Herndon's unordinary night at the theatre

Carl Williams as Warren and Anna Phillips-Brown as Deb in Ordinary Days at NextStop Theatre Company/Photo by Lock and Company

It could be your extraordinary day, like it is for the foursome in NextStop Theatre's newest production, Ordinary Days.

Seize the opportunity!

Welcome change every day, new acquaintances and relationships, whoever or what awaits your life and pleasure around the next bend.

If you are lucky like Deb (Anna Phillips-Brown) who loses her thesis, you'll meet Warren (Carl Williams), a blissfully happy artist (huh? Artists are "happy"? He must not be an artist!) who finds and returns Deb's papers to brighten her life and those around Warren. (We all could use a little "Warren" in our lives.) 

Or, take a couple who is not a couple, but wait! Maybe, they are, after all. Bobby Libby is Jason and Sarah Anne Sillers is Claire, the twosome who "find each other" like Deb's papers and Warren "find" Deb.


Do you sometimes wish that the search for meaning and a better life would end so we could just ride along for the sheer enjoyment of another day? It is not to be among most of this crew of dissatisfied 20-and 30-somethings in New York City, but that's New York, isn't it?

 
The stars are the excellent acting which supply zest and humor to the musical, almost engulfed by Ms. Phillips-Brown's strong voice and dynamic personality. One couple contemplates marriage, and the other joins in to wonder what brought them together. Their lives cross. 

It's not always about sex.

Without the non-stop accompaniment by Elisa Rosman on the keyboards (who has no time for even one quick breather), these "ordinary days" would be anything but extraordinary. The one-woman orchestra ties it all together with energetic playing and direction. A total musical with ne'er a word spoken.

Upon entering the theatre, you experience the sensation that you have below you (the seats are elevated with excellent viewing from all) a surrealistic scene or gallery in a museum which indeed is what it is at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Beyond its walls, the exteriors become effective places for coffee and chats while the interior nicely transitions into an apartment for the reckoning of said betrothed couple. (JD Madsen was the scenic designer.)

Visuals of contemporary Big Apple scenes are projected on three screens throughout the show, and although they often change, the dialogue and action are not disrupted.

Adam Gwon wrote the music and the lyrics.

Jay D. Brock directs. Other creative team members are
Kristen P Ahern, costumes;  Doug Del Pizzo, lighting; Evan Hoffmann, sound; Chris Foote, properties; Laura Moody, production stage manager; Quoc Tran, rehearsal stage manager and assistant director; Regan Hattersley, assistant stage manager; and Suzy Alden, scenic painter.

What: Ordinary Days 

Duration:  About 90 minutes without intermission

When:  Through Mar. 15, 2020 at 2 p.m. Thursday through Saturday at 8 p.m., Sunday, March 8, at 7 p.m., Sunday matinees at 2 p.m., and a Saturday matinee, March 14 at 2 p.m.  

Where: NextStop Theatre Company, 269 Sunset Park Drive, Herndon, VA 20170 in the back right corner of Sunset Business Park, near the intersection of Spring Street/Sunset Hills Road. Right off the Fairfax County Parkway. Lots of great restaurants nearby.

Tickets:  Start at $40.  
 

Language: Rated X 

Lighted, free parking: Available near the door. 

Refreshments: Available and may be taken to seats

For more information: 703-481-5930 or info@nextstoptheatre.org

patricialesli@gmail.com

NextStop Theatre presents MLK Jr.'s last night

Shayla Simmons and Curtis McNeil in NextStop Theatre Company's The Mountaintop/Photo by Lock and Company

What would it have been like for him at the Lorraine Motel with a housekeeper he had never met?

It's unlikely you would come up with a script bearing any resemblance to the show now playing at NextStop Theatre in Herndon. And maybe, like me, you had not envisioned his last night, or wondered about the script for The Mountaintop which is far better than expected.

Only two actors appear (Curtis McNeil and Shayla Simmons)  and their outstanding performances surely will net them and the director, Kevin McAllister, Helen Hayes nominations.


It always helps when an actor looks like the real-life character he (or she) portrays, and NextStop managers got it just right with Mr. McNeil's selection. He delivers a powerful, unforgettable performance, strengthened by costume designer Paris Francesca's attire of the white shirt and tie Dr. King wore in every picture or video in memory. 


Ms. Simmons is a sassy flirt, "Camae," a hotel maid here,who prompts lots of laughs on this surprising night with its sad ending. The two spend time in the motel room together, having some fun before life's tragedies convene to end it all.

Mr. King's weaknesses do not go unnoticed.

The mention of a cellphone is puzzling, but the pieces shortly fit together and hint at future dialogue.

It was shocking to hear Dr. King's age (1929-1968). He was only 39?  Every year his achievements grow in stature, recognized on MLK Jr. Day.

At the end, Mr. McNeil's wrenching portrait left him almost gasping for breath as he seemed to struggle to regain composure and receive the ovation from the standing audience.

Evan Hoffmann, scenic designer, and Alex Wade, properties designer, match their set to the actual room at the Lorraine (with the exception of the color; for some strange reason, they chose a peach, perhaps because the actual was a dull tan). 

Yaritza Pacheco's sounds not only frighten Dr. King, but their perfectly timed mad claps of thunder (it must have rained that night) jolt the audience, too.

Kudos to Mr. Hoffmann, also the theatre's artistic director, and Abigail Fine, managing director, who chose the production to educate guests and honor Martin Luther King Jr., in a prelude to Black History Month celebrated every February.

The award-winning playwright, Katori Hall, is from Memphis.

Other members of the creative team are Lynn Joslin, lighting; Samba Pathak, projections; Sarah Usary, production stage manager; Jordan Ross, rehearsal stage manager; Lynda Bruce, assistant stage manager; and Suzy Alden, scenic painter.

The Lorraine Motel, Memphis, now the home of the National Civil Rights Museum/Wikipedia

What: The Mountaintop by Katori Hall

Duration:  About 90 minutes without intermission

When:  Through Feb. 2, 2020 with the last show at 2 p.m., Sunday, Feb. 2. Thursday through Saturday at 8 p.m., Sunday, Jan. 26, at 7 p.m., Sunday matinees at 2 p.m., and a Saturday matinee, Feb. 1 at 2 p.m.  

Where: NextStop Theatre Company, 269 Sunset Park Drive, Herndon, VA 20170 in the back right corner of Sunset Business Park, near the intersection of Spring Street/Sunset Hills Road. Right off the Fairfax County Parkway. Lots of great restaurants nearby.

Tickets:  Start at $35. Front row tickets are free for local high school students and their teachers.
 
Language: Rated X 

Lighted, free parking: Available near the door. 

Refreshments: Available and may be taken to seats

For more information: 703-481-5930 or info@nextstoptheatre.org

patricialesli@gmail.com

 

'Singin' (and dancin') in the Rain' in Herndon

The cast of Singin' in the Rain at NextStop Theatre Company/Photo by Lock and Company

Gotta dance!  Gotta dance! 

He sings and skips and tap dances through the rain water in Herndon, happy and "in love."

Folks, that's real water pouring on his head, just like in the movie!

Applause to the technical director who accomplished this feat  in Singin' in the Rain now playing at NextStop Theatre Company.

The dancing and choreography are the stars in this production, based on the classic 1952 movie with Debbie Reynolds, Donald O'Connor, and Gene Kelly.  

NextStop's show is choreographed by one of its own stars, Robert Mintz, who plays the boyish "Cosmo" in a role which binds the story with his silly antics and smiles while he twirls, hops, and dances across the floor, and he plays trombone. 

Continuing their string of hits at NextStop and other theatres in the DMV are Max Doolittle, lighting designer, and Evan Hoffman, Herndon High graduate, who directs and designed the set.

It's an elevated stage on a stage in this 1920s Hollywood show with colored lights and a massive red curtain which opens from time to time to reveal the backstage and action there: the dressing gowns, ladders, actors conversing, and all necessary accoutrements that go into a big production like this one.

The plot involves a villainess, the screechy, possessive Ms. Lina Lamont (Carolyn Burke) who hangs on to her beau, a Hollywood star, Don Lockwood (Wood van Meter).  Despite her catlike howls (which could be softened a bit), Ms. Burke is a lady of confidence and assurance whose slithery mannerisms effectively exaggerate her character and make her more unlikable.

It works!

Her goal is to make Don succumb to her wiles, despite his affinity for a new girlfriend, the cute, adorable, and innocent Kathy Selden (Morgan Kelleher), who pops out of a cake!

This being the age of transition from silent films to talkies, Ms. Selden's voice becomes Ms. Lamont's who can't talk for screeching.   

Do you get the picture? 

Scene stealers are the constantly smiling and conniving Zelda (Melrose Pyne Anderson), who plays another starlet, and "R.F." Simpson (Duane Monahan) with his powerful, deep d.j. voice who is the studio head, ostensibly calling the shots.

Eight actors dance and sing across the small stage and magically seem to enlarge the floor space. The audience gets a hand in, too.

Sitting in an elevated window overlooking the action is the bouncy music director, Elisa Rosman, who plays keyboards with alternating drummers Alex Aucoin and Glenn Scimonelli. 

Moyenda Kulemeka has designed beautiful gowns and apparel for the times.


The Broadway play, which was directed and choreographed by Twyla Tharp, followed the movie by 33 years and lasted about a year, but Wikipedia says the movie is regarded by some as the best film comedy ever made, and it is listed as the fifth greatest American movie of all time.

If you miss the Herndon show, you can see the film July 10 at West End Cinema. 

Other NextStop cast members are Elizabeth Spikes, Ethan Van Slyke and swings, Suzy Alden and Joseph McAlonan.

Creative staff also includes Hollyann Bucci, assistant director; Kevin Alexander, sound; Laura Moody, stage manager; Amelia McGinnis and Kate York, assistant stage managers; Alex Wade, properties; and Dylan Lambert, choreography assistant.

Until July 1 NextStop offers deep discounts on next season's shows starting at $119 for six performances.  Go here or call 866-811-4111 for information. 

What: Singin' in the Rain by Betty Comden and Adolph Green with songs by Nacio Herb Brown and Arthur Freed

When: Now through June 23, 2019, Thursday through Saturday nights at 8 p.m., Saturday and Sunday matinees at 2 p.m. and a Sunday evening show on June 16 at 7 p.m.

Where: NextStop Theatre Company, 269 Sunset Park Drive, Herndon, VA 20170 in the back right corner of Sunset Business Park, near the intersection of Spring Street/Sunset Hills Road. Right off the Fairfax County Parkway. Lots of great restaurants nearby.

Lighted, free parking: Available near the door.

Admission: General admission tickets start at $40. Buy online or through the box office at 866-811-4111.

Duration: About two hours with one intermission

Rating: G

Refreshments:  Available and may be taken to seats

For more information: 703-481-5930 or info@nextstoptheatre.org

patricialesli@gmail.com

'Fallen Angels' fly high in Herndon's hit

 Elizabeth Anne Jernigan, left, and Teresa Spencer in Noel Coward's Fallen Angels at NextStop Theatre Company/Photo by Lock and Company

If NextStop's Fallen Angels were on Broadway, the show would last for weeks and weeks because theatergoers would demand it.  One can only hope these "angels" fly longer than intended in Herndon.

I had a "presentiment" I would like it.  Expectations, exceeded.  

It's charming, it's fun, it's a delight.

Two married women lament their passionless marriages (five years) and dream about the one-time lover they both shared (at different times) before they got married.  

Maurice! 

While their husbands (John Strange and James Finley who treat their wives like pets) take off on a golfing trip, Julia (Teresa Spencer) and Jane (Elizabeth Anne Jernigan) spend an evening together, drinking and eating and drinking (mostly) reminiscing about their long lost lover who has written he is coming to town.

As the evening wears on, the ladies gradually get sloshed and wind up crawling on the floor and over and on each other. 

They talk, they sigh, and they dream about Maurice and what was, and what they hope to be!

The more she drinks, the longer and more drawn out are Julia's words which complement her demeanor and attitude, thanks to the artistry of Director Abigail Fine and Ms. Spencer, who also serves as dialect coach.
 
Julia and Jane interlock arms and with their hands, the two become entangled like long vines spreading across the stage.

Sliding from a chair onto the floor with her arms and legs intertwined, Julia is a circus act worthy of Houdini.

At one point last Saturday night, the top of one of the liquor bottles fell impromptu to the floor and while the ladies looked for it from their seats at the dining table, Saunders, the maid (Lorraine Magee), never missed a beat or a moment to scoot under and around the table, hunting the lost top.  

Meanwhile, above her, the actors almost lost it which the audience certainly did. 

The time is 1925 when playwright, Sir Noël Coward (1899-1973)
wrote Angels (soon to celebrate its centennial!). Since he never married and his homosexuality was not publicly revealed until after his death, how did Mr. Coward know so much about married women? 

Angels' costuming by Moyenda Kulemeka and the setting by Emily Lotz are quite fitting, darling, for the era and presentation of residents of an upper-class London flat.

The rich are different from you and me.

An elegant chandelier flanked by two lantern lights on the walls hangs center stage near a velvety Victorian settee. On the side stands a baby grand piano which adds to the mood and refinement.
  
When the ladies' talk turns more romantic as they recall the past, lighting director, James Morrison, dims the lights to a soft hue which quickly change and brighten when life interrupts.
  
The phone rings. 

Someone knocks on the door.  

Maurice?  Is that you? Please come in!  Please come!

Is he a figment of their imaginations? A miracle mirage whom these dreamy travelers believe they see in their desert of life?

Will you come, my Prince in Shining Armour, my darling, and rescue me from my boring existence?
 
Suspense builds.
 
Reid May, sound director, effectively makes noisy, unseen vehicles stop on the street outside the curtained window where the women quickly rush to see who it is. 

It could be Maurice getting out of a car!  Maybe? Perhaps?
 
Meanwhile, females in the audience silently plead for Maurice to show and give a glimmer of hope that Prince Charming does indeed exist.   

The transitions from sophisticated ladies to tanked trollops match increasing audience laughter, a tribute not only to the fine acting by Ms. Spencer and Ms. Jernigan but to Ms. Fine's marvelous directing which keeps the actors in constant motion.

What a delight to attend theatre and have a good time. To not be depressed about the "state of things" like many contemporary playwrights leave us. 

Going to the theatre is a bit like going on a blind date:  You are not sure of what he looks like nor how charming he may be until you get there and a few moments pass. Vulgar language, grey sets, and harsh scripts leave me depressed and downfallen. 

Not a good date, not like the good time I had with Fallen Angels.

The 1925 British censor unenthusiastically let the script pass to the stage, convinced there was no such thing as upperclass women who engaged in premarital sex, let alone, God forbid, thoughts about it while wed!
 
Not so in Amsterdam where the censors knew better and banned the show after a few performances.

In her program notes, Ms. Fine writes that this may be the first production of Fallen Angels in the Washington area.

Also in the cast is Robert Pike. 

Other creative team members are: Hollyann Bucci, assistant director; Alex Wade, properties;  Claire Turner, Cathy Reider, Suzy Alden, scenic painters; Nicholas J Goodman, stage manager; Hollyann Bucci, Marilyn Lopes, Kate York, assistant stage managers; and Jonathan Abolins, electrician

What:  Fallen Angels 
 
When:  Thursday through Saturday nights at 8 p.m., Saturday and Sunday matinees at 2 p.m. Through April 7, 2019 

Where: NextStop Theatre Company, 269 Sunset Park Drive, Herndon, VA 20170 in the back right corner of Sunset Business Park, near the intersection of Spring Street/Sunset Hills Road. Right off the Fairfax County Parkway. Lots of great restaurants nearby.

Lighted, free parking: Available near the door.

Admission: General admission tickets start at $35. Buy online or through the box office at 866-811-4111.

Duration: About two hours with one intermission

Rating: G

For more information: 703-481-5930 or info@nextstoptheatre.org

patricialesli@gmail.com