It's been real...

Readers of all kinds,
        What an interesting social experiment this has turned out to be. Throughout the semester this has been one hell of an experience for me. I don't believe I have ever attended so many GW shows in a single semester, and the rewards are immense. Thank you to all of those who helped, in any way, to put on a production this semester. It was a great season for GW theater.
        But, with graduation fast approaching, an acting role, my thesis, a writing opportunity, a visit from a special group of South Africans, and about a billion cover letters to write all in the same semester, I just don't think I'm going to be able to keep it going. Because I'm me, however, I can't resist a few things before I go:

1. From where I stand, this blog has done exactly what I wanted it to do. It both gave me an outlet to write down all my theater thoughts, and got people talking about the shows GW produces. Agree or disagree with any of my reviews, chances are if you read it, you talked about it with someone. And if you talked about the reviews, you talked about the shows. That was my main point here. Get people talking - because the more we talk about the quality of shows we produce, the more likely we are to produce good shows.

2. To the vast majority of you who supported me - especially the alumni and friends - Thank you! Chatting with all of you and hearing your feedback has been phenomenal. If you're upset I'm shutting it down, I'm sorry.

3. To those few of you who voiced your discontent with this blog in a respectful manner - Thank you as well. Your feedback was just as rewarding, and welcomed. Our opinions may have differed, but you have my respect regardless.

4. To the even fewer of you who voiced your discontent disrespectfully, called secret meetings to try and shut me down or get me blacked out of student theater, or quietly spread nonsense in the corner of a cast party thinking I couldn't hear you - I have two things to say. The first, a quote: "The unexamined life is not worth living." The second: buzz off, you read it anyway.

5. There will be two more reviews posted on this blog in the coming semester. The first will be a review of Michael Salgorolo's production, assuming he still wants me to do it - I am a man of my word who doesn't like getting punched in the nose. The second, will be a guest review of my thesis because this very same rubric I've used will be used to poll select audience members as part of the thesis itself.

6. In hindsight, yes, perhaps the creation of this blog was pretentious. But if you haven't noticed that every aspect of theater is a little bit pretentious in and of itself (with theater criticism perhaps being at the top of the list) then you're in for a very Spring Awakening.... I mean rude, rude awakening - do you see my point?

I'm excited about the coming theater season at GW. There are some awesome shows coming up and I hope I can get even a little bit close to seeing as many of them as I did this semester. Much love to all of you!

See you in the theater,
Ed

Generic: Cabaret

         FPP's annual Musical Cabaret is always a good time. Flashy dancing, exuberant singing.... wait. That's next semester? So this is.... ohhhh Kander and Ebb? THEY DID THAT?!?!
         Yes. GENERIC theater company did. And might I say, they did a pretty fine job with it.

Company Presentation
        Generic let this one get away from them a little bit. Seriously, the hype for this show was out of control. I half expected to walk in and find that Andy Lieberman had turned into Neil Patrick Harris, and that all the kit kat girls had been replaced with super models whose voices had been trained by Kander and Ebb themselves. No joke, if the lights had come up on the living, breathing, baby Jesus I would have nodded said, "yeah, that makes sense."
      The hype was so great, in fact, that I was really worried the show wouldn't even come close. From all the stories I was hearing I was afraid I was walking into an oversexualized, strip-dance, Andy Lieberman love fest (not that that isn't my every interaction with Andy - Love you boo :-* ). As will be said, I was pleasantly surprised.
       On the other hand, the poster is fierce if frightening. Certianly, it's an eye-grabber. It does make the downstage look a bit like the type of dark basement you would particularly want to avoid though.

Set
       What? That's it? That's the set? A couple of door frames, some tables and chairs, and one big platform? Really?
        Yes, really. And while it was boring and confusing as a first impression (especially given all the hype), Maddie made it WORK. The table seating downstage truly made the audience a part of the performance. The bare bones set was reminiscent of a sketchy, dive bar's late night cabaret, and yet, at the drop of a hat, perfectly transformed into an apartment building or bedroom.
        Creative, yet simple. My favorite.

Lights
       I will say one thing about the light design. Not only was the downstage lit, it was designed. The lights were not only functional - but a critical part of the production.

Acting
     There was no one in this production who stood out as a poor actor. And that is what made it truly enjoyable. Every performer new their role and fulfilled it. The kit kat girls stole the show - each one developing their own personality and working it on the stage. As for everyone else - wonderful job. It was hard to pick out performers for shout outs on this one, but here goes:

Madison Awalt - In the end, how is it possible to NOT talk about Sally in Cabaret? Madison's performance was outstanding. Her Sally was bubbly and energetic while heartbreaking at the same time. Her performance of "Maybe This Time" was tear jerking and certainly had a lump rising in my throat. While perhaps at times, especially early in the show, Madison slipped too far into the "persona" of it all, the overall effect was charming, and bitterly sad.

Lauren Winters - I loved seeing Lauren perform. Not only is her voice stunning, but she gave herself over fully to the character. Her story line was probably the most compelling of the entire production. Endearing and lovable, her Fauline Shneider was superb. I am excited to act along side her in the New Plays Festival in the coming semester.

Andy Lieberman - As I said before there was a lot of hype around Andy in the days prior to opening. And that makes sense now for two reasons. One, the role was perfect for him. And two, Andy put his heart and soul into it and it paid off. The fun-loving nature of the Emcee, mingled with the sinister rise of the Nazis, and culminating in a final moment of revelation was, in a word, breathtaking.

Directing
     I'd like to take this moment to offer my sincerest congratulations to director Maddie Hendricks and the entire production team. Not only was the vision clear and powerful, but it was executed wonderfully and every actor seemed to have gotten the coaching they needed. It was clear, however, that this was a group effort by the production team. While Maddie's character work and staging were wonderful, the show would have fallen flat without the work of Rick Westerkamp and Hope McCaffrey. Rick provided the first instance of motivated choreography I had seen all year. Hope's work, especially with solo numbers, filled in the sound. But, it was Maddie Hendricks who made the whole thing happen. Cheers to all of you!


Anyone hoping to top Cabaret for best musical of the year is going to have a tough time. I dare you to do it.

See you in the theater,
Ed

FPP: Assassins

             Hello student theater friends, alumni, and those other few people who read this just for fun! It's been a while, I know. I would take the time to explain why I haven't gotten these blog posts up - but I think at this point everyone knows about my special business with the president:

Photo Credit: Joe Plouffe

 So I'll just jump right into things.

       First, as usual, bias exposure! When I saw FPP's Assassins I was coming off of having seen the same show produced at Catholic University about two weeks earlier. The production at CU was phenomenal, and may have tainted my view of FPP's production. Also, I saw it quite some time ago and all I have to go off of are memories and the notes I wrote down when I got home from the performance. But, regardless, lehgo.

Company Presentation

       Nothing special, but not poorly done either. The show was given its due hype and it can't be said that we were allowed to forget about it. The posters are cool but nothing original. The man staring through american flag blinds / barbed wire thing is on the cover of the librettos and, while an awesome idea, has been seen before by anyone who knows the show. Which, maybe that's what they were going for - sort of like brand recognition or something. I don't know, either way, not a bad job but I wasn't frothing at the bit to see the show either.

Set

      Busy. That's really the only word I can think of to describe the set. There was A LOT going on. Criss-crossed red and blue were dashed all over the stage making it dizzying to look at, and at times a distraction to the action of the show. One side of the set was taken up by a large white "scrim" (really just a sheet stretched over a cut out whole in the set). At first, I thought this scrim was going to be used for projection - you can imagine my disappointment when it was only used for shadow play (which, by the way, reminded me of a children's shadow puppet show and was certainly NOT my favorite part of the production). The one thing the set did have going for it is that it vaguely made you feel as if you had walked into a carnival booth - an image that went well with the direction Zeke Reed took the production.

Lights

     I actually don't have much to say about the lights here. They were nothing over the top or exciting - but they lit the the stage well and did their job. Someone once told me that in many productions, the greatest compliment you can give a lighting designer is that their lights were unnoticed. So congratulations! The lights weren't distracting and did their job!

Acting

    This is where the whole "not writing the post right after seeing the show" thing is going to get me. I have to go mostly on memory here but I will comment on the things that stuck with me. Again, lehgo.

John Wilkes Booth - The kid who played Booth was both too young, and too green for the role. That's not to say that he isn't a good performer. I think he will be. But he just wasn't ready to take on a role as strong as Booth. The vocals were at times a bit out of his range and he let the accent get in his way. He tried far to hard to nail that accent and whatever coaching he did get on it wasn't enough. His words ended up garbled and it diminished the power of his voice tremendously. Don't get me wrong, if this kid keeps it up in student theater he's going places - it was just too big of a role, too early.

Charles Guiteau - Andrew Flurer as Guiteau was a good casting choice. Andrew was his typical goofy self and it all worked out quite nicely. It's pretty clear at this point that Andrew has established a niche for himself in GW theater. I'm curious to see him step out of that and take a serious role though, I hope he gets the chance to at some point. His performance was definitely one of the standouts in the show, though. Quite enjoyable.

Samuel Byck - Really I only mention Zach Shinske's performance for one reason - its potential. Zach could have blown this out of the water, all he needed to do was look up. Instead, he directed all of his action towards a tiny tape recorder in his hand. If he had just looked out at the audience it would have been brilliant. Instead, what should have been a punch in the face, felt more like a limp-wristed slap. A good effort that fell flat. Still, this is a good character type for Zach, and with a bit more direction, time, and work he could be a good character actor for student theater.

The Proprietor -  I save my opinions on the proprietor for last because it is a pivotal role in the show. Also, because my opinion on Kaiya Lyons' performance might cause waves. One thing that needs to be said is that Kaiya clearly put a lot of work into her character. She made strong choices, acted them well, and sang her heart out (though by the final performance I saw, it was clear vocal exhaustion was starting to kick in). BUT, I personally didn't like the direction she took the character. Kaiya's Proprietor was a tough, mean, and gritty. Rather than coaxing and persuading the assassins as a salesman might, the Proprietor came across as a bully or a lowlife carny. I wanted to feel as if the Proprietor was on the assassins' side, convincing them to fulfill their destiny or make their lives better. Instead the Proprietor seemed to be pushing them to do something they didn't want to do. Kaiya took a risk on her performance, she took the character in an unexpected direction. For that, she should be applauded. It just wasn't a direction I would have taken it.

Directing

     Zeke Reed did a pretty good job with this production. He provided us with an enjoyable, consistent, show that didn't get boring. But there were certainly a few things missing. Zeke didn't do anything new with the material - he presented Assassins as it was written. And that's all well and good. But where was the art in it? Sure the blocking was good, the casting decent, there weren't any huge errors in scene dynamics. But there wasn't anything particularly exciting about it either. There wasn't anything particularly wrong with the production. It just needed some extra oomf, a little more pizazz, to push it into the "great" category. One thing I will say - the boy isn't half bad at making a stage picture:

        All things considered, FPP's Assassins was a decent production. Fun, entertaining, and exactly what you would expect of a student theater musical.

See you in the theater,

Ed

FPP: Urinetown

         So yes, this review is long over due. And no, there isn't any reason other than that I was incredibly slow in doing it. Urinetown holds a very special place in my heart - it was my senior year high school musical, and we did it very, very well. Not that I'm boasting, I'm just boasting. The show is an incredible, satirical, homage to musical theater throughout the years. It is, strangely enough, one of the more accessible shows on the theater circuit - Hate musical theater? GREAT! Laugh at all the things this show blatantly points out as terrible. Love musical theater? EVEN BETTER! You'll notice all of the references nobody else gets and you can walk out like the super knowledgable person you are.

"You're sooooo clever."

Company Presentation

          Sadly, there is only one word I can use to describe the advertisement for FPP's production of Urinetown. Failure. I'm sorry about it guys, but nothing released prior to the opening of this production actually made me want to see it. The oddly shot video promos that came out were like advertisements for a grungy version of Vogue that you hid under your bed because even your most effeminate friends would be ashamed to learn you owned it. And the poster? Black and white. Seriously? Black and white? That's what is going to grab the eye and pull me all the way over to the vern for a show with Urine in the title? I don't think so kids, I just don't think so.

Set

         What FPP lost in it's advertisement for Urinetown, it made up with the set. Urinetown is a tough one in that there are just so many different locations to cover. The set FPP created was both simple, and functional while at the same time achieving a level of flashiness and detail that the show requires. Laura DePaolo and whoever else helped to paint that set deserve a special shout out. Because they did a darn good job.

Lights

        This production had a great lighting design. It was dynamic and colorful, set a mood, and distinguished spaces in every way that it needed to. There were almost no holes on the stage (except for that pesky down stage right spot) and I found myself excited by it most of the time. Unfortunately, the cast didn't seem to know how to use it. I spent much of the show day dreaming about lassoing actors to pull them two steps downstage into their light. How did no one mention that during tech runs?

Acting

         Urinetown suffered from one of the problems that all medium to large musicals are afflicted with at GW - they just couldn't pull together a powerful enough chorus. While at times, the chorus jumped out and brought some energy into the theater (good job snuff that girl), the overall felt a little low energy. I've long since lost my program for the show, so bear with me on names and characters as I go forward here.

Fake Pregnant Girl - You get a special shout out because you were FIERCE. (Please read in the voice of Mr. Rick Westerkamp)

Jordan King - Jordan did a great job as bobby strong. His character was fun and light hearted, and Jordan seemed to really understand how ridiculous this show is. My one problem - I could barely hear him when he sang. For the leading man in a show not to be heard is a pretty big problem and Jordan was constantly drowned out by the band and chorus. Diaphragm my man!

Nina Lupan - Nina stole the show in a lot of ways. She was well cast and has a decent voice for the role. Nina's acting abilities didn't exactly blow me out of the water - but she did the role justice and was an obvious choice for this production.

Steph Brennan - Sadly, Steph just didn't live up to my expectations for Pennywise. The role is, most essentially, a belting role. Big powerful notes, and all the sass and attitude you can muster needs to go into Pennywise. Steph just didn't have that. Not to say she didn't play the role in her own, interesting, way. It just wasn't what I wanted from the production. She also had some difficulty with physicality - often moving her head as if on a swivel in an attempt to come across as sassy.

Erin Jones - Erin didn't have a huge role. But damn did she rock the role she had. Her comedic timing is near expert and I got more laughs from her than any other actor in the show.

Directing

         If Urinetown was Kolton's ice cream sundae, then he forgot to put hot fudge, nuts, and a cherry on top. The blocking wasn't bad. The choreography was pretty good. But Kolton sort of missed the point of the show. It seemed that he tried to make the show into a dark comedy, rather than what it is: a joke. Because let's face the facts here, Urinetown is one extended joke crammed inside of a full length musical. But what this show was missing (remember that hot fudge?) were the references. If you can think of a classic musical from the past fifty years, odds are it's in there somewhere. West Side, Fiddler, hell maybe even Anything Goes. It's in the music and it provides an excellent chance for some comedic choreographic and blocking jokes. Kolton missed every one of them.

Overall, FPP's Urinetown was an enjoyable production. It was fun to watch, generally funny, and didn't make me want to claw my eyes out (that's a pretty big compliment). But it wasn't the greatest musical around here. I look forward to Assassins this weekend from FPP and Cabaret from Generic next week.

Also, the Washington Revels opens their Christmas show in Lisner next weekend. It runs through the 16th, come check it out!

See you in the theater,

Ed

14th: Death of a Salesman

      It's your turn! Last weekend I performed as Willy Loman in Fourteenth Grade Player's production of Death of a Salesman. So now it's time for Salesman, and myself, to get a review. A few weeks before the show went up, David Neiman (student theater junkie) contacted me asking if I would allow him to do the review. David expressed such a love of what Death of a Salesman is as a piece of art that I couldn't turn him down - with one condition. I told him he had to call 'em like he sees 'em. So, without further ado, Mr. Neiman's review:

(Please forgive the formatting - I don't know what happened, and I can't fix it.)

There’s no fucking way. What a cliché! A student production of Death of a Salesman? Psshh. Get real. We all know Death of a Salesman. Literally every single one of us. We’ve all read it, or seen it, or heard about it, or something like that. It’s one of those shows that everyone already knows the story: the ending. And me personally, well shit, I’ve done a bunch of those scenes before. I was muttering some of the characters’ lines to myself before they got a chance to spit them out onstage. So there’s no way that a show like that can grip you right? No way you can get sucked in to the action as if you don’t know who dies in the end. Right? No way you can root for everyone you know will fail. Right? Right!? There’s just no way!

But there is. There is and the team behind 14th Grade Players’ production of Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller found it. If you don’t/didn’t trek up to the luxurious West Hall Theatre on the Vern this weekend to see one of the true classics, you missed out. Plain and simple. I told Big Man Eddie Churchill I’d write him an honest guest review, so here goes.

Company Presentation

What company presentation? The white picket fence? Oh! That was for this show? Ahhhhh! That makes sense now. Now that I look very closely and see that it’s not just a plug for a Seattle-based grunge-rebirth band. But actually. It’s Death of a Salesman! DEATH. OF. A. SALESMAN! You know? The show that sells itself? Where’s the big writing to catch my eye? Where’s the iconic profile of Willy failing: his fist raised to the gods? You know? Where’s THE SALESMAN!? Don’t get me wrong, it’s elegant. I like it. But me personally, if I’m marketing this show, I make sure the title takes up half the poster, not the fence. If anything, the fence can make a little, tiny, cut-off appearance on the bottom so you can get the idea, “Oh! A white picket fence! Americana! I get it!”

Set

Let me say something about my relationship with sets. I only ever think about them right before the show starts and when someone runs into a flat that’s supposed to be a wall and it wobbles and I fear for the actors’ safety. That’s it. That being said, was it a good set? Yes. Perfectly good set. It did its job just fine, and I loved the color scheme along the walls, as well as the kitchen floor (nice touch). Could it have had a few more homey touches? Things to help myself and, more importantly, the actors connect with this old, fixed-up home? Sure. A little more personal history would have been nice. It would have been nice if Willy and Linda had some family photos to look at while reminiscing. It would have been nice for Happy and Biff to have some old kids’ toys they hadn’t seen in quite a while up in their room. How do they interact with them now as grown men? Overall, I’d say what separates this very good set from a great set is a few little details. That’s all.

Lights

I don’t know a whole heckuvalot about lights, but what I do know is how this show should be lit. This show flows from the bright, stark reality of the present to amber- and rose-colored visions of the past, and it does this abruptly. I think the lighting designer did a great job lighting these moments, many of them occurring onstage at the same time, as well as nailing the mood lighting as the show went on. It’s a challenging design, and I’d say the actors were lit to satisfaction 97% of the time. Not Walter White’s product, but I’ll settle for Jesse’s any day.

Acting

Acting Death of a Salesman is an uphill battle. I’ll say it again. It’s an uphill battle. Not only are students fighting against the ages of their characters: imagining experiences that they’ve still yet to live. They’re dealing with a culture 60-80 years removed at this point. It’s not easy.

I say this because the acting was really that impressive. I mean really. Bravo! Let’s get to it:

Ed Churchill: You think this guy could get away with writing a theatre blog without being that good? Ed was in the first show I did at GW, August: Osage County, and he played a similar character to what he plays in Death of a Salesman. Back then, I thought, “Oh, I guess he is the closest to that casting that the auditions had to offer. It’s a shame no one better suited for the part auditioned.” Now that being said, Ed nailed it in August, but HOLY JUMPING JESUS CHRIST! He walks onstage in this show and he’s it. All he needs is some good stage makeup and BAM! Effect achieved! Ed was phenomenal. His character was specific; beautifully crafted, and his relationships were spot on, not to mention he did the senile thing just about as well as you can. Every show needs a backbone, and Ed was it. A++. I was thoroughly impressed.

Shira Hereld: Someone call the police, ‘cause this girl stole the show. Linda, in my opinion, is the most challenging role in this show, because she gives all of Willy’s actions the necessary weight. No one cares what happens with Willy’s job or Happy or Biff if Linda doesn’t make us care about keeping the family together. There’s no love in this play unless Linda shows us where it should go. Every heart-wrenching moment, every failure, all of it comes back to our desire for everything to work out: for the Loman family to be happy together, and those desires are anchored in Linda. All I can say about Shira is that she got it. Physically, emotionally, vocally she got it. I’ve read this play quite a few times, and I didn’t know you could do that much with this role. Straight up. A+++.

Kent Ricci: I don’t know Kent, nor had I ever seen Kent in a student theatre show before this one, and I think that worked out perfectly. His Biff was incredibly grounded and sympathetic. You could really feel the contrast between his respect for Willy in his younger days and the weight of Willy’s shadow on his shoulders in the present, and that did a whole lot for this production and the tension between them. His point-of-view and character were both very complete and specific.

Julian Sacca-Schaeffer: I thought Julian did a great job with his role. I think he knew his job and he did his job, and the show wouldn’t have worked as well if he hadn’t. A piece of advice that I’d give Julian, though, and I say this to a lot of people, is to jog a lap or two around the Vern before the show to get himself loose. Of the four main characters, I think JS-S seemed a little stiff among them. However, I loved the choices he made, specifically the heat of his ambition when talking about his plans, “The Loman Brothers.” A great job all-around by everyone in this core group.

Ensemble: You can’t have a Thanksgiving turkey without the stuffing. And oh was the stuffing good. The ensemble for this show had some solid performers to compete with, and they delivered. Josh Bierman’s Charlie was outstanding. He sold his age better than anyone. Sean Viscount’s Ben was perfectly ethereal, a very hard thing to act as well as he did. A shoutout to Brad McKeen, Bekah Meyer, and the rest of the ensemble as well. They all rounded the play out with style.

Directing

Well done Andy Brown! He took on the mountain and reached the summit. The set and lighting did a great job framing what was clearly a carefully crafted beauty. The blocking was natural and fluid. The music was played at the perfect volume. His guidance and touch were evident in the ebb and flow of the show. He should be proud of what you put together.

-David Neiman


Well that's all for now folks - more reviews to come as the semester winds down to a close!

See you in the theater,
Ed

Generic: American Buffalo

         If you didn't get a chance to see Generic's production of American Buffalo last week then you missed out on a pretty great production of a Mamet show. One of the reasons I've always loved American Buffalo is because I just can't figure out what it's about - in a good way. I'm happy to say that is still the case. The show follows three men in a theft-based-quasi-pawn-shop. They plan a heist that they never follow through with and argue with each other the whole way through. If I were to pin down why I like it, and what it is about in one way it would be this: American Buffalo falls into alignment with my tastes because it is humanizing.

Company Presentation:

         Interesting choice of poster on the part of Generic. It's simple, and I suppose elegant - but it isn't really the attention grabber it could be. Especially considering the intense, attention grabbing nature of the show. Generic's posters are usually a little better than this one. It comes off sort of like a rusted nickel. Get it? That was a joke about the show.

        The only about getting into the downstage I didn't like is something a few companies have made us do - we had to enter through the set. Now, I understand you have to be sort of innovative in the downstage. But, I just don't like walking through the stage to get to my seat - it makes me strangely queasy and leads to things like Bekah Meyer breaking the only door on the stage. (Did you seriously think I wouldn't put that in here after you told me about it, Bekah? You know better than that.)

Set:

       The set was pretty basic. One wall of flats, and a whole bunch of junk. Yet, there was something really endearing about it. With the amount of junk, knick-knacks, the poker table, and the beaten up arm chair, I had no trouble believing these guys spent A LOT of their lives in the shop. My favorite touch, however, was the addition of the old Downstage light board with a sign reading "Works perfectly guaranteed!". The actors seemed comfortable on the stage and it worked. Nothing fancy, nothing over the top, just simplistic quality.

Lights:

       Again, a fairly basic design executed well. For a show that really only calls for general wash, one might even call the lighting impressive. It is rare that we see a designer able to completely eliminate shadow in the downstage. Peter Guren, kudos to you man.

Acting:

      Three men take the stage for Generic. All of them fit their roles perfectly. Michael Salgarolo once again proves himself as the best male actor Generic has in their pocket, with David Neiman pulling up a close second. Preston Reynolds was a relative unknown for me, but even he pulled it in and was the perfect completion to the trio. Each person added their own quirks to the characters with Preston, perhaps, creating the quirkiest of the three. His Bob was quiet, timid, awkward, and lovingly incomprehensible.

      My favorite parts of the show were when watching the play between Michael and David. The two of them seemed to really bond on stage and it became clear that their characters had a very long friendship. What impressed me most, and what I still can't quite understand, is how these two managed to create characters so similar in their frustrations and anger, yet clearly distinct from one another.

     The big bang moment for the cast, however, was when Teach threw a nutter and trashed the whole set. Reactions were perfect, the destruction was complete, and it all came as a complete surprise.

Directing:

      With Carson Miller coming off his success with A Clockwork Orange last year, this show had additional meaning. It meant that Carson had a chance to prove whether he was actually a good director, or if Ben Wagner was really just that good. In my honest opinion, Carson came off the winner. His production was naturalistically directed without too much heavy handed blocking. It seemed that he gave the actors quite a bit of freedom in making their own decisions while providing the guiding hand that a director is meant to be.

     American Buffalo was definitely one of the better productions Generic has put together in quite a while. Though I may have a bias in that I love Mamet, I feel that Generic pulled this one off in a brilliant manner. Next week check back for a review of FPP's Urinetown and (with fingers crossed because my schedule is stupidly busy) GW Shakespeare's Sir Thomas More. Go see some shows folks. ADVENTURE IS OUT THERE!

(Zach said he was going to put scorpions in my bed for not using this as my profile picture. I post it here in an attempt to appease him.)

See you in the theater,

Ed

TRDA: Sweeney Todd

    So I've been really lazy about getting these posts up - but here goes!

          GW's Department of Theater and Dance certainly did not hold anything back with this year's musical production of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. Everything this department has to offer - from powerhouse actors to top-notch designers - got poured into this production, and it shows. While I might not go so far as to call the musical a "thriller" as the poster proclaims, the grit and grime thrown onto the stage made the Dorothy Betts Marvin Theater just the right kind of disgusting.

         Sweeney has been a long run. With casting back in May, and rehearsals beginning early this semester, the team has been at it for several months. But, rather than resulting in a stale, over-rehearsed, performance, the cast put all they had into it. And, despite the many difficulties the technical side faced (a finicky automation device, hurricane, low man power, a hurricane, a fire alarm, and not being allowed to use their hazer), they managed to pull off a beautifully designed, nearly flawless technical production. 

Company Presentation:

         With two departments promoting the musical every year (TRDA and Music), it's easy to see why seeing Sweeney has been such a pervasive thought amongst the performance community at GW. Department musicals are always heavily advertised, and this production was no exception. Posters littered the Marvin Center and Rome/Phillips. But, then again, with a poster that gorgeous why wouldn't you want it everywhere? Sure, it may be a little text heavy - but considering the amount of nonsense you're legally required to put on advertisement for a Sondheim production, Kirk did damn good.

Set:
        Simple design, excellent set dressing - gorgeous. When I says simple though, what I really mean is simply to look at. In reality, it was rather complex. Beautifully constructed back drops filled the gaping chasm that can, at times, be the betts stage. Not to mention that automated cube. Seriously, who puts a completely automated, rotating cube on stage? The GW Department of Theater and Dance that's who. And despite the troubles they had with it during tech week - it was extremely effective. Having seen the evolution of the set from bare stage through final construction, I was impressed with the changes everyday. The final touch, which was probably my favor part of the set, was the newspapers and ads pasted all over the walls creating the feel of a well lived in London.

Lights:
       Any theater professional would love this light design, but if you don't know the intricacies of lighting design it may have been a little tough. The pattern work and colors were expertly chosen by Department Producer Carl Gudenis. But, for those hoping to see the glitz and glam of a big musical, you would have been disappointed. Carl's design was not about looking pretty, if anything it was the exact opposite. In fact, it was one of the few places where the grit and grime I was looking for really came through. Personally, I loved Carl's design. I thought it was intricate and exciting and that his selective lighting choices were perfectly done.

Acting:
      Boy are there some things to say about the acting in this show. It might be worth it for you to skip ahead, read my directing section, and then come back though. I'm going to break it down now by pulling out a few people:

Chorus:  Ok, I know the chorus isn't a singular person, but they deserve a section all their own. For me, the chorus was a little lackluster. That's not say they did poorly, just that they didn't have the force and strength they needed to overcome the micing of the leads. But in "city on fire" all the sudden they were THERE. That number was far and away the best piece of work the chorus did with "God that's good" being a close second. It was, however, fun to watch the inner relationships that the chorus created. It seemed each one of them had a little back story of their own.

Lizzy Marmon:  Bias warning, Lizzy is my roommate and my favorite person in the world to make art with. This was one of Lizzy's best performances by far. What amazes me about her as an actress is the fact that I know her in real life. What I mean by that, is Lizzy turns into a completely different person on stage like no one else I know. Her Mrs. Lovett was deeply layered, funny, and most importantly honest. Every word that came out of her mouth I believed. To highlight a single moment: the end of the show, with Lucy dead and Sweeney enraged, Lovett sinks to her knees singing "I love you." And it was breathtaking. All of Lovett's hopes and failings were summed up in one single line. Even if you didn't like a single other moment of the show, it was worth it for this.

Mike Noel:   Mike was actually acting! While I might describe his performance as "not quite crude enough" I was still rather impressed. His voice was fantastic and his acting more than acceptable. In has grand epiphany that we "all deserve to die", he was truly frightening - challenging the audience and Lovett alike. The moment gave credence to the phrase "perhaps today you gave a nod, to sweeney todd" and made it a terrifying prospect.

Kevin Frye:  Dayum voice. That is all. Good job.

John Gearhart: John stuck out like a sore thumb in this production. While I empathize with him, in that he was playing one of the campiest and cheesiest roles musical theater has to offer - I was still disappointed in his performance. His facial expressions were flat and his emotion, at times, resembled that of a toaster someone had drawn a smiley face on. What got me the most though, is that the idea of motivated movement seemed to go entirely over his head - though this may be a problem with the directing more than anything else. I don't particularly know John personally, and don't mean to be offensive -  but I had hoped for a lot more.

Directing:
      Director Muriel Von Villas is an opera director, and that's what she should stick to. While the music was done beautifully (likely a credit to music director Patrick O'Donnell), the rest of the show displayed a lack of power that clearly came down from the director. Muriel is a master of creating a stage picture. But she's not so good at getting people into it. At best the blocking was boring or clearly driven by the actor, at worst it was unmotivated and awkward. But, what hurt most about the directing was the lack of depth. Sweeney Todd has the opportunity to be a complex, dramatic, and powerful production. It should have knocked me back into my seat (and with some of these performers, I suppose it did at times). The problem was that it just wasn't quite in your face enough. The general M.O. of this production seemed to be "stand here, sing this". Character didn't seem to be a huge concern for Muriel either, allowing several performers to slide by on simply the bare essentials. In general, the production simply lacked a layer of depth that only a director could provide - and she simply let it slide.


The department's production of Sweeney Todd was, overall, very enjoyable. It was a GREAT college production. So, I don't want anyone to misunderstand me when I say this department could have done more. I only expected more of this department because of the incredible level of talent centered here. Still, the production was fantastic, and the leads really blew it away - not to mention the absolutely incredible design choices.

Next up is Generic Theater Company's: American Buffalo. Look for that review to be up tomorrow!

See you in the theater,
Ed