Category Archives: Reviews

Links to all reviews can be found using the REVIEWS link at the top of the page. Blog postings, links and more are available on my Facebook fan page. You can also receive updates on Twitter from @BTCincyRob.

Rhys Boatwright as Phil & Robert Macke as Ginger. Photo by Mikki Schaffner Photography.

IT’S A GRAND NIGHT FOR MURDER presented by Northern Kentucky University through April 25 as part of the Y.E.S Festival of New Plays. Click here for more information on the production. I attended the opening Sunday performance.

It may not have happened at Albuquerque, but this play took several wrong turns that it never quite recovered from.

Dakota Dean as Heather & Emily Fry as Sally. Photo by Mikki Schaffner Photography.

Perhaps the intent was to write a zany-comedy murder-mystery. What was on stage was the cast of a murder-mystery and the cast of a zany-comedy, dropped into the same production. These two extremes never meshed together.

Kudos to the young cast for giving their best effort. There were times when they seemed to flounder on stage, making me wish director Terry Powell had stepped in with a stronger hand.

The only advice I can give to the cast is to work their characterizations to meet a bit more in the middle and to ground the character’s reactions a bit more in reality.

My rating: 3.25 out of 5

I would enjoy hearing what you think about the show or my review. All I ask is that you express your opinion without attacking someone else’s opinion. You can post your comments below.

Links to all reviews can be found using the REVIEWS link at the top of the page. Blog postings, links and more are available on my Facebook fan page. You can also receive updates on Twitter from @BTCincyRob.

Noah Berry as Mr. Wren & Wes Carman as Mr. Whitestone. Photo by Mikki Schaffner Photography.

THE DIVINE VISITOR presented by Northern Kentucky University through April 26 as part of the Y.E.S Festival of New Plays. Click here for more information on the production. I attended the opening Saturday performance.

As the show neared the end of its first act, I began to worry that there was not enough story to carry the show through another one. Thankfully, the introduction of the last character in the final moments of Act I sent me into intermission much more optimistic.

McKynleigh Abraham as Miss Mackenzie Wells. Photo by Mikki Schaffner Photography.

I wouldn’t have minded if the tone of the first act had been pushed a bit more into farce territory. With the main character being such a cad, his unabashed womanizing wears a bit thin. In both acts, there was a point where the script seems to lose its forward momentum for a scene or two.

The actors portraying the named roles all had well-developed characters. The production also receives good support from the ensemble. Allysun Mellick was fun as Mrs. Margot Ramshaw and brings great energy to the sexually-charged character. Visually though, see appeared to be close to the same age of her former students. As Mr. Wren, Noah Berry has a strong stage presence and was actively involved in every scene. Late arrival McKynleigh Abraham, as Miss Mackenzie Wells, is extremely natural on stage and handles the “fish out of water” aspect of the character well. Abraham and Berry have great chemistry together and I found myself rooting for the coupling.

A few small notes. Berry had a tendency to stand with his downstage leg forward and gesture with his downstage arm. Switching these to upstage would open you up more to the audience. When Andrew Bishop’s character of Mr. Alden was drunk, I had trouble understanding him with the accent. Volume-wise, he didn’t seem to be performing at the same level as his cast mates. Also, the bell on the door of the inn seemed to ring only when people entered the building.

Overall an enjoyable show when it’s firing on all cylinders. I did feel that the show could use a bit more comedic balance between the two acts and that the script could use some massaging.

My rating: 4.0 out of 5

I would enjoy hearing what you think about the show or my review. All I ask is that you express your opinion without attacking someone else’s opinion. You can post your comments below.

Links to all reviews can be found using the REVIEWS link at the top of the page. Blog postings, links and more are available on my Facebook fan page. You can also receive updates on Twitter from @BTCincyRob.

Victoria Hawley as Dorothy Paker. Photo by Mikki Schaffner Photography.

ENCORE, ENCORE presented by Northern Kentucky University through April 25 as part of the Y.E.S Festival of New Plays. Click here for more information on the production. I attended the opening night performance.

ENCORE, ENCORE gives audiences a broad view into a small part of the life of legendary American poet, short story writer, critic and screenwriter, Dorothy Parker. Her career took off while she was the theater critic for Vanity Fair. This time period is the focus for most of the play.

Victoria Hawley as Dorothy Paker & Hunter Henrickson as Edwin Pond Parker II. Photo by Mikki Schaffner Photography.

Parker was best know for her wit and wisecracks, which provide many laughs in this production. Victoria Hawley does well in portraying the main character. There were times, I felt, where her line delivery lacked spontaneity. Also, be sure to give the audience a chance to hear and process the setup before delivering those comebacks.

Members of the Algonquin Round Table: Melissa Cathcart, Chandler Taylor, Connor Moulton, Andrew Wiemann & Andy Burns. Photo by Mikki Schaffner Photography.

For me, the most dramatically-written role is Edwin Pond Parker II, strongly played by Hunter Henrickson. Edwin is portrayed as a successful, yet alcoholic, stock broker. Shortly after his marriage to Dorothy, he leaves to serve in World War I. He returns from the war a broken man, who struggles to find purpose in his work and his marriage. His emotional turmoil is a main focus of the show.

Victoria Hawley as Dorothy Paker & Connor Moulton as Robert Benchley. Photo by Mikki Schaffner Photography.

Connor Moulton does well as Parker’s co-worker and friend, Robert Benchley. In his performance as well, there were times when his lines came off as if repeated by rote.  I would have liked to have seen a bit more energy and an emotional connection in the banter between Parker, Benchley and Sherwood.

Andrew Wiemann as Robert Sherwood & Melissa Cathcart. Photo by Mikki Schaffner Photography.

I liked the quieter energy that Andrew Wiemann brought to the role of Robert Sherwood. It made a nice counter-point to the bigger personalities of his office mates. The remaining ensemble does well in completing the cast of characters.

I would have liked to have seen the script humanize Parker a bit more, perhaps then I would have found myself more drawn into the story. I was also confused by the playwright’s decision to present some of the scenes out of linear order.

Overall a good production of a new work that will improve with a few more performances under their belt.

My rating: 3.75 out of 5

I would enjoy hearing what you think about the show or my review. All I ask is that you express your opinion without attacking someone else’s opinion. You can post your comments below.