

If you have ever stood on the top of a mountain and looked out over a clear, clean, awe-inspiring world, you are going to enjoy David Holsworth’s first book, FATE WORSE THAN DEATH/GRACE BETTER THAN LIFE.

David started climbing mountains as a hobby while a student in Colorado. What started as a pastime soon developed into a full time passion. He kept looking for the most difficult mountains and his passion took him from Colorado to the ice walls of Alaska and eventually to the gigantic mountains in the Himalayans.

Along the way, he married and became a father. Marriage and fatherhood did not lessen his love of the dangers of conquering impossible peaks. He felt that the worse that could happen is that a fall could kill him or maybe he would have an accident that would disable him. Death was not something to fear.
It seemed that Fate had something else in mind for the author. It was not a mountaineering accident that put him in a wheelchair; it was the debilitating disease, Multiple Sclerosis.

David’s early years of climbing show us an arrogant young man. His need to take chances seldom included any consideration for the feelings of his family and friends. His growth from that young man to the mature man of faith is honestly recorded in FATE WORSE THAN DEATH/GRACE BETTER THAN LIFE.

David and his new wife, Deb, along with Sue Lance, a paraplegic due to Spina Bifida, have been instrumental in starting the Alliance Disability Outreach Group at their church. The group hosts social events like bowling and picnics for quadriplegics as well as acting as evangelists for Christ.

If mountaineering is of interest to you, David has given a good accounting of some of his climbs. He includes a glossary of mountaineering terms and an index of locations mentioned in the book.

The book will also be of interest to those who enjoy an inspirational story of how a man found his faith and, through that faith, a reason to keep on living.

New Feature! Central PA Arts Calendar!

From Wendy:
There is so much more to this blog than just book reviews!  Pat also does theater reviews and much more.  To help you have just one spot that allows you to find what's happening when in Central PA, we're expanding the blog to include a Central PA Arts Calendar!

You'll see the current list of events, as we've received them, listed in the right column of the blog.  As much as we receive updates is as much as you will see here.

So - what does that mean?  It means that you can help!  Click on the link below the calendar to submit your own Central PA arts event.  It can be theater (professional, community, high school - all of it!), an author signing, an art show, a ballet, concerts - whatever is artistic and is happening in Centre County or slightly beyond.   BUT - if you don't submit it, we can't list it.

Start sending your artistic events in or start following our calendar to find out what's happening!

ENJOY!

(We do reserve the right to not put all submissions on the calendar for any reason.)

THEATER: All Shook Up!

Elvis is in the house! Well, actually his music is at the Millbrook Playhouse through June 24th in ALL SHOOK UP! Elvis fan or not, you are going to know most of the songs.

Millbrook Playhouse always opens their summer season with a big, spectacular show and this year is no exception. Poodle skirts, leather jackets, crinolines, saddle oxfords, and –yes- blue suede shoes transport the audience back to the ‘50’s. The energetic cast of 24 makes the stage rock and roll constantly.

The story is slightly better than that of most shows written around a performer’s songs. A motorcycle riding, guitar playing handsome fellow arrives in a small town that is run by a strict, strait-laced mayor. Soon everybody finds the love of his life and the town is full of rock and roll with the happy citizens dancing in the streets. To be honest, there is a little more to it all than that, but I do not want to ruin some neat plot twists for you.

The thing that makes this show, of course, is the music. It seems someone is always singing or dancing and each performer is more talented than the next.

The men particularly were amazing. Paul Koudouris played Chad, the fellow with the motorcycle and guitar. When we first meet him, he is getting out of jail to the inmates’ singing and dancing to ---you guessed it—“Jailhouse Rock”. Most of the show falls on Paul’s shoulders and he is capable of the job.

The hometown, nerdy boyfriend Dennis is played by Cameron Perry. He was perfect. I cannot wait to see him later in the season. He is cute, can act, and he dances.
Gabriel Rodrigues as the father, Jim, steals the show as he learns to be cool. This is another actor who does it all and I hope to see later. Jordan Wolfe has a terrific voice and was believable as the up-tight military son of the mayor.

While my high school classmates were swooning over Elvis, my crush was Howard Keel and that brings me to Sheriff Earl. Sheriff Earl is silent most of the time, but when he does get a chance to speak he gave a new meaning to “Can’t Help Falling in Love”.

Unfortunately the music was not always suitable to the women’s voices. Thankfully their talents were strong enough to make their numbers very good.

Kimberly Corbett plays Natalie, the girl who falls in love with Chad and, maybe more importantly, fixes motorcycles. Kimberly sings, dances, and is an excellent actor. Darilyn Castillo and Mary Anitha Parris play Lorraine and Sylvia, the daughter and mother who each have their own moment in the spot light. All three of these ladies are capable of much more in future shows.

Also worth watching for in the future are Josephine Spada and Blair Anderson. Both have good voices and true stage presence.

This is a fun show. You do not have to be an Elvis fan to enjoy it; just be someone who enjoys fun theater.

Note to Bald Eagle High School cast of “Bye, Bye, Birdie”: You will love this one.

BOOK REVIEWS/EVENT: Schlow Library Book Fest 2012

As part of the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts, Schlow Library will be paying homage to the art of the printed word by hosting a series of talks/ book signing at the library and around town.

Author Sara Shepard will speak at the State College Presbyterian Church at 1:00Pm on July 14th. Sara Shepard is the author of the popular PRETTY LITTLE LIARS series. THE LYING GAME is the first book in her latest series, also aimed at teen-age girls. Sometimes we forget that books published for the youth market make for good reading no matter at what age.

Emma has been shuffled from foster family to foster family. The present place is not too bad. She has worked all through high school and has plans to go on to college. All of her plans evaporate when her foster brother shows his mother a “snuff” movie of a young girl being strangled…a young girl who looks exactly like Emma. In the process of tracking down this unknown look-alike, Emma discovers that she has had a twin sister named Sutton and that nobody believes that she is not Sutton. The evidence builds that Sutton has been murdered by someone very close to her.

The fact that the book is narrated by Sutton gives a nice twist to the story. The opening book in this series will make you too curious not to pick up the rest of them.

Tawni O’Dell will be at the Presbyterian Church at 2:00 on July 14th. Ms. O’Dell hit the literary scene when her first book, BACK ROADS, was an Oprah Book Club Pick. So much has been said about this book that anything that this reviewer would add might be superfluous.

Nineteen year-old Harley has been taking care of his three younger sisters, working two jobs, and generally been in charge of everything around the house. His mother is in prison for killing their father and the town sees him and his sisters as novelties who might also be dangerous. As Harley struggles to hold himself and his family together, he finds himself being questioned about another murder that involves his family.

Harley is one of the most complex characters that literature has given us. He is far from perfect, but worthy of rooting for. The book has sold over two million copies and is to be made into a movie. It should be interesting to see Harley on screen.

Lee Stout, Librarian Emeritus and former Head of Public Services and Outreach for the Eberly Special Collection Library for the Penn State Libraries and author of A MATTER OF SIMPLE JUSTICE, will be speaking at the Hintz Alumni Center on Penn State campus at 3:00.

A MATTER OF SIMPLE JUSTICE started as an oral history project at Penn State titled “A Few Good Women” and focuses on Barbara Hackman Franklin, a staff assistant to President Richard Nixon. Nixon’s administration has been criticized for its foreign trade policies and Watergate, but it is given credit for advancing women in government positions.

Pictures of the women who have made a difference in gender equality bring these individuals to life for the reader. Some of the names were familiar, but most fall into the category of unsung heroines.

Alice Breon is scheduled to be at the Schlow Library parking lot tent between 10:00 and 5:00 to sign her GREEN GRAVY, MONSTER BREAD AND OTHER ADVENTURES. Alice now lives in the State College area after seeing a large part of the world.

Part of this memoir is a coming of age story. Alice was 16 at the beginning of World War 11. Her stories will bring back memories to some readers while giving a personal touch to that period of history that some people know only through dry history texts. The rest of the book consists of her time living in Japan after the war. Her accounts of raising her children in a foreign land are funny and touching.

The Book Fest Tent will be in the parking lot at Schlow Library at the corner of Beaver Street and Allen Street July 14, 2012. During that time local authors will be available to autograph books and answer questions.

THEATER: And Then There Were None

Ten little Indian boys went out to dine,
One choked his little self and then there were nine. 

Agatha Christie and theater fans everywhere know that this old nursery rhyme is the base for the plot to AND THEN THERE WERE NONE.

William Barksdale and Luke Miller

Nine strangers are marooned on an island off the Devon coast. After dinner, as they are becoming acquainted, a recorded voice is heard accusing each of them of committing a murder. As each guest denies any knowledge of any crime, one of the young men chokes on his drink and falls down… dead. The action continues with the death of each person happening as foretold in the rhyme. The murderer has to be one of the ten and just when the audience is sure who it is, that is the next person found dead.

Jack Holtz

This is the story on stage at Boal Barn Playhouse this week. I have to admit that it is one of my favorite plays and I can be very critical if the cast and crew do not do a good job with it. Not to worry. This production is extremely good. I found myself so lost in the story that I forgot that I was sitting in a theater.

Steve Raybuck and Lindey Allen

The furnishings and decorations set the mood as soon as you walk in. (If you are not familiar with Boal Barn, it is a true arena stage making it necessary to walk across the “stage” to get to your seat.) The costumes also help to set the mood and time period. Thanks to Jon Vickers-Jones for the sets, and to Amy Hobbs for the costumes.

Director, Mike Knarr, made good use of the space. Bodies were found in every place possible. He also deserves credit for the pacing of the show. The build to the climax appeared natural.

A standing ovation goes to actors Lindsey Allison, William Barksdale, Jackie Gianico, Curt Himmelberger, Jack Holtz, Brandon Lengyel, Dennis Mathisen, Debbie Meder, Luke Miller, Steve Raybuck, and Charlie Wilson. Some of this talented group have appeared with the State College Community Theatre before; some were new to me. I hope that all will be back.

If you are in the mood for a good mystery, visit Boal Barn this week, but as in any mystery, watch out for red herrings. Is it as good as I say it is? You will have to judge for yourself.

To see more pictures, visit Meadowlane Photography on Facebook.

AND THEN THERE WERE NONE plays at the State College Community Theater through June 16th.  Tickets can be purchased at http://www.scctonline.org/none.shtml

BOOK REVIEW: Waterproof

While on a national tour to promote her latest book, WATERPROOF, best-selling author Judith Redline Coopey took time to stop in Bellefonte to visit friends. I think in WATERPROOF Judy has given us another winner.

Pamela McRae had lived through the devastating 1889 flood in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. The thirty foot wall of water had taken everything from Pam except her determination.

Her home and all of its belongings had been washed away. Her brother had gone to help a neighbor just as the flood waters hit and he has not been found. Her groom-to-be had gone missing right after the waters hit the town and within a year of the flood, her father had walked away, leaving Pam with the responsibility of a non-responsive mother.

Now, fifty years later, a young reporter appears at her door to interview her about the events immediately after the flood that changed so many lives. His questions bring back the people and the pain, but he also helps her to remember how strong many of her neighbors were, how they helped each other.

Ms. Coopey explained that she wanted to write a book that showed how people react to a major tragedy, whether it be war, hurricane, fire, or flood.  Some people run away, as Pam’s father did or, like Pam’s mother, they withdraw into their own private world. Some become obsessed with revenge and some take the opportunity to disappear and start a new life.

Most people are like Pam and her loyal friend Katya. They, along with other citizens of the town, showed their strength of character by going on with life. They rebuilt homes, opened businesses, and helped each other get back to something close to normalcy. These are the people that we fall in love with.

The "Ls" Book Group.  Judith Coopey, seated

Ms. Coopey has a talent for finding just the right voice for her characters. The wise editor of the town newspaper, the sly turncoat, the town flirt, and the loyal Hungarian friend all become individuals, mainly through dialog.

A love of history, especially Pennsylvanian history, drives this author’s writings. Her previous work, Redfield Farm is about the Underground Railroad in Bedford County. This is the book that has brought her to national recognition.

If you read for character development, plot twists, or for a personal touch of history, you will enjoy a Judith Coopey book.