I would be challenged to even guess how many separate jokes and zingers Neil Simon wrote for Memoirs, and they sneak up or slide into some of the most dead serious moments. Neil Simon wrote remarkable dialogue, and Fox Valley Repertory gives an outstanding winning performance for a funny funny good time. Try “Brighton Beach Memoirs” and enjoy!
And the subtext concerning all character’s interest in the 1968 Baseball World Series and the personal crisis of faith by both Clare and Father Lentine and Miracles in the Fall is surly a miracle in that this awful play ever got mounted. Once sparks fly between the priest and the nun, we start rolling our eyes in disbelief. And later when we learn that Father Lentine, at age sixteen (who allows a teenager to join the priesthood at 16 years old? And since when are Jesuits – a teaching order – doing parish work?), enter the seminary because he believed that his asthma was cured because he entered the seminary. Ridiculous! Clearly, playwright O’ Connor didn’t do enough research.
The wacky events with ample Shakespearean quotes and madcap movements is both a comedy treat and a fine mystery. Ken Ludwig tries hard to blend the two styles and he takes a tad too long to ties up lose ends but we laugh and enjoy the journey especially by such a terrific cast lead by Hasenstab and Robertson. Purest of the mystery or farce genre may be offended by Ludwig’s smart plotting and nimble characterizations carries the day. Why not have a few laughs while being scared? It’s all in good fun.
When a sperm whale morifs into a dangerous leviathan, the Essex is fatally wounded. The crew is left with few provisions onto three whaleboats. Their survival demands deciding how to use the winds to navigate the 2,000 miles or so to the nearest land. The story becomes an adventure of survival at sea as the vastness of the Pacific becomes their enemy. The physical and moral dilemmas suffered by the crews of each boat reflected the strength and beliefs of each character. These scenes were marvelously performed as we quietly cheer for our favorite players to survive.
The themes of conflicting traditions, suffering, beauty and self-identity are explored quite dramatically. Lawrence Grim effectively mores from the father to the Rebbe to the stern mentor Jacob Kahn while Danica Monroe plays the women. What holds our interest is the empathetic honest performance by Alex Weisman. He neatly underplays Asher’s passion while releasing that passion emotionally when it explodes to the surface. Weisman delivers a fabulous performance as the conflicted artist. He is in award territory here.
Happy opens with an intense scene similar to Pretty: “The opening scene (in Reasons To Be Pretty and now in Reasons To Be Happy) is pure LaBute: screaming, foul language, rage and slurring of insults that will make your hair curl mostly from Steph as Greg tries to explain, apologize and soften Steph’s rage. Steph and Greg are over as a couple….” Only, now Greg (Eric Burgher) is dating Carly (Sarah Loveland), Steph’s (Domencia Camerson-Scorsese) best friend. That fact outrages Steph who vents her rage in this sequel’s opening scene. LaBute’s powerful raging characters continue here.
Act two, twice as long as act one, finds Jean, Dawn and husband Mick (Boyd Harris) with the groups old friend Len (Layne Manzer) having a drunken party in Jean’s flat. Harp and gin are the order of the night as all get super “pissed’ (to use an English term for drunk). Mike, in his Irish brogue philosophizes in pure Irish mentality as he and his old bud, Len reminisce about their days as youths while Jean stays somewhat stoic as he imbibes her gin faithfully. Dawn becomes even more obnoxious than normal as she gets shit-faced. Through all the alcohol, we witness the quiet lonely desperation of the poor as each now lament their dashed hopes and dreams. Len is too shy to approach Jean, whom he has always pinned for while Jean fails to appreciate Len as a person who could makes her life pleasant.
Why Steven Strafford doesn’t demonstrate the devastating lows of meth addiction stronger so that the above guy in the audience sees clear how dangerous meth can be is a mystery? Maybe the fact that Strafford is on stage doing a show is proof that meth isn’t so bad? And, I suspect since Strafford is so entertaining and funny, that he can’t help but send the wrong message.
The creative staging out did itself by using ensemble singing existential angst gibberish during needless set changes. There was a scenes that found all seven cast members all shouting different dialogue for what seemed as an eternity and there was a noisy scene change while Collins droned on with her “my life sucks” songs on her ukulele late in the show.
Also, why would anyone produce the show mostly in Spanish WITHOUT informing potential audiences? And, just to further irritate audiences, the two narrators who spoke English with a thick accent mumbling too softly and running-their-words-together were completely unintelligible further frustrating the American audience. Add bland songs poorly sung and danced and NOT translated making the show unfolded as a long first act.