Love Never Dies @ Playhouse Square, Jan. 9--28, 2018

Review by Laura Kennelly

Phantom of the Opera fans rejoice! No chandeliers fall, but the mysterious Phantom still holds dangerous powers. Music still means love. Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Love Never Dies, running until January 28 at Playhouse Square’s Key Bank State Theatre, reveals the tortured genius at work (I mean the Phantom, of course).

The show calls on the varied talents of a large creative team: lyrics by Glenn Slater and Charles Hart; book by Webber, Ben Elton, Glenn Slater, and Frederick Forsyth, and orchestration by Webber and David Cullen. Although it opened in London’s West End in 2010, Love still hasn’t made it to Broadway.

But never mind. It’s got Broadway-style flash and dazzle. Despite a few dubious plot twists (but what fan of Phantom cares about that?) the capable cast blazes through the romantic, telenovela drama. If you’ve not seen The Phantom of the Opera then please see it first: all will then become clear when you see Love Never Dies.

One might quibble over whether it’s “love” or “obsession” that never dies, but hey--it’s an old-school, romantic musical. Some songs, such as “The Beauty Underneath” and “Once Upon Another Time” offer pleasant memories of the original show.

Back to the plot. It’s been ten years since the Phantom disappeared. Now a world-famous opera singer, Christine Daaé (rich-voiced Meghan Picerno) has married her Raoul (a mercurial Sean Thompson) and they have a ten-year-old son, Gustave. (Gustave's part is double cast and the night I went it was handled with stunning clarity and impressive vocal range by Jake Heston Miller.)

The family arrives in New York after she’s invited to perform at Phantasma at Coney Island for a huge sum at the invitation of a well-known impresario. And that’s where the spooky left me. Coney Island? Place of fun, swims, hot dogs, and muscle builders? Just sounds like fun, not menace (though I know anywhere can be).

Gardar Thor Cortes, as The Phantom (yes, of course he shows up), seems so suave and kind (and he has such a beautiful tenor/baritone voice) that one wonders why Christine didn’t get over the mask phobia faster. He’s still manipulative, so we can’t give him a pass.

The Coney Island setting is a great excuse though for the second most entertaining performer in the show (the first being Miller’s Gustave). To call stuntwoman Katrina Kemp (who plays Fleck) diminutive and cute misses the point: she’s that, but she’s also an athletic dynamo with excellent timing (she debuted in showbiz playing Chucky the Killer Doll at Universal Studios).

Kemp and trio partners Richard Koons (as the chubby Squelch) and Stephen Petrovich (as the tall Gangle) do their best to turn Coney Island into a place of fun mixed with mystery. I’m not sure how they fit into the story, but I really don’t care. It’s a pleasure to see their teamwork.

Other characters include bossy Madame Giry (Karen Mason) and her daughter, the insecure Meg Giry (Mary Michael Patterson).

Marvelous set and costume design by Gabriela Tylesova (including a stage-filling gown that makes Christine look like a peacock), a fine orchestral score ably directed by Dale Rieling, and eye-catching choreography performed by the nimble ensemble cast, all contribute mightily.

Bottom Line: It’s a fine night of entertainment if you already know and love the original show. Webber proves, however, that it’s hard to compete with yourself. It’s no Phantom of the Opera.

Side Note: Kudos to the RedCoat volunteers who calmly and competently ushered us out before the second act because smoke and fog used in the show had alarmed the Playhouse Square fire alarms. After about five minutes, they brought us back into the theatre. All clear. Thanks!

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The Diary of Anne Frank @ The Cleveland Play House, October 29, 2017

Review by Laura Kennelly

It’s both painful and important to realize that The Diary of Anne Frank is based on truth, not fiction. Drawn from incidents described in young Anne’s diary, this moving drama by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett (adapted by Wendy Kesselman) is currently onstage at PlayhouseSquare.

The Cleveland Play House production, directed by Laura Kepley, brilliantly places us into Anne’s hidden life in Amsterdam during 1942-1944, a time when Nazi forces sought out and killed millions of Jews throughout Europe (as they had done from the beginning of World War II). Anne’s diary, found after her death, chronicled what happened when she and her family, as well as another couple, their son and a family friend spent two years hidden in a secret upper floor.

The claustrophobic possibilities of the intimate Outcalt Theatre’s stadium seating draw us in and fine acting keeps us watching and hoping — against all prior knowledge — that this time Anne and her attic family will escape. They don’t.

The whole cast stays in character and onstage even during intermission, reading, mending, doing laundry, getting dental work done (one hopes not really — looked painful), and napping, adding to the impression that one is watching history happen.

The audience sits on three sides, with those in the first row actually seeming to be part of Anne’s household prison. Much credit should be given to scenic designer Robert Mark Morgan for creating an abstract, yet realistic, upper room. Beds, clothes, kitchen, sink, tables all speak of lives lived in poverty and fear. The audience is surrounded by barbed wire and wooden beams, harsh reminders of prison and wartime. Lighting by Mary Louise Geiger, costumes by David Kay Mickelsen and sound by Daniel Perelstein all contribute to the play’s somber mood.

Anne Frank was only thirteen when she went into hiding. Annie Fox as Anne offers a spirited performance that makes it clear that in hiding or not, Anne Frank is a lovably complex person, unsure about what to do with her intellect (she dreams of being a journalist) or her budding sexual maturity (early printed editions of the diary omitted her sexual curiosity and her intermittent dislike of her older sister and her mother). Fox’s passionate and volatile Anne at one point shouts “I have a better side.”

She adores her father (a kindly Rick D. Wasserman), shouts at her stressed-out mother (a nervous yet generous Lise Bruneau), stomps around the attic and is often impatient with her older sister (a steadfast Sarah Cuneo). As time passes Anne develops a crush on fellow teen Peter Van Daan (an obligingly polite Yaron Lotan). Lotan’s Peter is as naive as Anne and their stolen moments in the upper room’s attic bring innocent joy to both.

Others in hiding with them are Peter’s parents. His mother cannot face their new reality and clings to her luxurious fur coat (Laura Perrotta convincingly conveys her as a woman on the edge). His father (a secretive Bruce Winant) reveals serious character flaws. The family dentist Mr. Dussel (a fussy, grumpy Lee Wilkof ) also lives with them.

The brave Miep Gies (an open and friendly Amy Fritsche) risks her life and that of her family to smuggle food to the seven in the attic. In addition, it was she who preserved Anne’s diary. Other characters include “Mr. Kraler” (a helpful Tom Woodward) who assists Miep Gies. (“Kraler” is a pseudonym for Victor Kugler whose real name was not published in the original diary.) Paul Bugallo, Randy Merrill and Peter Hargrave play Nazi enforcers, concentration camp guards (they guard us at one point), and nosy neighbors.

Anne herself never knew that her simple diary would make her famous and that millions would love her and mourn her loss. In her diary she wrote, “I finally realized that I must do my schoolwork to keep from being ignorant, to get on in life, to become a journalist, because that’s what I want! I know I can write …, but it remains to be seen whether I really have talent …”

I think we can safely say “Yes.”

BOTTOM LINE: A fine and moving production of what is now a classic.

Apollo’s Fire: 50 ways to leave your lover @ St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, November 11

Review by Laura Kennelly

Apollo’s Fire brought a new (although this wonderful ensemble often brings something new) offering to music lovers last weekend (November 9-12). Early English love songs performed by tenor Nicholas Phan and a small ensemble showed us that love has ever been problematic. Provocatively titled “50 ways to leave your lover, or A Painted Tale,” the program featured songs from the 16th and 17th centuries. They combined to recreate feelings swirling around a young man’s love, the delicious object of said love, his terribly broken heart, and his subsequent death.

In brief introductory remarks, Phan characterized his selections as “a greatest hits breakup playlist” and thanked Apollo’s Fire founder, Jeannette Sorrell, for “letting me play in her sandbox.” And “play” he did, singing with beautiful diction, precision, and feeling over a dozen sweet, angry, and sentimental songs that survived a turbulent era of British history.

Phan, with a voice sometimes honey sweet, sometimes forceful, all contained within the grey stone walls of the church, made us believe we had somehow travelled back to England. It was a beautiful program (although I’m surely glad not to have endured living in those days).

In addition to doing a splendid job accompanying Phan, ensemble members Johanna Novom and Evan Few (violin), René Schiffer and Ann Marie Morgan (viola da gamba and cello), and William Simms and Charles Weaver (lutes, guitar, and theorbo), also played selections from William Lawes’ The Royal Consort. The stem of the theorbo stretched so long and high that one wondered if at times it might not also have been used as a defensive weapon (keeping fans at bay, perhaps?).

On Saturday night, Phan also treated the audience to a lovely encore: the Whitney-Houston-made-famous “I Will Always Love You.” Phan made a great (and deliberate) point with his encore choice: our generation did not invent love’s delights and woes. The poets and composers Phan selected celebrated it (“My thoughts are winged with hopes,” John Dowland), fretted over it (“O turn not those fine eyes away,” John Blow), and despaired of it (“Not all my torments can your pity move,” Henry Purcell).

The sedate setting with soaring ceiling contributed to the mood inspired by centuries-old songs as they were enlivened and made relatable to today by Phan’s exceptional vocal technique and the Apollo’s Fire Ensemble’s traditionally excellent playing.

It’s too late for this program, but it’s not too late to catch the Apollo’s Fire Christmas fest (yes, this is a plug). It’s a new program created by Jeannette Sorrell: “Christmas on Sugarloaf Mountain: An Irish-Appalachian Gathering.” It features Amanda Powell (soprano), Ross Hauck (tenor), the Apollo’s Singers, and the Sugarloaf Mountain players. (Not to mention, free ginger cake and cider after the concert.)

For tickets and concert locations around town, see apollosfire.org or call 216-320-0012.

Wicked @ Playhouse Square, Nov. 8--Dec. 3, 2017

Review by Laura Kennelly

Magic still sparkles in Wicked: The Untold Story of the Witches of OZ. This brilliant production once again has returned to Playhouse Square (possibly for the fifth time), but then consider, this Tony-Award winner has been on Broadway since 2003 (and it’s still playing there). The time-tested winning concoction, created by Stephen Schwartz (music and lyrics), Winnie Holzman (book), and Joe Mantello (director) enchants, amuses, and entertains. The touring version, thanks to its all-round excellent cast, good small orchestra plus adept mechanics, offers Cleveland a dashing Broadway-quality production.

Imagine taking a favorite story, The Wizard of Oz (by L. Frank Baum), later made into a film classic, and then turning the whole familiar story inside out. That’s akin to what novelist Gregory Maguire did when he created the Wicked storyline from plot threads in Baum’s original.  

Wicked shows nothing directly about Dorothy Gale, but she figures significantly in the story anyway--just around the corner and up the yellow brick road. If, by chance, you are like me and have never seen the show or read Maguire’s book then I don’t want to spoil the delightful surprises in store for you. (In the past, I had avoided the show, on principle, I suppose and indulging in “How dare they mess with the Oz series” and other foolish thoughts.)

So I can testify as one who comes to it fresh. And folks, I loved it even before the curtains parted. A giant dragon head with flashing eyes crowned the stage, making it look rather like a Viking ship and a green stage curtain centered with sparkling emeralds promised Oz delights.

Blonde and beautiful Glinda the Good comes bubbling down from the sky to begin the story. Ginna Claire Mason’s Glinda moves delightfully from airhead narcissist to one who just might be a good queen some day. Her “Popular” brings back memories of “Legally Blonde’s” Elle and everyone else who ever won prom queen back in the day.

Elphaba, her green-skinned classmate is just a bit different, but Mary Kate Morrissey makes her appealing and vulnerable. Morrissey’s vocal range is also impressive as she sustains note  high and low, especially in ”No Good Deed.” Mason and Morrissey sell the closing duet, “For Good,” like two who really believe its “feel good” message..

The whole cast (including the monkeys) clambers, dances, and scrambles entertainingly  along the way as they sketch out the full stories of the wizard, the tin man, the scarecrow, and even a bit of  the cowardly lion. Susan Hilferty’s costumes are beautiful, though the citizens of Oz look a lot like those in District One in The Hunger Games (but Wicked came first).

Bottom Line: A classy production with an excellent cast. No wonder denizens of Northern Ohio love this show and return to Oz time and time again.

Anything Goes @ Baldwin Wallace University,  Nov. 8--Nov. 19

Review by Laura Kennelly

It’s light, it’s frothy, there’s lots of dancing, and tons of amazing young talent. What’s not to like? Anything Goes, the sprightly classic now onstage at Baldwin Wallace University’s John Patrick Theatre (in Kleist Auditorium) features music and lyrics by Cole Porter (with book by Guy Bolton and P. G. Wodehouse).

Age becomes it. Anything Goes first appeared in 1934, but it dances right into (and over) today’s concerns (celebrity, the Stock Market, crime, churches, social status). Directed by Jim Beaudry, choreographed by Gregory Daniels with music direction by Beth Burrier, over two dozen tuneful actors (some no doubt destined for Broadway like so many BW alums) prance, dance, and generally dazzle.

It all begins with a sea voyage (as does many a good tale). In the 1930s, if you wanted to go to England, you most likely took a huge ocean liner across the Atlantic. By a series of mischances, the S. S. American sets sail with some very odd characters indeed. There’s love too. Several “boys” meet several “girls” as the show progresses and romance wins out (as it must in a 1930s musical).

The leads are double cast. I saw the “Billy Cast” that featured velvet-voiced Veronica Otim as nightclub singer Reno Sweeney. Reno gets the best songs--and Otim (a bit Eartha Kitt, a bit Dorothy Dandridge, and all Veronica) handled them like a pro: “I Get a Kick Out of You,” “You’re the Top” (a snappy duet with Charlie Ray as the hapless stowaway Billy Crocker),  “Friendship” (with the delightfully comic Marcus Martin as master criminal Moonface), and “Anything Goes” (with the whole chorus).

But dancing takes precedence in this toe-tapping musical and rhythmic feet moving across the stage with precision and grace make bring real joy. It’s a first-rate show (and I won’t even say “for a college production” because the set by scenic designer Jeff Herrmann and assistant Rose Musto has a professional vibe).

Bottom Line: Lots of beautiful dancing, most at a dizzying rate, great young voices singing classic songs--go if you can.

There are shows November 15 to 18 at 7:30 pm. and a 2 p.m. show Nov. 19. For tickets go to https://www.bw.edu/events/2017/fall/11-11-Anything-Goes or call the box office at 440-26-2240.

"Waitress" @ Playhouse Square, Oct. 17-Nov. 5

“Waitress” @ Playhouse Square, October 17--November 5, 2017

Review by Laura Kennelly

“If music food pie be the food of love, play on” [alt-Shakespeare]. That could be the motif for “Waitress,” the first 2017-2018 Playhouse Square Broadway series production. Pie features prominently in this musical directed by Tony-Award winner Diane Paulus and featuring songs by Sara Bareilles and book by Jessie Nelson. It’s based on the 2007 film “Waitress” by Adrienne Shelly.

This finely-crafted show in the Connor Palace opens the national tour of the Broadway hit that’s still playing in NYC. We may be in Cleveland, but we might as well be in New York as far as cast, sets, and performances go. “Waitress” revels in a slickly presented and sassy mix, blending song, great sets, recipes for imaginary pies, dancing, and sex into a sprightly musical event.

It doesn’t do to think too much about the soap-opera plot.

Our heroine, small-town gal Jenna (the multi-talented Desi Oakley) works as a waitress in Joe’s  Diner. She’s a kind soul and a genius pie-creator (one for every mood) who suddenly finds out she’s pregnant. Her abusive husband, Earl (played with forceful charm by Nick Bailey) and her selfish obstetrician, Dr. Pomatter (played with facile kindness by Bryan Fenkart) turn out to be equally egotistical.

But that’s all right because, despite her poor taste in men, she’s got a fabulous diner “family.” Her wonderful and funny fellow waitresses, Dawn (Lenne Klingaman) and Becky (Charity Angel Dawson), offer her love and support as they go about filling orders and coffee cups. Klingaman’s Dawn, a cute little nerd who snorts when she laughs, even finds a soulmate when she’s encouraged to be kind to the shy Ogie (an equally nerdy and awkwardly attractive Jeremy Morse).

Dawson’s Becky is a warm-hearted, full-throated singer who knows what she wants (that would be diner cook Cal, played with bossy humor by Ryan G. Dunkin). Also important to the story, cafe patron Old Joe (Larry Marshall, who plays grumpy and kindly with equal aplomb).

We also meet Lulu, the result of Jenna’s unplanned pregnancy and, as it turns out, the true love that she’s been seeking all along. The delightful five-year-old Harper Schmid played Lulu opening night. Meredith Wakefield also plays Lulu.

And cheers to the multi-faceted ensemble who switch with ease from cafe patrons to hospital personnel, including Baldwin Wallace graduate Kyra Kennedy as Dr. Mrs. Pomatter,  who makes one wonder, what was the doc thinking, fooling around with a patient? (Today he’d be sued for sure).

Other ensemble members include Skyler Adams, Law Terrell Dunford, Patrick Dunn, James Hogan, David Hughey, Arica Jackson, Emily Koch, Maiesha McQueen, Gerianne Perez, and Grace Stockdale who switch characters and scenery with impressive skill.

Set designer Scott Pask creates stage magic with rolling carts that take pies on and offstage. The stage itself is beautifully framed with pies in brightly lit cases. The small onstage band accompanies songs such as “Never Ever Getting Rid of Me” (Ogie’s cute love song) and “Everything Changes” (Jenna’s true love song). If you are lucky enough to hear a CD or recording of Sara Bareilles singing the songs she wrote you will find them sweetly plaintive and often quite clever. The lyrics include various recipes for pies, mostly large globs of sugar, butter, flour, and nostalgia. (Do not sit close to the speakers, however, as they were so loud where I was that I had trouble understanding the words. Sound is a problem not unique to the Connor Palace, but I wish it could be solved.)

Bottom Line: A well-acted and beautifully staged musical treat with a feel-good ending.

PS: But back to pies: There were mini-pies sold in the lobby and during intermission and apple pie scents pumped into the lobby as well. Well, who doesn’t love pie? It set a positive vibe. But then, I still treasure an earlier even better movie pie memory (no, not the notorious film you might be thinking of). In “Michael” (1996) John Travolta plays an angel who orders every pie in a roadside diner and urges Andie MacDowell to sing "I love pie." Now that’s happiness!

A Midsummer Night’s Dream @ Playhouse Square, October 6--November 5, 2017

Review by Laura Kennelly

Photo: Roger Mastroianni

The Great Lakes Theater Midsummer Night’s Dream gives us Shakespeare at his hilarious (and bawdy) best. In this enchanting Hanna Theatre production directed by Joseph Hanreddy every silly, comic element melds and spins into a dream. Under Hanreddy’s guidance, anachronisms (but who cares?) and traditional elements blend seamlessly to create a fresh look and a marvelous show.

The identity mix-up plot centers on what happens one summer night to a combination of royals and commoners. Theseus, Duke of Athens (a regal Nick Steen) is engaged to Queen of the Amazons, Hippolyta (an equally royal Jillian Kates). Commoners Nick Bottom (an awkward yet earnest David Anthony Smith) and his friends and fellow bumblers Peter Quince (Tom Ford), Francis Flue (Mack Shirilla), Robin Starveling (Jodi Dominick), and Tom Snout (Alex Syiek) strive to create a play for the wedding. (The play itself, which we also get to see, is a comic dessert served at drama’s end.)

Now add to the confusion, four young people who lead a complicated romantic life.

It seems Hermia (a pretty and flighty Michelle Pauker) has enraged her father Egeus (a blustering Aled Davies) because she’s fallen for Lysander (super-cool Corey Mach). Mach’s comic  slacker  Lysander couldn’t care less about being proper--he saunters out chewing gum--which he sticks on a beam and later retrieves--and he’s very hip (fist-bumps and all). It’s easy to see why Davies thinks him a bad match for his precious Hermia. Her father’s candidate, Demetrius (an earnest Jon Loya) also loves Hermia, but she scorns him. And then there’s Helena (Keri Rene Fuller) who has a crush on Demetrius. Fuller’s Helena shines as a prototype for all the nerdy beauties hidden behind glasses (she sports a giant pair) who also have a heart of gold.

One midsummer night, all individually venture into the forest that surrounds Athens.

Events that follow might serve as a caution about going into the forest after dark: It’s dangerous. Fairies do roam there and they are fiercer than one might imagine. They also love to tease mortals.

It seems that in the forest a less than happy Fairy King Oberon (Steen) and his Queen (Kates) have had a big spat. Oberon delegates his careless servant Puck (M. A. Taylor) to put flower juice into the eyes of first Lysander and then Demetrius. Since flower juice makes one love whomever they see first, they both fall for Helena. Oberon then plays the same prank on his wife, and she develops a passion for Bottom, who has been enchanted at Oberon’s command. Bottom now sports donkey ears, a tail, and other reputedly sexy parts of an ass. Kates and Smith make comic hay of the situation, creating genuinely funny scenes. Bottom has the time of his life.

After much romping and merriment, dawn comes, enchantment falls, and the lovers find their soulmates, there’s a wedding or two and, of course, all ends happily.

Costumes by Rachel Laritz, especially Titania’s sheer and sparkly gown worn with magnificent flair by Kates, create magic of their own. Scenic designer Scott Bradley, lighting designer Rick Martin, and sound designers and composers Rob Milburn and Michael Bodeen all add to the magic.

Bottom (as it were) Line: Absolutely delightful escape into Shakespeare at his funniest. It’s a magic world out there. Highly recommended.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream continues, alternating with The Hunchback of Notre Dame, through November 5 at the Hanna Theatre.