Alexandria loved this 'Murder'!

From left, Brian Lyons-Burke is Monsieur Bouc, Michael Kharfen is Hercule Poirot, Brianna Goode is Countess Andrenyi and Paul Donahoe is the Head Waiter/Michel in Little Theatre of Alexandria's Murder on the Orient Express/ photo by Matt Liptak

Leaving the show, all I heard were gushes of adoration coming from the crowd for Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express, the newest production of the Little Theatre of Alexandria with its huge cast who all deliver marvelous performances on a knockout set!  (By Matt Liptak)

My head did spin a few times ogling the elegantly designed 1930s parlor/lounge car which swings to compartments and hallways and who went where?

We go chug, chug, chugging along, just like we're on the train, too. 

Indeed, after experiencing Ken and Patti Crowley's big train headlamp shining in our eyes, coming right at us (with sound by Janice Rivera) against a black backdrop surrounded by long drapes, I was on the Polar Express

Get out of the way!

On left, Patricia Nicklin is Princess Dragomiroff and Julia Rudgers is Greta Ohlsson in Little Theatre of Alexandria's Murder on the Orient Express/ photo by Matt Liptak

The show is an adaptation by notable playwright Ken Ludwig who makes this train ride one heckuva really big show, loaded with tricks and detours to keep the audience guessing. Mr. Ludwig has infused the production with a goodly amount of humor to stir the interactions and make it more fun.  

 

Murder is near the top of Agatha Christie’s most loved mysteries, made into films, television productions, radio, a graphic novel, and games.  She keeps the audience (and readers) guessing.

"Whodunnit"?

The time is 1934 and the train has left Istanbul bound for the west, until it can't, when it gets stuck in snow. 

The year was about six years after Ms. Christie was actually on a train which stalled for six days in Turkey, and it, like the one here, was filled with unusual characters whom the writer used to mold into her fictional characters.

 

Right off the bat (none of these onboard, as far as we know) the bad guy enters, a Mr. RATchett (Paul Caffrey) who is shortly snuffed out, and most of the passengers seem to have a motive to do him in.  

A rat may be dead, but fear not, since

the herculean Detective Hercule Poirot (Michael Kharfen) is onboard and at your service, please, delightful with a twitching mustache, who sets off to find whodunnit (with a little help from his friends) before the killer strikes again!  

Brian Lyons-Burke is Monsieur Bouc, the stuffy train line president a la grumpy Santa.  

Eleanore Tapscott is the eccentric (they all are) and outgoing Helen Hubbard who talks and sings loudly, to the aggravation of all.

 

Avery Lance is Hector MacQueen, Mr, RATchett's secretary while Patricia Nicklin is the arrogant and "titled" Princess Dragomirof of Russia who has a bone to pick. Her servant girl,  Greta (Julia Rudgers) follows nicely along. 

Then there's the beautiful countess from Hungary (Brianna Goode, also the fight captain), Paul Donahoe who has a good time as conductor, Colonel Arbuthnot (John Paul Odle), and Mary Debenham from England (Danielle Comer). 

Aren't these the sort you meet on your train ride?

Costumers Jean Schlichting and Kit Sibley have fitted the players in classy apparel.  After all, who but the well-off could afford a train ride like this in 1934?

Hats off to Larissa Norris, the wig designer, who had more than enough heads to fit!  

Other production crew are Stefan Sittig, director, who has triple responsibilities as the fight choreographer and voiceovers, the latter duties he shares with Samantha Regan. 

Luana Bossolo and Kadira Coley are the producers; Alden Michels, dialect coach;  Jennifer Hardin and Caitlin O'Leary, stage managers; Julia Lisowski, properties design; Art Snow, special effects

Comedrama or dramacomedy? It's also known as a portmanteau dramedy.

All aboard!

 

When: Now through April 13, 2024, Wednesday - Saturday nights, 8 p.m. Sundays at 3 p.m.

Where: Little Theatre of Alexandria, 600 Wolfe St., Alexandria, VA 22314

Tickets: $21 - $24 

Audience: General

Duration: About 2 hours with one 15 minute intermission

Public transportation: Check the Metro and Dash bus websites. Dash is free to ride and has routes which are close to LTA.

Parking: is free on streets and at Capital One Bank at Wilkes and Washington streets, a block away. Paid parking is available at nearby garages.

For more information: 

Box Office: 703-683-0496; Main Office, 703-683-5778 or boxoffice@thelittletheatre.com.

patricialesli@gmail.com

 

Olney's 'Soprano' is a scream!

Carolann M. Sanita and Tom Patterson in Lend Me A Soprano at Olney Theatre Center/Teresa Castracane 

It's that good, that charming, that delightful! 

As my friend Sheila says:  "I don't want 'preachy' at the theater; just give me fun."  This, Sheila, is fun. 

From left, Rachel Felstein and Carolann M. Sanita in Lend Me A Soprano at Olney Theatre Center/Teresa Castracane 

Upon my arrival at the Olney Theatre Center and from the moment I spied the luxurious set, I was happy to have a few moments to sit and swoon a bit with no action on the stage, enthralled by the opulence, the exaggeration, to admire and take it all in, and catch my breath. 

A set which was fit for royalty with the chair rail, the arched doorways, chandeliers, the French provincial look of gay Paree, the view outside the windows, and the vases (pronounced vaaa-sis, darhling) overflowing with flowers, a heavenly contrast for my eyes fixated on the gray drabness of winter on my way to the Olney, awaiting spring and here it was!

"The rich are different from you and me." 

Say it again, Scott, but enough about Andrew Cohen's set, already!

From left, Tina Stafford, Rachel Felstein, Dylan Arredondo, and Carolann M. Sanita in Lend Me A Soprano at Olney Theatre Center/Teresa Castracane 

I loved, loved, loved Lend Me A Soprano! Hilarious and with the acting, the costumes, the plot, combined, it's absolutely smashing. 

Hometown playwright Ken Ludwig has done it again, written another fantastic play, this farce based on his successful Lend Me A Tenor, which won two of nine or ten Tony Award nominations (depending upon which Wikipedia site you read), and opening in London in 1986 three years before it reached Broadway. 

Tenor has been translated into 16 languages and has run in 25 countries, and it's not necessary to know a Tenor to enjoy a Soprano.

Soprano is a delightful escape with Shakespeare thrown in (both playwright and director are Shakespeare scholars, but don't let that keep you away), mistaken identities, doors opening, closing, mismatched persons, and the list goes on.  (Shakespeare knowledge is not required for pure enjoyment.)

Lucille Wylie (Tina Stafford), is a strong, domineering woman who's also the Cleveland Grand Opera's manager and absolutely beside herself with worry that the diva hired to sing the title role in Carmen for a "one night stand" will not show up. 

The time is 1934.  

Suddenly, there's commotion and ... boom!  

Enter, please, the diva Elena (Carolyann M. Sanita) and her perfectly stereotypical husband, Pasquale (Dylan Arrendondo), a big, robust fellow with a voice to match. 

Like the fiery Italians they are with passions inflamed, their ardor knows no bounds, and they continue their argument upon landing, surprise!

Elena becomes "incapacitated," unable to perform, and who's this?

Jo (Rachel Felstein) is Mrs. Wylie's assistant, an "understudy" who comes to the rescue and away we go.

Not only are we treated to hysterics, but beautiful singing, including duets by Ms. Felstein and Ms. Sanita (and how I wished for more! Musical direction is by Christopher Youstra).

In and out of bed(s) and couches they roll and one of the most hilarious characters is "Leo" (Tom Patterson), who struts his talents (in several ways), gathering more likes with every appearance as his apparel takes off (?). 

He is Jo's boyfriend, but wait, that is Jerry (skillfully acted by understudy Ben Topa when I saw Soprano), so maybe Leo belongs to Elena when her husband is "away"?

Sweet "Julia" (Donna Migliaccio) is the opera guild president, who makes a late arrival on set to temper things, dressed in a beautiful gown with a crown on top, reminiscent of New York's Chrysler Building.

Meanwhile, the impish, mischievous bellhop (Natalya Lynette Rathnam) pops in every so often, producing more audience laughter whenever she's on stage.

Soprano debuted worldwide in Houston in 2022 with the same Olney director, Eleanor Holdridge, and aren't we lucky to have her experience? ("Practice makes perfect"! She's also "local," chair of the Catholic University's drama department.)

Chandelier lights (by Alberto Segarra) dim and glow, depending upon who is where.  And the costumes!  Oh, la, la!  Sarah Cubbage has made them more than adequate for a Met gala, gowns, resplendent in exquisite designs. Larry Peterson was wig designer. 

Other members of the creative team are Ashara Crutchfield, assistant director; Matt Rowe, sound designer, and Ben Walsh, stage manager.  

Also, Robb Hunter, fight choreographer; Helen Aberger, intimacy choreographer; Melissa Flaim, dialect consultant; and Tori Niemiec, assistant costume designer.

At the end, Mr. Topa received special recognition from the cast while the rest of us wildly applauded the entire cast and team for a  marvelous show.    

What: Lend Me A Soprano

When: Now through Mar.10, 2024, at 7:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday matinees at 1:30 p.m.

Where: Main Stage, Olney Theatre Center, 2001 Olney-Sandy Spring Road, Olney, MD 20832.

Tickets: Start at $40 with discounts for seniors, students, military, and groups.

Ages: PG-13 

Refreshments available.

Parking: Free, lighted and plentiful on-site

Duration: About two hours with one 15-minute intermission

For more information: 301-924-3400 for the box office or 301-924-4485

patricialesli@gmail.com

Fore! Alexandria has 'A Fox on the Fairway'

 Raeanna Larson is Louise Heindbedder and Cameron McBride is Justin Hicks in Little Theatre of Alexandria's A Fox on the Fairway/Photo by Matt Liptak

Just in time for summer comes a golfing show with hilarious hi jinks and laughs which is better than a good round, but knowledge or practice of the sport is not required to have a good time in the tap room of the Quail Valley Golf and Country Club. 

It's the place for A Fox on the Fairway at the Little Theatre of Alexandria.

From left are Patricia Nicklin as Pamela Peabody, Ken Kemp as Henry Bingham and Cameron McBride as Justin Hicks in Little Theatre of Alexandria's A Fox on the Fairway/Photo by Matt Liptak

The show takes off as fast as a ball hit by Brooks Koepka, which means there is nothing slow about these players who do more than choke, fade, or hook competitors. They dice 'em and feed 'em to each other (?).

The action happens in a nicely designed setting (by Marian Holmes) of a formerly elegant golf club whose owner, Bingham (Ken Kemp) has bet $200,000 and his angry wife's antique shop that his golfers are better than those golfers from the Crouching Squirrel Country Club.

With a name like Crouching Squirrel, you might expect its owner, Dickie (Brendan Chaney) to be anything but suave and you would be right.

Costumers Ceci Albert and Lisa Brownsword have dressed Dickie in uglier sweaters than any to be found at the ugliest Christmas Ugly Sweater Contest. Dickie's ensembles fit his ugly personality of tricks and smooth operations. He's a hulk of a man, and Chaney carries the role splendidly.

On the other side of the ring putters poor Bingham with troubles aplenty, stuck in the rough, caught between his wife, a new love life, the club's deterioration, and the golf contest.

You were expecting anything less?

Three couples are off balance in Fox.

One is the energetic young couple, Louise (Raeanna Nicole Larson) and Justin (Cameron McBride), who just happen to get engaged on set (and who in life are an energetic young couple who just happen to be their own team).

The other two couples are mostly splitsville: Bingham and his screechy wife, Muriel (Lorraine Bouchard); and Dickie and his ex-wife, Pamela (Patricia Nicklin).

While the older ones tolerate rough patches, Louise works in the tap room and Justin comes to work and they make par.

Can Justin save Bingham's bogeys?

Adding to the merry-go-round are Louise's occasional drifts into soliloquy under a single spotlight to discharge classic lines while the cast stands in freeze mode.

Dickie's approach to winning is complicated by Pamela whose presence always increases the rhythm and temperature.

Although it is gauche to laugh at drunkenness, I could not help but admire Ms. Nicklin's portrayal of progressive inebriation as the night wears on.

Meanwhile, Bingham grows increasingly anxious as his greens wear thin, Muriel is barking, and his top golfer has jumped club, but wait, where is that new hire?

As the central figure, Kemp is spot-on.
 
His grouchy, screechy spouse is dressed as dull as a monk, but a monk, she's not, performing a shrewd mad wife who, like the rest of us, is vulnerable to seduction by attention.

The Fox in Alexandria has its minor deficiencies, namely, the ending on the golf course with a handsome greens backdrop encumbered by a confusing mix from other scenes which could be covered or removed, and (am I the only one who cares?) the "bad words" which are gratuitous and offensive. Ain't life realistic enough to escape ear hurts for a while? They add nothing and diminish the enjoyment.

Still, this Fox is lots of fun on Alexandria's fairway where it scores a birdie and an eagle.

Applause to Scott J. Strasbaugh, making his directorial debut at LTA, and to sound designers Krista White and Alan Wray who will certainly be nominated for a WATCH award since they effectively contribute to almost every scene with a splash, thud, or crash.

Fore!

A Fox on the Fairway made its debut at Signature Theatre in Washington on October 9, 2010. The playwright is DC's own, Ken Lend Me a Tenor Ludwig.

Other creative team members are Luana Bossolo & Russ Wyland, producers; Stacey Becker, properties; Susan Boyd, hair and makeup; Sherry Clarke and Brittany Huffman, stage managers; April Bridgeman and Brendan Quinn, assistant stage managers; Michael Page, fight choreographer; Ken Brown, set construction; Jeffrey Auerbach and Kimberly Crago lighting designers.

What: A Fox on the Fairway by Ken Ludwig

When: Now through June 29, 2019. Wednesdays through Saturdays at 8 p.m. and a Sunday matinee, June 23 at 3 p.m.

Where: Little Theatre of Alexandria, 600 Wolfe Street, Alexandria, VA 22314

Tickets: $21 to $24

Rating: PG-13

Duration: Two hours with one 15-minute intermission

Public transportation: Check the Metro website which supplies information to LTA during Metro station improvements.

Parking: On the streets and in many garages nearby. If Capital One Bank at Wilkes and Washington streets is closed, the bank's lot is open to LTA patrons at no charge.
 

For more information: 703-683-0496

patricialesli@gmail.com

Olney's terrific 'Tenors'

From left are Matthew Schleigh as Max, John Treacy Egan as Beppo, and Alan Wade as Saunders in Ken Ludwig's A Comedy of Tenors /Photo by Stan Barouh

What is opera without sex?  Not opera!

The year is 1936 in Paris where a zany group of stars beset by egos and threatened manhood (imagine) jeopardize the staging of the sold-out "concert of the century."

The show may not go on, after all.

The hand-wringing producer (Alan Wade is Saunders) has become a madman with only three hours left to get the team ready for the really big show.

From left, exiting over the balcony is Allyson Boate as Mimi, Alan Naylor as Carlo (hidden behind the door), Emily Townley as Maria, and John Treacy Egan as Tito in Ken Ludwig's A Comedy of Tenors /Photo by Stan Barouh


A Comedy of Tenors by Tony winner (Lend Me a Tenor ) Ken Ludwig, with some Shakespeare on steroids and Verdi and Puccini thrown in, is the featured performance at Olney Theatre Center, but you don't have to like opera to laugh a lot.  

Just come for the enjoyment.

We did and got our just rewards, all right.

Temperaments, mixed-up identities, and escapades fill the show.

John Treacy Egan is Beppo and Patricia Hurley is Racón in Ken Ludwig's A Comedy of Tenors /Photo by Stan Barouh


In an elegant hotel suite (designed by Charlie Calvert) the opera star, Tito (John Treacy Egan) arrives after a flight (a fight?) with his wife, the animated and dynamic Maria (Emily Townley) whom Tito shortly "discovers" is having an affair with their daughter's fiancé (Carlo is Alan Naylor)! A man, 20 years younger! (Imagine)

Heartbroken, the inconsolable Tito forfeits his stage appearance, unable to sing one possible note.


Producer Saunders is beside himself.  Now, two hours and counting. Whatever shall he do?


To the rescue from out in the hallway comes a super bellman bearing a striking resemblance to Tito with a voice to match (and a lover of Tito's "fruits," too).


Also arriving in town is a Russian diva and "other woman"(!),  Racón (Patricia Hurley), a former Tito paramour, who wants to partake of Tito's "talents," too. 

From door-to-(four)-doors and woman-to-woman, the men doth move, and over the balcony railing, to the gasps of the audience, daughter Mimi (Allyson Boate) throws herself, dress billowing, and arms flailing as she makes one giant leap for womankind (which was sur real). 

The outstanding, sonorous voices of the three tenors singing together (Egan, Naylor, and Matthew Schleigh as Max) soon gave me pause to wonder if it was a tape, but my seatmate, Olney apprentice, Meghan McVann, set me straight, that the voices were real, belonged to the artists, and were on stage. (Kudos to McCorkle Casting.)


All the performers excel at their assignments but it is Maria, Mrs.Tito, who especially shines among the stars, a standout whose exaggerated mannerisms, dramatic gestures, and histrionics more than effectively convey her character.

Director Jason King Jones deserves much applause for getting the performers to their places on time.    

Seth M. Gilbert's costumes are perfect for the period (and now), upper-class smaltzy, elegant, and operatic.


Mr. Ludwig attended the opening night show and afterwards, cast, crew, and audience celebrated another big hit in Olney.


Other crew members are Sonya Dowhaluk, lighting; Casey Kaleba, fight director; LaShawn Melton, wigs; Justin Schmitz, sound; Brianne Taylor, dialects; Cat Wallis and Ben Walsh, stage managers; and Dennis A. Blackledge, director of production.

What: A Comedy of Tenors by Ken Ludwig


Where: Olney Theatre Center, 2001 Olney-Sandy Spring Road, Olney, MD 20832.

When: Wednesday through Saturday at 8 p.m. with matinees Saturday and Sunday at 2 p.m. Wednesday matinee May 1 at 2 p.m. An audio-described performance for the blind and visually impaired Wednesday, April 24, at 8 p.m. and a sign-interpreted performance Thursday, May 2 at 8 p.m. 

Tickets: Begin at $42 with discounts for groups, seniors, military, and students

Ages: Olney rates Tenors as "PG-13."  

"Afterwords": After Saturday matinees on April 20, 27 and May 4 and 11.
  
Duration: Almost two hours with one 15 minute intermission

Refreshments: Available and may be taken to seats

Parking: Free, lighted and plentiful on-site

For more information: 301-924-3400 for the box office or 301-924-4485.

patricialesli@gmail.com