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.
Nicholas Edwards (Jesus) with the cast of Jesus Christ Superstar. Photo by Margot Schulman
Signature Theatre’s Artistic Director, Eric Schaeffer, has been upping the ante with big, bold Broadway shows. His latest mega production is Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s hyper hit Jesus Christ Superstar. Casting some madly impressive voices in this blockbuster rock musical signals Schaeffer’s emphasis on the compelling music and lyrics, and drawing the theatre-goer’s attention to the story’s similarities to current culture.
Ari McKay Wilford (Judas) with Sam Ludwig (Annas), Thomas Adrian Simpson (Caiaphas) and Kara-Tameika Watkins (Priest) in Jesus Christ Superstar. Photo by C. Stanley Photography.
And that’s a good thing, because Director Joe Calarco strips away all semblance of a period piece. Early versions, you may recall, stage it in biblical times. But you’ll see none of that sentimentality here with Luciana Stecconi’s stripped-bare set of nine movable white platforms reconfigured throughout to represent the table at The Last Supper, or put to use as a soapbox for Jesus or Pontius Pilate to utter proclamations to their indecisive followers. Again attention is focused on the music directed by Conductor William Yanesh, and not predominantly on costumes by Frank Labovitz who gives us monochromatic teen streetwear for Jesus’ apostles, sharkskin suits for Pontius Pilate, and sequined satin gospel dresses for the Soul Sisters. No flowing robes here. And an odd choice of using bibles as props, neglects the tiny detail that they hadn’t been written yet. I’ll take it as a reference to “bible-toting” fanatics and give it a pass.
Look instead to Nicholas Edwards (as Jesus of Nazareth) who reprises the role made famous by actor Ted Neely. Edwards is spellbinding, delivering a viscerally transformative performance that is a game changer for this role. With his remarkable voice and ripped body, he exudes both passion and raw sexuality. Another powerhouse performance comes from the very versatile Bobby Smith who plays Jesus’ evil nemesis Pontius Pilate as effortlessly as I’ve seen him play comedy. Lean into his delivery of “Trial Before Pilate” to witness his nuanced performance.
Nicholas Edwards (Jesus) and Natascia Diaz (Mary) in Jesus Christ Superstar. Photo by C. Stanley Photography
Natascia Diaz as Mary Magdalene also offers a different interpretation of her role – one very different from the fiery female roles we’re accustomed to seeing her play. Her strong voice seems tamer and often aimless with a surfeit of trills and superfluous flourishes in the ballads. Though her believability in her affection for and defense of Jesus is where she shines.
Nicholas Edwards (Jesus) and Ari McKay Wilford (Judas) with the cast of Jesus Christ Superstar. Photo by C. Stanley Photography
Karma Camp’s choreography, seamlessly weaving 18 performers through complicated dance and fight scenes, is impressive and Zachary G. Borovay’s video projections of Hitler and the Nazis, 9-11, Syria and an assortment of social extremists to background the number “The Crucifixion”, reveal an eerie resemblance to racial violence and religious terrorism in modern society.
As a side note, I couldn’t help but wonder if my seat which was close to the stage was the reason the singers seemed to frequently be drowned out by the seven-piece orchestra. I hope it was merely the sound levels which may be straightened out by now. In any case I’d choose the upper level for this show since watching the actors at waist level is not the best perspective.
Through July 2nd at Signature Theatre (Shirlington Village), 4200 Campbell Avenue, Arlington, VA 22206. For tickets and information call 703 820-9771 or visit www.sigtheatre.org.
Morgan Keene (Stina) with Jp Sisneros, Evan Casey, Chris Sizemore and Stephen Gregory Smith (Hired Boys). Photo by Margot Schulman
Midwestern Gothic is an unexpected palate cleanser – a sharp-as-knives psychological thriller reminiscent of Fargo – the Coen Brothers brilliant cinematic drama of crime and revenge in America’s heartland.
In this twisted tale of jealousy, seduction and sexual domination, our focus falls on Stina (Morgan Keene), a honey blonde nymphette whose movie star dreams of James Dean and Natalie Wood lay far beyond the farmhouse she shares with her lascivious stepfather, Red (Timothy J. Alex) and four hired hands who form a harmonious Greek chorus of unfulfilled desire. But this creamy-thighed siren has set her sights on Anderson (Sam Ludwig), a love-struck greenhorn who does her bidding – some of which involves neighborhood thieving, putting him squarely at odds with Sheriff Dwayne (Bobby Smith) who urges him to walk the “Straight and Narrow”.
Timothy J Alex (Red) and Rachel Zampelli (LuAnn) . Photo by Margot Schulman.
Meanwhile Stina’s mother, Deb (Sherri L. Edelen), runs a shot-and-beer bar where she finds the attention she has been missing from Red. In the number “Whiskey Courage” she works her boozy magic on Rodney (Evan Casey) spiking Red’s anger. To get revenge he runs off with the town tramp, LuAnn (Rachel Zampelli), to put a hurtin’, as they say, on Deb. But his revenge is not so sweet after all when Stina catches them back at the house in flagrante delicto.
Writer and Co-Lyricist Royce Vavrek and Composer Josh Schmidt set a complex balance in this World Premiere production adding quaint references to curling, cows, rednecks and Jesus while splicing in Stina’s dizzyingly cruel imagination and her powers of emasculation.
Sherri L Edelen (Deb) and Timothy J Alex (Red). Photo by Margot Schulman.
Keene, using a haunting flat-accented vibrato voice, is wonderfully cast as the beautiful and voracious sex kitten who lures, then punishes, every man within her small sphere. A supporting cast, cleverly directed and choreographed under Matthew Gardiner, fairly flies through seventeen musical numbers encompassing a range of emotions, from Stina’s love song to a spring flower in “Tell Me a Story, Crocus” to “Saint Sebastian” with Stina, Anderson and the burly hired hands (Evan Casey as Rodney, Jp Sisneros as Evodio, Chris Sizemore as DJ and Stephen Gregory Smith as Brett), in a song that backgrounds a bizarre scene of crucifixion.
Timothy J Alex (Red), Sam Ludwig (Anderson) and Bobby Smith (Dwayne). Photo by Margot Schulman.
As the latest installment in Signature’s American Musical Voices Project, the musical is spellbindingly dark, think Truman Capote’s classic “In Cold Blood” and Vladimir Nabokov’s “Lolita”, and yet utterly riveting. An audience member likened it to TV’s Criminal Minds.
Highly recommended for adults only.
Through April 30th at Signature Theatre (Shirlington Village), 4200 Campbell Avenue, Arlington, VA 22206. For tickets and information call 703 820-9771 or visit www.sigtheatre.org
: Debra Monk as Mrs. Elva Miller ~ Photo Credit is Margot Schulman
James Lapine’s latest opus, a story about the housewife with the caterwauling voice who becomes an overnight success, may be a metaphor to showcase how everyone’s wildest dreams can come true…or not. With this latest work, Lapine, best known for Sunday in the Park with George and Into the Woods, both co-written with composer Stephen Sondheim, has given us an undistinguished anomaly to his earlier masterpieces. His world premiere musical based on the life of Mrs. Elva Miller (Debra Monk), centers around a church lady who was “discovered” by a record producer who pegged her for a comedic diversion. This was in the mid-1960’s when comedians like Allan Sherman and Victor Borge were wittily parodying or satirizing familiar songs and the record-buying public was easily amused during an unpopular war. But Mrs. Miller, as she preferred to be called, was unaware the joke was on her. Or so she is portrayed. “I might have been off on one or two notes,” she allows.
The story begs comparison to this year’s Oscar-nominated film, Florence Foster Jenkins, that features a delusional New York heiress with an equally appalling voice. The movie stars the brilliant Meryl Streep as Foster Jenkins and the eternally soigné Hugh Grant as her adoring gentleman and enabler. Grant plays a winning charmer in a film set a few decades earlier in 1940’s New York, whereas Miller’s husband is a wheelchair-bound, crotchety old gent who resents Mrs. M’s success. Lapine sets his piece in small town Claremont, a bedroom community outside of Los Angeles. Similarly, both women are clueless about their lack of vocal abilities.
Boyd Gaines as Mr. John Miller, Debra Monk as Mrs. Elva Miller ~ Photo Credit is Margot Schulman
The plot takes us through a three-year span of Miller’s short-lived yet meteoric career against the backdrop of her niece Joelle (Rebekah Brockman) and Joelle’s romance with Miller’s accompanist Simon Bock (Corey Mach) and, later, Simon’s looming draft service. Unfortunately, there is not enough heft to carry an hour and forty-five minutes of pop music covers sung in a screeching voice with a trio of backup singers drawn from predictable stereotypes – one groovy African American gal, Denise (Kimberly Marable, who pulls off arguably the best scene in the show), one fluffy blonde, Carol Sue (Kaitlyn Davidson), and one gay guy, Bobby (Jacob ben Widmar doubling as Tiny Tim) who runs off to Greenwich Village in search of sexual diversion. I won’t fault the actors. They did a fine job given the material.
Photo Credit is Margot Schulman ~ Photo Credit is Margot Schulman
Monk is superb in the role of Elva Miller. Despite the thin plot and hackneyed script, she’s totally believable as the ditsy, maniacally cheery Miller with her ingratiating manners and off-key, nails-on-a-blackboard howling. There’s even a bit of toggling back and forth to her actual singing voice in a few dream sequences. And character actor Will LeBow is exceptional in all seven roles – among them a stoner record producer, Ed Sullivan, Mr. Miller’s Jewish doctor and a snooty salesman at Tiffany’s.
Those under fifty may be clueless as to the obscure references to Tiny Tim, Ed Sullivan and Topo Gigio as well as many of the songs of that era. Millennials won’t fare any better. But if the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s are in your wheelhouse, you’ll feel right at home.
Through March 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.
Florence Lacey (Ida Straus) and John Leslie Wolfe (Isidor Straus) in Titanic at Signature Theatre through January 29. Photo by Christopher Mueller
Titanic is a story of man’s inability to predict the ramifications, and limitations, of state-of-the-art technology. It is a tale of an ocean liner made of 46,000 tons of steel, measuring eleven stories high and one thousand feet long, that went down in the North Atlantic Ocean in 1912 carrying some of the wealthiest families in America who were aboard her maiden voyage. That there were young men and women of Irish and English descent seeking their fortunes in the New World, and others who believed they and the ship were invincible, is an equal part of this historic maritime tragedy.
Referred to as “a ship of dreams” and a “human metropolis” the Titanic is nowhere to be seen in Director Eric Shaeffer’s version of the musical by Writer Peter Stone and Composer/Lyricist Maury Yeston. But that doesn’t keep us from sensing its vast power and scale and immersing ourselves in the drama that played out on the high seas.
Christopher Bloch (Captain E.J. Smith), Nick Lehan (Harold Bride), Lawrence Redmond (J. Bruce Ismay), and Bobby Smith (Thomas Andrews) in Titanic at Signature Theatre through January 29. Photo by Christopher Mueller
Re-imagining the Tony Award-winning musical, Schaeffer and Set Designer, Paul Tate dePoo III, give us a theatre-in-the-round that utilizes five steel gangways that reflect the massive scale of the multi-level luxury liner. This creates a more intimate experience for the audience. It also allows many of the 38 performers to remain in clear sight and in equal hearing range producing a magnificent harmonic convergence of vocal heft. We have Choreographer Matthew Gardiner to thank for that too, as the players climb the ramps and position themselves at different heights to sing their numbers. It is the most effective use of a theatre-in-the-round stage I’ve ever seen.
Particularly haunting is the 17-piece band perched on a separate elevated catwalk in full view of the audience. Led brilliantly by Conductor James Moore, their constant presence is reminiscent of how they sacrificed their lives to play for the remaining passengers as the behemoth was devoured by the sea.
Sam Ludwig (Frederick Barrett) and Stephen Gregory Smith (Stoker) in Titanic at Signature Theatre through January 29. Photo by Christopher Mueller.
The story delves into not just one love story but many – the John Jacob Astors played by Matt Connor and Jamie Eaker and a touching story of romance below decks played by the exceptional Katie McManus (as Kate McGowan) and Hassani Allen (as Jim Farrell). Other couples are revealed to have secrets – Lady Caroline Neville’s (Iyona Blake) illicit love affair with Charles Clarke (Chris Sizemore) and Alice Beane’s (Tracy Lynn Olivera) disappointment in her husband’s inferior social standing.
Ryan Hickey’s sound design keeps us in mind of traveling on a ship through the atmospheric use of fog horns, bells, and the slamming of the coal stokers’ fiery oven doors. Another effective touch is Frank Labowitz’s turn of the century navy blue gowns, feathered picture hats and simple frocks, and Amanda Zieve’s suspended Edison lightbulbs and understage blue lights, keeping us in mind of a ship sailing over the sea.
Stephen Gregory Smith, Katie McManus and the cast in Titanic at Signature Theatre through January 29. Photo by Colin Hovde
But what keeps us in a state of high anxiety is the blame game and what-ifs between the Captain (Christopher Bloch), the ship’s owner J. Bruce Ismay (Lawrence Redmond), the ship’s master William Murdoch (Kevin McAllister) and the ship’s architect Thomas Andrews played spectacularly by Bobby Smith, as they wonder what they could have done differently and who’s at fault.
Ultimately as the ship goes down, and we knew it would, the drama is no less palpable, and we are drawn hook, line and sinker into the tragedy of despair and dashed dreams of the hundreds of lives lost. It’s a visceral experience and Yeston’s heart-stopping score rises up to meet it.
Highly recommended. A triumph!
Through January 29th at Signature Theatre (Shirlington Village), 4200 Campbell Avenue, Arlington, VA 22206. For tickets and information call 703 820-9771 or visit www.signature-theatre.org.
The cast of Titanic at Signature Theatre through January 29. Photo by Paul Tate DePoo III
