Based on a Totally True Story, convergence-continuum

(Zac Hudak as Ethan and Clyde Simon as his Dad)

It’s always dangerous to write about your own life, especially when you have a desire to give all the characters (you, your loved ones and your friends) a positive gloss.

This is what playwright Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa does in Based on a Totally True Story, now at convergence-continuum. The central character, Ethan, is just like the playwright: a comic book writer and playwright who is in a gay romantic relationship. He is also dealing with a crisis between his parents, and has a deal brewing for a film of his work in Hollywood.

So, yes, the title appears to be accurate. Trouble is, as a true story it’s not a particularly interesting, insightful or surprising one.  The play is also saddled with structural difficulties (lots of phone conversations, lots of narration and exposition delivered direct to the audience) that director Cory Molner can’t fully overcome.

Set on a brightly-colored Sunday comics stage, nerd-geek Ethan is working on a dark play involving a sea monster and two dead children (a play, by the way, that sounds a good deal more engrossing than the one at hand). He’s also holding down a day job writing stories for “The Flash,” a speedy comic book superhero.

But his life changes when he and his soon-to-be-boyfriend Michael meet cute in a coffee shop, after Michael lands in the wrong java joint for a blind date. Soon they are doing all sorts of adorably cute New York-ish things like going to see a 1950’s French horror movie and sipping coffee at Barnes & Noble. Then they move in together.

Meanwhile a producer in Hollywood, Mary Ellen, is on the horn with Ethan pushing him to make goofy changes to his play so she can sell it to a film company. And then Ethan has to deal with his father, who announces he’s fallen out of love with Ethan’s mother and is seeing another woman.

On the surface, all this sounds promising. But the script almost defiantly refuses to make any of these scenarios distinctive. Mary Ellen’s intrusion on a writer's creative process is a LaLa Land trope we’ve seen played out dozens times, and done much funnier. As Mary Ellen, an overly stiff Lisa Wiley never captures the smooth, oleaginous Entourage-style vibe of the hard-charging flick pusher with a heart of gold.

As Ethan’s dad, Clyde Simon trots out a befuddled gruffness that works for a while, but the character is so nice one never gets a read on the challenging childhood Ethan claims to have had.

Bobby Coyne plays several small roles and shines as Tyler, Ethan’s energetic comic book editor. But his quick cameos as an Apple store flunky and a video store clerk are overwrought and weird instead of amusing. And his turn as a blond hunk who seduces Ethan on a California beach is too obvious to be sexy.

The central relationship is portrayed with skill by Zac Hudak, always a superb dweeb, as Ethan, and a sweet and sincere Stuart Hoffman as Michael. But it’s a tepid affair with chaste kisses, quick hugs and little emotional depth. Even when there is some tension around Ethan’s blossoming career, the friction generates no real sparks, just some damp fizzles.

Agurre-Sacasa crafts a number of effective laugh lines, at one point referring to the company that Ethan works for as owned by a series of corporate entities controlled by Satan. But his play collapses at the end in a welter of aphorisms as the characters sit on stage and provide individual epilogues about how they’ve grown.

Ultimately, the takeaway from this totally true story, which takes place over about 24 months, is that Ethan (and the author) had a totally nice two years, with some totally nice relationships that, even when they ended, turned out totally nice with everyone still friends.

That’s nice. And true. But theatrically, it’s not very good.

Based on a Totally True Story

Through September 14, produced by convergence-continuum at the Liminis Theatre, 2438 Scranton Road, Tremont, 216-687-0074.

Tuning In, University of Akron and Razzmatazz Productions

As we all saw on the now defunct TV show Smash, it ain’t easy to create a new musical. The pitfalls are many and the clashes of egos can be a disaster.

Of course, there might not have been any of that drama as the musical Tuning In was being developed here in northeast Ohio. With music and lyrics by Larry Kass and book by Kass and Ron Newell, this is not the kind of show likely to trigger backstage backbiting, a smoothie poisoning or on-stage meltdowns. (Oh, Smash, we hardly knew ye!)

Indeed, Tuning In is so earnest and straightforward, it could have been staged in Mayberry with Andy, Barney, Aunt Bee and Floyd in lead roles. There’s not a gram of irony or a speck of meta-anything in this show, and one has to congratulate the creators for their bold and unshakeable commitment to corniness in all its dimensions.

The story revolves around a radio station (call letters are WLK, short for Welk?) broadcasting “musical memories” from a retirement home called Harmony Hill, in Ohio, where a bunch of aging vaudeville and musical stars are spending their declining years.

Trouble is, the heartless corporate owner of the retirement home wants to change the format of the station, or eliminate it all together. So the denizens of the home band together to put on a radio-thon fundraiser to save their beloved station as it is.

The show is packed with 25 songs (no reprises!), many of which showcase Kass’s ability to fashion lovely melodies reminiscent of a bygone era. The lyrics, however, are often highly predictable and bland, falling into the “moon-June” sort of sentiments and rhyme schemes that can eventually wear thin.

The production, staged by director and choreographer George Pinney, has plenty of movement. This is augmented by a rather forced plot device involving a gaggle of students who are visiting the home and provide some high kicking that the elderly residents (and actors) can’t manage.

With all those songs and three simultaneous love affairs progressing, there is certainly enough material here for a show. And Newell and Kass have their hearts in the right place, celebrating old-fashioned entertainers and their passion for the footlights.

In this cast, Dan Farrell leaves tooth marks on every inch of the scenery as the ex-vaudevillian Ruby Waxman, and Natalie Green shines in her songs as the young Shannon O’Rourke. Also, Tina D. Stump and Angela Gillespie-Winborn add some sass as the Johnson sisters.

But in order to be fully involving, it would help to have some real conflict among the characters, and not just the cardboard villain from the corporation (deftly named Mr. Coffin). One only has to read the memoirs of older vaudeville and Broadway stars to note that their lives were often rude, randy and not nearly so squeaky clean.

With some musical trimming and a bit more realistic wit, Tuning In, which closes it’s abbreviated four-show run today, might hit all the right notes. But for those who love the old tunes, these new versions are a comfy and non-threatening dip into the past.

Tuning In

Produced at the E.J. Thomas Hall by the University of Akron’s School of Music and Razzmatazz Productions

Peter Pan, A Musical Adventure, Mercury Summer Stock

(The Lost Boys)

If you want to mount a show about Peter Pan, whether it’s the 1950’s version that Mary Martin made famous or this version written in the 1990’s, you have to love the idea of magic and fantasy.

And this production at Mercury Summer Stock, so visually arresting in many respects, has a firm grip on the magical idea of a flying fairy carting off three Earth-bond kids to Never Never Land.  Indeed, the final tableau of this show, with Peter raised high on shoulders against a lovely backdrop, is quite captivating.

But there are a number of air pockets in this supposedly soaring show, where this production experiences theatrical turbulence

The new tunes by George Stiles (music) and Anthony Drewe (lyrics) are pleasant and tuneful, but not particularly memorable. And the book by Willis Hall is quite matter-of-fact, without the flourishes of fresh humor that could help propel these characters on their most unusual journey.

Director and choreographer Pierre-Jacques Brault has added innovative touches, many of which work splendidly. Instead of actors swinging on cables, the flying Peter Pan and his Darling kids get air on the up-stretched arms of other actors, or ride piggy-back. This is not only cost-effective, it has the charm of children playing backyard games that resonates wonderfully with the material.

Also, Tinkerbelle is not a dot of light but a ballerina (Brittany Basenback) who leaps about with the aid of her dancing partner and embodies this fanciful creature in a whole new manner.

The uncredited set design features several white leafless trees that are stark and beautiful at times, accented by suspended lights that fade in and out. But at other moments, such as those on the pirate ship, the trees are just weirdly out of place (if kids were playing pirate ship, they’d likely not do it in a grove of trees).

The story progresses just as you would expect, from the Darling house to Never Never Land and then on to Captain Hook’s watery demise. Along the way, some of the songs and dances—particularly “There’s Something in the Air Tonight,” Mrs. Darling’s “Just Beyond the Stars” and the boyishly exuberant “The Lost Boys Gang” are definite winners.

In the title role, Brian Marshall sings his parts with the confidence of a seasoned performer. But his eternal boy is lacking the sense of fun and flashes of impish rascality that he needs. Indeed, Marshall often comes across as a fairly serious sophomore Accounting major, rather than a never-growing-up kid who can fly.

As Wendy, Kelly Monaghan delivers her songs with precision and conveys her confusion of being called upon to mother the Lost Boys when she wants a mother herself. At this performance, Dana Aber played Mrs. Darling (a part that is double cast) with plenty of heart.

Of course, the juiciest role in this show, regardless of the authors, is Mr. Darling and Captain Hook. Although he could go farther with his histrionics, Eric van Baars buckles his swash with spirit as Hook, and provides much of the comedy in a show that desperately needs more of the same.

One missing element is some physical representation of the ticking croc who swallowed Hook’s right arm (along with a clock) and that haunts and bedevils the Captain. Brault employs a phalanx of clocks at one point, and a single clock at others, to represent this menace. But it all falls pretty flat, unless you have chronomentrophobia (a fear of timepieces).

Smaller roles are handled well, including Dan DiCello as Hook’s right-hand-(you should excuse the term)-man Smee, and Dani Apple as Tiger Lily. The hard-working ensemble of pirates and Lost Boys add loads of singing and dancing energy.

This is a show that is often lovely to look at and listen to, but a slightly slow pace within scenes sucks a good deal of the energy from the proceedings. So that when the storyteller (a game Hester Lewellen) is finally identified, the impact is softer than it should be.

Still, the Mercury crew attacks big musicals like this with passion and youthful professionalism. And that amounts to a fine treat for any August day.

Peter Pan, A Musical Adventure

Through August 17 at Regina Hall, Notre Dame College, Green Road between Mayfield Road and Cedar Road in South Euclid, 216-771-5862.

On The Line, None Too Fragile Theater

(Dynamite Trio: From left--Mark Mayo as Jimmy, Andrew Narten as Mikey, and Robert Branch as Dev)

If you’d like to experience ensemble acting that’s tighter than Beyonce’s bustier, in service of a show that explores blue-collar friendships under stress, then you absolutely have to see On The Line, now at None Too Fragile Theater.

This script by Joe Roland is a tight-cornering roller coaster ride, as a trio of production line workers, who’ve been pals since the First Grade, try to maneuver themselves in the adult world of callous company bosses, desperate unions, and a strike that ignites a major meltdown.

Set in the mid-1990s, the white and black hats are predictable, with the unseen managers pulling the strings of their hard-working, hard-drinking employees. But thankfully, Roland makes his workers—Dev, Jimmy and Mikey—a conflicted and often outrageously comical bunch, as they each react to offers of management positions from the company in different ways.

But most notably, the performances under the whip-smart direction of Sean Derry are true, real and dazzling. Mark Mayo, Andrew Narten and Robert Branch mesh like a finely tuned Porsche engine, continually finding new gears as the demands of the script increase.

As the strike looms, Mikey decides to accept a job with management and is branded a traitor by Dev, who stands foursquare with the union. Jimmy meanwhile takes a job as the union’s agent. Thus, the battle lines are drawn and these bosom buddies start sniping at each other over shots, beers, and darts in their off hours.

Among many stellar moments, there are definite high points.  When Mayo’s Jimmy and Branch’s Dev watch a football game on TV, weaving their game commentary into Jimmy’s attempts at calming Dev’s rabid union views, the result is a verbal ballet that is hilarious and pungent.

And when Branch smoothly delivers a monologue about his view of management-labor relations and compares it to a cruise ship in mid-catastrophe, the metaphor seems incredibly apt. At the conclusion, as he imagines himself drowning in five feet of water because he no longer has the strength to stand up, the effect is sublime and powerful.

In the second act, Narten is in a suit and tie pushing the company line (“What’s good for the company is good for you.”). But his real feelings are oozing through the cracks in his polished façade.

Director Derry paces this work with vigor and precision. The only small wrinkle is relying a bit too much on the dart playing, which doesn’t allow the actors to bounce off each other as often as they might.

Early in the play, the guys refer to themselves as a miracle alloy, stronger by far than any of the individuals by themselves. And the same can be said for these three actors. It’s a performance so free and yet so well controlled, it’s a privilege to share the same space with them.

On The Line

Through August 24 at None Too Fragile Theater, 1841 Merriman Road (enter through Pub Bricco), Akron, 330-671-4563.

Boston Marriage, Mamai Theatre

From left: Cathleen O'Malley as Claire, Khaki Hermann as Catherine, and Shana Beth McGee as Anna)

As a writer, David Mamet is enamored of the con game, and he often plays just such a game with his audiences. So it is in Boston Marriage, his play set in the Victorian era and featuring three female characters.

Right there, you know the con is afoot since Mamet is known for his testosterone-drenched plays and movies that feature a whirling sharknado of macho profanities. But here, most of the language is stilted and arch—sometimes arched over to the breaking point—as two women on the fringe of the upper class and a maid prowl the minefield of their drawing room (lushly rendered by scenic designer Ron Newell).

This play fascinates as much as it confounds, offering many deliciously dense passages that are both amusing and invigorating. But these Mametian verbal joustings go on so long, with very little actually happening (unlike, say, in Glengarry Glen Ross) that one eventually tires from this genteel exercise in conversational sparring.

The title of this show comes from a wink-wink, nudge-nudge term for lesbian relationships back in the day, and the privileged women in this play clearly have something of a history. Anna, in whose house the action is set, is well set up thanks to a male “protector” for whom she provides sex and is rewarded with a handsome income.

Claire is her, ahem, close friend who it turns out has fallen in love with a pretty young girl who is constantly being chaperoned by her mum. So Claire want to use Anna’s house for her seduction of the cute little thing, an idea that fills Anna with jealousy and lots of free-floating rage.

A good deal of her venom is focused on the maid Catherine (a consistently on-point Khaki Hermann), whom the ladies always refer to by other names (Bridie, Mary, etc.). And Anna continually berates the poor, emotionally fragile girl for her Irish background, although Catherine repeatedly says she is Scottish.

That amounts to plenty of fuel for some dangerous games(wo)manship, but since the dewy object of Claire’s affections never appears, we are left with these three who poke and prod each other, in glorious and occasionally anachronistic (“Tell it to the Marines!”) language, for two hours.

Assessing the acting in a Mamet play is often a con game all its own, since the playwright favors non-inflected acting and often writes his material to induce such performances.

As Anna, Shana Beth McGee turns the knife with mean-girl precision when she assaults Catherine. But her relationship with Claire is not so straightforward, with hints piling up in profusion. Laboring under a large, unnatural and ungainly wig, McGee spends too much time staring into the middle distance and not enough lasering in on her buddy Claire.

Cathleen O’Malley’s Claire seems appropriately smitten by the unseen girl. However O’Malley tends to strike attitudinal poses (now distressed, now bemused) that never knit themselves into a believable character.

Of course, believability is not often the goal in a Mamet play. But the words and performances still have to add up to something more than a jumble of clever sentences and elegant postures for a play to be thoroughly involving, and that’s where this production stumbles a bit.

Still, director Christine McBurney makes the most out of many of Mamet's lines, some of which you’d like to take home and put in a velvet-lined box. To wit, when Claire erupts emotionally at Anna at one point and then says, “I’m sorry I was moved to speak with enthusiasm.”

Even though the blocking tends to be hyperactive at times, this is a show that invites you into the interpersonal con games people play. And no one does a con quite like David Mamet.

Boston Marriage

Through August 4 produced by Mamai Theatre in residence at Ensemble Theatre, 2843 Washington Blvd., Cleveland Hts., 216-570-3403

Light Up the Sky, Oberlin Summer Theatre

It is delicious when a play immerses you in a small corner of an little-known world, and that is exactly where Moss Hart’s Light Up the Sky places you, in this outstanding production at the Oberlin Summer Theater Festival.

This collection of cool and clever performances is a theatrical version of a frosty vodka and tonic—plenty tart with just enough sweetness to make a summer day glow.

It’s all an inside story about a play that is having its pre-Broadway tryout in Boston, and the ego-driven maniacs who are involved in the process. Even though some of the jokes in this 1948  play are dated, there’s enough comical venom and backstabbing to keep the laughter rolling.

New playwright Peter Sloan (an earnest Aaron Profumo) is cowed by all the activity surrounding the out-of-town opening of his play. But no such problems affect the others, who are neck-deep in theater stereotypes.

The star of the play-within-a-play is Irene Livingston, and Christa Hinckley gives her a mercurial diva-turn that is a pure delight. She bumps heads with her mother, the razor-tongued Stella Livingston played with a permanent lip-curl by Karen Nelson-Moser.

But the two funniest portrayals are tuened in by Matthew Wright as the hyper-emotional director Carleton Gitzgerald (“I could just cry!” is his running joke/catch phrase. And Marc Moritz is as amusing as he’s ever been as the hard-ass producer Sidney Black.

They are all thrown into a tizzy when Black’s young wife Frances and Stella return from the performance, depressed beyond belief. The show is a bomb and, worse than that, it was referred to as an “allegory” by a nearby audience member—thus establishing another running joke that never really gets old.

Played on a sumptuous looking set designed by director Paul Moser, the long show (almost three hours with two intermissions) seems to fly by.

Indeed, the only wrinkles are an unfocused performance by Tip Scarry as Tyler Rayburn, Irene’s husband, and a parrot that talks from the opposite side of the stage from its cage (a ventriloquist parrot!).

Even the happy ending doesn’t cloy too much, thanks to a wide-eyed appearance of Dave Cotton as the mid-west rube and potential investor William Gallagher.

This is free theater of the highest order (although reservations are still recommended). And this show is running in rep with The Diary of Anne Frank and Twelfth Night. So, start the car and point it towards Oberlin.

Light Up the Sky

Through August 3 at the Oberlin Summer Theater Festival, Hall Auditorium, 67 North Main, Oberlin, 440-775-8169.

Ragtime, Mercury Summer Stock

Sure, it seems that any theater calling itself “summer stock” should be happening in a cozy barn with hay stacked in the corner, over by the pitchforks and spitoon.

Defying that cliché, Mercury Summer Stock takes place in a capacious air-conditioned auditorium on the Notre Dame College campus. But other than the location, this theater has all the youthful zest and spirit one associates with summer stock. And the current production of Ragtime is a good example.

This story of the racial and gender turns American society was making at the turn of the last century features some truly lovely tunes by Stephen Flaherty (music) and Lynn Ahrens (lyrics). And the book by Terrence McNally, based on the novel by E.L. Doctorow, has plenty of exposed edges. The three groups that collide--privileged white folk from the suburbs, urban blacks and recent immigrants--tell a contentious story that is still spilling out on our 24-hour news channels today.

There are enough fine voices in the MSS cast, under the direction of Pierre-Jacques Brault, to give voice to these largely sung-through thoughts. Particularly outstanding are Nicholas Bernard as Coalhouse Walker, Jr., a proud man destroyed by violence and bigotry, and Nicole Sumlin in an evocative performance as his wife Sarah.

The strong ensemble also features Dana Aber as Mother, singing a evocative rendition of “Back to Before” and Sara Masterson as the beautiful but dippy showgirl Evelyn Nesbit (“The Girl on the Swing”).

Other roles are mixed blessings as Jonathan Bova does a nice job acting his “American dream” role of the immigrant Tateh, but his songs too often flatline. And oddly, the excellent actor Brian Marshall never quite commands the stage as Houdini, the master illusionist who dominated the popular imagination of this time period.

Creative staging and choreography by Brault, utilizing a raft of wooden chairs to stand in for everything from a Model T Ford to you name it, helps makes this production a memorable event.

Small quibbles aside, this is a dandy story with music that will transport you back to that era some recall as innocent, but which was as rife with pain and difficulty as our own time today.

Ragtime

Through July 20, produced by Mercury Summer Stock at Regina Hall, Notre Dame College, Green Road between Mayfield and Cedar, South Euclid.