Frank Benge - Page 14

SUFFER THE LONG NIGHT belongs to that class of backstage comedies like NOISES OFF and FASHION: THE MUSICAL where the audience sees an actor playing an actor who is playing a character in a show. SUFFER THE LONG NIGHT first debuted in 2008 in Los Angeles and this production marks the first time it has been seen in Texas. Usually, these shows are about the performers plowing ahead in the face of everything under the sun going disastrously wrong. This variation on that theme is written by Greg Glienna & Mary Ruth Clarke, writers of the film "Meet the Parents". Glienna & Clarke take this genre to the max by having a fake "program" that wraps around the actual program and a pre-show that starts the moment you get your ticket. Once you've been asked "Have you had your flu shot?" the show has begun.

WAITING FOR LEFTY was written in 1935 by Clifford Odets. The play is, and was written as, an immersive piece of theatre. It is, ostensibly, a meeting of cab drivers who are gathering to plan a strike. As an audience member, you become a part of that meeting. While the meeting is going on, we are exposed to a series of scenes which are related to the meeting in that they delve into the lives of the characters to frame what brought them to this meeting. What is striking is that nearly 80 years later, WAITING FOR LEFTY still resonates and has something to say to modern audiences… especially those who struggle to make ends meet on a daily basis.

THE PRIME OF MISS JEAN BRODIE is a 1961 novel by Muriel Spark and a 1966 stage play, based on the novel, by Jay Presson Allen that was turned into a film in 1968. Miss Brodie, a teacher at the Marcia Blaine School for Girls in Edinburgh, states her motto: 'I am in the business of putting old heads on young shoulders, and all my pupils are the creme de la creme. Give me a girl at an impressionable age, and she is mine for life.' Jean Brodie stands as one of theater's most charismatic warpers of young minds; a self-deluded Scottish schoolteacher and a passionate advocate of questionable causes (like Fascism) deemed by most to be subjects unsuitable for children in the 1930's. The story is part of a long line of books and movies about forward-thinking and eccentric teachers who have a great deal of influence on their students. Set against the backdrop of fascism and the Spanish Civil War, the story is told through a series of flashbacks.

Simply said, Martin Burke delivers masterful story telling in a tour de force production of THIS WONDERFUL LIFE. In the course of the evening, Mr. Burke singlehandedly tells the story of "It's a Wonderful Life" playing all the characters… twice. He, aside from narrating, portrays some 29 different characters in what is a dazzling performance.

If an example existed to explain the value of copyright laws, Katie Forgette's SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE CASE OF THE JERSEY LILY might well be it. Since the copyright has expired on the characters of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson they are now in the public domain and authors other than the originator, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, can use these characters in their own works. In the case of Katie Forgette, she has used them to craft a stake-less, mediocre play with more marketability than merit, while stealing freely from Doyle's stories (notably, "A Scandal in Bohemia"), Wilde and Shakespeare without capturing any of the panache or humor of any of them. Sadly, the best moments in the script are actually from "The Importance of Being Earnest" and "Romeo and Juliet".

RECKLESS, by Craig Lucas, wants to be a black comedy. The script, written in a cinematographic style, poses some serious problems in staging. For something so paper thin to work, the audience needs to go on the same nightmare downhill sleigh ride as the protagonist. We need to feel as buffeted by the play itself as she does by the events of the play. Unfortunately, the staging of this production is weighed down by numerous lengthy scene changes on what is a minimalistic set. These numerous changes bog the evening down and what should be a barrage of insanity ends up being a few humorous moments. The cartoon craziness this script cries out for never really happens.

COCK, a comedy by Mike Bartlett, tells the story of John, a young man who takes a break from his boyfriend, and accidentally meets the woman of his dreams. This leaves John to grapple with self-identity, while still being deeply in love with both his partners. The problem is that everyone wants him to decide: Who is he? What is he? And what will his decision be?

Rodgers & Hammerstein are, to me, the comfort food of musical theatre. Of all their shows, THE KING AND I holds up the best some 65 years on. It avoids the saccharine sweetness and didactic qualities of some of their other works. The musical is based on the 1944 novel 'Anna and the King of Siam' by Margaret Landon, which was derived from Anna Leonowens memoirs of her time as governess to the children of King Mongkut of Siam in the early 1860's. The musical tells the story of Anna, a British schoolteacher hired as part of the King's drive to modernize his country. Their relationship is marked by conflict as well as by a love that neither can admit to. Premiering on March 29 in 1951, THE KING AND I ran nearly three years, and, at the time, was the fourth longest-running Broadway musical in history.

How do you deal with cancer? How do you deal with other people's reactions to your cancer? If you're a dancer, how do you face life in all it's un-choreographed glory?

One of my favorite descriptions of what theatre is states that "theatre is an experience, shared by a group of strangers, in the dark." This description certainly holds true for THE ORCHID FLOTILLA created by writer/director Caroline Reck, playing through Sept. 20 at The Salvage Vanguard Theater. It returns to Austin after a 2012 run that earned it 6 B. Iden Payne and 2 Critic's Table Nominations. It is clear to see why it received all the nominations it did.

"When you are at zero, anything can happen. It's like total possibility," says Sharon, the next door neighbor to Mary and Ben, in Lisa D'Amour's DETROIT. And that is exactly what this play is about… sliding out of your place in society's economic structure and down to zero.

Two of my very favorite things are satire and black comedy. With that in mind, it should come as no surprise that URINETOWN: THE MUSICAL has been a favorite of mine since the show took home Tony Awards for Best Original Score and Best Book of a Musical back in 2002. It is a rarity in today's musical theatre - a truly original musical which is not based on existing source material. The show got its start in 1995 when Greg Kotis (book and lyrics) was a struggling student on a budget traveling in Europe and encountered pay-per-use toilets. It was then that the musical's central idea hit him: a future where toilets were controlled by a corporation with no concern for the poor. According to Kotis, the show 'was created in a spirit of defiance against what's typically offered up as stage worthy in America today.'

Creating a stage adaptation of beloved material is a tricky business, especially if the work is a piece of fantasy. When you add the task of making a musical out of the work, the stakes are upped considerably. BRIGHT NOW BEYOND, a new musical by Daniel Alexander Jones and Bobby Halvorson, now playing at Salvage Vanguard Theater, is a fresh, loose adaptation of L. Frank Baum's THE MARVELOUS LAND OF OZ. For the most part, the new piece works very well and is charming.

One of the main functions of theatre is to make an audience think. In this regard, BREAKING BECKETT, now playing at The Institution Theater, succeeds. I will probably be thinking about this piece for some time to come. Be aware that there is NO intention to be funny here. Leave your preconceived notions about improvisation at the door.

Doing Shaw isn't for the timid, especially for modern audiences which have become expectant of a happy ending. There's a reason why "Pygmalion" remains Shaw's most popular play which has been turned into a movie, a stage musical, and a film musical. It's a classic Cinderella story, complete with slippers… in this case, though; they're thrown rather than worn. There's even a ball - well, a couple of parties, actually. The problem is…there's no Prince Charming. This fairy tale has no happy ending.

Human existence can be a pretty lonely, tenuous thing. When push comes to shove, our dependence on our friends (or even strangers for that matter) is something you should never take for granted. This is just one of the lessons you will take away from your visit to the Agape Actors Co-op production of 'Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks' currently playing in Georgetown in the East View High School's black box theater.