Review of ATC’s Production of The Mystery of Irma Vep
by Marc Hansen
ATC’s production of The Mystery of Irma Vep is funny, random, and a total crowd pleaser. It’s not very high brow - a lot of the jokes are sexual, crude and/or over the top, yet it’s still more sophisticated than the raunchy, potty jokes of our modern Hangover type comedies. Yet surprisingly, the typically older, more mature theatre crowd responded really well to the humor. That’s probably due to the dedication of the actors, Bob Sorenson and Oliver Wadsworth, who were hilarious and became so enveloped into their many characters that they made the ridiculousness somehow work.
Grade: B
Creed Thoughts
"Even for the internet it's.... pretty shocking."
Monday, April 25, 2011
"The Mystery of Irma Vep" Mini-Review
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Two More Poems
Sunday, April 10, 2011
A Not So Offensive Poem I Also Wrote
Some Mildly Offensive Poems I Wrote
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
"Lost in Yonkers" Review
Review of ATC’s Production of Lost in Yonkersby Marc HansenATC’s marvelous production of the classic play Lost in Yonkers is possibly the best play they’ve produced in the last two years. Written by playwright genius Neil Simon (The Odd Couple), for which he won the Pulitzer Prize, Lost in Yonkers is Simon’s magnum opus, containing his wittiest, most hysterical dialogue combined with the surprising emotional impact the play unleashes on you. It may be the least flashy ATC play this year in terms of lighting or set design, but it excels in theatre’s two most important aspects: acting and writing.Lost in Yonkers starts out in Grandma Kurnitz’s living room, where two young brothers, Arty (Maxx Carlisle-King) and Jay (Ryan DeLuca), recount horror stories they’ve heard about their strict, paternal grandmother (Judy Kaye) that they hardly know. This is the living room that the rest of the play will be set in and that we’ll come to know so well. And though the play begins with an almost sitcom-y premise where the two mischevious youngsters are forced to live with their overbearing grandma for nearly a year, while their father (Spencer Rowe) travels around the country, the play takes a rather unexpected turn. Being a comedy, and a Neil Simon comedy, I naturally expected the children to eventually come to terms with their demanding immigrant grandmother and realize how much they love and appreciate her in the end, in a very predictable fashion. And though this ultimately does happen in a way (albeit much slower and more realistic than typical ‘90s comedies), the play slowly becomes more about the dysfunctional relationships Grandma’s Kurnitz and her own children have. As the mentally challenged aunt (Kate Goehring) and smooth criminal uncle (Preston Maybank) of the boys start to play a larger role, we realize that Lost in Yonkers isn’t about the boys. The boys, in fact, represent the audience, watching all the drama unfold upon them.Obviously, the biggest reason Lost in Yonkers is so successful is because of Neil Simon’s book. It’s not only full of his very clever, very funny writing, that I was well aware of after reading The Odd Couple, but includes a really profound, emotional center at the heart of the story that wasn’t as present in the cheeky Odd Couple. Yonkers is really phenomenal writing on all fronts, with extremely deep, well rounded characters pushing the engaging story forward. At first, I thought Grandma Kurnitz was just your typical stereotypical strict authority figure, but as the play went on, I realized what an incredibly complex character she was and Bella, the retarded aunt, is the best written handicapped character I’ve ever seen. She may have disabilities, but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t have intense, conflicting feelings and desires that emerge pass the surface of her illness.The characters obviously wouldn’t work without the proper cast though, which is why it’s so amazing that Lost in Yonkers literally perfectly casted every character. Goehring as Bella is obviously the stand out, in the best portrayal of a mentally handicapped character I’ve ever seen. But to say that Bella is just a ‘mentally handicapped’ character isn’t doing the character justice, as she is so much more than that, which is what I love about the performance. Goehring lets that come through very naturally, but she plays Bella as a deeply confused, hurt, and sheltered little child in a grown woman’s body, with a grown woman’s desires, yet the naivety to think that that life is possible for her. It’s very hard to pick a favorite among such a great cast though. Maybank as Louie is so cool and suave and badass that you completely see why the young boys would admire and look up to him, yet he’s also intimidating and scary enough that you’re simultaneously scared of his next move or the trouble he might bring. In his small role as the father, Rowe completely convinces you in the play’s first pitch, understanding how conflicted this caring father is about leaving his children behind, that the set up doesn’t seem at all like a gimmick. Kerry McCue, in another small role as Aunt Gert, is incredibly funny with her vocal timing and even DeLuca and Carlisle-King as the boys had great comedic chops. But I can’t forget Kaye as Grandma Kurnitz who feels like your lovable, grouchy, old grandma and propels her into more than just than an one-note character. Such great acting and execution can only happen at the tips of great direction though, which is why the stupendous work of ATC’s very own Samantha Wyer can’t be forgotten.Yes, perhaps the production isn’t perfect. Some extensive dialogue scenes start to feel a little long and maybe a score would’ve helped, but I prefer not to nitpick when everything else is so wonderful. Lost in Yonkers isn’t a theatre, or art, experience that you get to experience often, so why not appreciate it while you can?Grade: A
Saturday, February 19, 2011
"Ten Chimneys" Review
Review of ATC’s Production of Ten Chimneys
by Marc Hansen
The world premiere of Ten Chimneys, the newest production playing at the ATC, is a delightful, amusing little comedy about actors’ drama behind the stage.
The play follows the renowned husband and wife team of real Broadway stars Alfred Lunt (Steve Hendrickson) and Lynn Fontanne (Suzanne Bouchard) in 1938, as they decide to perform Anton Chekhov’s masterpiece, The Seagull, for their next production. They retreat to their legendary and gigantic Wisconsin mansion to rehearse, bringing their fellow actors and extended family. Quirky family hijinks ensue, as well as a blossoming love triangle between Lunt, Fontanne, and their young, new lead actress Uta Hagen. On top of all this, the behind-the-scenes drama in Ten Chimneys directly correlates with the drama in the play they’re rehearsing (which is also about actors). Gee, how coincidental.
A lot of praise should be heaped upon writer Jeffrey Hatcher for not only writing an intelligent and complicated script, but for making it play out so simply (as well as props to director David Ira Goldstein for providing that seamless flow). Ten Chimneys has a rather complex written premise (with all the play-within-a-play nonsense), which though an attraction to me, may drive a lot of people away. However, though playfully clever (sometimes even coming across as too impressed with its own cleverness), the play never seems overly complicated. It’s smart, but still incredibly entertaining and interesting. In fact, the play-within-the-play plot point isn’t even necessary, though it does reinforce that age old theatre theme that life is a stage.
The cast is all fantastic. Hendrickson stands out as nailing the flamboyant character of Alfred Lunt, but then I think about how perfectly Bouchard played Fontanne’s materialistic Broadway diva star or the unexpected emotion Michael Winters brought to the character of Sydney Greenstreet, and it becomes much harder to pick a favorite. Sure, the characters are stereotypes of traditional family and actor roles (Lunt’s extravagance, Fontanne’s prima donna, or Linda Stephens as the lovably bitchy mother), but it all works in the play’s favor. Instead of feeling cliché, it simply feels familiar. Immediately you know these characters and it starts to feel like your own family.
The production values are all excellent and greatly enhance the play. The rotating set is captivating and the lush, green “trees” really made me feel like I was in Wisconsin. In fact, the prop and scenery pieces were replicated from photos of actual items found at Ten Chimneys and the cast actually got to rehearse for a week in the legendary estate. It’s this attention to detail, though not obvious, that adds such an authentic feel to the production.
However, the play does have its flaws. For one, the play is a little too play-centric for its own good. Of course, it’s no surprise that a plot like this would elicit a favorable response among the thespians that put on this show, but sometimes it felt like there were a few too many “inside jokes.” I had no idea until I researched the production afterwards that Lunt and Fontanne were real Broadway stars, and though that only made the play cooler, there were times within the play that I felt a little lost when they were extensively dealing with The Seagull production. Some would argue that that’s fine and that a prerequisite knowledge of The Seagull is simply necessary, but I think there are more people who know nothing of The Seagull than people who do, even among the theatre buffs that frequently attend the ATC’s productions.
It’s also a little lightweight. It’s fun and entertaining, but after the show’s over it doesn’t feel all that memorable, unlike the productions Lunt and Fontanne put on themselves. It’s about what actors are like behind the scenes, but this doesn’t feel like a very meaningful theme. However that doesn’t seem to be what Ten Chimneys is concerned with. No, Ten Chimneys is just a play about people who love theatre and its main purpose is putting on a great show.
Grade: B+