Michael Hawke and Melissa Johnston Price fulfilled their hosting obligations to perfection, beginning with a performance of “Anything Goes” (with alternate lyrics, naturally). Hawke later helped the event achieve its cross-dressing quota by donning a dress to sing “Don’t Cry For Me, Richmond Theatre.”

The hosts and all presenters displayed plenty of creativity in their banter, which gave the night a nice flow. They kept promising to keep the run time under three hours, but they succeeded in making time fly.

Several casts reunited for musical performances throughout the ceremony. Each show nominated for Best Musical treated the audience to a number. Despite ending their runs months ago, all performers sounded fresh.

The cast of Richmond Triangle Players’ La Cage Aux Folles performed “The Best of Times.” Larry Cook and Amanda Johnson reprised their roles from Virginia Repertory Theatre’s The Music Man to sing “Til There Was You.” Jason Marks and Scott Wichmann reunited for “We Can Do It” from Virginia Rep’s The Producers. Richmond Triangle Players’ bare: a pop opera was next with “Wedding Bells,” followed a few awards later by “Light” from Cadence Theatre’s Next to Normal.

The complete list of winners is available.

Henrico Theatre Company opened a quiet, heartfelt play this past weekend. Tender Lies, a comedy-drama by Nancy Pahl Gilsenan, focuses on an old man’s efforts to help his tenants achieve personal growth. He nudges them along with “tender lies” carefully crafted to encourage them to move forward with their lives.

Arlo Gibson (John Hagadorn) owns a quaint house in 1960s San José, and he has assembled a collection of broken misfits living under his roof. Sheila (Amy Mawyer) constantly worries about her physical appearance and fears she’s a terrible mother to Ben (Matt Hackman). Ellie (Rebekah Spence) is losing her memory. Mrs. Galarza (Beth McKenzie-Mohr) is a drunk who can’t hold a job, and her daughter Isabel (Louise Mason) spends her spare time sitting on the same bench sketching the same street in charcoal, all by her lonesome.

The story is told through Ben’s memory, 21 years later. Hackman plays both the adult Ben and the character’s teenage self, and he does a great job distinguishing them. He gives the teenager suitably awkward body language and a still-developing voice, while he presents the adult as more poised, confident, and articulate. He makes a wonderful narrator as he guides us through the events, and you believe him as a teenager.

Hagadorn brings gravitas to the role of the wheelchair-bound Arlo. He’s a natural as the wise, crafty old man whose heart is in the right place, and Hagadorn ensures that that heart shines through. Arlo remains likeable from start to finish, despite his penchant for dishonesty.

Mason gives an appropriately subdued performance as Isabel, introducing her with an air of mystery and charm that makes the audience eager to learn more about the character.

Mawyer is amusingly neurotic as Sheila. Spence nails some great lines as Ellie. McKenzie-Mohr is fun as a Spanish-speaking drunk. Brian Martin does a fine job as the self-centered banker Mr. Bellon, as does Don Polaski as the insensitive Mr. Fuller.

The house itself is an important character, specifically its front porch where everyone gathers. Set designer Lin Heath gave it the necessary care and attention. It looks great and it’s a functional set, and director Richard Koch makes full use of it. Kudos also goes to the set construction crew — they clearly put a lot of hard work into it.

Henrico Theatre Company made an excellent choice with Tender Lies. It starts off a little slow, but it comes together wonderfully. More importantly, it gets you thinking about the nature of white lies and whether they’re more of a help or a hindrance.

Photo Gallery

Photos by Gene Payne

The Cast

• Ben: Matt Hackman
• Arlo: John Hagadorn
• Ellie: Rebekah Spence
• Sheila: Amy Mawyer
• Isabel: Louise Mason
• Mrs. Galarza: Beth McKenzie-Mohr
• Mr. Bellon: Brian Martin
• Mr. Fuller: Don Polaski

The Crew

• Director: Richard Koch
• Stage Manager: Amber dePass
• Set Design: Lin Heath
• Light Design: Emily Clarkson
• Costume Design: H. Lynn Smith
• Properties Coordinator: Richard Koch

Disclaimer: Henrico Theatre Company provided two complimentary media tickets to ShowBizRadio for this review.

Sometimes you just need good dumb fun, and Henrico Theatre Company’s production of Fools is indeed good, fun, and all about dumb.

The Neil Simon comedy takes place in 1890 in the remote Ukrainian village of Kulyenchikov, which has been cursed with ignorance for the past 200 years. The villagers are incapable of learning, and they can barely even remember common words.

Young schoolmaster Leon Tolchinsky (played by Matt Hackman) arrives and attempts to educate the populace, especially fair Sophia (Leah Hicks), with whom he’s instantly smitten, despite the fact that this 19-year-old has only recently learned how to sit down. Leon has a rival for Sophia’s affections, the villainous Gregor Yousekevitch (Charles Wax, who — full disclosure — was one of my high school theatre directors). Can Leon break the village’s curse and win the love of Sophia?

This isn’t Simon’s strongest script. It can get a bit cheesy, especially in how Leon instantly falls in love with Sophia. However, the whole thing is just so good-natured and unpretentious, it exudes plenty of charm. The villagers may be fools, but they’re nice, well-meaning people. Their ignorance provides plenty of opportunities for humorous misunderstandings.

Hackman makes a likeable lead. He brings great energy to the role, and he manages to be irritated without ever becoming irritating. Hicks also does a fine job as Sophia, and the two work great together. The script doesn’t do much to develop their chemistry and leaves them with all the heavy lifting. They prove more than up to the task. Dan Gerstenlauer and Laurie Follmer make a wonderful comedic duo as the bumbling Dr. and Mrs. Zubritsky.

The entire cast is clearly having fun, so the audience does as well. Saturday’s performance generated consistent laughter at the Cultural Arts Center at Glen Allen.

A star in and of itself was the combination of Amy Berlin’s direction (Editor’s note: Ms. Berlin is a reviewer for ShowBizRadio) and Lin Heath’s set design. Berlin has choreographed plenty of movement to keep the physical comedy flowing, and Heath’s set provides multiple levels to diversify the visual appeal. A particular highlight was watching Leon struggling to climb a balcony to see Sophia, right as she rushes out her front door to see him down there.

A nice thing about this show is how clean it is. There’s nothing crude, disgusting, or inappropriate. It’s all about having fun. It won’t challenge you, but it will amuse you. Fools is great for families who want to introduce their older children to live theatre.

Photo Gallery

Photos provided by Henrico County Recreation and Parks

Cast

• Leon Tolchinsky: Matt Hackman
• Snetsky: Tyler Simpson
• Magistrate: Jim Scott
• Slovitch: Barbi Partlow
• Mishkin: Don Polaski
• Yenchna: Sandra Clayton
• Dr. Zubritsky: Dan Gerstenlauer
• Lenya Zubritsky: Laurie Follmer
• Sophia Zubritsky: Leah Hicks
• Gregor Yousekevitch: Charles A. Wax

Production Staff:

• Director: Amy Berlin
• Stage Manager: Tiffany Shifflett
• Set Design: Lin Heath
• Light Design: Matthew Landwehr
• Costumes: Charlotte Scharff and Betty Williams
• Sound Design: Richard Koch
• Properties Coordinator: Richard Koch

Disclaimer: Henrico Theatre Company provided two complimentary media tickets to ShowBizRadio for this review.

]]> /2013/07/review-vrt-richard-scarrys-busytown/ Mon, 08 Jul 2013 20:49:33 +0000 http://richmond.showbizradio.com/?p=308 Busytown is the perfect outing for families with small children.]]> Richard Scarry’s Busytown
Virginia Repertory Theatre: (Info) (Web)
Virginia Rep Center – Willow Lawn Through July 28th
1:00, without intermission
$10-$16
Reviewed July 5th, 2013

A good children’s play entertains the kiddies. A great one also amuses their parents.

Busytown meets that criterion. Adapted from Richard Scarry’s popular children’s books, the musical brings familiar characters to life in a fun, cheerful production staged by Virginia Repertory Theatre for its Children’s Theatre at Willow Lawn season. The show, with music by Michael Koerner and book by Kevin Kling, breezes by at precisely the right length — one hour — which is long enough to pack in plenty of Busytown antics without overstaying its welcome. It’s not long, but it’s indeed busy, with lots of clever bits of business along the way.

The ensemble cast is fantastic. You’ll believe an actor can become a cartoon character.

Dan Cimo plays young Huckle, essentially our viewpoint character who’s trying to find his place in Busytown, and the rest of the cast takes on an assortment of roles. PJ Freeborn, Allison Gilman, Michael Brown, Jessi Johnson, and Jan Guarino each bring their own brand of animated exuberance to the proceedings.

Guarino doesn’t just act, sing, and dance. She also directed and choreographed the production. Apparently, being a triple threat wasn’t enough. She excels in all roles, as this very physical show remains in constant motion, never losing the attention of the little ones. Everyone involved maintains the necessary enthusiasm to charm the audience from start to finish.

The main plot involves preparations for Grandma Bear’s birthday (she’s turning over 30!) while Huckle tries to be helpful. However, the show is basically a string of humorous, inventive episodes.

Freeborn’s Lowly Worm is a highlight. The actor serves as the puppeteer for the long, thin, and mostly mute worm, though he goes a step farther by providing his own animated facial expressions to convey the puppet’s reactions to events. He nails the character without saying a word. And a worm puppet, it seems, provides numerous opportunities for excellent physical comedy.

Johnson’s Nurse Nellie takes a hilarious interest in Lowly Worm following an injury, which is tended to by Gilman’s Doctor Lion in a terrific scene full of wonderful interplay between the performers.

Brown gives us another treat with his portrayal of Captain Salty — a pirate whose favorite letter is the one that comes after Q. His crew (Gilman, Johnson, and Guarino) is a delight.

Creativity is all over the place in Busytown — in a construction ballet, in the slow-motion eating of over-risen bread, and even in a house fire that also sneaks in a safety message.

Lynn West’s costume designs clearly suggest the various animal characters without burdening the actors with bulky masks. Ears, hair, and hats help them become the characters, and their expressive faces remain free.

Chase Kniffen provides a set design worthy of a picture book. It’s vibrant, colorful, and feels like a character in its own right. Even the stage floor shows painted grass, bushes, roads, and railroad tracks. The Willow Lawn theater space is fully utilized.

Busytown is the perfect outing for families with small children. Older kids might fancy themselves too mature for such a show, but preschoolers and early elementary school students will be delighted. The opening night kids were certainly laughing and bopping to the music quite a bit.

And the grown-ups seemed to have a great time, too.

Photo Gallery

Lowly Worm	Jan Guarino, Allison Gilman, Jessi Johnson, Dan Cimo, PJ Freeborn, and Michael Brown

Photos by Jay Paul

Cast

• Dan Cimo: Huckle
• PJ Freeborn: Lowly Worm, Blacksmith Fox, Construction Worker, Fire Chief, Able Baker Charlie
• Allison Gilman: Farmer Alfalfa, Jason the Mason, Doctor Lion, Train the Dog, Grandma Bear, Pirate
• Michael Brown: Sergeant Murphy, Dig Pig, Captain Salty, Humperdink
• Jessi Johnson: Grocer Cat, Sawdust Carpenter, Postman, Nurse Nellie, Pirate
• Jan Guarino: Betsy Bear, Stitches, Pirate

Designers

• Adapted for the stage by Kevin Kling from the book “What Do People Do All Day” by Richard Scarry
• Lyrics by Kevin Kling & Michael Koerner
• Music by Michael Koerner
• Set Design: Chase Kniffen
• Light Design: K. Jenna Ferree
• Costume Design: Lynn West
• Stage Management: Kate Belleman
• Musical Direction: Paul Deiss
• Direction & Choreography: Jan Guarino

Disclaimer: Virginia Repertory Theatre provided two complimentary media tickets to ShowBizRadio for this review.

]]>