THEATRE REVIEW: The Woman In Black

Now and then, if an audience is very lucky, everything comes together in a production. THE WOMAN IN BLACK at Millbrook Playhouse is one of the rare examples. Script, lighting, sound, sets, and acting all combined to make this a ghost story worthy of its genre.

THE WOMAN IN BLACK was a new play for me and since the suspense of not knowing what was going to happen added to the enjoyment I will not give you a summary of the story. You will have to experience that for yourself.

Two characters, plus maybe a third, tell of the horrible happenings in a Victorian house located in an isolated marshland in England. The setting is a stage, bare except for some mismatched chairs, a trunk, a small desk of sorts, and assorted odds and ends. 

 

The set was the first thing to impress me as I walked to my seat. The feeling of an ornate Victorian stage was perfect. With the aid of lighting and sound effects, your imagination turned the stage into everything from offices, swampy marshland, nice hotels, and back to the stage. 

 

Characters appeared through the addition of a cigar, a pair of glasses, a beat up hat, and a subtle change in body movement and accent. The ability of the actors to carry these changes was very impressive.

Chris Corporandy was a new name for me, but I will be watching for him. This, my friends, appears to be an actor on his way to fame. His delivery made the lines ring with energy and flow like poetry. 

 

Frank Franconeri is well known to Millbrook audiences. He has proven that he can hold his own as a character actor. In THE WOMAN IN BLACK he has a chance to show his versatility as an actor and his masterful use of dialect. He has really impressed me over the last few years.

One of the tricks to this play is to get the audience to switch from the two men talking about what happened in the past to scenes from that past. At times it was the simple hand direction that brought up the “stage lights” or the swift relocation of a stage prop and the physical change in one of the actors. It worked; I never felt confused as to what was happening. In less talented hands the time and place changes could have been a disaster.

One picky little note; I am not always aware of anachronisms but the use of Velcro was a jarring bit. I wish the mourning band had been tied around the arm, simple and authentic. (I told you that it was picky).

The Cabaret Theatre will open Boeing Boeing on July 19th. The Shakespearian comedy, A Midsummer Night's Dream continues on the Main Stage tonight through this weekend. This theater is having sold out performances, but if you are lucky, you can order tickets at 570-748-8083 or check www.millbrookplayhouse.org.

BOOK REVIEW: The Life and Works of Mr. Anonymous

Most serious readers will agree that the award for most prolific writer would go to Mr. Anonymous, a.k.a. Anon. Mr. Anonymous has been responsible for numerous works ranging from poetry through prose. His contributions have been scattered wherever the English language is read.

And yet, very little has been known of this great talent until recently. Fortunately, Willard R. Espy has written a biography titled THE LIFE AND WORKS OF MR. ANONYMOUS. The book focuses on the sixty-odd years that the author was personally acquainted with this man and his dog, Author Unknown.

When Willard was in second grade his classmates teased him about his unruly mop of hair with this singsong: " I’m three years old and like to wear A bow of ribbon in my hair. Sometimes it’s pink, sometimes it’s blue; I think it’s pretty there, don’t you?"

The fact that he wore no ribbon in his hair was immaterial. He wanted to find out who had written these words. He was told over and over that nobody did; that it was anonymous. He was to continue to hear this about his nightly prayer: "Now I lay me down to sleep, …"  Well, you know the rest, I’m sure. This started a life-long search to learn more about this man, Anonymous.

One Sunday while Willard Espy was six, he was reading outdoors, an unusual man appeared, singing as he walked down the road. The man accompanied himself on a mandolin and an extraordinary dog helped with the music by ending each stanza with a mournful howl.

To make a long story short, this man turned out to be Willard’s great uncle and, wonder of wonders, he was known as Mr. Anonymous and his dog Author Unknown. The man and dog had been recently in Alaska, and had been travelling the world learning everything they could about life. He explains to Willard that actually he was part of a long line of Anonymousness. That was one question that I was glad to have answered. It seemed to me that the works of Anonymous go back very far in history.

Mr. Anonymous settles down to teach in the local school for several years, but soon leaves to teach in a small university. While he and Willard are together, Willard’s fascination with his mentor’s work grows.

We are not sure of the exact date of Mr. Anonymous’ death. Punch Almanac published a eulogy in 1856, but many people felt that it was premature.

It would be unfair of me not to include some of Mr. Anonymous’ finer work in this review. So, here are some of my favorites, listed by subject.

On sex:

The womb’s a fine and private place
In which to propagate the race. 

On alcohol:

God, in His goodness, sent the grape
To cheer both great and small;
 Little fools drink too much
And great fools none at all. 

On food:

Heavenly Father bless us,
And keep us all alive;
 There’s ten of us for dinner
And not enough for five. 

Naturally, there is not enough space here for all of this great man’s work, so this is only a small sample. I am sure that each of you has your own favorites that you would want to share. But, please, no limericks. Mr. Anonymous considered them beneath his talents.

I enjoyed this biography very much. Not only did it answer question that I had about Mr. Anonymous and Author Unknown, it was a delightful, if incomplete, collection of his works.

BOOK REVIEW: Save Me

SAVE ME is the third book I've read by Lisa Scottoline. My first was a collection of her humorous newspaper articles and the second was a light mystery. Neither prepared me for SAVE ME.

Rose McKenna has moved her family to a new town to get her daughter Melly away from being bullied. Things are no different at the new school. Rose has become a cafeteria volunteer in order to keep an eye on her daughter. 

 

One day Rose watches the girls tease Melly to the point that Melly runs to the restroom in tears and as Rose is reprimanding the girls at the table, the kitchen explodes. Rose must make a choice that no mother should have to make: the choice of saving the three girls that she is talking to or leave them and rush to get her own daughter. Her split second choice changes everything in her life. Her marriage starts to fall apart, the community goes from seeing her as a hero to treating as the most hated of villains, and soon her own life is in danger.

This book had a little more meat to it than the earlier ones I had read by the author. The plot is one that would scare any mother. Do you save your child or another woman’s child? Then, add the human element of having watched that other child mistreating your daughter.

The story line was a good one, but I had trouble with the details. Scottoline does not write strong male characters and in order for Rose to become strong and resourceful, the husband had to be out of the picture. It may have been possible that his career was more important than the lives of his family, but it did not make him a very likable guy. I almost rooted for the marriage to break up.

The action scenes were fast and I did cheer for Rose as the bad guys chased her. I knew all would be fine in the end, but that brought up another point of dissatisfaction; all was too tidy in the end. I do not like forced happy endings and this felt forced to me. 

 

I know that Lisa Scottoline is a very popular author, but I couldn’t help wondering what Jodie Picoult or Sharon Sala would have done with this story line.

THEATER REVIEW: The Sound Of Music

We should start this review with a disclaimer; THE SOUND OF MUSIC is not one of my favorite musicals. I feel that I have been overexposed to much of the music and some of the numbers are so long. That brings me to Millbrook Playhouse’s recent production. 

The history of the von Trapp family is well known. The story of the young woman who wanted to marry God and ends up marrying a man with seven children and together they all escape the Nazis was set to music by Richard Rogers and Oscar Hammerstein in 1959. The following forty-some years have seen the show, the movie and the score become extremely popular. 

Millbrook director Ken Kaissar made the whole production seem fresh and new. The simple and elegant set by Mark DeLancey was used well by the cast, always a sign of good directing. The choreography by Lexie Fennell Frare was fresh and flowed with the story perfectly. 

The talent in the cast was a constant pleasure. Erika Strasburg was everything that Maria should be. Her facial expressions and body language made everyone in the audience want to share her joy of life. This is not to overlook her singing talent. Her duet with the Mother Abbess, played by Andrea Gregori, was beautiful. The duet gave us a hint of how Andrea would do on “Climb Ev’ry Mountain”. Exquisite.

Photo courtesy of Millbrook Playhouse.

I found myself waiting for Captain von Trapp to sing. Drew Pulver has that rich baritone voice that puts goose flesh on the back of my neck. (My teen-age crush was Howard Keel). I hope that Drew becomes a regular at Millbrook. The fact that he is handsome and can act did not hurt.

Again the skill of the director was evident with the children. Each child was so professional and stayed in character throughout the show. Each one also had the ability to sing out. Kali Haines as the oldest daughter Liesl and Johnny Haussener as Rolf made the overused “Sixteen Going on Seventeen” seem fresh. Their dance number was young, spirited and made me smile.

I felt cheated that Courtney Simmons as Elsa had only one number. She has a good voice and this production did not give her much of a chance to show it. (We will get to see Courtney later this summer as Patsy Cline). Dropping “How Can Love Survive?” and the contrast song “An Ordinary Couple” was a disappointment for me. 

It would be deficient on my part to skip mentioning Richard Guido as Max. Richard is at his best when he is playing an over the top character; I got the feeling that he kept this part under control with some effort. Also, watch for the name Jen Morris. We saw her earlier in Grease as Frenchy and as Sister Sophia in the present production, but she is my pick for big, good things in the future.

I really enjoyed THE SOUND OF MUSIC. Obviously the score works better in the hands of a good director and a talented cast. 

THE SOUND OF MUSIC runs until July 7^th on the Main Stage where it will be replaced by A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The Cabaret is showing The Woman in Black until July 14^th. Ticket information can be found at 570-748-8083. I will warn you though; the houses have been sell outs.

BOOK REVIEW: Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close

EXTREMELY LOUD & INCREDIBLY CLOSE by Jonathan Safran Foer made me laugh out loud on page two. I was ready to be hooked. By page four I was not so sure.

Nine year old Oskar Schell is on a mission to find the secret behind a key that he found in his father’s closet, in an envelope hidden in a vase. His father had been killed in the World Trade Center on 9/11 and Oskar is obsessed with finding a final connection with his dad.

He and his father had played lots of games that had required Oskar to go on searches around New York City to solve mysteries and the word “BLACK” written on the envelope is definitely a clue. Oskar decides to visit every person in New York with the last name of Black, hoping to find what the key opens. His adventures, sometimes touching and very often humorous, take him from Central Park to Coney Island, to Harlem and all points in between. There are quite a few people with the name of Black in New York City.

Oskar has a very close relationship with his grandmother who lives across the street. Interspersed with Oskar’s search, we hear her story of how her family had been destroyed in the bombing of Dresden during the Second World War and how she had married Oskar’s grandfather, but telling that here would be giving too much away.

I liked Oskar. He was constantly inventing neat stuff, like a shirt made of bird seed so that the birds could fly a person to safety. I loved the illustrations in the book. They captured Oskar’s imagination so well. I liked that he played the part of Yorick in his school production of Hamlet. Yes, I know Yorick is only a skull, but Oskar was able to make so much more of it.

I did find the book to be a little dis-jointed. The switch from Oskar and his key to the grandmother during and after the war was a little confusing. I have to say though that Foer brought it all together perfectly in the end. The theme of losing loved ones in a war was well handled. 

This is not a book for everyone. It is hard to follow at times, but if you are looking for something different, you might enjoy Oskar very much.

ANNOUNCEMENT: City, State, Arts Online Magazine

I am proud to announce that CITY STATE ARTS, the online Arts & Entertainment Magazine, will now be including POV’s reviews of local theatre productions!

This e-magazine is a wonderful way to find what is happening in Central Pennsylvania for all things arts-related:  music, fine arts, theater, dance... you name it! Schedules, locations, and general comments will appear regularly. So if you are searching for something to do over the weekend, check CityStateArts.com.  It will give you the vital information on what is available to do and see as well as Pat’s Opinionated View. 

THEATER REVIEW: Come Blow Your Horn

Now and then something happens that reminds me that I really am getting older. We just made the trip to the Millbrook Playhouse in Mill Hall to see COME BLOW YOUR HORN. COME BLOW YOUR HORN was the play that opened Millbrook’s inaugural season fifty years ago. I was there. 

This is the first of many comedies written by Neil Simon and like many of his plays, explores relationships within a family as well as between the sexes. In COME BLOW YOUR HORN swinging bachelor Alan Baker has it all going for him, neat apartment, good job in the family business, and beautiful women at his beck and call. When younger brother Buddy leaves home and moves in with him, he is willing to take his brother under his wing and teach him how to be a swinger. According to their father, now the family has two “Bums”.

For this type of comedy to work the director has to be well aware of the timing and pacing of the show. Adam Knight has proven in the past that he understands all of that as well as letting his characters get their laughs. It is to his credit that the evening went so quickly.

The brothers, Alan and Buddy played by Joseph McGranaghan and Daniel Tepper, were well cast. There was a strong “family resemblance” and since they carried the bulk of the show, it was good that the two of them had strong acting skills. The shift in each personality, Buddy becoming a swinger and Alan settling down, was well done.

Erin McMahon as the sexy, airhead Peggy hit it just right. It would have been too easy to over-play the role and turn it into a caricature instead of someone we might know. The more practical Connie was played by Mary Ruth Baggott. The role gave the actress a chance to show a wider range of emotions and Ms. Baggott was up to the job.

I am afraid that the night belonged to the parents, Mr. and Mrs. Baker. Frank Franconeri and Staci Morin may be two of the most talented character actors around. As the typical, emotional mother who worries that her boys are not getting enough to eat and messes up phone messages because she cannot find a pencil, Staci was perfection. (The bit about the pencil was one of the loudest laughs of the evening).

Frank Franconeri is no stranger to Millbrook audiences and I am one of his biggest fans. It was no surprise that he nailed the part of as controlling father with two bums for sons. We can expect to see him later in the season in Woman in Black.

COME BLOW YOUR HORN should be rather dated by now, but it is still a fresh and new comedy. I think that it has held up better than I have.

COME BLOW YOUR HORN closed this past weekend, but The Sound of Music will run on the Main Stage until July 7 and The Woman in Black will open on July 5 in the Cabaret. Check about tickets at 570-748-8083. A warning though, they are having sold out houses.