Home of the FREE weekly email Update

Running time 2:00 - no intermission
 t A Potomac Stages Pick for a spirited production
 of an intriguing musical
Click here to buy the CD

Storyline: The stories of the people who assassinated or attempted to assassinate Presidents from Abraham Lincoln through Ronald Reagan, are woven into a one act dark fantasy with the focus on the two most famous -- John Wilkes Booth and Lee Harvey Oswald. Much of it is true to the historical record, but it culminates in a fascinatingly constructed scene in which Booth leads the spirits of the assassins in an effort to convince Oswald to assassinate Kennedy, bringing new meaning to the term “JFK assassination conspiracy.”

Stephen Sondheim has never been constrained by the boundaries of tradition in his musicals. While others write boy meets girl - boy looses girl - boy wins girl love stories, Sondheim writes about revenge driven maniacs and purveyors of human flesh (Sweeney Todd), obsessed artists (Sunday in the Park with George) or the clash of cultures (Pacific Overtures). As usual, not only is his subject unorthodox, his structure is as well. Sondheim and book writer John Weidman (who also wrote the book for Pacific Overtures as well as Big with Maltby and Shire and Contact with Susan Stroman) plumb the depths of the American psyche from the American dream to our obsessions with celebrity and with guns. A series of vignettes - some set to song and some acted without music - are tied together by the concept that the acts of Booth and Oswald turn all the other assassination attempts from individual acts of derangement into, in one assassin's words, "a force of history."

Kooks aplenty add up to a frightening force indeed. When those kooks are portrayed in song, the discipline of melody, meter, rhyme and structure help create deep character portraits within the limited time available. When non-singing dialogue or monologue scenes are used, however, it takes longer to make the points. Things can begin to bog down, but director Robert W. Oppel finds just the right pacing to make each vignette work. And when they break into song! Then there is a clarity to the piece. The motivations of success-obsessed Charles Guiteau, who shot Garfield, or of John Hinkley, Jr., who tried to assassinate Reagan in order to impress a movie star, become clear and gripping in just a minute or two. Hinkley's love song "Unworthy of Your Love" sung by Tom Burns as an adolescent love-sick pup evolves into a fine duet with Tammy Crisp as Lynette Squeaky Fromme pining for her Charlie - that's Charlie Manson. The concept is strengthened with chorus numbers that make a character out of the instrument of destruction they all have in common ("The Gun Song") and make the connection to the American dream ("Another National Anthem"). This production uses the song "Something Just Broke" that was written after the original production and which breaks the flow of the narrative just as it is gaining cohesion.

The small stage that the Spotlighters use - a square thirteen feet on a side - is filled with a huge cast for its size, more than twenty performers, and many of them make an impression. Most impressive among them is Edward J. Peters who not only fills the room with his booming baritone, he provides the company the leadership appropriate for his role as John Wilkes Booth, who, in the amazing logic of Sondheim and Weidman, leads the band of misfits. Liz Boyer-Hunnicutt is both funny and sad as one of two attempted assassins of Gerald Ford, Sarah Jane Moore. Stuart Goldstone makes a fascinating individual out of an historical nobody, Charles Guiteau, who had to shoot James Garfield to be remembered by history, and Thom Sinn finds the angst underneath the bluster in the ramblings of Samuel Byck, who, in his Santa outfit talks about hijacking an airliner to crash into Richard Nixon's White House. No wonder theaters were hesitant to mount this piece right after the hijacked jet flew into the Pentagon on September 11, 2001.

Music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. Book by John Weidman. Based on an idea by Charles Gilbert, Jr. Directed by Robert W. Oppel. Musical direction by Julie Parrish. Design: Peter Wood (set) Frank Miller (lights) Brian Rudell (sound) Amy Jones (photography) Grail Schroeder (stage manager). Cast: Liz Boyer-Hunnicutt, Tom Burns, Tammy Crisp, Matthew Demetrides, Gregory Dorsey, Ben Fisler, Sarah Fitzpatrick, Andrew Gaver, Stuart Goldstone, Jeffrey Hawks, Chris Homberg, James Hunnicutt, Elton Keith, Kevin Kostic, Shane Logue, Edward J. Peters, Thom Sinn, Laura Weiss.

 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
 

Running time 1:45 - no intermission
An enthusiastic community theater production
Click here to buy the CD

Storyline: In a sixteenth century Spanish prison, newly arrived novelist Miguel de Cervantes is tried by his fellow prisoners before he must stand trial before the Inquisition. A poet and actor, he presents his "defense" in the form of a play presenting the story of an addled old man who thinks he is Don Quixote de la Mancha, knight errant, who fights for right and chivalry.

On first arriving and finding a seat in the general admission audience, the question arises as to how such a normally large scale production will be pulled off in such a limited space. Often remembered, if not for the movie adaptation then certainly for the chart topping numbers from the 2000 National touring performances staring Grammy award winning artist Jack Jones, the role of Cervantes is a daunting one to step into, and the musical itself has certain expectations whenever staged. Happily these are met in many areas if lacking in some. Sterling Scroggins certainly fits the role of Quixote/Cervantes aesthetically and his speaking performance is a match as well. In song he couldn’t quite reach the "Impossible Dream," but he made us see it and remember that it exists for all of us. More impressive was Christine Damuth in the role of Aldonza/Dulcina who sang with heart, passion, and a remarkably strong and clear voice. She easily stole the show with her solo numbers.

The staging was stark and simple. A few blocks and boards made up the various settings which were then truly given life beyond the performances of the cast by the ingenious and numerous props designed by Pamela Teachout. Costumes were simple as well, in keeping with the budget of any community theater, but the true detraction for the Spotlighters is their reliance on MIDI music. The synthesized sounds do not enhance any show, especially one which originally was composed and orchestrated with such care by Mitch Leigh. Given any small space, sacrifices must be made when room for a full orchestra or even a small band cannot be found, but relying on computer generated scores reduced the show far below what it could have been.

Director Robert Teachout still carries on the tradition we have noted before of the Spotlighters company. He manages to encourage his entire cast to show enthusiasm for their roles, and if the dance numbers are not overly complex or extravagant, they are earnest and well staged. The story gets told, and in the manner which is the true mark of achievement for any community performance, more than just family and friends of the cast and crew will enjoy the performance and feel they have been well entertained.

Music by Mitch Leigh. Lyrics by Joe Darion. Book by Dale Wasserman based on the novel by Miguel de Cervantes. Directed by Robert S. Teachout. Choreographed by Timoth David Copney. Design: Kenny Dasbach (set) Rionn Kelly (costumes) Pamela Teachout (props) Jessica Winfield (lights) Gary Piacentini (sound) Amy Jones (photography) Candice White (stage manager). Cast: Julie Ahrens, Robert Ahrens, Paul Ballard, Jamieson Brown, Libby Dasbach, Steve Dasbach, Christine Annaliese Damuth, Lilly Hayes, Kevin Kostic, Douglas Kotula, Rebecca LaChance, Sterling Scroggins, Gary Sugai, Santos Ventura.

 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
 

Reviewed May 27
Running time 2 hours 25 minutes
Click here to buy the CD

Storyline: Set to a musical score and sending up many of the traditions of American musicals, this parody kicks off when teenagers from the economically depressed Hope Falls, West Virginia, go spelunking deeper in the neighboring caves than anyone had gone before and discover a creature that is half bat - half boy. He attacks one of them and his bite may be life threatening. They bring the batboy to the surface where the sheriff, fearing a controversy in an election year, turns him over to the local veterinarian where he is soon taken into the family, educated and introduced to society. The town is in the midst of hysteria over an epidemic affecting their cattle herds and blame it on the batboy.

The title character is a difficult one for any performer, requiring a range of action and emotion from hysterical freight to romantic attachment and from feral ferocity to elegant distinction. It also requires a range of postures from crouched and scrunched while in a small cage to shoulders-back standing tall. Shane Logue handles the entire range well, either in his loin-cloth costume in this innocent version of what the side show hucksters used to refer to as "a state of nature," or in his green going-to-the-prom suit that looks as if it might have been borrowed from Pee Wee when he got back from his big adventure. His voice isn't always comfortable with the range he has to hit, but he belts it out anyway, much to the benefit of the entire production.

Each of the cast members surrounding him works just as hard to sell the individual parts of the piece. John Hurley, as the veterinarian who takes the batboy in only because is wife agrees to resume conjugal relations if he does, can't reach every note but he can sell every song and scene. As that wife, Maribeth Vogel Eckenrode may swallow a note or two but she can belt the big ones. Shelly Work as the love interest/daughter and Andrew Gaver as her soon to be thrown over boyfriend are very good, and Aaron Dalton throws himself into the role of the sheriff with gusto.

Musical director Trent J. Goldsmith deserves kudos for the excellence of the vocal work of the entire ensemble and the solid feel of the accompaniment, but must accept an equal share of blame for the problems of balance between the instrumentalists and the vocalists. Too often the singing gets covered by the playing - especially in this tiny 87 seat theater-in-the-round. The confines of the space place a premium on moving set pieces on and off during black outs between scenes and this is well handled here, as is the use of the four pillars that flank the stage. Here they are used as perches for spelunkers and bat-creatures alike to scamper up.

Written by Keith Farley and Brian Flemming. Music and lyrics by Laurence O'Keefe. Directed by Terry J. Long. Choreography by Jason M. Kimmell. Musical direction by Trent J. Goldsmith. Design: Terry J. Long, Shannon Maddox and Shannon Hunt (set) Shannon Maddox (costumes) David Sadowsky (lights) Robbie Heacock (sound) Shannon Hunt (properties and stage managment). Cast: Ellana Barksdale, Shannon Benil, Aaron Dalton, Maribeth Vogel Eckenrode, Andrew Gaver, Stuart Goldstone, Tatiana Hodziewich, John Hurley, Shane Logue, Dana Walter-Shock, Shelly Work, Ed Zarkowski.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
 

Reviewed January 9
Running time 2 hours
Mature material

Proving once again that adventurous selection of plays can result in some fascinating theater experiences, Spotlighters takes on a musical not many have heard of and makes it an interesting if somewhat spotty experience. Strengths? Enthusiasm, earnestness, respect for the unorthodox material, fine costuming and choreography and fine acting under exceedingly intelligent direction. Weaknesses? Limited vocal talents, spotty dancing ability and a limited capacity sound system for the synthesized accompaniment. Bottom line? An interesting and intriguing evening for adults for a mere $15 a ticket.

Storyline: A musical made up of ten scenes, each detailing a sexual encounter between two characters. The gimmick is that one character from the first scene has a liaison with a new partner in the second who then has an encounter with a new partner in the third and so on until the final scene is an encounter between the last new character introduced and the partner from the first scene, bringing it all around full circle. (In mathematical notation it would be A+B then B+C then C+D then D+E then . . . until finally you get to J+A.)

Michael John LaChiusa (The Wild Party, Marie Christine) created this musical out of Arthur Schnitzler’s La Ronde. (David Hare also used La Ronde for his non-musical The Blue Room.) He is one of the rare breed of composer/lyricist/librettist currently working in the American musical theatre and, as a result of the fact that he is collaborating with himself, so to speak, his pieces are exceptionally well integrated. But his music is always highly intellectual rather than emotional and his melodies are frequently mere snatches of tone lines. There is little here to soar or to impress outside of the context of the piece. But much of it ably serves the scene for which it is written.

Music and lyrics like these require either excellent voices (LaChiusa’s last major work was written specifically for soprano Audra McDonald) or, at the least, performers who can divert attention from their vocal skills with a display of acting and/or dancing skills. That is what this production offers. Only two of the cast of ten posses truly strong voices, Jason Hentrich who plays “the writer” and Michael Tan, “the Senator.” But none of the cast members holds back. Each gives the best they have and most have a great deal to offer in their acting and dancing.

There is no nudity in this production even though most of the activities enacted might have actually been performed sans clothing. The costumes devised by BJ Schaen-Cazer convey the wide range of times, locales and status of the characters quite well. There certainly is plenty of panting and thrusting so very little is left to the imagination under either Bob Russell’s direction or Laura Butler’s choreography. Together they have assembled an intriguing and satisfying piece on the tiny stage in their intimate space. The theater follows an open seating policy. Some of the staging favors the side of the theater facing the box office so try to sit in the section immediately to your right after you enter the theater.

Book, music and lyrics by Michael John LaChiusa. Directed by Bob Russell. Musical direction by Fuzz Roark. Choreography by Laura Butler. Design: C. Dan Bursi (set) BJ Schaen-Cazer (costumes) Dawn Robey (properties) Bart Wirth (lights) Brad J. Ranno (sound) Lindsay Baker (stage manager).  Cast: Jason Hentrich, Tiffany James, Stephen Kelly, Momo Nakamura, Lee Ordeman, Michael Rostek, Karen Starliper, Jane Steffen, Michael Tan, Bart Wirth.