Fourth of July weekend … our way. We kicked off the holiday with another adventure in our summer of Windy City discovery. A lovely dinner at Trattoria Gianni, followed by an utterly remarkable evening of theatre at Steppenwolf Theatre. Mia Chung’s Catch as Catch Can – featuring Gary Cole, Audrey Francis, and Tim Hopper with direction by Amy Morton – is revelatory, devastating, provocative, and blisteringly funny. This is a theatrical experience you will need to sit with for a minute to understand how impactful, triggering, and ultimately healing it was.
Originally produced by Playwrights Horizons in New York City in 2022, the play focuses on two Rhode Island families, with histories long intertwined and a common love language of fussing, teasing, guilting, worrying, avoiding, and eating. A LOT of eating. The theatrical conceit of the play is that six characters across two distinct generations (parent/Boomer and child/Gen X) are played by three actors: Cole as Anglophile helicopter matriarch Roberta Lavecchia and her curmudgeon-beyond-his-years and hard drinking son Robert; Francis as Roberta’s warmly and comically cantankerous husband Lon and their accomplished and insightful and altogether stuck daughter Daniela; and Hopper as Roberta’s lovably twitchy and anxiously overbearing bestie Theresa Phelan and her sweet and ingratiating but increasingly lost son Tim.
Cole, Hopper, Francis – Photo: Michael Brosilow
The play opens with the kind of superficial celebrity obsessing only mothers of a certain generation can do. I’m not being ageist or misogynist. Just accurate. The audience is dropped in medias res, as Roberta and Theresa chatter at length about the British Royal Family in that fawning, judgmental, yet ill-informed, very American way. It’s a bit of foreshadowing for the play’s overall positioning, not in a way that demeans or minimizes these women, but highlights how some parents escape their own familial realities by focusing on the charms and foibles of more famous clans. As the conversation proceeds, charmingly and deftly delivered by Cole and Hopper over a cuppa, IRL truths and worries slowly emerge. Their fears for their own children’s futures, debates over their progeny’s life choices, cultural assumptions and prejudices, outright gossip are all delivered with the lightest touch. Yet strangely ominous.
(My beloved late mother, for one, could sit at the kitchen table for HOURS, monologuing at me, her only child, about the relative charms of Javier Bardem or Russell Crowe or Hugh Jackman, chain smoking one menthol light cigarette after another, playing cutthroat canasta, as the clock ticked inexorably through the wee small hours of the morning, her mood darkening progressively, until she was reliving every perceived dark and tragic wrong she’d endured at the hands of various family members. Think Long Day’s Journey Into Night by way of Coffee Tawk … and Joker. But I digress. Needless to say, this play had me from the jump …)
Cole, Francis – Photo: Michael Brosilow
As the story continues to unfold, we are introduced to each family member carefully and thoughtfully, allowing every character to be established in singular context with their spouse or sibling. It’s a smart structure, helping a modern attention-deficit audience member (like me) track easily who is who and what is what. And key to what is yet to come.
Let me take a moment to commend not only the sharp, clean direction by Steppenwolf ensemble member Amy Morton (who shared stages with Cole in their early days with the company) but the entire production team: scenic design by Andrew Boyce, costume design by Izumi Inaba, lighting design by Yuki Nakase Link, sound design by Mikhail Fiksel, dialect and voice coaching by Kate DeVore, and dramaturgy by Jonathan L. Green. For this doubling of performers to work, a) the actors have to be pitch perfect in their character differentiation (which they are … tens across the board), b) the director has to block this beast with military precision yet make it all seem effortless and fluid (boy, does she), and c) the production team has to aid and abet the enterprise in sundry unsung ways (hell, yeah they do!).
Cole, Hopper, Francis – Photo: Michael Brosilow
What is truly ingenious about the play (and I really need to tread carefully here so I don’t spoil the full impact) is the existential, disorienting pivot that occurs at the mid-way mark, unexpectedly sliding us from relatively broad comedy to deeply felt tragedy. And, damn, does it work. The play runs without intermission, but *if* it were divided into acts (and for the sake of this argument, let’s say it is, but quite frankly an intrusive intermission would ruin the roller coaster-esque plunge), the first “act” is a realistic farce, heightened to a dizzying level as the three actors switch characters, sometimes at breakneck speed, culminating in the charming yet nettlesome chaos of an Italian-American family Christmas gathering. The second “act” is a fever dream of heartache, misunderstanding and hopes deferred, a fragmented surreality, made all the more poignant as the voices of parent and child elide through each actor, signaling the ever-present conflict between desired autonomy and needed connection.
Imagine if someone ran All In The Family, Angels In America, Wit, and Our Town through the Dario Fo machine, turning the concept of a familial memory play on its proverbial head. Yes, I’m finally putting my masters of theatre history and criticism to use with this dubiously sourced, arguably shallow/pretentious comment. Francis and Hopper particularly have a high wire act to execute, switching instantaneously from riotous whimsy to feral pain. Their performances are grounded, compelling, haunting with a precision of technique that should be studied in MFA programs across the land.
Francis, Cole – Photo: Michael Brosilow
One additional specific note on the scenic and lighting design. What is notable and adds to key elements of surprise is how the set and lighting begin as sitcom “realistic”: a static home – kitchen, living room, breezeway – in which the mundane joys of daily life play out. However, as the narrative folds in on itself, like a puzzle box, so do the set and lighting, with key furniture pieces disappearing and emerging via a central lift, and lighting that grows increasingly stark and isolating. Akin to those dreams you may have in the still of the night – the ones that start out conventionally but morph nightmarishly – otherwise comforting spaces grow and contort and become increasingly oppressive. As in all expertly executed stagecraft, the audience doesn’t really notice the atmospheric shift occurring until it’s, well, too late; yet, in post-show analysis and reflection, the magic trick reveals itself.
Fun fact … in full transparency: last year, Audrey, Steppenwolf’s Artistic Director, led a sharp and insightful exercise around genuine connection, engagement, and listening at my firm’s associate attorney retreat. My colleagues Laurel Dearborn and Sarah Ayers, knowing what a theater geek I am, and more than likely seeing the unbridled fandom in my eyes, were kind enough to introduce me to Audrey afterward. In my “Lucy Ricardo” fashion, I insisted we set up a lunch date, and no doubt from morbid curiosity or amused pity or BOTH, Audrey accepted. We have since become friends (lucky her! 😅), but I’d yet had the opportunity to see her do her thing on Steppenwolf’s stage. But I’m so grateful it was with this show. Quite frankly she is transcendent; I’m so damn proud of her. And the fact that I know her had no impact on my objective assessment of this remarkable show. She’s just that dang good.
Francis, Hopper, Cole – Photo: Me
In short, don’t miss this one. I don’t know that I’ve ever had an experience in the theater where the audience goes so very quickly from laughing riotously at the absurdities of life to SUCH a gut punch about how fragile it all can be. Exquisite emotional whiplash.
As a treatise on mental health and self-care (or the lack thereof), the generational divide between performative and authentic connection, the tight rope that Gen X children are now walking between aging parents and their own dissolving sanity, and the unfair expectations we all thrust upon one another in the guise of love, this play – so expertly performed and staged – is a marvel.
Catch as Catch Can runs through July 12. Do. NOT. Miss. This.
This past weekend, in our summer of Windy City discovery, my husband and I took in a remarkable production at Chicago Shakespeare Theater, a gem of a space with nary a bad seat in the house. Alas, this was one of the final performances, so this review is more for my own posterity than anything else I suppose.
Ang Lee’s Brokeback Mountain is a beloved film in our home. For young gay men twenty (!) years ago, it was a revelation and an affirmation (tragic as the story was) to see Hollywood release a blockbuster film, starring au courant heartthrob actors, focused so incisively, so delicately on the gay (closeted) experience. The fact that it was a worldwide critical, cultural, financial success, nominated for numerous Oscars (criminally robbed of winning Best Picture) made for a very powerful moment in our community.
So when we learned Chicago Shakespeare would be bringing last year’s London stage production stateside we quickly added tickets to our digital wallets and to our 2026 summer itinerary, just in time for Pride month.
Fun fact: when my husband loves a piece of entertainment, he NEVER stops watching it. I saw Brokeback Mountain in the theatre with him, opening weekend (I think), but any chance he got afterward he went and saw the film again and again and again on the big screen. I’m guessing about half a dozen times. He’s done the same thing with High School Musicaland Wicked … and 98 Degrees. (He’s gonna kill me for sharing this! Sorry – not sorry.)
The elegiac staged treatment draws from Annie Proulx’s source short story but retains all of the essential story beats of the film, coming in at a brisk 90+ minutes. The staging at Chicago Shakespeare was abstract and atmospheric, evoking sepia-toned memories unfolding before our eyes.
If anything, I wish the script by Ashley Robinson had been more of a tone poem to match the staging. The vignettes all rolled out as remembered, beautifully performed by a tight ensemble – Harrison Ball as a deep-feeling Ennis Del Mar, Jack Cameron Kay as a bounding Jack Twist, Cordelia Dewdney as a tortured Alma, Thomas Cox doing exceptionally differentiated character work as Joe Aguirre/Bill/Jack’s father, and Kat Eggleston and Alina Jenine Taber on double duty as angelic vocalists in the band and as Jack’s bereft mother and fractured wife Lureen respectively.
If only the workmanlike script had given these brilliant performers liberty to be even more dreamlike and ephemeral. The raked stage at Chicago Shakespeare with set pieces rising and falling from the floor, surrounded by dense brush evoking the Wyoming plains, made us feel as if we were peering into Ennis’ subconscious, but the more literal quality of the scenes themselves at times fought the ethereal setting.
The absolutely exquisite touch of a live bluegrass band, fronted by Eggleston and performing Emmylou Harris-style compositions by Dan Gillespie Sells, created an immersive and haunting atmosphere. As if the AM radio that kept these lonely cowboys company during their bleak work guarding an unruly herd of sheep had become a kind of Greek chorus, offering commentary on the heartbreak of a love in 1963 that was utterly forbidden, particularly in such rural environs.
The production was deftly, sensitively, efficiently directed by Jonathan Butterell. Special recognition to the lighting design by David Finn, sound design by Christopher Shutt, scenic and costume design by Tom Pye, fight and intimacy coordination by Zev Steinrock, and music direction by Jacob Yates, and their teams. Their stagecraft was exemplary, enveloping the actors and audience in a moment both oppressive and liberating as the text requires. Truly remarkable work.
Should this stage adaptation find its way into your neck of the woods, run, don’t walk to see it. We find ourselves in an era where lived truth is more important than ever. As Ennis observes, “If you can’t fix it, you gotta stand it.”
“You can’t go home again.” A sentiment oft attributed to the author Thomas Wolfe. But dang if Hollywood doesn’t try. We live in a media cacophony of reboots and reinventions, sequels and prequels, all infinitely merchandisable with a sea of product placements and corporate synergies. There is seemingly no IP at this point that cannot be franchised into its own universe of spin-off narratives and monetizations.
Which brings us to The Devil Wears Prada 2. Miranda strikes back. I’m happy to report that in this (rare?) instance Prada 2 is a nostalgic cash grab with something to say. And a raison d’etre. Plus, it’s just a darn good bit of fun, kicking off the summer ’26 blockbuster season in frothy, fizzy fashion (with a neatly nestled poison pill of cultural commentary).
I’m likely the only person who is going to invoke Joker: Folie a Deux in my review here, but like that much-maligned film (I think I’m literally the only person who liked Joker 2 … ah well), Devil Wears Prada 2 presents a deftly redemptive arc, offsetting elements of the original film that haven’t aged terribly well (e.g. body-shaming, rampant careerism, classism, low-key misogyny) with a wry and dare I say winsome self-awareness. It’s a nifty bookend to the original film … and hopefully Disney/20th Century Studios can resist the greedy urge to force a trilogy down our collective throats. Although I suspect that will be an offer the cast and crew can’t refuse.
Returning director David Frankel and screenwriters Aline Brosh McKenna and Lauren Weisberger (author of the original novels on which all of this is based) wisely lean into providing a narrative framework tantamount to cinematic comfort food. All of the story beats burned into the consciousness of viewers who *may* have watched the first installment, say, 918 times are basically there: protagonist in desperate need of job finds herself in shark infested waters to pay the rent; a MacGuffin gauntlet is thrown to test said protagonist’s mettle (unpublished Harry Potter in the first, white whale of a feature interview subject in the second); protagonist starts to squeak into the inner circle; a fabulous European fashion extravaganza yields palace intrigue; the very industry featured throughout the film finds itself in existential peril; a double (triple?) cross puts everything right again; and just when you think all are happy and settled, there is a limousine-set exchange that makes you realize corporate America is a delicious jungle, baby (always has been, always will be). Finis.
How’s that for a spoiler/non-spoiler summation?
The core four from the original film – Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, Stanley Tucci, and Emily Blunt – are all dynamite (duh), bringing grit and wit, joy and gravitas to material that otherwise would float forgettably into the ether in less capable hands. New adds to the cast – Justin Theroux, Lucy Liu, Kenneth Branagh, Lady Gaga (!?) – have far less to do but make the most of limited screen time, running just shy of becoming a red flag for overstuffed sequelitis (Sex and the City 2 … I’m looking at you).
There are some inevitably clunky moments. Twenty years passing between installments will do that to a franchise. You can practically hear the plot-point gears grinding against one another to justify bringing the old band back together, but once the momentum is established, the whole enterprise feels like a cozily familiar cerulean blue sweater.
But as the world keeps burning, I suppose we all need entertainment that comforts and critiques simultaneously. Some have argued that Miranda Priestly has “lost her edge” in this latest production. I beg to differ. With time and the inevitable repeat viewings, the glitz and the flash of this sequel will retreat, and the film’s incisive assessment of the precarious moment we all find ourselves in culturally will be that much more evident.
We are buffeted by an increasingly fragmented, misleading, manipulative media landscape. Journalism dies a thousand deaths every day. Art and beauty are succumbing to an army of algorithms and ’bots shaping public discourse in spiraling, reductive ways. The authority of singular visionaries helping curate taste and style has been lost in a sea of “influencers.” Devil Wears Prada 2 straps on its Louboutins and runs headlong into this miasma with a hardy “may the bridges I burn light my way.”
Unleash hell, indeed.
P.S. I was in London last month and have been remiss in giving a shout out to the theatre scene there. Sometimes, honestly, I just want to go see something and NOT feel like I have homework to do after. That said, I took in, yes, Devil Wears Prada The Musical at the Dominion Theatre, starring fabulous Vanessa Williams with a score by Sir Elton John. Indeed, it’s yet another reinvention – first a book, then a movie, now a musical – but it’s also damn delightful. Imagine the relentless pep of Legally Blonde the Musical with an arch side of the chilly Teutonic pop of American Psycho the Musical. Rodgers and Hammerstein wept. Hopefully, the show will make its way stateside for you to form your own opinion. That’s all.
P.P.S. Oh, wait. That’s NOT all. I also saw Moulin Rouge the Musical at the Piccadilly Theatre and Disney’s Hercules the Musical at the Drury Lane Theatre. It’s not lost on me now that everything I saw was an adaptation/expansion of a beloved film. I sense a theme! Moulin Rouge is by far the stronger offering, with a louchely immersive theatrical experience and a clever updating to the pop/rock pastiche score that will bring smiles of recognition (and a pang of heartache or two). Hercules is gorgeously staged, and the Supremes-esque gospel Greek chorus deserve their own (better) show. Go for the spectacle, stay for the muses, and try not to think about the hodge-podge book too much. Now THAT’s all.
Lovely review of Theatre Nova’s #SingHappy! Excerpt: “Director Diane Hill keeps it simple and the singers respond with performances that grasp the conflicting emotions that are at the heart of Kander and Ebb songs. … Perhaps the best-known song in this mood is the comic sad ‘Mr. Cellophane’ from Chicago. Roy Sexton sings the mournful tale of a man who wonders how invisible he seems to be. Kander’s music is a shuffle and Sexton glides across the stage making like a sad, dancing clown.”
SING HAPPY! music by John Kander and Fred Ebb with musical arrangements by R. MacKenzie Lewis, a Theatre NOVA Fundraiser
A fundraiser for Theatre NOVA and presented in concert, Sing Happy! is a celebration of the work of Broadway’s famous duo, Kander and Ebb. An ensemble of singers will take the stage with showstoppers from “Cabaret,” “Chicago,” “Kiss of the Spider Woman” and many others while weaving a tale of strength and determination. Directed by Diane Hill, Music Direction by R. MacKenzie Lewis, Sing Happy! features Justin Scott Bays, Kristin Clark, John DeMerell, K Edmonds (The Revolutionists, The Devil’s Music), Diane Hill (The Lifespan of a Fact, A New Brain, Follies in Concert, Admissions, The How and the Why, The Stone Witch, The Totalitarians, and The Revolutionists), Elizabeth Jaffe (The Elves and the Schumachers), and Roy Sexton (Follies in Concert). LIMITED ENGAGEMENT
It’s been too long. I needed this. Thrilled to revisit a concept my mom Susie Sexton and dad Don Sexton first suggested to The Penny Seats five (!) years ago. They had an acclaimed award-winning run, if I recall. Honored to be able to appear in it this go ‘round. Such a phenomenal cast and crew. Thank you, Diane Hill. Love you! ❤️
Theatre NOVA presents “Sing Happy!” music by John Kander and Fred Ebb with musical arrangements by R. MacKenzie Lewis
Oct. 28 – Nov. 7, 2021
ANN ARBOR, MI (September 29, 2021): Theatre NOVA, Ann Arbor’s resident nonprofit professional theatre presents a limited engagement of “Sing Happy!,” a celebration of the work of Broadway’s famous duo, Kander and Ebb.
An ensemble of singers will take the stage with showstoppers from “Cabaret,” “Chicago,” “Kiss of the Spider Woman” and many others while weaving a tale of strength and determination. Directed by Diane Hill, with music direction by R. MacKenzie Lewis, “Sing Happy!” features Justin Scott Bays, Kristin Clark, John DeMerell, K Edmonds (“The Revolutionists,” ‘The Devil’s Music”), Diane Hill (“The Lifespan of a Fact,” “A New Brain,” “Follies in Concert,” “Admissions,” “The How and the Why,” “The Stone Witch,” “The Totalitarians,” and “The Revolutionists”), Elizabeth Jaffe (“The Elves and the Schumachers”), and Roy Sexton (“Follies in Concert”).
The production and design team includes Monica Spencer (scenic design), Jeff Alder (lighting design), and Briana O’Neal (stage manager).
For the health, safety, and well-being of our patrons, staff, and artists, COVID safety measures will be in place. All of the artists and staff participating in the season are required to be fully vaccinated, and patrons must bring proof of vaccination and wear a mask while in the building. Unvaccinated patrons will not be admitted. Tickets will be sold at 50% capacity to allow for social distancing between parties, and concessions will not be sold. This policy is subject to change at any time, in accordance with fluctuating local, state, and federal guidelines. Please check our website for our current policy before attendance.
“Sing Happy!” will run for two weeks only, Oct. 28 through Nov. 7, 2021. Theatre NOVA is located at 410 W Huron St, Ann Arbor, MI 48103. Performances are on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights at 8:00 p.m. and Sundays at 2:00 p.m. General admission tickets for this limited engagement fundraiser are $30.
Tickets, memberships, flex passes, and subscriptions may be purchased online at www.TheatreNOVA.org. Tickets may also be purchased in person one hour before each performance. Seating in the theatre will begin 30 minutes before each performance. There is ample free parking, and quick access to the city’s restaurants, bars, bakeries, and coffee shops. New patrons can find Theatre NOVA across Huron Street from Ann Arbor’s YMCA, through a parking lot entrance on the north side of the street. For more information, visit www.TheatreNOVA.org.
Theatre NOVA is dedicated to raising awareness of the value and excitement of new plays and new playwrights in a diverse and expanding audience; and providing resources and outlets for playwrights to develop their craft, by importing, exporting, and developing new plays and playwrights.
John Kander is an American composer who has produced many well-known scores for the stage, television and film. He is best known for working with his musical partner, lyricist Fred Ebb. Kander was born in Kansas City in 1927. From a young age he played the piano and began formal music training at college, where he composed his first theater scores. After college he worked as a pianist for pre-Broadway musicals in Florida. Kander credits his big break as chancing upon the pianist for a production of “West Side Story” in Philadelphia. He was asked to stand in while the pianist went on holiday and, shortly after, he played for a production of “Gypsy” and was introduced to Jerome Robbins who asked Kander to write the dance arrangements for the show. In 1962, Kander had his Broadway debut with the musical “A Family Affair” and worked with producer Hal Prince. Although the show was not a success, it led to a successful future relationship with Prince. The following year, Kander was introduced to Fred Ebb and the pair began to write together. Their first song “My Colouring Book” was nominated for a Grammy Award. From then on, Kander and Ebb’s writing partnership grew and was consolidated with a string of musical hits. After a slow start with the Hal Prince musical “Flora, the Red Menace” (which featured a young Liza Minnelli making her Broadway debut), the pair wrote the musical “Cabaret” (1966). Their next big success came with “Chicago” (1975) and a fruitful collaboration with choreographer Bob Fosse. Both “Cabaret” and “Chicago” were made into hit films in the 1970s and 2000s respectively. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s Kander and Ebb produced a steady stream of musicals with varying levels of popular success. 1990 saw the pair score another musical hit with “The Kiss of the Spider Woman.” His most recent show (without Ebb this time) is “Kid Victory,” which was produced off-Broadway in 2017. As well as his theatrical works, Kander has written the scores for several films and collaborated Ebb on the 1977 film “New York, New York,” as well as “Funny Lady” and “Lucky Lady” (1975). In addition to multiple Tony Awards, Kander and Ebb were made Kennedy Center Honorees in 1998, as well as receiving the Oscar Hammerstein Award for Lifetime Achievement in Musical Theater in 2000. In 2013 Kander received the National Medal of Arts from the National Endowment for the Arts.
Fred Ebb – One half of the dynamic musical duo “Kander and Ebb,” Fred Ebb was born in New York City in 1928. In 1955 he graduated from New York University with a degree in English Literature; in 1957, he earned his Master’s in Literature at Columbia University. Ebb partnered with other composers before meeting John Kander. He worked with Phil Springer to write individual songs (notably “Heartbroken,” made famous by Judy Garland). Later, Ebb partnered with Paul Klein for his first musical theatre endeavor, the Broadway revue “From A to Z.” In 1962, Ebb met Kander. Their first book musical to hit Broadway was “Flora the Red Menace” starring Liza Minnelli. Their next collaboration was “Cabaret” in 1966 (the 1972 film starred Minnelli). The duo went on to have a widely successful career, including many collaborations with directors such as Bob Fosse and Hal Prince: “Chicago” (1975), “Woman of the Year” (1981), “The Kiss of the Spider Woman” (1993), “The Visit” (2001). The pair’s last collaboration was “Curtains” (2006), a musical murder mystery. Unfortunately, Ebb died suddenly of a heart attack before it was finished. The pair’s last complete collaboration, “The Scottsboro Boys,” premiered in 2010. After Ebb’s death, the Fred Ebb Foundation and its award was established. The award is given to aspiring musical theatre writers – including Robert L. Freedman and Steven Lutvak, who won the Tony Award for Best Musical and Book of a Musical for “A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder” (2014).
Diane Hill (Director) was founder and Artistic/Executive Director of Two Muses Theatre, a nonprofit, professional theatre in West Bloomfield. There she performed in and directed many plays and musicals each year and did the work of technical director, publicist, sound designer, webmaster, and graphic designer for every production. Diane was a professor at University of Detroit Mercy and Oakland Community College, where she originated and designed the Theatre degree program. She has a Ph.D. in Theatre from Wayne State University and a Bachelor of Music and Master of Arts in Theatre from the University of Michigan. She previously taught high school drama and music in the public school system (Ypsilanti and Ann Arbor) for 20 years. Diane has additionally produced and directed shows for professional theatre companies including Breathe Art Theatre Company in Detroit, Opus Mime in Ann Arbor, Jewish Ensemble Theatre in West Bloomfield, Tipping Point Theatre in Northville, and Heartlande Theatre Company in Detroit. Diane has been a Producing Artistic Director at Theatre NOVA since 2017. At Theatre NOVA, she produced several Michigan Playwrights Festivals, directed “Clutter” (Wilde Award Best New Play), “Follies in Concert,” “Whatcha Doin?,” “The W.I.T.C.H,” and shares with her cast and design team the Council Cargle Award for Excellence in Diverse Storytelling for directing “Kill Move Paradise.” Diane also produced all the Zoom projects since the shutdown, including the Zoom Play Festival and the pro shot filmed version of “A New Brain.”
R. MacKenzie Lewis (Music Director/Musical Arrangement) is composer and music director for EMU’s School of Theatre Arts, and lecturer and accompanist with its School of Music and Dance. Some favorite projects include orchestrating/music directing the national tour and Off-Broadway premiere of “The Berenstain Bears LIVE! in Family Matters, the Musical,” orchestrating/music directing “Gypsy” at the Hangar Theatre in New York (Broadway World Award: Best Music Direction); music directing “A Little Night Music” at the Performance Network in Ann Arbor (Wilde Award: Best Music Direction and Best Musical); music directing “Legally Blonde” as a guest artist for MSU (Pulsar Award: Best Music Direction); composing “Irrational” (Wilde Award: Best New Script); associate music directing the workshop of “Romance in Hard Times” with William Finn at the Barrington Stage Co.; composing music for “Mockingbird” (two Helen Hayes nominations), “Wings of Ikarus” and “Jason Invisible” – all of which were commissioned and premiered at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.. He also composed the musicals “Video Games: The Rock Opera,” “Treasure Island,” “Pinocchio,” “Soaring on Black Wings” – world premiere with Ben Vereen, and all of Theatre NOVA’s Pantos.
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FACT SHEET
WHO:
Cast: Justin Scott Bays Kristin Clark John DeMerell K Edmonds Diane Hill Elizabeth Jaffe Roy Sexton
Production Team: Director: Diane Hill
Music Director: R MacKenzie Lewis
Set design: Monica Spencer
Lighting design: Jeff Alder
Stage Management/Props: Briana O’Neal
WHAT: “Sing Happy!” music by John Kander and Fred Ebb, musical arrangement by R. MacKenzie Lewis
Theatre NOVA, 410 W. Huron, Ann Arbor, MI 48103 Box office: 734-635-8450,
Had a great time popping in briefly to celebrate one year of this great show Beyond the Ghost Lightfrom The Ibis and hosted by the divine Luna Alexander, Victoria Rose Weatherspoon, and Nick Rowley. I mused about what The Black Hole and American Psycho The Musical reboots could look like in 2021. I appear around the 22 minute mark.
Show description: “This Sunday join the Creative Coven and returning guest, the ever delightful Michelle Kisner, as we discuss reboots, remakes and reimaginings and celebrate a whole year of Beyond The Ghost Light.”
A NEW BRAIN by William Finn and James Lapine, produced by Theatre NOVA in collaboration with The Ringwald Theatre, via Broadway on Demand in June 2021. Artwork by Bob Hank.
A New Brain by William Finn (Falsettos, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee) and James Lapine (Falsettos, Into the Woods, Passion) is one of those musicals held in rapturous, nay obsessive esteem by the theater community but is virtually unknown by anyone who doesn’t know the difference between stage left and stage right. (Cue Hanna-Barbera’s Snagglepuss.)
And that’s a shame. Written in 1998, following Finn’s harrowing ordeal with brain surgery, this musical roman à clef resonates now more than ever, with its themes of isolation and stifled creativity, a jaded and callous medical industry, a business community that literally works its employees to their deathbeds, and ultimately the redemptive power of just slowing the eff down.
If you’ve never heard the clever score (that is part pastiche, part light poperetta, and all wit) via cast album nor ever seen a live production, then you are in luck … no matter what part of the world in which you live or how “busy” your schedule. Theatre NOVA, in collaboration with The Ringwald Theatre, released a brilliant filmed co-production of A New Brain this weekend on Broadway on Demand.
(L to R): Jason Briggs, Vince Kelley, Diane Hill, Alaina Kerr, Richard Payton, Steve DeBruyne, Liz Schultz, and Arielle Crosby in A New Brain by William Finn and James Lapine produced by Theatre NOVA in collaboration with The Ringwald Theatre. Photo by Jake B. Turner.
From their press release:
By the Tony Award-winning authors of Falsettos, A New Brain is a life-affirming, heartfelt, often comical musical about a composer during a medical emergency. As doctors and nurses fly in and out of his room, trying to figure out what’s wrong with his brain, Gordon drifts in and out of consciousness as he contemplates his life, legacy, and the meaning of music – all while navigating his relationships with his best friend, mother, and boyfriend. A New Brain is an unexpectedly funny, relatable, and ultimately touching meditation on how beautiful the world is when we slow down enough to look.
With special permission and a unique COVID-19 Contingency License from Concord Theatricals, Theatre NOVA and The Ringwald Theatre shot the musical over a period of two weeks to ensure that all COVID protocols and safety procedures could be upheld. The cast spent the month of March learning and rehearsing the all-sung show over Zoom with music director R. MacKenzie Lewis. At the beginning of April, the cast transitioned to socially distanced and masked in-person music rehearsals at Theatre NOVA. Finally, with all of the cast and crew partially or fully vaccinated and all participants COVID-tested, director Vince Kelley and cinematographer Jake Turner rehearsed and shot the show over a 12-day period, scene by scene, with arduous planning about how it would all be stitched together in post-production. This schedule allowed them to have the fewest people in the theatre at once, but also provided very new experiences for the stage actors who were accustomed to rehearsing a play for 4-6 weeks. The crew and cast wrapped the filming on April 24.
Read that previous paragraph again. Go ahead. I’ll wait…
This production – which will be aired three weekends this PRIDE month of June (appropriate) – is one helluva feat of logistics and moxie. Yes, right now we are all starting to peek out our front doors like the Munchkins when Dorothy dropped that house on the Wicked Witch of the West. But several months ago, when this production was being devised, most of us still were more worried about buying groceries safely than figuring out how to stage and film a full-blown musical between two cross-regional theatre companies. Theatre people will not be contained. Remember that!
So I’d be impressed by this production under any circumstances. However, it’s so damn good that I forgot within minutes that this incredible crew had any constraints at all. That may be the best compliment I could provide. This gleaming production may have been forged in the fires of pandemic but it transcends the moment, reflecting our fraught human condition both today and tomorrow.
(L to R): Jason Briggs, Steve DeBruyne, Alaina Kerr, Diane Hill, Richard Payton, Vince Kelley, Arielle Crosby, Liz Schultz, and Jamie Richards in A New Brain by William Finn and James Lapine produced by Theatre NOVA in collaboration with The Ringwald Theatre. Photo by Jake B. Turner.
The cast includes Jason Briggs, Arielle Crosby, Steve DeBruyne, Diane Hill, Vince Kelley, Alaina Kerr, Richard Payton, Jamie Richards, and Liz Schultz. This ensemble is tight, both in their vocals and their stage relationships. Given the compressed/limited rehearsal and filming schedule, that is testament to their talent, professionalism, and performance history.
The production team includes Vince Kelley (director, costumer), R. MacKenzie Lewis (music director, musical tracks), Jake Turner (set designer, cinematographer, sound engineer, editor), Dan Morrison (lighting designer), Brandy Joe Plambeck (additional camera work), and Briana O’Neal (stage manager).
This is an all-star team, and it shows. The cinematography, lighting, sound, and edits are all on point. There is the occasional bit of mic buzz and a randomly disruptive cutaway shot or two, but on the balance the production is staged in a nicely polished way, balancing the visceral immediacy of live theatre with the more controlled and directive nature of film. It’s a pretty thrilling hybrid and great fun to watch performers heretofore only seen live in such a recorded setting.
Every actor has iconic moments. Kelley, being an actor himself, is clearly a director who knows how to frame actorly impulses to benefit both the individual performer and the overall needs of the narrative.
Payton has the heaviest lift, rarely leaving the stage, and he plays our protagonist Gordon with an impish poignancy and deeply layered inner life. Payton is so gifted, and one of his superpowers as a performer is bringing distinct clarity to the relationships his characters have with others onstage. That talent propels this piece to new heights, notably in his interactions with a crackling good Hill as Gordon’s mother and a luminous Kelley as his life partner Roger.
Hill’s numbers – both with Payton and solo – are all standouts: the wry neurosis of “Mother’s Gonna Make Things Fine,” the incendiary comedy of “Throw It Out,” and the smoldering regret of “Music Still Plays On.”
(L to R): Arielle Crosby and Vince Kelley in A New Brain by William Finn and James Lapine produced by Theatre NOVA in collaboration with The Ringwald Theatre. Photo by Jake B. Turner.
Crosby electrifies whenever she enters the picture as a wise and whimsical homeless person/Greek chorus. Her line delivery and physicality can be piercingly funny and deeply heartbreaking, depending on the moment, and her singing his divine.
Speaking of soaring vocals, someone get DeBruyne and Payton to record an album of pop standard duets stat. Kerr and Briggs are also great fun in a handful of ensemble parts, bringing deft comic chops and a much-appreciated nibble or two on the scenery.
The production design is sleek and efficient, with onstage lighting rigs that serve a host of purposes from operating room to MRI to nightclub bistro. Turner is wearing many hats, and the slick integration of cinematography and design roles is evident in the final product. Morrison does fine work with the lighting cues which remain overtly theatrical (appropriate for the piece) while honoring the more naturalistic needs of the camera.
And Lewis deserves special recognition for his music direction here. Onscreen at times and always accompanying the cast on piano, he has created a lush and enveloping soundscape without the benefit of orchestra or, well, much time. It’s a remarkable achievement.
(L to R): Richard Payton, R. MacKenzie Lewis, Diane Hill, Vince Kelley, Jason Briggs, and Liz Schultz in A New Brain by William Finn and James Lapine produced by Theatre NOVA in collaboration with The Ringwald Theatre. Photo by Jake B. Turner.
My only critique would be that the latter third – focused as it primarily is on the fevered imaginings of our hero’s coma-afflicted mind – doesn’t feel particularly differentiated from the rest of the show. Not dissimilar to, say, the “Loveland” sequence in Folliesor the musical numbers in Rob Marshall’s film treatment of Chicago, this section of A New Brain should take on a heightened, nightmarish quality. Unfortunately, that isn’t quite achieved here – other than a sequin or two, not much is offered to signal we as an audience are trapped in Gordon’s dreamscape. I don’t know that I have a recommendation but this is where the post-production that film affords (versus stage work) might have aided and abetted. But it’s a minor quibble.
Theatre NOVA and The Ringwald’s A New Brain is a revelation, attesting to the talent, ingenuity, and collaboration in our Southeast Michigan theatrical community. It is a show for the ages and should not be missed. Per one lyric in the number “And They’re Off,” “sometimes joy has a terrible cost.” Given the past year, we’ve all paid an extraordinary price for our safety and that of our loved ones. We all deserve a bit of joy now, so do yourself a favor and purchase a ticket for A New Brain.
A New Brain will be available ON DEMAND on June 5, 6, 12, 13, 19, and 20. Tickets are $25 per person. Ticket-holders may watch the show on Broadway On Demand on their computers, tablets, smartphones, and TV via the Broadway on Demand App, using AppleTV, Roku, all compatible Amazon Video devices. For tickets, visit www.TheatreNOVA.org.
Theatre NOVA is Ann Arbor’s resident professional theatre company. Its mission is to raise awareness of the value and excitement of new plays and playwrights and provide resources for playwrights to develop their craft by importing, exporting, and developing new work.
The Ringwald Theatre is based in Ferndale, and its mission is to engage diverse audiences through fresh, risk-taking theatrical experiences. This activity is supported in part by the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Vince Kelley (Director) just returned to the Detroit area and is very happy to be back. After a lifetime of telling people what to do, he decided to legitimize his behavior and try his hand at directing. With decades of acting under his belt, Vince has performed all over Metro Detroit, a few places in New York City, and a handful of National Tours. One day about a decade ago Joe Bailey from The Ringwald asked if he would be interested in costuming a production of “Hurlyburly” and since then he’s enjoyed working behind the scenes. Making his directorial debut at The Ringwald helming “Company” in 2018, that show also starred Richard Payton and Diane Hill. Vince is looking forward to what show he can direct Richard and Diane in next. Maybe “Escape to Margaritaville?”
R. MacKenzie Lewis (Music Director, Tracks) is the composer/music director for Eastern Michigan University’s School of Communication, Media, and Theatre Arts and a lecturer and accompanist with the School of Music and Dance. Favorite projects outside of university life include music directing and orchestrating the National Tour and Off-Broadway premiere of “The Berenstain Bears Live! In Family Matters, The Musical,” “Titanic” and “Gypsy” at the Hangar Theatre in New York (Broadway World Award, Best Music Direction); “A Little Night Music” at the Performance Network (Wilde Award, Best Music Direction); “Legally Blonde” at MSU (Pulsar Award, Best Music Direction), “Irrational” (Composer, Wilde Award, Best New Script); and “Romance in Hard Times” with William Finn at the Barrington Stage Co. He composed music for the shows “Wings of Ikarus,” “Jason Invisible,” and “Mockingbird” (two Helen Hayes nominations), all of which were commissioned and premiered at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.. Lewis has also composed the musicals: “Video Games: The Rock Opera,” “Treasure Island,” “Pinocchio,” “A Very British Christmas,” “Sugar Plum Panto,” “The Elves and the Schumachers,” and “Soaring on Black Wings,” a world premiere with Ben Vereen.
William Finn (Music/Lyrics/Book) is the writer and composer of “Falsettos,” for which he received two Tony Awards, Best Book of a Musical (with James Lapine) and Best Original Score. He has also written and composed In “Trousers,” “March of the Falsettos,” and “Falsettoland” (Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Musical, two Los Angeles Drama Critics Awards, two Drama Desk Awards, the Lucille Lortel Award, and Guggenheim Fellowship in Playwriting). Mr. Finn wrote the lyrics to Graciela Daniele’s “Tango Apasionado” (music by the great Astor Piazzolla) and, with Michael Starobin, the music to Lapine’s version of “The Winter’s Tale.” His musical “Romance in Hard Times” was presented at The Public Theater. Recently, he wrote “Painting You for Love’s Fire,” a piece commissioned and performed by the Acting Company, based on Shakespeare’s sonnets. For television, Mr. Finn provided the music and lyrics for the Ace Award-winning HBO cartoon “Ira Sleeps Over,” “Tom Thumb and Thumbelina,” “Pokey Little Puppy’s First Christmas,” and, with Ellen Fitzhugh, two “Brave Little Toaster” cartoons. Mr. Finn has written for Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, and The New Yorker. A graduate of Williams College, where he was awarded the Hutchinson Fellowship for Musical Composition, Finn now teaches a weekly master class at the NYU Tisch Graduate Program in Musical Theatre Writing. His most recent projects include “Elegies, A Song Cycle” (Lincoln Center), “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee,” which had a three-year run on Broadway and has been produced nationally and all over the world, and “Little Miss Sunshine” with James Lapine. For the past four years, he has been the Artistic Head of the Musical Theatre Lab at the Barrington Stage Company in Pittsfield, Massachusetts.
James Lapine (Book) was born in 1949 in Mansfield, Ohio, and lived there until his early teens when his family moved to Stamford, Connecticut. He attended public schools before entering Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, where he majored in History. He went on to get an MFA in Design from the California Institute of the Arts in Valencia, California. After graduate school, he moved to New York City, where he worked part-time as a waiter; a page and tour guide at NBC; a free-lance photographer and graphic designer; and an architectural preservationist for the Architectural League of NY. One of his free-lance jobs was designing the magazine of the Yale School of Drama, Yale/Theater, then edited by Rocco Landesman and Robert Marx. The dean of the School of Drama, Robert Brustein, offered Lapine a full-time job designing all of the printed materials for the School of Drama and the Yale Repertory Theatre as well as a faculty position teaching a course in advertising design. While at Yale, his students urged him to direct a play during the annual January period when both faculty and students undertook a project outside of their areas of study or expertise. At their suggestion Lapine directed a Gertrude Stein play, “Photograph.” The play was five acts, and just three pages in length. Assembling students and friends, the play was presented in New Haven and came to the attention of director Lee Breuer, who helped arrange for a small performance space in Soho to present the work for three weeks. The production was enthusiastically received and won Lapine an Obie award. Lapine was approached to create a new piece for the Music-Theatre Group. He wrote and directed a workshop version of “Twelve Dreams,” a work inspired by a Jungian case history. The play was later presented at the Public Theatre and revived by Lincoln Center Theatre. Lapine eventually left the visual arts for a career in the theatre where he has also written and directed the plays “Table Settings,” “Luck, Pluck and Virtue,” “The Moment When,” “Fran’s Bed,” and “Mrs. Miller Does Her Thing.” He has written the book for and directed Stephen Sondheim’s “Sunday in the Park with George,” “Into the Woods,” “Passion,” and the multi-media revue “Sondheim on Sondheim.” He also directed “Merrily We Roll Along” as part of Encores! at New York City Center. With William Finn, he has collaborated on “March of the Falsettos” and “Falsettoland,” later presented on Broadway as “Falsettos,” “A New Brain,” “Muscle,” and the soon to be produced, “Little Miss Sunshine” which will open at 2nd Stage Theatre. On Broadway, he has also directed David Henry Hwang’s “Golden Child,” “The Diary of Anne Frank,” Michel Legrand’s “Amour, “and “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.” He directed Jenny Allen’s solo piece “I Got Sick and Then I Got Better” with Darren Katz. Lapine directed the 2012 Broadway revival of Annie. He is co-producing and directing the upcoming HBO documentary “Six By Sondheim,” which is due to be released this winter. In the Spring of 2014, Lincoln Center Theater will produce his stage adaptation of the Moss Hart memoir, “Act One.” Lapine has also directed several productions off-Broadway as well as three films. He is the recipient of three Tony Awards, five Drama Desk Awards, and the Pulitzer Prize. In 2011, he was inducted into the Theater Hall of Fame. Lapine is a member of the Dramatist Guild Council and, for the last twelve years, has been a mentor for TDF’s Open Doors Program. He is also on the board of Ars Nova Theatre. He currently lives in New York City.
From Theatre NOVA’s Facebook page – pictured (L-R): Payton, Schultz
Cast:
Jason Briggs (Richard) Arielle Crosby (Homeless Woman) Steve DeBruyne (Doctor) Diane Hill (Mother) Vince Kelley (Roger) Alaina Kerr (Waitress/Nancy D.) Richard Payton (Gordon) Jamie Richards (Mr. Bungee) Liz Schultz (Rhoda)
Production Team:
Director/Costume Designer: Vince Kelley
Music director/musical tracks: R. MacKenzie Lewis
Set design, cinematographer, sound engineer, editor: Jake Turner
Lighting design: Dan Morrison
Additional Camerawork: Brandy Joe Plambeck
Stage Management: Briana O’Neal
From Theatre NOVA’s Facebook page – pictured: ensemble
History shows that, when the majority in rule starts to feel that they are losing their cultural hegemony, they get ugly and they go on the attack, no matter what lip service they provide to the contrary. Even in some of my volunteer board service recently, I have seen it from others in ways that truly have shocked me.
My mother and I were having this conversation yesterday. The wonderful thing in this moment is that those who have been forced to live in the margins now have access to so many megaphones – digital and otherwise – by which to tell their stories and hopefully cement positive, permanent change.
One such example is Theatre NOVA’s latest “Play of the Month”: The W.I.T.C.H, a firecracker of a show, written and performed by incisive, chameleonic Morgan Breon and ably directed by Diane Hill with a keen eye toward economy of space, dance-like movement, and the rich language of the text itself. (THE W.I.T.C.H. stands for Wound Intervention Through Care and Healing.)
From the press release: “Theatre NOVA, Ann Arbor’s professional theatre with an exclusive focus on new plays and playwrights, presents a new play written specifically for the Zoom format each month (January through April) with their PLAY OF THE MONTH series. ‘THE W.I.T.C.H’ by Morgan Breon, the fourth offering in the series, will be performed live on Zoom on Wednesday, April 28 at 8pm and available ON DEMAND for Series Pass holders through the end of May 2021.
“‘THE W.I.T.C.H.’ shows the joys, pains, and struggles of Ms. Morgan, a newly hired Behavior Specialist at a Detroit public high school. When hope begins to crack open her students’ hearts and minds, Ms. Morgan’s office might just be the most dangerous room in the entire school. Directed by Theatre NOVA Producing Artistic Director, Diane Hill. Featuring Morgan Breon in a tour de force role as she portrays an array of characters in the public school setting including a behavior specialist, students, teachers and administrators.”
And that press release isn’t just hype. It is one of the most accurate descriptions I have seen in a press release about a piece of work in a long time. Morgan Breon in style and delivery is like this wondrous combination of Anna Deavere Smith and Zoe Caldwell. She is alchemic and transfixing. A one person show is never easy, let alone holding the audience’s rapt attention via Zoom for 30 minutes.
Like quicksilver, she depicts a host of characters – from teachers to multiple teenagers to school administrators – gracefully, sharply, rapidly morphing from one to the next, each clearly drawn and distinct. It is a remarkable performance, made that much more significant in service as it is to a message of inclusion and of the necessity for all of us to break down the fears that hold us back from authentic connection.
Highly recommend!
Note: the performance was followed by a talk-back about the play and the desensitization to trauma amongst youth experiences in and out of school. Interested attendees had the opportunity to ask questions and join the discussion.
Tickets are $10 each month, or $30 for a Series Pass, which includes admission to four plays for the price of three and the opportunity to view all four plays ON DEMAND if any of the live performances are missed. Purchase tickets online at www.TheatreNova.org. All proceeds benefit Theatre NOVA’s ongoing efforts to stay alive through the pandemic. This activity is supported in part by the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Morgan Breon (playwright/performer) earned four degrees from the University of Michigan Ann Arbor—none of which are in theatre. She holds an: LLMSW, EdMA, BA Psychology and BA English. She kick-started her theatre career playing 15 of the 16 characters featured in Nilaja Sun’s, “NO CHILD” at Matrix Theatre Company. Morgan is an ensemble member of Shakespeare in Detroit and is an alumnus of Mosaic Youth Theater in Detroit, University of Michigan’s CRLT Players, and the University of Michigan Educational Theatre Company and has received awards for her plays “WAKING UP ALIVE” and “PORTRAIT OF A WISE WOMAN.” Morgan was a 2017 Mitten Lab Fellow, 2017-2018 University Musical Society (UMS) Artist in Residence, 2018 Playwriting Scholarship Recipient with PlayPenn Theatre in Philadelphia, PA, and a 2018 Kresge Arts in Detroit Fellow. Her docu-play “TELLING OUR STORIES” platforms the narratives of Black women in America, and a technology-infused version of the project was showcased at the 2018 TEDxDetroit Lab in collaboration with Metropolitan Museum of Design Detroit. The exhibit told stories through QR codes, and was entitled “smART: Telling Our Stories | Black Women in America.” In December, 2020, Morgan published “A Refugee of Me: A Collection of Poems and A Refugee of Me: The Workbook,” which uses poetry to guide readers into self-reflection and healing. Morgan credits Jesus Christ for her gifts of anything creative.
Diane Hill (Director) is a Producing Artistic Director at Theatre NOVA and was founder and Artistic/Executive Director of Two Muses Theatre, another nonprofit, professional theatre in West Bloomfield. There she performed in and directed many plays and musicals each year and did the work of technical director, publicist, sound designer, webmaster, and graphic designer for every production. Diane was a professor at University of Detroit Mercy and Oakland Community College, where she originated and designed the Theatre degree program. She has a Ph.D. in Theatre from Wayne State University and a Bachelor of Music and Master of Arts in Theatre from the University of Michigan. She previously taught high school drama and music, where she produced and directed theatrical productions in the public school system (Ypsilanti and Ann Arbor) for 20 years. Diane has additionally produced and directed shows for professional theatre companies including Breathe Art Theatre Company in Detroit, Opus Mime in Ann Arbor, Jewish Ensemble Theatre in West Bloomfield, Tipping Point Theatre in Northville, and Heartlande Theatre Company in Detroit. Diane is an award-winning actor and member of Actors’ Equity Association and the American Guild of Musical Artists and has performed at many professional theatres in southeast Michigan, including the Fisher Theatre, Meadow Brook Theatre, Masonic Temple, Michigan Opera Theatre, Detroit’s Gem Theatre, Purple Rose Theatre, Tipping Point Theatre, Encore Musical Theatre, Croswell Opera House, Open Book Theatre, The Ringwald Theatre and Cherry County Playhouse. She was awarded a Wilde Award for her portrayal of Professor Vivian Bearing in “WIT,” a Rogue Critic’s Award for her work as Mama in “‘NIGHT MOTHER,” both with Breathe Art Theatre Project, and an Ann Arbor News Award for her work as Agnes in “I DO! I DO!” at Kerrytown Concert House. Diane also has performed leading roles in several independent films, television and radio commercials, and industrial films. At Theatre NOVA, she directed “CLUTTER,” “FOLLIES IN CONCERT” and “KILL MOVE PARADISE” (Council Cargle Award for Excellence in Diverse Storytelling) and has kept very busy this year producing, directing and stage managing several Zoom plays written especially for Theatre NOVA. Theatre NOVA audiences saw her play Olympe de Gouges in “THE REVOLUTIONISTS” (Wilde Award Best Production), Zelda in “THE HOW AND THE WHY” (Wilde Award Best Actress), Penelope Easter in “THE TOTALITARIANS,” Sherri in “ADMISSIONS” and Phyllis in “FOLLIES IN CONCERT.”
“Camp is the answer to the problem: how to be a dandy in the age of mass culture.”
“Camp taste turns its back on the good-bad axis of ordinary aesthetic judgment. It doesn’t argue that the good is bad, or the bad is good. What it does is to offer for art (and life) a different—a supplementary—set of standards.”
“The connoisseur of Camp [finds pleasure] in the coarsest, commonest pleasures, in the arts of the masses.”
Some of us old geezers might recall that auteur filmmaker Todd Haynes once directed a biographical film treatment of Karen Carpenter’s life – Superstar – using only Barbie dolls. Either Mattel or Karen’s creepy brother filed a cease and desist, and the film has only seen the light of day in bootleg copies on eBay.
Part of me doesn’t want to write a word as I don’t want to spoil any of the loopy fun for you. How do I net this out? Sublime Richard Payton channels Angela Lansbury‘s TV classic amateur sleuth/crime novelist Jessica Fletcher, now hosting an au courant pandemic “true crime” podcast. Pop singer Britney Spears, the recent subject of a tell-all documentary (#savebritney) appears to have been abducted and possibly murdered.
Spoiler alert, but as the cat is out of the bag via Ringwald‘s promotional materials, local legend Dave Davies is arguably the perfect thespian stand-in for Ms. Spears. He may be worth the price of admission alone. Never ridiculing his character, but fully in on the joke as to how absurd it is that he is playing the “Toxic” songstress, he is an absolute riot, both in TikTok style “found footage” and in podcast interview mode. I dearly hope there is a sequel.
Ringwald’s merry band of usual mischief makers is on hand in supporting roles. Joe Bailey is a gleeful Sherriff Amos Tupper, Fletcher’s dim bulb sidekick whose outsized adoration of Spears leads to a series of comedically nonsensical allegations. Suzan M. Jacokes is understated genius as harried producer Andrew Lark. Joel Mitchell nails Gene Smart, a store clerk whose great tragedy in life is being assigned his least favorite cash register. Nicole Pascaretta channels the sheltered charms of Britney’s baby sis Jamie Lynn. Dyan Bailey commands her moment as a Linda Ellerbee (remember her?) style newscaster. And Donny Riedel and Cory Shorter nicely round out the team as (respectively) hellzapoppin superfan Chris Crocker and louche hairdresser Jeffrey Bean.
The genius of the Ringwald is that they mine every aspect of pop-culture for mash-ups that are as unexpected as they are strangely logical. These are smart people using silly situations to comment on the real life comic tragedy of modern America. Susan Sontag meets Charles Busch meets Carol Burnett.
But back to the Barbie dolls. One of the great pleasures of seeing Ringwald’s evolution in pandemic is the way they are leveraging video production, one of the highlights of their prior stage work. Brandy Joe Plambeck deftly directs (with assistance from Dyan Bailey, Vince Kelley, and Katy Schoetzow) from a jam-packed script by Kelley and Matthew Arrington. Much like last winter’s Have Yourself a Misery Little Christmas, their filmed format has allowed the troupe to step up their production values exponentially. In that context, the lunacy has a beautifully heightened quality. The polish is in nice juxtaposition to the camp.
As for the dolls, when Sheriff Tupper devolves into his multiple theories surrounding Britney Spears’ disappearance, the reenactments are staged using Barbie dolls, playhouse furniture, and assorted other pink plastic accoutrements. It adds a layer of meta-commentary on American materialism and shallow celebrity obsession that is chiefly comic but more than a bit haunting. As another layer, the sequences employ the chilling orchestral version of Britney Spears’ “Toxic” from Promising Young Woman’s pitch perfect soundtrack. And if you have been wise enough to check out that essential film, the Barbie doll scenes take on an even more devastating quality.
Back to Payton for a minute. Ultimately, his Jessica Fletcher is the ringmaster of this circus. Payton’s anarchic intelligence is like a wildfire across every scene. He is both eye of the hurricane and instigator. And his impish genius elevates any and all material he touches. I can‘t see him perform enough. Utter brilliance.
And do yourself a favor and stick through the credits. The cast vamps through Britney’s seminal hit “Baby One More Time.” You haven’t lived until you’ve seen Joe Bailey shimmy in a door frame.
The Ringwald’s press release follows, including dates and ticket information.
The Ringwald Theatre is pleased to announce the release of their latest show, Murder, She Podcast: Baby One More Crime. Several Ringwald favorites have come together to (safely) film The Ringwald’s follow-up to their smash Yuletide release, Have Yourself a Misery Little Christmas. As with that show, Ringwald stalwarts Vince Kelley and Matthew Arrington return as writers.
In Murder, She Podcast: Baby One More Crime, bestselling author, amateur sleuth, and trenchoat aficionado Jessica Fletcher is recording her latest podcast with her trusty sidekick and co-host, former Sherrif Amos Tupper, at her side. Today’s topic is the mysterious disappearance of music sensation Britney Spears. Where has the Pop Princess gone? Is it just a disappearance, or is something more sinister at play? As the investigation deepens, you will be asking, “Where’s Britney, bitch?”
Murder, She Podcast: Baby One More Crime was developed prior to the release of the Framing Britney documentary. The Ringwald firmly stands in support of the pop icon, and shares this piece of art with love and affection.
Murder, She Podcast: Baby One More Crime stars Richard Payton as Jessica Fletcher, Joe Bailey as Sherriff Amos Tupper, Suzan M. Jacokes as Andrew Lark, Joel Mitchell as Gene Smart, Nicole Pascaretta as Jamie Lynn Spears, Donny Riedel as Chris Crocker, Cory Shorter as Jeffrey Bean, and a super special secret guest star as Britney. Brandy Joe Plambeck directed with assistance from Dyan Bailey, Vince Kelley, and Katy Schoetzow. All safety precautions were observed during filming.
Tickets for Murder, She Podcast: Baby One More Crime are available at www.theringwald.com at three different giving levels: $20, $50, and $100 and can be purchased Friday, April 16 through Sunday, May 2nd. The performance will be available to stream through May 10th. Once you purchase your ticket, an email will be sent to you which will include links for Murder, She Podcast: Baby One More Crime and a virtual program. The video is hosted on Vimeo. You can watch on your phone/computer/tablet or, if you have the capability, you can stream the production to your smart TV.
The Ringwald opened the doors to their Ferndale location 13 years ago on May 11, 2007 with Fatal Attraction: A Greek Tragedy. Quickly, The Ringwald became a mainstay of Detroit’s theatre community. Past highlights include: Head Over Heels, Clue, Company, Merrily We Roll Along, The Rocky Horror Show, Heathers The Musical, The Legend of Georgia McBride, Mr. Burns: a post-electric play, Angels in America, Into the Woods, A Streetcar Named Desire, August: Osage County, Mercury Fur, The Book of Liz, and Evil Dead: The Musical.
