Category Archives: Reviews

June 1, 2012 · 5:06 pm

GRIM AND FISCHER: A Deathly Comedy in Full-Face Mask Review

Photo by Jeff Burkle.

Links to all reviews can be found on the BTC REVIEWS page. Blog postings, links and more are available on my FaceBook fan page. You can receive updates on Twitter from @BTCincyRob.

GRIM AND FISCHER: A Deathly Comedy in Full-Face Mask presented by WONDERHEADS as part of the 2012 Cincinnati Fringe Festival. You can read the show description here.

There are no spoken lines in GRIM AND FISCHER, only well-executive music and sound effects. Two performers bring character and emotion to three roles while denied an actor’s most-used tool, their face.

The masks are indeed “wonderheads.” Oversized, with caricature-like features, it’s amazing how varied they look when your viewing angle changes. The eyes of the mask also seem to move as your perspective changes. How ever the actors see out of the masks was undetectable from my seat, which only reinforces the illusion.

Cute, funny and touching, (with a bit of an “Up” vibe to it) GRIM AND FISCHER is a solid production that can be enjoyed by all ages.

Click here for a complete list of show times, local media coverage and other reviews for GRIM AND FISCHER: A Deathly Comedy in Full-Face Mask

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.

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June 1, 2012 · 3:38 pm

QUAKE: A Closet Love Story Review

Links to all reviews can be found on the BTC REVIEWS page. Blog postings, links and more are available on my FaceBook fan page. You can receive updates on Twitter from @BTCincyRob.

QUAKE: A Closet Love Story presented by New Edgecliff Theatre as part of the 2012 Cincinnati Fringe Festival. You can read the show description here.

As presented, QUAKE is a well-acted, cute romantic-comedy. But that for me is the disappointment. Being a Fringe Festival entry, I expected/wanted something a bit grittier.

For characters who have to come to terms with their lives ending trapped and starving, the couple (portrayed by Justin Baldwin and Lara Miller) seem incredibly well-adjusted throughout most of the production. Although the narrative asides between scenes details the power of an earthquake, and the effects of lack of food and water on the human body, these are not translated visually to the show.

Also, the flow of the show is interrupted by having the actors recite these asides live with a flashlight under their chin. Perhaps if they were recorded, it would give the actors time adjust their appearance in some way to better represent the physical and mental toll of their ordeal. As performed, they play ends with the actors looking nearly the same as they did at the beginning of their days-long ordeal.

Overall the show is perfectly fine, but I really wish stronger and bolder choices had been made to elevate the show.

Click here for a complete list of show times, local media coverage and other reviews for QUAKE: A Closet Love Story!

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.

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June 1, 2012 · 1:53 pm

BREAKING RANK! Review

Howard Petrick. Photo by Joe Osejo.

Links to all reviews can be found on the BTC REVIEWS page. Blog postings, links and more are available on my FaceBook fan page. You can receive updates on Twitter from @BTCincyRob.

BREAKING RANK! presented by Howard Petrick as part of the 2012 Cincinnati Fringe Festival. You can read the show description here.

In his one-man autobiographical show, Howard Petrick offers a very interesting perspective on his life in the military during the Vietnam War. Over the course of the play, Petrick portrays over 20 characters.

While well-rehearsed, I did find Petrick performance to be a bit flat. While the military monotone works for the military superiors and bureaucrats, I would have liked to see more energy and personality when he was portraying his contemporaries and especially himself. I’ve seen Petrick at the Fringe Bar Series and I’d like to have seen a bit more of his “everyday” self on stage to help connect with the audience.

My only issue with the script was that I never felt Petrick allowed us into his head. Where did his convictions come from? What did he hope to accomplish that first day when refusing to complete his paperwork? When did he decide to become an activist? A short coda dealing with these questions would have been of great interest to me.

Overall, a strong personal story that needs a bit more “oomph” in its delivery.

Click here for a complete list of show times, local media coverage and other reviews for BREAKING RANK!

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.

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May 10, 2012 · 9:12 am

LES MISERABLES Review

Betsy Morgan as Fantine. Photo by Deen van Meer.

Links to all reviews can be found on the BTC REVIEWS page. Blog postings, links and more are available on my FaceBook fan page. You can receive updates on Twitter from @BTCincyRob.

LES MISERABLES presented by Broadway in Cincinnati through May 13. You can read the show description here.

A quick note: I did see the original tour twice at the Taft Theatre a quarter century ago. My memory is a bit fuzzy so I won’t get too specific about changes in the anniversary tour. 

Well, THAT would be the reason the TV version couldn’t hold my attention. Nothing compares to the power of the sound in a live performances of LES MISERABLES. And that is certainly what the orchestra and the large, talented ensemble delivers.

Musically and vocally it sounds fantastic. Every member of the ensemble was working  hard, offering great character work and vocals. The leads were strong performers as well. Personal favorites included Peter Lockyer as Jean Valjean (who’s BRING HIM HOME stopped the show), Betsy Morgan as Fantine, Max Quinlan (CCM MT ’10) as Marius and [confirming young actor’s name] as Gavroche.

The Company of the New 25th Anniversary Tour. Photo by Deen van Meer.

Where the original tour relied mainly on a turn-table and pieces for the set, the anniversary tour features two large (and long)  multi-level trucks on each side of the stage and numerous other components that roll and fly in. You can’t help but wonder where they are storing it all off stage.

A major component to this set is the background projections used throughout the production. It is very successful when used to transition from scene to scene. Some of the changes from one scene into another are so subtle you don’t notice the process. Projection movement was used to great effect for the sewer scenes, but the street scene’s moving effect looked a little choppy. My guest reminded me that the original run used projections to display date and location changes, and she missed that information in this production.

The Company of the New 25th Anniversary Tour. Photo by Deen van Meer.

Opening night did have a few hiccups. Nadine Malouf in the role of Eponine struggled with high notes in ON MY OWN (though the rest of the song and A LITTLE FALL OF RAIN were wonderful). Also a light at the audience right proscenium (usually used when there are sign-language interpreters) suddenly lit during a scene.

Overall, LES MISERABLES is a treat for the eyes and ears and a great reunion with some old friends. Fans and first-timers should find much to enjoy.

Click here for a complete list of show times, local media coverage and other reviews for LES MISERABLES.

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.

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May 8, 2012 · 12:37 pm

LIFE COULD BE A DREAM Review

Links to all reviews can be found on the BTC REVIEWS page. Blog postings, links and more are available on my FaceBook fan page. You can receive updates on Twitter from @BTCincyRob.

James Oblak as Skip, Will Selnick as Wally, Nick Laughlin as Denny & Lee Slobotkin as Eugene. Photo by Ryan Kurtz.

LIFE COULD BE A DREAM presented by Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati through May 20. You can read the show description here.

For DREAM, director D. Lynn Meyers has filled the cast with outstanding young talent. The four crooners that make up Denny and the Dreamers include Nick Laughlin as Denny, James Oblak as Skip, Will Selnick as Wally, and Lee Slobotkin as Eugene. Rounding out the cast is Cassie Levine as Lois.

Lee Slobotkin as Eugene & Nick Laughlin as Denny. Photo by Ryan Kurtz.

Vocally the men are very strong, and nail the sound of the period with solid harmonies and solos. Levine, the object of the boys’ attention, has a strong voice as well, but I did feel she pushed a little too hard on a few of her solos, bringing a brassy quality to her voice that didn’t mesh with the background vocals. Performance wise, Lee Slobotkin stands out as nebbish Eugene, bringing great energy and personality to the role.

Will Selnick as Wally & Cassie Levine as Lois. Photo by Ryan Kurtz.

Visually the wood-paneled and tile-floored finished-basement worked well as the backdrop for most of the action (set design by Brian c. Mehring, properties by Shannon Rae Lutz). My guess would be that some of the clutter under the basement steps included selected props from recent ETC productions. The costumes (designed by Reba Senske) and Patti James’ choreography completed the look of the era.

Nick Laughlin as Denny, Lee Slobotkin as Eugene, Cassie Levine as Lois & Will Selnick as Wally. Photo by Ryan Kurtz.

DREAM seems to have a bit more of a book than the WONDERETTES outings and falls a little flat due to its predictability. The cast sounded so good though (thanks to music director Scot Woolley), that I would not have minded another song or three in the short second act.

Overall, for fans of doo-wop or fans of ETC’s recent productions of THE MARVELOUS WONDERETTES/WINTER WONDERETTES, odds are good you’ll enjoy the (mostly) boys’ turn in LIFE COULD BE A DREAM.

Click here for a complete list of show times, local media coverage and other reviews for LIFE COULD BE A DREAM.

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.

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