The Rock & The Ripe, One Theatre World

This show, about “the bullied and bruised gay youth of America,” only appeared once in Cleveland—last week at the One Theatre World Festival that took place at the Idea Center downtown.

But it’s headed to off-Broadway this autumn, and likely other venues beyond that, so keep an eye peeled. Written and directed by Chicagoan Mark Blane, The Rock & The Ripe dives into the torments endured by gay kids in school. And while there are rough edges, Blane’s script has the courage of its own convictions, up to and including a downbeat and emotionally impactful conclusion.

In this condensed version, staged in a large classroom, four cast members from Chicago carry the story, as opposed to the eight in the original production. The kids meet in the Principal’s anteroom, having been sent there for being disruptive in class.

Billy (Justin Lance) is the latest to arrive, and he is immediately bullied by Brendan (a properly smartass Christopher Kervick), with Calvin (Colin Funk) and Erin (Alison Mouratis), wearing a tiara) looking on. As we learn more about each of these young people, insights are gained even as the mystery of where they are going deepens.

What becomes obvious, though, is how absent the adults in the school are. This accurately echoes the isolation LGBT teens feel in schools where their torments are often ignored.

Blane captures the back-and-forth of teen talk precisely, with plenty of dark humor included. And he takes interesting chances with symbolism, such as referencing a galaxy of doorknobs suspended from the ceiling.

It all doesn’t hang together perfectly, but by the end you begin to get a visceral sense of what it is like to be left on the outside, without help or hope. And that is a powerful communication all by itself.

Blane has also produced a video, watch at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWxbg2KpU3w

as well as a 160-page compact paperback book,which can be purchased at: http://garycameradigital.com/the-rock-the-ripe-swag-the-book.html

The rock in the title alludes to a quote by Phillip Parker, a teenager who loved Lady Gaga, adored wearing feathers, and felt the incessant bullying at school "like a rock on my chest." He committed suicide last year, at age 14. 

As for "the ripe," let's hope it means that the time is ripe for change.

Becoming Liv Ullmann, New Ground Theatre Festival, Cleveland Play House

If you’re looking for a tasty theatrical bonbon this weekend, try popping in on Becoming Liv Ullmann this Friday, May 10. It's part of this year's New Ground Theatre Festival at the Cleveland Play House, showcasing new work from nationally recognized artists.

Written and performed by Crystal Finn, the star of the recently extended Rich Girl, also at CPH, this is a two (or three) person show that keeps the laughs coming.

Crystal plays herself as she tries to get back into her boyfriend’s life by channeling the Swedish (Norwegian?) movie star. Lots of the humor is developed from Crystal’s utterly incompetent research into who Liv Ullman really is, mirroring her own lack of self-awareness.

Using a laptop computer, a suitcase full of costumes and props and other presentation aids, Finn turns bafflement into an art form. With audience participation!

Even though it ends on an off note (literally, a song that could easily be cut), this is a 60-minute joy ride through a young woman’s curious approach to life. Or is that Liv?

Becoming Liv Ullmann

May 10, 10 PM. "The Helen" Lab Theatre, PlayhouseSquare, 1407 Euclid Ave., 216-241-6000

Working, the Musical, Blank Canvas Theatre

(From left: Sarah Edwards-Maag, Ian Atwood, Derrick Winger, Tasha Brandt, Doug Bailey, Joanna May Hunkins)

Most of us spend most of our lives working, and then complaining about that work. But deep down, there are satisfactions and rewards to be found in even the most mundane jobs.

At least, that’s the theory behind Working, the Musical, adapted from the Studs Terkel book. Terkel interviewed lots of plain working people from all walks of life and simply recorded their thoughts about their work lives. And it turned out to be a best seller, since the stories are often amusing, poignant and surprisingly insightful.

This adaptation by Stephen Schwartz and Nina Faso, which has been localized by Blank Canvas, has many of the same qualities. We meet a dedicated fireman, a harried flight attendant, a conflicted housewife, and many other folks who spend their days working.

A couple of the people even emphasize how much they appreciate having a job at all, a cogent reminder of the long-term underemployment that this country (and city!) is still suffering.

BC’s six-person cast under the compassionate direction of Patrick Ciamacco presents more than two dozen distinctive people in different jobs. The songs, by a variety of composers, vary in quality but are often quite touching.

And the spoken words, taken directly from interviews with real people, pulse with genuine emotion. Although the individual performances vary and the singing voices aren’t always perfectly in tune, each member of the cast has strong moments.

Tasha Brandt delivers a solid rendition of “Millwork” by James Taylor, and she also sparkles in other roles including a harried flight attendant.

Doug Bailey has several telling moments, including as a fireman and a tech support person, and Joanna May Hunkins scores as project manager under the thumb of her boss.

Ian Atwood is a strong singer, even though his facial expressions tend to be a bit exaggerated. But he registers perfectly in “The Mason” by Craig Carnelia. And Sarah Edwards-Maag is splendidly oblivious as a fundraiser.

Derrick Winger is a credible ironworker and, at the end in another guise, his widower retiree Joe delivers a tender song written by Carnelia (“You wake at ten, fold up the bed/You don’t want to keep the couch open all day, it’s depressing.”).

However, the production is hampered by some questionable costume choices: an inner-city teacher who is dressed like a schoolmarm from Little House on the Prairie and a supposed $500-a-night whore who, based on her tight and ill-fitting pleather dress, would have a hard time charging $5 for a hummer).  

In addition, the multilevel platform dominating the small stage is great for posing the full cast. But it impedes free movement and gives the actors additional challenges to overcome, repeatedly hauling their buns up and down those steps.

Still, there is an undeniable sweetness to these real stories, and you won’t have to work hard to enjoy that aspect of this heartfelt show.

Working, the Musical 

Through May 18 at the Blank Canvas Theatre, 78^th Street Studios, 1305 West 80^th St., 440-941-0458

West Side Story, TrueNorth Theater

(Jason Leupold as Tony and Kathleen Ferrini as Maria)

It takes guts to stage West Side Story, especially with a huge young cast, since the demands of almost operatic singing and often balletic dancing—let alone acting—are fairly monumental. And then there's just the task of moving almost three dozen people around a stage with limited dimensions.

Big challenges, however, never faze director Fred Sternfeld, who moves large masses of people with the decisive precision of Alaric the Visigoth. And Sternfeld is the major domo of this largely successful production at the TrueNorth Theater in Sheffield Village.

Yes, the Jets and Sharks are once again at each others’ throats as the two star-crossed members of each tribe, Tony and Maria, see each other across a crowded gymnasium floor and fall into Shakespearian (in this case meaning tragic) love.

Along with talented choreographer Bebe Weinberg Katz, Sternfeld maxes out the TrueNorth space, often filling the stage with his entire 30-plus person cast. And at times, such as during the “Somewhere” dream sequence when everyone is on stage and in synch, the results are electrifying.

At other moments, several of the young performers lapse into indicating, their facial calisthenics undercutting the real emotions surging throughout this classic.

The two lead roles are a mixed bag themselves. As Maria, Kathleen Ferrini sings sweetly and has a fresh, honest innocence. Jason Leupold as Tony works hard to act his songs, and often succeeds, but his emotions at other times feel more manufactured than genuine.

The two leaders of the gangs, however, seethe with all the visceral rage you could want. Ryan Zarecki’s Bernardo is a swaggering swath of testosterone and Joe Pine is a confident yet at times conflicted Riff. It’s a damn shame they aren’t around to participate in most of the second act (oh, spoiler alert).

Perhaps the fullest characterization is handed in by Natalie Green as the fiery Anita, Maria’s confidant and the person who triggers the bloody denouement. Green’s singing and dancing skills ignite her scenes, and her duet with Maria (“A Boy Like That/ I Have a Love)” is—you should pardon the expression—to die for.

As the tomboy Anybodys, Tess Burgler revs up some dandy gender dysphoria and actually out-machos some of the Jets she is supposedly trying to emulate.

Due to technological issues on this night, the head mics had to be turned off and some of the scenes felt aurally threadbare. And director Sternfeld’s magical skills at moving people around only failed him once, when cast members walk on stage to remove some furniture during the tender “One Hand, One Heart” duet, denting the fragile mood.

But thanks to the boundless enthusiasm of the cast, this West Side Story scores a solid rating of 3½ (out of 5) switchblades. And to those who think this show is too old and sappy to be presented again, well, Krup you.

West Side Story

Through May 12 at TrueNorth at French Creek, 4530 Colorado Ave. (Rt. 611), Sheffield Village, 440-949-5200, ext. 221.

The Lyons, Dobama Theatre

 (From left: Jeanne Task as Rita, Dudley Swetland as Ben, Christopher M. Bohan as Curtis, and Anjanette Hall as Lisa)

 The backbone of at least half of all theatrical productions is the American-style dysfunctional family, a fetid trough where playwrights greedily feed to fuel both comedies and tragedies.

But the dysfunctions don’t often come with the level of dark humor and wicked bite that’s displayed in The Lyons, now at Dobama Theatre. Written by Nicky Silver, this play plops us down in the hospital room of a man dying of cancer and forces us to laugh at him and his whole nuclear bomb of a family.

While often uproariously funny, the script feels a bit long and overwritten in places. The talented cast, under Nathan Motta’s crisp direction, makes some missteps but lands many solid laughs and mostly papers over the show’s minor glitches.

Ben Lyons is an older man with a body riddled with cancer. But that may not be his worst problem since his wife, stylishly dressed Rita, is obsessing over redoing the family’s living room décor and not terribly upset by her spouse’s terminal situation (“Try to be positive,” she helpfully instructs him at one point).

Their grown children aren’t much of a balm since Lisa is a divorced recovering alcoholic and Curtis is gay. This is a fact the bombastic Ben regrets bitterly, saying to his son, “My life has been one long parade of disappointments and you are the grand fucking marshal!”).

The first act smashes all four of these flawed, neurotic people together into a small hospital room and the comedy sparks fly in all directions. Ben is apparently now given to launching obscenities, freed from decorum by his illness, and that powers much of the humor.

In that role, Dudley Swetland is truly a force to be reckoned with, and he knows how to time a line for maximum effect. But his Ben actually seems quite hale and hearty, rosy-cheeked and bouncy in his bed. With few clues as to his near-death state, Ben just seems like a loud-mouthed jerk rather than a vindictive, lonely and dying man who really is mean to the bone. And that lessens the impact of his character.

As Rita, Jeanne Task beautifully underplays many of her pungent lines, making them land with even more amusing snap. When Ben shares his fear about going to Hell, Rita rejoins with the quiet yet withering, “Who are you to get into Hell? What did you do?”

The downside of Task’s measured approach is that we don’t fully sense Rita’s interior battle against her own desperation, saddled with a life that’s as depressing as the living room couch that’s “matted down with resignation.”

Anjanette Hall as Lisa is a gloriously muddled mess, discovering the extent of her father’s illness for the first time and dealing with her own demons. Even though her fall off the wagon is rendered a bit too broadly, Hall brings an undeniable whiff of credibility to her role.

After a supremely tight and laugh-filled first act, the second act is a jumble. 

It starts with a largely unnecessary interlude of Lisa addressing her AA group, followed by perhaps the most interesting scene in the show. Curtis is hunting for a new apartment and is attracted to Brian (Sean Grandillo), his cute real estate agent. Their amusing, unpredictable interchange is fascinating and surprising. And Christopher M. Bohan as Curtis is superb as he veers from hope to despair in his attempt to make a human connection.

Unfortunately, the script goes mostly downhill from there, ending with a tender encounter between Curtis and his (and his father's) nurse, played by Joyce M. Meadows, that forces a happy ending, of sorts.

But if you like to wallow in another family’s comical turmoil, and who doesn’t, The Lyons is your hilarious cup of acidic tea.

The Lyons

Through May 19 at Dobama Theatre, 2340 Lee Road, Cleveland Heights, 216-932-3396

White People, None Too Fragile Theater

Sometimes, a playwright sets himself a bracing challenge he can’t surmount, such as writing three penetrating monologues for three Caucasians who are racist in different but very familiar ways.

That’s what J.T. Rogers attempts in his play White People, now at None Too Fragile Theater in Akron, and though it struggles mightily it never quite gets off the ground.

We meet the trio of characters on a day that is significant for each of them. But they’re all in a death spiral involving race and language that they find increasingly restrictive and torturous.

Mara Lynn is a southern ex-high school cheerleader whose life is sagging into boredom and who finds a handy scapegoat in minorities who “don’t even bother to speak our language.” Words are also important to Allen, a college professor who is fascinated and repelled by a black student, Felicia, who can destroy his arguments while snapping her gum.

And a high powered lawyer, Martin, is vexed by those who don’t dress or speak properly (“The skin color doesn’t matter, it’s the uniform that makes you safe.”). He's also put off by his teenage son who is sullen and distant

These are potentially powerful issues, addressed directly by playwright J.T. Rogers. That is the energy of this play and also its ultimate downfall. Since the characters never become truly real, isolated as they are in their own little bubbles and without human interaction, we never really know who they are or, more importantly, care what they think.

Sure, there are plenty of racist white people, and lots more who aren’t actively racist but have insecurities and fears regarding people who are different from them. A play that says that, to your face or not, runs the risk of being trapped by the clichés it attempts to skewer. And then you realize the piece hasn’t actually said all that much that’s new or revealing.

Robert Branch as Martin has the juiciest role, with plenty of laugh lines, and Michael Gatto (who looks like a cousin of Steve Carrell) is the conflicted Allen. Kelly Strand plays Mara Lynn with a shrug of resignation.

Trouble is, each actor tends to settle into a comfortable mood and then stays there, lulling the audience rather than confronting them about their closeted prejudices.

Director Sean Derry, when on stage, is accustomed to playing these kinds of inner-focused characters, and he usually does it with focused intensity. Here, his actors can’t quite reach that level of involvement, not finding ways to vary the texture of their speeches or explore pacing changes that could bring a freshness to their ramblings.

As a result, this production of White People, while intermittently funny and dark, feels mired in self-absorption when it should accost and jar the audience.

 

White People

Through May 11 at None Too Fragile Theater, 1841 Merriman Road, Akron, 330-671-4563

The Tinderbox, Talespinner Children’s Theatre

(Left to right: Joseph Dunn, Courtney Nicole Auman, and Charles Hargrave)

The Tinderbox, a fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen is an apt one for kids, since it involves a witch, three dogs with huge eyes that make wishes come true, a stalwart soldier and a beautiful princess.

As always, Talespinner Children’s Theatre adds a gloss of professionalism and fun that makes individual scenes particularly interesting. One only hopes that small children don’t lose the thread of the story amidst all the staging flourishes and highly amped characters.

As for the tale itself, a soldier (Courtney Nicole Auman) meets a witch (Stephanie Wilbert) who tells of riches to be gained if the soldier returns a tinderbox to her. (Here it might have helped if the middling adaptation by Michael Geither had defined this key word for the little ones, and others, who are likely unfamiliar with the term for a box containing fire-starting tools.)

Following her instructions, the soldier encounters three magical dogs with eyes as big as teacups—the orbs are actually the size of drumheads—who fetch plenty of money. The soldier gloms the loot, double-crosses the witch, gives it all away, then gains more riches thanks to the magical tinderbox, encounters the lovely princess (Andrea Belser), is set upon by the King (Timothy Robert Thomas Maca) and Queen (Elizabeth Parmenter), and finally employs the dogs to come to the rescue.

A nice touch is the narration, provided by Demetrius (Joseph Dunn) and Artern (Charles Hargrave), who bounce observations and speculations off each other like a well-practiced stand-up comedy duo.

The story is enlivened by an imaginative and colorful production by TCT, directed (and costumed) by the irrepressible Alison Garrigan. From the stage filled with large crates (that open to reveal surprises inside) to inventive touches such as two restaurant waiters (Belser and Maca) attached back-to-back, the scenes are often action-filled and captivating.

However, the plotline itself seems a bit hard to follow at times, especially when the actors are acting their socks off and focusing more on being quirky than on just telling the story. This is always a delicate balance, especially in children’s theater, and in this production it seems to tilt just a bit too far away from easy accessibility.

That said, there’s enough eye candy onstage to satisfy any youngster, and most adults, for one hour.

The Tinderbox

Through April 28 at Talespinner Children’s Theatre, Reinberger Auditorium, 5209 Detroit Avenue, 216-264-9680