Treading in "A Body of Water"

“A Body of Water” as a work itself reminds me of a bizarre love-child between “50 First Dates” by Adam Sandler (to an uncomfortable degree), and “No Exit” by Sartre – with perhaps a bit of bed-hopping with Beckett in there just to muddle things up a bit more by waiting for something that may or may not exist.

It was interesting to me how obvious some of the lines came across for a surreal drama, like “pretending to be happy is better than nothing.” It seems like a rather blunt indication of where the author is heading with this show – sometimes people just don’t want to find out who they really are, don't know how to, or don’t understand others around them. I’ve heard people say they wished they could just “forget.” But what would it be like to have your memories wiped clean? This is what Lee Blessing is attempting to explore with “A Body of Water.”

So then the question remains – if you don’t have your memories, and if the only thing that makes you, “you” is your experience (your past) and your genetics – then what else do you have? Only the present. And that is why, then, language becomes so vastly important: when Wren is introduced, the world between Avis and Moss, the couple with double amnesia, crumbles. The present is all they have – and she toys with it for reasons known only to herself.

Lindsay Palinsky as Wren, daughter-in-potential, seemed to be channeling Ellen Page from “Hard Candy” – she had two modes of being – a wolf, and a wolf under sheep’s clothing. It actually diluted her effectiveness if her part was, in fact, meant to undermine their reality. She’s a bit over-reactive where a sweet tone would have been much more cutting or a pout could have been more cunning than the perpetual scowl she wore through most of the show. She was effective, however, in keeping the audience guessing as to her actual motives and we never did find out if she was an angel or devil – and that was probably Mr. Freeman’s point, but it made a rather dull point. She was likely both and neither at the same time.

Mara Schaberg was cast in the role of Avis, the unfortunate woman who awakes nude, next to a man she can’t remember, in something of an embarrassing position. Ms. Schaberg aptly played shy and confused, though as the story progressed she seemed stuck in that place, with her voice elevated unnaturally through a lot of the show. When Ms. Schaberg did relax and respond to Mr. Hays, in particular, she did seem for a few moments to forget about the audience and simply respond to the actor in front of her, and it was then she loosened up. Avis seemed more willing to want to believe in the word-games of Wren, more willing to play along, because trying to discover the truth was too hurtful and overwhelming.

Michael Hays left me wishing that he could have found an anchor on stage as well, though he also had bright spots in the softer moments of the show. He seemed rather bored, most of the time, and then angry, vacillating between frustration and apathy in the tenor of his voice. Mr. Hays does well with the lighter lines, using the gruffness of his voice to deliver the uncertainties of “she’ll be back” with not really knowing, but hoping, and giving the audience a bit of a glimpse into the needs of his character. I never believed though that this couple woke up and didn’t remember their past – they were too blasé for me to really buy into it or care that much about them, though the concepts they projected I did find interesting.

Since Avis and Moss have been robbed of their history, all they HAVE is the present, and they share these moments with the audience. They need to be real, to sound real, to have feelings, to be terrified, to be confused, to be human. The essential flaw of the play was that though surreal – the “real” part was missing. “Surreal” simply asserts the idea of removing the components of logic and societal restrictions from a situation and then allowing the pieces to fit back together again without any imposed rules to follow. Blessing provides the clean slate and situation, and Avis and Moss have carte blanche to genuinely explore all avenues of “being.” At least, until Wren shows up and throws a wrench in their Eden.

Mr. Freeman chose an interesting concept to bring to the stage – these people are just as afraid to be awake as they are to be asleep, but then who is to say they are awake at all? Just as Sartre’s Garcin, Estelle and Inez cannot escape each other, these three are bound together as well. It could be heaven or hell, Milton might suppose…and so it would appear, Lee Blessing.

Mr. Freeman did surround himself with excellent technicians – the lights, sound and stage crew were all spot on. For his first directing endeavor Mr. Freeman took a big bite – I admire his ambition and want to encourage him to continue to chew away, but to remember that one may masticate just a bit too much and make mush out of a mignon.

I think it was Wren who said “the power is in us every day to be happy or not”…it’s as if Avis and Moss have jogged away from their lives and never came back, making a mutual pact to disavow their prior existence, unless that is they only exist in the mind of Wren, or Wren and Avis never existed at all, or Moss – well, you get the idea…but it does make me wonder how many people live comfortably in a rut and forget the power of the present.

For that reminder, Mr. Freeman, well done.

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And for those who want to know the Occam’s Razor reference, here’s Wiki’s definitions:

Of two equivalent theories or explanations, all other things being equal, the simpler one is to be preferred.

Another version from Einstein:

Make everything as simple as possible, but not simpler.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occam's_razor

Japing around with "Jack"

Riverwalk has a rich history of producing children’s plays and “Jack and the Beanstalk” is a wonderfully spun romp in fairytale land, Directed by Lee Helder and Music Directed by Doug Austin.

As with all the children’s shows that Riverwalk produces during the holiday season, there is a certain formula that they tend to follow, but gosh-darn it, the formula works. There is the flawed hero, typically a villain of some mythical nature, and something that needs to be saved – in this version, it happens to be Jack’s village, and well, Lucky, the cow.

Most people know the story about Jack and the Beanstalk - not being a very conscientious boy, Jack dreams away the day while his mother cooks and cleans and finds herself in a state of destitution. She sends Jack to sell their only cow for money so she can feed them both, and he gets swindled by a con man for some magic beans. She's disappointed her son would believe in anything that foolish and throws the beans away, leaving Jack to feel jolly rotten about himself for being such a dope. Over night, the magic beans actually create a beanstalk that grows up into the sky, and he decides to climb it, and - well, I don't want to give it all away...Stan Gill wrote this version of the fairy tale and includes a few characters to help out along the way.

The three minstrels did a fine job narrating the story for us – Bob Murrell was the most easily heard and understood of the trio as well as the most expressive, but Sara Sonnenberg and Charlotte Ruppert stuck closely by and engaged the audience and helped to cheer Jack along through the show.

Jack himself, actually played by Laura Johnson, made for an amiable enough figure – however she was rather one note throughout the show. It would have been nice to see her play Jack with a bit more of a 'Peter Pan' type of energy. She never seemed surprised, or scared, or even sad that she had to sell Lucky her cow. But she sang well, if a bit softly, and certainly looked the part of Jack.

At the opposite end of the energy spectrum was Ann Glenn playing Jack’s mother. What a riot to watch Ms. Glenn in her interactions with Jack – she towers above Ms. Johnson, and without any heart at all sends Jack off to sell Lucky, their only cow. She didn’t have a "pretty" song in the show – instead her song lectures Jack and Ms. Glenn puts quite a bit of gusto into it. What fun. And I wouldn't want her mad at me.

Probably the scene stealer of the show was the cow, played to pun-perfection by Shannon Leigh-Bonney. Ms. Bonney’s costume first of all was as adorable as, well, a cow’s costume could come – udders and all. Her wise-acre comments, meant to be over-the-top and something for the adults to enjoy, didn’t push the limits of being too obvious as to be groaners. And, I for one, was incensed that Mr. Helder, as the Bean Guy, tricked Jack into buying the cow for some silly beans. It seems I’d forgotten that part of the story and so when Mr. Helder came out as a Bronx/Joe Pesci wise guy type and swindled Jack, I was rather crushed to see him laughing and leading Lucky away. Kudos Mr. Helder, for breaking my heart when you took the cow, you trickster you.

It is always a delight to see Marilyn Steegstra on stage and there isn’t anyone who can top Ms. Steegstra in playing the role of a dryly humored cook of ill temperament and foggy memory. She delivers her lines with a bite, and although dancing may not be her forte, in “Jack,” her character as the Giant’s Cook was given a few chefs – Tim Beam and Scott Larson – to help her do her work. These guys also doubled as crew, more or less, to help unfold (and refold) the simple yet effective set designed by Paul Marisch. One other note here to compliment Diana and Bruce Rochowiak on their bright and well-planned scenography.

I’m not quite sure what to think of the Singing Goose, played by Susan De Rosa – she was something of a cross between Madeline Kahn and, uh, well a goose. I have no idea but for some reason “Blazing Saddles” came to mind. Take it for what you will – it was a hoot.

Ms. Emily McKay as the Singing Harp was interestingly outfitted; her petite frame and shy demeanor next to the giant lent itself to her song and situation. Her voice was quite beautiful and I would have liked to have heard more of it.

And last, but not least, we come to Edric Haleen, the irascible and imbecilic giant that Jack steals from (or rather, steals BACK from) to help his village. Mr. Haleen always has a presence on stage and even when he’s hebetudinous, he’s still quite interesting to watch. Oh yes, and in some places quite repulsive, actually, too, but in a ridiculously-over-the-top-wonderfully-bamboozled-still-chewing-and-yelling-and-spitting-out-food-that's-gross-but-little-kids-love kind of a way – but then, I suppose that’s what giants are supposed to be. Mr. Haleen rapped across an easy line between being big and loud but not too scary for the smaller children in the audience. I thought it was also kind of him to sit in the lobby afterwards so he didn’t seem quite as imposing.

A few technical notes of appreciation go to Tom Ferris and Doug Austin – Mr. Ferris played guitar, mandolin and banjo, and Mr. Austin also played the keyboard for the show. The music was delightful and the interesting mix of the different acoustic instruments made for a much more satisfying show to listen to. Jack Hetherington created a fun lighting schematic for the kids to enjoy for certain events, and the costumes by Lee Helder were also very well put together. All in all it was a fantastic show for the family.

I encourage you to catch a performance – it still runs for two more shows tomorrow, Sunday, and then next weekend. The details are below.

JACK AND THE BEANSTALK

Nov. 28-30 & Dec. 5-7 & 12-14
RWT Mainstage
Show Times
Fri. 7 p.m.
Sat. & Sun. 2:00 & 4:30 p.m.
Ticket Prices $7 Adult (16 & up), $5 children
Call 482-5700 for reservations

Lots of Theatre!!!

There is a lot of theatre happening over the next couple of weekends and I just want to let people know what's going on around town; I may not get a chance to get to much of it, unfortunately - but here's what's up:

JACK AND THE BEANSTALK

Nov. 28-30, Dec. 5-7& 12-14
A Family Musical Comedy based on the fairy tale
by Stan Gill

Directed by Lee Helder

Come see another one of Stan Gill's children's shows with the family - it promises to be a lot of fun with great costumes, a lot of silliness and a chase scene!!

Contact the Riverwalk Theatre at 482-5700 for Reservations

November 28-30 & December 5-7, 2008

A Surreal Drama
by Lee Blessing

Direted by Alex Freeman

Call the Riverwalk Theatre at 482-5700 for Reservations

*Note: Performances will be held at the Creole Gallery in Old Town on Turner Street

What would you do if you woke up in be with a complete stranger, and you had no memory of your past, no clothes, and no idea of who you were?

The Lansing Civic Players will hold auditions

November 30th and December 1st at 7pm at the

Firehouse on Michigan Avenue and Hayford Street.

ROLES AVAILABLE:

Willie Clark - A cranky old vaudeville comedian. Once famous, now in denial that his career is long past. Can't stand his former partner, Al. Living in a rundown apartment and waiting to be rediscovered.

Ben Clark - Willie's nephew and talent agent. Long-suffering and patient, keeps in touch with uncle Willie trying to help. A worrier. Has had an offer for Willie and Al to be on a TV special doing their old act.

Al Lewis - Another cranky old vaudeville comedian. Has kept himself up a little better than Willie, whom he also can't stand. A little more realistic, but just as difficult.

Nurse in act - Described as "tall, voluptuous and overstacked blonde in a tight dress," she is an actress hired to be in the act for the TV special. Must be very funny doing a dumb blonde. Blondeness and overstackedness may be helped with costuming.

Patient in act - A bit player hired for the scene as well. A funny character actor.

Eddie - Assistant director or floor manager for television studio. Has headset and clipboard and is trying to get the scene shot before all heck breaks loose.

TV Director (offstage voice) - Director in booth, speaking over intercom.

Announcer - introduces the scene. Has that "announcer" voice. Stands at microphone lectern in studio.

Nurse - Meant to be played by a black woman. Willie's nurse after he suffers a mild cardiac setback. She's had about enough of Willie and is getting sarcastic.

Soap Opera actors - Willie is watching a bad soap opera on TV in the opening scene. This may be audio only, but if we feel ambitious enough, may be on video. Actors interested in doing this fun little bit should indicate their interest on their audition form.

Firehouse Follies Presents

LCP's Holiday Extravaganza

Written and Directed by Rob Roznowski and Tony Sump

Tickets on sale NOW!!

December 5-7 and 12-14, 2008

Friday and Saturday at 8:00pm

Sunday at 2:00pm

517-484-9191 for Reservations!

Felice and Navi Dodd have their hopes set on the perfect holiday party filled with family, friends, and cheer. But can they pull it off? As guests arrive, a rollercoaster of characters colorfully take over the party and whisk us into a holiday special straight out of 1965. Music, laughter, and innuendo ensue. Tickets are already selling fast, so make sure you get to see this fabulous evening with the Dodd’s before they fade off into T.V. Land.