From the Desk of Jim R, Take 2, Column 207, A Review: "Mlima's Tale" (Westport Country Playhouse)

By James V. Ruocco

In Lynn Nottage's absorbing 80-minute play "Mlima's Tale," the title character, a much-loved and fiercely protected Kenyan elephant is attacked and killed by two poachers who anxiously await for him to die so that they could sever his magnificent tusks for their own commercial gain. But as the play evolves, his spirit lingers about in subsequent scenes as a reminder of their guilt and the savagery associated with their morally corrupt, unjust acts of murder. The tusks, in turn, eventually end up going to the highest buyer, openly displayed in a penthouse foyer as proof of their extraordinary beauty and quality.

Here, as in other works that include "Sweat," "Ruined" and "Intimate Apparel," Nottage is a masterful storyteller who gives each of her plays identity, strongness and purpose. Her passion for writing is  well-intentioned, mixed with just the right amount of wit, edge and confirmation that from page to page and scene to scene, complement her inner strength, stability and remarkable playwriting vision.

Haunting.
Dramatic.
Lyrical.
Striking.
Gripping.
Passionate.

This is a powerful play that is appropriately timely, extreme and dangerous. It is unexpectedly in the moment, in its execution and in its take on the subject matter. It is also pin-sharp, revered and alarmingly sensationalized.

At Westport Country Playhouse, "Mlima's Tale" is being staged by Mark Lamos, an acclaimed, award-winning director whose credits include "The Rivals," "A Flea in Her Ear," "Ghosts," "Tartuffe," "The Miser," "A Midsummer Night's Dream," "Romeo and Juliet," "Of Mice and Men," "Our Country's Good" and "Tiny Alice." Here, as in other plays he has directed, Lamos brings a raw honesty and a strong emotionalism to this drama as he lays bare the involved patchwork of Nottage's words, observations, themes, characters and story arcs, calibrated by his alternatively chilling, piercing directorial strokes.

What's especially exciting at watching Lamos at play (no pun, intended) is the way he prefigures the work from the start, how the situation or situations at hand unfurl, how everything seamlessly connects and how the piece moves from rehearsal hall to stage like an unstoppable force determined to fly and unravel with a uniqueness and freshness that's carefully blocked and persuasively balanced.

With "Mlima's Tale," the spotlight is aimed at short, narratively involving episodes that move the story forward with a force and inspiration that provides many powerful moments, thoughts, reflections and resolutions that are both convincing and dramatically effective. This is all stylistically configured to include important projections of Africian-inspired proverbs, mood music, lighting and sound cues and Jeffrey Page's sensual choreography that heighten the story's already strong docu-drama feel and allure. That said, Lamos knows what to emphasize and what to let stand still and breathe, how to let an important piece of information linger, when to amp up the pathos without calculation and how to drive each of the playwright's key story points home convincingly and unobtrusively.

The produiction stars Jermaine Rowe as Mlima, Jennean Farmer as Player 1, Adit Dileep as Player 2 ans Carl Hedrick Louis as Player 3. Playing a variety of characters including poachers, government officials, smugglers, boat captains, ivory carvers, art buyers and collectors, Farmer, Dileep and Louis shift gears with creative, chameleon-like aplomb that is admirable, persuasive and coated with actor-like relish and dynamic that works most advantageously throughout the entire production. As Mlima, Rowe is astonishing. His transformation into elephant and subsequent spirit is imbued with a lyrical command and Alvin Alley balletic grace that fascinates at every single turn. The actor also brilliantly communicates the character's suffering, anguish and torment in early scenes that portray Mlima's death and passing from one world to the next.

A shattering, potent work with edge, impact and theatrical dynamic, "Mlima's Tale" is an important drama that benefits greatly from Mark Lamos' sharp, intuitive direction and the particularly effective performances of its hardworking quartet of actors. Playwright Lynn Nottage crafts an intensely personal play that stirs and ignites with an overpowering compassion that is not easily forgotten.

Photos of "Mlima's Tale" courtesy of Carol Rosegg

"Mlima's Tale" is being staged at Westport Country Playhouse (25 Powers Ct., Westport, CT), now through October 19.

For tickets or more information, call (203) 227- 4177.

website: westportplayhouse.org.

From the Desk of Jim R, Take 2, Column 206, A Review: "The Cherry Orchard" (Connecticut Repertory Theatre)

By James V. Ruocco

Though it has been staged mostly as a mannered psychological story of despair and ennui since its 1904 debut at the Moscow Art Theatre, Anton Chekhov's "The Cherry Orchard" contains some hilariously ribald moments and comic contradictions that Connecticut Repertory Theatre can't seem to get enough of.

The story of the wealthy, aristocratic Ranevskaya family who lost their land due to the collapse of a feudal order, this classic play from the early days of the 20th century has been adapted to the stage in a version by Jean-Claude van Itallie that adds a lot of comic punch and bite to Chekhov's wistful, weeping masterpiece.

As theatre, it charms and probes with wicked delight. It delves deeply into the dark emotions and angst it conjures up so effortlessly. It swans around with many different kinds of loss, regret and baffled wonder. It associates itself with remembrances of missed opportunities. It laughs at the starchy restraint of yesteryear. It also gallops along with some highly choreographed clowning and nouveau-riche gesticulation reminiscent of "The Importance of Being Earnest," "The Play That Goes Wrong" and "A Little Night Music."

With all of this chicanery lathered up in one big Chekhovian mind game, both comic and dramatic, this telling of one family's fall from fortune never once seems out of place. It sparkles with originality and besotted merriment. It ridicules and cajoles. It is also so quirky, offbeat and colorful, there are times when you forget you're watching a play devised by Anton Chekhov.

At CRT, "The Cherry Orchard" is being staged by John Miller-Stephany, a savvy storyteller and director whose credits include "The Night of the Iguana," "To Kill a Mockingbird," "Sweeney Todd," "Jane Eyre," "The Music Man" and "1776." Completely akin to the plot and character machinations of Chekhov's world, he crafts an unmistakably challenging piece of theatre that broods, chirps,
tantalizes, skips and growls. It's all carefully thought out, bouncing back and forth between emotional turbulence and jaunty comedy, staged with appropriate dash, wit and pitch perfection.

Much of what happens here works seamlessly enough as "The Cherry Orchard" is played with elegant restraint and fast-wilting zaniness rather than something more layered, mannered and simmering from the likes of London's National Theatre. It's a directorial choice, of course, that changes things considerably, but, at the same time, respects the blueprint set forth by Chekhov without  glossing over any Chekhovian darkness, gloom, edge or high passion.

Played out in four segments (two per act), this production brings the right mood and mindset to the Russian classic with Stephany orchestrating knockabout humor and warmth with moments of tragedy, cruelty, tranquility and unquietness. Working with very classy ingredients, both melodramatic and sincere, his personal touches and directorial insight keep the material alert, punchy and poetic. Nothing just happens out of nowhere. There is drive and purpose to this telling that puts a playful twist on things without losing any of its somber, bleak intent. Stephany also travels a more understandable route in terms of storytelling which allows the audience to tap into the play comfortably and realize the story's issues upfront and first hand.

"The Cherry Orchard" stars Caralyn Kozlowski as Lyubov Andreyevna Ranevskaya, Mark Light-Orr as Leonid Andreyevich Gayev, Abigal Hilditch as Anya, Alex Campbell as Varya, Tristan Rewald as Yasha, Bryan Mittelstadt as Pyotr Sergeyevich Trofimov, Rob Barnes as Semyon Paanteleyevich Yepikhodov, Sierra Kane as Charlotta Ivanovna, Sebastian Nagpal as Firs, Erin Cessina as Dunyasha, Nikolai Fernandez as Yermolay Alexeyevich Lopakhim, Matthew Antoci as Simeonov-Pischik and Anthony Antoci as a Vagrant. Everyone stands out in his or her own way, projecting the tortured or sharply funny voices of their characters in dutiful, relatable ways. They get Chekhov. They understand Chekhov. They like Chekhov. They are so very right for each of the different roles they are asked to portray. They are smartly attuned to the setting of the play,  the manners and expressions of the period and how they should react and behave with one another. They also have great fun reciting the full names of the play's Russian characters (a running gag, one might say) without skipping a beat or reciting the ambiguous, lyrical and humorous dialogue dictated by the playwright.

Life as seen through the eyes of Anton Chekhov manages to be glib, funny and forever crumbling in CRT's nicely staged production of "The Cherry Orchard." This handsome revival makes perfect sense out of the character's idiosyncrasies, their browbeaten bathos and egotism, their high strung  conversations, their silly dalliances and their restless passions. When necessary, director John Miller-Stephany goes full tilt to shake things up a bit, but when the dust settles, he plugs deeply into his absurdist telling, thus, giving it a mind of its own and a jar or two of self-importance, angst and irony, fractured charm and poignant melancholy.

"The Cherry Orchard" is being staged at Connecticut Repertory Theatre (Harriet S. Jorgensen Theatre, 2132 Hilldside Rd., Storrs, CT), now through October 13.

For tickets or more information, call (860) 486-2113

website: crt.uconn.edu.

From The Desk of Jim R, Take 2, Column 205, A Review: "Sherlock Holmes and the Haunted Cabaret" (Downtown Cabaret Theatre)

By James V. Ruocco

In "Sherlock Holmes and the Haunted Cabaret," a popular television game show called "The Helping Hand," discovers a mysterious phantom in the wings who threatens the livelihood of all involved with a terrible vengeance that brings Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's beloved character up on to the stage of the television studio to unmask (no pun intended) this psycho using the same whirlwind Baker Street strategies that put him on the map in the first place.

Who is this madman?
Is he a man?
Is he a woman?
What has he or she to gain?
Why has "The Helping Hand" been targeted?
Is is someone from behind-the-scene's of the popular game show?
Is it the producer?
Is it the host?
Is it the hostess?
Is is a shamed contestant who lost the big prize?

As scripted by Phil Hill, there are a number of possibilities, but the final decision rests not upon Sherlock Holmes, but every single member of the audience. Here, you decide the ending of the play and who to place in the limelight as the villain or villainess of the piece.

But before you do, there's lots of comedy, lots of drama, lots of clues, lots of big musical numbers, lots of dancing and lots of jokes to keep you and everyone in the theater on their toes as "Sherlock Holmes and the Haunted Cabaret" thrills, excites, entices and amps up the entertainment ante with enough guffawed glee and banana peel delirium to last right up until the big climax at the end of Act II.

At Downtown Cabaret, "Sherlock Holmes and the Haunted Cabaret" is being staged by Ricky Altamirano, an intuitive director who brings the right mindset and understanding to the genre, its well-constructed whodunit caseload, its logic puzzles and deceits, its chatter and expectations and its mounting, mannered curiosity. More importantly, he takes hold of the obviously giddy, double-barrelled plot and has great fun with it, always knowing when to go for a laugh, try something serious, toss you the wrong clue, unspool the invented rules or shake up the play's apparent, ordained fustiness.

Half the fun, of course, is discovering who the culprit is and why the act in question was done. Altamirano's eye for detail and his perfectly-timed staging for the play's eight individual scenes (four per act) fuels the fire as it becomes one of the most pleasurable aspects of his work here. In turn, the play's high-charged energy never falters for a moment even when Phil Hill's play text dictates a well-placed song, dance or both to thrust the action forward most engagingly.

This being an interactive piece of children's theatre, the audience is required to become an active participant when necessary through a show of hands, loud or not-so-loud applause, potent vocal responses, quick-witted improvisation and finally, the selection of the culprit which depending on their choice, changes the end of the play from performance to performance. Whereas some productions tend to milk or overplay these concepts, here, Altamirano keeps a tight reign on what to say and how to proceed within the confines of the script and its subsequent breaks to elicit audience response. It's all very professional, lively, consistent and great fun for both the on-stage actors and every single kid, teenager and adult in the audience.

"Sherlock Holmes and the Haunted Cabaret" stars Andrea Pane as Sherlock Holmes, Ashley DePascale as Joanna Watson, Lauren Bell as Vanessa Pearl, Ricky Altamirano as Montgomery Conyers and Zach Fontanez as Godfrey Rayburn. All five are not only well chosen for their respective roles, but deliver well-honed character portraits, laced with page-turning finesse, charm, wit and break-away exhilaration. Taking their cues from the script or from the audience, they never once break character for a second.

Sherlock Holmes, played by Andrea Pane, absolutely looks the part from head to toe in Leslie Neilson-Bowman's well-chosen costuming. Played with chilling spotlight accuracy by the actor, Pane has the patrician manner of the famous London sleuth, his razor-sharp cheekbones, his shameless magnifying glass polish and his aquiline grandstanding. He also deftly projects the character's famous deduction logic, his lengthy investigative conversations, his Baker Street ethics and his ability to trap the real culprit just when you think it's someone else entirely. Pane is also suitably cool, serious, intense and aloof when need be. And when asked to take the plunge into the play's broad comic directives, he nails the shtick perfectly with panache and well-timed wit and invention.

As Vanessa Pearl, a character modeled, in part, after "Wheel of Fortune" hostess Vanna White, Lauren Bell has charm, charisma, sass, sweetness and stage presence to boot. She carries off this bubbly role beautifully and is incredibly resourceful at illuminating the character's bright-colored persona, her smarts and ingenuity and her goldstar ambitions. Ashley DePascale makes an invigorating  Joanna Watson, channeling the character's dedication for playing Holmes' able crime solving partner, ultimately deserving of her chance to take the lead. She's a breath of fresh air with a flair for playing both physical comedy and pathos with hands-on-surprise and tom-foolery.

As Godfrey Rayburn, "The Helping Hand's" beleaguered production assistant, Zach Fontanez displays genius comic timing and technical skills that unravel with faultless precision and flustered spirit. "Sherlock" director Ricky Altamirano, in the role of Montgomery Conyers, "The Helping Hand's" razzle-dazzle game show host, knows how to play comedy to the fullest, chart the on-the-spot improvisation brilliantly and nail anything that's thrown at him from the audience with the intuitiveness of a true musical hall vaudevillian. He's a master at reducing audience members to helpless, wobbly jelly and sustaining laughter with wonderfully hammy bits and bobs that are joyously manic and absolutely right for this giggly choreographed mayhem.

"Sherlock Homes and the Haunted Cabaret" is fast, confident and deliciously witty children's theatre. The script is lively and well-suited to the genre it parodies. Under Ricky Altamirano's playful direction,  the five-member cast get it right at every single turn. So if you're a big Sherlock Holmes fan looking to play sleuth and solve the mystery at hand, this production makes wonderful use of Arthur Conan Doyle's world famous detective in between the laughs, the mayhem, the big reveal and the songs and dances. You can even come to the theater dressed as Holmes or Watson or any other British whodunit figure if you so choose.

"Sherlock Holmes and the Haunted Cabaret" is being staged at Downtown Cabaret Theatre (263 Golden Hill St., Bridgeport, CT), now through November 3.

For tickets or more information, call (203) 576-1636.

website: dtcab.com

From the Desk of Jim R, Take 2, Column 204, A Review: "Ragtime" (Music Theatre of Connecticut)

 

By James V. Ruocco

A poignant, timely and revelatory piece of American theater, "Ragtime" speaks directly and intimately to its audience with every single person listening to its rich language, its choice musical moments, its varying chapters, its dynamic characters and its free-flowing, embracing orchestrations.

It is passionately assembled and recreated.

It has its own sense of purpose and individuality.

It is concise, articulate and high-toned.

It evokes the right mindset for its definitive look back it time.

It has sting.

It has bite.

It has intrigue and melodrama.

It overflows with appeal and emotion.

Its themes, musical and dramatic, are established with great clarity.

It is raw, real, expressive and surprising.

Based on E. L. Doctorow's epic 1975 historical novel, "Ragtime," adapted for the stage by Terrence McNally, follows three groups of Americans at the turn of the 20th century: New Rochelle's wealthy middle-class, represented by Mother, Father and their family; America's immigrant population, as seen through the eyes of Latvian Jew, Tateh and his daughter; and the African-American community, represented by Coalhouse Walker, Jr., Sarah and Booker T. Washington.

Then and now, the story itself is about freedom, race, prejudice, immigration, identity, struggle, survival, poverty, social unrest, political doubt, feminism, lost dreams and radicalism. There's a lot going on, but McNally never once steps out of line or becomes overly preachy or melodramatic in his storytelling. This being a musical, he employs a quick, understandable narrative that retraces a certain place and a certain time in history that syncopates fact and fiction with resonance, excitement and imagination.

At Music Theatre of Connecticut, Kevin Connors is by far one of the best directors working in professional Equity theatre today. With "Ragtime," he creates a vivid, involving tour-de-force in which historical and fictional content unfolds with pure shots of adrenaline, truth, realness, drama and circuity response. Here, as "Cabaret," "Cat On a Hot Tin Roof " and "Jekyll & Hyde," his work is earnest, fresh and astutely chronicled, no matter what the subject matter, time frame or intricately gauged story arc.

Using three-quarter staging to tell the "Ragtime" story, Connors adapts a personal, upclose, docu-drama style that thrusts his audience immediately into the piece as both observer, participant and voyeur. This immersive conceit works most effectively as actors enter and exit through the audience, pausing now and then to recite dialogue, participate in the show's many ensemble numbers, deliver important facts and findings or simply stand still watching the action unfold from the sidelines. It's all very carefully thought out and imagined within the theater's small, confined, intimate space and one that allows Connors to create, entice and deliver his very own vision most engagingly.

As director and storyteller, Connors does an impressive job of making "Ragtime" fill the stage, move from scene to scene fluidly and naturally and more importantly, mirror the angst, unrest, drive and plainspokenness of the times with a creative flourish that heightens the relevance and timeliness of the piece at every single turn. He takes chances and runs with them. He knows what works and what doesn't. He knows when to take a breath, pause, stand still and let an important moment linger. He know how to get a laugh, shake you up and move you close to tears. He also knows musical theater inside out, front and backwards, left, right and center and upside down, which, here, makes all the difference in the world.  That said, this is "Ragtime" like you've never seen it before.

The musical score for "Ragtime" was written by Stephen Flaherty (music) and Lynn Ahrens (lyrics). It won the 1998 Tony Award for Best Original Score and features 32 musical numbers. They are "Prologue: Ragtime," "Goodbye, My Love," "Journey On," "The Crime of the Century," "What Kind of Woman," A Shtetl iz Amereke," "Success," "His Name Was Coalhouse Walker," "Gettin' Ready Rag," "Henry Ford," "Nothing Like the City," "Your Daddy's Son," "The Courtship," "New Music," "Wheels of a Dream," "The Night Emma Goldman Spoke at Union Square," "Gliding," "Justice," "President," "Till We Reach the Day," "Coalhouse's Soliloquy," "Coalhouse Demands," "What a Game," "Atlantic City," "Buffalo Nickel Photoplay, Inc., " "Our Children," "Sarah's Brown Eyes," "He Wanted to Say," "Back to Before," "Look What You've Done," "Make Them Hear You," "Epilogue."

Intoxicating, smooth and melodious, each of the musical numbers captures key moments in the character's lives and what's at stake for them and the troubled America that surrounds them.There are anthems, soliloquies, jazz specialties, powerhouse ballads, honky-tonk/ragtime piano tunes, optimistic declarations, edgy salutes to strangers, syncopated beats and rhythms and crisp, heavy undercurrents. Nothing is too big, too small or out of sync with the epic musical story at hand. It's all timed and placed to the pulse and heartbeat that is "Ragtime," generating the right nostalgia, charm, edge and weight for the bygone era of its setting and strong-voice populace.

Music director David Wolfson brings exactness, compassion, pulse and pleasure to the "Ragtime" musical score. Completely knowledgeable of the source material and how it is to be played and realized, Wolfson's smart and savvy take resounds with the right edge, attitude, spirit, thrill and frankness set forth by the show's originators. At the piano alongside Mark Ceppetelli on second piano, things are interpreted freely and affectionately with careful attention given to the dynamic scope of the different songs and ensemble numbers, their wide story arcs, evident authority, lyrical inventiveness and keyboard vitality. Under their tutelage, the cast brings the material to a blazing light, always knowing when to power up or power down so that each song achieves its maximum value and personal perspective.

"Ragtime" stars Ezekiel Andrew as Coalhouse Walker, Jr., Julie Lambert Pratt as Mother, Jessica Molly Schwartz as Evelyn Nesbit, Frank Mastrone as Tateh, Dennis Holland as Father, Soara-Joye Ross as Sarah, Brian Demar Jones as Booker T. Washington, Christian Cardozo as Harry Houdini, Mia Scarpa as Emma Goldman/Kathleen, Jacob Sundlie as Younger Brother, Ari Frimmer as the Little Boy, Hannah Pressman as the Little Girl, Kanova Latrice Johnson as Sarah's Friend, Jeff Gurner as Willy Conklin/Henry Ford and Bill Nabel as J.P. Morgan/Grandfather. With Kevin Connors, pulling the stings, directorially, that is, everyone is exactly right for their respective roles in the two-act musical, each projecting the right attitude, mindset, spirit and spark associated with each of the parts they are asked to portray. Vocally, they also master the melodic intricacies of the "Ragtime" score, demonstrating an impressive flair and understanding for the show's different musical styles, mood swings important rhythmic influences.

Vaudeville beauty Evelyn Nesbit, played by an effervescent Jessica Molly Schwartz sparkles and shines in true musical hall fashion. She also displays that onstage charm and twinkle that made Nesbit an early 20th century celebrity adored by millions. Ezekiel Andrew is a remarkable, strong-voiced Coalhouse Walker, Jr., bringing nuance, gentleness and emotion to his wonderfully realized performance.Frank Mastrone brings plenty of heart and compassion to the role of Tateh, a penniless Jewish immigrant who becomes a pioneer in the American film industry. Anarchist Emmy Goldman gets the full-on revolutionary treatment from Mia Scarpa. As Mother and Father, Julie Lambert Pratt and Dennis Holland craft their particular story with grace, passion, appeal and brio. In the role of Sarah, Soara-Joye Ross delivers an impeccable dramatic performance, matched by a vocal range that lays bare the underlying emotions of the songs she sings with exquisite sensitivity and effortless vocal athleticism. Christian Cardozo brings the right sense of mystery and emotional intensity to the part of illusionist Harry Houdini. As the Little Girl and the Little Boy, Hannah Pressman and Ari Frimmer contribute greatly to "Ragtime's" rich, deeply felt story with performances that stir the soul with standout concern and expression.

A thrilling patchwork of America, "Ragtime" is a bold, invigorating, attention-grabbing musical of turn-of-the-century life from a very different era. It is performed with stand-out encouragement and emotion by its incredible cast. The music is potent, bittersweet and pertinent. And with director Kevin Connors at the helm, it is a theatrical piece of unexpected delights, both masterful and unforgettable.

"Ragtime" is being staged at Music Theatre of Connecticut (509 Westport Ave., Norwalk, CT), now through October 13.

For tickets or more information, call (203) 454-3883.

website:musictheatreofct.com

From the Desk of Jim R, Take 2, Column 203, A Review: "The SpongeBob Musical" (The Bushnell)

By James V. Ruocco

A head-spinning musical jam-packed with enough jaw-dropping magic, color, brightness, imagination and flourish to cause an explosion of the highest order, "The SpongeBob Musical" is a thrilling theatrical experience that pays homage to the long-running animated cartoon, but with a style and mind of its own that is absolutely brilliant at every single turn.

Make no mistake about it, this is a bubbly musical delight that is giddy, charming and heartfelt. It has been reimagined for the theater with optimism, bounce and good cheer. It turns adults back into kids with a contagious, good-hearted spiritness. And for children, it excites with a freshness and a  hypnotic magnetism that is all too irresistible.

The show's book, by Kyle Jarrow, is chock full of upbeat reminders about life, friendship and togetherness as well as wisely-timed bits and bobs about family, survival and instinct as the citizens of Bikini Bottom find themselves in danger from a Mount Humongous volcano about to erupt and destroy everything in its path.

Not to worry, though. This is the world according to SpongeBob and not Quentin Tarantino or Roman Polanski. So by the time Act II reaches its big frenzied climax, you-know-who saves the day and things end happily for all and life continues - as they know it - in Bikini Bottom.

Staging "The SpongeBob Musical" is Tina Landau who directed the Tony nominated 2017 Broadway production of "SpongeBob SquarePants." A keen and crafty storyteller, Landau is completely akin to the well-imagined adventures of the title character, his aquatic friends and neighbors, the underwater city of Bikini Bottom and the musical story envisioned by Kyle Jarrow. She is the right choice to direct this grand and colorful musical that tips the light fantastic, raises the bar for avant-garde conceits, swims and basks in all its underwater glory and lovingly retains the light-hearted spirit of SpongeBob himself and his giggly, phantasmagorical thoughts, philosophies and ideals.

This is a big, expensive musical with mad attention paid to the look, feel and style of the watery playground and world conceived by the show's tremendously talented creative team including David Zinn (scene and costume design) and Kevin Adams (lighting design). No brain freeze, here. Or action that short circuits and gets swallowed up whole by the bigness of it all. Instead, Landau turns the SpongBob world into a giant 3-D coloring book of rainbow colors, bold colors and glow-in-the dark colors that keep the story alive and afloat with nary of hint of overexposure, overkill or calculation. Here, she knows what she wants and she goes for it. She also takes chances and giant leaps but never once sacrifices the story or its characters for the sake of larger-than-life visuals.

The musical, of course, is an eyeful but Landau's cleverly staged moments and revelations are genuine, crafty, rewarding and fulfilling. Things are fast, fluid and well-timed to move the action forward swimmingly (no pun intended). Everything happens for a reason. No two scenes are alike. No one gets upstaged. And nothing gets lost in the translation. What's fun here is watching how it all comes together with Landau pulling the strings and using some of the most ingenious staging imaginable. There are moments when you just sit there watching the action unfold, marveling at the directorial choices and bold strokes of Landau's creative vision and the humongous, take-charge attitude of it all. It's "Wow factor" every step of the way.

The musical score for "The SpongeBob Musical" is culled from a lengthy song register of pop and rock sounds from David Bowie, Sara Bareilles, Cyndi Lauper, Lady Antebellum, Plain White T's, Steven Tyler, John Legend and Joe Perry, among others. There are 20 songs in all: "Bikini Bottom Day," "Bikini Bottom Day (Reprise)," "No Control," "BFF," "When the Going Gets Tough," "(Just A) Simple Sponge," "Daddy Knows Best," "Hero Is My Middle Name," "Super Sea Star Savior," "Tomorrow Is," "Poor Pirates," "Bikini Bottom Day (Reprise #2), "Bikini Bottom Boogie," "Chop to the Top," "(I Guess I) Miss You," "I''m Not a Loser," "Simple Sponge (Reprise)," "Best Day Ever," "Finale: Bikini Bottom Day (Reprise)," and "The SpongeBob Theme Song."

The songs themselves are peppy, delightful, engaging and plot moving. They are strategically placed throughout the story and naturally reflect the musical's themes, undercurrents, animation, eruption and joy ride mania. Musical director Patrick Hoagland, doubling as both conductor and keyboardist, brings a flavorful style and rhythm to the musical numbers that feeds off the energy and mindset of the entire cast, all of whom display extraordinary finesse and total confidence under his inspirational leadership. His fresh perspective and full command of the orchestra also complements and heightens the unexpected textures, the thematic sunniness and the potent charm of the music itself.

The choreography for "The SpongeBob Musical" has been devised by Christopher Gattelli. Not your typical Broadway musical stuff, it is fun house glam and glitz, happy go lucky tap, jazz and hip-hop and contemporary playground carnival all rolled up into one. It is original. It is spiraling. It is animated. It is commanding and confident. It is reactive. It is sharp and soft. It is full of whimsy, color and chain reactions. It also has a wonderful robust harmony about it. From production number to production number, there's a choreographic versatility to Gattelli's work, mixed with cartoonish athleticism, lyrical expressiveness, frantic electricity and humorous prompting. The dancer's confront the challenges and the versatility of the movements, beats and patterns with fearless aplomb. And yes, they are amazing.

The two-act musical stars Lorenzo Pugliese as SpongeBob SquarePants, Beau Bradshaw as Patrick Star, Cody Cooley as Squidward Q. Tentacles, Daria Pilar Redus as Sandy Cheeks, Zack Kononov as Eugene Krabs, Tristan McIntyre as Sheldon Plankton, Morgan Blanchard as Patchy the Pirate, Ritchie Dupkin as Perch Perkins and Meami Maszewski as Pearl Krabs. Everyone is perfectly cast for their respective roles, each projecting the right attitude, mentality and personality associated with each of the parts they are asked to portray. As directed by Landau, they also offer more rounded, intuitive  portrayals of the popular SpongeBob characters with a smattering of Nickelodeon oomph and dash thrown in for extra measure. Vocally, everyone masters the melodic intricacies of the musical score and demonstrates an impressive flair for the show's different musical styles, mood swings, zaniness and important rhythmic influences.

As the show's self-titled SpongeBob, Lorenzo Pugliese is a dynamic, loveable and comical character with plenty of dash, presence and personality. Beau Bradshaw's Patrick Star is a sheer delight and Cody Colley delivers a show-stopping turn as the four-legged Squidward Q. Tentacles.

"The SpongeBob Musical" is sweet, frothy good fun in bright Crayola crayon colors that snap, crackle and pop with the adventuresome spirit the Nickelodeon TV show is famous for. Everything about it Technicolor theatrical from the sets, the costumes, the props, the scenery and the lighting. The cast is engaging, cheerful and naturally high. The songs are perfectly in sync with the storytelling. And the happily ever after ending leaves you begging and wanting more of this contagious, exhilarating amusement designed for kids and adults of all ages anxious to be swept up in the SpongeBob story and its very magical, saltwater world.

Photos of "The SpongeBob Musical" courtesy of Jeremy Daniel

The SpongeBob Musical" is being staged at the Bushnell (166 Capitol Ave., Hartford, CT), now through October 6.

For tickets or more information, call (860) 987-5900.

website: bushnell.org

From the Desk of Jim R, Take 2, Column 202, A Review: "Quixote Nuevo" (Hartford Stage)

By James V. Ruocco

"I had to take Don Quixote to a different place that was closer to home, closer to me and closer to where I come from. So I set it along the border, where a lot of my plays are set."

Octavio Solis, Playwright, "Quixote Nuevo"

An absurdist fantasy with topical jolts of truth and realism, "Quixote Nuevo" rethinks the Don Quixote saga and its colorful characters and mixes it inventively with today's issues of racism, cultural identity, prejudice, mental health, immigration and survival set against the backdrop of a small West Texas town with a hard-working, depressed, low-income populace.

Epic.
Wild.
Outrageous.
Blunt.
Immersive.
Upbeat.

It is the ideal play to jump start the 2019-2020 season at Hartford Stage and celebrate the beginning of  the theater's brand new Artistic Director, Melia Bensussen who took up residence at the theater earlier this year. It is also one of those shows to add immediately to your must-see list of fall theater going.

Playwright Octavio Solis' raucous and cheeky rejuvenation of the iconic 17th century Cervantes tale is timely, meticulous and thoughtful. It soars. It surprises. It cajoles. It tingles. It excites. It explodes. It catches you off guard. It breaks your heart in two. It also mixes the tensions of idealism and madness most imaginatively.
His use of Spanish, carefully mixed appropriately with the English dialogue of the text, is completely understandable and authenticates the cultural feel of the piece, its setting and the characters themselves. If you speak Spanish, you will understand every word. If you don't, you can still follow what exactly is going on based on the enunciation, the facial expressions, the hand gestures and the body movements of the performers.

"Quixote Nuevo" is being staged by KJ Sanchez whose credits include "Cincinnati Kid," "Jane Eyre," "The Diary of Anne Frank," "Knyum," "Sex With Strangers" and "Venus in Fur." A crafty, intuitive director whose choices and control over the material are realized with proficiency, deep concern and engagement, she is crystal clear about what she wants, how she gets it and how to thrust her audience into the play's issues first hand in the most cleverest of ways.

Here, she takes hold of Octavio Solis' play text, pulls it apart and turns it upside down, front and center and creates a polished product chock full of surprise, humor and pathos that spins engagingly from scene to scene and act to act with flourish, stamina, spirit and the kind of unexpectedness and savvy that puts her at the very top of her game. The fact that you never really know what she's going to do next heightens the play's evolution and hypnotic allure. It also produces a "Wow!" factor resulting in dropped jaws and loud clapping depending on the scene or moment itself.

Given the fact that "Quixote Nuevo" is essentially a play within a play that moves back and forth from reality to imagination, Sanchez' vibrant, nuanced take allows for plenty of creative leaps and turns that bring bite, irony, weight and dazzle to the proceedings. There's singing, dancing, Mexican-inspired music, tricycle bells, a fermented finger that gets eaten right before your very eyes, a chorus of demons and sheep that go "baa, baa, baa." And oh yes, the golden helmet of Mambrino is a  bedpan.
Crazy, tilted and in-your-face, things gallop merrily along like a drug-induced fantasy dreamed up, in part, by Federico Fellini and Pedro Almovodar. Illuminated by the director's exhilarating flashes of the fantastic, these strange, over-the-top interludes are genuinely hysterical, prompting laughs in all the right places.  They are also very, very original.

"Quixote Nuevo" stars Emilio Delgado as Jose Quijano/Don Quixote, Juan Manuel Amador as Manny Diaz/Sancho Panza, Gisela Chipe as Dr. Campos/Dulcinea, Krystal Hernandez as Rosario Castillo/Juana, Ivan Jasso as Bruno Castillo/Young Quijano,  Orlando Arriaga as Padre Perez/Cardenio, Hugo E. Carbajal as Papa Calaca, Mariela Lopez-Ponce as Magdalena/Perla and Gianna DiGregorio Rivera as Antonia/Inez. All nine performers, many of whom play various roles throughout the play are appropriately cast and pull their weight dramatically and comically with tremendous vigor, stamina, drive, resonance and confidence. Some parts, of course, are showier than the rest, but everyone, unites engagingly to bring theatrical life to this impressive, committed story.

Delgado gives a strong, endearing performance in the dual roles of Quijano and Quixote, carefully projecting the mindset of a man drifting between reality and imagination, grandeur and delusion, chivalry and pathos. His love of the material shines through as does his commanding persona and stellar acting range. Amador is appropriately funny as Diaz and Panza and gets laughs in all the right places. Like his co-star, he too has presence, charisma and a wonderful sense of comic/dramatic timing.

"Quixote Nuevo" is an inspiring, passionate theatrical piece that mixes tales from the modern world with that of the Don Quixote story. It is staged with rigorous precision by director KJ Sanchez and performed with a sense of purpose by incredible cast, headed by Delgado and Amador. It is also one of the most daring, crazy and quirky plays tellingly transposed from script to stage under the diverse and colorful banner that is Hartford Stage.

"Quixote Nuevo" is being staged at Hartford Stage (50 Church St., Hartford, CT), now through October 13.

For tickets or more information, call (860) 527-5151.

website: hartfordstage,org.

From the Desk of Jim R, Take 2, Column 201, A Review: "Mamma Mia!" (Downtown Cabaret Theatre)

By James V. Ruocco

"Dancing Queen."

"Honey, Honey"

"The Name of the Game"

"Take a Chance On Me."

"Money, Money, Money"
"Voulez-Vous."
Does Your Mother Know?"

"Super Trouper."

"Mamma Mia!"

Here we go again.

You got that right.

At a time when everyone on the planet seems to be doing "Mamma Mia!" in one form or another, Downtown Cabaret jumps right onto the band wagon with its own interpretation of the popular ABBA musical and finds the right cast, the right production team and the right design team to move it right to the top of the leaderboard.

This is one of those shows that audiences can't seem to get enough of. And rightly so.
It comes gift wrapped with a catchy score, a happy ending, lively choreography and a cast of colorful characters guaranteed to bring a smile to your face. 

It also serves up ABBA classics - each and every one a hit.

It displays invites of hugs, kisses, singalongs and clapping hands.

It is terrific fun for audiences of any age and gender.

It is cute, cheery, energetic and full-out.

It is shrewd, snappy and giggly.

It is a welcome diversion.

Its party atmosphere rings loud and proud.

Longevity has also been its reward.

Dowtown Cabaret's buoyant, feel-good incarnation of  "Mamma Mia!" furthers that notion in a very good way.

"Mamma Mia!" is being staged at Downtown Cabaret by Frank Root whose directorial credits include "A Funny Thing Happened On the Way to the Forum," "She Loves Me," "Into the Woods," "42nd Street" and "The Wiz." A smart and savvy director and storyteller, he brings tremendous wit, understanding, knowledge and pizazz to this production along with a smart sense of stagecraft which kicks it into orbit immediately and keeps it spinning and twirling most engagingly.

What's particularly refreshing about this incarnation of the oft-produced musical is that Root's playful and sunny take on it never falters for a moment. It is bright. It is fun. It is emotional. It is cute. It is sentimental. It is sexy. It is warm. It is fiery. It is cheery. 
Nothing is taken for granted. Nothing is out of place. Nothing is over the top or thrown in for laughter's sake. Everything that happens - story arcs, music, character moves, changes in tempo and plot evolvement  - is perfectly mapped out, produced and staged fluidly and naturally.
Yes, we've seen the story before. Yes, we know how it all ends. Yes, we know the songs and the lyrics. Yes, we know who sings what and when.  But in the long run, it doesn't really matter. Root's imprint on this on this tender-hearted portrait of romantic life in the Mediterranean not only gives it the attentiveness and magical allure it demands, but his choices and what he does with them are so original, it's almost as if you're seeing "Mamma Mia!" for the very first time.

Based on the songs of ABBA, originally composed by Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus (Stig Andersson is also credited in the footnotes for certain songs used in the two-act musical), "Mamma Mia!" includes 26 musical numbers culled from the pop-tinged ABBA songbook. They are "Prologue/I Have a Dream," "Honey, Honey," "Money, Money, Money," "Thank You For the Music," "Mamma Mia!" "Chiquitita," "Dancing Queen," "Lay All Your Love On Me," "Super Trouper," "Gimme, Gimme, Gimme (A Man After Midnight)," "Voulez Vous," "Under Attack," "One of Us," "S.O.S.," "Does Your Mother Know?" "Knowing Me, Knowing You," "Our Last Summer," "Slipping Through My Fingers," "The Winner Takes It All," "Take a Chance On Me," "I Do, I Do, I Do," "I Have a Dream," "Mamma Mia! (Encore)," "Dancing Queen (Encore)" and "Waterloo."
The songs themselves, nicely incorporated into Catherine Johnson's zippy, romantic story, are serviceable to the plot, it's evolved progression and the various characters who sing them. Every single one of them are fun, gum-drop gooey and completely hummable. So much so, audience members cast resist the urge to sing quietly at their tables along with many of them or raise their hands in the air swaying back and forth to the beat of the music as if they were at some ABBA concert from yesteryear.

With Sabrina Post, behind the scene's, serving as musical director, this production of "Mamma Mia!" enthralls from start to finish. Musically, it snaps, it sparkles and it shines. It has plenty of heart and soul. It has plenty of drama, sweetness and emotion. It also comes packaged with a glitter ball lightness and fantasia that's completely irresistible.
Completely akin to the song style that is ABBA - pop rock, light ballads, folksy glam, novelty kitsch, sweet and sentimental - Post dutifully respects and understands the unstoppable, invincibly commercial romantic bliss that is ABBA, the group's lathered expressionism and the surface beauty and intimacy of the songs themselves. And what she does with the ensemble is absolutely amazing. The harmonizing, the blending of voices and the pitch-perfect choral sound necessary for some of the musical's big ensemble numbers is praise-worthy with a capital P.

Choreography, when done right, is also key to the "Mamma Mia!" experience.  For this production, Downtown Cabaret has enlisted the talents of Jennifer Kaye, a magnificent auteur and dance wizard who is wholeheartedly connected to the exquisite emotion, the wryness, the focus and the intensity of the core love story at hand. Here, she takes hold of the show's many different musical numbers - each a stand alone piece of ingenuity, depth and verve - and creates a whirlwind of ABBA frenzy that reflects the conceit of the show's originators and collaborators.

Crafty, dazzling, celebratory, sexy and ferocious, Kaye dazzles her audience with mass dance maneuvers and rhythmic patterns that not only enhance and drive the musical story forward, but heighten the dramatic and passionate momentum of the piece, its flourish and its eventual happy ending. Everything that happens on the Downtown Cabaret stage is well-rehearsed and trademark athletic. Through it all, the entire "Mamma Mia!" cast are in fine form, reveling in the eye-popping,
wildly uninhibited, Broadway-style choreography that Kaye tosses their way most advantageously.

This is dance full of brains, craft, propulsion and atmosphere. It absorbs you into its world and subject matter with increasing power and beauty. It finds the right mindset of the moment and runs with it. It is dynamic and thrilling. It also strikes the right storytelling beat with absorbing harmony. The churning bodies of  Kaye's handpicked, incredible dancers are completely swept up in the on-stage dance mania of it all, propelled by a calibrated energy and urgency of rapid moves, gestures, turns and expressions precisely mapped to the exact rhythm of the music and the lyrics. Amazing with a capital A.

As Donna Sheridan, the mother of Sophie and the former lead singer of the girl group "Donna and the Dynamos," Priscilla Squiers' rich, confident voice turns her renditions of both "Mamma Mia!" and "The Winner Takes It All" into two showshopping turns like no other.  The beguiling Julia Lennon, in the role of Donna's daughter, Sophie, has the voice and radiance of an angel and star power of someone who is very comfortable in the spotlight. Angela Jackson brings the right snap, personality and comic verve to the part of Rosie. Susan Kulp hilariously portrays the vain, showy and sex-crazed antics of Tanya. Mara Santilli (Ali) and Casey Walsh (Lisa) are harmoniously in sync as Sophie's best friends. Bill Molnar is a very caring and charismatic Sam Carmichael.  As Bill Austin, Chris Hetherington is trademark comicical in all the right places. Robert Halliwell makes all the right moves as Sophie's eager, loving young fiancee. John Royse's Harry Bright tackles his Englishman role with cheeky, UK full-on wit and emotion.

The perfect musical to jump start the 2019-2020 season at Downtown Cabaret, "Mamma Mia!" is a high-spiripted, uplifting musical entertainment that pulls out all the ABBA classics with obvious affection, sugar-coated sparkle and forgivable heartbreak and has great fun doing so. It's typical Broadway musical fare - sparkly, flavorful, energetic- that puts ABBA back on the brain again, performed with thrilling exhilaration by the 21-member cast.
Frank Root's direction is astute, snappy, stylish and up-tempo. Jennifer Kaye's choreography is fast, frenzied and fiery. The set, designed by David McQuillen Robertson, is functional, gorgeous and atmospheric. Lesley Neilson-Bowman's costumes are both sunny and colorful. And finally, Axel Hammerman's multi-textured lighting palate agreeably complements the musical's airy, emotional and sugar-coated delirium.

"Mamma Mia!" is being staged at Downtown Cabaret Theatre (263 Golden Hill St., Bridgeport, CT), now through October 20.

For tickets or more information, please call (203) 5765-1636.

website:dtcab.com