Arts Independent

Meshelle: Diary of a MILF

Joe’s Pub at The Public Theater

Reviewed by Robert Viagas

Comedian Meshelle brought her latest solo show, Meshelle: Diary of a MILF (“Mom I’d Love to FOLLOW”) to Joe’s Pub at the Public Theatre July 26, and showed why she belongs in a theatre and not just in a comedy club.

Billing herself as “The Indie-Mom of Comedy,” Meshelle (pronounced MEE-shell, original name Meshelle Foreman Shields), put her personal spin on some familiar material about being a mother (she affectionately refers to her husband and three children “terrorists,” “a mixed bag of nuts,” and “dreamkillers”), but she took her work to a higher level with her skills as a master impressionist—not of Hollywood celebrities, but of eccentric family members, grossly entitled helicopter parents she meets at her kids’ private school (and their kids, “Piper and Pepper”), and those that the African-American comedian delicately terms “melanin-free people.” The impersonations were so vivid, it seemed at times that the stage was filled with these alter-egos.

A veteran of Nickelodeon’s Search for the Funniest Mom in America 3 and the stage play Woman Thou Art Loosed, Meshelle, spun her everyday suburban life into comic gold. “When did I have to start leasing a minivan?” she observed as she mourned about her loss of status as a “Cutie on duty,” and came to the startling realization, as she looked around her home, that “everybody in the house has been inside my body.”

For a show being presented in July, she included lot of humor about Kwanzaa and Christmas, perhaps because this one-night show was part of a national tour that is scheduled to take her to the United Solo Theatre Festival this fall, with more stops beyond.

The landmark American Theatre of Actors, one of the last bastions of the famed off-off Broadway movement, which began in the 60s and reached a zenith of sorts in the 80s, is still presenting the best of the brightest and the freshest of the first. This summer the ATA will host a classics series which included Ilia Volok’s wildfire production of Diary of Madman. The ATA part unveils new renderings of Chekhov and Strindberg.

The ATA Classic Summer Series
ONE-ACTS: CHEKHOV/STRINDBERG
THE BOOR by Anton Chekhov
directed by Jessica Jennings features Monica Blaze-Leavitt,* Michael Bordwell, Stephen Goodin.
THE STRONGER by August Strindberg directed by Monica Blaze/Leavit features Jessica Jennings,* Siw Myrvold.
THE PROPOSAL by Anton Chekhov
directed by Jane Culley features Michael Bordwell, Stephen Goodin, Francesca Shipsey.

July 19 @ 8:00 pm; July 20 @ 8:00 pm; July 22 @ 3:00 pm
July 25 @ 8pm pm; July 28 @ 2:00 pm; Aug 4 @ 2:00 pm
Tickets $20 – sold at the door/ Tix also on sale at smarttix.com

THE CHERRY ORCHARD
Dalrymple award-winning director, Jessica Jennings, sets this seminal work of Anton Chekhov in the USA, 1965. Features Monica Blaze Leavitt,* Johnny Blaze Leavitt, Elizabeth Chappell, Alexander Chilton, Jane Culley,* Joy Foster, Cait Kiley Eli Douglas LaCroix, Joyce Lao, Shayna Lawson, and Susan Ly.

July 28 @ 8:00 pm; July 29 @ 3:00 pm; Aug 1,2,3,4 @ 8:00 pm; Aug 5 @ 3:00 pm
Tickets $30 – sold at the door also on sale at smarttix.com

The Festival will be performed at the American Theatre of Actors
314 W 54th St, New York City 10019

While the senior James Jennings first opened the doors, his daughter, Jessica Jennings, is rapidly gaining notoriety throughout the indie theater community. She is an integral part of the legendary ATA and a founder and board member of Ripple Effect Artists, who change the world with art.

Tell us About Yourself as an Artist?

I consider myself collaborative. I also come form an extensive dance background and work toward body language to match the emotional landscape of characters and the stories being told.  As Martha Graham said: “the body never lies.”  I am picky in this way – it really bugs me to see an actor too formal when it’s inappropriate, or too casual when they are playing formal characters.  There’s always exceptions and that’s fun to find.  I do my best to teach these small nuances and challenge actors: does this character look people in the eye? Do they eat space or shy away?

With ATA founder, James Jennings

I gather theater was always in your blood. What’s it like growing up in the theater … literally?

Yes – I am born to a theatre family and they put me in Macbeth when I was just 3 weeks old.  It sounds horrific!  But to me it’s all normal. We grew up staying up late; learned to sit still in the theatre.  As soon as we could read we were reading Shakespeare,  helping our mother learn lines, seeing our father bring his plays to the stage – cringing when it was a nod to our own family problems.  I still remember how easy it is as a child – I could remember anyone’s lines and blocking.  That fades as we grow up.

What is your personal mission as an actress and a director? 

For me, it’s the same answer for acting and directing.  I want to play and create something really provoking.  I never want an audience to get bored.  I want them to be compelled, to feel, to think.  They should feel an array of things, lean forward and want to get more invested in what’s happening on stage.   If that happens then I feel successful.  

Tell us something about this festival … something we won’t see in the press kit? 

Haha! American Theatre of Actors asked to direct Merry Wives of Windsor and I just couldn’t get into it. So I took a few weeks to read and find a classic that I could sink my teeth into.  The first piece I fell for was The Boor by Chekhov. That lead down a road toward presenting all of these One-Act Classics in a festival while giving mean extra 10 days to rehearse a full length.   I hosted around and found a rare play of Chekhov’s.  That’s where my heart is – but it’s going to take a lot more planing. The Cherry Orchard was sort of my fall-back plan – that’s hysterical right? – It’s considered a masterpiece.  

with Jana Robbins at an event for Ripple Effect

Tell us about Ripple Effect? 

Ripple Effect Artists is a production organization that I’ve raised up with Jessie Fahay.   We focus on social justice theatre: presenting masterful plays that align with a major issue facing our world.  I am really proud of the work we’ve done over the past 8 years.  We’ve worked with a dozen organizations form The Trevor Project to GEMS to the League of Women Voters.  We present plays and give a platform for activists and advocates to educate the audience on real-world issues that are presented in the plays. Right now we have Chuck Gorden’s Guarding The Bridge up at The Triad Theatre (158 W. 72nd St.).  It’s a short play that looks at generational racism. We’ve paired it with a powerhouse spoken word artist who presents immediately after – Dawn Speaks.  The last performance will be July 30th at 7pm.  For more info go to rippleeffectartists.com/productions and you can read about it, sign a petition to better moderate police violence, and learn more – or text the word RIPPLE to 77948.  Next season we are leveraging theatre to address climate change issues.

How important is legacy to you? 

This question feels like the elephant in the room!  For me, the most important piece of my family legacy is laying our own path and following our dreams, in the face of all odds.  I work for myself, so do my parents, so does my husband.  Expressing myself as an artist is a huge and important part of my life.   The director in me loves the legacy of creating opportunities for other people.  The parent in me – and it’s important to mention I have a 5 year old son – is not fond of the year-round grind.  Late nights are tough on a family, so I try to find balance.  I’ll rehearse daytimes and make sure I’m available to read my son to sleep.  I’ll take on maybe 3 or 4 big projects annually. That means the late night performances are periodic, but not a life-style.

What’s next?

Technically there’s a lot potential projects but no dates in my calendar – I’m available for hire!    I’m flattered to be in a few conversations about directing and choreographing.  I’m exploring a new musical with Mark Barkin.  I still want to direct that Chekhov play that’s rare (but I’m not going to mention the title right now).  Ripple Effect Artists will present a play on climate change in the Spring of 2019.  

This Stretch of Montpelier: In this South Louisiana neighborhood, just past the intersection where Ghosts from the Past cross Hopes for the Future, lies This Stretch of Montpelier. Written by Kelley Nicole Girod and directed by Andrew Block, this engrossing piece is presented by The Fire This Time Festival & Frigid NYC, benefiting Gulf Restoration Network.

There are many things that make this a a special night in the theater. One is one of its actresses. Tandy Cronyn continues a great tradition started by her famed father, Hume Cronyn and mother, Jessica Tandy.

It was a pleasure to speak with her about her current production and what lies ahead.

Tell us about yourself as an artist

I had my head turned by The Guthrie Theater in it’s inaugural season under Tyrone Guthrie.  I was still in high school but spent the summer in Minneapolis and hung around rehearsals.  I actually got to watch Guthrie direct. They were doing rotating classical repertory: Shakespeare one night, Moliere or Chekhov the next, a contemporary classic the next.  The company was extraordinarily versatile, stepping not only into contrasting roles but also different styles from night to night. And they were doing great plays.  I always wanted to do that kind of work, and occasionally I’ve had the privilege.  Not many companies in America do rotating rep – it requires a large company and is very expensive – so I’ve grabbed the chance whenever it presented itself: Denver Center Theater Company in it’s first couple of seasons, Stratford Festival of Canada, The Old Globe in San Diego, Illinois Shakespeare Festival.

A PRAYER FOR OWEN MEANY

A truly illustrious start! Now, tell us something interesting about your character in the show. Maybe something we wouldn’t necessarily notice.

Kacky is something quite different for me, although I have never had a “type” in the roles I’ve played over the years.  While she appears to be completely dominated by her best friend, there is something a bit passive-aggressive going on beneath the surface. It’s been quite fascinating for me, digging into this role.

That’s great. In terms of digging into a character, festivals have a very particular way of working. How did it feel to work in a festival atmosphere?

This is my third Festival experience and I’ve had an interesting time with all of them – The NY Fringe, The United Solo Festival and now Planet Connections.  Short rehearsal time and tech restrictions as well as odd rehearsal spaces are challenging, but it’s a great way to get new work out there.  And in part because of the tech and time limitations, actors, directors and designers are thrown back on their own creativity which can be quite an adventure.  The focus goes to the bare bones of the writing, directing and performing – not a bad trade-off.

THE LITTLE FOXES

Did you grow up in the theater or was it something separate from your daily life?

I was deeply immersed in theater from my teens on – early childhood I stayed home with a nanny.  Once I was bitten by the theater bug, around twelve or thirteen, I paid great attention, seeing landmark productions, meeting and listening to wonderful theater professionals, soaking up everything around me.  I was very fortunate.

What’s next for you?

I want to get back to my solo show, THE TALL BOY (see my website www.tandycronyn.com)

And I have a very interesting book to record as soon as THIS STRETCH OF MONTPELIER is finished.

And that happens in just a few short weeks …

TICKETS
Flamboyán Theater @ The Clemente
Thursday 7/19 @5:45pm-7:15pm
Saturday 7/21 @8:30pm-10:00pm
Wednesday 7/25 @7:15pm-8:45pm
Sunday 7/29 @ 7:00pm-8:30pm
Saturday 8/4 @9:30pm-11:00pm
Sunday 8/5 @2:00pm-3:30pm

Spend a hot summer day along a stretch of South Eastern Louisiana road, where tradition clashes with change, and neighbors intertwine. Facing gentrification, integration, racism, homophobia, and colliding generations, ghosts from the past dance with uncertainties of the future for an imperfect and vibrant culture who seek to understand how to live together in a changing society, in a place that has always moved at its own pace.

Dead Brains
Art is Dangerous

By Erik Champney
Directed by Adam Chisnall

Benefiting Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network
Presented by Jim Kierstead & Erik Champney

Contains explicit violence and strong sexual content. Audience discretion is advised.

Review by Justin Cheang

Dead Brains leaves a mark on you from the onset: its unique name, its compelling performances; its razor-sharp direction; and surely, it’s psycho-drama. Dead Brains is a tale of a successful artist attempting to discover (or maybe re-discover) himself (with the aid of his significant other) through an experiment in order to create a masterpiece that he can keep for himself.

Main character, Henry, explores and experiments with the world around him for his “unique” and “iconic” art, he seeks out his target. Dead Brains is a show that will snatch your attention until the very end.

Richard Wingert’s interpretation of Champney’s convoluted Henry, was both protagonist and antagonist. Wingert was phenomenal as the seemingly innocent artist who’s living in the now and wanting to make the next big thing while hiding a psychotic and deranged side which he must employ for his masterpiece.

His lover, Philly, played with perfection by Ellie Gossage, with every line, builds the tension and Henry’s dark side.

The cast of three were both a tight ensemble and group of stars. The chemistry between the actors, whether they clashed together or intertwined themselves with one another, was chilling and remarkable. Matt Maretz, who plays Corey, ran the gamut of emotions to serve up vulnerability, fear, and simply survival.

Erik Champney wrote about an artist wanting to create a masterpiece. I guess it was Champney who actually did that.

This show is absolutely a work of art.

The title “Dead Brains,” has a strong significance. Once finished with the show, you’re left with a dead brain; you’re speechless, you’re in utter awe, and you’re even starstruck. This show was a fantastic performance, and gives you a taste of how an artists mind can wander almost anywhere, especially when in the dark.

Half Me, Half You by Liane Grant
The Wild Project, 195 East 3rd Street

Review by Robert Viagas

The Wild Project’s Fresh Fruit Festival explores the complications of recent advances in gay life with Half Me, Half You, a drama that looks at what happens when a married interracial gay couple splits over the issue of having a child.

Jess (Jennifer Fouché) wants a baby more than anything; the problem is, Meredith (played by playwright Liane Grant) doesn’t. It’s clear that while their marriage is based on love, and  they try to come to terms on the issue, they simply can’t.

Act I, with the breakup, is set in 2017. A lot happens in the decade-plus leap into the future of Act II. Jess moves to Europe, has the child, sickens, and dies, leaving the teen-aged Maya motherless. Meredith survives what is described as the Second American Civil War, presumably between Red and Blue states. The fact that the out lesbian Meredith isn’t dead or in a concentration camp gives a pretty good idea of who won. But not much is done with this provocative premise—which alone could provide material for several seasons of a Netflix series.

Despite the dramatic sci-fi developments, the world of the 2030s appears to be pretty much status quo for Meredith—at least until the arrival of Maya (Kalea Williams) on her doorstep. Despite Meredith’s stated determination that she does not want children, the late Jess has designated Meredith as her daughter’s guardian in her will. Meredith, who got a rigorous browbeating for her “selfishness” in Act I, now comes in for a second verbal clobbering for the same sin from Maya, who smolders with anger over the bad hand life has dealt her.

Directed by Leah Fogo, this deeply earnest and sober drama attempts to deal with real issues of our time in an uncompromising way. A little humor and forgiveness would have helped.

The play was presented as part of the Fresh Fruit Festival at The Wild Project, the Off-Off Broadway theatre.

The Song of Bernadette Jones

By Maura Campbell

The 2018 Fresh Fruit Festival

The Wild Project, 195 East 3rd Street

Review by Justin Cheang

The Song of Bernadette Jones is a mythical tale of about a journey of magical experiences ranging from meeting people from the distant past, to summoning spirits with a Ouija board! A comical story of a young girl named Carolyn trying to right her wrongs for what she had done in her past. Carolyn and her sister originate from Alaska and move away to continue their lives elsewhere. There, they meet Robert, a Jewish young boy who helps Carolyn to rewrite the past and to help change history as they know it.

Tom Hayes who plays Robert in the play absolutely nails the quirky and nerdy characteristics that Robert is supposed to truly have. Robert is an absolute wreck in most scenarios and makes this lovely play incredibly hilarious with his clumsy and awkward personality. His vast intelligence was made useful throughout the journey and him and Carolyn embarked on and evolve throughout the entire journey. With his comedic twist to the show, it was incredible, and was a genuine delight to watch due to his quirky twists to the character.

However, with the constant switching of characters between Mary, Bernadette, and Jennifer Jones, it gets a tad confusing. With the only difference between characters being wardrobe, it was hard to follow which character was being portrayed by what when history was being “re-written” by Carolyn and Robert while tampering with the Ouija board and putting the spirit of Bernadette at ease. While the show was incredibly heartwarming and enjoyable to watch, the constant swapping of characters doesn’t exactly pull you in when watching.

Overall, this production has had its ups and downs, but that doesn’t change the fact that it is enjoyable to watch.

All My Love, Kate
by Joe Breen
The Wild Project, 195 East 3rd Street

Review by Robert Viagas

Joe Breen’s drama, All My Love, Kate, cracks the closet door on an important neglected chapter of homosexual history: gay servicemen who had to slog through the hell of World War II with a photo of the “wrong kind” of sweetheart stashed in the pocket over their hearts. The play focuses on Jack and Danny (Brendan Cataldo and Matt W. Cody), lovers forced to separate when macho Jack marches off to war. Left behind, gentle Danny sends steamy love letters that he signs “Kate,” after their mutual obsession, actress Katharine Hepburn.

The play, which runs a little over two hours, needs tightening, especially in its second half, when a big reveal about a Japanese prison guard comes long after the audience has figured it out. Kazuhiro Imafuku is touching as a seemingly stereotyped cruel “Jap” who has a secret of his own. But his extended all-Japanese dialog passages are too long for an audience that may not know that language.

The play dramatizes the injustices Jack and Danny had to face, both at the battle front and the home front, respectively, but never becomes a polemic. Sarah Matteucci, Chris McFarland and Jill Melanie Wirth help dramatize the kinds of non-combatant allies and enemies they faced on both battlefields. The recurring period ballad, “I’m Confessin’ That I Love You,”  haunts the action.

All My Love, Kate  is being presented as part of the Fresh Fruit Festival at The Wild Project, the Off-Off Broadway theatre in Alphabet City.

M. McDevitt REVIEW: An Uncommon Core

“Meet Abigail Swetz, shepherding her 8th grade students safely through a heartbreaking year. Racism, police brutality, homophobic violence: all processed and exorcised by the magic and power of her students’ in-class poetry.”

Abigail Swetz is the kind of teacher most of wish we had in the eighth grade: smart, funny, energetic, supportive, strong, and she pulls no punches, just like her one-woman show An Uncommon Core, which she recently performed at the 16^th Fresh Fruit Festival in New York City.

After years of teaching in the public-school system, Ms. Swetz is angry, and she’s tired, and she has every right to be. However, she uses her outrage to elicit extraordinary work from her students; their essays become poems, and the poetry is alternately heartbreaking, enraging, hilarious, touching, and most of all, a clear window into the minds of adolescents trying to make sense of a world the grown-ups they should be able to count on have fucked up. Her anger is well placed and focused where she can do the most good, and if she’s tired, she doesn’t let it stop her. As I suspect she is in the classroom, she is a warm, engaging presence on stage, and she drives her show forward with wit, grace, charm and unflagging energy. And anger. The wonderful, thought-provoking, intelligent kind of anger that makes for brilliant theater both on the stage and in the classroom. One imagines, and hopes, that however tired she is, Ms. Swetz will help change the world for the better, not just with this show (as important as it is), but  through the students whose lives she has touched so deeply.

PROPHESY

by Karl Hinze

2018 Fresh Fruit Festival

July 9 at 8:00pm

July 13 at 6:30pm

July 15 at 7:00pm

performances at The Wild Project (195 East 3rd Street)

Review by Amanda Kavaja

In a world where religion is sanctuary for many people, the modern thought-process can be a true obstacle. The setting of this play is The Holy Apostle High School. We watch a teenager struggling with his life.  A homosexual student, Mark, has a crush on his teacher, Mr. Teeson, but it goes much further.  Mark began to see religious visions which include harmful instances happening to innocent people. He turns to Mr.Teeson for help. In the beginning of every act, parts of Saint Magdalena’s story was told by Mr.Teeson, in order to compare her background with Mark’s. The actors gave us this parable complete with humor and fear. Connor Johnston who played Mark was truly funny and captivating while doing so. His own natural timing kept the audience with him all the way.  His feelings for his teacher were played with honesty as they grew. Ben Lorenz as Mr. Teeson gave us a warm and welcoming characterization. His character portrayal gave us the intelligence of an academic with the worry of a man afraid of losing his job because of a secret fling with one of his students.

I was amazed when watching this wonderful play. The sense of hope written into these characters makes us look at the millennial stereotype of seeing only black and gray. As the title of the play is called ‘Prophesy,” this drama represented the complete opposite. It was rather more unpredictable than predictable, which seemed more intriguing. Finn and Joe were two of Mark’s closest friends. Alton Alburo was the perfect person to play Finn, due to his enthusiasm and intelligence. He gave us the definition of a true friend who did not tell others Mark’s darkest secret (again a refreshing change), but Joe on the other hand, was a big mouth. Artem Kreimer personified the narcissistic nature of Joe with great aplomb. The actors’ own charm allowed for memorable puns. Eating on stage is always a fun bit and Joe and his snacks gave the audience something to chew on – maybe that’s one of Joe’s puns.

Every time there was a sad scene lovely melancholy music played in the background. The lights were usually set in a spotlight form whenever a character was talking I liked the use of this technique. In between the acts, I found the story of Saint Magdalena interesting, in that, a connection was made between love and the consequences of such a love. One quote I remember Mr.Teeson saying, was “I love less because I am less.” I started putting myself into his shoes and realized that sometimes, people must let go to respect someone else’s wishes. I am better for attending this play as I’ve enriched my history and was given a strong parable of love.  Thank you, Mr. Hinze, for creating Mr. Teeson to teach this class.