Kia Corthron, Max McLean to Receive 'Lights Are Bright on Broadway' Awards

Photo left: Kia Corthron by Aaron Epstein; Photo right: Max McLean as Screwtape. Courtesy of Fellowship for the Performing Arts

Playwright Kia Corthron and actor Max McLean have been named recipients of 2010 “The Lights are Bright on Broadway” awards presented annually by Masterwork Productions, Inc. to individuals and organizations making a difference in the Broadway community through faith.

Corthron (Breath, Boom; Force Continuum), is being honored for her play A Cool Dip in the Barren Saharan Crick, which ran last spring at Playwrights Horizons (presented as a co-production with The Play Company and Culture Project) for its positive representation of an African preacher-in-training as he interacts with his host family and a troubled orphan in a drought-stricken rural American community where he studies religion and water conservation.

“I'm so honored A Cool Dip was chosen for the Masterwork award - but when I initially found out, I must admit I was startled, Corthron said. “Just as I was when 10-year-old Josh King, who played Tay in my play, walked into his audition and the first thing he said was, ‘I prayed for a play like this - a Christian play!’ Before that, I had never thought of A Cool Dip as a Christian play - or a non-Christian play. I had just written the character of Abebe as honestly as I could, and he seemed to be someone who would be wholly committed to his faith. At least one voice (among the many providing input along a play's path from germination to opening) suggested that the dramatic arc lead to Abebe's questioning his faith. That never felt right to me, and frankly is a bit of a cliché in plays wherein Christianity plays a role. (Abebe does question himself but never his faith.)

"There is widespread intolerance - a sense of threat - in fundamentalist Christianity regarding people exercising individual freedoms, just as there is widespread intolerance - a sense of threat - in left-progressive and artistic circles regarding Christianity in any form. I have people close to me who are members of both flanks (as well as many in between), and while it was not my conscious intention, I would be truly gratified to know that A Cool Dip may have fostered some new understanding and compassion,” she said.

McLean is being honored for his portrayal of C.S. Lewis’ famous demon extraordinaire Screwtape, who coaches his nephew demon in training about the art of spiritual warfare. McLean co-wrote the adaptation of The Screwtape Letters with director Jeffrey Fiske.

“This comes as quite a surprise, McLean said of the award. “As a Christian who tries to work daily to live an integrated life of faith and work, I am delighted to receive this recognition from Masterwork for our work on C. S. Lewis’ The Screwtape Letters.”

McLean’s award will be presented following the Monday, June 28 performance of the show which is running Off-Broadway at the Westside Theatre. Corthron will receive her award June 30 at Playwrights Horizons.

“We’re excited to be able to honor examples of people making a difference through faith in the Broadway community,” said Lauren Yarger, executive director of Masterwork Productions. “Kia’s play helped promote an understanding of faith while Max’s helps people understand why they have such trouble with it!”

Last year's recipients were playwright Dan Gordon for Irena's Vow on Broadway, and Radio City Rockette Cheryl Cutlip, founder of Project Dance.

Masterwork Productions, Inc. is a faith based, non-profit organization which helps Christians and churches reach out through the performing arts by producing shows and events, booking artists, providing Broadway and theater reviews (http://reflectionsinthelight.blogspot.com) and training at workshops and conferences. For more information, visit http://www.masterworkproductions.org/.

Theater Review: Wonder of the World

From Left: Bryn Boice, Kate Benson, Michael Poignand,

Katharine McLeod, Aaron Blakely (photo credit: Dustin Drankoski)

Zany Lindsay-Abaire Comedy Marks Theater Company's Off-Broadway Debut

By Lauren Yarger
An effervescent leading lady, a couple of good comedic turns and attention to detail from director Brian Gillespie, not to mention a revival of Pulitzer Prize winning playwright David Lindsay-Abaire’s delightful play Wonder of the World, combine to make an entertaining night at the theater and a solid debut for Pull Together Productions’ first Off-Broadway show.

Katharine McLeod is the effervescent one, starring as Cass (the role created by Sarah Jessica Parker when the play premiered at Manhattan Theatre Club in 2001), who heads to Niagara Falls on a journey of self discovery following a betrayal by her husband, Kip (Aaron Blakely). As she checks off a list of more than 200 things she always wanted to do before saying “I do” to Kip, she meets Lois, an alcoholic bent on getting revenge on the husband who abandoned her by throwing herself over the falls in a barrel -- a pickle barrel that she carries around with her -- which makes the revenge more sweet because her husband loves pickles. An unexpected friendship springs up between the two women.

Along the way, Cass has an affair with Captain Mike (Michael Poignand), who pilots one of the Maid of the Mist tour boats on the river, and meets up with two inept, bumbling private detectives, Karla and Glen (Evangeline Johns and Tom Logon), who need some marriage counseling themselves. Turns out Kip hired them to find Cass, because he wants another chance. Blakely is a master of comedy as the phobia-driven husband afraid of clowns, among other things, who pines away for his missing wife while watching videos of their wedding and hearing “their song” on the radio.

The whole crowd eventually ends up in Cass and Lois’ motel room. Enter Janie (Bryn Boice), Karla and Glen’s marriage therapist, who comes over in a clown costume (much to Kip’s horror) to conduct a session of the “The Newlywed Game” to help this bunch of looneys figure out what they really need and want. Boice also shines comedically as a helicopter pilot, a woman Cass and Lois meet at the falls and as waitresses in three different tourist-trap restaurants.

Gillespie keeps the pace quick and uses fun gimmicks like toy boats and helicopters to lend to the zany mood of the play. As a song appropriate to the action plays in between scenes, cracker-jack stage crew members quickly change a platform, a railing and a few pieces of furniture into designer Emily Lippolis’ clever renditions of various settings (loved the triple-threat wooden hoop that serves as a dressing-table mirror, a ship’s wheel and a car steering wheel).

Gillespie needs to rein in Benson, however, who expresses most of her emotions by shouting them. It’s catching, as other actors in the scenes begin shouting their lines too. In fact, the scene where everyone is shouting over the noise of the falls (nicely created by sound designer Andy Leviss) doesn’t seem all that different from some of the others. Lindsay-Abaire’s terrific dialogue doesn’t need amplification; his intertwining of events in the lives of these over-the-top characters is skilled playwriting with precision. When Benson did deliver a couple of lines in a softer tone, they were very funny and far more effective.

Wonder of the World runs through June 26 at the Shell Theater on the fourth floor of the Times Square Arts Center, 300 West 43rd St., NYC. Performances are Thursday through Saturday at 8 pm with a Wednesday, June 16 performance at 8 and a Sunday evening performance on June 20 at 7. Tickets can be purchased through SmartTix at http://www.smarttix.com/ or by calling 212-868-4444. For more information about the company, visit http://www.pulltogetherproductions.org/.

Christians might also like to know:
• Language
• Sex outside of marriage
• God’s name taken in vain
• Sexual dialogue. I don’t want to give anything away, but Kip’s betrayal of Cass involves a rather nasty sexual practice.

Memphis, Red Dominate Tony Awards

The musical Memphis and the play Red dominated the 2010 Tony Awards June 13. A complete list of all the nominees and winners follows. Winners are indicated by bold face and a **. For a review of the show, click on it.

Best Play
In the Next Room or the Vibrator Play by Sarah Ruhl
Next Fall by Geoffrey Nauffts
**Red by John Logan
Time Stands Still by Donald Margulies

Best Musical
American Idiot

Fela!
**Memphis

Million Dollar Quartet

Best Book of a Musical
Dick Scanlan and Sherie Rene Scott, Everyday Rapture
Jim Lewis & Bill T. Jones, Fela!
**Joe DiPietro, Memphis
Colin Escott and Floyd Mutrux, Million Dollar Quartet

Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre
The Addams Family, Music & Lyrics: Andrew Lippa
Enron, Music: Adam Cork, Lyrics: Lucy Prebble

Fences, Music: Branford Marsalis

**Memphis, Music: David Bryan, Lyrics: Joe DiPietro, David Bryan

Best Revival of a Play
**Fences
Lend Me a Tenor
The Royal Family
A View from the Bridge

Best Revival of a Musical
Finian's Rainbow
**La Cage aux Folles
A Little Night Music
Ragtime

Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play
Jude Law, Hamlet
Alfred Molina, Red
Liev Schreiber, A View from the Bridge
Christopher Walken, A Behanding in Spokane
**Denzel Washington, Fences

Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play
**Viola Davis, Fences
Valerie Harper, Looped
Linda Lavin, Collected Stories
Laura Linney, Time Stands Still
Jan Maxwell, The Royal Family

Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical
Kelsey Grammer, La Cage aux Folles
Sean Hayes, Promises, Promises
**Douglas Hodge, La Cage aux Folles
Chad Kimball, Memphis
Sahr Ngaujah, Fela!

Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical
Kate Baldwin, Finian's Rainbow
Montego Glover, Memphis
Christiane Noll, Ragtime
Sherie Rene Scott, Everyday Rapture
**Catherine Zeta-Jones, A Little Night Music

Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play
David Alan Grier, Race
Stephen McKinley Henderson, Fences
Jon Michael Hill, Superior Donuts
Stephen Kunken, Enron
**Eddie Redmayne, Red

Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play
Maria Dizzia, In the Next Room or the Vibrator Play
Rosemary Harris, The Royal Family
Jessica Hecht, A View from the Bridge
**Scarlett Johansson, A View from the Bridge
Jan Maxwell, Lend Me a Tenor

Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical
Kevin Chamberlin, The Addams Family
Robin De Jesús, La Cage aux Folles
Christopher Fitzgerald, Finian's Rainbow
**Levi Kreis, Million Dollar Quartet
Bobby Steggert, Ragtime

Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical
Barbara Cook, Sondheim on Sondheim
**Katie Finneran, Promises, Promises
Angela Lansbury, A Little Night Music
Karine Plantadit, Come Fly Away
Lillias White, Fela!

Best Scenic Design of a Play
John Lee Beatty, The Royal Family
Alexander Dodge, Present Laughter
Santo Loquasto, Fences
**Christopher Oram, Red

Best Scenic Design of a Musical
Marina Draghici, Fela!
**Christine Jones, American Idiot
Derek McLane, Ragtime
Tim Shortall, La Cage aux Folles

Best Costume Design of a Play
Martin Pakledinaz, Lend Me a Tenor
Constanza Romero, Fences
David Zinn, In the Next Room or the Vibrator Play
**Catherine Zuber, The Royal Family

Best Costume Design of a Musical
**Marina Draghici, Fela!
Santo Loquasto, Ragtime
Paul Tazewell, Memphis
Matthew Wright, La Cage aux Folles

Best Lighting Design of a Play
Neil Austin, Hamlet
**Neil Austin, Red
Mark Henderson, Enron
Brian MacDevitt, Fences

Best Lighting Design of a Musical
**Kevin Adams, American Idiot
Donald Holder, Ragtime
Nick Richings, La Cage aux Folles
Robert Wierzel, Fela!

Best Sound Design of a Play
Acme Sound Partners, Fences
Adam Cork, Enron
**Adam Cork, Red
Scott Lehrer, A View from the Bridge

Best Sound Design of a Musical
Jonathan Deans, La Cage aux Folles
**Robert Kaplowitz, Fela!
Dan Moses Schreier and Gareth Owen, A Little Night Music
Dan Moses Schreier, Sondheim on Sondheim

Best Direction of a Play
**Michael Grandage, Red
Sheryl Kaller, Next Fall
Kenny Leon, Fences
Gregory Mosher, A View from the Bridge

Best Direction of a Musical
Christopher Ashley, Memphis
Marcia Milgrom Dodge, Ragtime
**Terry Johnson, La Cage aux Folles
Bill T. Jones, Fela!

Best Choreography
Rob Ashford, Promises, Promises
**Bill T. Jones, Fela!
Lynne Page, La Cage aux Folles
Twyla Tharp, Come Fly Away

Best Orchestrations
Jason Carr, La Cage aux Folles
Aaron Johnson, Fela!
Jonathan Tunick, Promises, Promises
**Daryl Waters & David Bryan, Memphis

Awards announced previously:
Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre
Alan Ayckbourn
Marian Seldes

Regional Theatre Tony Award
The Eugene O’Neill Theater Center, Waterford, Connecticut

Isabelle Stevenson Award
David Hyde Pierce

Tony Honor for Excellence in the Theatre
Alliance of Resident Theatres/New York
B.H. Barry
Tom Viola

Theater Review: Cirque du Soleil's 'Banana Shpeel'

The Banana Shpeel ensemble. Photos: Jean-François Gratton

This Cirque Show Peels a Bit Differently

By Lauren Yarger

If you’re a fan of the old TV show “Taxi,” you’ll probably get a kick out of a couple of the characters in Cirque du Soleil’s newest show, Banana Shpeel, playing Off-Broadway at the newly refurbished Beacon Theater. If you’re a fan of the Canada-based presentations that are usually a dream-like blend of music, costumes and circus feats, this journey off the beaten path into the world of Vaudeville (well, Vaudeville-like would be a better description) might not be what you’re expecting.

Danny Rutigliano (above), looking like a sparkly green leprechaun in Dominique Lumieux’ costume and sounding like Danny DeVito, channels the character of Louie from Taxi into Marty Shmelky, who runs a sort of Vaudeville show with the help of some clowns (Claude Carneiro, Patrick de Valette, Shereen Hickman, Daniel Passer, Gordon white and Wayne Wilson) and introduces each of the acts. (One of the clowns sounds and looks a lot like Rev. Jim from Taxi too.)

The acts aren’t really vaudeville numbers, but traditional cirque offerings with some non-traditional tap dancing numbers featuring Joseph and Josette C. Wiggans with choreography by Jared Grimes. There also are contortionists (Tsybenova Ayagma, Tsydendambaeva Imin and Zhambalova Lilia), a foot juggler (Vanessa Alvarez) and a hand-balancing act (Dimitri Bulkin) that’s truly artistic and gravity-defying. You also can expect the traditional interaction with audience members.

What’s rather unexpected and unfortunate is the frequent use of sexually charged dialogue, language and the use of God’s name in vain, all of which give pause about the appropriateness of the show for little ones (say age 10 and under). It’s all unnecessary in what otherwise would be a fun and entertaining program from Director of Creation Serge Roy and writer David Shiner, who also directs.

Banana Shpeel runs through June 27 (closing earlier than had been announced) at the Beacon, 2124 Broadway
(between 74th & 75th streets). For tickets call 212-465-6500.

Christians might also like to know:
• Language
• God’s name taken in vain
• Male clown dresses in woman’s costume
• Teachings of Buddha are referred to

Additional note: The overzealous staff at the Beacon will require a photo ID for you to pick up your tickets at the box office and will search your bags and require you to throw out any food or drink you might have with you when entering the theater.

TADA! Presents Chinese Tale 'The Magic Pot'

Some Kid-Friendly Theater in Manhantan
TADA! Youth Theater concludes its 25th anniversary celebration with the New York premiere of The Magic Pot: Three Tales from China, book, music, and lyrics by Dane Stauffer, co-commissioned with the SteppingStone Theatre in St. Paul, MN.

The show runs July 9- Aug. 4.

The Magic Pot: Three Tales from China is an original musical for kids, performed by kids, about a young girl who finds herself in the middle of ancient tales, and her own extraordinary adventure, that teach her about life, honesty, and true happiness.

Premium tickets are $25 for adults and $15 for children; regular tickets are $20 for adults, $8 for children and can be purchased at www.tadatheater.com or by calling (212) 252-1619 x5. Group sales are also available for parties of 20 or more starting at $6 each for kids and can be purchased by phone. Performances are Tuesdays – Fridays at noon and 2 pm and Saturdays at 2 and 4 pm. TADA! Theater is located at 15 West 28th St., NYC.

Theater Review: That Face

90 Minutes of Dysfunctional Dysfunction
By Lauren Yarger
The most disturbing thing about Manhattan Theatre Club’s production of That Face playing Off-Broadway at New York City Center isn’t actually anything that happens in the play, though there’s more than plenty of worrying things to go around in this dysfunction fest.

What’s truly disturbing is that such a trip into abnormal family interaction should come from the tender mind of 19-year-old Polly Stenham (winner of britain's 2008 Critics Circle Award for Most Promising New Playwright.) Then again, no mind, young or old, should have to delve into the psyches of families such as this.

First we have the mother from hell -- and no dysfunction fest would be complete without one-- whose children for some reason constantly have to remember to call her Martha instead of Mommy when she’s sober enough to realize they are talking to her. Martha, I mean Mommy -- or do I mean Martha/Mommy (a really good Laila Robins who gives a full emotional arc) -- is disturbingly attached to/attracted to her son, Henry (Christopher Abbott), whose face she loves to gaze on and which is the only thing in the world that means anything to her.

Henry quits school to stay with her in their shabby, but once-noble flat (David Zinn, scenic and costume design) decorated with pinned up drawings he's learning from Martha' art lessons. He sleeps in her bed, dresses in her nighties (which comes in handy after she cuts up all his clothes in a jealous rage) and even drinks with her in the hopes that giving in to her bizarre demands might just coax some “normal” behavior out of her.

Meanwhile, daughter, Mia (Cristin Milioti), may be expelled from school for drugging, torturing and beating underclassman Alice (Maite Alina) in a hazing incident led by whacko friend Izzy (Betty Gilpin) who enjoys Mia’s discomfort when she shares her sexual escapades with Henry. It’s up to the family’s dad, Hugh (Victor Slezak), to leave his new wife and child in Asia and fly back to London to try to fix the problems of family number one.

The characters seem interesting at first, and we’re intrigued to find out why they all have ended up as messed up as they are, which is an indication of the playwright’s potential. Stenham never clues us in, however, and except for a lot of awkward situations with fingers pointing blame and a lot of yelling, we’re not sure why any of them do what they do (but we do understand Hugh's decision to get out of there). Not much happens in terms of a plot or development of the characters beyond the rough outline notes the author must have scribbled like “Streetcar/August Osage/Medea/Mommie Dearest cross type for the mother. The working title might have been “If I Write a Shocking Play About a Horribly Dysfunctional Family, I Might Have a Shot at the Pulitzer!” (Unfortunately, there’s a lot of truth to that. It might not have taken the Pulitzer, but this 2007 play has won a variety of dramatic awards in England.)

There is some dysfunction in the flat dialogue, as well. When they aren’t using the “F” word, the characters ask each other lots of series of boring questions, one of which goes like this:

“Is that it? Is that all?
“Sort of.”
“What do you mean, sort of?”

Henry spends a lot of time talking about who called on the phone, that his mother answered the phone, that his mother hung up the phone, that he should have answered the phone, wondering why someone didn’t call him on his cell phone, wondering why his father didn’t call on the phone. In the end, Mia also questions her father about whether he called her mother on the phone.

We never hear an actual phone conversation, or any other dialogue that might take the plot somewhere, however, so the characters don’t grow much. By the end of the play all we’re sure about is that “normal” Henry is just a sick as Mommy -- I mean Martha -- I mean Martha/Mommy -- and there‘s a pretty disturbing scene involving urination to prove it.

The performances, directed by Sarah Benson, actually are very well executed all around. They are emotional characters and the actors reach down deep to portray them -- we just don’t care much about them or understand why they are so whacked.

That Face plays through June 27 at Stage 1, NY City Center, 131 West 55th St., NYC. For tickets call 212-581-1212

Christians might also like to know:
 Language
 Lord’s name taken in vain
 Sex outside of marriage

Scenes from the Outer Critics Circle Awards at Sardi's

Denzel Washington, best Actor in a play for Fences.

Viola Davis, best actress in a play for Fences

Jan Maxwell, nominated in both the best actress and supporting actress in a play categories this year, for The Royal Family and Lend Me Tenor, for which she won the OCC

David Bryan and Joe DiPietro (music and book), for Best Musical, Memphis

Best Choreographer Sergio Trujillo (ties with Bill, Y Jones of Fela!) for Memphis

Catherine Zeta-Jones (A Little Night Music) and Montego Glover (Memphis) tied for best actress in a musical.

OCC President Simon Saltzman (right) presents a scroll to special honoree Louis A. Rachow, retiring after 15 years as treasurer of the Outer Critics Circle.