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The orchestra, under Ryan Brewster’s direction was excellent and not too loud. They made Menken’s score soar. Jonathan Hymen played the nerdy Seymour with gusto. Ashley Bush, as Audrey and Peter Verdico, as Mr. Mushnick offered sincere performances. The chorus of Irene Parino, Jill Valentine and Erin Elle East sang their hearts out.

Ron Conner, Bakestra King, Ericka Ratcliff, Alexis J. Rogers and Samuel G. Roberson, Jr. pour energy, comic shops, and over-the-top acting to garner enough belly laughs to satisfy…
George C. Wolfe’s wild comedy pulls no punches as it satirizes, with exaggerated images of black life, by accentuating the extreme stereotypes of blacks in 11 sketches…

The Lester clan is a morally corrupt group of poverty stricken sharecroppers that find themselves without money, food or hope. The Lester’s give new depth to dysfunctional and desperate families. They are faced with starvation and eviction from the land they have farmed for generations.

I was never able to get over the above flaws. Added Phyllis’ insecurity or jealousy when Joyce tells her that she wants to pose nude for Frank. Phyllis threatens to leave Joyce if that happens. Phyllis, despite Cheryl Graef’s attempts to make her likable, comes of as a nasty, narrow-minded control freak feminist.

Taking a Czech novel from the 1930’s translating it and adapting it to the stage is a difficult task but Jason Loewith and Justin D. M. Palmer has succeeded in creating a fascinating world where man’s self destructive nature finds its match.

The early monologues featuring rapid speech and pointless ramblings about apartments came across as whining. I found all four of the characters as insecure losers devoid of ambition and self-confidence. Why Ruth has to move so often is never adequately explained and Astor’s unwillingness to work makes couch surfing an urban survival skill for him.

Sherman’s latest comedy is a clever tribute to Yiddish Theatre as well as to vain glorious stage actors. Set in Chicago at Ruskin Theatre, we meet Jack Shermerinsky (Craig Spidle) a middle aged failed stage actor famous for doing TV commercials out of LA. Jack has agreed to do a staged reading in Chicago with his wife Lisa (Janet Ulrich Brooks) to appease Jack’s mother Ester (Roslyn Alexander).

The creative folks at Raven Theatre continually mount worthy productions of classic plays. Their latest is Neil Simon’s The Odd Couple. Neil Simon is know as “the father of modern comedy” and his classic work , the1965 Tony Award winning play (Best Play), The Odd Couple is considered by many as the finest stage comedy ever written. I agree