When you walk in, you look up at the ceiling and you see a bunch of things you would find in an office and a bunch of toys. And it looks like an office and kid's playhouse has been blown up because the father used to work in one of the twin towers. The set (by Brian Sidney Bembridge) shows you all the disorder and the destruction that has happened to the family. But it didn't look burnt; it looked like it was all up in the air. And even though they had moved in awhile earlier, they hadn't unpacked everything, so there might have been toys and computers just floating around the house. The set wasn't only the house. It was also a cafeteria and there was also a wall behind it and a swing for some of the scenes that happened outside.
I really liked the scenes with Stephen Hawking, but it felt kind of wrong to laugh at a person in a wheelchair with a funny voice. It would be okay if they told a funny joke. Like when he said "bummer," that was funny because number 1, he was a famous scientist and he would probably not say anything like "bummer." I did find that funny, but then I still found it slightly sad because I was afraid that people were laughing just because he was in a wheelchair and had a computer's voice. I found some of the wheelchair stuff slightly uncomfortable for me because, when he was swinging back and forth next to Rachel on the swing, people were laughing but of course he can't just get out of his chair and swing with her, so that makes it pretty sad too, to see this man wanting to do stuff with one of his fans but he can't. I don't think it is bad that they laughed because it can also be funny and it wasn't really Stephen Hawking. It was just in Rachel's mind. And Jesus is probably also just in Sylvia's mind, but then he could actually be there, depending on what kind of show you think this is. I think it is not a religious show about how Jesus is always there. I think it is saying that Sylvia thinks Jesus will be staying around with her. And then she will go to heaven but she doesn't know about the rest of her family. And I think the show is sympathetic with her because she doesn't know what to do and it is hard on her to believe that her family doesn't feel like any of this stuff is going to happen.
The family also includes Nelson, who has a crush on the daughter. Both of his parents are dead and now he is living with his stepmother. So he is having a pretty hard life and his crush's family is kind of his family too. He falls in love with the smartest girl in the class and they learn to like each other. Each day he wears an Elvis suit because his mother made him one when he was a little kid. The Elvis suit makes him feel more secure and like his mother is still around. I find it very heartwarming that he would still wear this outfit even though his mother has been gone for so long. But he doesn't want everyone to help him, he just wants to have a good time and not have everyone look at him like he's a weirdo. He's adorable and he is the romantic person, but he doesn't turn into a prince when you kiss him. He brings the entire family back together. The father used to be depressed and once Nelson came around and they went shopping for all kinds of cereal, he feels better. Rachel used to be super uninclusive and didn't like to talk to anyone, and then she learned all the cool facts about the universe when Nelson gives her Stephen Hawking's book and she fell in love with Nelson and he made her happy. And the mom learns to be open to whatever from Nelson because he can be in both religions and he loved science. He's like an angel in disguise, but he got something in return. He got a family.
People who would like this show are people who like ceilings covered with stuff, Stephen Hawking, and really cute Elvises. I think people should definitely go see this show because it is funny, heartwarming, and you get to know a lot about different kinds of beliefs. I loved this show!
Photos: Justin Barbin
The first part of the show started out with Anu as Antigone talking with her sister Ismene (Eleni Pappageorge) about how unfair it was that only one of their brothers could be buried. So she decided to bury him but then the guard (David Guy) caught her and she was Kreon (Ann James) sentenced to death. It is kind of ironic that she went to bury someone and ended up buried herself. And you don't really know if she is alive or dead at the end. I'd like to think she is alive because I like happy endings. I really liked when Eurydike (David Prete) said, "This is Eurydike's monologue. This is her only speech in the play." And I think that it is cool not to have them recite the monologue in a straightforward way and just saying what it is, just basically summarizing it. It is unusual and it showed that the character of the wife, she was just "the wife." She didn't do anything else. The Chorus (Lona Livingston), who is basically the narrator, also had a part to play. She was basically the court advisor to Kreon, like Jafar but she is not evil. Teiresias (Maritza Cervantes) was really awesome because he was completely blind but he could tell the future. And I really liked when the The Chorus said about Teiresias something along the lines of "And history shows, he is always right." I thought that was funny because it was very matter-of-fact. And I liked when The Chorus was proving someone wrong already, but then they still made it so matter-of-fact.
I found it cool that they switched actors and did the same show a second time, but the second time around the jokes weren't funny and you already knew what was going to happen, and it made it less enjoyable than the first time even though the actors were equally as good. But then it was also good because you got to understand things a little better because you were hearing it for the second time. And I think it was also cool how the actors' interpretations were different. Kreon in the first part plays Antigone during the second part. I think that the actor got to get the experience of both characters. If Kreon could have seen Antigone's side, the ending might have been different and he wouldn't have tried to bury her in the first place. Eurydike hates Kreon a lot, so the play has that actor become the person that they hated before. So then you can get both perspectives like I said before.
People who would like this show are people who like Greek drama, different perspectives, and knowing what the ending could have been. I think people should go see this show. It was a very interesting and eye-opening experience for me.
Photos: Jonathan L. Green
I think that Ivan is an amazing character. He is so sweet and adorable, but then he is a good protector, so you shouldn't mess with him. I really loved how the actor used his body (movement consultant, Kristina Fluty) to make himself look like a gorilla. But he wasn't making fun of how gorillas move because that would have thrown off the whole tone of the story. I loved when he got angry and jumped down to help Ruby. You got to know Ivan very well throughout the course of the show, and I loved the first chapter of the book, how it starts, and I'm glad they kept that in. When you watch him saying "I am Ivan. I am a gorilla. It is not as easy as it looks" it makes it even more sad, especially if you read the book, because you know what is coming. But it is not only sad because it is kind of funny because there is a gorilla who is trying to write a book or, in the play, there is a gorilla who is trying to narrate a big story. One of my favorite Ivan moments was when he was painting and how he made a bunch of pictures of bananas. And then he is like, "I shall paint…another banana" like he is just the most dignified artist ever. I thought that was great and hilarious. I think that he really is an artist. I think that what makes an artist is if somebody makes art and shows it to other people, then that is an artist.
I think that the puppets were amazing. They looked so awesome and cool. I especially liked the elephants. The elephants were so detailed, but they didn't put like a mask of an elephant on someone because that would have just looked like a mutant elephant-person. They held the elephant head in their hands so then it was like the elephant had the spirit of a human. You could also see the person's facial expression because it is very hard to make understandable facial expressions on an elephant puppet. I thought that both of the actors playing elephants did an amazing job at making you sympathize with them and never want their characters to go away. I think it is very sad when Stella says that gorillas have hearts of ice. And Ivan says, "I would give anything for a heart of ice." That made my heart want to be a heart of ice! Bob, the dog, was another puppet. He was small and cute and adorable, but very sassy. And I want a dog like Bob because I want a sassy dog. Sassy dogs are just the cutest things. I really liked when he woke up and was like, "Hey! I'm dreaming about food over here!" I think that that was very funny. He looked kind of like a stuffed animal that you might have in your house. Bob the character is already animated in the book, so it was fun to have the dog very hyper throughout the entire show.
I thought it was awesome how Bob was played by the same person who played Mac because even though they are such different characters they still have some things in common. Like they both have a hard life and they both love Ivan. And they both love eating food, I think! You don't hate Mac, even though he abuses the animals, because he thinks he is doing the right thing. But he can never make me think that by hitting a animal you are doing the right thing. George (Tom Jansson) and Julia (Oglesby) are father and daughter. They both love the animals a lot and they are a great case of humans who love animals. Julia reminds me a lot of me because I love art and I would like to have a gorilla for a friend! And I would name a dog Bob, too! I think that their father-daughter relationship is very strong. I really liked how George would do anything for his daughter, even though they have a hard life. Even when he thinks he might lose his job for doing the right thing, he still does it for Julia.
People who would like this show are people who like gorilla best friends, elephants with human spirits, and adorable Bob dogs. I think people should definitely go see this show. I think it is best for kids 4 and up because they can understand the issues. And I think adults would also like this because it is not all about kids' stuff. I thought it was very touching but also very funny. I absolutely loved it!
Photos: Suzanne Plunkett
Once upon a time I went to a show and it was called One Came Home. It was based on the book by Amy Timberlake and adapted by Jessica Wright Buha. It was directed by Elise Kauzlaric. It was about a girl named Georgie (Ashley Darger) who had a sister named Agatha (Amanda Jane Long) who had run away with a bunch of pigeon hunters because she wanted to get away from her small town and all the people that wanted to marry her. Georgie likes to hunt pigeons and all kinds of animals. So when Agatha doesn't come back, Georgie decides to go out looking for her with Billy (Jeff Kurysz), one of Agatha's courters. Everyone else thinks that Agatha is dead, but Georgie thinks she might not be. I really liked this show. I thought it was a great adaptation because I read and loved the book.
I think that Agatha's suitors all seemed like pretty good guys, but the thing is she wanted to go to college. And because it is 1871, if she gets married, then it would have been useless and waste of money to go to college because she wouldn't be able to become a teacher or anything. She'd just be washing dishes and hanging out the clothes to dry all the time. Or at least that's what Grandpa Bolte (Errol McLendon) thinks. But then you don't hate Grandpa Bolte because he is such a nice guy, but also I don't agree with him. If she has kids and is a mother she has to be smart so then she can homeschool her kids! Mr. Olmstead (Dan Granata) loved books and he would show Agatha all his books in his library to woo her. The thing is, if he got married to Agatha she still would just be his wife. He probably wouldn't let her go to college. And Billy would probably have done the same thing, but Billy was very much in love with her. But the thing is he was very mad at Olmstead because he felt like he'd taken something away from him. Even though Billy is in love with her, he still treats her like property because he feels like something has been taken away from him. Agatha doesn't want to be a wife or property. I think that seems very powerful for her not to just say, "Oh you are the nicest of my suitors. I choose you!" I think that is good that even in these days they had women who would stand up for themselves. I find it kind of aggravating that Billy just goes off and proposes to Polly (Miriam Reuter) right after his love dies, but that shows us that he thinks that Agatha is replaceable even though she was the love of his life. Even though Billy seems like a nice guy, I think Mr. Olmstead is better because after she dies, he is just sad for awhile. And if you fall in love with someone they can never be replaced.
The most important relationship in the play is between Georgie and Agatha because you see how Georgie would do anything to find her sister and make up for the mistakes she made. Georgie's adventures were all with Billy, who had been in love with Agatha, and you see that develop throughout the play, but it is still not the most important relationship. One of the creepiest parts of the play is when Georgie is searching for a letter but then she found something else and it jumps out at you and I was so scared. She doesn't find this thing in the book, because you don't really need her to find anything to understand that she believes that her sister is dead. But on stage you need something to show how much Georgie has put into finding Agatha and how much she believed. I thought it was interesting how even when Georgie finally believes Agatha is dead, the relationship still grows because Georgie is learning more about Agatha by finding out what was actually happening in her life.
The scene with the Garrows was funny and kind of heartwarming and scary. It was funny when Mrs. Garrow (Heather Currie) wouldn't even listen to what Billy was saying. What she did was that she would yell at him and then spray the water in his face because she thought he was after her daughter Darlene. But the heartwarming part is how much Mrs. Garrow would do for her daughter and that she comforts Georgie and tells her to run away from Billy because she she thinks he's beaten her because she has a black eye. And then the scary part is when the father, Mr. Garrow (Patrick Blashill), comes out and he is just terrifying. His voice and his smile--you are just like, "He's a murderer!" And I think that was great to have such a terrifying person. He wasn't terrifying as the Sheriff. He seemed like a very nice person in that role--the Sheriff just wasn't very observant. I think that Miriam Reuter also did a great job playing two roles and making them very distinct. I think that all the actors did a great job of seeing the characters' flaws and weaknesses and also their strong points. You really got to know the characters. I think that's a great thing to have in a show.
I liked how country and western the elements of the show were. I loved how they made this one set (designed by Alan Donahue) into lots of different places and it still felt like you were in those places. I thought it was awesome how the bird's wings were made out of fans. I really loved that. The birds reminded me of Agatha because she loved to wear beautiful dresses and, because the birds were made of fans that are also fancy, when you saw them your brain clicked and you thought of Agatha. And they also had a horse and a donkey that were made out of ladders. I liked that because it was cool but unusual. I think they used a person (Granata) for the donkey the very first time so that you knew it was alive and they weren't just riding ladders and to make you laugh hysterically. I liked how the sound effects and the music (John Szymanski) were live right there. It made you feel more connected to the story.
People who would like this show are people who like great sisters, scary surprises, and ladder donkeys. I think people should definitely see this show. It is funny, scary, and it makes you think a lot about your relationships with your family.
Photos: Suzanne Plunkett
Once upon a time I went to a show and it was called The Full Monty. The book was by Terrence McNally. Music and Lyrics were by David Yazbek. Music Direction was by Kory Danielson and the choreography was by Daniel Spagnuolo. It was directed by John D. Glover. It was about these six guys whose factory shut down and then they decided that to make money and win back their wives they would have to become strippers. They wanted to show the women that you can't just find a Chippendale on the street and make that man your husband and they wanted to show them what an actual man is like. I thought this was a really weird and cool show. It is weird because it is not every day that you hear a plot like that! And it is cool because it is funny, you care about the characters, and it is awesome.
I think that it is good that they don't make all the characters all in really good shape and stuff. They make them each have problems. That shows that you don't have to muscular to be a real man; you just have to be…a man. Jerry's (Garret Lutz) problem is his marriage. His ex-wife Pam (Laura McClain) doesn't even want to be friends with him anymore because he wasn't acting like a father, he was acting like a best friend and a child. And she doesn't want that in a husband. But then he puts an act all together with his friends which shows that he could put together a life. Dave's problem is that he feels like he is not even a person because he's not in the best shape physically and he doesn't have a job and his wife Georgie (Marsha Harman) doesn't feel like he loves her anymore. But he doesn't realize that no matter what, his wife will still love him. I think the cutest couple in the play was definitely Malcom (George Toles) and Ethan (Greg Foster). They seemed like they could just be good friends, but they seemed like they could be in love too. Malcom would probably never have found out what sexuality he was, because he didn't really know anything before this (he was not the brightest), if he had not met Ethan while they were doing exotic dancing. Harold (Eric Lindahl) was the one who had the best kind of life before. He was very rich before the company shut down. Harold's problem is that he thinks his wife Vicki (Colette Todd), who loves beautiful new things, won't love him anymore if he tells her that he lost his job. He brings some of the dance experience because they found him dancing the tango with his wife at a dance class. Horse (Randolph Johnson) was a fantabulous dancer. I want to take dance from him. He did a bunch of uptown funk-like stuff, and that is how he got onto the team. His song that he sang with it was just great.
I really liked their rehearsals and their auditions where they had this old-lady piano player Jeanette (Caron Buinis) who talked about how she had worked with Frank Sinatra and a bunch of famous people from the Fifties and Sixties. I liked how she would tell everyone about everything in her life and she would compare whatever other people were saying happened in their life to her experiences with a bunch of famous people. I really liked how she was introduced by her starting to talk and someone said, "Who's she?" And someone else said, "I don't know. She was just here." I think I identify with the son of Jerry, Nathan (Seth Steinberg), because he was in a place that some people would find very bad for a kid to be, like he was at the auditions and the show and I was also at the show. But I don't think it was super bad because he got to spend more time with his Dad and I don't think any of this was new. I think it taught him about how to work together as a team and friendship and how to deal with insecurities.
Here are a few of my favorite funny moments. One of the ones that made me crack up was when Buddy (Charlie Rasmann), who was the main attraction at the strip show, his boyfriend (Royen Kent) walked by and was like, "That's it! I'm starting the car!" in a sort of valley-girl-type way. And he was pulling his coat very tight and crossing his arms and he seemed very upset about it. And there was this one guy, Ethan, who wanted to be able to do the "Make 'Em Laugh" running up the wall move. The only thing was, he just couldn't. He kept running into the wall. And I thought that was hilarious. I always love slapstick comedy and this was so funny! I really liked when Jerry and Dave were stuck in the bathroom stall listening to their wives talking about how awesome the strippers were and then they slowly opened the door when there were no women in the bathroom anymore. And they were just squished in there like a meatball.
People who would like this show are people who like old-lady piano players, running into walls, and educational exotic dancing. I think people should definitely go see this show. It was really fun, and the music and dancing were both great.
Photos: Joshua Albanese Photography
Once upon a time I went to a show and it was called The Royal Society of Antarctica. It was written by Mat Smart, and it was directed by John Gawlik. It was about a girl named Dee (Aila Peck) who went to Antarctica where her mother and father had met, but then her mom died there right after Dee was born. So she comes back to basically try to see what her mother saw and do what her mother did because she never really knew her mother. She ends up learning a lot about her mother, but she also learns what her father went through. She also makes a lot of friends there, like one of her best friends it seems is this girl named Tamara (Brittany Burch), who is a drunk and kind of doesn't tell anyone what her life is like back at home. Dee also meets this scientist named Jake (Kyle Zornes) who is studying algae, then before that she meets a man who is in the navy named Miller (Brian Keys). The other people that work there are UT Tim (Jay Worthington) and UT Tom (Paul D'Addario) and this very silent woman named Pam (Lynda Newton). And there is also a guy who runs the bar name Ace (John Kelly Connolly) who has some very strange goals in life and Dee has a lot to do with those goals. This show is about love, trust, and feeling like you don't fit in. I think that this was a great show. It makes you feel a lot of emotions. It makes you laugh; it makes you cry. You get to know the characters very well, so then whenever something bad happens to one of the characters you feel very very sad for them.
I thought that Antarctica was a great place to set it. For one thing, the author was a janitor in Antarctica, so he was kind of going off his own experiences. I think that is really awesome because then you just don't get an outside perspective. You get an insider perspective. Because he sets it in Antarctic it make it more obvious why people are not making such great decisions. They miss home and they are in a place with only a few other people and they are so isolated from the rest of the world that they don't use alcohol in the best ways and some of them kind of forget what it was like to be back home. But Antarctica also makes them all feel like family. They have a tradition where they eat honey-butter biscuits every week. I thought that sounded very cute and delicious, and I really want a honey-butter biscuit. Antarctica is kind of a character in the play. It is like the bully of the world because there is nothing but mountains and snow there and it is almost always below zero. It is like a bully because it is dangerous and it isolates other people. But it is also very beautiful. So when you first see it, you are like, this is the best place in the world and it kind of tricks you, but when you've been there for awhile then you realize this is not the best place. It is like a bully or a bad handsome boyfriend.
There are several romantic relationships in this: UT Tim and Tamara, Dee and Jake, Dee and Miller, Pam and UT Tom. And these are some of my favorite romantic relationship moments. I thought it was really funny how Jake showed how much he loved Dee by saying he felt like a dead seal through email. And then he said, "I'll just send that before I think the better of it." And then he was like, "Did I just send that?" And then he was like "No. No. No!" And then of course Tamara had to come over and see it and make up the dance move "The Dead Seal." I found it slightly maddening because all he was trying to do was show that he loved Dee, but then it didn't really go as planned. I also really loved the moment where Miller and Dee were talking and he ripped off his shirt, and she said, "You have muscles where I didn't think there were muscles." I thought that was very funny. I think that their relationship seemed to be going pretty well, but then it became very sad. But then that still taught her about what her father's experience had been there. Pam and UT Tom seemed kind of like a very perfect but very strange couple. One of them barely talked and the other one was very energetic. It is hard for them to have a relationship because they were both secret kind of people and they weren't very good at telling the other person their secret. One of my favorite scenes was when Tom told her his secrets, but she didn't like his secret so it made it all go haywire. UT Tim and Tamara's relationship is first about making out, and then all about the physical relationship (the scene in the closet is hilarious!), and then it turns out it is all about love and trust. UT Tim thought he could trust her, but then he couldn't, but then something happens that makes you think they might get back together. Ace had a very weird relationship with Dee because his goal in life was to at least make out with a person born on every single continent. I think he wanted to do that because the person that he was in love with didn't end up loving him back. He wanted to feel like he had actually accomplished something. He just wants to show that he's a ladies' man, so his wife will realize she made a mistake.
UT Tim and UT Tom are basically like family because they have been on so many trips to Antarctica together. So they are basically like father and son or brothers. When you meet them, they both have crazy mohawks, and it makes them seem like twins. They seemed a lot like each other, but then they thought they were different kinds of people, so that made it harder for them. Even though you never see Dee's dad, you feel like you understand their relationship. You understand that it is hard having no mom and he had to do everything and go everywhere with her. But the problem is that, since she didn't have a mother, she kind of wasn't noticing how much he did for her because she was thinking about what she didn't have. I liked the scene where Dee was listening to his messages and he had heard about someone that she loved had died, but he didn't know how much she had known and loved him. I found that so sad because even though he didn't know this person at all or even what his name was, he still felt sorry for him and his family.
People who would like this show are people who like snow, kissing people that have been born on every continent, and honey-butter biscuits. I think people should definitely go see this show because it was fun, hilarious and also very sad. I loved it so much.
Photos: Claire Demos
I have been reading Elephant and Piggie books since I was very little and I loved them and got to go and meet Mo Willems and get my book signed. And I still have the one that Mo Willems signed for me. When I was little I figured out that Piggie was an optimist and Gerald was a pessimist. When I heard about this I was very excited. I was kind of scared that they would mess it all up, but they did not! They didn't change any of the story from any of the books, though they did add on, but I still think that was very good. They didn't sing about things that were completely unnecessary. They had songs that were about being best friends, ice cream, loving your new toy, and fancy pool costume parties. Those are good songs to have because they are like the books and not completely made up.
Gerald is a great character. I think the actor did a great job making him a character that is complicated because he is a pessimist, and pessimists are harder for kids to understand than people who are happy all the time, but then he is still a lovable character. He's hilarious and I just love the character of Gerald. I really liked when they were getting ready for the party and he came out in a Phantom of the Opera costume (by Sarah Jo White). He came out and he was already in an elephant costume, so a pessimistic talking elephant in a Phantom of the Opera costume is probably one of best things that has ever happened. And the music plays and he swishes his cape and his ears are just there and it is hilarious. I also really liked the song "Ice Cream Hero," which is about how he is going to share this ice cream with Piggie and he is so proud of himself. I liked that because he was in a superhero cape and he was just so worked up about how he was going to give this ice cream to Piggie. And there were Squirelles (Teressa LaGamba, Eliza-Jane Morris, and Daryn Harrell) dancing in the background. And I thought that the ice cream looked really awesome (props design by Aji Slater).
I really liked Piggie because she was very cute. She was very lovable and Piggie has always reminded me some of myself--like very energetic all the time. And I think she captured that energy very nicely because sometimes even myself who is always energetic gets slightly annoying to other people. But she wasn't annoying at all. I have no idea how she does it! One of my favorite moments was when she was playing her trumpet and everyone was like, "This is horrible, we have to leave." And by the end, it actually sounded pretty good. She is determined to play that trumpet and then even after they say "You are not doing very well" she is still not hurt because she knows she is practicing and can keep on trying. It was one of my favorite parts because it really showed Piggie's personality.
The Squirelles were like the backup singers for Elephant and Piggie. The squirrels in the book are like the friends of Elephant and Piggie. And they are still the friends of Elephant and Piggie but they have a different occupation. I loved their outfits. They had these giant puffy tails and their dresses were actually gorgeous. They also danced in the background. I think these characters were there so they could help Elephant and Piggie with little intrusions to make the stories work. Like, if the Squirelles had not told Piggie that Elephant did not break her toy, it was a break-and-snap toy all along, then they might have been mad at each other forever and that would have ended their friendship. That shows that even if you have a best friend, it is good to have other friends too. I really liked when one of the Squirelles (LaGamba) was so fascinated by the break-and-snap toy and kept saying "Break. And snap. Break. And snap." Then the other two, who were still sane, had to take her away from the break-and-snap toy. And I thought that was very funny.
People who would like this show are people who like dancing squirrels, ice cream, and break-and-snap toys. I think people should definitely go see this show. It is a great adaptation of the books, and if your kids love these books, they would definitely love this play. I think if you have kids or are a kid you will like it more, but even if you're an adult and forced to see it by your Elephant-and-Piggie-loving friends, you will still have a great time.
Photos: Johnny Knight
