The new Leesburg Theatre Company mounts its first show, Steve Martin’s
comedy of ideas. It is a good choice for a first show, for it allows the cast
of eleven to sink their teeth into something bright, light and fun which
also has some substance to it, while it doesn't demand much in the way of
physical design. Mounting the show in the hall of Oatlands with a simple
table, a bar, a few stools and some background flats, the attention stays
focused on the script that sprouted from the unique mind of comedian Steve
Martin. The play plays with intellectual concepts with a light touch,
creating a really fun evening.
Storyline: In the Paris of 1904 in a small
neighborhood bar in Montmontre the local patrons include an as-yet
undiscovered artist named Pablo Picasso and an as-yet unpublished physicist
named Albert Einstein. Over glasses of wine they explain to the other
patrons their views of what the new century holds, a century they each
believe will be defined by their gifts. However, they are joined by two
others who may be icons of the new century.
Steve Martin wrote this diverting piece in 1993 and it has had a remarkably
steady series of productions in small professional and community theaters
ever since it was first produced by Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre Company as
their inaugural production. It was greeted as full of optimism, wit and
insight, dealing with sometimes weighty issues without being weighed down by
any pomposity, and without taking itself too seriously. These are the
hallmarks of this production as well.
Director Mary Speed keeps things moving briskly. She
doesn't allow any of the cast members to pause too long on any one clever
line which might slow down the entire piece. Still, she helps avoid any of
the dialogue overlapping which is particularly important for the key
exchange between Einstein and Picasso over the meaning of their work
(Picasso: "... yours is letters." Einstein: "Yours is lines." Picasso: "My
lines mean something." Einstein: "So do mine." Picasso: "Mine touches the
heart." Einstein: "Mine touches the head." Picasso: "Mine will change the
future." Einstein: "Oh, and mine won't?").
The cast exhibits skill levels ranging from perfectly
acceptable to really very good. The Einstein and Picasso of the piece are
Glen Bartram, suitably hyper as the physicist, and James Campanella who gives
the artist a touch of smarmy machismo. Particularly fun to watch are
Courtney Armstrong and Jim Johnson as the barmaid and bartender, and Bob
Rosenberg who makes his running gag of running off to the loo a kick. So,
too, is Bri Laskey who only has one brief moment on stage but makes as much
as she can out of her opportunity
Written by Steve Martin. Directed by Mary Speed. Design: Mary Speed (set)
Rachel Summers (costumes) Lindsay Stewart (makeup) Renee Hayes (properties)
James Campanella and Mary Speed (lights). Cast: Courtney Armstrong, Glen
Bartram, James Campanella, Andy Johnson, Jim Johnson, William Kitzerow, Bri
Laskey, Caroline McEntee, Meg Miller, Bob Rosenberg, Jen Sizer.
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The scale of this theater matches the scale of the play and all the elements
seem to be in proper proportion to each other. That is why this small piece
yields such large pleasures. It seems strange to talk about "small piece"
when talking about the work of Andrew Lloyd Webber who gave the world the
mega-musicals of the last three decades (Cats, Phantom of the Opera,
Evita, Sunset Boulevard.) But that is precisely what Tell Me on a
Sunday is and it feels just right in this small house.Storyline: A
young English girl comes to America to make her mark as a fashion designer.
She bounces from affair to affair, suffering heartbreaks from New York to
Hollywood but perseveres to get her "green card" and establish a career
designing hats.
Tell Me on a Sunday, written in the late 1970s by Lloyd Webber and
Don Black for actress Marti Webb, and taken to Broadway as the song half of
"Song and Dance" starring Bernadette Peters, is a one-act piece for one
performer telling its story entirely in song. Kim Allison is the one
performer here. She gives it her all, singing the twenty plot-laden songs
with the emotional delivery they require and selling the somewhat strained
conceit of the show which has her singing to the other characters of the
story when they aren’t actually present on stage. She sings "Let Me Finnish"
to Chuck, the bongo player she came to New York to join. She sings the
beautiful "Unexpected Song" to Joe but then has to plead that he "Tell Me on
a Sunday" when the inevitable break up comes. She sings "Take That Look Off
Your Face" to her friend Viv. Through it all, she sings as she writes
letters to her "Mum."
It is always difficult to assess the contributions of the director in a
one-performer show because you can’t tell what comes from whom. But either
director Martha Lynch gave Allison all the freedom she needed to create this
story or she kept her from succumbing to the temptation to over-do the
quirky elements of this young girl’s personality as she rushes from coast to
coast and relationship to relationship. Whoever deserves the credit, the
result is a well paced, satisfying package.
Music Director Julia Krestsinger and her colleagues bassist Herb Tax and
drummer Sara Taylor provide impressive support with an appropriately lilting
feeling that emphasizes the extremely tuneful nature of Lloyd Webber’s
score. The program doesn’t identify just who is responsible for the somewhat
overly tight lighting design or the smoothly functional set of clothes racks
filled with the many creative costumes that Allison dons as she changes from
scene to scene before the audience’s eyes. But the entire package comes
together marvelously.
Music by Andrew Lloyd Webber. Lyrics by Don Black. Directed by Martha
Lynch. Musical direction by Julia Kretsinger. Cast: Kim Allison. |
