John Sygar, Natascia Diaz, Luke Smith and Robbie Schaeffer in LIGHT YEARS. Photo by Christopher Mueller.
Artistic Director, Eric Schaeffer, presents us with yet another world premiere musical. This time it’s a tender tale of a father and son who go in and out of each other’s lives over a period of decades. Light Years features the music, lyrics, and book by Robbie Schaefer (no relation to Eric). Robbie is a member of Eddie from Ohio (EFO), a Northern Virginia indie/folk/rock band known for their beautifully blended four-part harmonies.
It’s part concert, part sentimental journey. Three guitar playing performers play Robbie – John Sygar as Young Robbie, Luke Smith as Middle Robbie and Robbie Schaefer as the adult Robbie. Veteran actor Bobby Smith plays Robbie’s Jewish father, Konnie, a man reticent to share his past as a former White House economist. Natascia Diaz becomes Robbie’s wife, Annie, and Kara-Tameika Watkins, his friend, Amelia, but not before the two play backup singers Chantelle and Soma who lay down harmonies for the band during their tours in the 90’s.
John Sygar, Kara-Tameika Watkins, Robbie Schaefer, Natascia Diaz, and Luke Smith in LIGHT YEARS. Photo by Christopher Mueller
Framed by video projection screens and a simple concert-style stage, this no-intermission, 90-minute musical hints at Konnie’s peripatetic past – one that has him fleeing Nazi-occupied Romania for Israel, then later emigrating to the U. S. “Everything is temporary,” Konnie repeatedly warns Robbie. But it’s only towards the very end of the story that we, and Robbie, learn of his father’s tragic beginnings. Up till then there is only a child’s confusion, and ours as the audience, as to why his father seems unable to connect. Ultimately when Robbie has his own wife and family, can they express understanding and compassion towards one another. But is it too late?
Shaefer’s music is of the story-telling kind, a there are fifteen songs filled with joy and heartbreak, disappointment and redemption. Its sweet melodies and pitch-perfect harmonies will please those who enjoy a laid back concert-style experience.
Through February 18th at Signature Theatre (Shirlington Village), 4200 Campbell Avenue, Arlington, VA 22206. For tickets and information call 703 820-9771 or visit www.sigtheatre.org.
Ahmad Kamal (Malik) in the world premiere production of 4,380 NIGHTS. Photo by C Stanley Photography.
When the Women’s Voices Theater Festival opened in early January, I found myself explaining its purpose. Some thought the productions focused solely on women’s issues. They don’t. It’s merely an opportunity to focus on plays written by women. And of the ones I’ve seen and reviewed, they approach a diversity of subjects. So, jump right in. The festival continues through March 14th in DC Metro area theaters.
Annalisa Dias ~ Photo Credit: Christopher Mueller
In Annalisa Dias’ powerful play 4,380 Nights, Malik Djamal Ahmad Essaid (Ahmad Kamal in a riveting performance as both Malik and El Hadj El Kaim) is being held in the Guantanamo Bay Detention Center accused of being an Al Qaeda recruiter and radical Islamist.
His rights stripped from him without charge, he lives in chains and solitary confinement with visits from Bud Abramson (Michael John Casey who later appears as The Man), a defense attorney appointed by the U. S. government. Malik languishes in prison for twelve years without trial while his family awaits him in France.
Ahmad Kamal (Malik) and MJ Casey (Bud Abramson). Photo by C Stanley Photography.
Directed by Kathleen Ackerley, the story is told to The Man by a sylph-like narrator, The Woman, played by Lynette Rathnam in a sinuously exotic performance. She speaks in lyrical prose echoing the history of the Carthaginians, the French, and much later the Americans who wage war against the Arabs and Berbers.
Lynette Rathnam (Woman) in the world premiere production of 4,380 NIGHTS. Photo by C Stanley Photography
The Man beseeches The Woman to tell him how the story ends, but she puts him off to relate the story that began with Cato’s words from ancient times. No matter which side of the argument you are on, you’ll be left wondering the same thing. Does it ever end, this centuries-old conflict of “the water, the earth, the sand”? Whether for reasons of trade or expansionism, the battles have long been dominated by racism, ignorance and fear. “It’s not the first time you’ve kidnapped Africans and enslaved them,” Malik reminds his American captors.
As the story toggles from ancient times to the present, we meet Malik’s grandfather, El Kaim, a former guide and translator for the French Colonel Aimable Pelisssier. El Kaim fought on the French side, betraying his own people in the Algerian Wars, and Malik feels certain, if he is ever released to his homeland, he will be imprisoned by his own government. Ah, the sins of the fathers.
Ahmad Kamal (Malik) and Rex Daugherty (Luke). Photo by C Stanley Photography.
Luke Harrison (Rex Daugherty who doubles as the Colonel), is a young American soldier who guards Malik. Luke is emotionally imprisoned which causes him to descend into a kind of sadistic madness. Think Abu Ghraib and you have some idea of the barbaric abuse he metes out to his prisoner. Abramson is sympathetic but tells Malik his detainment is awash in “papers, petitions, orders, reviews and broken international laws.”
Dias’ play is filled with expertly crafted dialogue that speaks to the deeply rooted, tangled web of Anglo Arab relations and their effect on long-term global stability. Her indelible characters, molded in the shifting sands of time, afford clarity and perspective to the issues facing our nations today.
Highly recommended.
Through February 18th at Signature Theatre (Shirlington Village), 4200 Campbell Avenue, Arlington, VA 22206. For tickets and information call 703 820-9771 or visit online.
Synetic Theater ~ MetroStage ~ The Little Theatre of Alexandria ~ ICE! at National Harbor ~ Christmas at Mount Vernon ~ Signature Theatre ~ Symphony Orchestra of Northern Virginia
Raven Wilkes (Babysitter), Justin Bell (Hansel), and Sharisse Taylor (Gretel) Photo Credit: Johnny Shryock
Hansel and Gretelat Synetic Theater – During the bustle of holiday crowds, Gretel tries to keep her brother, Hansel, out of trouble while their babysitter leaves Gretel to fend for them both. As Hansel embarks on his own wonder-filled exploration of his everyday surroundings, he and his sister fall into a magical realm that takes them far away from home. In this wordless production, the well-beloved Grimm fairy tale embraces the fantastical through the eyes of those who see the world through a different lens. Directed and choreographed by Elena Velasco and Tori Bertocci. Through December 23rd at 1800 South Bell Street, Arlington in Crystal City. For tickets visit www.synetictheater.org.
Christmas at the Old Bull and Bush
The Old Bull & Bush at MetroStage – Originally staged in the Old Vat Room at Arena Stage writer, director, and actor Catherine Flye will be transferring her 9-person troupe to a circa 1912 replica of the famed Hampstead, England pub to jolly up your holidays with food, 35 songs, jokes, dance, a sing-along and an abbreviated reenactment of Dickens’ Christmas Carol. With Christmas crackers, British beers and sausage rolls for purchase, the classic British music hall entertainment runs through December 24th at 1201 North Royal Street, Alexandria, 22314. For tickets visit www.metrostage.org.
Larry Grey as Fezziwig and Hannah Pecoraro as Mrs. Fezziwig and cast ~ Photo credit Michael DeBlois
A Christmas Carol at The Little Theatre of Alexandria – In a fresh interpretation by director Eleanor Tapscott, enjoy a return of the Christmas classic by Charles Dickens. Ebenezer Scrooge, a miserable Victorian humbug, travels with diaphanous ghostly guides (beautifully choreographed by Ukranian Victoria Blum) through Christmas past, present, and future to find the true meaning of the holidays. Complete with special effects, Victorian carols and Tiny Tim. Through December 16th at 600 Wolfe Street. For tickets call 703.683.0496 or visit www.thelittletheatre.com.
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeerat “ICE!” at the Gaylord National Resort & Conference Center – A 9-degree winter wonderland carved from over two million pounds of ice, a Christmas Village, merry-go-round, Glacier Glide ice skating rink, “JOY” – an eye-popping, Broadway-style holiday musical show, nightly snowfalls and dancing fountains at this first-class holiday destination. Additional events are a Mistletoe Mixology class, Build-A Bear Workshop, photos with Santa, Cookies with Mrs. Claus and so much more. Through January 1st at 201 Waterfront Street, National Harbor, MD 20745. For tickets and event times visit www.GaylordNationaltickets.com.
Photo credit Melissa Wood
Christmas at Mount Vernon – Tour George and Martha Washington’s mansion by candlelight and make merry with 18th century dancing, fireside refreshments and caroling. Meet Aladdin the Camel, watch holiday fireworks on December 15th and 16th, hear period music, experience a military encampment and more. For tickets and event times visit www.MountVernon.org.
Holiday Follies at Signature Theatre – Starring jazz singer Ines Nassara, David Rowen (Signature’s Diner) and Katie Mariko Murray (Signature’s West Side Story) singing classic holiday songs. Through December 16th at Signature Theatre, 4200 Campbell Avenue, Arlington, VA 22206. For tickets visit www.SigTheatre.org.
The Symphony Orchestra of Northern Virginia in collaboration with the Office of the Arts presents a “Friday Evening Chamber Concert Series”. The next concert “A Brass Christmas” is scheduled for Friday, December 15th at the Durant Arts Center, 1605 Cameron St. For online tickets visit http://bit.ly/2vSKXRd. Tickets are also available at the door.
Jordan Wright November 17, 2017
Special to The Alexandria Times
Is there such a thing as a ‘tapa-palooza’? If no one’s yet invented this neologism, I offer it up as a descriptor for Signature’s shiny, splashy production of Ken Ludwig and Mike Ockrent’s musical comedy, Crazy for You. It’s the only way to explain the sensational tap extravaganza you’ll see from Director Matthew Gardiner and Choreographer Denis Jones.
Ashley Spencer as Polly Baker, Danny Gardner as Bobby Child ~ Photo Credit – C. Stanley Photography
Danny Gardner and Ashley Spencer play lead characters and love interests, Bobby and Polly, and they make the dance routines in LaLa Land look amateur. Think Fred Astaire and Eleanor Powell. Spencer is light as a feather and Gardner, who is equally as nimble, mirrors her moves with dazzling athleticism.
The storyline is basic. Banking scion Bobby Child wants to be on the stage, but his well-heeled mother, played to perfection by Sherri Edelen (who later appears as travel book author Patricia Fodor) wants none of it. The ever-versatile Natascia Diaz as Bobby’s demanding girlfriend, Irene, wants marriage – and pronto. But Bobby, ignoring their pleas, spends his time at the theater and its bevy of flashy, feathered, Follies girls presided over by Russian impresario Bela Zangler (Bobby Smith). There are too many funny bits to mention, but key in on Smith’s hilarious bottle opening bit played in tandem with Polly, and hayseed Pete’s erudite interpretation of famous playwrights. The silly one-liners and sight gags are sure to catch you off guard. They did me.
Danny Gardner as Bobby Child, Sherri Edelen as Fodor Ashley Spencer as Polly Baker (these are the three people in the center), and the ensemble ~ Photo Credit – C. Stanley Photography
Scenic Designer, Paul Tate dePoo III, gives us the look of New York’s Broadway by night – glamourous and glitzy, that is until Bobby’s mother sends him to Deadrock, Nevada to foreclose on an old family investment – a bankrupt theater where dePoo’s backdrop switches to Lank Hawkins’ (Cole Burden) saloon in a one-jalopy ghost town. There, way before Vegas was a thing, Bobby falls for the feisty postmistress Polly who keeps company with a motley crew of miners and cowboys. His plans to revive the theater and resurrect the town involve getting these drunken malingerers to dance and sing. No mean feat, but with Polly’s help, and the arrival of eight sexy chorines from New York, they do whip the Deadrock deadbeats into shape.
I found myself utterly rapt while mentally singing along to all eighteen Gershwin tunes – like “Bidin’ My Time”, “Someone To Watch Over Me”, “Slap That Bass”, “Embraceable You”, and “Nice Work If You Can Get It” conducted flawlessly by Jon Kalbfleisch’s 14-piece orchestra. But just watching these über-amazing performers dance their brains out whilst singing their lungs out was epic, especially in numbers that required complex props – farm tools and kitchen utensils to keep the beat – as in the mind-blowing number “I Got Rhythm” and the chain-rattling, floor-quaking, “Chin Up”, performed partly tabletop.
Cole Burden as Lank Hawkins and Natascia Diaz as Irene Roth ~ Photo Credit – C. Stanley Photography
Costumes by Tristan Raines run the gamut from 1930’s sparkly glam gowns, elegant black tie and frothy chorus girl costumes to dusty Western wear.
Highly recommended.
Through January 14, 2018 at Signature Theatre (Shirlington Village), 4200 Campbell Avenue, Arlington, VA 22206. For tickets and information call 703 820-9771 or visit www.sigtheatre.org.
Tom Story (God) and Jamie Smithson (Gabriel). Photo by Margot Schulman.
A gem of a comedy is holding fast at Signature Theatre. Directed by 13-time Emmy-winning former head writer and Executive Producer of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, David Javerbaum, this hilarious sendup of God stars Tom Story. Story, who took on the Herculean 40-role play Fully Committed at MetroStage last December, is a seven-time Helen Hayes Award nominee who proves in this off-the-wall, one-acter that he can take on the biggest role of all. God. Director Eleanor Holdrige makes certain nothing is sacred in this stick-in-the-eye comedy – especially not God himself whom Story plays with all the irrepressible wit, snark and snap in his toolbox.
Tom Story (God), Jamie Smithson (Gabriel) and Evan Casey (Michael). Photo by Margot Schulman.
In a Family Feud takeoff God is aided by His naughty archangels (“My wingmen.”) played by Evan Casey as Michael and Jamie Smithson as Gabriel. Michael and Gabriel are adept at dashing into the audience and attributing to the unsuspecting guests pre-chosen questions that threaten to undermine God’s laws. Heresy! Beginning with the Creation of the World God confesses the six-day timeline wasn’t enough, and goes on to lay out a new version of the Ten Commandments, an original explanation of Adam and Eve (“I removed a non-load bearing rib.”) as well as a condemnation of the Ark’s fuzzy math and another pet peeve, the lack of modern science as in the impossibility of Abraham’s 90-year old wife’s miraculous birth of their son. He is apoplectic at these biblical misinterpretations. “I have wrath management issues,” He confesses.
In order to set the record straight, He explains his original intent. In particular His Fourth Commandment, “Thou Shalt Separate Me and State”, in which He reviles those that claim to speak for him. Oh, so popular these days. And His Seventh Commandment, “Do Not Tell Me What to Bless”, wherein He blasts those worshippers who ask Him for a slam dunk or touchdown and protection from devils when sneezing. He knows exactly who He will bless and who He will curse. “I don’t want you to kill in my name. I can do that all by myself.”
Evan Casey (Michael), Tom Story (God) and Jamie Smithson (Gabriel). Photo by Margot Schulman.
Thanks to Costume Designer Robert Croghan’s pimped-out white suit with Gucci belt mega-church preacher style, God can say with total assurance, “I am a well-established brand.” The Playbill agrees, crediting him as Playwright. “God is the original multi-hyphenate and triple threat, an auteur and visionary whose bold creations and intelligent designs have earned Him international recognition since Day One. He is also a writer whose previous literary efforts, The Old Testament and The New Testament, have collectively sold an impressive 7,000,000,000 copies.”
Credit also to Daniel Conway for his flashy scenic design giving God a suitably deluxe platform on which to pontificate and take selfies with His archangels and Alberto Segarra for lighting God and His pronouncements in all His extraterrestrial glory.
Highly recommended for a healthy dose of irreverence.
Through November 26th at Signature Theatre (Shirlington Village), 4200 Campbell Avenue, Arlington, VA 22206. For tickets and information call 703 820-9771 or visit www.sigtheatre.org.
Holly Twyford (Desiree Armfeldt) and Bobby Smith (Fredrik Egerman) . Photo by Christopher Mueller
The most difficult reviews to write are the ones in which there is nothing to critique – where the music washes over you like a waterfall, the Noel Cowardesque repartee is both witty and snarky, the voices luscious and the costumes, sheer Victorian elegance. How do you argue perfection? That’s the quandary I find myself in with Director Eric Schaeffer’s production of A Little Night Music. Schaeffer has kicked off the new season with an eye-popping, ear-swooning production that will knock your socks off. Not only is the cast superlative but the 13-piece orchestra led by Jon Kalbfleisch soars.
Bobby Smith (Fredrik Egerman) and Will Gartshore (Carl-Magnus Malcolm) . Photo by Christopher Mueller
Four-time Helen Hayes award-winning actress Holly Twyford stars as the glamorous femme fatale Desiree Armfeldt, a Swedish actress who is both feisty and vulnerable and comes armed with a rapier wit. Twyford, who has never done a musical before, proves she can sell a song purely through tenderness and raw emotion. Neither sharp, nor flat, nor off-key, her delivery of the iconic number “Send in the Clowns” is poignant, wry and edge-of-your-seat at the same time. The entire show is, but for different reasons.
Maria Rizzo, Kevin McAllister, Tracy Lynn Olivera, Nicki Elledge, Sam Ludwig, Holly Twyford, Will Gartshore, and Florence Lacey. Photo by Paul Tate DePoo III
Pulling from some of the finest singers in our area the range of voices from baritone to tenor and alto to soprano is breathtaking – their harmonies flawless. It’s every singer’s dream to perform in this show, and Schaeffer has cast the best of the best. There’s Bobby Smith as Fredrik Egerman, a well-heeled attorney in the throes of a mid-life crisis and married to the virginal Anne, played by the adorable Nicki Elledge, and Sam Ludwig, just coming off of Jesus Christ Superstar, who garnered a well-earned Helen Hayes nomination for last year’s lollapalooza Titanic, here playing the angst-ridden cellist Henrik Egerman.
Florence Lacey, who lays claim to a string of Broadway hits, plays the curmudgeonly sentimentalist, Madame Leonora Armfeldt. Lacey was also in Signature’s Titanic – as well as another alum from the show, Tracy Lynn Olivera, here as the beleaguered, but shrewd, Countess Charlotte Malcolm.
Maria Rizzo (Petra). Photo by Christopher Mueller.
The sheer schadenfreude deliciousness between the characters creates the necessary tension behind some of the comic encounters, such as Petra’s tempestuous seduction of Henrik in “Soon”. (Petra played by the voluptuous Maria Rizzo) and Fredrik’s suggestion to his old flame Desiree, “You must meet my wife.” To which she sarcastically replies, “Let me get my hat and my knife!”
Holly Twyford (Desiree Armfeldt) . Photo by Christopher Mueller.
Scenic Designer Paul Tate dePoo III gives us a stately banquet table that lowers from the rafters and a massive bed that features prominently as seducers and the seduced frolic with abandon in merry games of chase all choreographed by Karma Camp. Lighting by the brilliant Colin K. Bills and the dreamy costumes by legendary designer Robert Perdziola.
Highly recommended. Five stars, if I gave out stars, which I don’t. Just go.
Through October 8th at Signature Theatre (Shirlington Village), 4200 Campbell Avenue, Arlington, VA 22206. For tickets and information call 703 820-9771 or visit www.sigtheatre.org.
