The Invisible Hand

Last week we saw the Invisible Hand at Cleveland Playhouse.  An American banker is kidnapped by Pakistani freedom fighters in the near future.   He agrees to make money for the group to pay his own ransom.   It was compelling.   I also learned quite a bit about the stock market and business that I didn't know before.   It asks about faith and what is good for one's people.

Love Never Dies

Yesterday, we saw the sequel to the Phantom of the Opera, Love Never Dies.  I didn't have high expectations for another Andrew Lloyd Weber musical, but I was pleasantly surprised. 

The show takes place 10 years after the events in the Paris Opera House.   The Phantom has fled to Coney Island and sponsors the side shows there.  Christine and Raoul have a strained marriage, raising her son in considerable debt.   They come to New York to have Christine perform and earn some money (setup by Oscar Hammerstein), but the Phantom outbids Hammerstein and becomes the sponsoring patron.   Love triangles and plot twists.  It's interesting.  I do like the musical revisiting of themes from the original show.

I also must caution my readers that this is another example of a poor relationship.   Stalking and threats are never acceptable in a healthy relationship.   

The hope is that this touring show will lead to a run on Broadway.  I liked it more than I thought I would.

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Net

It's a new theater season!   We saw One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest at the Beck Center last Sunday.   There are no matinee showings because of the mature subject and themes of the show.

It really is an excellent production.   Very much like the movie and all the ancillary characters are spot on in displaying the signs of mental illness.   I was particularly impressed with the  guy with tardive diskinesia, a side effect of many drugs to treat mental conditions.  

As a healthcare provider, I can call this one a how not to treat your patients.   But the show is set in the 60's and the practices are thus outdated.   I recommend this show, but don't expect a happy ending.

Really Really

Just got back from the regional premier of Really Really at the Beck Center.   That was some heavy material.   College, rape, money, privilege, and what is the truth.   It pains me to see people use whatever means necessary to get what they want.  There is a lot of selfishness in this play.  It also bothers me that this play reinforces the sterotype that of poor people lying and cheating to get ahead.   It's not happy, but it makes you think.

Hand to God

I got to see Hand to God the other day at Dobama Theater.  I enjoyed it and all of it's dark humor, but it wasn't what I was expecting.   It was advertised as a cross between Avenue Q and the Book of Mormon, two shows that I really love.  This show had puppets and a religious theme, but that's where the similarities ended.

Premise: a widowed woman works for the church and is trying to put on a puppet show.  Her son, Jason has a puppet (Tyrone) that has a very dark streak, eventually leading the group to believe that he is possessed by the devil.   

Tons of dark religious psychology in this show.  Eventually, Tyrone is revealed to be a manifestation of Jason's pain for his father's death.   Also, lots of violence and a gratuitous puppet sex scene.   This show is definitely for the 21 and over crowd.   It's not a musical, so you don't go home with a song in your heart.   Tyrone's last speech actually reminds me of Puck's at the end of A Midsummer Night's Dream.  The effect is eerie and fascinating.   :If you like creepy plays, watch this.  If dolls and puppets scare you, or if the religious overtones hit close to home, I'd advise you to avoid it.   It's not every day you see a guy bludgeon his own hand with a hammer.

The Crucible

Last night we saw the Crucible at Cleveland Playhouse.   Long play but totally worth it!   It's the classic Arthur Miller play about the Salem witch trials.   He was definitely going through a rough time in his life with the McCarthism and accusations of communism.  The message of the play holds true in today.  A definite must see!

Every seat in this production is a good one.   The stage is in the center and the audience is on all four sides.  The set rises and falls and the effect really works.  The actors run around it and up and down the aisles.

We learned in the pre-show talk that the girls' costumes change from more innocent to more domineering as they gain more power in the town.   Pictured above: one of the scenes from the second act.

I really recommend seeing this show.   Check out this video:

Mothers and Sons

Steve and I just got back from seeing Mothers and Sons at the Beck Center.  It's an amazing play.  Extremely well acted.  Cal is a grown man who survived the AIDS epidemic of the late 20th century, but lost his lover.   Cue present day, he's happily married to his husband Will and has a young son.  Suddenly his deceased love's ex is visiting without a warning.  Tons of emotional turmoil ensues, including grief and guilt.

I really recommend seeing this show.   In equal measure, I wanted to slap and hug the mother in the play.  You can feel her pain and recoil at her homophobia.  You can see the differences in life now with marriage equality and alternative families and hear about what things were like in the past.

The Young Man From Atlanta

We just got back from the Beck Center.   We saw The Young Man From Atlanta.  It's all about grief and loss in the 1950's, societal expectations, and communication.

The family featured in this play has lost their only son, Bill.   A job loss for Will, the breadwinner and the ensuing monetary trouble brings their lack of communication to the surface.  The title character was Bill's roommate (and implied lover).   Lily Dale, the wife, is often alone.

The play is extremely well acted. however I just left the theater feeling sad.  I felt really bad for all the characters and their inability to express what they really thought and feel to whoever needed it most.   I guess you could think of it as grieving people who need comfort, but then are denied it or allowed it at lesser level than required.

Seminar

We just got back from seeing Seminar at the Beck Center.  That was powerful.   The show is billed as a comedy, but I think it's more of a drama.   It's played without an intermission.   4 writers in the making at private writing seminar with a thoroughly unpleasant teacher, who was once a big name in the business.   I laughed some, but mostly I felt angry.   I really just wanted to really deck the teacher for being so abusive, offensive, and mean.

Lessons gleaned from this show: 

• It is often about who you know.
• You have to go beyond your comfort zone.
• Sleeping with the teacher can get you places. (Yuck.)

It's an abusive show, but ultimately constructive with a happy ending.

'night, Mother

We just saw 'night, Mother at Beck Center for the Arts.   Amazingly powerful.   Steve and I both cried.   A woman, Jessie, portrayed by Laura Perrotta, is about to commit suicide.  She has set all of her affairs in order, and she tells her mother, Thelma, played by the extraordinary Dorothy Silver.  

The play is one continuous act performed without an intermission in 90 minutes.  The set was extremely realistic, a living room through dining room and kitchen with running water.

The family has troubles.  Jessie is a divorcee who has epilepsy and a wayward son.  She decided at Christmas that she would end her life, seeing that all she does is keep Thelma company.  You can feel the emotional scars ripping open fresh as the two women on stage talk to one another.   It should not be missed.  It's playing until May 4th at the Beck Studio Theater.

33 Variations

We just got back from seeing 33 Variations at the Beck Center.  It isn't a musical, but music is prevalent throughout the play.  The first thing you see when entering the theater is the grand piano at the side of the stage.  The pianist stays there through both acts and illustrates the musical work in the show.

We see two parallel stories in this show.  A musicologist struggling with ALS studies Beethoven's variations on a waltz, while we see the composer's struggles with hearing loss.   It is extremely well interwoven.  We see the musicologist and her daughter and their strained relationship, and we see the composer and his servant and the person who commissioned the variations mull over deadlines and expectations.  In fact, a good comparison is drawn between the daughter (in varied career choices that her mother is unhappy with) and the original waltz, which the original composer fears that Beethoven is mocking through variations.

I enjoyed this show because it touches two very important facets of my life, music and medicine.   I highly recommend seeing it.

Sweeney Todd

Just got back from Great Lakes Theater Festival's new production of Sweeney Todd!  Loved it!  Sweeney  Todd is probably my favorite Stephan Sondheim musical/operetta of all time.  The music is dark and evocative, and the anti-hero protagonists, you can't help but like them!

This production used 7 different types of stage blood!   In the pre-show talk, they said the different formulas were for dripping, spraying, or whatever special effects were needed for the gruesome killings.  The costuming was steampunk inspired.  Lots of black leather, buckled boots, and corsets. I particularly liked the red and gold dress that Mrs. Lovett wears in the second act.

They have added additional performances of this show because they keep selling out!  Go see it!

War Horse

Today we saw War Horse, the first touring Broadway series play I have seen.  It's amazing!   A drama about the special relationship an young man, Albert, has with his horse.  Originally, the horse, named Joey, was purchased by his father trying to outdo his uncle at an auction.  The family really can't afford it, so the plan is to sell Joey later.  Eventually, the horse is able to do plow work in the fields and his family says they will let Albert keep Joey, but his dad ends up selling the animal to the English army to go fight in France at the beginning of World War 1. The boy enlists in an effort to go find his beloved pet.

Okay, I bet you're thinking, why would a war drama about a boy and a horse be in the Broadway rotation?   Simple.  Puppetry magic.  All the animals on stage are puppets from the Handspring Puppet Workshop from South Africa.  The horses are huge constructs that take 3 puppeteers to operate.  One person runs the head from a stick to the side of the horse.  The middle person controls the horse's breathing and front limbs.  The hind puppeteer controls the tail and back legs.  It is amazing how realistic the horses are.  Even though you can see the puppeteers, the motions are so true to life that it's easy to forget the people are inside.

At the pre-show talk, we were told that Joey was introduced to the Cleveland Mounted Police Force.  The real horses were completely fooled and greeted Joey as one of their own.

War stories aren't exactly my favorite subject.  I even had difficulty watching all the intense battles in Lord of the Rings.  I liked this show though.   It is truly theater magic.

The House of Blue Leaves

I just saw the House of Blue Leaves.  It's funny that the Beck Center would feature two works that feature mental illness in a family context simultaneously.  This play is about a zookeeper, Arnie, who dreams of being a musician for Hollywood movies in the 1960s.  He lives with his wife, Bananas, who suffers from schizophrenia.  Arnie currently has a relationship with their downstairs neighbor, Bunny, because his wife is so different from the woman he married.  Bunny and Arnie plan on leaving for California while committing Bananas to a mental institution.

This play has many madcap moments of comedy, but it is a black comedy.   I wish it had been more of a funny play.  You do feel for the characters.  The actors emote extremely well.  But overall, I feel that this is more of a tragic story.  The show runs until April 21.

Next to Normal

We just saw Next to Normal at the Beck Center.  Absolutely amazing!   I don't think I've cried so hard at a theater in my life.  The story is that powerful.  It is a rock musical.  The music is completely appropriate to the feelings expressed in the story.

Next to Normal is about a woman with bipolar disorder and how it impacts the life of her family.   It shows the struggles she experiences with medicines and treatment.   This is a very real portrayal of life with a loved one with mental illness.   I highly recommend seeing this show.  It is playing until April 21.  Also, bring tissues.

Bell, Book, and Candle

We just got back from seeing Bell, Book, and Candle performed by the Cleveland Playhouse.  This is the play that inspired the television series Bewitched.  There is a community of witches living in New York City unbeknownst to their human neighbors.  When I was watching the play the main character, Gillian, describes witchcraft as taking shortcuts to desired outcomes.   I suppose you could call it life hacking.  People don't usually pay attention to the odd activities in the play because they dismiss it as a series of coincidences. 

Gillian basically decided to magic herself a little romance with her upstairs neighbor, Shep.  She casts a spell, and he falls madly in love with her.   When the spell is revealed, there is a lot of questioning about the nature of love.  Also, in the play's world, a witch loses her powers when in love, as well as gaining the ability to cry and blush.

I suppose I was expecting a more comedic play with lots of magic and trickery.   It was more of a philosophical play about the nature of love and the consequences of meddling with it.  I can definitely see how Bewitched could be imagined from this 1950's play.

The Little Dog Laughed

We saw the Little Dog Laughed tonight at the Beck Center for the Arts.  The theater literature describes it as a farce, but I think it's more of a drama with comedic moments.   The dialogue is sharp and characters feel very real.  Most of all, the play is about discovery of emotions and sexuality, as well as portrayals of stereotyped ideals. 

The play only has 4 characters.  Mitchell Green is the Hollywood star who has a "slight case of recurring homosexuality."  Dianne is his fierce agent who want to make it big as a respected producer.   Alex is a rent boy who is first called by a drunk Mitchell, and eventually he forms a close relationship with him.  Lastly, there is Ellen, the girlfriend of Alex.

It is a thought provoking piece.  I recommend it, but it isn't a light comedy by any means.  It's definitely worth taking the time to see.

In the Next Room, or the vibrator play

We went to see In the Next Room, or the vibrator play, tonight.  It was the first play I have seen done by the Cleveland Playhouse since they relocated to the newly remodeled Allen Theatre's Second Stage at Playhouse Square. The space was amazing!   The stage was surrounded by audience seating on three sides in a stadium configuration.

I was actually surprised by the content of the play.  I was expecting a straight out comedy with lots of sexual humor.  Although there was some of that, mostly, it was a show about frustrations in relationships.  The setting is the Victorian Era, in the household of the doctor who invented the vibrator.  The device in question is a medical treatment for "hysteria," and it serves at a catalyst for the main characters to reevaluate their relationships. 

The play is surprisingly poignant.  It touches on the topics of martial frustration, heartbreak, infertility, and infant death.  I can understand why it was nominated for three Tony Awards.  Also, I was not expecting the male nudity.  It was tasteful, but unexpected.   The web page does warn about it though.  The costumes were amazing!