Have companion animals? Don’t forget them this holiday season! Shop for treats, toys and food from a variety osf local pet boutiques. Some shops even offer special events, like picture time with Santa.
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THE MOUNTAINTOP opens questions about Martin Luther King, Jr.
A Clevelander travels to Broadway
Reviewed by Roy Berko
What was Martin Luther King, Jr. like as a person? With all the death threats that King received, what was his last night alive like? What did he believe was going to be his ultimate role in the Black rights movement?
Katori Hall, a playwright and performer from Memphis, Tennessee, who wrote the award winning play HURT VILLAGE, attempts to answer these questions in THE MOUNTAINTOP, which is now getting its Broadway showing at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre. It is a thought provoking, but not an epic script.
The play takes place on April 3, 1968. It is a “what/if” reimagining of the night before King’s assassination. King returns to room 306 at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis after delivering his soon to become famous I’ve Been to the Mountaintop speech.
He’s exhausted, alone, out of cigarettes, and a storm rages outside. He calls for room service. A young lady (Camae) appears with coffee. Since King was hinted to be a womanizer, Camae’s presence opens supposition of what might come. He flirts with her, bums several Pall Malls, drinks some of her whiskey and, affectionately uses the n-word.
As the short one-act unfolds, she becomes the instrument by which King, at least in Hall’s vision, is forced to confront his destiny and his legacy.
Hall presents a real King, a chain smoker, the possessor of smelly feet who wears a sock with a hole in the toe, and, who, in spite of his bravado, has fears. This is a King who carries the burden of the civil rights movement, is weary from being away from his family and his church for so long, and is getting a cold. She gives us a different figure than the powerful man who has become the bigger than life legend.
Director Kenny Leon does a good job of keeping the show well-paced and the characters accessible. He isn’t going for epic here, he’s going for understanding a real man, with real life problems. He also, with the author’s help, presents an unknown presence who gives us cause to pause and ponder whether Camae is real or a figment of the imagination.
Samuel L. Jackson gives us King-lite. Only at the end, when King is preaching, do we see the bigger than life person. Jackson wisely sticks to a speaking tone and pronunciation pattern that doesn’t attempt to mimic King’s preaching.
Angela Bassett is effective as a cross between a typical television smart aleck African American character and a sassy street-wise lady. Interestingly, when the Broadway opening was announced, Halle Berry was confirmed as Camae. It is interesting to conjecture how the role would have been interpreted with Berry in the role.
Capsule judgement: THE MOUTAINTOP is not an easy play to watch, especially since we know what is going to happen the next day on the balcony outside that room. That is not to say the play is depressing. It’s not. It is filled with vivid imagery, humor and some preposterous ideas. It is well worth seeing.
From Cool Cleveland contributor Roy Berko. Berko’s blog, which contains theatre and dance reviews from 2001 through 2011, as well as his consulting and publications information, can be found at http://RoyBerko.info. His reviews can also be found on NeOHIOpal and CoolCleveland.com.
Roy Berko, who is a life-long Clevelander, is a Renaissance man. Believing the line in Robert Frost’s poem “Road Not Taken,” each time he comes to a fork in the road, he has taken the path less traveled. He holds degrees, thought the doctorate from Kent State, University of Michigan and The Pennsylvania State University. His present roles, besides husband and grandfather, are professor, crisis counselor, author and entertainment reviewer… Read Roy Berko’s complete bio here
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FREUD’S LAST SESSION a fascinating look at belief or lack of belief
A Clevelander travels to Broadway
Reviewed by Roy Berko
The badge on my jacket says, “I’ve had a session with Freud!” Yes, that Freud…Sigmund. Wait, he’s dead. How did I have the session?
Sigmund Freud founded the discipline of psychoanalysis. His concepts centered on sexual drives, parental influences, transference, dream interpretation and unconscious desires. Known as an atheist, he was not without religion. He was an assimilated secular Jew. C. S. Lewis was a novelist, academic, medievalist, literary critic, essayist, lay theologian and Christian apologist who wrote such works as The Screwtape Letters and The Chronicles of Narnia. At age 15 he declared himself an atheist. At 32 he returned to the Anglican Communion and fervently re-embraced God and Christianity.
What would have happened if these two men had met to discuss their conflicting ideas? To find out you need to see FREUD’S LAST SESSION, a two-character “what-if” play now on stage at New World Stages in New York. It’s also where, if you happen to have been in the theatre on the day they were collecting donations for Broadway Fights Aids you could purchase the chance to try out Freud’s famous couch and get a picture with the great man himself. Well, a prop version of the sofa and his acting substitute.
The play is based on the best selling book The Question of God by Dr. Armand M. Nicholi, Jr. Playwright Mark St. Germain became intrigued with Freud’s meeting with an unnamed Oxford don. Was this unnamed visitor really C.S. Lewis? The setting: Freud’s study in his London house. It’s September 3, 1939, and, as the room’s radio informs us, the war between England and the fatherland is about to break out. As the two debate, air raid sirens wail and Freud, a life long smoker, is pain-ripped due to mouth cancer which requires him to wear an uncomfortable oral prosthesis.
Freud purported that those who believed in God were suffering from obsessional neurosis. Lewis thought that human existence depended on the belief in a supreme being. A lively, contentious yet joke-filled debate takes place, and though they approach ideas quite differently, they find themselves bonding in ways they might not have expected.
Hanging over the end of the play is whether Freud will, as he has indicated, destroy himself before the cancer can do it. We do know, in fact, that two weeks after the date of the play, Freud, assisted by his doctor, did end his own life. This adds to the intrigue of the play as Freud tells Lewis that if Lewis is right about his belief in the afterlife, he can tell Freud about it in heaven, but if Freud is right, then neither of them will ever know the truth. The 90-minute intermissionless production, which is mainly talk with little action, is excellent.
Tyler Marchant’s direction keeps the dialogue moving right along. Martin Rayner, not only looks like Freud, but he speaks with a slight Viennese accent, and is totally believable. Mark H. Dold makes C. S. Lewis very real. The duo play well off each other.
Brian Prather’s well-appointed set, a reproduction of Freud’s Vienna office, is finely detailed and makes for a perfect setting for the action.
Capsule judgement: FREUD’S LAST SESSION is fascinating theatre for anyone who is interested in a philosophical thought laced drama with laughter and fine acting.
From Cool Cleveland contributor Roy Berko. Berko’s blog, which contains theatre and dance reviews from 2001 through 2011, as well as his consulting and publications information, can be found at http://RoyBerko.info. His reviews can also be found on NeOHIOpal and CoolCleveland.com.
Roy Berko, who is a life-long Clevelander, is a Renaissance man. Believing the line in Robert Frost’s poem “Road Not Taken,” each time he comes to a fork in the road, he has taken the path less traveled. He holds degrees, thought the doctorate from Kent State, University of Michigan and The Pennsylvania State University. His present roles, besides husband and grandfather, are professor, crisis counselor, author and entertainment reviewer… Read Roy Berko’s complete bio here
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Mesmerizing WARHORSE brings new dimensions to the stage
A Clevelander travels to Broadway
Reviewed by Roy Berko Member
World War I, the war to end all wars, was a bloody battle in which an estimated 10 million soldiers lost their lives. An overlooked fact is that, since the conflict was highlighted by cavalry battles, eight million horses were slaughtered. The mighty steeds were cut down as the weapons of warfare, including barbed wire, machine guns, cannons and armored tanks, became the weapons of destruction. Animals were no match for these instruments.
WARHORSE, now on stage in at the Vivian Beaumont Theatre at New York’s Lincoln Center, is the story of the bond between Albert, a British farm boy, and Joey, his magnificent horse. It is based on a novel by Michael Morpurgo, as adapted by Nick Stafford.
The plot travels from the English countryside to the fields of France and Germany. Joey, a colt, which was bought by Albert’s father in a drunken bidding contest, has developed into a prized horse. At the start of the war, the father, enticed by money, sells the animal to the British military. Distraught, underage Albert enlists in an attempt to search out and save his steed. Through a series of searing battles we see how horse and boy eventually are reunited.
WARHORSE won 2011 Tony Awards for best play, directing, scenic design, lighting and sound design, plus a special award for Handspring Puppet Company for creating all the realistic animals. Every one of those citations was well deserved.
The visual elements of the production are finely honed. The battle scenes are realistic. The death and carnage of humans and animals is engrossing. Projections and physical elements, barbed wire, bomb explosions, poison gas attacks and tanks fill the thrust stage. Birds fly, a goose cavorts, weather changes, people and animals die.
Nothing is more impressive than the life-sized puppet horses. They are magnificent creatures which are ridden, change in physical size as they become malnourished, whinny, display unique personalities, and become living creatures before our eyes.
Even the musical interludes, which help tell the story, are focused and encompassing.
Nicholas Hytner and Nick Starr’s direction is flawless. Not a detail is missed. The staging is mind-boggling.
The cast is excellent. Seth Numrich makes Albert so real that his agony becomes ours. Alyssa Breshahan as Rose Narracott, Albert’s mother, personifies a woman caught between her love for son and the need to find a way to live with her often drunk and sullen husband. Matt Doyle is fine as Albert’s cousin, who is forced to go off to war by his controlling father. Kat Pfaffl, as Song Woman and Liam Robinson, as Song Man create numerous emotional moments with their music. In the huge cast, there is not a weak performance.
The audience appreciation was evident by the resounding curtain call. The human actors were applauded, the horses got an extended standing ovation, and even the goose got screams of approval.
Capsule judgement: Filled with amazing puppetry, stirring music, a riveting story, compelling graphics, and fine acting, WARHORSE is mesmerizing theatre. It is a once in a lifetime theatrical experience.
From Cool Cleveland contributor Roy Berko. Berko’s blog, which contains theatre and dance reviews from 2001 through 2011, as well as his consulting and publications information, can be found at http://RoyBerko.info. His reviews can also be found on NeOHIOpal and CoolCleveland.com.
Roy Berko, who is a life-long Clevelander, is a Renaissance man. Believing the line in Robert Frost’s poem “Road Not Taken,” each time he comes to a fork in the road, he has taken the path less traveled. He holds degrees, thought the doctorate from Kent State, University of Michigan and The Pennsylvania State University. His present roles, besides husband and grandfather, are professor, crisis counselor, author and entertainment reviewer… Read Roy Berko’s complete bio here
WIN $500 by using the free Cool Cleveland app now available for your iPhone, iPad & iPod Touch by clicking here, and for your Android smartphone or tablet by clicking here.
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Hilarious THE BOOK OF MORMON
A Clevelander travels to Broadway
Reviewed by Roy Berko
THE BOOK OF MORMON is an irreverent look at all things holy. It is the brainchild of Trey Parker and Matt Stone, the conceivers of the animated television comedy, SOUTH PARK. Add to the mix, Robert Lopez, who co-wrote and composed the Tony Award winning AVENUE Q, and the result is a script that takes on organized religion and traditional musical theatre.
Why did they do the take off on Mormonism? According to the creators, they have a lifelong fascination with the religion. And, as becomes apparent in the script, they found a lot of subject matter to make fun of within the structure of the Latter Day Saints, including the golden tablets, the door-knocking missions of the clean scrubbed males of the clan, and the fervent attempt to convert the world populace to believers.
THE BOOK OF MORMON centers on the story of two young Mormon missionaries who are complete opposites. Elder Price, is a poster boy for the religion. He’s a clean scrubbed, pious, over-achiever. Elder Cunningham is a chubby misfit who has a flaw…he makes up imaginative tales when it strikes his fancy. Instead of being assigned to Orlando, Florida, where Price prays to be, the boys are sent to a remote village in northern Uganda, where a brutal warlord is threatening the local population. The natives are worried about staying alive, famine, poverty, and AIDS, while the Mormons are interested in saving their souls and making them converts. That’s not a good match for success.
So the stage is set for some of funniest songs since MONTY PYTHON’S SPAMALOT. The song list includes: You and Me (But Mostly Me), Hasa Diga Eebowai (the translation is unfit to print), Spooky Mormon Hell Dream, Joseph Smith American Moses, and All American Prophet. These, and others, are contained in the best selling Broadway cast album in over four decades.
After nearly seven years of development, the show opened on Broadway in March 2011 to rave and vivid reviews. It was called, “the filthiest, most offensive, and—surprise—sweetest thing you’ll see on Broadway this year,” and “quite possibly the funniest musical ever.” Amen!
To say I loved the show is an understatement. I howled at the take offs on THE LION KING, THE KING AND I, WICKED, and all the other less-than-subtly inserted slams at Broadway shows. The irreverent Mormon inclusions from the Adam Smith-God tableau opening, to Christ’s commentary, to Elder Cunningham’s imaginative relating of principles of The Book of Mormon, are priceless. The song lyrics are clever. The music is catchy and ear pleasing.
The cast is marvelous. Josh Gad (Elder Cunningham) is hilarious. He is a bouncing bundle of hyper-active glee. Angelic looking Andrew Ranells (Elder Price) properly makes pious sincerity look like a burden to bear. He has a marvelous singing voice and develops a clearly defined character. Nikki James won the Tony for her role as Nabulungi, a young Ugandan girl, and well deserved it. The rest of cast is also excellent.
Casey Niholaw’s choreography is creative, using African movement, combined with rock infusion and tap dancing, to wow the audience.
If you are going to see THE BOOK OF MORMON there are some givens: (a) if you are an uptight religious zealot, you are probably going to be driven right out of the theatre, (b) if four letter words make you nutsy, you are probably going to go totally bonkers, (c) if you have a sense of humor, you may lose control of your bladder from laughing, and (d) if you love delightful music you are going to dig the score.
Capsule judgment: THE BOOK OF MORMON is one fun ride that takes on religion, the Broadway musical, life and strife, and comes out the winner. It’s a precious laugh delight.
From Cool Cleveland contributor Roy Berko. Berko’s blog, which contains theatre and dance reviews from 2001 through 2011, as well as his consulting and publications information, can be found at http://RoyBerko.info. His reviews can also be found on NeOHIOpal and CoolCleveland.com.
Roy Berko, who is a life-long Clevelander, is a Renaissance man. Believing the line in Robert Frost’s poem “Road Not Taken,” each time he comes to a fork in the road, he has taken the path less traveled. He holds degrees, thought the doctorate from Kent State, University of Michigan and The Pennsylvania State University. His present roles, besides husband and grandfather, are professor, crisis counselor, author and entertainment reviewer… Read Roy Berko’s complete bio here
WIN $500 by using the free Cool Cleveland app now available for your iPhone, iPad & iPod Touch by clicking here, and for your Android smartphone or tablet by clicking here.
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Ch’ing•lish delights while probing cultural differences
A Clevelander travels to Broadway
Reviewed by Roy Berko
The Sapir-Whorf Principle theorizes that we are the language we use, that our beliefs, attitudes and values all center on our ability to use verbalization. Misunderstandings are created when there is a clash of languages used by communicators.
Tony winner David Henry Hwang’s Ch’ing•lish, now on stage in New York’s Longacre Theater, is a delightful and insightful proof of Sapir-Whorf.
Chinglish refers to spoken or written English that is influenced by the Chinese language. It is commonly applied to ungrammatical or nonsensical English in Chinese contexts.
“Be careful not to slip and fall” in English translates to “slip carefully” in Chinglish. “False Alarm!” becomes “The Siren Lies!,” “Don’t Feed the Birds!” is stated as “The Fowl Cannot Eat,” and “quiet please“ is translated as “no noising!” Want to know how well you understand Chinglish? Go the play’s website and take a test: http://ChinglishBroadway.com/chinglish-translation
In the play’s opening scene, Cleveland businessman, Daniel Cavanaugh (Gary Wilmes) is giving a presentation to fellow Ohio entrepreneurs about his experiences in obtaining a contract in a small Chinese city.
As we observe, a series of scenes portray the difficulty of overcoming the Chinese-English language barrier and customs, including the concept of guanxi (the social networks that operate in the Chinese business world). Interestingly, the production is presented in a mix of spoken English and Mandarin with the use of subtitles flashed on the scenery. This is surely a first in the history of Broadway.
The production, under the direction of Leigh Silverman, is delightful. The opening scene is nothing short of hilarious, as are all those segments in which the Chinese interpreters attempt to translate what Cavanaugh is saying. The chaos that results cannot be described, it has to be experienced to be appreciated.
Wilmes is believable and develops a textured character. Stephen Pucci, as Cavanaugh’s so-called business consultant, is excellent as he transforms from aide to fake. His breakdown scene is a laugh riot. Jennifer Lim, as Cavanaugh’s adversary turned lover and help-mate, gives a fine performance. The rest of cast is equally strong.
David Korin’s set design is intriguing. It’s fascinating watching the set pieces flow seamlessly on a turntable and wagons to form numerous settings.
Capsule judgement: Ch’iNg•lish is a fascinating and delightful study of the clash of cultures based on the languages we use.
From Cool Cleveland contributor Roy Berko. Berko’s blog, which contains theatre and dance reviews from 2001 through 2011, as well as his consulting and publications information, can be found at http://RoyBerko.info. His reviews can also be found on NeOHIOpal and CoolCleveland.com.
Roy Berko, who is a life-long Clevelander, is a Renaissance man. Believing the line in Robert Frost’s poem “Road Not Taken,” each time he comes to a fork in the road, he has taken the path less traveled. He holds degrees, thought the doctorate from Kent State, University of Michigan and The Pennsylvania State University. His present roles, besides husband and grandfather, are professor, crisis counselor, author and entertainment reviewer… Read Roy Berko’s complete bio here
WIN $500 by using the free Cool Cleveland app now available for your iPhone, iPad & iPod Touch by clicking here, and for your Android smartphone or tablet by clicking here.
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DADDY LONG LEGS – Charming & Harmonic @ CPH
Reviewed by Roy Berko
DADDY LONG LEGS, a novel by the American writer Jean Webster, Mark Twain’s great grandniece, has had a glorious trek. Originally published in 1912, it was transformed into a play in 1914 starring Ruth Chatterton, into a 1919 Mary Pickford movie, a 1931 film staring Janet Gaynor, a 1935 movie called CURLY TOP starring Shirley Temple, a 1952 British stage musical dubbed LOVE FROM JUDY, then the 1955 film DADDY LONG LEGS (starring Fred Astaire and Leslie Caron).
Most recently, it became a musical with a book by Tony and Olivier Award-winner John Caird (NICHOLAS NICKELBY, LES MISERABLES) and music and lyrics by Tony-nominee Paul Gordon (JANE EYRE). Not bad for a plot that is as thin as a pencil lead and whose conclusion is telegraphed within the first minute of play.
The Caird-Gordon rendition is presently on stage at Cleveland Play House.
The script, like most female writing around the turn of century, centers on a sentimental girl heroine. Think Kate Douglas Wiggin’s REBECCA OF SUNNYBROOK FARM, Eleanor Porter’s POLYANNA and Louisa May Alcott’s LITTLE WOMEN.
Set in early 1900 New England, this is the story of Jerusha Abbot, a bright orphan sent to a prestigious college by an anonymous benefactor she nicknames Daddy Long Legs. Revealed through witty and insightful letters sent to a man she supposedly never sees, it is a delightful look at her journey to womanhood.
The spoken and sung lines are so blended together that the entire effect carries the audience into a state of serene smiles and the feeling of happy escape. The music is often intoxicating. The song titles give clear clues to the story, The Oldest Orphan in the John Grier Home, Who is This Man?, Things I Don’t Know, What Does She Mean By Love?, and I Couldn’t Know Someone Less.
The song, The Secret of Happiness, which carries the script’s theme, is a tribute to how a person can have a series of personal revelations that result in her finding her true self. As Gordon states, “It’s about how people come together in a quite interesting and magical way. Don’t be afraid to be different. Be yourself. Just work your hardest to get your own ideas out there and do what you can in the world and shine.”
The staging and interpretation is creative. John Caird’s direction is spot on. There are two glorious performances. Add an effective lighting design, a purposeful set, finely tuned music which supports and does not drown out the lyrics, and the result is a wonderful theatrical experience.
The CPH production is a resurrection. Caird previously staged the show at numerous venues, with the same cast, starting with its world premiere in 2009. Megan McGinnis is effervescent as Jerusha. The beautiful young lady has a wonderful singing voice, is a fine actress and lights up the stage with her presence. She is the prototype of the Broadway leading lady.
Tall, handsome and talented, Robert Adelman Hancock is the perfect partner for McGinnis. He sings well, develops the right vulnerability, and the duo appears to be made for one another.
In an interview McGinnis said, “I can’t tell you how much I love this piece. It’s a brilliant and beautiful show — so well crafted. Jerusha is the most human character I’ve ever played. She is fallible and opinionated and real. You watch her develop into this wonderfully strong and independent woman, as she falls in love with knowledge and learning, and also falls in love with a man! It’s certainly a journey I don’t mind taking every night.”
Capsule judgment: Though some may call it a bit of sentimental fluff, a staged chick flick with formulaic music, I’d term it a charming tale, developed with clear characters, set to melodic music with beautiful harmonic blends, that is well staged and performed. DADDY LONG LEGS is an absolute must see!
From Cool Cleveland contributor Roy Berko. Berko’s blog, which contains theatre and dance reviews from 2001 through 2011, as well as his consulting and publications information, can be found at http://RoyBerko.info. His reviews can also be found on NeOHIOpal and CoolCleveland.com.
Roy Berko, who is a life-long Clevelander, is a Renaissance man. Believing the line in Robert Frost’s poem “Road Not Taken,” each time he comes to a fork in the road, he has taken the path less traveled. He holds degrees, thought the doctorate from Kent State, University of Michigan and The Pennsylvania State University. His present roles, besides husband and grandfather, are professor, crisis counselor, author and entertainment reviewer… Read Roy Berko’s complete bio here
WIN $500 by using the free Cool Cleveland app now available for your iPhone, iPad & iPod Touch by clicking here, and for your Android smartphone or tablet by clicking here.
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Inaugural Concert
Case Covers a Modern Master
Reviewed by Elsa Johnson & Victor Lucas
We always go to the annual faculty concert at Case Western Reserve University’s Mather Dance Center. This year it was billed as the Inaugural Concert of what’s now the Dance Department. No more “dance program,” which means what, exactly?
For now the answer is more of the same only better with some interesting new people and an ambitious cover of choreography by Pascal Rioult.
First on the program was Edges (2010) with choreography and set by Artistic Director Gary Galbraith and Video / Art / Music by Cleveland’s own Kasumi. The video was projected onto Galbraith’s set, 4 big panels placed diagonally across the stage. The 4 dancers, Christopher Bell, Kristy Clement, Chun-Jou Tsai, and Ying Xu, appeared in the flesh in front of the panels; when they went behind the panels their life-size images were sometimes projected onto the screens, apparently in real time.
Galbraith is a past master of the interplay between real dancers and their virtual images. In Edges he gave the dancers phrases full of agile fuetes and quarter turns.
Clevelanders have seen a lot of Kasumi’s work, but we like it more in a concert setting like this one rather than an installation. In this performance of Edges the colors were vivid and intense. The clips from lame old sci-fi movies – frowning “scientists” and helmeted “spacemen” – provided an amusing foil for the dancers.
New faculty member Andre Megerdichian provided a fast and technical study for 4 dancers. Titled Game of Thorns, the 6-minute piece apparently took its inspiration from the pencil and paper game, a variation of Hex. An alumnus of Jose Limon Dance Company, Megerdician’s choreography here exemplified the way Limon company and dancers have moved on from the lush – and dated — humanism of the founder’s own choreography to a thoroughly contemporary dance expression. To see ”Game of Thorns” in its entirety, click (here).
Megerdician himself appeared in Kitchen Sink (2009), a duet choreographed by Rebecca R. Levy. The dance began with a kind of prologue in which Megerdician lay prone center stage and Levy sat stage right, smoking. When the music started up it was Patsy Kline singing I Fall to Pieces, which you can hear (here).
I fall to pieces, Each time I see you again, I fall to pieces, How can I be just your friend?
Levy wore a dress with some cleavage showing — thus presenting herself as a woman rather than as a female dancer — and no matter how persistent Megerdichian was, she wasn’t having any – at first. He, wearing an athletic undershirt and pants rather than tights, was very much a guy rather than a dancer. Inverting the gender roles of the song, he was the one who wanted to rekindle the old flame.
Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers got a lot of film footage out of sublimated mating dances like Kitchen Sink where choreography becomes a metaphor for foreplay and the sexual act. Levy and Megerdichian danced (mostly) upright and without tap shoes but the choreography and their chemistry generated the necessary tension and heat. Just in case there was any doubt about what the dancing was a metaphor for, they relit the cigarette and passed it back and forth after the crescendo, all with very dry humor.
Occupying pride of place at the end of the program was the Case premiere of Views of the Fleeting World. Choreographed by Pascal Rioult (pronounced rhee YOU) and premiered on his company in 2008, Views is the 3rd Rioult work to be presented by Case. We had our say about Views when we reviewed the recent Rioult concert here. Case Dance Department’s cover of this difficult piece was most successful in terms of the actual dancing. Regisseurs Galbraith, Department of Dance Chair Karen Potter, and longtime Rioult collaborator and muse Joyce Herring can take much of the credit for that, but it’s the department’s teachers and ultimately its dancers who deserve praise for mastering Rioult’s vocabulary, which borrows equally from his background in Martha Graham modern dance and contemporary ballet. Consider, for instance, Carissa Bellando’s interpretation of Rain, the striking solo that came midway through Views. In her Rain, Bellando gave us both the sudden falls, which we can attribute to Graham’s influence, and the precise aerial technique and fleet feet which are impossible without considerable ballet training.
Costume construction (by Kerville Cosmos Jack assisted by Rachel Stoneking, Danielle Dowler, and Potter) was also a highly successful aspect of Case’s Views. The long red skirts worn by both men and women in parts of Views could perhaps have used one more run through the dryer with fabric softener, but the pleats, which must have been difficult to maintain through the run, showed ever so nicely as the dancers’ legs opened in 2nd position.
We were surprised to be disappointed by lighting in Views. The opening dance, Orchard, was transcendently bright and beautiful in the Rioult concert (RioultVideo) but Case’s version of the David Finley lighting design left the dancers’ faces in unbecoming shadows. Beautiful projections for Views, designed for Rioult by Brian Clifford Beasley, were a highpoint for us in the Rioult concert. At Case, as adapted by Galbraith, the projections on the back wall were dim and disappointing. If these shortcomings were the result of inadequate lighting equipment, then hopefully the new Dance Department will spring for necessary equipment in the future.
Also on the program, Fade to Snow and Gray (2005) by James Hansen.
We watched the Inaugural Concert of the CWRU Department of Dance on Sun 11/13/11 at 2:30 pm.
Learn more about CWRU Department of Dance at http://Dance.case.edu.
From Cool Cleveland contributors Elsa Johnson and Victor Lucas. Elsa and Vic are both longtime Clevelanders. Elsa is a landscape designer. She studied ballet as an avocation for 2 decades. Vic has been a dancer and dance teacher for most of his working life, performing in a number of dance companies in NYC and Cleveland. They write about dance as a way to learn more and keep in touch with the dance community. E-mail them at vicnelsaATearthlink.net.
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More on the Healthy Cleveland Initiative
By Mansfield Frazier
When a group of public officials, civic leaders and health professionals met at the Boys & Girls Club on Broadway a few weeks ago, a sense of urgency permeated the air… and with good reason: Urban violence and youth-on-youth killings are robbing from all of us, no matter how far away anyone might live or work from the heart of Cleveland. The cost… in lost lives, tax dollars and reputation of all Greater Clevelanders is virtually incalculable.
And until we start intervention programs that assist underprivileged parents in the proper raising of their children (yes, the Harlem Children’s Zone is a great example), we’re only going to be left with the option of cleaning up behind the few at-risk youth once they begin acting out and eventually engaging in gun violence. Collectively we should be damn tired of mopping up spilt blood and should be willing to take hard looks at alternative solutions.
However, there are a few truisms we’re going to have to face head-on and deal with first:
One — there will be no limits placed on Second Amendment rights in America, thus making guns less allopatric or more difficult for inner-city youth to acquire. Supply and demand is at play and all efforts at curbing capitalism always fall short. Additionally, it’s been well proven that interdiction does not and can not work… just look at the failed so-called War on Drugs. If there is a demand, there will be a supply… period.
Two — we’re not going to be able to place a limit on First Amendment rights either… violent films and video games are with us to stay. Indeed, even Black Friday is turning into a violent game, just like I easily predicted in print two years ago. But I take no pride in saying, “I told you so” since I sometimes hate being right.
And three — guns empower powerless people. Two street terms come to mind: “pistol courage” and “pistol power.” Parents, educators, mentors, police… no one is going to talk certain young people out of their fascination with firepower. In an age where Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is the most popular video game of all time, how are we going to persuade young people — with little to lose in life but their life — to stay away from guns. It quite literally can’t be done.
I’m challenging the corporate community to partner with the National Rifle Association (NRA) to start a handgun safety program for urban youth. Yes, teach inner-city kids how to respect and properly handle firearms.
Now, once you get your panties un-bunched, stick with me for a minute and think this through. Certainly such a program could simply make a small percentage of urban thugs better at busting a cap in someone’s ass, but there’s anecdotal evidence such training would actually help solve the problem, not worsen it.
My brother and I were raised hunting and fishing. My father took us (along with two or sometimes three other neighborhood kids) to an abandoned quarry off Rockside Road and taught us to shoot. He gave me a .22 rifle for my 7th birthday. At age 12 I received a .410 Mossberg shotgun. He owned a tavern in our very rough inner-city neighborhood so there was never a moment he didn’t have a sidearm in his pocket or within easy reach. And I never thought of touching one of his guns without his permission.
Indeed, when, as a teenager, some kid would show up at one of our hangouts with a pistol they’d somehow acquired, I — and the other kids my father had taught how to properly handle and respect firearms — would silently ease away from the scene. We were not about to become statistics, shot by accident by some damn fool kid who knew nothing about guns or the handling of them.
At present there’s a plethora of programs designed to assist inner-city kids… literally dozens of them; the problem is, the at-risk youth who need them most attend them least.
Could a firearms safety training program designed for urban kids (the NRA for years has had a program named “Eddie Eagle” for suburban youth) attract a percentage of the at-risk youth population… and keep them coming back so they could be mentored in other ways as they learn about firearms and safety under strict supervision?
Participation in the training could be tied to improved grades and consistent good behavior. At least the “bait” being offered — being able to handle guns — is something they’re already vitally interested in, and it just may be a good enough hook to reel them in for the long haul. It certainly is worth a try… is anyone listening?
From Cool Cleveland correspondent Mansfield B. Frazier mansfieldfATgmail.com. Frazier’s From Behind The Wall: Commentary on Crime, Punishment, Race and the Underclass by a Prison Inmate is available again in hardback. Snag your copy and have it signed by the author by visiting http://www.neighborhoodsolutionsinc.com.
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REVIEW: Convergence continuum’s THE INTERNATIONALIST is a linguistic challenge
Convergence continuum’s THE INTERNATIONALIST is a linguistic challenge
Reviewed by Roy Berko
There’s Spanish, German, Hebrew and Italian. Now there is Washburnspeak.
Much of The Internationalist, a play now in production at convergence continuum, is spoken in a language that is alien to the ear, yet has a strange familiar authenticity. Every once in a while a Yiddish, English or French word pops in making the listener assume that what is being said makes sense. Forget it. It’s author Anne Washburn’s linguistic invention. To make matters even more interesting, or frustrating, depending on your point of view, is that there are no super-titles.
The wisp of a plot centers on Lowell, an American on a business trip. We don’t know what the business is, where he is, or why he is there. In fact, by the time the play is over, depending on your imagination, you might not even know why you went to see this play.
Lowell is met at the airport by Sara, a beautiful assistant from the company he is visiting. After spending a night of supposed amour, the real adventure starts. The task is figuring out what’s going on. Is their internal robbery, international espionage, insider trading, terrorism? Who knows. As it turns out, who cares.
Originally conceived as a one-act, cc’s production is a newer two-act version which takes about one-and-a-half hours with a ten minute intermission. It matters not. The play misses out on a wonderful chance to take on the typical American who goes to foreign lands with little or no knowledge of the verbal and nonverbal customs of the area and expects the natives to adjust to the ego-centered American. Or, possibly to show the difficulty of communication. Washburn doesn’t accomplish either of those goals. If you want to see that well-developed, go to New York and see CHINGLISH.
The convergence cast is good. Especially considering that most of their lines are gibberish. It’s hard to take cues when the lines don’t make sense, or play off each other when the understanding is missing. Tom Kondilas (Lowell), Laurel Hoffman (Sara), Geoffrey Hoffman, Laura Starnik, Ray Caspio, and Robert Hawkes all try hard to make sense of what they’ve been given, and put up a valiant but unfortunately losing fight.
Capsule Judgement: Convergence-continuum’s Artistic Director Clyde Simon is noted for often picking off-the-wall plays. THE INTERATIONALIST is way off. So much so, that one can only ask what, except its obtusenesss, Simon saw in this script.
Roy Berko, who is a life-long Clevelander, is a Renaissance man. Believing the line in Robert Frost’s poem “Road Not Taken,” each time he comes to a fork in the road, he has taken the path less traveled. He holds degrees, thought the doctorate from Kent State, University of Michigan and The Pennsylvania State University. His present roles, besides husband and grandfather, are professor, crisis counselor, author and entertainment reviewer… Read Roy Berko’s complete bio here
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Posted on Wednesday, November 30th, 2011, in Commentary, News, Performance, Review, Roy Berko, Theatre | No Comments »