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Nightmare
at shadowbox live Shadowbox live appears to have had an epiphany…a major one. There is a different name (all lower case)…new trendy abstract logo…reformatted website…and what I sense is a new attitude…a more confident swagger. Hell…they even have a new theme song! Maybe with all the accolades for Back to the Garden…working with raw immature comedy troupes with their Sketch Comedy Festival…the sight of over 3500 people attending Back to the Garden in Schiller Park…or the fact that the Columbus theater community and critics finally seem to have embraced them as one of their own…shadowbox live certainly has a new spring in their step. Nightmare at shadowbox live…structurally at least…has a lot of the elements that are familiar to their audience. But I noticed immediately on opening night that the sometimes in your face, vulgarity had been turned down a notch…or two…while creativity and risk taking have been turned up one or two. I can only speculate…but I assume the folks at shadowbox live LIKE being taken seriously as theater. And well they should. Beginning with the new theme song (sung on this night by bandleader Jennifer Hahn) much of the goofy acknowledgement of say…bachelorette parties…has been replaced by respectful “this is who we are” attitude, instead of an arm waving ode to the menu. This is not to say the fun has been taken away. There is still cursing and mayhem and madness. But in tempering it, when the funniest meteorologist in Central Ohio throws out an expletive at the end of the show…its impact is that much funnier. The sketches are well written. Although opening skit “Dr. Phil vs. the Mummy” could use a little tweaking. David Whitehouse seemed to be laboring for a laugh occasionally. And “Campfire Boys – Nightmare”, while endearing, might be a little long. But these are opening night foibles really. In “Dream Team”, a deliciously derived sketch about the people in our subconscious who make up our crazy dreams, the visuals (costuming is excellent) speak louder than the humor. But the vignette is so well crafted and characterization so nuanced that it doesn’t matter. The same holds true for “A Casey Kasem Carol”. Outrageous enough that a parody of Dicken’s A Christmas Carol is included in a Halloween show, the laughs take a back seat to the acting. Yet no one cares because Jimmy Mak’s Kasem is extraordinary. Amy Lay’s portrayal of Michael Jackson is uncanny. Andy Ankrom’s Wolfman Jack is super. And JT Walker III’s performance as John Lennon is eerily accurate in showing Lennon’s acerbic wit while letting his gentle peacenik nature shine through. This is theater. “The Werewolf Whisperer”, a rave up of TV’s “The Dog Whisperer” is also a gem because of the fabulous writing and stage skills of Julie Klein, David Whitehouse, Mr. Walker III, Billy DePetro and Nikki Fagin. Sillier but always genuinely funny, is “Vinnie’s Dreamhouse”. Jimmy Mak is always superb as the notorious mobster/kid’s TV host Vinnie. And the cast of shadowbox live traditionally have portrayed children hilariously. As usual, house band BillWho? tears up the joint with the music. Surprisingly, there are two Beatles songs in the show. “Blackbird” is sung by an ensemble and is quite good. Better still is “Paperback Writer” sung by Stephanie Shull. Julie Klein is terrific fronting the band on U2’s “Sunday, Bloody Sunday”. Alanis Morrisdette’s “Uninvited” closes the first act. Noelle Grandison’s powerful vocals are great. But what strikes me more with tunes accompanied by dancers stage left, is that Katy Psenicka’s choreography has evolved to the point where it’s not like a band is over there and dancers are on the other side. The entire stage is utilized, making the presentation all encompassing. Both stages merge into one dynamic visual/aural experience. Stev Guyer and JT Walker III are wonderful on Pink Floyd’s “Comfortably Numb”. As is Amy Lay handling vocals on the Eagle’s “Hotel California”. But the guitar tandem of Matthew Hahn…with his inherent blues soul…and Dante Wehe with his seemingly second nature rock sensibilities…weave a musical tapestry that gives the ear pure pleasure. Another musical treat in Nightmare at shadowbox live is Nikki Fagin’s torrid take on “The Kill” (30 Seconds to Mars). As most times, I highly recommend Nightmare at shadowbox live. This production will only get better and better. I plan to return…with as big a group of people as I can assemble. And I cannot wait until shadowbox live moves to new digs downtown. I mean…downtown is where theater should be right? Nightmare at shadowbox live runs through November 13th at Easton Town Center. For more information please go to: www.shadowboxlive.org Hmmm
# 13 Hmmm
# 14 A dishrag at best |
 
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# 15 I realize that
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 by Sue Lense Click Here The Non-Fiction Theater of the Truly Mundane proudly presents: Time
Is On My Side Scene: The corner of a large Victorian living room in the house where Rick’s grandmother is a live in housekeeper. It is October 1964. There is a large television circa 1955 facing the audience. Around it is slightly worn overstuffed furniture: chairs and a sofa. Stage left there is a large brick fireplace. A 12-year-old Rick is sitting on the floor directly in front of the T.V. with his cousin of a similar age, Geoff. Their younger siblings (Geoff’s 3 sisters and Rick’s 2 brothers and sister) are scattered around the room sitting on the furniture. The “Ed Sullivan Show” is being broadcast. The children are mesmerized. Ed Sullivan (coming from the television) – And now. For the very firsshhht time on our shhhtage…The ROLLING STONES!! Rick and Geoff are visibly excited. The song “Time Is On My Side” is heard coming from the T.V. Uncle Dave strolls into the room from stage left. Uncle Dave – Who are those ASSHOLES? Geoff (turning to his father and with utter disdain) – Those assholes make more money than you’ll ever make. Mick Jagger (from the T.V.) – Tie Iyee yee IME is on my side…yes it is! Aunt Carol wanders into the room stage left and stands next to her husband. Aunt Carol (putting her hands to her face in dismay) – Oh MY! What will they do when they get OLD? Curtain Cast: Rick
– his 12 year old self Arborophilia by Rick Brown I have always enjoyed the performances of Raconteur Theater. This troupe might be small in numbers but their dedication and commitment always shines through. Arborophobia is their best show so far. That’s not to say there is no room for improvement. A play about a woman being in love with a poplar tree…and a female poplar tree at that…presented obvious problems. Yet Raconteur soared when it came to the obvious staging challenges…and on a few occasions fell a little short on chemistry between characters. Playwright Jacob M. Appel’s script wickedly satirizes social attitudes concerning cross-cultural personal relationships. Of course the love affair between Laurel Gage (Alexis Moberger) and the uh…tree…serves both as central theme and metaphor for her Democratic sister Lily’s (Mary – Ailee St. Cyr) romantic entanglement with Republican Fairmont Fythe (Dale DeWood). Their mother Judge Gwendolyn Gage (Krista Threadgill), apparently a liberal leaning judge, vehemently opposes Lily and Fairmont’s love…perhaps even more than younger daughter Laurel’s devotion to the…uh…tree. Dame Lucretia Bankmore Vandervelt (Anne Grove) is Fairmont’s ruthless boss who is determined to fell the poplar to make way for…of all things…a quarry. Jimmy Duckfoot (Rudy Frias), who is head over heels for Laurel, thus creating a farcical love triangle of boy-girl-tree, owns the plant store on the property next to Dame Vandervelt. Are you following? Because Mr. Appel’s word play is so riveting, and the direction of Danielle Mari is both freewheeling and succinct, somehow we the audience bought the premise. Really…we did. And there are so many metaphors and clever turns of a phrase that the dialogue is entertaining in and of itself. The onstage chemistry between Mr. DeWood’s Fairmont (whose performance stole the show until the…uh…tree awakened) and Ms. St. Cyr’s Lily was wonderful and genuine. The love triangle of Ms. Moberger’s Laurel, the…uh…tree…and Rudy Frias’ Jimmy was not so much. Yet in Act 2 Laurel speaks to Jimmy concerning the difference between a “stalker” and a “lurker”. This scene…and especially Ms. Moberger’s demonstrative description, was nothing short of brilliant. Krista Threadgill was good as the Judge-mental mother, although her wardrobe could have been more judge-like. Anne Grove’s villain was believably evil but suffered a bit with a subtle shyness that seemingly slipped into her portrayal. But I’m nitpicking really. Once the uh…tree…which looked more like a fancy silk kind of curtain for most of the show, came to life things onstage jelled. Amazingly, Jill Ceneskie sat hunched (and I mean hunched) at the base of this for what seemed almost an hour, silently, without moving an inch, undercover. Once spawned from the “trunk” of the …uh…tree…Ms. Ceneskie swooped and swayed…acrobatically dangling and climbing and dancing in mid air. Having feelings for a…uh…poplar tree…no longer seemed absurd. Her performance was both exhilarating in its visual execution and drew Aborophilia to a satisfying close as a spectacular sum of all its parts. I also have to comment on the Columbus Civic Theater. The venue is perfect for a troupe like Raconteur. The place is unpretentious, cozy and comfortable. It is a delightful addition to the Clintonville community. And there was a nice sized crowd there. All the place needs is beer and wine to make it the live theater version of Studio 35, the charming, historic, craft beer serving movie house just down the street. http://columbuscivic.org/index.html The Shadowbox Sketch Comedy Festival July
20-21, 2010 Shadowbox’s 2nd annual sketch comedy festival certainly smoothed out some of last year’s virgin…uh…version’s wrinkles. The setup was a little different with audience members voting on their favorite skits on night one. The following evening troupes performed the winning sketches after having them “tweaked” under the guidance of veteran Shadowbox personnel. So on night two we were instructed to vote for the “best troupe” while portions of the current “Best of…” show was featured. This made things a lot less herky jerky than last year’s festival and made for a more entertaining show. Returning as judges for 2010 was Saturday Night Live alumnus Garrett Morris as well as in-house diva/comedienne extraordinaire Julie Klein. But unlike the previous contest featuring DJ Jerry Elliot there was the odd inclusion of NBC4’s Mindy Drayer. The fact that the judges did not decide the winner made Ms. Drayer’s presence less “fish out of water”. And to her credit, she did soldier on through the contest. Yet witnessing her try to jokingly comment on “Stuff-It”, a video produced by Dependable Felons promoting a product to combat spousal snoring that involved stuffing a big dildo in their mouth, was…at best…more than a tad awkward. Mr. Morris and Ms. Klein stood out as confident, fair, and helpful judges. Stev Guyer (or is it Stev Guye?) proved a more than adequate emcee. But with his comments at times eclipsing those of the other judges I wondered if perhaps he should be at the judges’ table and leave the emceeing in the capable hands of David Whitehouse. Three troupes also returned from last year’s contest: Cleveland’s Laughter League, The Indicators from Brooklyn, N.Y. and Ashville, North Carolina’s Feral Chihuahuas. Rounding out the competition was Columbus’ troupes Sketch by Number and Wild Goose Comedy Cabaret, as well as New Jersey’s Fantastic Genius. All of these groups displayed a wide range of talent. I was especially impressed with Fantastic Genius. The troupe consists of one couple. Their command of the stage was super. All the 2nd evening’s “winning” skits were enjoyable and funny…nicely streamlined from the night before. And realistically the audience, especially those who had been there both nights, is not going to vote for the “best troupe”. In the age of American Idol (and people being people) the vote is going to favor the night’s best sketch…at least in the eyes of the crowd. I am not going to mention the winner here because I do not believe any of these comedy groups are losers in Shadowbox’s Festival. It’s a win-win for everyone involved really. Like last year there were some dark moments. While the 1st festival wallowed in endless pussy fart jokes and sexual vulgarity, this year’s faux pas were more distressing. A video making fun of old people suffering from Parkinson’s disease was more than distasteful. I am always disheartened by our culture’s acceptance of mocking the elderly. The winning sketch portrayed seniors engaged in an Olympic arguing contest. Fair enough. The characters had some depth and a genuine fire in their bellies. Old folks can be like that. But to laugh at the expense of someone’s disease…c’mon…it’s just because they are old. No one (hopefully) would make jokes about children dying of a disease. Why is it okay with the elderly? Tom Cardinal’s superb portrayal of Superman in the Rest Home…well this video was not even in that ballpark…not even the parking lot. Listen to Garrett Morris. He knows comedy…and he is in his 70’s…and he brought the house down singing “Hoochie Coochie Man” did he not? And the sketch about sex offenders? Sigh. And the brilliant…best of the festival I thought…skit about lampooning Where’s Waldo? Is it necessary that out of all the types of criminal activity in this world you guys made him a rapist? Sure…perhaps it’s too absurd to take seriously. Most of the troupes were exclusively men and could benefit having a woman member. I’m not talking censorship. I’m merely stating that the talent in these comedy troupes is too deep to bank on cheap shots. And for the most part the final night proved that across the board. Obviously this annual sketch comedy festival is going to have some growing pains. It is incredibly interesting to watch the process involved. The obvious guidance Shadowbox, along with Mr. Morris, provides for these young troupes will only make future festivals even funnier and more satisfying. A good foundation has been laid by Shadowbox. Hmmm
# 16 Virginity |
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