patriotic

REVIEW: Friendship, camaraderie and mischief take center field in Imaginary Beasts’ engaging ‘Casey at the Bat: An All American Panto’

Posted on by The Sleepless Critic

How far would you go for your dream?

For Cameron Hinkle as ambitious entrepreneur Homer Humdinger and many characters in Mudville, baseball is king and some are willing to do almost anything for it.  Exploring integrity, celebrity, ambition, the true nature of friendship and the spirit of the game, a lot is at stake in Imaginary Beasts’ production of Casey at the Bat:  An All American Panto.

Directed wistfully by Matthew Woods, Imaginary Beasts presented Evan Turissini, Kiki Samko and Matthew Woods’s Casey at the Bat: An All-American Panto from October 18 through October 26 live and in person at Topsfield Town Hall in Topsfield, Massachusetts.  The show was approximately two hours with one intermission.  Click here for more information.

Hot popcorn and baseball-themed concessions were sold prior to the show and intermission as a lively audience arrived for an interactive Panto.  A panto is a form of wintertime family entertainment in the UK that weaves in puns, wordplay, jokes, and more.  Boasting a friendly drawl and wicker hat, Molly Kimmerling warmly portrayed guardian angel, wise narrator and townie Pop Fly who shared the wild tale of Casey at the Bat partially based on the classic poem by Ernest Lawrence Thayer.  It delved into a mysterious deal with the devil in order to bring baseball to a town like Mudville.  However, things quickly get complicated as events unfold.

Julia Hertsberg, Hampton Richards, Cameron Hinkle, Laura Ditwiler, and Tommy Vines in ‘Casey at the Bat’ Photo credit to Imaginary Beasts

The continual audience engagement fueled this exaggerated tale that meandered and veered off course on occasion while humorously weaving in fitting contemporary pop and winking adult references.  Billie Eilish, Ebay, Marilyn Monroe, Mae West and various musical and baseball film references are just a few examples. 

With so many productions that rely on the zip and zing of digital effects, CGI, and AI, it is exciting to again see director Matthew Woods solely rely on homespun creativity and audience interaction to bring to life this patriotic and unpredictable spin on a classic poem.

Imaginary Beasts has been excelling at creating vivid costumes and mesmerizing settings as if walking into a storybook.  Mudville is a cheerful and optimistic world and the imaginative and layered set folded out in a wonderful way standing as a portrait of vintage baseball nostalgia which included inflatable bats, fields, a locker room and as baseball is America’s pastime, American flags and patriotic ribbons wrapped around the set. 

Kiki Samko and Matthew Woods in ‘Casey at the Bat’ Photo credit to Imaginary Beasts

Casey at the Bat poem was published in 1888 and the uniforms reflect that colorful retro quality which included the old time milkmen and barbershop as part of this vintage landscape.  Cotton-Talbot-Minkin’s captivating costumes reflect baseball nostalgia with a dash of steam punk.  As the look is inspired by silent films, distinctive patterns combined with bow ties, top hats, sporty converse sneakers, bodices, velvet, vintage baseball uniforms, pearls, and boots.  This panto also delivered a dynamic assortment of tunes including calliope music, characters breaking out into baseball themed song, a pop tune a tap dance or Camille Chartier as eternally Shakespearean and mischievous accordion playing Sox the Cat.

With swagger and a winning smile, Evan Turissini charismatically portrayed the Mighty Casey with a dose of gruff and ego seemingly striding through life.

In a velvet red coat and top hat and scowling eyes, mustachioed Matthew Woods schemed and plotted as Silverado Quick who will stop at nothing to win over a soul, even if it means tricking everyone in his path.  However, the person assigned for the actual dirty work was the multi-tasking Miss Slump portrayed with versatile comic timing by Kiki Samko.  Slump did what she must and she was great. 

Cameron Hinkle, Tommy Vines, Laura Detwiler and Camille Chartier in ‘Casey at the Bat’ Photo credit to Imaginary Beasts

Fresh faced Tommy Vines was earnest as idealistic and wide eyed Dewey who dreams of becoming a star baseball player.  Vines’s enthusiasm shone through the production boosted by some endearing scenes with Julia Hertsberg as shrewd yet sweet Katie, baseball’s biggest fan especially in a rendition of Frank Sinatra’s High Hopes. 

Casey at the Bat is a love letter to the sport in many ways.  Although it had its corny moments, these animated characters delivered a quirky tale with high jinks, scheming and sleuthing through memorable and poetic dialogue including vintage expressions such as ‘flimflam’ and ‘hop to’ to deliver a meaningful message about inspiration, friendship, and doing what is right.

Evan Turissini, Tommy Vines, Molly Kimmerling, Julia Hertzberg, Cameron Hinkle and Colin McIntire in ‘Casey at the Bat’ Photo courtesy of Imaginary Beasts

Directed wistfully by Matthew Woods, Imaginary Beasts presented Evan Turissini, Kiki Samko and Matthew Woods’s Casey at the Bat: An All-American Panto from October 18 through October 26 live and in person at Topsfield Town Hall in Topsfield, Massachusetts.  Click here for more information and upcoming events by Imaginary Beasts.

REVIEW:  Hub Theatre Company of Boston’s wildly revealing ’46 Plays for America’s First Ladies’

Posted on by The Sleepless Critic

Life in the White House has always been messy.

Resourcefully directed and choreographed by Ilyse Robbins, Hub Theatre Company of Boston continues politically satirical play, 46 Plays for America’s First Ladies live and in person at Club Café in Boston, Massachusetts through Saturday, August 3.  This semi-interactive production is approximately 90 minutes with no intermission and tickets are on a pay-what-you can basis.  Click here for more information and for tickets.

Lauren Elias, Sophia Mulharram, Yasmeen Duncan and Katie Pickett in ’36 Plays for America’s First Ladies’ Photo credit Andrew Keefe

It is quite a feat having to navigate each distinctive perspective of ’46 Plays for America’s First Ladies’ in a constrained and approximate 90 minute timeframe with no intermission, so this production hits the ground running.  It serves more as a crash course for each first lady starting from Martha Washington literally framed elegantly with a classic side view as buntings hang above and the American flag is occasionally projected behind her.   E. Rosser’s symbolic, patriotic and muted colonial style garments stay true to each setting with some occasional surprises along the way. 

Sophia Mulharram, Lauren Elias, Yasmeen Duncan and Katie Pickett in ’46 Plays for America’s First Ladies’ Photo credit Andrew Keefe

With a cast of five which includes Yasmeen Duncan, Lauren Elias, Eleni Kontzamanys, Sophia Mulharram, and Katie Pickett portraying multiple roles with time saving costume changes and Samantha Mastrati’s essential props efficiently hidden in various places on the stage ranging from historical to contemporary to absurd, these hard working and talented individuals still manage to make it look easy. 

From absurdity to solemnity to comedy to tragedy including a few music numbers, each play is creative and vastly different with modern nuances and exposing the herstory and women’s societal hierarchy as time marches on.  Some of the production makes assumptions and analyses the perspectives of these ladies as modern observers.  Much of it is surprising and at the same time sadly not given the tumultuous state of politics throughout history.

Lauren Elias, Sophia Mulharram, Yasmeen Duncan, and Katie Pickett in ’46 Plays for America’s First Ladies’ Photo credit Andrew Keefe

’46 Plays for America’s First Ladies’ offers a wealth of information in its limited timeframe backed up by direct quotes from these ladies stylistically displayed as each play progresses.  A vast array of scenarios took place in the White House (which was first deemed The White House by a First Lady) and the title ‘First Lady’ has its own interesting back story with some stories questioning who the first lady really was at the time.

The cast of ’46 Plays for America’s First Ladies’ Photo credit Andrew Keefe

The elicit affairs, the worries, the losses, unspeakable tragedies, disasters, emotional turmoil, the hospitality, the gossip, mudslinging and slander all had its place in the lives of the Presidents and their first ladies.  Some did not know that their husband ran for President, some felt invisible while some reveled in their station as ambitious First Ladies and advised their husbands without getting credit, and some stuck to their domestic duties including one first lady who invented the pink bathroom. Some changed America forever for the better, one even deemed herself the Queen of America and that just the tip of the iceberg.

Yasmeen Duncan, Sophia Mulharram, Lauren Elias and Katie Pickett in ’46 Plays for America’s First Ladies’ Photo credit Andrew Keefe

It is not easy to delve into politics, especially these days. This fast paced production’s bold views are at times one sided and leading while exploring serious hot button issues in innovative and variety show style ways from vaudeville to comedic sketches to puppets to a play within a play and much more. While I enjoyed some parts more than others, the style of each play changes with each president and first lady with some revelations about these first ladies that just might unite us all.

Resourcefully directed by Ilyse Robbins, Hub Theatre Company of Boston continues politically satirical play, 46 Plays for America’s First Ladies live and in person at Club Café in Boston, Massachusetts through Saturday, August 3.  This semi-interactive production is approximately 90 minutes with no intermission and tickets are pay-what-you can.  Click here for more information and for tickets.

REVIEW: Brimming with compelling storytelling, accomplished singer-songwriter Natalie Merchant made stirring Tanglewood debut

Posted on by The Sleepless Critic

Always an unforgettable storyteller, award-winning singer-songwriter and musician Natalie Merchant made her Tanglewood debut, despite increasingly darkening skies at Koussevitsky Shed in Lenox, Massachusetts.  Her soulful, musical journey included stirring tales of war, deep love and love lost, musings from history, a deadly woman, and a curvaceous Ophelia,  each tale conjuring up a vivid picture in her brilliant, and at times, elegiac lyrics.  Natalie Merchant is a force onstage and her charisma lies in her engaging, soul baring presence.  Click here for Natalie Merchant’s tour dates.

Tanglewood’s season is in full swing, having kicked off with acclaimed BSO Music Director Andris Nelsons leading the Tanglewood Festival Chorus in Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 Resurrection on Friday, July 7.  Natalie Merchant, James Taylor, Emmylou Harris, and John Mellencamp were among Tanglewood’s Popular Artists series.  After an extraordinary season of live classical and contemporary performances throughout the summer, the Tanglewood season concludes with The Boston Pops featuring Melissa Etheridge on Sunday, September 3.  Click here for tickets and further information.

Wearing a dark blue dress and her signature long, thick flowing hair, Natalie Merchant set a deeply insightful, subdued tone before building to a lively, uplifting vibe, much to the delight of the crowd.  Surrounded by a sophisticated, intimate band composed of a cellist, guitarist, pianist, drummer, and a group of elegantly dressed violinists, Natalie started with a tune from her self-titled, 2014 album, Lulu, paying tribute to the audacious silent film star and dancer, Louise Brooks, a woman who paved her own way.

Natalie Merchant lent a patriotic spin to the song, River, a song originally dedicated to memory of River Phoenix, an actor who died too young.  This version of River is from her stripped down, latest album, Paradise is There:  The New Tigerlily Recordings, hinting at the fallen soldier, her deep, contralto voice exuding a beautiful, haunting quality.  Equally affecting is My Skin, from her album, Ophelia, a gripping song about the emptiness of betrayal and loss.

Often barefoot, Natalie was physically expressive onstage, dancing, swaying, and twirling to the rhythm, flowing like a bird to a pulsing violin.  Many devoted followers were present in the audience as sporadic whoops and hollers echoed from the crowd, often shouting her name.  Natalie Merchant has been thrilling audiences since the early 80s and her onstage presence made it easy to recognize her lasting talent.  Although the weather wasn’t always cooperating during the concert, with such a strong following, the crowd remained.  “I’m sorry you are in the rain,” Natalie acknowledged the outdoor audience as the skies opened, “But after the drought we had last year, I’m not sorry for the rain.”

Sharing her passion for social and environmental issues, Natalie briefly shared the stage with Tyler Van Kirk, National Canvass Coordinator from Food and Water Watch, based in Denver, Colorado.  It is an organization dedicated to protecting the world’s natural resources.  See what they stand for here.  She also dedicated a song to corruption in government with a tune delivered partially a cappella, Poison in the Well, dating back her days with the 10,000 Maniacs.

Her gripping storytelling continued with Nursery Rhyme of Innocence and Experience, Ophelia, and the exotic sounds of The Man in the Wilderness.  She delivered cautionary wisdom in The Worst Thing, portrayed a looming, jazz-infused rendition of a femme fatale with She Devil, and inspiration in Lady Bird.

Natalie Merchant’s music ensemble is impressive, whether during a spontaneous jam session or in the quieter moments, a perfect complement to her often heart rendering lyrics.  The tireless performer offered a more joyous and uplifting second half, sharing some her greatest hits.  From Paradise is There:  The New Tigerlily Recordings, she offered a stripped down version of her hit, Carnival, a vivid, reflective view on life.  Accompanied by just her pianist, cellist, and guitarist, she sang Wonder, which was the inspiration behind a children’s book by R.J. Palacio and an upcoming film starring Julia Roberts in November 2017.

Tender, earnest moments were strewn into the songs, Beloved Wife, Break Your Heart, and Frozen Charlotte, the latter culminated in a gorgeous violin solo.  However, she also has a unique sense of humor, sharing a story of an old cookie jar that “carries the emotional weight” of every song.

The moment of the evening was her epic encore, as the band jammed and Natalie danced furiously, the audience was brought to their feet in a spectacular version of These are Days followed by a heartfelt performance of her hit song, Kind and Generous.  Fans couldn’t have asked for better, rain or shine.

Click here to see where Natalie performs next.  Located in the Berkshires at 297 West Street in Lenox, Massachusetts, Tanglewood’s outdoor venue is a must see during the summer, whether under the tent at Koussevitsky Shed or under the stars for a lawn picnic.  Click here for more information on its Tanglewood’s Music Festival summer series and follow them on Facebook.