GENEVA – Nations concluding a round of global nuclear talks Friday expressed concern that many nuclear weapons are kept at a high-alert level and are still being modernized, despite a promise to get rid of them.

J Chachula as John Honeyman and Eric Hale as Andrey Botvinnik.

Lee Blessing wrote this play, which is set in 1984, before the fall of the Soviet Union. It appears that Blessing is suggesting that the major powers have a greater interest in ongoing talks that on acting upon any results that come from them. This tactic preserves the status quo ante and allows all sides to profess good will. However, this is not a sermon, if anything it is a comedy, a drama-comedy in which the serious is world ending and the humorous is homespun. It is in fact, really the story of two dedicated negotiators involved in a Sisyphean task, as relevant today as it was almost thirty years ago.

Marta King gets the show off to a great start with the two opponents struggling for dominance as they enter the stage, which is set to be a bench along a sylvan path outside of Geneva. John Honeyman, played by J Chachula, strides deliberately on stage and plunks himself at the far end of the bench. He is not happy. Eric Hale, as Andrey Botvinnik, jovially follows and then sits just eight inches closer than necessary beside the younger man, and turns his eyes to skies. There can be no doubt these men are in conflict; John wants to do business, Andrey wants something else. We progress through the two scenes of the first act, which brings us from summer to fall, until they eventually drop the formality which Andrey refers to as “anger with combed hair.” John finally raises his voice to denounce the Russian tactic of relying on their great losses in WWII to achieve sympathy and the act closes as the actors deliver perhaps their most engrossing encounter of the night. One of the more darkly humorous moments occurs when Andrey suggests the only way to get real negotiations to occur is to place the table in the bottom of a missile silo.

J and Eric spar with each other like a pair of figurative mixed Martial Arts combatants. Their timing is precise and dramatic. They fully grasped the humor along with the weightiness of their characters diplomatic directions. It is up to the observer to decide what the real aim of each man is. Marta’s even-handed direction gives neither character an edge, they enter as equals, exit as equals. And yet something has happened.

Ken Hubbell’s set and scenic lighting nicely captures the changing seasons though a year’s diplomatic efforts. Keara Suzik has costumed the actors realistically for an internationalist and seasonal effect, and dialect coach Steph Scribner has given Andrey a believable Russian dialect and mannerisms. This is a thoroughly entertaining performance of a thoroughly thought-provoking play.

The Exit Through Eden production of A Walk In The Woods is on at the Burning Coal Theatre at the Murphey School, 224 Polk Street, Raleigh, through May 19. Performances Friday and Saturdays at 8pm, Sundays at 3pm. Call 919.438.1132 or visit www.exitthrougheden.org for further information.

© 2013, Martha Keravuori and Chuck Galle. Martha and Chuck are freelance writers and review local plays for Boom! Magazine.

We were frankly astonished back in March when we dropped in on 1Song Production’s performance of Denial at Common Ground Theatre in Durham. Denial deals with a right-wing Holocaust denier, being prosecuted for his views and defended by a dedicated young, female, Jewish lawyer with a firm belief in the First Amendment. With a cast, crew and production staff made up entirely of high school students, we expected a nice effort, and were willing to overlook a lot of serious amateurism. But, instead, these kids knocked our socks off. The breadth of understanding of deep and subtle emotional contradictions and philosophical concepts far exceeded our limited expectations. We later learned the group – under different management and direction each couple of years for the past decade, have shouldered A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Hamlet, Measure For Measure, and the Tempest as well as the Pillow Man. Not light fare for very experienced companies, let alone high schoolers. We did not write a review at the time, because their finances don’t allow them to perform but for one weekend, but the work these young people are doing merits mention and attention.

This weekend they present the very difficult Language of Angels by Naomi Lizuki, the head of the MFA Playwriting program at UC San Diego. The play takes place in rural North Carolina, and weaves Appalachian poverty and despair with Japanese Noh Theater structures and meditations on grief, loss, murder and karma. We anticipate that this production will live up to the high standards we discovered last month, and we strongly suggest lovers of good theater give it a try.

Language of Angels shows at the Common Ground Theater, 4815A Hillsborough Road (can be found at Benrose Circle) in Durham, May 23, 24 and 25 at 7:30pm. For reservations email onesongproductions@gmail.com.

Martha and Chuck are freelance writers and review local plays for Boom! Magazine.

Alexander Copas as Joseph, with his eleven brothers.

Take one of the oldest stories known to mankind, grace-note it with pop-culture trends and be sure to give it a happy ending, and you’ve got Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.  Sometimes thought of as the “sequel” to Jesus Christ, Superstar (although biblically speaking it would be a “prequel”), this musical has been enthralling audiences in this country for three decades. Producing Artistic Director Peggy Taphorn has wisely brought Dan Murphy all the way from Oregon to direct the show here in the historic Sanford venue. (Among his extensive qualifications, Dan is one of eleven children, which probably gives him plenty of experience with sibling rivalry.) Dan has been directing, choreographing and performing at the Broadway Rose Theatre in Tigard, Oregon, which he founded 22 years ago. A couple of happy collaborations with Peggy apparently gave to rise to this chance for them work together and the results are what we call in theater “magic.”

Where to begin? Megan Rozak opens the action in the role of Narrator singing the prologue (“Some folks dream . . .”), demonstrating a powerful, rousing voice, which only grows stronger as she guides us through the story. First we meet the family, Jacob, played artfully by Michael Losquadro who doubles as the auctioneer, and his sons. This troupe of singer-dancers consists of Chaz Pofahl, Brad Fitch, Jose Cangas, Ryan Widd, Vinny Dupree (doubles as The Baker), Ryan Finley, Anthony David Acosta, Chuckie Dixon (plays The Butler as well), Patrick Holt, Arnez Ellis, Bill Saunders (who also plays Potiphar). Fine moves and strong voices are the hallmark of these actors, and each brings a distinguishable element to his own character. An important part of what they bring to the show is their contagious joy and enthusiasm. Mrs. Potiphar, who registers as Lady Gaga, is played in marvelously good Lady Gaga style by Caitie L. Moss, sexy, alluring and campy. Groucho comes alive in the outstanding actions of Mimi Presley, who also twists her voice into hilarious contortions as The Angel. Jackie Sass as Harpo and also Ms. Gommorah does excellent work, as do Kelsey Walston, the dancing cigarette box, and Lacey Mathis the Slave Girl. But wait – there is also the “greek chorus” of Youth, which constitutes Bram Atkins, Hannah Atkins, Jayden Benjamin, Neil Bullard, Rahne Hartman, Hunter Hoyle, Brianne Johnson, Danielle Moye, Billy O’Brien, Allison Podlogar, and Michaela Torre. Outstanding ensemble work and wonderful individual performances help raise this show to stellar levels.

A coordination of colors and staging and scenery and the magnificent backdrop, splashed with backlit designs and the pyramids all accent the experience of a technicolor extravaganza. Peggy Taphorn’s costumes dazzle the eyes, and enhance the characters of each of the personas the performers adopt; it’s astonishing how fast some of the costume changes are. Allison Dawe designed the “Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” of the title, creating a beautifully tasteful, yet bedazzling garment reminiscent of a strutting peacock. Congratulations are in line for Lighting Designer David Castaneda, Set Designer Tom Barker, Sound Designer Thomas Dalton, Musical Director Richard Wall and a crew of supporting technical workers for a thoroughly well executed show. Drive to Sanford! Bring the kids! See this wonderful entertainment.

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat is playing at the Temple Theatre in Sanford through May 19. Call 919.774.4155 or go to www.templeshows.com

© 2013, Martha Keravuori and Chuck Galle. Martha and Chuck are freelance writers and review local plays for Boom! Magazine.

Brook North as Jack. All photos by Brenna L.J. Berry

The importance of being earnest is, of course, a pun. Oscar Wilde was poking fun at the dissembling and deception that made up social intercourse in the times he lived. Since such evasiveness is extremely uncommon nowadays, it is an interesting look into the world of courtly so-called manners, before the upper-crust of England (and America, as well) finally became honest forthright people of integrity.

At any rate, the fibbing and falsehoods are all done in good conscience, but naturally there is much confusion and loss of face, and in fact, the real happiness of otherwise totally uninteresting people become at stake. There are delightful plot twists, one might almost say the plot is twists, and there is, to coin a phrase, never a dull moment.

The production now showing at the Raleigh Little Theatre got off to a bit of a slow start Saturday night, although we think that will clear up as the cast eases into their work, and it tightened up nicely before too long. Otherwise, the show is a total success.

Gus Allen as Algernon. Photo by Brenna L.J. Berry.

Director John T. “Jack” Hall has cast the show very well, and puts them through their paces in a sprightly fashion, bringing out the jokes, emphasizing the ludicrousness of their behaviors, and assuring the audience knows they’re seeing either “high comedy or a farce.” The actors go just enough over the top to keep the edge on their antics, and to keep us thoroughly engaged. In short, they are hilarious.

Tony Hefner, who starts us off as Lane, the man-servant to Algernon Moncrieff, is proper and stiff and just a tad irreverent, with a caustic humor. He amazes us in the second act as Merriman, again a man-servant, but a much older and entirely different sort of character. His ascent and descent of the stairs is touchingly entertaining, especially when shadowed by Moulton the gardener, played by Gary Watts. Gus Allen and Brook North as the highly competitive Algernon and John whom we will also know as Earnest, prod and poke each other verbally, one-up each other, and carry on like brothers in a camaraderie with epee-like edginess. Rebecca Johnston hearkens of Violet Crawley, Dowager Countess of Grantham as she sweeps into the room, or across the stage, elocuting lines and “lording” it over her subjects. Gwendolyn, who could never marry a man not named Earnest, is played by Kate P. Bowra, with wicked lines and a wicked smile to go with them. Miss Prism, Cecily’s governess, who has a dark secret, is played engagingly by Diane Monson. Sheryl Scott is enchanting as Cecily, the other young woman devoted to marrying a man named Earnest, and may have the best British accent on the stage. Rowell Gorman’s appearance as the Rev. Canon Chasuble, D.D is, as the British love to say, “Spot on.”

Rebecca Johnston as Lady Bracknell. Photo by Brenna L.J. Berry.

Costume Designer Vicki Olson garbs the actors in sumptuous fabrics, rich in color, design and texture, reflecting the period of the Gay Nineties. Scenic and Lighting Designer Thomas Mauney has favored us with three magnificent sets. The first is so striking you expect they cannot move it, but the second act opens on a garden veranda of the Manor House that is entirely different and seems to surpass the previous in luxury. Then, in the third act we are ushered into the drawing room of the Manor House, with such opulence we again marvel that it could have been set in place during the second intermission. In all, a fine cast and crew, well directed, well rehearsed, well performed. Bravo!

The Importance of Being Earnest plays at Raleigh Little Theatre, 301 Pogue Street, Raleigh, April 12 through 28. Call 919.821.3111 or visit www.raleighlittletheatre.org for further information. (Audio description is available for those with visual disabilities. Please call to make arrangements.)

© 2013, Martha Keravuori and Chuck Galle. Martha and Chuck are freelance writers and review local plays for Boom! Magazine.

According to Wikipedia, the Second Congo War (1998 through 2007) killed 5.4 million people, of whom ninety percent died of diseases other than rape or battle wounds. All these deaths were preventable or treatable. Forty seven percent of

Reanna Roane and Madelynn Poulson in the Burning Coal Theatre Company production of Lynn Nottage’s Ruined. Photo by Zia Affronti Morter.

those deaths were of children under the age of five. Rape and other sexual violence during the struggle is considered to be the worst the world. The war is called the deadliest since WWII. Lynn Nottage’s RUINED is set in a bar cum brothel, Mama’s Cantine, in a small mining town in the midst of the conflict. It is a story based on interviews Nottage did in Uganda in 2004 and 2005. Here’s what she said:

“The women I interviewed recounted raw and ugly tales of sexual violation and torture at the hands of both Rebel and Government Militias. I found my play RUINED in their painful narratives, in the gentle cadences and the monumental space between their gasps and sighs. The women felt it was important to go on record, which is why my play is not about victims, but survivors.”

            She succeeded. In the late nineteenth century King Leopold II laid claim to the treasures and people of the Congo, and the ruination of the society and culture began. Through the African Congo Free State, the Belgian Congo, political unrest until the forming of Zaire, and then the First and Second Congo Wars and the Kivu conflict, this country has really never known peace. Nottage has written a play about the people at the bottom – the villagers, the common people, the everyday folk –  men and boys who were forced into battle, and whose women were used and violated as a tactic of war. The women were often gang-raped so severely as to make impossible their bearing of children; they were ruined.

            Mama Nadi, played wonderfully by Rozlyn Sorrell, is the first heroic woman in this show. The brothel/bar might have been called the “Last Chance Saloon,” for her girls have no other place to go when she takes them in. She is a stern Madame, but her heart is large and warm. They are, as she says, better off with her than they would be in their own homes. Christian, a “provider” of goods in a survival-oriented economy, who slips through the lines bringing lipsticks and chocolates, and composes spontaneous poetry, is played by Byron Jennings, who gives a sensitive and yet tough performance. Sherida McMullan, a Burning Coal regular, slithers and wiggles gracefully and seductively in her role as Josephine, the long time prostitute at Mama’s place whose prized possession is an outdated fashion magazine. Salima, powerfully portrayed by Madelynn Poulson, one of two newcomers Christian sells to Mama Nadi, takes on the Herculean chore of a gut-wrenching monologue telling us how she was kidnapped out of her own garden one morning, which is only the beginning of her horror. Sophie, whom Mama Nadi doesn’t want to buy from Christian because she is ruined, is made both vulnerable and resilient by the talented actress, Reanna Roane.

            On the male side, Savada Gilmore is sudden and startling in the role of Jerome Kisembe, leader of the opposition paramilitary group that frequents Mama’s place, a thug of the first order, and equaled in insensitivity and boorishness by Commander Osembenga, a military leader on the government’s side, played by Byrd Wilkins. John Allore, often seen at Burning Coal, as Mr. Harari, the pragmatic European prospector, gives us a clear insight into the chaos these wars derive from.

            Director Rebecca Holderness keeps an exciting pace, more the noticeable with the heavy dialect this cast assumes, which is completely understandable, a feat attributable to their training by dialect coach Rebecca Bossen. It is fair to say that Rebecca “got” this play, and fully realized it. Scenery Designer Morag Charlton gives us a set every GI who has ever left this country will recognize. A small bar, a few tables, room to dance and lots of bottles shelved behind the bar. Location is defined by the Democratic Republic of Congo Flag of blue with a gold star and stripe of red and gold. Fight Choreographer David McClutchy, Costume Designer Katrina Blose and Lighting Designer Matthew Adelson help create stark reality with their accumulated talents.

            This is a show which will galvanize the already aware, and perhaps give notice to those who are not, that human trafficking, the use of rape in warfare, and continuous civil wars in many parts of the world are daily events for many citizens of the earth.

            RUINED is playing at the Burning Coal Theatre Company, at the Murphey School Auditorium, 224 Polk St. in Raleigh, April 11th through the 28th. For tickets and further information call 919.834.4001 or go to www.burningcoal.org.

© 2013, Martha Keravuori and Chuck Galle. Martha and Chuck are freelance writers and review local plays for Boom! Magazine.