The strife is not o'er in GALA’s 'Choke'

From left, Gerardo Ortiz Gonzalez, Maria del Mar Rodriguez and Giselle Gonzalez in GALA'S Choke/By Stan Weinstein

In Spanish the subtitle means “it happens even in the best of families” and if you’re a family member, you’ve experienced it, too: disagreements, conflict, exasperation, and love.

Compounded with intergenerational and environmental injustice in Charm City and there: "Attention, Baltimore! We've got problems."


In the world premiere of his powerful play Choke on stage now at GALA Hispanic Theatre, Emilio T. Infante has written about family matters involving Giselle Gonzalez as Casandra and Joi Kai, Zulema, a lesbian couple, who arrive for a visit at Casandra's parents' home.

Casandra's father, Gonzalo (Gerardo Ortiz Gonzalez) and mother, Esperanza (Maria del Mar Rodriguez) have no quarrel with their offspring's relationship with a person of the same sex. They welcome Zu into their household.

But it's their daughter who throws tantrums at her parents' home in industrial  Baltimore repeating family fights over health, financial, and personal problems, and this isn't the first time.

With no hint of empathy, Casandra has come home to roost and crow, and crow she does with increasing volume until she yells. And yells loudly and tells her parents just what she thinks.

She wants them to move, but her parents proclaim their desire to stay. They don't have the means to pay for repairs, but money is a touchy subject.

This kind couple could raise such a daughter?

Ouch!

I felt for Gonzalo and Esperanza, especially Gonzalo who has seeming few years left, and is the target of his daughter's persistently harsh epithets. 

He breathes through an oxygen tube he carries around (so realistic I wondered if GALA had hired a handicapped actor), and to protect his self-esteem, he refuses to ask Casandra for a loan.

For years she has pleaded with her parents to move away from the "refinery" and all its chemical and polluting ills plaguing the family.

Yet, the parents resist. Until the bridge is busted and the government offers a way out.

Throughout the ordeal, Esperanza (which means "hope" in English), remains cool, calm, and collected, as she tries to soothe word wounds inflicted on one by the other.

From left, Giselle Gonzalez and Joi Kai in GALA'S Choke/By Stan Weinstein

Zulema mostly stands on the sidelines, offering comfort to those afflicted, an observer who must be thankful that her partner has not shown such anger at her...yet.

A hole in the floor captures the whole bloomin' mess like Casandra's hardened heart which allows no compassion for anyone who disagrees with her. It's her way or the hole way.

But, it's not all screaming and yelling: Bits of humor flash every now and then. 

Like the actors, creative team members excel at GALA and their contributions for this show are no exception.

Sound designer Konstantine Lortkipanidze infuses the play with sirens of industrial emergencies, and, in calmer moments, music between-the-scenes, especially chilling single piano keys which slowly play at critical moments for fine dramatic effect.

Gustavo Ott, GALA's artistic director, directs.
Grisele Gonzalez created the full kitchen, dining and sitting room set, assisted by Sarah Bidini, with lighting designer, Hailey LaRoe, and costumer Rukiya Henry-Fields.

Other key creative team members are Tessa Grippaudo, properties; Andre Hopfer, hair and makeup; Ilyana Rose-Davila, production manager; Matty Griffiths, technicals; Grace Rodriguez, stage manager; Makayla Smith, assistant stage manager.

Choke is presented in Spanish with English surtitles on screens on both sides of the stage.

The production will keep you intrigued as you try to guess the ending and ponder how you would bring harmony to this divided family and let all be peaceful and calm, for a change.


WHAT: Choke

WHEN: Thursday through Saturday nights at 8 p.m.; Sunday matinees at 2 p.m. Now through May 18, 2025

WHERE:  GALA Theatre, 3333 14th St NW, Washington, DC 20010.

TICKETS: Get 2 for 1 regular tickets for May 1 and May 2 shows with the code: Chocking.

Special event May 3:  Longtime theater patrons Jose Alberto Ucles and husband Tom Noll with receive the Gary Maker Audience Award at 7:30 p.m. preceding the 8 p.m. performance. All attending are invited to a reception after the performance. 

DURATION: About two hours plus a ten-minute intermission.

AGES: For 14 and up; adult themes and some adult language.

Handicapped accessibility: GALA has four wheelchair accessible spaces and an elevator from the entrance to the lobby and the house.

Metro stations: Columbia Heights is one block from GALA on the Green and Yellow lines. Or, get off Metro at McPherson Square, take bus #52 or #54 up 14th, or, walk the two miles from McPherson Square and save money and expend calories! Lots of places to eat along the way.

Parking: Discounted parking for $4 at Giant's garage around the corner on Park Road with ticket validation in GALA's lobby. Additional parking is available on the street and at the Target garage also on Park Road NW, between 14th and 16th streets NW.

For more information: Call (202) 234-7174 and/or email info@galatheatre.org

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Vienna's new play soars!

Vienna Theater Company's cast in Decision Height/Photo by Shaley Weinstein

I always feel fortunate to live in the DMV where regional theatres like Vienna Theatre Company give us stimulating productions with excellent acting like Decision Height.

For anyone with a liking of or a link to World War II through legacy, history, drama, or just wanting a great theatre experience, Vienna's new play, Decision Height about trainees in the Women's Airforce Service Pilots (WASPs) program presents a brief look at a seldom told story of females at war.

And it's based on fact!

Which includes that the ladies received no military benefits for their service.

During the war, the women flew 60 million miles in the U.S. to relieve men of domestic flights so they could tackle combat duties. Eventually, the WASPs flew every type of military aircraft and taught male pilots, too.

Right off the bat, strong personalities emerge in Decision Height with Kim Paul taking the lead as "Virginia" in this camaraderie of women formed at the training field, Avenger Field in Sweetwater, Texas, the locale of the show and the historic site.

No one is as dominant a trainee as Shannon McCarthy's "Eddie," who wants everyone to know just exactly where she stands which is not much when it comes to "I'm Carol!" (Shelby Kaplan), no shrimp she exclaims time and time again to the group, refusing to accept the demeaning comments thrown at her by most of the rest of the crew.

Jocelyn Steiner is "Ziggie," a serious instructor joined by another strictly business type, Melissa Dunlap who carries off her role realistically as "Mrs. Deaton," the no-nonsense "dorm mother."

Some of the women acknowledge the men in their lives and the importance of wartime letters and telegrams (whatever they are) but this is not an outright preachy women's rights play but one about a war group who formed a common bond with a common goal, to utilize their skills and talents and help the Allies win the war.

Director Jessie Roberts skillfully marches the women in unison with boots knocking the wooden floor for the familiar rhythmic sound, clickety clack, clickety clack.

A-ten-shun!

And with special "goggles," the pilots maneuver the skies.

Sound designer and projectionist Jon Roberts does an excellent job with planes in the air, taking off, idling and, what is WWII without music? It's all here.

Charlie and Katie Boone have designed a simple set with a few beds, embellished by Roberts's backdrop of a large screen of an historic barracks.

Introducing the show is WWII footage from the Smithsonian Channel, lending credence to the story and an audience pleaser.

Julie Whelihan has fashioned lovely and elegant 1940s apparel to set the tone, with the exception of drab Air Force uniforms which need no color anyway when up against lively dialogue.

Other airwomen in the show are Shannon McCarthy, Keenan Parker, Jen Ware, Caroline Kinney, and Vanessa Bliss.

Production team members include Claire Tse, producer; Katie Boone, stage manager; Tom Epps, lighting; and Sherry Kaiser, properties.

Decision Height by Meredith Dayna Levy won the new play award at the 2013 Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival, originating at Virginia's Hollins University Theatre.

More than 1,000 WASPs graduated and 38 died during service. In 2009, President Obama signed into law the Congressional Gold Medal for the WASPs who were honored at a ceremony March 10, 2010.

Come to the play and learn the meaning of "decision height," and when you're in Texas, visit the WASP WWII Museum in Sweetwater.

What: Decision Height

When: 8 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays now through May 3, 2025 and 2 p.m., Sundays April 27 and May 4, 2025.

Where: Vienna Community Center, 120 Cherry St. SE, Vienna, VA 22180

How much: Tickets are $16. Order online at Vienna, VA – WebTrac Ticket Search (myvscloud.com), at the box office at the community center or before the show starts.

Duration: About two hours plus an intermission.

For more information: vtcshows@yahoo.com.

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Vienna's 'Rumors' is hilarious

Steve Rosenthal is Ernie Cusack, the husband of Cookie (Anne Hilleary), right, in Vienna Theatre Company's Rumors/By Eddie Page

 Football game?

What football game? Who's talking football?

There was an important football game in the DMV on Sunday but who was minding the television? There was a lot more action in the games on stage at the Vienna Theatre Company where players were flying high and fast! 

Who's talking? Who cares?

Well, they were all were talking, some at the same time in Neil Simon's play Rumors presented to a packed house on Sunday afternoon.

From left, Kate Bierly is Cassie Cooper; Dave Wright is Lenny Ganz; Anne Brodnax is Claire Ganz, and Liz Owerbach is Chris Gorman in Vienna Theatre Company's Rumors/By Eddie Page

The play is a one-night stand on a summer evening in New York when words and actions go awry as Rumors’ characters try to sort out what's going on. 

Leave it to Neil Simon to make merry from stress.

Four couples meet at Myra and Charley’s house to help the happy couple celebrate their 10th anniversary, but, … where was Myra? 

And Charley?  He was missing, too.

A gun goes off, and soon another! (Prepare yourselves for really loud bang, bangs with bang!  bang! adult language.)

Ken (Ilan Komrad) and Chris (Liz Owerbach) are the first party goers to arrive and discover Charley is hurt, but is he still alive?

They try to hide the truth, if only they knew it. Ken soon loses his hearing due to another gunshot blast and repeats what he thinks he is hearing but he's not.  

(With the dynamism of a talking human volcano and under the directorship of Eddie Page, Komrad’s antics and expressionism while he weaves on the second floor from bedroom to bathroom and back again are wild comic scenes.)

Meanwhile, Chris patiently puts up with her husband’s sudden peculiarities to welcome Lenny (Dave Wright) and Claire (Kim Paul) who've been in a car accident in Lenny’s brand new BMW and into the fold of lies and super lies they fall at the party. (Or, is it a wake?)

Arriving next are the funniest couple, the oldest, the most doddering, Ernie (Steve Rosenthal) and Cookie (Anne Hilleary), who well display the mannerisms of old folks.

Cookie has an aching back and can’t find her grandmother's precious earrings. 

Wait!  What’s this? She's holding them in her hand.

And here comes the youngest but certainly not the lovingest couple, Glenn (Nick Koutris) and Cassie (Kate Bierly), who argue over ... what else? You got it! Crystals! Yes, crystals! (You have to be there.)

The couples bicker and lash out at themselves, trying to cover tracks and spill the beans to the...oh, no!

Here come the cops in the form of Officer Welch (Christian Aguilar) and more police to question the circumstances and for sure, Aguilar is so real as a cop, he’s gotta be a real cop with his long drawn and suspicious speech, holding his belt while he ambles in the parlor, walking around from side to side.

Whatever can the anniversary party tell the police?

It’s an entertaining show that gains momentum with each passing scene, as one couple after another enters, argues and becomes confused by the crime.  

What crime?

Michelle Harris dresses the actors to the nines for the festive occasion. Lighting director Ari McSherry has hands working fast to shine on those commanding the stage which are all of them.

Charles Dragonette composed a realistic parlor and upstairs setting, complete with bar and fluttering art of flowers on the walls to set the stage for flittering flirtations of flames, but who’s talking?

Affairs? Who?

Bob Hannan's skillfully designed sounds of cars, phones, and crashes complement the fun. 

Other production team members are Margaret Chapman, properties; Art Snow, special effects; Adrienne Kammer and George Farnsworth, set construction.

Vienna is fortunate to have one last weekend of this hilarity to leave you smiling when you exit the doors. 

What: Rumors by Neil Simon

When: 8 p.m., Friday and Saturday, Jan. 31-Feb. 1, 2025 and 2 p.m., Sunday, Feb. 2, 2025

Where: Vienna Community Center, 120 Cherry St., SE, Vienna, VA 22180 (703) 255-6360.


How much: $16.


For more information: vtcshows@yahoo.com or call the Community Center, ph. 703-255-6360 

Patricialesli@gmail.com

Tom Stoppard's stunning 'Leopoldstadt' at Shakespeare Theatre

Shakespeare Theatre Company's Leopoldstadt opens with a happy Christmas scene/Teresa Castracane, photo

Leopoldstadt is the name of a district outside Vienna which was the most cosmopolitan of cities in the late 19th century, with celebrated music, theatre, and the arts. Many of Leopoldstadt's residents were Jewish, and notable residents have included Billy Wilder and Johann Strauss and his son.

The play, Leopoldstadt won the Tony Award for Best Play in 2023, making Sir Tom Stoppard, the playwright, the winner of five Tonys for Best Play, more than anyone else, he, the author of more than 35 stage plays.

Stoppard is famous for his comedic, realistic portrayals of society and the issues of the day, but Leopoldstadt is no comedy.

The cover of Shakespeare Theatre Company's program is a photograph of a young Stoppard (now 87) when he was a toddler, although he says Leopoldstadt is not an autobiographical play.

The production opens upon a luxurious set at the home of a wealthy Jewish family amidst ostensibly happy times in 1899 with a holiday celebration and a Christmas tree.

Critical family members are introduced and we follow them along as they grow up and mature with stops in 1924, 1938, and 1955. Due to Adolf Hitler and the Nazis, the family disintegrates.

Hermann (Nael Nacer) becomes the new "papist" in the group, so tabbed by Grandma Emilia, (Phyllis Kay) the family's strong matriarch. Hermann realizes he'll never be successful in Vienna as a Jew and he marries a Catholic.

Over time, scenes grow darker, more somber. Books disappear from shelves; the increasingly bleak chambers match the dull clothing.

The cast of Shakespeare Theatre Company's Leopoldstadt/ Teresa Castracane, photo

Even with the big family tree included in the program, it is not easy keeping up with the large cast (22) and who's who, but that remains secondary to the message.

STC's production is outstanding and certain to linger: the costumes (Victorian for a while), the sets, the acting, the sounds. The sounds! They’re excruciating as the play develops. The Nazi noises; the explosions, the sirens, the pounding at the door (by Jane Shaw).

You know the ending but getting to it with the Merz family and their slow recognition over the years of the harsh realities of their futures; their avoidance of what they knew was likely to be.

And who can blame them?

Stoppard was an adult before he learned of his Jewish background, that all his grandparents and three of his mother's sisters who were Jewish died in the Holocaust. Stoppard was born in Czechoslovakia whose father died when he was 4. His mother married a British officer whose surname Stoppard adopted.

According to program notes, Stoppard did not write Leopoldstadt until after his mother’s death.

Three generations celebrate their existence until there is no more. A theatre classic which reminds us it can happen again. And it is.

Six young local actors are the delightful children who perform at alternate shows: Harrison Morford, William Morford, Teddy Schechter, Adrianna Weir, Mila Weir, and Audrey Ella Wolff.

Everything about the performance is stunning, from the lighting (by Robert Wierzel) to costumes (by Alex Jaeger), and acting (director, Carey Perloff).

Other production designers are Ken McDonald, scenics; Tom Watson, wigs and hair; Yuki Izumihara, projections.

Director Perloff's family also was affected by the Nazis: Her mother had to flee Vienna in 1938.


What: Leopoldstadt

When: Now through Dec. 29, 2024

Where: Shakespeare Theatre Company, Harman Hall, 610 F St., NW, Washington, D.C. 20004

Duration: Approximately 2 hours and 40 minutes with one 15-minute intermission (but it seems much shorter).

Single tickets start at $35. Call the box office at 202-547-1122. Visit ShakespeareTheatre.org.

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Shakespeare Theatre's 'Babbitt,' a great escape

Mara Davi and Matthew Broderick dance in Shakespeare Theatre Company's Babbitt/Teresa Castracane, photo

ZOWIE!!  It’s a great one!  (Or, would that be "zounds"?) 

That would be sounds from Shakespeare Theatre Company's Babbitt with celebrity Matthew Broderick, known throughout the world for Ferris Bueller's Day Off...and many more productions.

The place is Zenith, Middle America and the time and plot closely follow the 1922 novel of the same name by Sinclair Lewis who pokes fun at Middle America and its cheerless, hypocritical ways, with focus on its main character, George Babbitt. The book helped earn Lewis the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1930, but surprisingly, only two films have been made of the book, in 1924 and 1934.

Nehal Joshi and Matthew Broderick take time for a camping trip in Shakespeare Theatre Company's Babbitt/Teresa Castracane, photo

Babbitt's modern day rendition by writer Joe DiPietro is a magnificent experience with hilarious lines Broderick delivers in deadpan fashion and enrich the show.

He's practically perfect for the role. And that goes for his fellow "storytellers" who perform multiple roles and assist in disclosing Babbitt's existence in this tale of mediocrity.

Ann Harada is his wife, a natural complement to the homebody until she goes all independent and starts strutting around, as if she desired something more than just being a spouse.

Judy Kaye's Broadway experience is instrumental in her Babbitt success as secretary, woman of the rich, and more. Ali Stroker is the annoying, cloying but effective daughter.  Other actors, Nehal Joshi, Matt McGrath, and Chris Myers as the energetic son advance the show and help birth a Babbitt who discovers life is more than humdrum and repetition when he lets his mind (and body) go exploring and pick up steam, so to speak.

The woman of Babbitt's dreams is Mara Davi, the play's dance captain.

The stage is a work of art (by Walt Spangler with lighting by Cha See): A modern, minimalist library on two floors, crisp and cool, rather like peering inside a Chinese refrigerator, but requiring little time to warm up the cast.

But, oh my! There's a somewhat of a hellish "merry-go-round" requiring fancy, quick moves by the cast to hop on and off the inner circulating stage, but precision timing and maneuvering made it appear, of course, "easy to do" when a quick costume addition or subtraction made a fast dash off-stage  necessary to begin a new scene.

From a serious novel, DiPietro has spun a fun yet superficial yarn, to pause for self-reflection and ponder existence:  Are we slaves to conformity? Could we benefit from "more spice"? From change? 

Yes! I'll buy that! Bring it on and infuse my life with more laughs, too, while you're at it.

When Babbitt “gets down,” he gets down. 

The play premiered in La Jolla, CA one year ago. 

Other members of the artistic team: Christopher Ashley, director; Stephen Buescher, choreographer; Linda Cho, costumes;  Leon Rothenberg, sound; Mark Bennett and Wayne Barker, original music; Charles G. LaPointe, wigs and hair.

Also, Rosie Glen-Lambert, associate director; Martha Donaldson, production stage manager; Tyler Larson and Stephen Bubniak, assistant stage managers. 

What: Babbitt

When:  Now through Nov. 3, 2024 at 2 p.m.

Where: Shakespeare Theatre Company’s Harman Hall, 610 F St., Washington, D.C. 20004

Tickets:  Box office: 202-547-1122, 12–6 p.m. every day or buy online or STCbox@ShakespeareTheatre.org

Duration: Approximately 2 hrs. and ten minutes with one 15-minute intermission

Ages:  For mature teens and up

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A 'dead man' returns to Alexandria

Isn't she beautiful?  Two men vie to claim "her" in Little Theatre of Alexandria's Is He Dead?  starring Lanny Warkentien as Jean-Francois Millet and the Widow Tillou /Little Theatre of Alexandria  

It’s the last week to see another delightful show at the Little Theatre of Alexandria by the maestro of words, Mark Twain who wrote Is He Dead?  in 1893 in the middle of deep depression after the death of his daughter, Suzy, from spinal meningitis. 

And yet during this dark, troubling time, Twain was able to write what's considered to be his best composition for the stage, Is He Dead?, a comedy, no less.

From left, Hanlon Smith-Dorsey is "Dutchy," Brendan Chaney is "Chicago," Zachary Litwiller is Phelim O'Shaughnessy, and Lanny Warkentien is Jean-Francois Millet and the Widow Tillou in Little Theatre of Alexandria's Is He Dead?  They are moving a casket loaded with bricks/Little Theatre of Alexandria

Mark Twain wrote plays?  Who knew?

You're not the only one who is surprised!  And he tried writing more than one!

Leave it to a scholar to bring this show to life only in this century  when Shelley Fisher Fishkin found it in the archives at the University of California at Berkeley and got it going on stage.  

But it wasn't a surprise to scholars.  Many of them had been aware for years of Dead's existence.

The story of this dead man is based on a fictional tale of a great but starving actual French painter, Jean-Francois Millet (1814-1875) who feigns his death with the help of his buddies "Dutchy," (Hanlon Smith-Dorsey), "Chicago," (Brendan Chaney), and Phelim O'Shaughnessy (Zachary Litwiller), the purpose to raise the value of Millet's art which will reduce the debt he owes to the evil collector, Bastien André  (Kirk Lambert), who, of course is in love with the same woman, "Marie" (Sarah Keisler) as painter Millet (Lanny Warkentien). 

 

Did you get all that? 

The place is, where else? Gay Paree in 1846. The sets (by Matt Liptak) are divine, mon chéri, to match the luxurious costumes (always fun to see, by 

Jean Schlichting and Kit Sibley). 

Upon Millet's "death," André buys up Millet's paintings and the value goes whoosh!  Just like that and Millet is freed of debt.

To hide himself after he "dies," Millet  becomes his sister, the Widow Tillou and naturellement, "she" becomes André 's new love interest.  And also that of Marie's father (Leo Mairena).

Who would have guessed?

But how is our hero supposed to come back to life and marry Marie?  Where there's a will, there's a way and Twain made it happen, of course!

With a dash of Shakespeare thrown in, the production is a romp in mistaken identities and other humorous deceptions to tell us something more about love and money.  (We can never have enough of either.)

 

Lies do not stand the test of time and is love more important than money? It depends upon whom you ask.

Other cast members are Alayna Theunissen as Cecile Leroux (Marie's sister), Justin Beland, Anne Shively, Justin von Stein and Beverly Gholston.

More production crew members are Eleanore Tapscott, producer; Joey Pierce, director; Margaret Chapman, properties; Allison Gray-Mendes, set dressing and

Adam Konowe, lighting.

 

Michael Page was fight choreographer; Sue Pinkman designed hair and makeup; Robin Worthington was wardrobe coordinator; Russell M. Wyland was in charge of rigging; Alan Wray and Crystina McShay, sound.

Melissa Dunlap and Micheal J. O’Connor are stage managers.

What:  Is He Dead? As adapted by David Ives 

When: Now through June 8, 2024, Wednesday - Saturday nights, 8 p.m.

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

Tickets: $21 (weeknights) and $24 (Saturday night) + $3 fee/ticket. 

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

  

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

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