"Finian's Rainbow" at the Ivoryton Playhouse

Go see a play or musical at the Ivoryton Playhouse in Ivoryton, Connecticut.

What follows is a review of their recent production of the musical “Finian’s Rainbow”, but the upshot is: go to the Ivoryton Playhouse. You will be delighted. You will likely even be amazed.

To be sure, New England summer theatre has its own particular charm, as I’ve stated often enough, I suppose, in this blog. Upon entering the Ivoryton Playhouse with its worn wooden floors, its simple seating chairs, and the rustic quality that is genuine, borne of decades, and not manufactured to be retro and decorative, one might lower one’s expectations for a performance that is, like the theater, serviceable, and good enough.

On the contrary. The show was as good as any I’ve ever seen in any theater, including Broadway, and better than most of them. It may be that the simple and whimsical nature of this show, “Finian’s Rainbow”, about a rascally Irish immigrant and his daughter, and a buffoonish leprechaun, and a flock of good-hearted villagers seeking redress from the local villain lends itself beautifully to this small-town theater.

Certainly, the minimalist and somewhat cartoonish set designed by Tony Andrea implies that we are required from the outset to suspend disbelief. However, the creative scrim effect and the lighting brings a poignant “reality” to the fairy tale, the way an impressionistic painting makes us recognize what we already know and wonder about what we had missed.

Another terrific illusion is created by the effect of the dual pianos in the pit, which give a richness that makes a larger combo or orchestra surprisingly unnecessary. The fabulous voices fill in the rest.

R. Bruce Connelly (whom your children will probably not recognize out of his costume as Barkley the dog on Sesame Street), is delightful as the rogue Finian, who steals a leprechaun’s pot of gold to put into action his own unique theory of economics.

Kathleen Mulready plays his feisty daughter, Sharon. She has a beautiful singing voice, with comedic timing that makes her at times appear as roguish as her troublesome father. She is well-matched with John Rochette, who plays Woody, the villager’s hero and best hope for defeating their oppressors. With his masterful baritone and striking good looks, Rochette’s scenes with Ms. Mulready, particularly during the number “Old Devil Moon” are sensual and moving.

Michael Nathanson is hysterical as Og the leprechaun, and Patryce Williams as one of the townsfolk steals the show in her featured number “Necessity.” Both these actors give strong, likable performances that fairly leap off the stage. The rest of the leaping is left to dancer Tessa Grunwald as Susan the Silent, who expresses herself wistfully in ballet.

Larry Lewis likewise plays a memorable Senator Billboard Rawkins, the villain of the piece who, after a little magic, has a change of heart. One note about Jamison Daniels, who plays the Sheriff when he’s not doubling as one of the townspeople: that high-pitched whine he uses as the sheriff that sounds like a teenaged boy’s voice changing is a hoot.

Costumes by Pam Puente, are evocative of the lazy summertime small town South, though Sharon’s dress stands out from the garden of small print dresses and aprons on the other ladies by its colorful stripes suggesting a rainbow.

The entire cast, including a good-sized ensemble, sings together with terrifically tight harmony and vocal precision. And the voices are beautiful. Director Julia Kiley and musical director John S. DeNicola are to be commended, as well as choreographer Schuyler Beeman for the cohesion in this production. It is fine-tuned and glorious to behold.

This is why I say this production is as good or better than others I’ve seen. There is always something overdone or underdone, even if in a small way, that happens in many theatre productions. Not this time. There’s nothing slipshod, uneven or out of place about this show.

There is a façade of simplicity, even nostalgia that remains and beguiles. Perhaps it is because there is not a lot of technical trickery, bells and whistles or eye candy to distract, thereby letting the pure and undiluted talent stand on its own merit. This is after all, summer theatre in a small town.

Perhaps it is because this show innocently harkens back to a time when tobacco was a time-honored crop and the dangers of its use in smoking were if not unknown, were at least not discussed. This production slings a modern-day joke into the dialogue, and thereby a connection to modern sensibilities, by having the townsfolk hack in a hearty community cough when discussing their treasured tobacco crop, on which they pin their hopes for economic independence.

Perhaps it is because this show reflects a time when we innocently thought racism could be vanquished merely by standing up to it. There were also chuckles from the audience when the bigoted Senator moans, “Ever since my family came to this country, we’ve had trouble with immigrants.”

In today’s political climate when racial, ethnic, and religious bigotry can so strongly surface over an argument, particularity when that bigotry is being manipulated and exploited, we might wonder if an innocent show like “Finian’s Rainbow” is out of date.

Somehow, here at the Ivoryton Playhouse, it is not out of date. It is surprisingly relevant and provides a bond not only to our cultural past, but our theatrical heritage. A painted wooden stage. A little puff of smoke from dry ice. Lights up. Lights down.

On the walls, a gallery of 8 x 10 photographs of some of the famous actors who played here. There are a number of them; after all, plays were first produced here in 1930 (the building dates back to 1911). Some of these actors were already famous when they played here, summers ago. Some were newcomers, like young Katharine Hepburn, who appeared in several shows in the summer of 1931.

Go see a play or musical at the Ivoryton Playhouse. It’s not just theatre in the summer anymore, but a produces a year-round schedule of professional theatre. For more on the rest of the 2010 schedule, have a look at this website. “Finian’s Rainbow” runs until this Sunday, September 5th.

Review: "The Fantasticks" at The Majestic Theater

The Majestic Theater of West Springfield, Massachusetts is currently featuring “The Fantasticks”, which runs through May 23rd. This unique musical, noted as much for its longevity on Broadway as for its simple staging, launched the careers of many young actors and actresses in its record-breaking 42-year run.

The simple allegorical story, featuring elements of traditional musical theatre, commedia dell'arte and vaudevillian gusto, begins and ends with the iconic “Try to Remember”, sung here by William Thomas Evans, who plays The Narrator and sometimes bandit, El Gallo. He has a smooth and reasonant baritone, and masterfully commands the stage with his voice and his sly comedic timing.

Emily Reed plays The Girl, and P.J. Adzima plays The Boy, who fall in love. Both Ms. Reed and Mr. Adzima are high school students, but display mature talent that promises a bright future. Ms. Reed’s high soprano, with a delightful vibratto effect, adds a distinctive sound to the otherwise all-male cast. Mr. Adzima’s dark-rimmed glasses, his haircut, and street clothes drew one in immediately to the era of the early 1960s that gave birth to “The Fantasticks.” His infectious grin seems innocence captured.

Mitch Giannunzio is The Boy’s Father, and James Emery is The Girl’s Father, at times comrades in a plot to trick their children into marrying, and other times enemies. The gentlemen play well off each other, as well as harmonizing, sharing with each other their frank irritation and expaseration with their children.

John Thomas Waite stands out at The Old Actor, a flamboyant, befuddled thespian, whose faithful sidekick is Roger Patnode as deadpan The Man Who Dies. Their slapstick episodes brought laughter from the audience, and also much guessing as to how they made their entrances and exits from a trunk.

Tom Knightlee plays The Mute, deftly on hand in all scenes to provide props and create the mood, or a wall, when needed.

The show is directed by Rand Foerster, with Amy Roberts-Crawford as the musical director. Set designer of the traditional minimalist set invoking a traveling actor’s wagon was Greg Trochlil. Costumes, particularly effective and evocative from pirate costumes to Shakepearan ensembles, to the color combinations of the fathers and their children, were by Elaine Bergeron.

For more on The Masjetic Theater and this delightful production, have a look at this website.

Review - "A Man for All Seasons" - Majestic Theater

“A Man for All Seasons” by Robert Bolt, currently playing at the Majestic Theater in West Springfield, Massachusetts, is a strong production with flawless acting, and an obvious appreciation for Bolt’s rich and thought provoking script.

Robert Lunde is magnificent as Sir Thomas More, the witty pragmatist with a conscience whose passive defiance of King Henry VIII shook a nation. When the King decides to divorce Catherine of Aragon in his quest for a male heir by yet another prospective queen, Anne Boleyn, and splits with the Roman Catholic Church declaring himself to be the supreme head of the new Church of England and grant his own divorce, Sir Thomas must weigh the politics of self preservation versus the demands of his own beliefs.

The play is rife with sycophants and opportunists, political machinations and religious schisms, and is as relevant to modern society as if it were written yesterday, about today.

Steve Henderson is commanding as the troubled Duke of Norfolk, friend of Sir Thomas who inevitably finds himself on opposite sides. Sam Rush plays a sinister Thomas Cromwell, royal political hit man. His unrelenting vindictiveness, even more than the King’s selfish pleasure, is the main threat to Sir Thomas.

Daniel Rios is memorable in several roles, often humorous, as The Common Man, who finds himself a servant, a jailer, a jury foreman, a boatman, and other “every man” identities through which he can speak directly to the audience as their representative in this remarkable period of history.

Also strong in their roles are Katrina Ferguson as Lady Alice, wife of Sir Thomas, and Keith Bailey, as Master Richard Rich, the most proficient opportunist in the bunch.

The multi-level set designed by Greg Trochlil is evocative of several settings, from great hall to court room, to tavern, to jail. The costumes, designed by Elaine Bergeron, are elegant and detailed to the period and station in life of the characters.

Producing Director Danny Eaton is to be congratulated on this excellent production of this important play.

“A Man for All Seasons” runs at the Majestic through April 3rd.

For more on “A Man for All Seasons” and the Majestic Theater, have a look at this website.

"Singin' in the Rain" - Ogunquit Playhouse

Ogunquit Playhouse brings to life “Singin’ in the Rain” with elaborate sets, complex technical effects, and a cast whose energy and talent impress and delight. Ogunquit has a huge show in “Singin’ in The Rain,” and a huge hit.


Joey Sorge, Amanda Lea Lavergne, and Jon Peters seem to almost channel Gene Kelly, Debbie Reynolds, and Donald O’Connor of the original film on which this stage musical is based. The 1952 landmark movie has become so iconic that a stage musical must of necessity evoke memories of the film, and for this production we therefore have the iconic Gene Kelly pose on the street lamp, umbrella in hand, by Joey Sorge, the Donald O’Connor inspired frenetic sight gags during the “Make ‘Em Laugh” number performed by Jon Peters, and Amanda Lea Lavergne’s “All I Do is Dream of You” bursting from a cake a’la Debbie Reynolds.

Particularly impressive for the audience to remember is that Gene Kelly, Debbie Reynolds, and Donald O’Connor were not singing at the top of their lungs while doing those impressive dance routines; they were lip-syncing to playback. On the stage, everything is live (though the tinny sound of the mics is somewhat distracting), and Sorge, Lavergne, and Peters don’t have the luxury of mouthing to playback or re-takes. They give it everything they’ve got, and what they’ve got is great. Their soaring voices and snappy tap dancing may have evoked the actors of the original film, but no mimicry was used or needed. They let us know from the start that, though this show might have been inspired by an old movie, this was live theater in all its immediacy and energy, its ability to excite and involve.

Other moments inspired by the film is the scene of the gossamer scarf of dancer Cyd Charisse enveloping Gene Kelly during the “Broadway Rhythm” number, and it is replicated with an interesting and creative variation. In the “Good Morning” number, at the moment Sorge, Lavergne, and Peters leap in unison onto the back of the couch and tip it over, the audience responded with impromptu applause, because that is one of the most memorable moments of that dance number in the film, and they were delightfully surprised to see it replicated on stage.

Amy Bodnar, who plays the ditzy diva Lina Lamont, rates a special mention for her fabulous performance. One would have to go a long way to top the comic antics of Jean Hagen in the original film, but Ms. Bodnar does it. I think whenever I see the 1952 from now on, I will be reminded with a warm memory of Ms. Bodnar’s performance. She is utterly hysterical in each line, each pose, managing to be both exasperatingly haughty and charmingly endearing. She was singled out for a standing ovation at the conclusion of the performance I saw, and well deserved.

Celia Tackaberry, who doubled as Phoebe Dinsmore the much-put-upon vocal coach, and Dora Bailey, the gossip columnist guiding us through the Hollywood premieres, gave us a touch of zany spoofing.

A fascinating, and highly entertaining aspect to this production is the use of silent film style film sequences of the actors shown on a screen in several scenes that meld with the live action and illustrate the sometimes wacky film world of the late 1920s. This was through the efforts of one of the new sponsors of the Playhouse, Video Creations. We see the difficulty transferring the accustomed silent film story to the new and groundbreaking sound film technology, not always with expected results. The “movie” clips were inventive and really funny.

And of course, it rained on stage.


Boy, did it rain. A spectacular special effect, this must have been a terrific challenge, and audience was taken away by it, and Joey Sorge leaped and splashily tap danced through puddles before our eyes. Bradford T. Kenney, Executive Artistic Director and Jayme McDaniel, director/choreographer are to be congratulated for the triumph “Singin’ in the Rain” represents for Ogunquit Playhouse. Musical director for this show is Matthew Smedal, who led the orchestra through the familiar, and some unfamiliar original numbers by Nacio Herb Brown and Arthur Freed.

“Singin’ in the Rain” runs at the Ogunquit Playhouse in Ogunquit, Maine through September 12th. Make every effort to see this show if you can; it’s terrific. If you’re lucky enough to catch it, let us know what you think.

Review of "Sleuth" - Cape Playhouse

The Cape Playhouse in Dennis, Massachusetts is the oldest continuing summer theater in the U.S. Knowing that, and knowing that Henry Fonda and Robert Montgomery began their careers here in the summer of 1928, along with another first-timer who also ushered, Bette Davis, is part of the experience of attending a play at the Cape Playhouse on a warm summer night.

(c. 1940s photo.)It goes along with the rough broad-beam rafters in the peaked barn-like ceiling above, and the wooden floors, the wooden benches reminiscent of when founder Raymond Moore dragged (not by himself, surely) a former Unitarian meeting house to this sand-and-scrub pine lot along scenic Route 6A. This is no Cineplex, no grand beaux arts palace. It’s what summer theater used to be in an age when the greatest actors and actress of the day spent their summers playing in barns, and boathouses, tents, and old meeting houses.

A peculiar delight to sit on your bench, glance at the heavy rough oak rafters above, at the plush red curtain ahead, and imagine a young Bette Davis showing a perhaps much less-awed audience where to sit. A little of the shine is diminished today when you see a bored-looking young usher jerking his head and telling two elderly ladies with cardigans around their shoulders, “You guys are over here.”

Note to young people ushering, waiting tables, or running checkout stands in stores: ladies are always “Ma’am” and men are always, “Sir”, and should never be referred to as anything else except “ladies” or “gentlemen.”

I feel pretty sure even a tough gal like Bette Davis would have known that.

Another thing while we’re on the subject, the witless and lazy expression, “Have a good one” can be retired at any time.

Now, back to work. The Cape Playhouse just wrapped up its production of “Sleuth” by Anthony Shaffer. Directed by Russell Treyz, the show starred Peter Frechette and Malcolm Gets.


Yoshinori Tanokura designed the multi-level set, which featured a high narrow staircase to an upper level landing, large arched windows, and dark wood paneling, illustrating an ornate English country house. The fire place, the large elk’s head mounted above it, the crossed swords on the wall, all give us the illusion of English aristocracy, wealth, power, arrogance, and this goes a long way to establishing the character of the master of the house, played by Frechette.

The plastic-domed turntable stereo with the LPs tucked beside it remind us it is the 1970s.

Mr. Frechette plays Andrew Wyke, the writer of mystery novels whose wife is leaving him for Milo Tindle, played by Malcolm Gets. He invites Gets to his home to discuss the situation man-to-man, and soon sets him up in a most creative, and most cruel, game to exact his revenge. Frechette is brilliant as the playful, funny, arrogant, and somewhat manic writer who uses his expertise at writing mystery stories to manipulate and bully Gets into humiliating, and occasionally terrifying, scenarios. Frechette is teasing, bubbly, childlike, scornful, and at times appearing a bit unhinged. That’s a lot of oranges to juggle.

Gets, a more sensitive but no less clever man, is at first overwhelmed by the forceful life-of-the party personality of Frechette, who makes him jump through emotional hoops, but in the second act Gets proceeds to ploddingly turn the tables. The final scene is shocking, and we see that the relentless drive to be the winner in this peculiar game of one-upmanship comes at great risk for both men.

It is a literate play, and frequently the dialogue erupts into long and complicated soliloquies, but this is managed very well by both actors. Both employ credible, and several, British accents in the course of the action as they role play. They are well matched, and deserve much credit for instilling a great deal of energy into what is essentially a very wordy play.

Good company on a warm summer night on Cape Cod.

For more on the rest of the season at The Cape Playhouse, have a look at this website.

Review - Broadway by the Year - Berkshire Theatre Festival

There is something rustically elegant and exquisitely symbolic about the wooden screen doors that gently swing open to the Berkshire Playhouse. They are an effortless gesture to the heritage and style of New England summer theatre. It is as if the building itself, designed by Stanford White in 1888 and now on the National Register of Historic Places, is both conscious and yet demure about its prestigious history.


Inside, a more pointed display is on hand with a number of headshots from stars of the past several decades, and period posters to which the patrons are riveted when they are not out catching the summer breeze on the porch, or having a drink on lawn.

The Berkshire Theatre Festival began in 1928, and celebrates its 81st season. Currently “Broadway By the Year” is playing here, and like the old wooden playhouse, makes the past real and relevant.

Musical review series created for New York’s The Town Hall by Scott Siegel, focused this time on the year 1930 and 1964. Mr. Siegel wrote the narrative which accompanies the songs, and hosted. His remarks were insightful, humorous, and along with his depth and knowledge of Broadway history, showed a warm admiration for the hits and stars of the past that the audience clearly shared and appreciated.

The singers were Scott Coulter, who also directed; as well as Christiane Noll, and Kerry O’Malley. Piano accompaniment was provided by Ross Patterson, musical director.

The 1930 segment featured songs from “Girl Crazy,” “The New Yorkers”, “Three’s a Crowd”, “Simple Simon”, “Nina Rosa”, “The 9:15 Review”, and “Strike Up the Band.”

The 1964 portion featured songs from “Fiddler on the Roof”, “High Spirits”, “Anyone Can Whistle,”, “Funny Girl”, and “Hello Dolly!”

Mr. Coulter’s mellow tenor was accompanied to great effect by Ms. O’Malley’s powerful, rich voice with its great range, and Ms. Noll’s beautiful high soprano. At a few turns in the show, most notably during “Sunrise, Sunset” from “Fiddler”, and “I Got Rhythm” the trio exhibited terrific close harmony.

First act costumes were formal and evocative of the era of 1930, and the second act boldly announced 1964 in the mod and colorful style, right down to Mr. Siegel’s multicolored tied and cummerbund, as if we’d all just gotten color TV.

Highlights included Ms. O’Malley’s second act opening shot-out-of-a-cannon rendition of “Don’t Rain on My Parade”, Ms. Noll’s tear-filled eyes at the end of “But Not For Me”, Ms. O’Malley’s lusty and fun “Home Sweat Heaven” sung on top of the piano, the soulful “Ribbons Down My Back” by Ms. Noll, and Mr. Coulter’s wistful “Anyone Can Whistle.”

The show continues through June 27th. It is a real treat, and well worth seeing. If you’ve seen it, let us know what you think.

Review - "A Moon for the Misbegotten"

“A Moon for the Misbegotten” currently playing at the Merrimack Repertory Theatre features a strong cast bringing to life Eugene O’Neill’s damaged, complicated, and often very funny characters in the most hearty, and heartbreaking, manner.

The shanty Irish Hogans, father and daughter, live hand to mouth on a hardscrabble farm on the edge of more polite Connecticut village life in 1923. They do more battle with each other than with their neighbors, contending in colorful Irish oaths and rollicking threats of violence over issues ranging from Phil Hogan’s scheming ways, his drinking, and equally devilish daughter Josie’s temper, and tales of her easy virtue.

James Tyrone, Jr., the dandy actor who playfully spars with Phil as his drinking buddy, and spars with Josie over personal secrets, shares a tortured night of confessions and castigations with Josie. We see, as they do, that love and healing take many forms.

Kate Udall is stunning as Josie, who though labeled throughout the play as a big, strong woman with spirit and an independent streak, becomes suddenly vulnerable when her true feelings, and her secret is revealed. Josie finds relief in sharing her secret and revealing her passion and gentleness, learning to find peace with that unique burden of strong people, which is not being allowed to be anything but strong. Udall is on stage for most of the play, and deftly carries the soul of the play as her feisty, and surprisingly romantic, character supports the needs of those around her.

Gordon Joseph Weiss terrifically captures the curmudgeonly rascal Phil Hogan, Josie’s incorrigible father whose tricks and questionable business dealings provide much of the play’s humor and balances the more unhappy aspects of the characters’ relationships. He is physical, and majestically boisterous. The rapport and timing between Weiss and Udall is something wonderful, trading quips and insults and threats interchangeably.


Michael Canavan’s fine understated performance as their friend, contrasts the more emotionally volatile manner of the other two, yet his demons are far worse. James Tyrone, the gentleman actor with the drinking problem has emotional and psychological burdens too great to bear until this night when Josie draws them out and bears them for him. Canavan successfully balances both despair and teasing humor, and pulls the audience in with his tragic honesty.

John Kooi is the wealthy neighbor T. Stedman Harder in a memorable rollicking scene where the hapless gentleman finds himself the victim of his social inferiors’ revenge. Karl Baker Olson is Josie’s young brother Mike, who bitterly leaves the family shack and establishes in the opening scenes the Hogan family history.

Directed by Edward Morgan, the play moves along at a quick pace, and is foremost a play more reliant on dialogue than on physical action. The grittiness is made suddenly lyrical at odd moments. One of these is when Tyrone stands outside the shack in the early evening, and sees through the dimly lit window that Josie is combing her hair. We see the shadow of this slow, sensual, dance-like action projected against the scrim in the background.

Bill Clarke is responsible for the scenic design, which makes use of the intimate stage with a very evocative “other side of the tracks” setting. There are bits of grass growing from the crumbling, iconic New England stone wall, and the rough, split and rotting boards of the shack and the ramshackle front porch on which much of the action takes place brings a stark and unforgiving texture to the scene. The realism of the set is a suggestion itself of what the Hogans’ lives are like, and by its contrast, enhances rather than negates the tenderness of Josie’s eventual understanding of Tyrone and his sense of guilt.

Jeni Schaefer, costume design, sets the period with the finer clothes of the finer gentlemen. She illustrates both the hand-to-mouth existence and recalcitrant manner of father and daughter in Phil Hogan’s loose, torn, overalls that seem to have a life of their own apart from his constantly writhing body, and in Josie’s diamond-in-the-rough persona in simple, unadorned, shift dresses.

“A Moon for the Misbegotten” was Eugene O’Neill’s last play. O’Neill changed the face and future of American theatre in the 1920s and 1930s with his literate plays which explored serious issues, taking American drama beyond the established 19th century style melodrama. He won four Pulitzer Prizes, and was the only American playwright ever to win the Nobel Prize for Literature.

“A Moon for the Misbegotten” runs through May 17th at the Merrimack Repertory Theatre, 50 East Merrimack Street, Lowell. For more information on the production, have a look at this website.

The show was very well received by the audience at the performance I saw, with enthusiastic comments traded back and forth as we left the theater. Try to see this soulful, moving play in this first-rate production for yourself, and please let us know what you thought.

Note: All photographs accompanying this piece are by Meghan Moore.