An Enchanted Evening – a review of “Cinderella”

By Lonnie the Theatre Lady

Rogers and Hammerstein’s Tony Award winning “Cinderella” modernizes the well known plot with a couple additions that allude to social justice, unexpected alliances and benevolent leadership. To say more would be a spoiler. I know, spoiler? Cinderella, really? Yes, really!

The huge (too many to mention) cast and company is comprised of talented actors, strong vocalists, accomplished dancers and skillful musicians.

Cinderella (Maggie Brashear) is an engaging lead. Her heartfelt vocals ring rich and true in every number. Her eyes and facial expressions convey the sweet, kind nature of her character.

Marie (Joyce Hinnebusch), a stunning vocalist, shines in every one of her songs. Her comedic timing and body language are delightful.

Cinderella, portrayed by Maggie Brashear with ensemble members, Caitlin Cade (L) and Rachel Hampsey (R)

Prince Topher (Ryan Hadbavny) looks his role as he strikes princely poses with his proud upright stance. His tender, emotional rendition of “Bring Her Home to Me,” is a crowd pleaser.

Sebastian (Brook Stanley), is entertainingly droll, smarmy, diabolical and foppish in equal measure.

Lavish, elaborate colorful costumes effectively support the show’s wondrous magical tone. (Michelle Nowakowski and Ivy Ferris)

The many well performed, imaginative dance numbers delight and entertain. (Cara McClaine and Nathan Hart)

Director Michael Newkirk orchestrates an extravagant production of sound, color, and movement resulting in a gleeful show.

This upbeat gorgeous show satisfies and uplifts on a visceral level. Need an infusion of cheerfulness? Then, this show is for you.

-LtTL

“Cinderella” runs through November 17 at the Andrew Carnegie Free Library and Music Hall, 300 Beechwood Boulevard, Carnegie, PA 15106. For more information, click here.

 

To Hide from Grief is a Foolish Game – A Review of “The Haunted Man’s Christmas Carol”

By Claire DeMarco

Charles Dickens wrote “The Christmas Carol” and the “The Haunted Man and the Ghost’s Bargain.” Cup-A-Jo’s unique adaptation cleverly combines these works with Charles Dickens (Everett Lowe) as an active participant.

Dickens is morose and mostly silent as he mourns the loss of his Sister (Joanna Lowe).  When he does speak, it is with utmost sorrow.  Sister remains in the background initially.

“The Christmas Carol” is introduced in the plot line as we meet those well-known characters – Scrooge (Dave Ranallo), Bob Cratchit and Student (Matt Henderson), Fred and Christmas Present (Casey Cunningham), Mrs. Cratchit (Sarah Deasy), Marley and Milly (Dani Danylo), Tiny Tim and William (Andrew Lasswell), Christmas Past and Belle (Amy Dick), Samantha Smith (Ensemble).

As “The Christmas Carol” proceeds the action moves into the world of “The Haunted Man’s Christmas Carol,” its premise unfolds but with the addition of Dickens once again part of the play.

Dickens’ grief mounts as he cries out for relief from his misery.  He wants no more memories of anything unpleasant or sad.

His wish is granted from a surprising source.  Now void of any unhappy memories, how does he deal with it?  Is he finally happy?

Was it worth the transition?

The Andrew Carnegie Free Library & Music Hall

Everett Lowe reaches the stratosphere as he takes Dickens from a melancholy, lethargic, bewildered character to an angry, volatile, emotional high.

Joanna Lowe’s performance is powerful.  She is strong and supportive in her interaction with Dickens.  Especially moving is her singing duet with Everett Lowe.

Never failing to impress, Henderson plays several different characters.  As Bob Cratchit, he is submissive, cowed and mild.  As Student he exudes confidence.  His facial expressions are exceptional.

Ranallo has a range of emotion, carrying him from an old meany to a repentant human being.

Cunningham’s good will and kindness towards Scrooge (with a spot-on English accent), never wavers, in spite of Scrooge’s attitude.

Danylo is forceful as Marley’s ghost, urging Scrooge to seek redemption.

Deasy portrays Mrs. Cratchit as the supportive wife, but not a Scrooge fan (but who is?).

Nice job by Dick who plays both Christmas Past and Belle, William’s wife.

Marcus Muzopappa is believable as Philip, the frail but feisty 87-year-old.

As a devoted servant, Lasswell is obedient and quiet.  He easily changes into a formidable, authoritative son in exchanges with his elderly father.

Smith as part of the ensemble, participates effectively throughout the production.

Hats off to the entire cast, most playing multiple roles in this production.

Note:  The title of this review is a line from a creation by Kirstin Tarquini.

Adapting two of Dickens’ stories is a clever way of including the author in his own works.   It’s a unique and clever presentation of two of Dickens’ works.

The set is simplistic.  Members of the cast interact either from the circumference of the stage or move into the center to indicate scene changes or action.  Instead of moving tables or chairs onto the stage, actors physically bend into shapes that become tables and/or chairs that other actors gingerly sit on.

Cup-A-Jo has been away from theater productions for several years.  Welcome back!  We’ve missed you!

 “The Haunted Man’s Christmas Carol” was adapted from the works of Charles Dickens and written for the stage and directed by Joanna Lowe.

-CED

“The Haunted Man’s Christmas Carol” is a production of Cup-A-Jo Productions. Performances run from November 8th – November 23rd at the Studio at the Carnegie Library of Carnegie, PA. Andrew Carnegie Free Library & Music Hall, 300 Beechwood Avenue, Carnegie, PA 15106. For more information, click here.

 

 

Exceeding Expectations – a review of “Great Expectations”

Reviewed by Dr. Tiffany Knight Raymond, PhD and Theron Raymond (6th grader)

Prime Stage Theatre Company brings Neil Bartlett’s adaptation of Charles Dickens’ famed 1861 Victorian novel, Great Expectations, to the stage.

The story of woe-begone Pip (Sam Lander), the orphan from Great Expectations, is the story of youth reaching success not by their own bootstraps, but by virtue of an unknown benefactor. The play opens with Pip recounting his parentless youth and 5 dead brothers, their tombstones “like lozenges.”

Costume designer Meg Kelly has Pip in a white puffy shirt, his pants held up by simple suspenders. He is a boy with few prospects, aside from his apprenticeship as a blacksmith to his kindly brother-in-law, Joe Gargery (compellingly played by Jeff Boles). As a poor blacksmith’s apprentice, Pip’s stark white shirt could use some smudges to reinforce his career and societal position.

Once Pip comes into money,  Kelly visually transforms Pip into a gentleman with a top hat and coat. This earmarks Pip’s socioeconomic status change as well as his transition from country life to London.

Director Art DeConciliis proves clothes don’t make the man. The fact Pip’s costume change is only outerwear signifies the superficiality of this rapid shift. Pip’s friend, Herbert Pocket (Alex Brandel) tutors Pip in the mannerisms to match his new status, chiding Pip as he licks his knife. DeConciliis transforms Lander from a slack-jawed county bumpkin gazing agog at bustling city life to a gentlemanly dandy who spends profligately.

Scenic designer Alex Barnhart visually juxtaposes the high and low. Stage right is occupied by heiress Miss Havisham’s home while stage left is the down-trodden Gargery home. The set design mirrors Pip’s character transformation he crosses center stage, moving between worlds. Ultimately, it is the Gargery home that evolves into Pip’s London digs, reinforcing he may have been lifted from poverty, but his new station is built on low class foundations.

DeConciliis appropriately cultivates twinning ice queens in Miss Havisham (Jennifer Sinatra) and her adopted daughter, Estella (Michaela Isenberg). Sinatra sneers, and Isenberg is eternally unimpressed, delivering her lines flatly and factually. When Estella tells Pip she “has no sympathy or heart,” he refuses to believe her. Lander is so wide-open and vulnerable in his portrayal of Pip that he can’t fathom a truth so different from his own.

Miss Havisham (Jennifer Sinatra) watches as Estella (Michaela Isenberg) courts Pip (Sam Lander) in “Great Expectations.”

Opening night ended with a virtual post-show discussion with Mark Charles Dickens, the great-great-grandson of Charles Dickens. It was after 2 am in England, but despite the late hour, Mr. Dickens was charming and dapper, dressed in a blazer and button down.

He shared that Charles Dickens’ father was sent to debtor’s prison. Young Charles only had 3 years of education before going to work in a factory, making his humble origins a possible inspiration for Pip. Dickens became a champion of the underprivileged through his literature, resulting in legal reform for the poor.

Mr. Dickens got a chuckle when he shared his favorite adaptation of a Dickens work is The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992). In fact, that film is how children of the Dickens family are first introduced to their famous ancestor! Glide into holiday season with Dickens from Great Expectations with Prime Stage to a family viewing of The Muppet Christmas Carol.

-TKR, Ph.D.

“Great Expectations” runs until November 10 at the New Hazlett Theater, 6 Allegheny Square East, Pittsburgh, PA 15212. For more information, click here

Who’s Afraid of the Autocracy – a review of “The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari”

By Michael Buzzelli

In 70s East Germany, long before Ronald Reagan asked Mikhail Gorbachev to tear down the wall, actress and unrepentant socialist,  Helene Weigel (Catherine Gowl) graces her theatre with one final show, “The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari.”

In 2024, an audience watches a 1970s theater company perform an adaptation of a 1920s Silent Movie. Things start out meta and get even more meta. It’s a double mousetrap!

In the play-within-the play, a stranger in a strange land, Dr. Caligari (Daniel Krell), literally and figuratively, mesmerizes audiences with his devilish showmanship and his dreaded wooden box.

Franz (Nick Lehane), Hannah (Sara Lindsey) and Uli (Cameron Nickel) watch patiently as Caligari opens his pine cabinet to reveal Cesare (Jerreme Rodriguez), a Frankensteinian somnambulant who makes a terrifying prediction in his hypnotic state.

When Uli asks, “How long will I live?” The alleged-prognosticator responds, “Till Dawn!”

The next morning, Franz and Hannah can’t find Uli. They soon discover that Cesare’s unexpected pronouncement wasn’t a prediction but a threat and seek to solve the mystery of his disappearance. It leads them to a disturbing encounter with Caligari.

But before we get answers, we get a commercial break. Dr. Rauch (a hilariously droll Mark August) promotes the health benefits of Eckstein Number Five, the pride and joy of Abraham Eckstein, the German Jewish tobacco manufacturer.  Yes, Rauch is promoting the health benefits of cigarettes!

After we return to our regularly scheduled featured performance, things have gotten even more dire for Franz and Hannah. But that’s okay, because Weigel doesn’t like the ending of the play and decides to change it!

Is “The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari” goth, German expressionism, horror or high art? It’s anyone’s guess.

Daniel Krell (Dr. Caligari) opening his cabinet.

There are some great performances in “The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari.”

Krell is magnificent as the terrifying titular doctor.  He shuffles and begs before the magistrate (August again), but becomes showy and big on stage at the fair, introducing Cesare to the stunned crowd. Then, he becomes tyrannical. It’s a whirlwind of emotions and expressions and Krell handles them with ease.

Gowl is an imperious and stern martinet, but later plays a girl in a kissing booth.

Lindsey is dynamic on the stage, dancing footloose and fancy free…until she isn’t [no spoilers].

Nickel plays Uli as buoyant, lighthearted and bursting with energy, but his character hits a sharp turning point and becomes different. It’s a nice contrast for the actor and he does it superbly.

Yafei Hu’s scenic design is gothic horror with black, jagged blotches of paint on the walls. It’s giving “the patients have taken over the insane asylum” vibes.

Director Jed Allen Harris takes the actors through their paces with this unique play.

There is some excellent costume work from Angela Vesco, particularly Brecht’s lone, crumpled angel wing.

Though we crossed several eras inside the play, it’s still sadly relevant, especially days away from an election where another authoritarian autocrat may yet rise to power once more.

All art is political [sorry, not sorry] .

Quantum isn’t afraid to go out on a limb or into the darkest recesses of the human soul. “The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari” is strange, fascinating and different from every other theatrical production running in town, but like a dak, bitter German beer, it’s not to everyone’s liking.

Right now the Pittsburgh theater scene has comedy, tragedy, fantasy and horror, All of the elements can be found in “The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari.”

-MB

“The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari” runs until November 24 at the Union Trust Building, 501 Grant Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15219. For more information, click here

A Picture of Our Times – a review of “The Picture of Dorian Gray”

By Tiffany Knight Raymond, Ph.D.

Victorian writer Oscar Wilde was best known as a playwright, so it’s no surprise his only novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, has been adapted into theater (this one by Robert Kauzlaric).

Artist Basil Halward (Dason Strawder) becomes consumed with painting a perfect portrait of the handsome Dorian Gray (George Ramey). Basil’s preoccupation becomes Gray’s obsession as Dorian realizes “the painting will keep what I lose.” Dorian’s wish to never age is granted, although his portrait counterpart does.

Dorian’s 19th century fears translate well to today. Any of us who have ever looked wistfully at pictures of our younger selves relate to Dorian’s desire to stave off aging. Dorian’s crisis anticipates the unhealthy comparisons and youth-obsessed tinderbox of social media, filters, and facial fillers.

Director Brooke Echnat has the baby-faced George Ramey preen through his performance and tilt his head back, literalizing his looking down on others. Ramey captures a man committed to the idolatry of youth who chronically upstages his aging contemporaries by virtue of his agelessness. He is arrogant and indifferent, blatantly disregarding Basil’s instructions during portraiture. Dorian indiscriminately justifies his demeaning treatment of actress Sibyl Vane (Kat Bowman) after she disappoints him with a lackluster performance. Bowman captures the hopeful naivete of Vane, the stereotype of an actress looking to ascend, regardless of the cost.

The intimacy of the Carnegie Stage space allows Stage Warp Productions to put the actual portrait at the center of the play. In the opening scene, Basil faux paints into a blank frame, letting us imagine the end product. Strawder captures Basil’s tensions. While painting is his profession, he is also clearly attracted to Dorian. Basil endlessly refines the painting to delay its completion as that will signal the end of the artist/subject relationship.

Basil also wants to keep Dorian for himself. That plan goes awry when Basil’s friend Lord Henry Wotton (Justin Macurdy) decides he wants to see the good-looking Dorian. Lord Wotton proudly proclaims his goal is the “new hedonism,” and he makes a quick convert of Dorian, leaving the placid Basil without either man. Macurdy and Gray are both peacock-like, using their wealth and youth as levers for indiscriminately indulging hedonistic impulses.

A canvas portrait does emerge thanks to the work of portrait artist Erin Zeddies. Zeddies’ eye-catching portrait comes to occupy center stage both literally and metaphorically. The painting is styled much like a page-a-day calendar. Portrait pages are removed to show the passage of time on Dorian’s painted face. A large ensemble cast represent old and young versions of the primary characters. However, Dorian’s older version is just the painting of him, sharply manifesting the two-dimensional quality of a life lived only in pursuit of pleasure.

Oscar Wilde was jailed for homosexual acts, and imprisonment cut his life short. As a painter, Basil’s profession provides a “safe” way to explore his male gaze. With the rights of women and queer identities under threat today, Wilde’s own life reminds us that no one thrives under oppression.

Wilde’s novel is considered Gothic fiction, a genre hallmarked by the dark and supernatural, making this the perfect play to wind down spooky season – or perhaps carry it forward.

-TKR

Stage Warp Production’s presentation of The Picture of Dorian Gray runs through November 2, 2024 at Carnegie Stage (25 W. Main Street, Carnegie, PA). Purchase tickets online at www.stagewarp.org.

 

Jukebox Heroine – a review of “& Juliet”

By Michael Buzzelli

Time. Space. Reality. It’s more than a linear path. It’s a prism of endless possibility. Where a single choice can branch out into infinite realities, creating alternate worlds from the ones you know.  Imagine if you will, a world where Anne Hathaway (Teal Wicks) – Mrs. Shakespeare, not the put-upon assistant in “The Devil Wears Prada” – grabs her husband’s pen and rewrites the tragic ending to “Romeo and Juliet.” The product is”& Juliet,” a poppy jukebox musical bouncing with sheer joy.

The plot – and there’s a lot of it for a bubbly romcom – centers around Juliet Capulet-Montague (Rachel Simone Webb) waking up in the mausoleum and finding her betrothed dead, but – and here’s the big but – she doesn’t plunge the dagger into her chest. She chooses life.  Instead of being the victim of a tragic romance, she’s the survivor looking for her own agency.

She decides to run away from Verona and enlists her gender-fluid bestie May (Nick Drake), April (Anne writing herself into the story) and her nurse, Angelique (Kathryn Allison) to come with. They escape to Paris where there is a gender-bent love triangle, a pair of reunited lovers, and turbulence in Anne’s own marriage to Will (Corey Mach). There’s even a surprise guest star, a certain Gentleman of Verona who chases Juliet to Paris.

The gay best friend trope from a zillion romcoms is subverted here as a May finds François (Mateus Leite Cardoso) and they get their own love story.

Things get complicated over some of the greatest commercial hits of all time. Don’t worry. All’s Well That Ends Well.

“& Juliet” is a high-octane candy-coated jukebox musical filled with bubblegum pop. It’s exuberant. Joyous. The cast puts the spectacular in the spectacle.

Webb is glorious as Juliet. She is a belter of the highest pedigree. She is a charismatic lead and a joy to watch.

Mach is a fun Shakespeare. His character is not quite as egocentric as the Shakespeare-cum-Elvis from “Something Rotten!” Mach instills a sweet charm into the immortal playwright, even when he’s behaving badly.  He’s rocking some Skylar Astin energy.

Anne gets the best lines, and Wicks delivers them flawlessly. Her banter with the Bard is electric. She trades barbs with him effortlessly, often – but not always – gaining the upper hand.

Note: On November 1, Shelby Griswold takes over the role of Anne until the end of the Pittsburgh run).

Drake is terrific as May. They are sensational in the role.

Paul-Jordan Jansen gets some great moments as Lance, a hard-ass military father who finally learns about love – in all of its splendor.

Michael Canu is a delightful Mr. Montague (in case you were wondering where for art thou Romeo? He’s right here).

Allison’s Angelique is effervescent, especially in her scenes with Jansen’s Lance.

Naima Alakham (Lady Capulet) is an imperious mom.

Andre Cerullo leads a magnificent band, playing more hits than Casey Kasem’s American Top 40. The songs are all hits from producer Max Martin, including “Baby One More Time,” “I Kissed a Girl,” and “Oops…I did it again.”

David West Read has wedged a few clunky lines in this story, but mostly sparkles with wit and wisdom.  May’s name is a set up to the most painful pun.

Soutra Gilmour scenic design matched with Andrezej Goulding’s video and projection design is a kaleidoscopic feast for the eyes.

The bright rainbow of costumes, by Paloma Young, are inspired.

“& Juliet” is the perfect cotton candy confection of a big budget musical. It’s a spectacle, an extravaganza! Look closely, there are a couple of pointed messages under the layers of sugary goodness, like an engagement ring hiding in a parfait.

It’s also the play we need right now. Young, fun and full of contemporary wisdom.

-MB

 

“& Juliet” runs until November 3, 2024 at the Benedum Center, Seventh & Penn Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15222. For more information, click here

Eat More Carrots If You Wanna See Him — A Review of Harvey


By: Joseph Szalinski

Everyone, get your tickets for the most “hoppening” event to hit the North Boroughs since their Easter festivities a few months back. The wonderful folks over at Community Theatre Players have a fantastic production from directors Katie Abramowich-Good and Libby Larsen about a misunderstood man and his hallucinatory hare companion. And no, it’s not a stage adaptation of Donnie Darko. It’s the celebrated classic, Harvey, now running at Community Presbyterian Church in Ben Avon.

Often overshadowed by its cinematic counterpart, due in large part to the man behind the voice that haunts the streets of Indiana, PA, Mary Chase’s Pulitzer Prize-winning drama is both hilarious and heartfelt; a poignant play about an unorthodox way mental illness can manifest in a person and a family.

Cast members do a terrific job of embodying their characters, particularly through humor. Christopher Franz dives headfirst into his role as Mr. Wilson by embracing comedic physicality. The other hospital personnel, Lyman Sanderson, M.D. (Alex Bowman); William R. Chumley, M.D. (Mark Spondike); and Ruth Kelly, R.N. (Kassaundra Rodriguez) have a funny and fantastic chemistry amongst themselves and with the other characters as well. Similarly, Judge Omar Gaffney (John Hayes), Myrtle Mae Simmons (Emma Kendrew), and Veta Louise Simmons (Ellen Kalik) are another group who bring plenty of laughs to the stage.

The cast of “Harvey.”

Matt Hartman delights as Elwood P. Dowd, the Benjamin Bunny to Harvey’s Peter Rabbit, but human. He’s a charming eccentric who isn’t afraid to attempt to show off his best friend, much to the chagrin of his relatives. Hartman is not only able to showcase his skill solo or alongside his castmates, but also “with Harvey,” an effortless and established connection that demonstrates his strengths as a performer. Keep a large ear or two perked up for when he imitates Harvey’s voice…

Technical elements are another highlight of this show. Jeff Cieslak masterfully handles lights and sound while an army of dedicated folks handle set construction and decoration. Speaking of sets, this one is relatively simple yet effective, and its interchanging pieces are brilliantly swapped out during scene changes to transport audiences to either the library or Chumley’s Rest. But perhaps the best display of technical prowess comes in the form of Harvey’s presence. Manipulating furniture, curtains, and the like is a phenomenal way of bringing the invisible animal to life.

The Community Presbyterian Church of Ben Avon is a marvelous venue. Not only is the theatre nice and cozy, but it’s just one room in a big, beautiful building. Nestled on the sleepy streets of Ben Avon, this is a quaint space to catch a performance.

Now in their 35th year/season as a company, Community Theatre Players continues to deliver quality productions to the Greater Pittsburgh Area, particularly the North Boroughs. Putting on larger shows in the fall, and producing smaller events in the months between them, CTP actively enriches the scene with dazzling dramas and captivating comedies. Unlike the titular lagomorph of their current show, they can be seen entertaining audiences throughout the year, and hopefully for many more to come.

-JS

“Harvey” continues its run Nov 1st & 2nd at Community Presbyterian Church of Ben Avon. For more information, click here

It’s Just a Sweet Fantasy – a review of “The Hobbit”

By Michael Buzzelli

Bilbo Baggins (Russell Saylor) is a Hobbit living a pleasant, comfortable life when he is plucked from the Shire and offered a chance to go on a mythic quest by the great wizard Gandalf (Shammen McCune).

Bilbo is the archetypical reluctant hero straight out of the pages of Joseph Campbell’s “The Hero’s Journey.” He hems and haws until he is introduced to a troupe of dwarves led by their cranky leader, Thorin (Ryan Patrick Kearney).

Thorin and the Bilbo clash immediately. The good-natured Hobbit and the gruff dwarf king are polar opposites, but over the course of quest they begin to trust one another.

The questers, which include Balin (Jamie Agnello), Fili (Britt Dorazio), Kili (Maya B. Fullard) and Bombur (José Pérez IV) are beset on by trolls, giant spiders, and all sorts of fantastical creatures on their way to face the Big Bad, Smaug, an imperious dragon. The dragon is hoarding all of the treasure. She’s such a  hoarder that Suzanne Chabaud and Cory Chalmers would be incapable of helping.

After a book, a cartoon adaptation and a full-length feature film, it’s safe to say spoilers do not apply to this stage play, but if you’re living in a cave with a prickly dragon and a hoard of gold and haven’t heard of J. R. R. Tolkien and his epic fantasy, stop reading the review, see the show and meet me back here.

Greg Banks adapted the book for the stage with the intent of bringing new audiences to theater. He has a crafted a work that is perfect for children and the young-at-heart. Banks had a daunting task. He took a 310 page best-selling book and turned it into a play.

The playwright introduces an element that is meant to bring the audience into the story. The actors begin the show around a D & D board and roll multi-sided dice. It’s an unnecessary contrivance and it doesn’t wholly work, but every other element does.

Bilbo Baggins (Russell Saylor) finds the One Ring To Rule Them All.
The cast of “The Hobbit.”
Matt Acheson and Jamie Agnello’s masterful puppet creations.

The cast is marvelous. Saylor is the right amount of curmudgeon, with a soft sweetness, and childlike wonder.

McCune has the requisite gravitas to play the mighty wizard, Gandalf. Her voice is deep and authoritative, yet she displays a playful, joyous side on the O’Reilly stage. She is a fantastic choice to lead the mythic quest. She is a Pittsburgh treasure worth more than a mountain of gold.

Kearney’s character has the fullest arc in the story. He goes from gruff to grateful to greedy. His death scene is the most poignant moment in the play [You were warned you about spoilers].

Fullard gets some great lines as the resident scaredy-cat dwarf.

While they are mostly dwarves, Fullard, Agnello, Dorazio and Pérez play a variety of roles. They are all exceptional.

Pérez does an Elvin Queen that is hilarious. He also doubles as the fight choreographer and the fight scenes are impressive.

Matt Acheson and Jamie Agnello’s puppet designs were marvelous, creations of pure imagination, whimsical, mysterious and even, at times, frightening.

Smaug is literally and figuratively smoke and lights, but Robert J. Aguilar’s lighting design makes the dragon come to life.

The set, designed by Jennifer Zeyl, is a thing of beauty. It’s a jungle gym disguised as a home suitable for a Hobbit – a hobbitat.

Director Marya Sea Kaminski lovingly created a playful, big and fun adventure for all ages.  Fantasy fans will marvel in the beauty of the creation. If your not familiar with any iteration of “The Hobbit,” now isn’t the best time to start.  While our hero loves a cup of tea – this one won’t be yours.

“The Hobbit” overcomes the adage that there are limitations to a stage show. You just need a decent script and great actors to create magic.

-MB

“The Hobbit” runs until November 10 at the Pittsburgh Public Theater, inside the O’Reilly Theater, 621 Penn Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15222. For more information click here

 

A Hole in One – a review of “A Fox on the Fairway”

By Lonnie the Theater Lady

Bingham (Justin Mohr) director of Quail Valley Country Club, holds great animosity towards Dickie (Dewayne Curry), director of the Crouching Squirrels Country Club whose team consistently wins the annual interclub golf tournament. This year feels differently for Bingham. He has a new team member, an incredible scratch golfer. Confident of victory, Bingham makes a $100,000 wager with Dickie and recklessly throws in the ownership of his wife Muriel’s (Misty Challingsworth) much loved antique shop. Upon learning that his star golfer has defected to join Dickie’s team, Bingham is frantic to find a replacement golfer.

Fortunately, he discovers his new assistant Justin (Cole Vecchio) is an amazing golfer—with one important codicil —–To ensure his expert playing, Justin must be kept calm and be kept away from any potentially stressful situations. The tournament is going very well for Justin, until it isn’t.

Bedlam ensues and the hilarity shifts into high gear. Just when it seems to be clear where the plot is headed, BOOM! Another dizzying plot twist hits.

Dewayne Curry – Dickie (back couple) Misty Challingsworth – Muriel (back couple) Emma Brown Baker -Pamela (front couple) Justin Mohr – Bingham (front couple) Photography: Hawk Photography and Multimedia LLC

The entire cast is to be congratulated on their high energy, physicality and spot on comedic timing.

Vecchio’s Justin is played with an innocence that endears him to the audience. His emotional fragility and vulnerability are sweet,

Mohr plays Bingham with an understandably frenetic desperation considering what is at stake. He’s both likable and sympathetic.

Curry’s Dickie is loud mouthed and obnoxious. His swagger and grating, braying laugh are perfectly annoying. The man you love to hate!

Julia Yeomans is adorable as the love struck, naive, ingenue Louise.

Emma Brown Baker is a personable (at times), sophisticated Pamela who radiates contempt for Dickie, her ex. Perfect demonstration of the adage, “If looks could kill.”

Misty Chillingsworth is Bingham’s wife, Muriel. Before she is onstage, she is depicted as an overbearing battleax. Her humanity becomes clearly evident when she comes onstage. She’s a woman of strength with a soft side.

Fun Fact: Playwright Ken Ludwig was born in York, Pennsylvania!

Director Lisa Ann Goldsmith keeps the cast’s electrifying energy on high voltage. The actors fast paced physicality excites.

This hilarious farce flies from scene to scene and delights with its unexpected turns and surprise revelations. Look no further if you are in the market for a delightful evening out!

-LtTL

“A the Fox on the Fairway” runs until November 10 at the Little Lake Theater, 500 Lakeside Drive, Canonsburg, PA 15317. For more information, click here.

Founded by Former Local Baseball Player, Maser Galleries Celebrates 50 Years at Their “Home Base” in Shadyside

 

By Gina McKlveen 

Standing arm in arm outside Maser Galleries along Walnut Street in Shadyside, the Maser women, Brenda and her two daughters, Katie and Kristen, reminisced to a crowd of family, friends, former athletes, community members, city councilpersons, art lovers, and various spectators about what this business has meant to them since it first opened on September 27, 1974—50 years ago to the day.

Katie applauded her parents, noting that “50 years is huge accomplishment for a business, especially an art business.” She called Walnut Street “an extension of home,” and Kristen expressed similar sentiments, stating that her childhood “orbited around this gallery” and referred to it as her “home base.”

Maser Galleries aims to have “something for everyone”, art for every generation to enjoy

As the story goes, Maser Galleries begins with one man—Ronald Maser, affectionately known as “Lefty”—a Pittsburgh-area native, McKeesport High School graduate, former University of Pittsburgh student-athlete, and multi-talented visionary, whose baseball career aspirations with the Los Angeles Dodgers fell short because of an arm injury that led him to answer a newspaper advertisement promising “unlimited opportunity” with Arts International, which was the biggest chain of galleries in the country back then. According to Lefty, during the Arts International interview, he and the interviewer just talked about baseball. By the end of the interview, the guy pitched him the keys and drove back to Chicago, leaving Lefty to learn the art business on the fly.

Years later, Lefty branched out on his own, founding what is known today as Maser Galleries. The gallery started out at Seven Springs Resort in the Laurel Highlands, east of Pittsburgh. There was already a gallery at the ski resort and the space had become available for a new owner/occupant. Originally, Lefty says, he drove up to Seven Springs to express that he wasn’t interested, but whether it was the drive, the connection with ski and sport, or something else, after he got up there, he changed his mind and said yes. Like many things throughout Lefty’s life, he just went with his gut… and it worked.

Brenda, who grew up at Seven Springs and was working there had an art background, minoring in art, practicing in photography, and dabbling in painting, so when Lefty needed someone to work at his new gallery, Brenda became Lefty’s right-hand woman, so-to-speak.

“My part of business has changed over the years,” Brenda recounts. “I helped Lefty. Lefty was in charge. He made all the decisions.”

From left to right, Bobby Franklin, former Point Park University basketball star; Brenda Maser; The Honorable Dwayne Woodruff, former Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback and current Allegheny Court of Common Pleas Judge; Chris Seneca, former Bucknell University basketball star; Clarence Thompson.

But as for Brenda’s part in the business, Kristen surmised, “Mom is the heart. Dad is driving force,” while Brenda refers to herself as “the people person.” She says, “I love people. I love talking about the art, I love being with the art, selling the art. Lefty was the person responsible for the success of that gallery without question. He could sense what people would love, what people would buy. He was not highly trained in art. I mean, he was a math student [at the University of Pittsburgh]. He had a sense of what was beautiful and what people would love to have in their homes.”

She adds, “Buying is the key to any business, and certainly to the art business. He just had a wonderful sense of the best pieces of an artist, he could pick them. I learned from him. I learned everything I know about that from him.”

Brenda’s own art background has, in her words, “worked out beautifully in this gallery.” She remembers, “I had a dark room for a while and did photography and that skill served me very well working in the gallery. There were so many things that needed photographed over the years that it was a really wonderful fit for me.”

Once a former dry cleaner, Lefty transformed the space into Maser Galleries in 1974

Brenda also points out, “Lefty has an art background, too.” While maybe not as well-known as his baseball stats, “When he was a young student, he went to McKeesport High School, which was a huge high school at the time, booming, thriving, and there were only two students picked to take art classes at the Carnegie Museum and he was one of the students who was picked. So, he has some art talent, but he never developed that. But he had art talent, and he always had a love of beauty.”

Even as a baseball player, fans and friends described Lefty as “art in motion.” Brenda says, “When I think of Lefty running [this] business that was art in motion, watching him run [Maser Galleries]. He was in the flow in the same way that he was when he was pitching. He was a natural. The creativity, the ideas just flowed out of him.”

Eventually, once the gallery in Seven Springs was established, Lefty got the idea to move and open another Maser Galleries location in Shadyside. “The first time I came to Shadyside was 1974, right when we opened. It was the arts festival,” Brenda recalls.

The building, where Maser Galleries remains 50 years later, was a former dry cleaner when Lefty first rented it. “Lefty hammered every board on that wall. Those barn wood walls, every nail was hammered in by him… There was nothing he couldn’t do.” But back then people thought Lefty was out of his mind to open another gallery along Walnut Street, which ironically, was right across the street from an Arts International gallery, his former employer. Doubting Lefty’s can-do attitude, naysayers thought Maser Galleries would be out of business within six months, incapable of withstanding the competition of a powerful chain like Arts International. However, not long after Maser Galleries arrived on Walnut Street, it was Arts International that closed its doors, not Lefty.

Brenda Maser embraces her daughters, Kristen and Katie, in front of Maser Galleries on Wood Street

Brenda describes what Maser Galleries was like on Walnut Street in the 1970s, “When we first opened, Walnut Street then was almost all, if not all, independent owners, many different types of shops, and a lot of hippies. We had lots of arts and crafts items, we had shelves and shelves of crafts and little metal sculptures, paintings on marble, paintings on fungi, we just had all different little things. And as the street evolved, we evolved. So as the more upscale shops came in, so did we. Also, the timing was so perfect because the 70s was a time when art was really exploding and graphics were just coming out like Normal Rockwell, Erte, Simbari, LeRoy Neiman. It was just an amazing time when these limited-edition graphics were available for the first time, and we were on the ground floor of that.”

She continues, “Lefty always loved illustrators. We loved Nat Youngblood. He did all the illustrations for the Pittsburgh Press for 30 years. We published a lot of works by him. Lefty published a number of local artists John Shryock and Thomas Mosser, and then he reached out to some nationally known artists, and we had a whole publishing division for many years. We went to the art expo in New York, and we were not only on the end of buying art for the gallery, but on the end of selling artwork to galleries.”

The artworks of many of these mentioned artists are still available at Maser Galleries, along with other Pittsburgh natives who’ve achieved reputable success with their art, like Burton Morris, Fritz Keck, and Linda Barnicott.

Posing with sculptures, Kristen, daughter of Maser Galleries founders, Lefty and Brenda Maser, and co-founder of For Good PGH with Gisele Fetterman (also pictured), quips “these are our siblings”—everyone is treated like family here

In its early days, the Maser Gallery at Seven Springs reflected the clientele there, Brenda recalls, “tons of ski posters, craft items, gift items, and oil paintings.” Nowadays, she says, “We reflect the people of Pittsburgh. We always want to have something for everyone.”

As for the Maser family, Brenda, like her daughters, admits, “Our lives revolve around the gallery.” Despite previously having galleries in Seven Springs, Oxford Center, and even Market Square over the years, Maser Galleries along Walnut Street in Shadyside has stood the test of time. “We were all over at the gallery as much as we were at home,” she says.

Brenda acknowledges, “The greatest honor of my life has been to work there. It’s been such an honor to be surrounded by this beauty and by wonderful people. I always feel that the door is a filter and only special people come through our door. I’m so grateful for having could spend my life here in this place. Everybody who comes in, they have an extra sensitivity and awareness and appreciation for art and for life.”

Stepping through the doors of Maser Galleries is an opportunity to experience art almost like a sports memorabilia collector, stumbling upon a rare, autographed baseball card, except here the signatures are of beloved artists upon artworks, each with a unique style and flare. Unlike an art museum, where the pieces must stay put on their walls, here, visitors are welcome to purchase the pieces that catch their eye and take them home. When it comes to art galleries in Pittsburgh, Maser Galleries is a grand slam.

-GM

To experience Maser Galleries, visit: https://www.masergalleries.com/ or stop in at 5427 Walnut Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15232 and explore their ongoing 50th Anniversary Sale.

 

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