The last of Rodgers’ and Hammerstein’s four greatest hits, The King and I (KAI) displays both the enduring strength and the beginnings of the limitations of the pair’s approach to musical theater. Olney’s solid, largely traditional remounting of the 1951 show showcases both the power and constraints of the R & H style.

Brilliantly conceived songs that grow from and illuminate character are the principal gift of R & H shows. KAI has one of the best, Lady Thiang’s “Something Wonderful,” matched in the R & H canon only by Oklahoma‘s “Lonely Room” as a number that in a few brief moments tells the audience everything it needs to know about the character who sings it. If King Mongkut follows his own prescription of respecting his wives and loving his concubines, Lady Thiang, played by Janine Sunday, is the wife he most respects, and who returns that respect with deep understanding and devotion.

Not far behind as a character song is “My Lord and Master,” beautifully sung by soprano Yoongjeong Seong as Tuptim, a young girl given to the King as a gift who, with great strength and determination, remains true to her love for Lun Tha (smooth baritone Eymard Cabling). With the best voice in the show, Seong shines not only in that number but in her duets of passion and longing with Lun Tha, “We Kiss in a Shadow” and “I Have Dreamed.” Tuptim narrates “The Small House of Uncle Thomas,” a Thai reimagining of Uncle Tom’s Cabin that she uses as a protest against slavery and the tyranny of wicked kings. This sequence is the highlight of the Olney production, with spectacularly colorful costuming and lighting, exciting choreography, and dramatic drive all contributing to its success.

Unusually for the male lead in a musical, King Mongkut is given very little music, his role being structured for a character actor who sings a bit. In the King’s one full-length song, “A Puzzlement,” Paolo Montalban effectively expresses the difficulty of being a ruler who is supposed to have all the answers but is acutely aware that he does not. Montalban plays the role with great, almost antic energy. His Mongkut is substantially younger than many takes on the part (not to mention the historical king who, in a photo provided in Olney’s dramaturgical materials, looks something like the middle-aged Ghandi). At times this gravitas-challenged monarch comes off more like a charming, demanding adolescent than as someone who actually runs a country. He clumps about enthusiastically in “Shall We Dance” rather than transforming into a graceful dancer, consistent with his interpretation of the character if somewhat less pleasing to the eye. His relative youth and high energy level lend credibility to the unspoken sexual tension between him and Anna while making suspension of disbelief more difficult in his death scene.

Anna Leonowens (Eileen Ward), the British teacher Mongkut imports to teach English and other Western subjects to his children and wives, is responsible for the three best-known songs in the show, “Hello, Young Lovers,” “Getting to Know You,” and “Shall We Dance.” With a warm, strong voice, she carries them off well, though the impact of “Hello, Young Lovers” is blunted by presentational staging of the “soloist sings straight out to the audience stage left, crosses and sings straight out to the audience out stage right” variety. In the other two numbers, she establishes strong relationships with the children and the King, respectively, and the choice in “Shall We Dance” to block her first verse facing away from the King before he seeks to join in the dance is a particularly good one. In this production, as in many others, Anna’s less well-known number, “Shall I Tell You What I Think of You,” is perhaps her best, a character song expressing in an angry and humorous way her attraction to and deep frustration with the King, as well as her love for her work and the children she teaches. Ward consistently conveys the independent — almost proto-feminist — nature of this Victorian woman making her way in a strange land.

Director Mark Waldrop comments, in his interview in Olney’s “Context Guide,” that one of the challenges in casting the show was to find young actors who, playing Louis and Chulalongkorn, can take on the attributes of people who lived in such a different time. Louis (Henry Niepoetter) came off as a credible, curious and polite, Victorian boy. Chulalongkorn (Josiah Segui) seemed much more a sulky, entitled, modern American teenager. The ensemble sang and danced capably throughout, executing Tara Jeanne Valle’s energetic and flowing choreography, above all in “Small House.” The nine-member orchestra, conducted by Jenny Cartney, was flawless.

James Fouchard’s set design features three sliding or lifting panels that function as a proscenium curtain, in front of a series of arches framing a backdrop of shapely palace building outlines. The stylized ship masts and billowy sails in the opening scene were a particularly nice touch. In the 1940s and 1950s, it was common practice to write “front of curtain” scenes in which song reprises or brief crosses with a few spoken lines occupied the audience’s attention while set changes occurred behind the curtain. Waldrop’s production follows this traditional practice, which while faithful to the original script can slow the flow of the story to an extent. Dan Covey’s lighting design is mostly functional, with occasional use of rose tones in some musical numbers, though it gets more varied in “Small House.” There is probably excessive reliance on sound reinforcement for the actors, which became noticeably boomy at times.

KAI is a big costume show, and Kendra Rai’s costumes were an outstanding element of the production, with multicolored, often shiny, fabrics to catch the audience members’ eyes. The masks and character costumes in “Small House” were striking, especially the stunning black outfit worn by the villainous Simon of Legree (Aaron Komo). The hoop skirts worn by Anna and, in one scene, by the ensemble women, looked good and moved well, particularly when the royal wives, unfamiliar with this odd garment, hurried off stage with their hoops flapping high. Anna’s dress for “Shall We Dance” was lovely to behold. The wives’ daily outfits were not only colorful, but decorously revealing. In combination with the mostly bare torsos of Mongkut and Lun Tha, it is clear that this exotic East is a sexually alluring place.

In KAI, it is through Anna’s eyes, a Western gaze, that we see the colorful world of 19th century Siam. And this leads to what is the most problematic aspect of the show. While Waldrop is correct in denying, in his Olney’s “Context Guide” interview, that the show is disrespectful of its Asian characters, much of the show’s appeal stems from Anna’s or a Western audience’s ability to look from the outside at the exotic, sometimes thrilling, sometimes cute, and sometimes horrifying, culture of Mongkut’s court. Adopting Western norms becomes the sign of “progress” in the traditional Thai society. To show that he is not a “barbarian,” for example, Mongkut must put on a ball for a visiting British diplomat in which his women wear Western dresses.

As R & H’s career went forward, they became increasingly dependent upon exotic places and people. After starting with Midwestern and New England locales in Oklahoma and Carousel, respectively, R & H moved on to Oceania in South Pacific (with its seemingly “native” characters, who are actually mostly Vietnamese rather than Polynesian), San Francisco’s Chinatown (Flower Drum Song), and a sentimentalized central Europe (The Sound of Music). The lure of the exotic had some correlation with their success: their post-Carousel shows with mainstream American settings were uniformly commercial failures (Allegro, Me and Juliet, Pipe Dream).

KAI also represents the clearest beginning of R & H’s dalliance with cuteness, mercifully absent from shows like Oklahoma and Carousel. Save Chulalongkorn, the children in KAI are present almost entirely to be colorfully cute. The kids in the Olney production, indeed, are cute and hit their marks consistently, but the emotional tone their scenes, as well as that of “I Whistle a Happy Tune,” is a lineal ancestor of the sticky sweetness that ultimately overwhelms The Sound of Music.

There were a large number of young people at the Saturday performance at Olney, always a gratifying sight to see. Any production that successfully introduces new generations to the great musicals of the 1940s — 1960s is a deeply welcome event. The Olney production is more than good enough to entice new audience members to come back for more and to grow to know and love these jewels of American creativity.

Director’s Notes

A little over ten years ago I directed an original musical for Princeton University’s Triangle Club. Not surprisingly, I was impressed with how very smart everyone was. (My gorgeous blond leading lady was, literally, a rocket scientist.) I was especially struck by the fact that it seemed all the students were learning to speak Chinese, “Aha!” I thought, “If the brilliant movers and shakers who devise this school’s curriculum are making Chinese a requirement, they must know something about the direction that the fortunes of the world will be heading.” Clearly, they did.

I was reminded of this when I started work on The King and I. The King’s forward-thinking desire to have his 1862 Siamese court educated in Western ideas and the English language was absolutely analogous to what I had witnessed at Princeton. And I found myself with a newly heightened appreciation for the King’s sophistication and progressiveness.

But of course, the King was trying to steer a course between the constant onslaught of change and the traditions he was bound to uphold. It’s a timeless predicament, and a great theme. This is the theme that lyricist and librettist Oscar Hammerstein II placed at the heart of this show. Yes, it required him to take artistic license with historical facts. The final scene is Hammerstein’s invention, a moving dramatization of one era giving way to the next. But it’s Rodgers’ and Hammerstein’s version of this story more than any other — including multiple non-musical film versions, Margaret Landon’s book, and even Anna Leonowens’ own account — that has preserved a place for Anna and the King in the public’s affections.

It’s a pleasure for me to return to Olney Theatre Center for another holiday show and to collaborate again with choreographer Tara Jeanne Vallee. She has distilled and adapted the iconic original musical staging by Jerome Robbins, adding her own distinctive point of view. As director, I have tried to honor the show’s creators by giving full value to all their story’s humor, emotion, and drama.

I hope you enjoy it.

Photo Gallery

Paolo Montalban as The King	Eileen Ward (as Anna) and the cast
Shall We Dance? Paolo Montalban (as The King) and Eileen Ward (as Anna)	The cast perform the ‘Small House of Uncle Thomas’ Ballet

Photos by Stan Barouh

The Cast

• The King Of Siam: Paolo Montalban
• Anna Leonowens: Eileen Ward
• Lun Tha: Eymard Cabling
• The Kralahome: Alan Ariano
• Sir Edward Ramsey/Captain Orton: Ron Heneghan
• Phra Alack (The Interpreter): Ron Curameng
• Tuptim: Yoonseong Jeong
• Lady Thiang: Janine Sunday
• Angel/George: Yumiko Niimi
• Eliza: Rumi Oyama
• Simon: Aaron Komo
• Little Eva: Momoko Sugai+
• Louis (Double Cast): Ian Berlin/Henry Niepoetter
• Prince Chulalonghorn: Josiah Segui
• Adult Ensemble: Eunice Bae
• Adult Ensemble: David Gregory
• Adult Ensemble: Kimi Hugli
• Adult Ensemble: Brittany Jeffery
• Adult Ensemble: Kevin Kulp
• Adult Ensemble: Justine Moral
• Adult Ensemble: Jeffrey Wei
• Topsy (Double Cast): Kathryn Benson/Kylie Cooley
• The Royal Children(Double Cast): Lucy Gibbs/Nikki Wildy
• The Royal Children(Double Cast): Emma Pham/Haley Davis
• The Royal Children(Double Cast): Lia Ilagan/Dulci Pham
• The Royal Children(Double Cast): Nathaniel Levin/Justin Hong
• The Royal Children(Double Cast): Daniel Chin/Kyle Davis
• The Royal Children(Double Cast): Aidan Levin/Oliver Wang

The Creative Team

• Director: Mark Waldrop
• Choreographer: Tara Jeanne Vallee
• Musical Director: Jenny Cartney
• Scenic Designer: James Fouchard
• Costume Designer: Kendra Rai
• Lighting Designer: Dan Covey
• Sound Designer: Jeff Dorfman
• Dialect Consultant: Lynn Watson

Disclaimer: Olney Theatre Center provided two complimentary media tickets to ShowBizRadio for this review.

Many years ago, when I saw Cats for the first and only time, I remarked to my companion at the performance that while the stagecraft was fabulous, my idea of a great show was one that would knock my socks off played on a bare stage in street clothes. I saw such a show Sunday night. The Bedlam company, a four-person troupe from New York, presented a breathtaking version of Shaw’s Saint Joan at Olney Theatre’s black box. In repertory with Hamlet, Saint Joan runs through the end of October. If you value absolutely stunning, absorbing theater, do not miss the opportunity to see it.

The four actors — Andrus Nichols, who played Joan; and Ted Lewis, Tom O’Keefe, and Eric Tucker (also the director), who played everybody else — do the show on a bare stage, with only a few chairs, a table, and work lights as props. They wear street clothes for the most part — occasional headgear included motorcycle helmets and New York Giants and New York Yankees hats. Sometimes an actor would don a cape or glasses to denote a change from one character to another. The acting is so consistently fine that even these audience aids were hardly necessary. The cast delineates characters so clearly that there is no doubt who we are seeing and hearing at a particular time, even in a few scenes when the same character is traded back and forth between different actors. Above all, there is a sharp focus on the sound and meaning of Shaw’s words, brought brilliantly alive.

Shaw is often thought of a playwright who emphasizes wit, cleverness, intellectual repartee, playing with ideas, etc., sometimes to the detriment of creating fully realized emotional lives for his characters. There’s plenty of wit in Saint Joan (“God is on the side of the big battalions,” “[Miracles] may seem very wonderful to the people who witness them, and very simple to those who perform them”), but what makes this one of Shaw’s strongest plays is the deep passion of many of its characters.

Joan herself is almost wholly a creature of passion: other characters comment that she is a little in love with religion and war; she loves the idea of an as-yet unrealized French nation; she loves life itself, in all its details; she believes unquestioningly in the rightness of her cause. There is no intellectual mediation between her feelings and her decisions, no moment of second thoughts until almost her very end. Because of the purity, intensity, and certainty of her convictions and the force of her personality, she is almost the ideal type of Max Weber’s concept of the charismatic leader. Nichols makes the directness of the connection between Joan’s passions and her actions vibrantly clear. As other characters say of Joan, “there is something about the girl.” And there is equally something about Nichols’ portrayal.

Passion runs through many of the other key characters as well. Cauchon (O’Keefe) is wholeheartedly committed both to the Church and to justice, as he sees it. Warwick (Tucker) has a colder, Machiavellian passion to serve his country’s interests. DeStogumber (Lewis) has a blind hatred of anything not English. Dunois (Tucker) has an unshakeable commitment to pursuing military action the right way, even when at a terrible cost. Other memorable characterizations include the timorous Dauphin (Lewis) and the small role of an English soldier who did a kindness for Joan as she was about to be burned (O’Keefe). There are no uninteresting characterizations.

The company makes excellent use of what is, by black box standards, a generous playing space. While the group explicitly emphasizes words and storytelling, this is no radio play. There is very active, well-planned use of the entire space (including some areas outside the theater walls), and, when appropriate, rapidly paced movement. The last two scenes employ particularly striking staging. For Joan’s trial, she is seated alone on stage on a chair, brightly illuminated by two work lights placed on the floor. The other characters are out of sight, in the dark, firing questions from varied, ever-changing angles, evoking the terror of a suspect being interrogated by shadowy inquisitors as they press her to recant her heresies. Rouen as Guantanamo, perhaps (the epilogue also has fascinating similarities to the trial scene in The Crucible). In the epilogue, the actors are seated in the three seating sections, delivering their lines from amongst the spectators, drawing the audience into the play in a most direct way.

As one might expect for a show performed in this way, there is not a heavy technical component. A stagehand carries a couple cassette recorders to and fro for scene change music; place names appear on the walls opposite the center seating section. Before the show, the sound of distant church bells greets the audience, reflecting Joan’s love of their sound. The lighting is unobtrusively effective. But it is the actors who create the world of Saint Joan, and they do it magnificently. The play’s the thing, and what a thing they make of it.

Cast

• Eric Tucker (Dunois, Warwick, etc.)
• Andrus Nichols (Joan)
• Tom O’Keefe (Cauchon, Bluebeard, etc.)
• Ted Lewis (Dauphin, DeStogumber, etc.)

Staff

• Director and Bedlam Artistic Director: Eric Tucker
• Bedlam Producing Director: Andrus Nichols
• Stage Manager: Elizabeth A. Ribar
• Lighting Design: Marc Hurst
• Fight Coordinator: Trampis Thompson

Disclaimer: Olney Theatre Center provided two complimentary media tickets to ShowBizRadio for this review.

The Olney Theatre Center kicks off its 75th season with its breathtaking and mesmerizing production of Spring Awakening. Artistic director Steve Cosson leaves his audience members speechless and humming the tunes long after final curtain.

An award-winning rock musical based on the Frank Wedekind play, Spring Awakening follows the story of children going through adolescence without parental guidance during the late nineteenth-century. It focuses on the budding relationship between Wendla and Melchior, two children aware and curious of their bodily changes, and Moritz, a youth traumatized by his sexual desires. In the musical, the three students and their fellow adolescent friends express their confusion, longing, fears, and desires.

Olney’s design of Spring Awakening honors both the expressionist nature of Wedekind’s play and the modern and presentational elements of the musical adaptation. Adrian Jones’ set design is minimal and Robert Wierzel’s lighting design uses effects from a rock and roll concert as its primary source of inspiration. Together, the designers created a set that makes seamless scene transitions an easy feat. As the musical progresses, chairs move around the space and different lighting fixtures drop from the ceiling to indicate location changes. The production’s approach displays the designers’ flairs for presentation; they make no attempt to conceal the orchestra or various lighting instruments. Wierzel’s design consists of spotlights and a frame of fluorescent and multicolored lights, stretching around the proscenium’s edges. The overall design allows the production to straddle presentation and representation without any trace of forced effort. Ceiling lamps and lights emulating natural sunlight fill the stage during the book scenes, while bright and multicolored lights flash before the audience when the actors sing. Jones continues to astound the audience by adding a few scenic surprises in the second act.

In both the musical and the straight play, Spring Awakening‘s dialogue explores the differences between two generations. Indeed, Sarah Beers’ costume design explores that generational clash. The two adults — played by Liz Mamana and Ethan Watermeier — are dressed in Victorian and colorless clothing to match their equally draconian viewpoints. On the other extreme, the children wear flattering school uniforms with small flourishes of color. Along the same vein, Sam Pinkleton’s choreography for the children results in an overflow of sporadic energy, while the adults move mechanically and rarely dance at all. Thanks to Cosson’s staging and Pinkleton’s choreography, the production never had a static moment.

Even though Spring Awakening is emotionally charged and almost painfully immediate, the cast all played their roles with authenticity and professionalism. From the principals to the ensemble, each actor — for the most part — truthfully explored different phases of adolescence. The actors’ transitioned between the awkwardly childish lines and the beautifully poetic lyrics almost effortlessly. Alyse Alan Louise was delightful as Wendla, particularly during her renditions of “Mama Who Bore Me” and “Whispering.” She captured Wendla’s sense of wonder and curiosity, gleefully joining her classmates in song with unbridled longing. Matthew Kacergis’ Melchoir was equally impressive; he approached the character with a balanced sense of rebellion, stoicism, and exuberance. Kacergis’ interactions with Louise were mesmerizing, their shared energy and tentativeness was nothing short of electrifying.

Special congratulations go to Parker Drown and Maggie Donnelly for their performances of Moritz and Ilse, respectively. Drown’s performance of the tragic hero was beautifully executed. Timid and vulnerable during his scenes, Drown let loose during his private moments, attempting to confront his feelings with precision and eloquence. His performance of “I Don’t Do Sadness” left the audience heartbroken and slack-jawed. Donnelly’s take on Ilse was a true delight. As the infamous bohemian, unaware of the immediate danger of her lifestyle, Donnelly’s timing was impeccable and she approached the role with tragicomic sophistication. Mamana and Watermeier also deserve recognition: they transitioned between adult characters with great distinction and without difficulty. Indeed, most of the production’s humor came from Mamana’s and Watermeier’s interpretations of the mechanical and tightly wound German adults.

My only criticism of the production concerns the scene with Hanschen and Ernst — played by Austin VanDyke Colby and David Landstrom, respectively — in the second act. During their homosexual encounter, the two characters act with honesty, fear, and excitement. Instead, Lanstrom slightly glosses over his character’s fear, embracing a more giddy and stereotypical interpretation. The scene therefore came across as somewhat campy, implying that their relationship was nothing more than a humorous commodity. In light of everything else, however, this scene did not diminish the production’s overall success.

The Olney Theatre Center’s production of Spring Awakening is simultaneously charming and mortifying. It would be a mistake to miss out on this experience, as almost everything about it is flawlessly executed and truthfully explored.

Dramaturg Notes

In the opening scene of Spring Awakening, the rock-music reimagining of Frank Wedekind’s 1891 play, a teenage girl asks her mother how babies are born. Conditioned by a culture that uses shame, disguised as morality, to repress its people, the mother does not answer the question. These moments of silence and misinformation fuel the tragic events that follow. Fast forward more than a century to contemporary America, and adults and teens are still not talking about sex – at least not as openly, honestly, or as effectively as we could be.

Both the play and the musical address issues of their times — teen sex, suicide, child abuse, abortion, and the general difficulties confronting adolescents in an adult-controlled world. In a world that does not discuss sexuality, the children of Spring Awakening are left to their own resources of investigation. The boys and girls experiment with autoeroticism, homosexuality, and even sado-masochism. Wedekind considered this experimentation a natural stage in the development of human sexuality. What he saw as unnatural (and what he criticizes in this work) is a society, represented by parents and teachers, which avoids the discussion of sexuality. Wedekind saw this censored speech as the true perversion of bourgeois society in that it instilled anxiety and ignorance in children.

Frank Wedekind anticipated in his attack on bourgeois society the modern drama of revolt. Here was a man with no inhibitions, critical of middle class values, and willing to push moral, political, and social boundaries. In the microcosm of Spring Awakening, Wedekind presents parents and school authorities as automata, incapable of human feeling. The adults speak in pompous, meaning clichés, while the young people express their feelings with an awkward honesty.

Spring Awakening is beyond sex and controversial issues. It’s about the circulation of knowledge — how information, beliefs, and ideas are produced, exchanged, and, most importantly, questioned. Sheik and Sater blend rock music, contemporary slang, and poetry to remind teenagers and adults alike of the chaos, within and without, which is adolescence.

In a time when schools across the nation are weighing the value of abstinence-only sex-education programs, or fretting over whether or not to allow the distribution of condoms, Spring Awakening makes a passionate and deeply moving argument in favor of open discussion and the sharing of information. Although parents may instinctively want to protect their kids from the harsh realities of the adult world, the play firmly insists that when dealing with sexuality, ignorance will definitely not lead to bliss.

– Meghan Twible, Educational Fellow

Photo Gallery

Wendla’s Mother (Liz Mamana) explains, in her way, where babies come from to Wendla (Alyse Alan Louis)	Melchior (Matthew Kacergis) stands up for Moritz (Parker Drown)
Melchior (Matthew Kacergis) and Wendla (Alyse Alan Louis) share a moment	Liz Mamana and Ethan Watermeier portray all the adult roles
The cast	Melchior (Matthew Kacergis) is prosecuted by his teachers (Liz Mamana and Ethan Watermeier)
Melchior (Matthew Kacergis) and the cast	The cast

Photos by Stan Barouh

Cast

• Wendla: Alyse Alan Louis
• Ilse: Maggie Donnelly
• Martha: MaryLee Adams
• Anna: Dayna Marie Quincy
• Thea: Gracie Jones
• Melchior: Matthew Kacergis
• Moritz: Parker Drown
• Hanschen: Austin VanDyke Colby
• Ernst: David Landstrom
• Georg: Chris Rudy
• Otto: Chistopher Mueller
• The Adult Men: Ethan Watermeier
• The Adult Women: Liz Mamana
• Ensemble: Samuel Edgerly, Ali Hoxie, Katie McCreary, Tim Rogan

Understudies

• Melchior: Austin VanDyke Colby
• Moritz: David Landstrom
• Hanschen, Ernst: Tim Rogan
• Georg, Otto: Samuel Edgerly
• Wendla, Martha: Ali Hoxie
• Ilse, Anna, Thea: Katie McCreary

Production Staff

• Director: Steve Cosson
• Acting Technical Director: Charlie Olson
• Choreographer: Sam Pinkleton
• Musical Director: Christopher Youstra
• Costume Designer: Sarah Beers
• Set Design: Adrian W. Jones
• Sound Design: Will Picken
• Lighting Designer: Robert Wierzel
• Fight Choreographer: Casey Kaleba
• Production Stage Manager: Renee E. Yancey
• Dance Captain: MaryLee Adams
• Production Director: Dennis A. Blackledge
• Company Manager: Mackenzie Douglas
• Costume Shop Manager: Jeanne Bland

Orchestra

• Conductor, Keyboard, Accordion: Christopher Youstra
• Violin and Electric Violin: Patricia Wnek
• Viola: Andrea Vercoe
• Cello: Catherine Mikelson
• Acoustic and Electric Guitars: Kim Spath
• Acoustic and Electric Bass: Frank Higgins
• Percussion: Alex Aucoin
• Additional Guitar: Sam Edgerly & Katie McCreary
• Additional Orchestrations and Programming: Christopher Youstra

Disclaimer: Olney Theatre Center provided two complimentary media tickets to ShowBizRadio for this review.

Olney Theatre Center is pleased to announce Jason Loewith as its new Artistic Director. Mr. Loewith began his tenure on February 4, 2013. He comes to Olney Theatre Center from his current position as Executive Director of the National New Play Network.

“I’m so fortunate to have found Olney Theatre Center at this moment, just days away from opening its 75th anniversary season,” says Mr. Loewith. “This is an organization with deep challenges and deeper potential. With the help of the DC theater community I’ve come to love, with the passion and talent of the Olney Theatre Center staff, and with the wisdom and commitment of Managing Director Amy Marshall, all we can do is succeed. That’s going to pay benefits for the community around us, Montgomery County, and the DC-Baltimore arts corridor.”

Mr. Loewith has made theater as a producer, director, playwright and dramaturg in Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, and now Washington, DC. As a playwright, he won Lucille Lortel, Outer Critics Circle, and Jeff Awards for Best New Musical for Adding Machine: A Musical, which he co-wrote with composer Joshua Schmidt. He produced the world premiere at Chicago’s Next Theatre Company (Next) in 2007, where he served as Artistic Director from 2002-2008. That production went on to a six-month run Off-Broadway in 2008, winning four OBIE Awards for direction, design and performance. Mr. Loewith directed a dozen regional and world premieres at Next, where his programming twice received the After Dark Award for Outstanding Season (03-04 and 05-06), and work that he directed or produced won multiple Jeff, After Dark, and Black Theatre Alliance Awards and received critical accolades from Chicagoland’s major media outlets.

Since moving to Washington in 2009, Mr. Loewith has directed new plays for Atlanta’s Alliance Theatre, DC’s Studio Theatre, and Baltimore’s Everyman and CENTERSTAGE, where he also served as Associate Producer for Special Programs. During that time, Mr. Loewith served as Executive Director of the National New Play Network (NNPN), the country’s alliance of theaters that champions the development, production, and continued life of new plays. With NNPN he supervised dozens of Rolling World Premieres across the country by writers like Luis Alfaro, Steven Dietz, Quiara Hudes, and Theresa Rebeck. In his four years at the helm, NNPN added new programs and expanded old ones, garnering major new funding from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and the Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust.

Earlier in his career Mr. Loewith served for two years as Artistic Administrator for Chicago’s Court Theatre, five years as General Manager (and frequent dramaturg) at off-Broadway’s Classic Stage Company, worked in the literary departments of the Mark Taper Forum and the Public, and nearly lost his marbles mounting fifty productions in three years as Production Manager at the Odyssey Theatre in LA. His work has been supported multiple times with NEA grants for Artistic Excellence, as well as the Rockefeller/MAP Fund and MacArthur’s International Connections Fund. Mr. Loewith was a Theatre Communications Group (TCG) New Generations mentorship grantee in the first year of the program. His book “The Director’s Voice, Volume 2” was published by TCG in 2012.

“I am thrilled to have Jason join us in this monumental year at Olney Theatre Center. I am excited about all he brings to the Theatre and look forward to working with him as we move into a new chapter at Olney Theatre Center,” says Amy Marshall, Olney Theatre Center Managing Director.

Little Shop of Horrors is a musical with book and lyrics by Howard Ashman and music by Alan Menken. A flower shop on Skid Row is about to close for good when store clerk Seymour produces his strange and mysterious plant that he received during the last solar eclipse. The strange and interesting plant sets off a chain of events which ultimately lead to total world domination! This sci-fi comedy takes place with some great music.

Certain shows seem to be done to death (pardon the pun), and Little Shop of Horrors is certainly on that list. But we were able to take our twelve-year-old nephew to the show, and it was fun to hear his reactions to the amazing things happening in front of us, things that unfortunately we take for granted since the surprise is long gone for us. A plant that has a mind of its own? A plant that grows significantly larger in each scene? An actor playing three different characters in one scene, with very different costumes? A plant that can talk, sing, and chase the girls? Adults doing silly dances? Our nephew had a grand time, all of his expectations were met and exceeded by Olney’s Little Shop of Horrors.

Audrey played by Carolyn Agan was sweet as she portrayed the good girl dating the extremely wrong boy, but thinking she did not deserve any better. She had a strong voice which she really poured out in the song “Suddenly Seymour” in Act 2. Agan and James Gardiner (Seymour) started out their relationship somewhat awkwardly. Gardiner did have some great facial expressions throughout the evening. Gardiner made us feel his guilt over the decisions he made. Their awkward relationship was not helped by his guilt over having to make human sacrifices to a flesh-eating plant and Audrey’s confusion and sorrow over losing her boyfriend, sadist though he was. Ethan Watermeier played a convincing florist shop owner Mr. Mushnik. There was conviction in his movements and heart as he tried to counsel his two employees Audrey and Seymour. Bobby Smith as Orin (and others) gave a sensational performance. From the beginning he was funny and had a truly addictive personality.

Chiffon (Kara-Tameika Watkins), Crystal (Shaunte Tabb) and Ronnette (Leayne C. Freeman) made a solid trio as the do-wop girls for the story. Each had their own personality and the energy they put not only into the choreography, but their interactions with the rest of the cast. They were concerned for Audrey, willing to run errands for Mushnik, supportive of Seymour, and ready to take out Orin.

And lastly the Audrey II. What to say, what to say…DON’T FEED THE PLANT!!! Puppeteers Eric Brooks and Elliott Davis worked very hard as did the voice of Audrey II Stephawn Stephens to make the plants, both little and big seem to take on a personality all their own. And they were successful at making the puppet a unique character, made up of much more than the puppet.

Set Designer James Fouchard made good use of the Olney space which began as a street on Skid Row, but then grew as the thirst for blood from the Audrey II also grew. The set rotations were smooth. As a whole only some minor sound and lighting glitches were observed. Occasionally the actors could not find their light quickly enough so were in shadows when on stage. Yet these minor things did not detract from a truly fun, well-performed opening night production. An extremely responsive audience helped to keep the energy and excitement alive.

From the Director

The night I saw the original production of Little Shop of Horrors was one of the great theater-going nights of my life-and not just because it combined two of my favorite entertainment genres, musical comedy and B-movie horror. The performances were great and Alan Menken’s tunes were catchy and period-perfect. But, for me, the hero of the evening was Howard Ashman, Little Shop Lyricist, librettist, and original director. His wit and craft radiated through every aspect of his work and elevated the cheesy source material in a spectacular way. (When you hear “Shang-a-Lang” rhymed with “Sturm and drang” in the opening number, you know you’re in the hands of a seriously smart and playful lyricist.) Perhaps Ashman’s most amazing achievement in Little Shop is how very funny and frightening and genuinely heartbreaking it can be – sometimes all at once. It’s my goal to give audiences her at Olney Center a production that captures the spirit of the show I fell in love with and delivers on all of its levels. I hope you enjoy it.

Mark Waldrop, Director

Photo Gallery

Ronnettes	James Gardiner (Seymour)
Carolyn Agan (Audrey)	James Gardiner (Seymour)
It’s a tale of two Audreys as Seymour must choose between his plant and his girl	Bobby Smith (Orin) and James Gardiner (Seymour)

Photos by Stan Barouh

Cast

• Chiffon: Kara-Tameika Warkins
• Crystal: Shaunte Tabb
• Ronnette: Leayne C. Freeman
• Mushnik: Ethan Watermeier
• Audrey: Carolyn Agan
• Seymour: James Gardiner
• The Voice of Audrey II, Derelict: Stephawn Stephens
• Orin, Bernstein, Luce, Snip, and Everyone Else: Bobby Smith
• Ensemble: Tina Ghandchilar, Matthew Schleigh, Russell Sunday

Understudies

• For all female roles: Tina Ghandchilar
• Mushnik and for the Voice of Audrey II: Russell Sunday
• For Seymour and Orin: Matthew Schleigh
• Dance Captain: Kara-Tameika Watkins

Design/Crew

• Set Design: James Fouchard
• Costume Design: David Kaley
• Lighting Design: Charlie Morrison
• Sound Design: Jeffrey Dorfman
• Production Stage Manager: Renee E. Yancey
• Puppeteers: Eric Brooks & Elliott Davis
• Wig Design: Rob Greene & J. Jared Janas
• Production Manager: Renee E. Yancey
• Technical Director: Eric Knauss
• Company Manager: MacKenzie Douglas
• Costume Shop Manager: Jeanne Bland
• Musical Director/Conductor: Ross Scott Rawlings
• Director: Mark Waldrop
• Choreographer: Vince Pesce
• Artistic Director: Martin Platt

Orchestra

• Conductor: Ross Scott Rawlings
• Keyboard I: Ross Scott Rawlings
• Keyboard II: Aaron Broderick
• Guitar: Will Brumbach, Greg Land
• Bass: Frank Higgins
• Drums: Tom Harold

Disclaimer: Olney Theatre Center provided three complimentary media tickets to ShowBizRadio for this review.

Anthony Shaffer’s Sleuth is one seemingly long walky, talky exercise in gamesmanship that requires top-notch actors to be effective as good old-fashioned entertainment for everyone. A canny reflection of England in the late 1960’s, early 1970’s, Sleuth is illustrative of the ruling classes’ financial squeeze at the hands of the Labour Government and its social assistance policies dating back to the end of WWII. When Andrew Wyke reminds Milo Tindle that in England property is more important than people, he is lamenting a bygone era when the one percenters skimmed all of the benefits of English society while everyone else worked to the swells’ benefit.

In the hands of Olney Theatre’s Jim Petosa Sleuth smartly reflects that era with contemporaneous musical and stylistic references to James Bond, A Clockwork Orange and 2001: A Space Odyssey. The set is a modern ode to Blenheim Palace and a Georgian sensibility in the Manor House whose squire is Andrew Wyke (Bob Ari), the famous crime detective novelist. Wyke is rich, famous and suffers an unsatisfied craving for something even he can’t name but in which he idly indulges himself because he can. Ari is suitably spoiled and affective as a man with too much time, but not enough money anymore, on his hands. The stockily built Ari is graceful and quick on his feet as he gets increasingly manic as the story advances, but he never electrifies even with his consummate elegance. He lives life as one of his crime detective novels and in his head swirls Strauss’ “Blue Danube Waltz” and Beethoven’s “Pathetique” as he watches his own life from without.

Wyke is interviewing his apparent successor in his wife, Marguerite’s, affections, Milo Tindle (Jeffries Thaiss). In Wyke’s limited social custom, the aspirational Tindle is of insufficient caliber to assume the place of Wyke as his wife’s paramour, being both Jewish and Italian; not to mention his being a somewhat financially challenged tradesman…a travel agent…never appropriate in the constrained societal views of the bourgeoisie. Tindle is effete, greedy, naïve and, best of all, corruptible, as Wyke ensnares him in a plan to defraud both the Inland Revenue and the insurance company by having Milo steal the family jewels.

Thaiss skillfully progresses from naïve to cynical player in Wyke’s literary and fanciful games. He learns to play Wyke as Wyke has played him and he reaps the results in the tragic dénouement. What he does not expect is for Wyke to develop a playful and devilish crush on him because he turns out to be a satisfying playmate in Wyke’s capricious crime games. That is Tindle’s own fault and Thaiss is up to the challenge of developing Tindle into the ultimate gamesman. That he achieves ultimate destruction makes this play a comic and ironic tragedy for both men.

Petosa clearly had a vision of how he wanted his Sleuth to look and sound and he succeeded in presenting a solid, stylish and smart mystery play. The technical direction (Eric Knauss) is immaculate with gunshots, dynamite (Jeffrey Dorfman) and a floor that opens up in places to reveal a safe and costume closet. The bright, white lighting (Daniel MacLean Wagner) lends an opulence to the overall ambience and the scenic design (Cristina Todesco) reflects Wyke’s own exalted opinion of himself. Nicole V. Moody’s costumes amplify the well fed Wyke’s inflated sense of polish and Tindle’s ambitions to wealth.

Olney Theatre Center’s Sleuth is worth the schlep out there. The theatre is comfortable and the production values are superb even for those of us for whom the ending is known and the spoilers non-existent.

Director’s Note

Anthony Shaffer’s playful text for Sleuth can be a game that one can choose to play on many levels of proficiency.

Along with the actors and the design team and all artisans involved in creating the production, I have also welcomed two other minds (albeit from the beyond!) to join us.

Some of their words follow:

“There are no other distinctions between what is real and what is unreal, nor between what is true and what is false. A thing is not necessarily either true or false; it can be both true and false.” -Harold Pinter

“You sit at the board and suddenly your heart leaps. Your hand tremble to pick up the piece and move it. But what chess teaches you is that you must sit there calmly and think about whether it’s really a good idea and whether there are other, better ideas.” -Stanley Kubrick

Your move……ENJOY!

Jim Petosa

Photo Gallery

Bob Ari as Andrew Wyke	Jeffries Thaiss as Milo Tindle
Bob Ari and Jeffries Thaiss	Bob Ari and Jeffries Thaiss
Jeffries Thaiss and Bob Ari	Jeffries Thaiss and Bob Ari

Photos by Stan Barouh

Cast

• Andrew Wyke: Bob Ari
• Milo Tindle: Jeffries Thaiss
• Inspector Doppler: Seth Fisher
• Detective Sergeant Tarrant: Ryan Hirsch
• Police Constable Higgs: James Tiller

Production Staff

• Director: Jim Petosa
• Production Stage Manager: Josiane M. Lemieux
• Technical Director: Eric Knauss
• Scenic Designer: Cristina Todesco
• Lighting Design: Daniel MacLean Wagner
• Sound Design: Jeffrey Dorfman
• Fight Choreographer: Casey Kaleba
• Costume Design: Nicole V. Moody

Disclaimer: Olney Theatre Center provided two complimentary media tickets to ShowBizRadio for this review.

• Spring Awakening
  The Tony Award Winning Musical
  Music by Duncan Sheik/ Book and Lyrics Steven Sater
  February 7 – March 3, 2013 on the Mainstage

  Winner of eight Tony Awards, including Best Musical, Spring Awakening explores the journey from adolescence to adulthood with poignancy and passion you will never forget. Entertainment Weekly called the music in this show “the most gorgeous Broadway score this decade.”

• Neville’s Island, A Comedy in Thick Fog
  by Tim Firth / Directed by Martin Platt
  April 4 – 28, 2013 on the Mainstage

  Follow four out-of-shape, middle-aged businessmen who, instead of completing a simple team building exercise in England’s bucolic Lake District, succeed in being the first people ever to get shipwrecked on a tiny island in this tourist paradise. Neville’s Island…where The Office meets Lord of the Flies.

• The Submission
  by Jeff Talbott / Directed by David Elliott
  The 2012 Outer Critics Circle John Gassner Award Winner/DC Area Premiere
  May 9 – June 2, 2013 in the Mulitz-Gudelsky Theatre Lab

  Shaleeha G’ntamobi’s stirring new play about an alcoholic black mother and her card sharp son trying to get out of the Projects has just been accepted into the nation’s preeminent theater festival. Trouble is, Shaleeha G’ntamobi doesn’t exist, except in the imagination of wannabe white playwright Danny, who created her as a kind of affirmative-action nom-de-plume. Winner of the 2012 Outer Critics Circle John Gassner Award and the 2011 Laurents/Hatcher Award, The New York Times calls The Submission “a perky tale of racial pride and prejudice in the theatre.”

• Angel Street (‘Gaslight’)
  by Patrick Hamilton / Directed By John Going
  June 20 – July 14, 2013 on the Historic Stage

  This Victorian thriller focuses on a seemingly normal couple, the Manninghams. Is the handsome Jack Manningham a caring husband – or is he discreetly trying to drive his young wife Bella into insanity under the guise of kindness. It takes an extraordinarily dedicated Scotland Yard detective, the aptly named Inspector Rough, to unravel this delightfully twisted thriller. This is the first in an annual series of Olney Theatre Center Heritage Productions. Angel Street last thrilled audiences at Olney Theatre Center in 1950.

• Carnival!
  Book by Michael Stewart / Music & Lyrics by Bob Merrill / Directed By Martin Platt
  August 1 – 26, 2013 on the Mainstage

  Based on the ever-popular 1953 film Lili and featuring the hit song ‘Love Makes The World Go Round,’ Carnival! tells the story of a lonely orphan girl who literally runs away to join the circus – The Grande Imperial Cirque de Paris – which is in actuality a rather flea-bitten travelling troupe. There are magicians, trapezes, puppets, and romance in Carnival! – and all wrapped in some of the most wonderful Broadway music of all time. Variety calls Carnival! “a gem.”

• Olney Theatre Center presents BEDLAM (Theatre Company)
  In rotating Repertory
  Saint Joan
  by George Bernard Shaw
  Hamlet
  by William Shakespeare

  Directed by Eric Tucker
  September 4 – October 13 in the Mulitz-Gudelsky Theatre Lab

  In the Autumn, just as the leaves are turning, New York’s critically acclaimed BEDLAM Theatre brings you two great classics as you’ve never seen them before. Four actors (count them – four) bring Shakespeare and Shaw to vivid life, up close and personal. Be sure to wear comfortable shoes!

  The Wall Street Journal’s Terry Teachout called BEDLAM’s production of Saint Joan “an unforgettable show …The most exciting George Bernard Shaw revival I’ve ever seen, bar none.” The Providence Journal called BEDLAM’s Hamlet “…a remarkable Hamlet – raw, vital, intense theatre, a production for all its quirkiness, is not to be missed. Tucker leads his band of players get to the heart of this great play.”

• Tartuffe, or The Hypocrite
  by Molière / Translated By Richard Wilbur / Directed by Martin Platt
  September 26 – October 20, 2013 on the Mainstage

  “Oh, I may be devout – but I am human all the same …” Set in Modern Paris, Molière’s always relevant classic comedy Tartuffe, about a religious hypocrite and the home he invades, gets a vibrant makeover, and a Euro-pop score. The New York Times calls Tartuffe “Moliere’s hilarious raillery against religious fanatics, hypocrisy and sex.” Molière once said, “It is a strange enterprise to make respectable people laugh.”

• Once Upon a Mattress
  Music by Mary Rodgers / Lyrics by Marshall Barer
  Book by Jay Thompson, Dean Fuller, & Marshall Barer
  November 14 – December 29 on the Mainstage

  The musical comedy that made Carol Burnett a star remains one of the great Broadway family shows of all time. If you thought you knew the story of The Princess and the Pea, you may be in for a walloping surprise! Carried on a wave of beguiling songs (by the daughter of Richard Rodgers and mom of Light in the Piazza‘s composer Adam Guettel), a shy prince, a hen-pecked King, a Wicked Queen and a one-of-a-kind Princess lead a cast of characters that will ensure that you’ll never look at fairy tales quite the same way again. A great show for the entire family during the Holiday Season.

The planned schedule, shows and artists are subject to change.

OTC released this press release:

Olney Theatre Center is pleased to announce Martin Platt as their new Artistic Director. Mr. Platt began his tenure on May 28, 2012. He comes to Olney Theatre Center from his current position as Co-Director of Perry Street Theatricals (PST), a New York based producing company.

“I am thrilled to be joining the Olney Theatre Center, and with the trust that the Board has put in me. There are great challenges and even greater opportunities in what we can accomplish in expanding and enriching Olney Theatre Center’s programming, and making Olney Theatre Center a true performing arts Center in Montgomery County, with a great producing theatre company at its core,” says Mr. Platt.

Mr. Platt is a native of Beverly Hills, California and attended Carnegie-Mellon University (CMU). After graduating from CMU, Mr. Platt founded the Alabama Shakespeare Festival (ASF), where he served as Artistic Director for eighteen years. During his tenure at ASF, Mr. Platt directed more than 65 productions, as well as instituting an MFA program in partnership with the University of Alabama, and opening the ASF theatre complex in Montgomery, Alabama in 1985. Some of Mr. Platt’s productions at ASF included Rostand’s Cyrano de Bergerac, Chekov’s Uncle Vanya, Ibsen’s Hedda Gabler, Shaw’s Pygmalion and Arms and the Man, Wilde’s Importance of Being Earnest, Stoppard’s Rough Crossing and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, as well as productions of 23 of Shakespeare’s plays.

After leaving ASF, Mr. Platt served two years as General Director of Birmingham Opera Theatre, where he directed productions of Puccini’s Tosca and Mozart’s Abduction from the Seraglio. His other opera work has included productions of Daughter of the Regiment, La Traviata, the US premiere of Verdi’s Stiffelio, and the Bizet/Constant/Brook La Tragedie de Carmen.

Mr. Platt later served as Artistic Director of the New Mexico Repertory Theatre and founded Santa Fe Stages, an international performance festival in Santa Fe. Productions during this period included William’s The Glass Menagerie, Ayckbourn’s Woman in Mind, Maurine Watkins’ Chicago, and John Wayne Never Slept Here.

In London Mr. Platt has directed The Free State by and starring Janet Suzman, Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill, and Miss Evers’ Boys. In Spain he directed El Flameco es Vida and Don Juan Flamenco for the Bienale de Flamenco in Sevilla. In Vienna he has directed John Patrick Shanley’s Doubt and Donald Marguiles’ Time Stands Still.

Mr. Platt has also directed at many of America’s leading regional theatres, including The Huntington Theatre Company (Boston), Cincinnati Playhouse, Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, Pioneer Theatre Company (Salt Lake City), Asolo Theatre (Sarasota), Merrimack Repertory Theatre (Lowell), Playmakers Repertory Theatre (Chapel Hill) and Meadowbrook Theatre (Detroit).

His regional productions have included Henry IV, Part One; Twelve Angry Men; Old Wicked Songs; Cabaret Verboten; A Midsummer Night’s Dream; True West; and To Kill a Mockingbird.

In New York he has directed D.H. Lawrence’s The Daughter in Law, Tolstoy’s The Power of Darkness, Sallie Bingham’s Treason, and Jon Marans’ musical, The Irrationals, among other productions.

As a producer, his work has included the five year international tour of the South African dance show Gumboots; West End productions of Nixon’s Nixon, A Woman in Waiting, in addition to last year’s Olivier nominated Lend Me a Tenor the Musical; New York productions include Here Lies Jenny with Bebe Neuwirth; the Obie and Drama Desk-winning productions of In The Continuum and An Oak Tree; as well as the National Theatre Guild of Uganda’s Mother Courage at the Kennedy Center.

Mr. Platt was selected after a nation-wide search which began Fall 2011. Spearheading the search as an advisor to the Search Committee was David Mallette, from Management Consultants for the Arts. Olney Theatre Center Board of Directors member Halo Wines served as Chair of the Search Committee and worked countless hours to ensure Olney Theatre Center found the ideal person to fill this position.

“I couldn’t be happier that Martin has agreed to be a part of Olney Theatre Center. His passion, experience and vision are exactly what we need at this time,” says Amy Marshall, Olney Theatre Center Managing Director.

The 39 Steps is an homage to many of Alfred Hitchcock’s famous movies. But unlike the intense dramatic thrillers of Hitchcock that leave people on the edge of their seats, this stage adaptation turns out to be a farce, full of humor and great expressions by the talented cast of four. The audience on Sunday was a little slow (but had no trouble talking loudly to each other), but once they caught on they laughed along gladly.

The only actor to play only one character throughout the evening was Jeffries Thaiss as falsely accused murderer Richard Hannay. Thaiss had the calm English attitude all through the evening and never seemed to get ruffled, except when he comes across a beautiful woman. Then his eyebrow goes up a notch. The other three actors (Susan Lynskey, Jason Lott and Evan Casey) played a myriad of roles that included a victim, a Scottish couple, several police detectives-turned spies and a slew of others. This included not only changing into a new character, but also changing clothes. This they did with speed and dedication, including several scenes where they changed into other characters in the middle of a conversation, ending up playing each other!

The set for The 39 Steps was simple, yet incredibly creative. Scenic Designer Cristine Todesco took the lab theatre space and created many locales, including a moving train, a house, an inn and an alley. A few scenes used projections by Designer JJ Kaczynski. Actors Jason Lott and Evan Casey made the chase scene on the outside of the train great not only with their acting, but athleticism needed to hang on to a moving ladder while the “train” moved along. It was an excellent scene! Another great use of selling the action with limited space was the “plane scene” from North By Northwest. One man was the pilot while the other held hats out front like steering wheels and managed to fight each other while trying to fly the plane. This was an extremely humorous scene which again involved great timing and expressions by the cast to really sell the moment.

The 39 Steps was an engaging farce played well. Don’t go into this trying to figure out who the spy is, go into this expecting to have a great time.

Notes

In the stage adaptation of The 39 Steps, we see this selfsame world as in the original “thriller” novel: a man on the run from wrongful accusations of murder, charming spies lurking in the Scottish countryside, and suspense around every corner. However, playwright Patrick Barlow executes the world of the “thriller” genre in a completely opposite direction of Alfred Hitchcock’s 1935 film adaptation. He creates through farce.

While doing complete artistic justice to both Buchan’s original work and Hitchcock’s film, Barlow’s farcical take on the material provides us with a true homage to the theater. Not the contemporary theatre of spectacle we see today with massive moving sets and superheroes flying above the audience on wires. He pays tribute to our sentimental vision of the theater by creating so much with so little. Barlow does this by celebrating the artifice of the theatre and theatricality. We suspend our disbelief when watching theater as an audience, but farce takes this experience another step further: it draws our attention to the skillful exploitation f a situation, making the highly improbable completely plausible on stage.

The play itself exists within a very civilized world of proper English mannerisms and cultured charms, the very thin “veneer of civilization” that Deborah Buchan mentions. But instead of revealing the shadowy underworld of pre-war espionage as the book and movie do, the play shows that within the context of the theater, this story is ripe for farce and satire.

-Michael R. Kelly, Education Associate

Photo Gallery

Who does one trust when spies are all around? Jeffries Thaiss and Susan Lynskey.	Jeffries Thaiss, Susan Lynskey, Evan Casey & Jason Lott portray over 150 characters
Jason Lott & Evan Casey portray over 100 characters while chasing in their pursuit of Richard Hannay (Jeffries Thaiss)	No one is safe
A kiss can mean many things in Hitchcock’s suspenseful farce	Like any relationship in a Hitchcock thriller, Richard Hannay (Jeffries Thaiss) and Anabella (Susan Lynskey) and must overcome murder, betrayal and mayhem
Jason Lott charms his way with his feminine wiles as he hounds and hunts Richard Hannay (Jeffries Thaiss) and Anabella (Susan Lynskey)

Photos by Stan Barouh

Cast

• Richard Hanney: Jeffries Thaiss
• Annabella Schmidt/Pamela/Margaret: Susan Lynskey
• Clown 1: Jason Lott
• Clown 2: Evan Casey

Staff

• Scenic Designer: Cristina Todesco
• Costume Designer: Pei Lee
• Lighting Designer: Nicolas Houfek
• Production Stage Manager: Renee E. Yancey
• Sound Designer: Alex Neumann
• Projections Designer: JJ Kaczynski
• Production Manager: Renee E. Yancey
• Technical Director: Eric Knauss
• Company Manager: Mackenzie Douglas
• Costume Shop Manager: Jeanne Bland
• Associate Artistic Director and Director: Clay Hopper
• Artistic Director: Jim Petosa
• Managing Director: Amy Marshall

Disclaimer: Olney Theatre Center provided two complimentary media tickets to ShowBizRadio for this review.

This is the basic story of the fairy tale “Little Red Riding Hood,” but told with a twist. The story starts with a girl who loves to read. A lot. She loves to tell her friends all about the stories she has read and lots of interesting facts. Her friends enjoy this up to a point. Then they go play and leave the girl alone with her imagination. The three person cast brings to life not only a tale of a hungry wolf and a loud grandmother, but also a little girl who wants to learn about a world of imagination.

Millie/Red Riding Hood was played this Saturday by Ashleigh Millett, the show’s director. Strong over the top emotions that are aimed at a young audience she tells of her brilliant smartness that is superior to everyone else’s. Her big glasses and back pack were a fun addition to her character. She came across as honest and sincere as well as fun and full of energy. Millie’s mother, Amy, Red’s Mother, and Grandmother were played by Chelsie Lloyd. Lloyd was able to make her four different characters unique, moving from the loving, but somewhat stern mother to Millie’s innocent best friend to the kindly grandmother and Red’s mother. Lloyd was able to bring something slightly different to each character, be it a walk, talk, or mannerism that kept the audience engaged throughout the afternoon.

The final member of the trio was the Wolf, Dewey, Mr. Randolph played well by Jared Mason Murray. He too was able to make each character unique. Murray even tried to engage in some audience participation, which was met with some hesitancy, but allowed the kids in the audience to feel a part of the play. As the teacher Mr. Randolph he kept his German accent which made his character much more fun, although I’d guess the characterization may have gone over the heads of the younger audience members.

The set for Red Riding Hood was awesome! Scenic Designer Kristin Browning Campbell used tons of books (donated from the community) to decorate the stage and walls. Some books were cut up and strewn around the stage to show Millie’s travels from reality to fairy tale. There was a big tree with cut out and glued pages on stage. The backdrop was also made of cut out pages, creating a wonderful mosaic of stories. The playing area was quite large so all three actors could move quite easily. The costumes were bright, with a nicely textured red cloak for Millie to wear. The lighting, sound, and music were well done.

The show lasted just under an hour, a perfect length for young attention spans. It was engaging and colorful.

Director’s Notes

Fairy tales are timeless. We grew up with them; as did our grandparents. We learn from them, things like morals, responsibility, communication and independence. The brothers Grimm brought us such familiar fables and stories like Cinderella, Hansel and Gretel, and Sleeping Beauty.

While traditionally all of these stories have much darker endings than we are accustomed to, over time we have adjusted them to fit into culturally acceptable forms as we know them now. They always have the same formula. A youth embarks on a journey of independence and self discovery and along the way our hero meets the evil influence that will challenge them to test their skills and reconsider their principles.

The tale of Red Riding Hood is one of these iconic fables we grew up with, but to bring Red into the modern world, we have put more relatable and current challenges in her path. Our version of Red (Millie) is shy, bookish, and struggles to connect with the world around her. She hides from the world by taking comfort in the knowledge of books. The way they feel, the way they smell, the way they can teach her things about life and bring her closer to the things she admires about adventures.

When Millie is assigned a project that takes her out of her familiar world on nonfiction and into a world of fantasy, she meets the traditional storytelling. Throughout the story, she is challenged to use these elements to navigate her way to the conclusion. Millie/Red weaves in and out of fantasy and reality, linked by the pages of the stories we grew up with.

The innocence of Millie and the way she embraces the difference in the two worlds should help remind us all that there is more to life than what is directly in front of us. Sometimes, the best thing to do is let loose, play a game with your kids, roll in the grass, walk off the path out of the pages and into some imagination!

Enjoy,

Ashleigh Millett, Director

Photo Gallery

When fiction turns to reality, how will Millie (Dorea Schmidt) face her darkest fears?	Dorea Schmidt as Millie/Red & Chelsie Lloyd as Amy/Mom/Grandma
Jared Mason Murray wolfishly charms his way into Red’s (played by Dorea Schmidt) off-beaten path for a tasty little treat.	Beware when stopping to smell the flowers. You never know when a wolf might be watching.
It’s Grandma vs. Wolf as Chelsie Lloyd and Jared Jason Murray granny it up.	Millie (Dorea Schmidt) isn’t about to be fooled by this hungry wolf, played by Jared Mason Murray.

Photos by Kristin Campbell

Cast

• Millie/Riding Hood: Dorea Schmidt Ashleigh Millett (3/31 performance)
• Millie’s Mom/Amy/Red’s mom/Grandmother: Chelsie Lloyd
• Mr. Randolph/Dewey/Wolf: Jared Mason Murray

Production Staff

• Scenic Designer: Kristin Browning Campbell
• Costume Designers: Cara Barker, Rachael Erichsen
• Lighting Designers: Samantha Brewer, Nick Broten
• Sound Designer: Samantha Brewer
• Technical Director: Ryan Milosevich
• Assistant Technical Director: Chris Mollen
• Scenic Artist: Samantha Bewer
• Stage Manager: Elisabeth A. Ribar
• Assistant Stage Manager: Will Richardson
• Sound Engineer: Kristin Rizzo
• Production Manager: Fred T. Paul
• Music Recorded by: Rachael Erichsen and Paul Wyatt
• Artistic Director: Jim Petosa
• Managing Director: Amy Marshall
• Director: Ashleigh Millett

Disclaimer: Olney Theatre Center provided two complimentary media tickets to ShowBizRadio for this review.