Annie at Gallery Players

This review of Annie at The Gallery Players was written by Christopher M. Struck and published in Volume X, Issue 7 (2017) of the online edition of Applause! Applause!

Annie
Written by Thomas Meehan
Music by Martin Charnin
Director: Mark Harborth
Director of Production: Scott Andrew Cally
Set Design: Joshua Barilla
Lighting Design: Christopher Chambers
Choreographer: Emily Clark
Tap Sequence Choreographer: Robin Rivers Friday
Costume Design: Barbara Erin Delo
Music Director: Paul Helm
The Gallery Players
199 14th Street
Brooklyn, New York 11215
Reviewed 9/22/17

The Gallery Players' production of Annie was simply marvelous. Anchored by a strong cast, this classic story of the hard-knock orphan who miraculously becomes the adopted daughter of Oliver Warbucks, melted the hardest hearts while remaining accessible to the plethora of children in the audience. Of all the actors, the most important were the orphans and these kids were great. This started the show off on a strong note and as each stage change showcased the staff's attention to detail, the audience could only be more impressed by this touching tale of fortune favoring the luckless.

Entrenched in the American canon, Annie became a musical in 1976 and ran for nearly six years on Broadway starting in 1977. The trio of Thomas Meehan, Charles Strouse, and Martin Charnin based the original musical on a comic strip that debuted on August 5, 1924, in the New York Daily News. This, in turn, was based off a 1885 poem written by the American writer James Whitcomb Riley. Having entertained audiences around the world in various forms for almost a century and a half, the musical adaptation of Annie's story was no different and has seen a myriad of revivals, productions, and tours worldwide over the past 40 years. You can bet your bottom dollar that The Gallery Players gave Annie its due. A number of the actors and actresses truly impressed.

From Gallery Players facebook page.

Among the highlights were the popular songs sung by Annie in the musical. The young Emma Grace Berardelli did a great job in the lead role, especially when she sang "It's A Hard Knock Life" and "Tomorrow." I still have the tunes in my head, and her positive attitude and outlook on life should be adopted by all (not just FDR and his senior cabinet.) Berardelli's ability and stage presence were remarkable alongside talented acting veterans many years her senior. This hard work and dedication will pay off for years to come.

One of the best performances amidst the spotlight on Annie was by Luisa Boyaggi as Miss Hannigan. Convincing as a drunk and frustrated orphan matron, she brought out the best in her character in solo songs and with Alex Domini as Rooster Hannigan, her brother, in a solid "Easy Street." Her ability to scold, wince, yell, and throw her arms up in surrender was a testament to the complexity of the role. She made the character stand out as a complex, multi-dimensional woman with desires and fears as she waited wistfully beside the radio for a wanting bachelor while tormenting and being tormented by the girls in her care.

Heather Gault as Grace Farrell also impressed me. She looked the part perfectly as Oliver Warbuck's personal assistant becoming ally and confidant to the young Annie while maintaining posture and presence in both the orphanage and beside Mr. Warbucks. She had a knack for delivering her lines in such a way that perfectly communicated underlying meanings which mark classic plays like Annie as some of the best.  

I would recommend Annie to anyone getting to know American culture as well as families. This absorbing story is both fluid and dynamic, and The Gallery Players did more than a solid job. The ensemble of actors even pulled off a notable dance number (thanks to Choreographer Robin Rivers Friday) that brought me back to videos of Fred Astaire at the 1970s Oscars show. Annie runs through October 8, 2017. Tickets - $30.00 for adults and $20.00 for seniors and children 12 & under - can be purchased by calling OvationTix at 212-352-3101, or by visitinghttp://galleryplayers.com/box-office/  

Inanimate at the Flea

This review of Nick Robideau's Inanimate at The Flea Theater was written by Christopher M. Struck and published in Volume X, Issue 7 (2017) of the online edition of Applause! Applause!

Inanimate
Written by Nick Robideau
Directed by Courtney Ulrich
Scene Design by Yu-Hsuan Chen
Costume Design by Sarah Lawrence
Lighting Design by Becky Heisler McCarthy
Sound Design by Megan Culley
Production Stage Managed by Gina Solebello
The Flea Theater
20 Thomas Street
New York, New York 10007
Reviewed 8/27/17

This play aimed true in almost every facet. The dialogue was crisp; the set (scene, costume, lighting, and sound) design was on point; and the acting, phenomenal. Beyond that, Inanimate intrigued me with its oddities and left me wondering about the intricacies of the human mind. The main character, Erica, demonstrated a range of emotions including love and lust for inanimate objects. Lacy Allen shined in the lead role. Her eyes filled with sadness and desperation when confronted with the possible loss of these things she had become infatuated with. Yes, things! To us, we might view feelings toward material things as something akin to sentimental attachment, but apparently, this obsession with objects truly does exist.

It has been shown through psychological study that attachment to objects occurs normally at a very young age. Children prefer specific objects that have been given to them and are "theirs" over identical copies or replacements. While this can be considered a form of ownership, it does take on potentially new perspectives when viewed through the lens of this play. For example, Lacy's character, Erica, hears the voices of objects around her. While most of the lines are merely what the object is such as a fluffy bunny (Nancy Tatiana Quintana) calling herself "soft" or a lamp (Artem Kreimer) saying he "flickers and shines brighter," we could wonder that perhaps this object obsession is due to an actual "spirit of the object" such as an essence talking subliminally to us. Or perhaps her thoughts are merely constructions and hallucinations of normal emotional attachment to objects. Are the objects important because they have an actual voice, or because the objects are important for another reason - does a voice develop? So, in other words, does our sense of ownership come from an internal form of attachment unrelated metaphysically to the object in question or does the object itself also form an attachment to us?

Forming a conclusion on the reality or even the morality of those possibilities aside, I thought this made for an engaging story idea that kept me interested throughout. While the main conflict didn't have a lot of complex depth, it did subtly appear early. Erica has fallen in love with a Dairy Queen sign named "Dee," an artful character constructed by Philip Feldman. After allowing herself to awaken (in a sexual way) to the Dairy Queen sign, Erica begins to allow other objects to talk to her including a can opener who appears as BDSM gear-laden Michael Oloyede whispering "cold, metal, black." When she puts the can opener against her skin, someone complains and Erica loses her job at a supermarket. Her sister, Trish (Tressa Preston), a political activist promoting a referendum involving a downtown revitalization for small businesses is embarrassed by a caller to the show. So at first, it seems the main problem is Erica regaining a sense of normalcy so she doesn't hurt her sister's political ambitions. However, an astute viewer could pick up that the Dairy Queen is called old (it's on the edge of the downtown business district) and while Trish's bill is meant to help small businesses, it is conceivable she may use it to destroy Dee, which she does, causing a final rift between the sisters.

Mixed up in this, is an interesting human relationship that develops between Kevin, a manager at the DQ, and Erica. For six months, Erica has been coming to the DQ to get ice cream while Kevin just happens to have been working. Kevin has nursed a crush on her since high school. The two intermittently talk at night when Erica is trying to flirt with the DQ sign (yes, at times, this play is very funny). Erica even reveals her feelings for objects to Kevin at some point. At first, he is taken aback, but he eventually becomes extremely supportive. Erica suggests they could even get along harmoniously with her allowing him to have his way with her as well as other people if he is okay with her enjoying the occasional object. Too good to be true? Possibly. Maki Borden did a stellar job in the role, and he helped create many comedic moments.

Perhaps the infatuation with Dee was all just feelings for Kevin that couldn't be expressed another way? Or maybe Dee actually did exist and his climactic death will someday mean as much to us as the moment Jack floats away in Titanic. Regardless of what conclusions you may draw from your viewing of Inanimate, you will be entertained and have an interesting experience. Tickets are available for $35.00 online at www.theflea.org or via the Box Office extension at 212.353.3101. 

Apartment 301 at Access Theater

This review of Antony Raymond's Apartment 301 at Access Theater was written by Christopher M. Struck and published in Volume X, Issue 7 (2017) of the online edition of Applause! Applause!

Apartment 301
Written & Directed by Antony Raymond
Access Theater
380 Broadway
New York, New York 10013
Reviewed 8/3/17

Elsinore County Theatre, the production company behind this play, advertised this run as "the world premiere of this comedy about a woman whose life is about to be radically altered." The show's publicist promoted it as a "New Comedy." As a result, I went to see Apartment 301 with the expectation of having a few laughs. However, as a comedy, it missed the mark on many levels. From the stilted script that lacked any depth to the dark lighting in the theater, a lot of pieces of the production negatively influenced the ability of the play to be funny. Most of the "jokes" were either making fun of millennial women or of a pathetic neighbor who otherwise seemed completely irrelevant as a character. The actresses had the hardest time breathing life into their dialogue and, for the most part, were unable to make the dramatic moments believable with good timing and realistic emotions. It was only the negative aspects of their lives that seemed to come forth strongly, which is why I kept wondering why the play was classified as a comedy. I'm not really sure how an unplanned pregnancy from a guy who lied about wearing a condom was supposed to be funny. 
 

Brightened using instagram and iPhone filters.

The play's setting is limited to a single room of the apartment. The black door of the apartment featured on the program seemed a little creepier than I would have expected for a play that promised to be light-hearted and thought-provoking. The two girls, Morgan Scott as Brooke and Abbey Shaine Dubin as Lacey, begin by contemplating the color of a pregnancy test. It's a little confusing what they are talking about at first since the props and stage were sparse, but it becomes clear when Lacey states, "I'm late."

To give an example of the difficulties of the script, the two then launch into a winding discussion about what they should do that night. Brooke suggests they grab a bottle of wine and the first chuckle from the audience comes when Lacey says that "it will be an Ernest Hemingway evening." Only, apparently, it hadn't been decided at that point because Brooke gives some condescending advice to Lacey that she should have made sure her partner used a condom, while Lacey's response to most everything Brooke said was to question her motivations and intentions. Even before the bottle of wine has been opened, Lacey is saying to Brooke, "Hug me. I can't believe he did this to me." Finally, we get to the two of them commiserating about how much they hate their lives. Lacey straight out says, "I hate my life" while Brooke says, "There is nothing out there for me" as she apparently can't find work as an actress.

Jim, the neighbor (Eric Doviak) at some point interrupts this convoluted series of one-liners looking for a screwdriver to help put something together in his apartment. Easily the funniest aspect of the play is just how pathetic this 38-year old secretary at a law firm character is. After he gets the screwdriver, Jim returns it the next day and bonds with Lacey who is crying over being pregnant and having her dancing career as a ballerina suddenly placed in potential jeopardy. He insinuates himself into her life as a sounding board with this brief laugh getter, "You left the door open, so I didn't know if that was your silent way of saying it's O.K. to not leave yet." 

I felt the actresses handled this strange and awkward intruder situation with realism and measured emotion. However, the situation takes an unexpected twist when we learn Brooke, a Canadian, must figure out a way how to legally stay in the country. One night she is drinking alone when Jim appears with two sets of flowers, one for each of the roommates. Brooke gives this man, who has never been on a date, the run down on how to get a girl while he admits to having benefited from the services of a hooker on various birthdays courtesy of his brothers. Expectedly, the two sleep together and when Lacey finds out the next morning, deep emotional conflict erupts. Jim comes out of the bedroom and refuses to be sent away until they are all friends again. Jim accidentally pushes Brooke and she falls unconscious after hitting her head on a table. Frightened regarding the consequences of what he has done, Jim ties both roommates up but Brooke regains consciousness, escapes her bindings, and attacks Jim with the original screwdriver. During their fight, they happen to stab Lacey in the stomach. While Brooke calls for an ambulance, Jim stabs himself in the heart.

Apartment 301 is like an episode of Friends with half the cast and the plot of a short horror story. I am not sure if the ending was supposed to appear slapstick, but for me, the funniest moment was when Jim pulled away from the accidental stabbing of Lacey looking at bloody hands that had no blood on them. He changed this cleverly by getting blood on his hands while trying to "stop" the bleeding with a paper towel. But back to the point, the play's comedy didn't translate to the majority of the audience for a number of reasons I have already mentioned. The setting, the ambiance, and the script made it difficult for the acting to create the right recipe for laughter. I am not sure what would have helped but not relying on a single character for most of the comic relief would have been a step in the right direction. Tickets at $25.00 and are available on the theater company's website at www.elsinorecounty.com/index.html.