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October 6 - 28, 2006
Night of the
Living Dead
Reviewed by
William Bryan |
Running time 1:00 – with no
intermission
A late night show (10 pm curtain)
The Romero classic live on stage
Click here to buy the DVD |
In 1968, George Romero and John Russo wrote, and George directed, this
classic horror film. With a meager budget of $144,000, the film went on to
gross over 12 million dollars, and has since been translated into over 25
languages and was listed by the Library of Congress in the National Film
Registry with other films deemed “historically, culturally or aesthetically
important.” The show now running at the DC Arts Center is a faithful
adaptation for the stage of the classic Romero film. The plot remains true
to the original work, and the special effects are low budget as well. While
the original was often labeled terrifying, repulsive, or (due to the culture
of the Vietnam war) even subversive, Hollywood has dulled our senses to gore
and terror to the point that a production of this nature would be called
more of a comedy than a horror. The Landless Theater production suffers from
that downfall. Still the show is an enjoyable evening during this Halloween
season and the cast entertains in this small, intimate theater.
Storyline:
A stage adaptation of the movie about seven people trapped in an isolated
farmhouse facing ravenous ghouls. As the night unfolds and the horrors
increase the survivors slowly begin to turn on one another.
The Landless Theater
company is known for choosing more “unique” works. Their season began
with
Cannibal the Musical by Trey Parker (co-creator of South Park)
and continues later with such selections as Yours Truly, Jack the Ripper,
so Night fits in well with their eclectic lineup. While most of the
terror is gone for many us who have been inured to the genre over the years
by Hollywood’s frequent attempts to become grosser and more sensational (Saw
I, II and III anyone?), Night is still a great look back
at a classic tale of terror. Cindy Marie Martin, who plays the innocent
Barbara, goes from plucky to catatonic over the course of the show, and
works well with David Harrell’s Ben, the “hero” of the show. While Harrell
has the lion’s share of the action, moving the story along with his
presence, the remaining cast members, victims and zombies alike, contribute
to a comedic and entertaining evening.
Some of the female
audience members present objected to the “helpless women” of the play, but
none ever seemed truly scared. Instead, unintentionally perhaps, the show
has become a great comedy for the stage. Laughs were frequent, and at times
obviously unintentional, and though psychologists often say we laugh to help
us cope with things that we fear, this time the guffaws and giggles were
more given to the nature of the show, and the tenacity with which the cast
attempts to remain true to the original story. Often productions of classic
horrors attempt to “update” them to the modern, but other than not using
chocolate syrup for blood, and the limits of performing all scenes on one
set, this production follows almost to the letter the script and plot of the
original film. This lets the audience see how far such things have
come. During the movie premiere in 1968, there was no rating system yet in
place, and since the show was offered as an afternoon matinee, small
children were admitted and terrified by what they saw. Now, the show might
even be appropriate for older children (12 and up), with an adult there to
answer questions if necessary.
There do remain of
course the truly disturbing moments, one of the most memorable being when
young Karen, played by 7th grader Dakota Ross-Cabera, transforms
into a zombie following an earlier bite, and then uses a garden spade to
disembowel her mother. And beware sitting in the front row of the production
if you are nervous about having gore dripped on you (none was) or being
menaced by the living dead.
Written by Lori
Allen Ohm. Adapted from the film by George Romero and John Russo. Directed
by Melissa Cruz. Design: Jared Davis (set) Mariah Taylor (costumes) Alex
Zavistovich (fight choreographer) Andrew Lloyd Baughman (lights and sound)
Amanda William (stage manager). Cast: Joe Angel Babb, Fred Baughman, Bruce
Allen Dawson, Kevin Finkelstein, David Harrell, Cindy Martin, Lonnie Martin,
Maurice McKnight, Dakota Ross-Cabrera, Kelley Slagle, Heather Whitpan. |
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March 17 - April 17, 2005
Nine |
Reviewed April 1
Running time 2:10 - one intermission
General admission seating
Occasionally musically satisfying but dramatically stilted
Click
here to buy the CD |
Landless moves up from the tiny confines of the DC Arts Center on 18th
Street to the gorgeous and spacious new digs of GALA Hispanic Theatre at the
renovated Tivoli Theatre on 14th Street which it is renting for this, their
most ambitious production to date. The 1982 Tony Award winning musical by
Maury Yeston, Arthur Kopit and Mario Fratti is based on Federico Fellini's
semi-autobiographical film 8 1/2 but here the hero, a film director
undergoing a mid-life/mid-career collapse, has the maturity of a nine year
old rather than a mere 8 1/2 year old. Its a very minor distinction.
Storyline: A successful Italian film
director who is the embodiment of egotism suffers from burnout as he
approaches his 40th birthday. Not only is he under contract to begin filming
a movie he hasn’t even begun to write, his wife wants a divorce, his
mistress wants him to break free to marry her and he is having visions of
his mother and of himself approaching his tenth birthday.
The
score that Maury Yeston (Titanic, Grand Hotel) created for this
unorthodox musical remains a solidly satisfying piece of work with each song
being
a scene telling a key part of a hard to tell story. Numbers such as
“Only With You,” “My Husband Makes Movies,” “Unusual Way,” and "The Call
from the Vatican” make sense in the logic
of the script by Arthur Kopit. Since it is an effort to portray what is
going on in the mind of a man undergoing something of a breakdown, that
logic is somewhat simplistic and episodic but the episodes do provide a
structure for Yeston's intriguing score.
That score is delivered by
the cast of twelve with a piano and percussion. Andrew Lloyd Baughman stars
as the Fellini-ish dictatorial director so self absorbed that everything in
the entire world is about him . . . indeed, he sings that he wants "the
universe to get down on its knees and say 'Guido, whatever you please'" but
his problem is his "body's clearing forty as (his) mind is nearing ten."
Baughman brings a bit of mania to the part which works well and he sells
some of the stronger moments of his songs. He has a nice duet with himself
courtesy of filmed segments projected on a much too-large screen at the rear
of the stage. Hilarey Kirsner directed the filmed segments most of which
were shot at the Columbus Fountain at Union Station.
Landless' resident musical director and Baltimore based music professor Asha
Srinivasan is both co-director with Baughman and musical director for this
production. She and the entire Landless team haven't made the leap from tiny
playing space to large stage with much success. The increased resources
available seem to amplify the lack of polish which never seemed too
important in the intimate confines of the DCAC. Neither scenic design
nor sound design are credited and that can be presumed to be an indication
that no single designer was responsible for either. The lack is telling as
neither the visual feel of the show nor the audio quality match the needs of
this bigger, better house. Nevertheless, there
are highlights in this production. The unorthodox introductory musical number, the vocal
equivalent of an overture, is well sung, Casie Platt's rendition
of "Unusual Way" is lovely and Jen Morris does a fine job
with the tricky "The Call from the Vatican."
Music and lyrics by Maury Yeston. Book by Arthur Kopit. Adaptation from the
Italian by Mario Fratti. Based on Federico Fellini's 8 1/2. Directed
by Andrew Lloyd Baughman and Asha Srinivasan. Musical direction by Asha
Srinivasan. Film direction by Hilarey Kirsner. Choreography by Julie Herber.
Design: Jon Lawniczak (lights) Amanda Williams (photography) Karina Wright
(stage manager). Cast: Andrew Lloyd Baughman, Caroline Cash, Kathleen
Gonzales, Ashley Hall, Julie Herber, Mary Idone, Ally Jenkins, Lucien Joy,
Sarah McKnight, Jen Morris, Casie Platt, Shelby Sours, Karissa Swanigan,
Jessica Tanenhaus, Jen Tonon, Jill Vanderweit. Musicians: Vanessa Scrivano
(piano) Jen Tonon (percussion).
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August 6 - 28, 2004
The Glass Mendacity |
Reviewed August 20
Running time 1:45 - One intermission |
Lets face it - this is the perfect time for
Landless to bring in this spoof of Tennessee Williams' three major works. It
originated in Chicago fifteen years ago but it happens to match the recently
completed Kennedy Center festival that staged three of his works in massive
new productions: A Streetcar
Named Desire, Cat on a Hot Tin
Roof and The Glass Menagerie.
Guess which three this take-off takes off from? Yup, here are Cat's
Big Daddy, Big Momma, and Maggie, Menagerie's Amanda and Laura and
Desire's Blanche and Stanley - all narrated by Mitch. Ah, what timing!
Storyline: The family that gathers around Big Daddy awaiting the
diagnosis that so many of them hope will expedite their inheritance includes
more than just Big Mamma, Brick and Maggie, and Big Daddy is now Big Daddy
Dubois. The Dubois family now also includes Amanda - as explained by the
narrator of this mixed up memory play. Scrambling the elements of
Tennessee Williams' three biggest hits, the script revises the most
memorable speeches from each character loaded with puns and incongruities.
The more you know of Williams' work the funnier
the script is. This production, in the classic manner of the Landless
Theatre Company which approached such works as
THE EIGHT: Reindeer Monologues and
The Mystery of Edwin Drood with
cross dressing energy and enthusiasm, gives the role of Amanda to Matt
Baughman and Stanley to Patricia Penn. If, perchance, the script has a
slight pause in the pandemonium, the addition of gender bending can cover
the gap.
Director Andrew Lloyd Boughman keeps things
moving as swiftly as he can, which works to his advantage as the audience
can't stop to ponder the double or even triple entendres before the next gag
is sprung. Perhaps the funniest single bit in the show is its subtitle,
"Tennessee Williams Exploited" placed in a box over the main title just as
the Kennedy Center's "Tennessee Williams Explored" logo was featured on all
their material.
It is all pretty sophomoric stuff but it is
approached with just the sense of mischievous enthusiasm that makes it fun
for a quick lark. All shows start at 10 PM and get out just as things are
beginning to pick up in Adams Morgan just outside of the DC Arts Center. At
$15 a seat, the show can serve as a launching point for late night revelry.
Written by Maureen Morley and Tom Willmorth.
Directed by Andrew Lloyd Baughman. Design: Karina Wright (sound) Jill
Vanderweit (photography) Sarah McKnight (stage manager). Cast: Matt
Baughman, Stuf' N. D'Cloth, Julia Bilek Hyland, Ally Jenkins, Katherine
Lawrence, Patricia Penn, Tyler Smith, Jill Vanderweit. |
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August 8 -
30, 2003
The Rocky Horror
Show |
Reviewed August 23
Running time 1 hour 35 minutes |
Hiding under the surface of shock-schlock and put-on of Richard O’Brien’s
endlessly stylized rock send up of classic b (or c) movies of the 1950s, has
always been a solid storyline and well constructed songs. It is this
foundation which can turn an evening where everyone on stage is having a
good time to one where everyone in the audience is also having a good time.
The Landless Theatre Company shoehorns its version into the small space of
the District of Columbia Arts Center’s 50-seat theater, fills the room with
sound and tries to get the patrons into the mood. It takes a while but they
succeed in the end.
Storyline: A spoof of all the conventions of sci-fi horror flicks found at
the drive in movies of the 50s finds a virginal teenage couple stranded in a
rain storm seeking refuge in a castle occupied by a libidinous crew of
characters lead by Frank-n-Furter, a transvestite from the transexual planet
of Transylvania who is attempting to create the perfect man in the
laboratory.
Landless stages the musical in what it refers to as a concert setting,
obviating the necessity (or opportunity) for substantial sets and visual
effects. However, they haven’t sacrificed either costumes (with their
ghoulish punk look mixed with titillating boudoir lingerie styles) or the
bag of audience participation goodies sold before the show. These bags
include flashlights to shine during the song “(There’s A Light) Over At The
Frankenstein Place,” a newspaper to hold up to protect yourself from the
squirts of the spray bottles used to simulate the rainstorm and other
accoutrements audiences need to join in the “fun.” That’s a good thing, for
the event is only really fun if the audience gets into the spirit of the
thing.
This
cast certainly throws itself into that spirit. They may not be great actors
and they may not be great singers but they have a fine time and their spirit
is infectious. The audience at the performance we attended seemed a bit
reserved at the start, almost as if they needed a warm-up act. The recent
Broadway revival of the show provided such a warm up with an introduction
and a framing device of starting the show as a movie which then comes to
life. This version takes longer to come to life but it gets going
eventually.
Part
of the reason it gets going is the towering persona of Matthew Anderson as
the androgynous genius, Frank-n-Furter. He makes the part the engine of the
piece. David B. Yackley makes a great deal more out of the part of the
narrator than might be expected. While the rest of the cast performs the
rockish musical numbers with microphones safely in hand, Yackley uses his
own booming voice without amplification and frequently outdoes the
electronics. The four-member band lays down a solid line for all of the
numbers.
Book, music and
lyrics by Richard O’Brien. Directed by Andrew Lloyd Baughman. Choreography
by Meredith Bilek. Stage management and technical design by Sarah McKnight.
Cast: Chad Allen, Matthew Anderson, Matt Baughman, Jennifer Berg, Meredith
Bilek, Amy Easton, Chris Galindo, Ally Jenkins, Erin Kaufman, Yuval
Samburski, Tyler Smith, David B. Yakley. Band: Rob Hamilton, Michael
Ricketts, Asha Srinivasan, Jen Tonon. |
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December 21, 2001 – January 5, 2002
The Mystery of Edwin Drood |
Reviewed December 29
Running time 2 hours 15 minutes |
There is a spirit of enthusiasm
and a wealth of energy among the dozen cast members that fills the very
small space of the black-box at DCAC. For a while, it is infectious and sets
up an expectation among the audience that, sadly, isn’t fulfilled for the
entire evening. At times it appeared that the cast was having more fun than
the audience, not exactly the desired relationship.Storyline: The
players at a typical English music hall put on a mystery play with songs and
all the banter and ribbing directed toward the audience that music hall
shows are known for. The mystery is a loose telling of the story of an
unfinished novel by Charles Dickens. Mr. Dickens never wrote the final scene
revealing who the murderer is, so the audience is asked to vote on the
outcome toward the end of the second act.
There seems to be a run on plays asking for audience participation with
the patrons determining the outcome. Over at Source, they pause every
evening to let the spectators chose the ending of Intimate Exchanges.
At the Kennedy Center you can buy a ticket and help select the guilty party
in Shear Madness. Now it is the mystery of Edwin Drood that is the
subject of a vote. It does mean that the cast needs to be on its toes as the
ending may be different each night.
There is no shortage of spirited performances in this production. But
there is a shortage of vocal skills that hurts the production. The score
makes demands that can’t be met by the cast assembled by director Andrew
Lloyd Baughman. He seems to have cast on the basis of acting skill and not
singing ability. He is also credited with being the vocal director but there
are two other "music directors" credited and that may be a source of the
problem. No one authority focusing on a key element.
But Baughman is also the best singer in the cast and, as the music hall
player acting the part of the (apparent) villain of the piece, gives one of
the most dynamic performances. Another comes from another Baughman, college
student Matt, in multiple smaller bits who makes the most of brief
appearances with single lines. He managed to get three different laughs of
the four word line "The goose is cooked."
The show played in repertory briefly with the eight person play "The
Eight: Reindeer Monologues" which enlivened the holiday season in a very
bizarre way for three weekends. It has now closed but Drood stays on for one
more weekend.
Book, music and lyrics by Rupert Holmes. Based loosely on the unfinished
novel by Charles Dickens. Director/vocal director Andrew Lloyd Baughman.
Assistant director/fight choreographer Chad Allen. Music directors Asha
Srinivasan, Will Knapp and Andrew Baughman. Additional choreography by
Maggie Belzer. Cast: Chad Allen, Andrew Lloyd Baughman, Matt Baughman, Jamie
Boileau, DC Cathro, Josselyn Tatiana Essey, Caleb LePlante, Scott McKnight,
Jessica Poduska, Nancy Scheiderman, David Yackley, Nora Zanger. |
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December 14 – 29, 2001
THE EIGHT: Reindeer Monologues |
Reviewed December 29
Running time 1 hour 30 minutes |
Eight fabulous performances of eight distinctive monologues add up to a
bizarre but intriguing evening. Two years before Eve Ensler’s The Vagina
Monologues began a trend toward collections of first person accounts to
match monologue titles, actor, director and playwright Jeff Goode came up
with this strange concoction that gives each cast member a dozen minutes in
the spotlight.Storyline: Each of Santa’s elite team of reindeer give
their reactions to allegations of perversion and abuse on the part of their
employer, the jolly old elf. This is distinctly adult material, not fit for
a family holiday outing.
It is unfortunate that we were unable to review this production before
the end of its short run in repertoire with the longer-running The
Mystery of Edwin Drood. But we wanted to document the accomplishments of
the Landless Theatre Company and this talented cast for the record.
Each of the monologues are stand-alone scenes which could be easily
lifted out of the play and performed as a demonstration of performance
skill, and there is plenty of performance skill being displayed by this
cast. But each scene adds pieces to an overall story – as bizarre and
distasteful as it is – in small details which give depth to the
characterizations. This production has eight extremely strong performances
with hardly a weak link in the chain. Each captures not only the humor of
their peculiar persona but the pathos underlying their character’s role in
the cumulative story.
Jeff Obermiller is the only openly gay reindeer (Cupid – "the God(ess) of
love.") Andrew Lloyd Baughman, who also directs, is Comet, the good ol’ boy
with a past who is loyal to Santa for his work with troubled reindeer youth.
D.C. Cathro’s Dasher grumps about the one and only year he wasn’t the lead
of the team – the year of the Rudolph scandal. Matt Bauman as Prancer
complains of the damage Rudolph’s movie did to his own film career while
David Yackley’s Donner unburdens himself of guilt over his choices as the
father of his red-nosed son. Alice Anne English as Blitzen breaks the code
of silence over the rape of Vixen who, in Robin Lang’s final monologue gives
her version of the story. Then there’s Julie Kurzava’s fine work as Dancer –
the self-absorbed former ballerina reindeer. |
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