Theater Review: Playing the Assassin -- TheaterWorks

Garrett Lee Hendricksand Ezra Knight. Photo: Lanny Nagler

Tackling Responsibility, Forgiveness and the Goal of Manhood 

By Lauren Yarger
The theme is football, but the emotions passed around on stage at TheaterWorks are far more hard-hitting than any action you might see on a playing field.

Playing the Assassin, David Robson’s gripping drama about responsibility, manhood, forgiveness – and football – is getting an electrifying run here with standout performances from Garrett Lee Hendricks and Ezra Knight reprising roles they originated last fall at Penguin Rep Theater in Stony Point, NY, where Joe Brancato, Penguin’s artistic director, also directed.

The play is inspired by a real NFL incident in 1978 when Oakland Raider Jack Tatum hit New England Patriot wide receiver Daryl Stingley so hard the force of the tackle left him in a wheelchair for life. No foul was called but the rules of the game – what constitutes a fair hit -- changed and so did the lives of both men.

Robson sets the play in a Chicago hotel suite (designed by Brian Prather in a way that doesn’t make the hotel setting obvious at first) where former safety Frank Baker (Knight), a.k.a. “The Assassin” for his brutal tackles, considers the chance of a lifetime. A TV producer (Hendricks) offers him a contract (and money needed by the now-walks-with-a-cane Hall-of-Fame-reject) to do an interview during the upcoming Super Bowl. The catch is that he will be appearing with a football player named Lyle whom he left crippled following a hit in an exhibition game – and will be required to apologize.

Baker is incredulous that Lyle would even be willing to do the interview, but Turner assures him it’s possible, as long as Baker is willing to apologize. That raises some issues for the veteran, who played for 12 years under rules which encouraged hard hits – for a League that looked the other way when bounties were paid to players for hurting the opposition. He did his job, Baker replies – and it left him without any coaching options, a shot at the Hall of Fame or any hope of being thought of in any way except as the man who had paralyzed Lyle.

When Turner’s real motivations for wanting to air the interview are revealed “defense” and “offense” take on new meaning. A wide field of emotions runs wild with Turner demanding that Baker recreate the fated hit on Lyle. This scene, with fight choreography by Ron Piretti, stretches the reality of Robson’s drama a bit and seems forced. The emotions battling throughout the 80-minute drama are intense, however, as the men explore the consequences of choices, taking responsibility, dealing with hatred and finding forgiveness.

Hendricks and Knight take hold of a wide range of emotions and score a touchdown in a play that questions not only motivations of pro sports, but what it really takes to be a man.

Playing the Assassin runs (ha, ha) through April 26 at Theaterworks, 233 Pearl St., Hartford. Performances are Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays: 7:30 pm; Fridays and Saturdays: 8 pm; Weekend Matinees at 2:30 pm. Tickets $15-$65; 860-527-7838; www.theaterworkshartford.org.

Theater Review: Stand By Your Man -- Ivoryton

Ben Hope and Katie Barton. Photo by Jacqui Hubbard

Marriage is the Tune of the Hour at Ivoryton's Production of Stand By Your Man

By Lauren Yarger

Marriages – lots of them – are in the air as Ivoryton Playhouse opens its 2015 season with Stand By Your Man, the Tammy Wynette story.

The show explores the tragic story of  “The First Lady of Country Music,” who was married five times (Mark St. Germain’s book might more accurately be titled Stand By Your Men.) The singer is portrayed by Katie Barton (Million Dollar Quartet tour), whose real-life husband, Ben Hope (Broadway’s Once), stars as Wynette’s husband and song-partner George Jones. And if that’s not enough marriage for you, the show is directed and musical directed by another married couple, Sherry and David Lutken, who were at Ivoryton in 2012 with Ring of Fire.

Some 26 tunes Wynette made famous, like “D-I-V-O-R-C-E,” “Golden Ring,” “Apartment # 9,” We’re Gonna Hold On,” My Elusive Dreams” as well as the title song are included. Barton does a nice imitation of Wynette and duets with Hope bring back memories of Wynette/Jones hits. Sherry Lutken skillfully utilizes the talented on-stage musicians (who play a wide variety of instruments) to fill out scenes.

The story starts with Wynette’s humble Mississippi cotton-picking roots where she marries beau Euple Byrd (nicely played for some depth by Morgan Morse) pretty much because her overbearing mother, MeeMaw (a scene-stealing Marcy McGuigan), doesn’t want her to. Children follow and Tammy pursues a career as a beautician with the help of Dolly Parton (Lily Tobin).

Singing in church and to her babies leads to a career in country music, thanks to producer Billy Sherrill (Louis Tucci), who recognizes her talent, gives her a new name (she was born Virginia Wynette Pugh) and signs her to a recording contract with Epic Records. Success on the charts doesn’t mean happiness for the singer, however, as she endures a string of failed marriages to Byrd, Jones, Don Chapel (Jonathan Brown) and Michael Tomlin (Guy “Fooch” Fischetti). The woman, who seems to have issues with being alone, also marries singer/songwriter George Richey (Eric Scott Anthony), who becomes her manager. There’s a romance with actor Burt Reynolds (Sam Sherwood, sporting a signature moustache) thrown in for good measure as well.

Wynette also has a daughter requiring medical treatments as well as numerous health issues of her own that leave her addicted to pain killers before her death at age 55. While the performances are good and McGuigan adds much needed humor, the story – and the songs – are just kind of depressing.

St. Germain’s script follows the tendency of many of these biographical shows to try to put on stage every single thing that the subject ever said or did. There’s a whole scene, for instance, for two lines of dialogue. It makes the two-and-a-half hour production (with intermission) feel congested with so many facts and songs. He also adds a hokey “retrospective from heaven” perspective that’s unnecessary to tell her story.

But if you are a fan of the tangy songs Wynette made famous, head on over to Ivoryton where they are being lovingly performed.

Stand By Your Man runs through April 5 at Ivoryton Playhouse, 103 Main St., Ivoryton. Performances are Wednesday and Sunday matinees at 2 pm. Evening performances are Wednesday and Thursday at 7:30, Friday and Saturday at 8. Tickets are $42 for adults, $37 for seniors, $20 for students and $15 for children . (860) 767-7318; www.ivorytonplayhouse.org.

Theater Review: Bad Jews -- Long Wharf

Michael Steinmetz and Keilly McQuail  Photo by T. Charles Erickson

Dysfunctional Family and Religion Make Odd Death-Bed Fellows

By Lauren Yarger
When a survivor of the Holocaust dies, family dysfunction rears its very ugly head over who will get his most treasured possession in Joshua Harmon’s Bad Jews playing at Long Wharf Theatre.

And I do mean ugly. In fact, if some of the long diatribes of vitriol the family members hurl at each other here weren’t so funny, you’d flee from the theater, run home and beg your mother to invite all of your family’s most annoying relatives over for dinner so you could thank them for not being as bad as this bunch.

Cousin Daphna (Keilley McQuail) crashes at the Upper Westside apartment of Jonah (Max Michael Miller) to attend the funeral of their grandfather. After thoroughly criticizing Jonah and his family for being too wealthy – his parent bought this pricey studio in their building (designed by Antje Ellermann) as a sort of spare bedroom --  she makes it clear that she wants their grandfather’s chai – a small golden religious ornament that he kept with him through his time in the concentration camps and used in place of a ring when he proposed to his wife.

A man of few words, Jonah indicates that he doesn’t see why she shouldn’t have it, but when his brother, Liam (Mike Steinmetz) shows up with his non-Jewish and blonde girlfriend, Melody (Christy Escobar), the shiksa hits the fan.

Liam, it seems, already has Poppy’s chai, perhaps through some manipulation by his mother on his behalf to secure it while his grandfather was in a coma, and plans to propose with it to Melody.  An apoplectic Daphna feels the item should be hers, since she is the only observant Jew among the cousins. Liam, with his Americanized name and Jonah, who rarely visits temple, are “bad Jews, she says. She is going to join her fiancé (possibly a figment of her imagination) in Israel, she says as proof of her devotion to the religion. The idea of the heirloom passing out of the family doesn’t sit too well with Jonah, however, and he fails to lend Daphna the support she thought she had. Before the confrontation is over, a frenzied Daphna physically attacks Melody (fight direction by Tim Acito) to get the chai back.

While most of Harmon’s script consists of long monologues where characters say the most horrible things to each other, it does contain enough sharp, witty and biting dialogue to keep us in our seats. I’d say it is like witnessing a drive-by shooting where the bullets are words. Some audience members, however, were describing it as offensive.

Humor helps. Melody’s attempt to soothe Daphna with a song from Porgy and Bess is really sidesplitting. Daphna dismisses the WASP’s heritage (and her choice of opera as a major in college) outright, but this non-Jew might just know more about love and family than anyone else in the room. In the end wishy-washy Jonah shows he might have the deepest connection with Poppy’s time in the camps, despite Daphna’s memorization of his tattoo number.

Director Oliver Butler keeps the action moving for the 90-minute intermission-less production and coaxes solid performances form the ensemble – all making  their Long Wharf debuts.

Bad Jews continues through March 29 at Long Wharf Theatre's Stage II, 222 Sargent Drive, New Haven. Performances vary. Tickets are $40-$70. 203-787-4282; www.longwharf.org.

Theater Review Reverberation -- Hartford Stage

Luke Macfarlane and Aya Cash Photos by T. Charles Erickson

A Little Too Up Close and Personal with Characters We Don’t Know

By Lauren Yarger

It’s about friendship and love. It’s about loss and taking chances. And it’s about some other things I’m not so sure about.

Most of all, the world premiere of Matthew Lopez’ Reverberation at Hartford Stage was just not interesting to me. Now before you leap to the conclusion that the only reason I wouldn’t like this play is because of an extended opening scene involving nudity and gay sex (which, yes, like most sex scenes --  homosexual or not -- are unnecessary on stage), let me say that isn’t the reason. I’m actually a fan of Lopez, a frequent collaborator at Hartford Stage (he participated in the Brand:NEW series, served as the 2013-14 Aetna New Voices Fellow and has had productions of Somewhere and The Whipping Man – a fresh and intensely interesting piece – here).

The problem for me was that at 20 minutes in, I still had no real idea of who these people were or why I was being asked to feel as though I were sitting in a chair in the cluttered Astoria, Queens apartment designed by Andromache Chalfant watching them – Director Maxwell Wiliams creates a kind of voyeur feeling by breaking down the fourth wall. Near the end of the two and half hours (with intermission) I still hadn’t engaged with the strange characters and the plot took such a bizzare turn that my notes say, “please make this stop.”

That first sexual encounter is with the apartment’s occupant, Jonathan (Luke Macfarlane of TV’s “Brothers and Sisters”), a reclusive greeting card illustrator who lost his longtime partner in a violent anti-gay attack. His only contact with the outside world is with men he hooks up with for sex through the gay social networking site “Grindr.”

His current hookup, Wes (Carl Lundstedt), has just experienced the best sex of his life  (and so have we, unfortunately) and he is interested in more. Right now, any time. He can’t keep his hands off Jonathan. It might go a bit deeper than just this moment, however. Wes lives in the neighborhood and has had his eye on Jonathan for a while, it seems. The idea of anything more serious than a one-night stand turns Jonathan off, however, and he sends Wes on his way.

Enter Claire (Aya Cash, star of the sitcom “You’re the Worst”). She has just moved into the loft upstairs that Jonathan and his former lover occupied before the tragedy (this second story is visible above Jonathan’s apartment and realistically connected via hallway and stairs). She offers sex to her new neighbor before discovering his orientation, then rather aggressively offers him friendship. He is reluctant at first, but Claire’s flighty, fun-loving and caring personality win him over and the two become best friends, filling needs that aren’t met through their other relationships.

When Jonathan is overwhelmed with grief and crying and screaming in the night, he has only to bang on the ceiling and Claire comes downstairs to get into bed with him so he can spoon her and stroke her hair the way he did with his dead lover. When Claire is getting ready for a date, Jonathan is there to help her zip up her dress and to soothe her later when it doesn’t go well with a jerk who through her out of his car when she wouldn’t put out.

The relationship suffers complications, however, when plans for a vacation together are jeopardized. Claire might have found “Mr. Right” and Wes returns to the mix saying he loves Jonathan and asking to rekindle their relationship. Jonathan just might be in ove with wes after their one too….

The play suffers complications (besides having a bunch of uninteresting characters we can’t really relate to) when Lopez introduces bizarre, psychological or otherworldly twists (though the otherworldly feeling is played up by Lighting Designer Matthew Richards with shadows flitting throughout.)

Under the direction of Williams, the three actors give solid performances – Cash has most of the humorous moments and she makes us think Claire might have some interesting qualities hidden in there somewhere. It’s not enough, unfortunately, to convince us it has been worth the time we have spent being voyeurs into her dealings with odd Jonathan or into his encounters with the one-dimensional Wes.

It’s one of those plays that leaves you wondering what the heck it was about. The audience (which was not full on opening night) was very quiet on the way out of the theater – usually a sign that people haven’t understood what they have seen and are afraid to ask. Or maybe they just didn’t care.

I guess I was hoping for more after so enjoying the rich, fully developed characters of The Whipping Man. We wish Lopez the best on his next project, an adaptation of Javier Marías’ trilogy, Your Face Tomorrow, for the big screen.

Reverberation runs through March 15 at Hartford Stage, 50 Church St., Hartford. Performances are Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday at 7:30 pm; Friday and Saturday at 8 pm; Matinees Sunday and select Wednesdays and Saturdays at 2 pm. Tickets $20-$85  (860) 527-5151; www.hartfordstage.org.

Note: The theater recommends this one for ages 18+ because of the adult themes, language, nudity, violence 

Theater Review: The Dining Room -- Playhouse on Park

EzraBarnes, AnnieGrier, SusanHaefner, JayWilliamThomas, SusanSlotoroff, SeanHarris Photo: Rich Wagner

Watching the Changing Dynamics of a Family Meal in The Dining Room

By Lauren Yarger

Several decades of family interaction play out against the scene of The Dining Room in an upper middle class home in A.R Gurney’s play continuing the mainstage series at Playhouse on Park.

An ensemble cast of five actors (Ezra Barnes, Susan Haefner, Sean Harris, Jay William Thomas, Annie Grier, and Susan Slotoroff) portrays multiples characters in 18 vignettes with timelines sometimes overlapping. The posh dining room (simply set by Christopher Hoyt and lighted by Christopher Jones ) is the focus for all the scenes.

The first has a brother and sister quibbling about who will get the dining room set following the breakup of the household. We discover the dining room has witnessed a number of sibling moments over the years, including a brother and sister trying desperately to win the attention and approval of their uninterested and exacting father.

There also is a son who discovers his mother’s affair, two school friends raiding the family’s liquor supply while parents are gone, a rebellious daughter who stands up to her mother’s social demands, a woman who irks her husband by not showing proper respect for the antique table by pounding away at a typewriter to complete her master’s thesis and a poignant meeting as a father relays instructions for his funeral (including, of course, bringing guests back to the dining room for food) to his loving son.

We also meet a string of maids who serve and clear endless tea times, meals and special occasions. Through them, Gurney most notably makes his commentary about the vanishing culture of White Anglo-Saxon Protestants. The play has a nostalgic, sad feeling in the vein of looking at fading scenes from American life, with a few moments of humor included. (A couple of women seated nearby squealed with delight and laughter throughout, so maybe there are more than just a few moments).

This production is hard to stage because of the many roles being played by the same actors. While Director Sasha Bratt aids the process by using actors who don’t like each other, it isn’t enough to overcome a sense of confusion despite some costuming hints (like aprons for the maids) by Demara Cabera.

At intermission, audience members were asking each other who was who and trying to figure out the relationships between them. “No, that couldn’t have been his mother,” one woman argued, “because she was his sister….”  “No, that was the other family,” said another audience member trying to help. “No, no, that was the same people, only in the past,” offered another.

The show program does include character identification and a scene breakdown, which are helpful, but there needs to be sharper differentiation between characters and tighter definition between current and past times, often taking place simultaneously on stage, to avoid head scratching.

Standing out is Haefner in the role of a maid (we see her age and change in demeanor over the years) and as “Aunt Harriet” giving her photographer nephew, Tony, lessons table etiquette, so he can capture this wonder of the past for his archeology term paper.

See it through March 8 at Playhouse on Park, 244 Park Road, West Hartford.-860-523-5900 x10; www.playhouseonpark.org.

Theater Review: Familiar -- Yale Rep

Cherise Boothe, Shyko Amos, Patrice Johnson Chevannes and Kimberly Scott. Photo © Joan Marcus, 2015

Family Cultures of Zimbabwe, America Might Be More Familiar Than You’d Think

By Lauren Yarger

A family struggles to find balance between its Midwestern and African roots. You might think you don’t have much in common with them, but by the end of Danai Gurira’s newest play getting its word premiere at Yale Rep, you’ll realize that everything actually feels very Familiar.

Whether they are shouting out greetings in their native Shona language, or whooping it up while watching their favorite Minnesota football team plays on TV, these folks are reflections of us and stretch our thoughts about just what is and isn’t familiar.

Donald and Marvelous Chinyaramwira (Harvy Blanks and Saidah Arrika Ekulona) have achieved the American dream. They have enjoyed successful careers, raised two daughters in their comfortable midwestern home (nice appointed by set designer Matt Saunders) and bicker like any long-married couple – even if it is over the unusual topic of whether to display a portrait of Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe or a dog in the lovey living room.

Eldest daughter, Tendikayi  (Cherise Boothe ) is about to marry rich, white Chris (Ross Marquand ) and the couple isn’t sure just how much to call attention to her past. Youngest daughter, Nyasha  (Shyko Amos), and artist still supported by the couple,  has just returned from a visit to Zimbabwe  and embraces her African roots. She has been asked to share a song at the rehearsal dinner, but hasn’t been included as a bridesmaid in the wedding party.

The bridesmaids are Tendikayi’s “spiritual” sisters, she explains – friends from the couple’s evangelical Christian church, which teaches, among other things, that she and Chris should wait to have sex until they are married. When Nyasha scoffs, we understand that there are cultural differences in the family that have nothing to do with African vs. American roots.  Against the wishes of Marvelous, who wants her family follow its American culture, the bride and groom announce that they are incorporating a Zimbabwe custom into the marriage ceremony.

Assisting is Margaret (Patrice Johnson Chevannes), their  sister who comes over from Africa against the wishes of Marvelous, thanks to the surprising meddling of their other sister,  Annie (Kimberly Scott), a fashionista who embraces the American culture so much that she refused to teach her own children her native language.  When Margaret requires a spokesman to negotiate for the bride’s dowry on behalf of the groom, Chris begs his brother, Brad (Joe Tippett) to step in.

Besides the culture conflicts, the family must weather a medical emergency, discover a deeply buried family secret,  reinvent identities and decide whether this wedding will go forward and whether a marriage will survive. Are the roots of the family tree strong enough for the branches to bear the weight of these relationships?

Rebecca Taichman (Marie Antoinette) directs a tightly knit cast that delivers strong performances across the board. Each character gets full development and a range of emotion. Tippet gets laughs as the laid-back, black sheep of both families who just might be the one who really knows what’s important.

Adding to the storytelling by Zimbabwe native Gurira (Eclipsed, In the Continuum) are costumes from both cultures by Designer Toni-Leslie James and original music by jazz artist Somi. It’s a rich, thought-provoking tale of likable characters that really does feel as familiar as our next family get-together. 

Familiar runs through Feb. 21 at Yale Repertory Theatre, 1120 Chapel St., New Haven. Performance times vary. Tickets: $20-$98. www.yalerep.org; 203-432-1234. Student, senior, and group rates are available.

Forget 50 Shades of Grey -- Come Lunch with Romance Writers at the Mark Twain House Friday

Check out the Appetizing Authors Series Friday featuring Katy Lee and Nan Rossiter at the Mark Twain House. Tickets at www.thewritepros.com. 

Read all about it in the article from BroadwayWorld.com. 

Theater Review: Nice Work If You Can Get It -- The Bushnell

The cast of Nice Work I f You Can Get It. Photo: Photo by Jeremy Daniel

Settling in for Gershwin Tunes, Witty Script is Nice Work if You Can Get It (and I did!)

By Lauren Yarger

I love a Gershwin tune, how about you?

I also love my job as a theater critic and It’s Nice work When You Can Get It to sit back, relax and enjoy more than two and a half hours of George and Ira Gershwin tunes -- especially when enhanced by fabulous direction and choreography by Kathleen Marshall.

And oh, yeah, the silly, witty book by favorite writer Joe DiPietro (Memphis, Toxic Avenger, All Shook Up) isn’t too bad either in this tour of the production making a stop this week at The Bushnell. It almost doesn’t feel like a jukebox musical with a portfolio of tunes wrapped around a silly plot.

Silly it is. With a few political digs woven in a witty script housing almost 30 tunes like “But Not For Me,” “Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off,” “I’ve Got a Crush on You” and “Someone to Watch Over Me” that make you want to sing along. And, unfortunately, some folks at the performance I attended decided to do just that -- in out-of-key voices all night long, so be prepared.)

DiPietro’s book (which got its earliest tryouts here at Goodspeed as They All Laughed) is inspired by material by Guy Bolton and P.G. Wodehouse and follows the hijinks of bootleggers and rich folks in Prohibition era New York

Billie Bendix (Mariah MacFarlane) and her bootlegging buddies, Duke Mahoney (Aaron Fried) and Cookie McGee (Reed Campbell), work for the elusive Brownbeard, king of the underground liquor market. They need a place to stash their illegal product when Police Chief Berry (Thomas Schario) starts getting too close.

Billie thinks she sees an easy mark when playboy Jimmy Winter (Alex Enterline) tells her his large summer place on Long Island is sitting empty (the soaring, stage-filling sets are recreated for the tour by Shoko Kambara, based on the original Broadway scenic design by Derek McLane).

He also tells her a few other things, like he’s not really in love with his soon-to-be fourth wife, Eileen Evergreen (Rachael Scarr), the daughter of a senator (Benjamin Perez). He is just marrying her to convince his controlling mother, Millicent (Barbara Weetman), that he is mature enough to take over the family business – even though he has no idea what that business involves.

Sparks ignite between the two and they are surprised to meet up again when Jimmy shows up unexpectedly for his honeymoon at the summer place the bootleggers planned to use as a hideaway. Cookie poses as the butler, Billie is a Cockney maid and Duke is mistaken for British royalty by Jimmy’s chorus-girl groupie friend Jeannie Muldoon (Stephanie Gandolfo).

Lots of romance and hilarity ensue, especially when Eileen’s speakeasy-burning, uppity duchess Aunt Estonia Dulworth (Stephanie Harter Gilmore) arrives with her vice squad in tow. Let’s just say there’s drunken swinging from a chandelier, poetry, modern dance and chorus girls popping out of bubble baths  -- all guffaw-inducing and brilliantly directed. And I do mean brilliant – with opulent drapes and sparkling flapper-inspired costumes by Martin Pakledinaz, coordinated here by Amy Clark with lighting designed by Paul Toben, based on the original Broadway lighting design by Peter Kaczorowski.

The small band under the direction of Charlie Reuter does the score proud and the horns are particularly good. (Orchestrations are by Bill Elliott; Music Arrangements by David Chase; Music Supervision by Shawn Gough.) Marshall’s choreography, recreated for the tour by David Eggers is executed well, but doesn’t capture the magic of the Broadway dancing which I described as “furniture and gravity” defying.

Enterline (making his touring debut) and MacFarlane have nice chemistry and give good turns, as do Scarr (her character’s “modern dance” is a hoot), and most of the ensemble, particularly Campbell, also making his tour debut, who brings in a lot of the laughs with good delivery. Gilmore disappointed a bit, not just because I had been hoping, perhaps unfairly, for more of a show-stopping turn like the one Tony winner Judy Kaye gave as the duchess, but also because the actress was struggling for pitch. Or maybe it was just that those off-key audience members decided to join more often on her songs. . .

Overall, “’swonderful” way to spend about two hours and 45 minutes with an intermission.

Catch it through Feb. 8 at The Bushnell, 166 Capitol Ave., Hartford. Performances are Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday: 7:30 pm; Fridays and Saturdays: 8 pm; Saturday at 2 pm; Sunday 1 and 6:30 pm. Tickets $26-$82: 860-987-5900; www.bushnell.org.

Theater Review: Driving Miss Daisy -- Music Theatre of CT

Rebecca Hoodwin and Lorenzo Scott. Photo: Joe Landry

Driving Miss Daisy

Music Theatre of Connecticut

Through Feb. 22

What's It All About?

Only one of the best plays ever! This thoughtful character study and comment on race relations through the years seen through the lends on an unlikely friendship won playwright Alfred Uhry a Pulitzer Prize in 1988 and an Academy Award for the brilliant screenplay adapting it for the big screen in 1990. Rebecca Hoodwin plays Miss Daisy Werthen, an elderly southern, Jewish woman, who takes offense when her son, Boolie (Mike Boland) hires her a chauffeur. She doesn't want Hoke Coleburn (Lorenzo Scott) in her house or driving her around Atlanta, where her friends might get the idea she is putting on airs. 

Patient and determined, Hoke finally gets her to ride with him (the car is represented by benches and a steering wheel taking up on corner of the minimal set designed by David Heuvelman) and a friendship ensues over the years from 1948-1973. Racial, class and other tensions are tested, not only by the friendship, but in society in general.

What Are the Highlights?

The play is one of my favorites and when it's done right, it will make you cry (it did.) Hoodwin gives a solid performance as the frail woman who can be overbearing and unreasonable. She ages noticeably through the years. Countering nicely is Boland as the tough business man with a soft heart.

Sound effects and music to transition scenes are excellent. The incidental music was composed by Robert Waldman (and licensed from Dramatists with the script) and is the music used in the original production, according to Joe Landry, director of marketing and PR for MTC. The sound effects were added by Kevin Connors and the creative team, he said. Well done!

This production was a welcome revisit to the play for me after a disastrous revival on Broadway a few years ago, which proved that even excellent plays can get horrible productions. So, if you never have seen this gem of a play, or if that James Earl Jones/Vanessa Redgrave revival was your first experience, run over the the Music Theatre of Connecticut box office and see this one!

What Are the Lowlights?

The pace is too brisk. This is the type of play that should have the feel of a slow, southern morning, enjoyed while sipping iced tea, slowly rocking in a chair on the porch and listening to the buzz of insects in air so hot it's barely moved by weak breezes. . .

Some of the dialogue needs a few seconds of silence following it for the impact to sink in. Scott gives us a Hoke who is affable, but who seems very youthful and robust. He needs to be more laid back for us to understand the submissive demeanor he has had to assume to get along as an African American during those racially challenging times in the south. We also need to see the difference in his attitude when he occasionally stands up to Miss Daisy. 

Director Kevin Connors also uses some odd blocking at times which has characters talking off into space instead of to each other.

More information:

Miss Daisy drives by through Feb. 22 at Music Theatre of Connecticut's new home, The Melissa and Doug Theatre, 509 Westport Ave.,  Norwalk, Performances are Fridays at 8 pm, Saturdays at 4 and 8 pm, Sundays at 2 pm. Tickets: Tickets: $30-$50 ($5 off for seniors/students based on availability): 203-454-3883; www.musictheatreofct.com.

Theater Review: Dancing Lessons -- TheaterWorks

Paige Davis and Andrew Benator. Photo: Lanny Nagler

Exploring Whether People Can Change – 

Especially if We Look Beyond What’s on the Surface

By Lauren Yarger

Who are we really deep down, beyond what everybody sees on the surface and can is it possible to adapt? And if we allow ourselves to explore new definitions of ourselves, can life be even better than we imagined?

These are the underlying questions of Dancing Lessons, a new play from Mark St. Germain (who wrote Freud’s Last Session and Becoming Dr. Ruth which also had recent runs at TheaterWorks in Hartford).  They get a thoroughly moving exploration in a production directed by Julianne Boyd, who helmed Dr. Ruth at TheaterWorks and who is artistic director at Barrington Stage, where the play had its world premiere.

Paige Davis, host of TV’s Trading Spaces, and Andrew Benator shine as the characters exploring these questions in a script that is as full of out-loud laughs as it is deep insight.

Senga Quinn (Davis) is recovering at home in her Manhattan apartment (designed by Brian Prather) following an accident which has left her in a leg brace – and in denial that her career as a Broadway dancer is over. An unexpected knock on the door brings Ever Montgomery (Andrew Benator), a geosciences professor who is looking for dancing lessons so he doesn’t look awkward when he is honored at an event that will require him to show his moves on the dance floor.

It won’t be as easy as it sounds. “Awkward” is no stranger to Ever who describes himself as the “tyrannosaurus” of geeks. The man has a form of Autism, is uncomfortable around other people and can’t be touched. He offers Senga (so named by a presumed dyslexic aunt who meant to call her Agnes) the exact equivalent of a week’s Broadway salary (everything with Ever is precise and to the penny) to teach him how to dance. His attempts to move with the beat of some club music (sound design by Will Pickens), with Benator’s fine skills making him look unskilled, are comedic to say the least, but the two find the beginning of a friendship.  

They try to find out what is beneath the surface and in a neat staging technique we are transformed into their internet research about each other with projections and lighting (designed by Andrew Bauer and Michael Gilliam). Senga learns about Asperger’s and Ever watches videos of Senga dancing. Each discovers a friend to trust.

Senga helps Ever get over his fear of touching and Ever helps Senga release emotions she has been keeping repressed about her father and the fact that she might never be able to dance again. A bottle of scotch allows the pair to overcome some inhibitions and the friendship blossoms into something more. But can it last?

St. Germain’s plot is predictable, but satisfyingly so. It keeps the characters real. They are brought to life in such a compelling and layered manner that we feel we are intruding into intimate moments between two friends we know very well. Benator takes Ever beyond a stereotypical poster boy for Asperger’s Syndrome to create a regular guy whom we know and like.

It’s an absorbing piece of theater, well done with snappy, funny dialogue and lots to think about in a brisk 90 minutes. My only complaint is with a bit contrivance employed in the script. Senga’s reasons for not being able to have surgery on her leg seem a bit too convenient and a fantasy sequence, where the two imagine gliding around the dance floor (with choreography by Christine O’Grady and a swirly gown designed by Sarah Jean Tosetti) seems out of place.

Dancing Lessons runs at TheaterWorks, 233 Pearl St., Hartford, through March 1. Performances are Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays: 7:30 pm; Fridays and Saturdays: 8 pm; Weekend Matinees at 2:30 pm. Tickets $15-$65; 860-527-7838; www.theaterworkshartford.org. Warning: the show contains nudity.

Note: Thanks to a sharp-eyed reader for the correction on Mr. Bauer's name. Have no clue why I renamed him William.....