Talk Radio is a play in two acts by Eric Bogosian. It takes place in a radio broadcast booth of a small station in Cleveland. The shock jock is Barry Champlain who some love to love and others love to hate. Either way they all call in to WTLK to hear what he has to say. Barry doesn’t disappoint. He tells it the way he thinks it is. His show is about to be syndicated nationally, and Barry doesn’t know how he feels about that.

Roman Gusso played the role of Barry Champlain. Gusso was at his best when he was walking or rather storming around the stage while listening to a caller, but unfortunately he was tied to his seat for most of the show, draining energy. As the phone calls poured in, Gusso was able to swiftly change personalities from concerned friend to angry accuser, all a part of Champlain’s act.

Producer Stu Noonan (Walter Gottlieb) and secretary Linda MacArthur (Kelly Manion) were allies of Champlain and were doing appropriate busy work. Spike (Nikolas Chaikin) was on-stage the entire time running sound effects and commercials, but had no lines, and his presence was actually a bit distracting at times.

The Burke Theater at the Heritage Center is a very nice performing space, but it wasn’t built for full theatrical performances, lacking wings (although the side aisles were effectively used) or lighting options (it was difficult to see the cast’s faces as the only lighting available was directly over the stage, giving a sinister appearance to the performers). A spotlight was used to emphasize the actors during monologues. The set of desks and chairs was simple and appropriate, although the lack of an “on-air” light was disappointing. Projections were used throughout the show in place of larger set pieces.

Talk Radio closed this weekend, but Stroyka Theatre is preparing for their summer musical, Li’l Abner, with auditions taking place this coming weekend.

Director’s Notes

Several years ago I saw a production of Talk Radio. Something about it stuck with me, and it became a show that I strongly wanted to direct. Of course when the time comes to write the Director’s Note, it is time to sit and ask yourself ”why”? Why this show? Why now? What does this piece of art say that somehow compels me to share this piece with others? I found that the answers were more fitting than I first realized.

In many ways, the story of Barry Champlain is a cautionary tale. Barry forgets that art is, for the most part, just art. This is what makes Barry a tragic hero. It is hamartia; his fatal flaw. Everyone around him can see this but him. Ultimately, it pushes away everything and everyone in his life that that had the potential to be real.

I have spent my life immersed in art: theatre, books, music, television, movies. I have always had one foot in the fictional. I would be the first to argue that art is the greatest and best way to remind us of truths about real life. Art is magical and special and wonderful. However at the end of the day art is just art. Like Stu, we go home to our wives and our kids. We go home to the real world. We use art to inform and enrich our real lives in the real world. If we forget the distinction and try to live solely in the world of art, believing that art is more than it really is, we will end up with nothing but a shattering illusion that we are desperately trying to hold together. This is the world of Barry Champlain. A world that we should all be wise enough to avoid.

This is the perfect time for STROyKA to perform this piece, as we are letting go of the illusion that everything we perform has to have some deep message and change the world. As we are recognizing that art is just art. More than that, we have decided that we want to share with our families and our children. So, Barry Champlain is our last reminder that we do not want to walk in his footsteps. We want to stop taking ourselves too seriously and start enjoying more of life. To enjoy life, we must enjoy art. As art.

So, we hope you enjoy this show. Just don’t take it too seriously. After all, it’s just a show.

–JL Russo

Cast

• Barry Champlain: Roman S. Gusso
• Stu Noonan: Walter Gottlieb
• Spike: Nikolas Chaikin
• Linda MacArthur: Kelly Manion
• Dan Woodruff: Ed Silverstein
• Bernie/Francine/Chet/John/Caller/Arnold: Gavin Whitt
• Sid/Josh/Glenn/Henry/Vincent/Chris/Allan/Ralph/Larry: Jack Wassell
• Richard/Announcer/Junior/Kent/Bob/Fred: Denys Petrov
• Rhonda/Ruth/Debbie/June/Agnes/Julia/Jackie/Susan: Christina Marie Frank
• Cathleen/Denise/Lucy/Rachael: Kiva Fecteau
• Additional commercial Voices: Maboud “E” Ebrahimzabeh, Genevieve Fecteau, Simon Gusso, Shanice Jones

Crew

• Producer: Roman S. Gusso
• Director: Jennifer L. Gusso
• Technical Director/Stage Manager: Genevieve Fecteau
• Assistant Stage Manager: Kiva Fecteau
• Costumer/Make-up: Roman S. Gusso
• Props Mistress: Shanice Jones
• Lighting Designer: David Stevenson
• Sound Designer: Alan Chaikin
• Photographer: Karen Simmons
• Videographer: Ben Simmons
• House manager: Henry T. Keegan
• Ushers: Pamela Anderschat, Zhenya Anderschat, Judith Arbacher, Rachel Arbacher, Julia Fu, Rachel Keegan
• Dramaturge: Kiva Fecteau

Stroyka Theatre provided two complimentary media tickets to ShowBizRadio for this review.

The House of Yes is a dark, absurdist drama by Wendy Macleod. It is the story of the Pascal family. When the oldest son Marty, brings home his fiance, Lesley, to meet his mother and the rest of the family, Lesley quickly realizes that this is not your typical family.

The House of Yes was an emotional thriller, but left a feeling of dirtiness and even confusion. It was definitely not for anyone under eighteen. There were some funny lines, yet instead of pausing for the laughter, the actors plunged right on and some of the words were lost during the audience’s laughter. The cast and director succeeded in creating an oppressive air throughout the entire show.

The Pascal family was composed of Mrs. Pascal (Roselie Vasquez-Yetter), youngest son Anthony (Matthew Schuck), oldest son Marty (Josh Canary), and twin sister Jackie-O (Julia Stemper). Lesley, played by Jennifer Simmons, was the unfortunate woman brought home by Marty to meet the family. Lesley knew something was off when she walked in and Jackie-O let loose one of her ear piercing screams. There were several sex scenes, which could have been left to the imagination, although had they been imagined, the repulsion you felt towards the characters would have been diminished. All of the characters were almost in a zombie like state. The emotional changes in some of the characters were sudden and intense. The revelations the family made were bizarre and the final outcome was not all that surprising. All of the acting was believable, with each actor committed to their part.

The set was as dark as the show’s theme. The majority of the play was lit in almost blood red and soft twilight blue lights, which kept the mood emotionally charged. The Lighting Designer was Josh Canary. The set itself was equally skewed. Nothing in the house seemed to be on the level. All of the angles were sharp or tilted. There were plenty of design elements in the set that reinforced the plot. Most of the characters when they were “off-stage” actually stood behind the set so their profiles were visible through empty picture frames attached to the set. The floor of the living room also could be interpreted in several different ways, such as a chess board, or a rifle’s cross hair. The Set Designer was Roger MacDonald.

While the situations in The House of Yes are not for everyone, if you enjoy tragicomedy this production will be for you.

The House of Yes ran almost two hours without an intermission. It is playing through January 25th. Thursday through Saturday at 8 PM and a Sunday matinee at 3 pm at the Round House Theatre in Silver Spring, Maryland. This show contains firearms, adult language, and adult situations. Parental guidance is strongly recommended.

Once you’ve seen The House of Yes, please share your thoughts about it.

And now, on with the show.

Notes from the director!

Secrets, lies, fears, and love! We have all felt it, encountered it, experienced it, and lived it at one point or another in our lives. The question is: How do we get through it? But most important, what do we learn from it? Do we really protect the ones we truly love from all these things no matter at what cost? How far are we willing to go to protect one’s family? One’s home? One’s past? I believe that Wendy MacLeod poses and brilliantly answers all of these questions in this extraordinarily simple complex play!

LISTEN, WATCH, LEARN, AND FEEL as we take you into the illusory and fixated world of the Pascals! My gratitude and eternal admiration to each member of the cast who have thrown themselves into this web with strength, fear, love, and PASSION, PASSION, PASSION!

To Sam Basa: thank you my friend for coming along on this journey of madness!

So sit back, buckle up, let yourself go as you enter The House of Yes!!!!

Cast

• Anthony: Matthew Schuck
• Jackie-O: Julia Stemper
• Mrs. Pascal: Roselie Vasquez-Yetter
• Marty: Josh Canary
• Lesley: Jennifer Simmons

Crew

• Director: Roman S. Gusso
• Asst. Director/Stage Manager: Samuel Basa
• Asst. Stage Manager: Corey Bernstein
• Producers: Jennifer Simmons & Josh Canary
• Costume Design: Roman S. Gusso
• Set & Scenic Design: Roger MacDonald
• Master Carpenter: Roger MacDonald
• Lighting Design: Josh Canary
• Sound Design: Roman S. Gusso
• Publicity: Tom Block
• Box Office Manager: Cecilia Vasquez

• Assistant Stage Manager
• Make-up Artist
• Costumer
• Lights/Sound Board Operator
• Props Master/Mistress
• Publicity Assistant
• Production Assistant
• House Manager/Box Office
• Running Crew

Anyone interested should call -snipped-.

STROyKA Theatre is looking to cast the role of Anthony for their January production of Wendy MacLeod’s The House of Yes. The performances will be at the Round House Black Box Theatre in Downtown Silver Spring. This is a pivotal and challenging role and requires an extremely strong actor. This non-paid, but, because of the location, extremely high-profile and exciting opportunity. We are looking for an actor who is or can play between the ages of 18 – 25. We are looking to cast immediately. If you are interesting in reading for the role, please contact Jennifer Simmons at -snipped-. 

Laura: This is the ShowBizRadio review of Picasso at the Lapin Agile, performed by Stroyka Theatre in Silver Spring, Maryland. We saw the performance on Thursday evening, July 24, 2008.

Mike: Picasso at the Lapin Agile was written by Steve Martin. It is the story of Pablo Picasso meeting Albert Einstein at a bar in the early 1900’s. They have a discussion about which of them is more important and which will have a bigger impact in the 20th century: art or science. It’s a series of witty dialogues between them and the other regulars at the Lapin Agile.

Laura: This was a solid production. It took place in kind of an interesting setting, inside a restaurant that had been partially converted into a black box theater. The house was packed on Thursday. All of the performers did well. They seemed to interact with each other and carried out stage business even when they were not the central focus on the stage.

Mike: I had a good time with this show and enjoyed myself. I will say the last third of the show was a little bit slow, but I’m not really sure why. It could be I just got tired because there was no intermission and I needed to stretch. Overall it was an enjoyable show.

Laura: The role of Albert Einstein was played by Rob Loreto. I think he was good in that his character was not over the top and larger than life. He was rather subdued, but I think it worked for his character and made him rather dynamic.

Mike: Pablo Picasso was played by Stephen Backus. I liked his Picasso because he was a young Picasso, at twenty-three years old. He portrayed that air of invincibility that comes with youth. But he also had a lot of humanity, especially when he was trying to seduce some of the ladies in the bar and then trying to one up Albert Einstein and put him in his place. He was not always able to achieve his goals. I liked the scene where Picasso and Einstein had to draw. Backus’ reaction to Einstein’s drawing I thought was well done.

Laura: Gaston was an older customer that was played by Roman S. Gusso. I liked him. He had good banter and good timing. I enjoyed the fact that even when he was not the focal point on stage, he was still keeping himself busy with stage business.

Mike: Freddy was the owner and the bartender of the Lapin Agile. He was played by Josh Canary. Germaine the waitress (and Freddy’s girlfriend) was played by Rosalie Vasquez-Yetter. I think the two of them complimented each other well. I like the little asides that Freddy gave. I think he was definitely in the part. He was serving drinks as the audience was arriving at the show. That made a nice dedication to the character that he was willing to be out front for who knows how long before the show started. Their relationship had a spark to it that helped the show move along and made the characters seem very real.

Laura: There were several characters in this show that were introduced to us that had no lines. However they did a good job with keeping the background going and added a touch of surrealism to the production.

Mike: Picasso at the Lapin Agile ran an hour and a half without intermission. It started a few minutes after it’s scheduled start. It is playing for one more weekend, Friday and Saturday at 8 and Sunday the 27th at 2:00 at Jackie’s Restaurant in Silver Spring, Maryland.

Laura: This show does contain adult language and adult situations and may not be appropriate for children.

Mike: We’d like to invite you to join our free mailing list to stay informed with what’s happening in theater in the DC region.

Laura: And now, on with the show.

Cast

• Freddy: Josh Canary
• Gaston: Roman S. Gusso
• Germaine: RosalieVasquez-Yetter
• Albert Einstein: Rob Loreto
• Suzanne: Julia Stemper
• Tramp: Dennis Chapoval
• Sagot: Marc Rehr
• Actress: Devrie Guerrero
• Carpenter: Dennis Chapoval
• Pablo Picasso: Stephen Backus
• Painter: Samuel Basa
• Charles Dabernow Schmendiman: Stephen Yednock
• The Countess: Julia Stemper
• A Female Admirer: Julia Stemper
• Singer: Dennis Chapoval

Crew

• Director: Jennifer Simmons
• Stage Manager: Alison Heiman
• Asst. Stage Manager: Devrie Guerrero
• Producer: Samuel Basa
• Costume Design: Jamie Bates
• Make-up Design: Roman S. Gusso
• Lighting Design: Alison Heiman & Josh Canary
• Sound Design: Roman S. Gusso & David Steigerwald