Author: christophersoden@sbcglobal.net

 

T-Bone and Weasel are best buds. They are also car thieves, driving through the backroads of South Carolina, in a stolen Buick. T-Bone (Kenne Earle) is African American and Weasel (Travis Cook) is white. T-Bone is “the brains of the operation”, and Weasel might have been dropped on his head as an infant. During their non-heroic odyssey, they encounter a liquor store owner, a cantankerous car lot proprietor, a redneck sheriff, a corrupt politician, a sex-starved cougar, a crazy guy living under a bridge, all played by Carter Frost. Early in the show, T-Bone decides a liquor store will be easy pickings. The two go inside and between unbelievably bad luck, and a litany of Weasel’s missed opportunities, the heist is a dismal failure. Subsequent eventualities only add to their ordeal. An insatiable dowager. A pathological hobo. A politician media whore. Or was that a pathological politician and a media whore hobo?

T-Bone and Weasel plays like a fusion of Dukes of Hazzard and In the Heat of the Night. Playwright Jon Klein exploits Bible Belt tropes, but resists the temptation to to use them only for cheap laffs. (A second cousin of Flannery O’Connor, if you will.) Each encounter aims a magnifying glass on the darker side Southern Christianity and hospitality. Klein takes the time to set caricatures aside for better realized characters. He injects ethical quandaries into the mix, giving us a deeper understanding of T-Bone and Weasel’s better and less admirable qualities. As we might expect, he explores racism and the choices this demands of the two friends. He doesn’t settle for compromise or derivation or stock routines. He gives us time and space for reflection and appreciation of detail. The exigencies of human frailty.

There is nothing quite like The Pocket Sandwich Theatre experience. The cast and crew go out of their way to make us comfortable and welcome. The minimal sets and curtain speeches only enhance our pleasure and enjoyment. PST gives us triple helpings of merriment and glee, all while maintaining wise precautions. T-Bone and Weasel is a surprising piece of theatre, contemplation in goofy comedy clothes. The cast is dedicated, agile and ready to play. Special nod to Carter Frost for his acrobatic acting skills.

The Pocket Sandwich Theatre presents T-Bone and Weasel playing March 5th-April 17^th, 2021. 5400 East Mockingbird Lane, Suite 119, Dallas, Texas 75206. 214-821-1860. www.pocketsandwich.com

I’m ashamed to tell you that when I woke up Christmas morning, Father Christmas had only left a lump of coal in my stocking. (And a small one at that!) I got on the horn to him right away, and put him on the spot: Is this because I never pick up the check? I return your sled without refilling the tank? Your brother and I never clean before leaving your townhouse? “No, you imbecile!” he yelled! Feleceia Wilson Benton is starring in Ella’s Swinging Christmas, and it closes January 3^rd! Feleceia’s been a good girl all year long, and I won’t have you dropping the ball!” I searched for a witty rejoinder but answer came there none. As usual, Santy was right. So here goes.

Inspired by Ella Fitzgerald’s wildly popular 1960 album: Ella Wishes you A Swinging Christmas, Ella’s Swinging Christmas is available through streaming, courtesy of WaterTower Theatre. Born April 25^th, 1917, Ms. Fitzgerald (aka: First Lady of Song, Queen of Jazz and Lady Ella) rose to distinction and soon became (along with Billie Holliday and Mildred Bailey) one of America’s preeminent Jazz Divas.

In Ella’s Swinging Christmas, Benton covers all the songs from the watershed album, including Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Sleigh Ride, Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas, Winter Wonderland and The Christmas Song. In addition, she performs: Good Morning Blues, A-Tisket, A -Tasket and What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve?

Much contemporary stage entertainment appropriates the life and career of numerous performers, musicians and composers (Billie Holliday, Billy Joel, Carole King, The Four Seasons…) with mixed results. Some of them work better than others. Ella’s Swinging Christmas stands out as a tribute that doesn’t aim to depict the “character” for us. Feleceia Wilson Benton informs us early on that WaterTower has recreated her own living room for this special concert, and indeed it has that welcoming, cozy feel. The trio laying down those cool rhythms for Benton’s remarkable pipes includes: Kwinton Gray (piano), KJ Gray (upright bass), and Jackie Whitmill (percussion). These chipper, sometimes moody, often tongue-in-cheek classics move along at brisk clip, without feeling rushed.

As a kid, I was often confused by the appeal that jazz had for adults. It always seemed distracted from any recognizable tune. To be all frosting and no cake. Now, of course, the pensive and playful side of jazz itself, and the genius of a chanteuse like Feleceia Wilson Benton, comfort my mind and spirit by exponentially riffing, counterpointing and resuscitating the familiar and the unfamiliar. Jazz brings a wry, understated panache to the traditional Christmas songs we know so well, blending grown up savvy with a genuine appreciation for the innocence and grace that lend to enchantment. Ms. Benton brings gusto and sophisticated chops to these stories that still tickle, move and delight us.

At the risk of sounding like the Grinch, it’s hard to watch any Christmas special without dreading the usual cringe-worthy, forced sort of patter they were probably using when your Grandpa was a child. Rest assured: Ella’s Swinging Christmas avoids such hazards. It is adult in the best sense of the word, while remaining perfectly appropriate for the young ones. Treat yourself to a giddy, smooth, upbeat evening and don’t miss this.

Ellas’s Swinging Christmas: WaterTower Theatre (Streaming): November 27^th – January 3^rd, 2020. 15650 Addison Road, Addison Texas 75001. 972-450-6232. email: info@watertowertheatre.org Website: www.watertowertheatre.org

Back in the day, Erma Bombeck was one of America’s most celebrated humorists, and continues to be. Going from a contributor in a local newspaper, to widely syndicated columnist, to author of numerous books, Bombeck brought her wry wisdom to the challenges of motherhood. It’s hard to say if American culture has ever been especially enlightened when it comes to the demands of maintaining a household. The chaos of getting the kids ready for school, making their lunches, cooking breakfast for everybody, cleaning house, giving a deceased guppy a proper funeral, staying vigilant with a sick child, making sure your husband’s properly dressed, to name just a few. Bombeck was a prime example of playing to one’s strengths. She was ironic, but never cynical. She was strong, but not brittle or deprecating. She was savvy but always mixed her insights with warmth and humor. She could let you know that new shirt wasn’t working for you, but make you laugh at the same time.

I must confess, I was dubious at the notion of a “one-woman show” on the life of Erma Bombeck. It would be so easy to string together her wisecracks and witticisms, without much substance to support it. Well, I couldn’t have been more wrong. Allison and Margaret Engel have crafted a rich, absorbing, often poignant theatrical piece, tracing Bombeck’s personal history from tap-dancing at the age of four, to the autumnal years of her marriage to Bill. And the Engels never push for those deeply touching moments. Though Bombeck “tempers” even the most painful episodes with sardonic (albeit grounded) observations, they get to us. I was really overcome by Bombeck’s pervasive humanity. Her gift for embracing the best aspects of just living in the world. I don’t want to give too much away, but I found myself continuously astonished by the incredibly varied and emotional experiences that enriched Bombeck’s life.

Under the meticulous, intuitive direction of Michael Serrecchia, Ellen Locy turns in a brilliant performance. She has Bombeck’s vocal inflections, demeanor, and comportment spot on, and manages the task of being the sole performer without a hitch. She’s poised, nuanced, frank and delightful to watch. I believe that if you streamed this show, without knowing a single detail of Erma Bombeck’s life, you’d still be captivated. There’s the merriment and sharp insights, of course. But there’s also the grace, the affection, the bravery, the ethical imperative, concealed by her self-deprecation.

Don’t miss this healing, heartening experience.

Erma Bombeck: At Wit’s End, streams from MainStage Irving- Las Colinas until November 21^st. www.irvingtheatre.org (972) 594-6104 info@irvingtheatre.org

Get tickets at https://bit.ly/MainStageErmaBombeck

 

A collaboration between Danielle Georgiou and Justin Locklear, The Bippy Bobby Boo Show: Call-In Special is a mashup spoof of pop and trash culture television that owes a great debt to Laugh In, What We Do in the Shadows, and the kind of variety shows (Dean Martin, Carol Burnett, Sony and Cher Comedy Hour) that featured solos by singers with great pipes and gobs of gravitas. There is a medium, a self-absorbed chanteuse, a stage manager, a stand-up comic, go-go dancers in bell bottoms and so forth. Georgiou’s choreography is varied and energetic, whether it’s the stylized, nonchalance of the 70’s or the wobbly convulsions of zombies.

At the beginning I thought that Bippy was on a nostalgia bender until I realized that all the characters are ghosts. It’s probably both. Except Nick, who longs to join their realm. He makes a pact with the Devil, manifested by a creepy, squeaky, bilious red puppet. The Call-In guests (I tried a couple of times myself) add another layer to this exploration of campiness, tongue-in-cheek irony, and a sort of tacit resignation. Much is revved up or vamped, with only the occasional hint at subtext. There seems to be a kind of mania informing most of the pieces, except for the lugubrious divas, torchy and turgid.

Bippy trades in grotesque, nearly vaudevillian content, some kinds of performance effectively being their own derision. At the same time it pays tribute to the tropes and icons of bourgeois entertainment, it diminishes it. You watch, convinced it cannot possibly be on the level, and yet it is. It was only years after I’d watched Green Acres that a friend explained it was the genius of mainstream absurdism. Bippy certainly pays dubious tribute to the frantic energy of a host like Bippy Bobby, who keeps the gags rolling with insipid gusto. Here and there (true to the old adage) throwaway sotto voce comments reveal his contempt for the audience.

The Bippy Bobby Boo Show is a triumph of style, ingenuity, tone and savvy. It works very well on its face, but the unspoken despair, the longing for us to evolve as a culture, to let go of empty values, also comes through. Georgiou and Locklear have created a strange and complicated, yet quite satisfying critique of loopy, congealed content that panders to mindless kitsch. Like Shakespeare it’s got something for everyone, whether you’re in the front row, or the nosebleeds.

Danielle Georgiou Dance Group and Theatre Three present: The Bippy Bobby Boo Show: Call-In Special. Last chance to see Tuesday, November 3^rd, 2020: Election Night! Tickets are $15 and are available for purchase at www.Theatre3Dallas.com

 

Based on the 1912 novel by Jean Webster, Daddy Long Legs is a musical composed by Paul Gordon (Music and Lyrics) and John Caird (Book). It tells the story of Jerusha Abbott, who has grown up in The John Grier Orphanage, and has no friends or acquaintances, to speak of. At 17, she has finished her education (such as the orphanage can provide) and lives there, doing chores and helping out. After board members have finished their evaluation, Jerusha is called in by the Headmistress. There she is informed that a benefactor has noticed her intelligence and depth, and wishes to send her to college, all expenses paid. Said benefactor usually only helps young men, but he’s so impressed, he makes an exception. She must mail him letters monthly, with progress reports. But she can never know his name, or expect replies.

Jerusha’s certain she saw her generous sponsor as he left the orphanage. Rejecting the cold formality of “Mr. John Smith”, she begins her first letter by dubbing him: “Daddy Long Legs”. The fact that this is also the name of an insect, sort of sets the tone for our story. Unlike other girls, Jerusha has no compunctions when it comes to appreciating bugs. She’s warm and earnest and forthcoming and has no use for propriety over sincerity. She’s sentient and astonished by the phenomenal and pleasant world that Jervis Pendleton (AKA John Smith) has opened for her. Jervis, by contrast, has begun to have second thoughts. Not because of anything his protege has done. He simply feels lost making sense of the female realm.

It speaks highly of a show that so thoroughly engulf us, considering there are two characters who connect only through one-sided correspondence. Personally I wondered how it was supposed to happen. A piece like this could easily be safe or predictable. But Director Derek Whitener is too brave for that. As we see their relationship evolve, the chemistry is positively intoxicating. I must point out here:     I have never attended a single musical at Firehouse that wasn’t intrepid, professional, poised, brimming with energy and sublime content. Under the sharp direction of Whitener, Caitlin Martelle Jones (Jerusha Abbott) and Preston Lee Isham (Jervis Pendleton) give intuitive, invested, poignant performances that are deeply moving and consistently entertaining. Firehouse always comes through with remarkable, exhilarating plays and Daddy long Legs is no exception.

Firehouse Theatre presents: Daddy Long Legs, a streaming event featured from September 25th-October 11^th, 2020. 2535 Valley View Lane, Farmers Branch, Texas 75234. 972-484-3121
www.thefirehousetheatre.com

When you consider the numerous dramatizations of the development of the atom bomb (Fail Safe, Dr. Strangelove, Insignificance…) and the profound ethical questions raised, Mark Oristano’s The Impact of the Gadget on Civilization is a brilliant example of distillation, brevity and nuanced intensity. His strategy of creating a dialectic between Albert Einstein and Robert Oppenheimer, efficiently and thoughtfully takes us to the heart of the matter. Oppenheimer invites Einstein (his old friend) to elicit his help with the Manhattan Project, the notorious codename for the development of nuclear weapons. It’s clear that Oppenheimer’s been been enlisted to persuade Doctor Einstein to lend a hand, as the countless scientists, experts and soldiers are, ironically, stuck.

It’s also clear by the nature of Oppenheimer’s pitch, that something’s up. He speaks with a certain finality, as if the points he makes are without question. As if he’s concealing something. For a fellow scientist, his explanations seem a bit thin and simplistic. Einstein, by contrast, comes from a place of healthy skepticism. (There’s a reason why the title refers to the bomb as a “gadget”.) He makes congenial jabs at Oppenheimer, offering clarifications and distinctions, never being contentious. Oppenheimer deals in hypotheticals and moral relativism. Maddening examples like torture for the sake of saving lives. If this situation ever occurs, wouldn’t you say anything to stop the agony? True or not? Oppenheimer doesn’t use that particular paradigm, but instead, suggests that the bomb will end the war far more efficiently, sparing American lives. As if Japanese lives are worthless.

Oristano deals in complex characters, but essentially Einstein argues on the side of mercy and humanity, and Oppenheimer, Draconian expediency. A tacit urgency seems to drive Oppenheimer (and perhaps guilt). Einstein is cool and patient, confident in his position. T. A. Taylor’s Einstein is beautifully realized, as well as Evan Michael Woods’ Oppenheimer. David Saldivar plays Corporal Goodman, supporting the narrative and Taylor and Evans. There is a melancholy music (Tanner Peterson) that weaves through this drama, reminding us that Oristano’s script transcends the match of wits by two great minds.

IMPRINT TheatreWorkspresents: The Impact of the Gadget on Civilization, streaming September 17th-20th, 2020.

www.imprinttheatreworks.org

Whenever I visit The Ochre House I confess a sensation of exhilaration and dread, as if I were entering a sacred temple where the elemental truths of humanity might be revealed horrifically or congenially, pathetically or uproariously. Maybe both. Currently playwright and director Matthew Posey is offering The Egg Salesman, a gentle, saucy, comedic fable exploring the virtues of rich humanity over seeking validation by the world’s measure of success. Donald Trump may be wealthy beyond anyone’s most extravagant imaginings, but at the end of the day, nobody likes a putz.

Marvin, the hero of our saga, is still trying to find his way. Like the rest of us. He’s in love with Mary, and just the legendary duo of George Burns and Gracie Allen, Mary’s preposterous logic may keep Marvin on his toes (and inspire the occasional cringe) but the sweetness she brings to his restless heart is more than enough to keep him enchanted. Mary may follow what first appears to be the path of absurdity, but she may be onto more than Marvin realizes.

Marvin is a dedicated, avid egg salesman. He’s playing hooky from work, so he and Mary can enjoy a day at the dog-track, betting on the hounds. Unbeknownst to Mary, Marvin is deeply in debt to the tune of five figures, a predicament he hopes to resolve if he can just navigate the tip sheet resourcefully. Their friend, CJ is there too (bemoaning his tumultuous marital woes) and unfortunately, Marvin’s boss, Ken Looper, who thinks Marvin is at work, diligently documenting the poultry reports. Mr. Looper has brought his rambunctious wife, Katharine along, a zaftig and flirtatious gal who embodies the spirit of spontaneous, tactile recreation. Providing wisecracking narrative are Cigarette Girls : Bebe and Barbs.

Though it feels whimsical and off the cuff, The Egg Salesman is masterful in its vaudevillian timing and exquisite sense of the preposterous. The actors are having a picnic and we’re invited. Successful comedy is a delicate, chemical endeavor that makes nuclear physics seems like stirring up a box of Duncan Hines Brownies. We all want to laugh. The performers certainly want to engage us in that elusive, ebullient magic. But just like the redemption poor Marvin is seeking to pull his life from the pit of despair, humor has more to do with experience, intuition and skill, than conventional logic and loaded content. There’s something so blissful and sublime in this loopy, frantically subdued allegory, like a rowboat down the lazy river. You really, really, really should go. It’s splendelicious.

 

As we hunkered down to make the best of enhanced family time and/or solitude, The Firehouse Theater came to our rescue with Taylor Mercado Owens’ Curiouser. Directed by Olivia Grace Murphy, Curiouser is a smart and quirky gloss on Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, conceived as a Zoom Class, with all the constraints and opportunities that venue implies. The brainchild of a Master Class offered by Firehouse, Curiouser finds us in the midst of Ms. Selmon’s English Class, where the students are up in arms, because they’re expected to process the Lewis Carroll classic, despite the way it flagrantly flouts comprehensible narrative. It doesn’t make any sense! they wail, as their dedicated teacher tries to explain that perhaps this is the point.

Alicia, one of the more engaged scholars, defends Selmon’s choice before she dozes off, waking to discover she’s adrift in Alice’s same predicament. Familiar scenario’s emerge. She’s trapped in a room too large and too small, she queries a contentious (though jovial) Cheshire Cat, she attends a tea-party with guests such as The Dormouse, The Mad Hatter and The March Hare. And wouldn’t you know, each one of these strange characters bear a resemblance to Alicia’s classmates. They have lost their grasp of even the most undeniable details of the actual. Sound familiar?

Director Murphy (who brings an impressive list of credits) shows great facility in adapting Owen’s adaptation to the nether realm of the Zoom Platform. The young cast of Curiouser makes this story their own, bringing their personal traits to the production, under the skillful guidance of Ms. Murphy. Curiouser was delightful and filled with ingenuity, shaping Carroll’s twilight zone to a plot that perhaps might alleviate our shared predicament, if only we can can roll with ourongoing challenges, resisting frustration and perplexity.

Cast: Alicia: Marla Acevedo, Teacher/ Storyteller: Holli Selmon, Rabbit/ Duck/ #3/ Knave: Karl Lewis, Caterpillar/ Student 1/ Door 1/ #5: Savannah Elayyach, Cheshire Cat/ Student 2/ Door 2: Patrick Bilbow, March Hare/ Cake/ #7: Jenna Williamson, Mad Hatter/ Bottle/ #9: Brenna Stewart, Dormouse/ Door 3/ Dodo: Lyric Knight, Queen/ Student 3/ Pigeon: Tonya Wilson Shaw, King/ Student 4/ Mouse: Quentin Maese.

From the first time I attended a show by IMPRINT Theatreworks, I could tell they were exceptional in most every way. They went out of their way to make the audience feel welcome during the curtain speech. They chose unorthodox content. They were palpably exhilarated and you could feel it. Founder Ashley White, et al were possessed of a sweetness, an authenticity, a radiance that tickled your spine like a lightning rod. After that I always looked upon those opening nights with loopy anticipation.

I daresay this pandemic has been something worse than a buzzkill and something less than a catastrophe. But based upon my previously sublime experience with IMPRINT I was stoked (albeit curious) to see how this intrepid theatre troupe would tackle 45’s onslaught on live entertainment. I needn’t have worried. Raise You Up! was a musical revue brimming with earnest warmth and cunning ingenuity, designed to appeal to our shared humanity as performers, artists, technicians, “creators” and lovers of the Arts. IMPRINT has always shown thoughtfulness and respect to everyone involved in making a show a success, including those in the seats. And they’ve always had a knack for dealing in the currency of enthusiasm.

Rise you up! Interlaced off the cuff, yet poignant testimonials to how the recent crisis has brought us together. Unlike the PSA’s we’re subjected to on television, that suggest conundrums and impractical slogans, Raise You Up! seemed to come from a place of down to earth, jovial, anecdotal wisdom that felt therapeutic and helpful. There were musical numbers that involved the entire company, a clever tongue-in-cheek sendup of Kander and Ebb’s “Cell Block Tango” (by way of Henry VIII’s Six Wives) a turbulent cover of Morisette’s “You Oughtta Know”, and numerous other pieces including rock and roll from Lizzie! (their past musical of the life of Lizzie Borden) Murder Ballad, Bring Him Home and Ghost Quartet.

Like past productions of IMPRINT Theatreworks, Raise You Up! never lacked for audacity, energy, professionalism and craft. IMPRINT always gives 200% and they have a gift for making us feel jazzed, surprised, for stirring up our molecules. They are so dedicated to giving us the best they can muster, yet they are crisp while avoiding the slickness of theaters with deeper pockets. And how could you not be delighted by their cast of 20+ actors, singers, musicians…? I came away with a profound sense of gratitude, and appreciation for the warmth and humanity they offer, every time they raise the curtain, and invite us into their realm of the miraculous and beguiling.