Contain-er yourself
John DeVore, who wrote and directs "Tupperware Orgy,"
says about his work in a press release, "Usually, I just
write plays for the money. But ’Tupperware Orgy’ isn’t just about
the champagne Jacuzzis, weekends in Aspen and trunk loads of
Benjamin’s. This play is about showing an audience a good time,
making them laugh and then, you know, changing the world through
catharsis and crap like that."
After seeing the show, which is on stage at the Brick Theater
through April 30, one can only hope that DeVore will make a lot
of money.
What to make of this mess? One hardly knows where to begin. To
start, the play has very little to do with Tupperware, other
than the fact that Cath (Hope Cartelli) has inherited a load
of it after the recent death of her mother. It lies on the floor,
unused, throughout the play, and that’s about it.
So what is DeVore’s play about? It is subtitled "a romantic
comedy," so one can guess it’s supposed to be funny. And
it does involve relationships.
Cath has a boyfriend, Devon (Jeff Lewonczyk), with whom she is
currently on the outs for reasons never made clear. She also
has two girlfriends. One is Sally (Therese Ducey), who is involved
in a sadomasochistic relationship with Cameron (Jesse Shafer),
a young man who was once Cath’s fiance. The other is Sissy (Alyssa
Simon), desperately in love with Emily (Mikki Baloy), who has
received a message from God, delivered through a velvet picture
of Jesus, telling her that her gay relationship with Sissy is
immoral.
At the end of Act I, a stranger (Peter Bean), posing as a soundman
with a rock band, walks into Cath’s apartment and announces he’s
going to kill them all with a weapon that looks like an ice pick.
In Act II, the tables are miraculously reversed. Cameron and
the stranger, covered with blood and hands tied, are overpowered
and submissive. Devon returns and is made to see his evil ways.
Sissy and Emily – now reconciled – get married: they are bound
together by a raw egg, which they throw on the floor. And everyone
goes out to breakfast before they all resume fighting and throwing
things around.
At one point, a character refers to what’s happening as a sacred
mess. It’s hard to see what’s sacred about this play, but at
the end, whoever does cleanup certainly has a Herculean task.
Two of the actors in this play appeared courtesy of Actors Equity.
All are quite talented, but why they felt this material could
showcase their talents is a mystery. The Brick publicists feel
comfortable comparing "Tupperware Orgy" to "Steel
Magnolias" and "Silence of the Lambs," but this
play has neither the humanity of the first nor the inhumanity
of the second.
Perhaps some of those who became involved in this production
were impressed with DeVore’s credits. (He’s an associate editor
of "Maxim" magazine, one of the co-creators of the
political parody www.whitehouse.org and co-author of "The
Whitehouse Inc. Employee Manual," published by Penguin.)
But he has a long way to go before he learns there’s a difference
between satire and stupidity, farce and foolishness.
It also might help if he realized that profane language doesn’t
mean profound thought. But then it’s possible he gave the writing
of this play no real thought at all, merely putting down whatever
came into his head at the moment.
It’s pretty obvious that DeVore and his young actors are having
a great time with this play. At one point the girls play a game
akin to "truth or dare," which one seems to remember
from college, and there are lots of references to kinky sex and
getting drunk. But should mature people pay to see this?
For the uninitiated, watching "Tupperware Party" feels
a bit like getting caught in a sorority party where everyone
is playing some kind of weird game to which only the sorority
sisters and a few select guests know the rules. It’s a game some
people might want to learn how to play – but not this reviewer.
The Brick Theater and Magdalene Productions
present "Tupperware Orgy" through April 30, Thursdays
through Saturdays at 8 pm, at 575 Metropolitan Ave. between Union
Avenue and Lorimer Street in Williamsburg. Tickets are $10. For
more information, call (718) 907-3457 or visit the Web site at
www.bricktheater.com.
High energy ’Forum’
"A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum," which
opened at the Alvin Theater on May 8, 1962, and ran for 964 performances,
was the first Broadway production with music as well as lyrics
by Stephen Sondheim. (Ironically it was also director George
Abbott’s last Broadway hit.) The book by Burt Shevelove and Larry
Gelbart drew its inspiration from the plays of Titus Maccius
Plautus, who lived in Rome in the 3rd century B.C.
The Dyker Heights-based Strivelli Players have mounted a production
of "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum,"
which plays through April 24, that is worth going out of your
way to see.
Although Plautus was influenced by translations of Greek tragedy,
his work has a decidedly Roman bent – featuring lots of action,
gags, slapstick and puns. Perhaps it is thanks to Plautus, or
because Sondheim had not yet fully developed his style, but "Forum"
does not have much of the social commentary or studied sophistication
that characterize Sondheim’s later work. For this reviewer, at
least, that is a great benefit.
The Strivelli Players production is directed by the very capable
Linda Arezzo and features musical direction by Joe DeRanieri
and choreography by Danielle Giovinazzi, James Martinelli and
Maria Roldan.
John Lynch plays Pseudolus, a Roman slave who is determined to
gain his freedom. When his owners, Senex (Charles Coreschi) and
Domina (Ellen Cassuto-Eckelman) leave their home to visit Domina’s
mother, Pseudolus promises the couple’s young son, Hero (Peter
Scorcia) that he will find some way of fostering a romance with
the object of Hero’s affections Philia (Tricia DelSorbo), in
exchange for enough money to buy his freedom.
This task is complicated by several facts: firstly, Philia is
owned by Lycus (Fred Grieco), the next-door-neighbor who deals
in courtesans; secondly, she is promised to a soldier named Miles
Gloriosus (Walter Costello); and finally, Hysterium (James Martinelli),
Pseudolus’ fellow slave in the household is an upright, uptight
follower of rules, who is terrified by the possible consequences
of Pseudolus’ machinations.
"Forum" features such wonderful numbers as "Comedy
Tonight" and "Everybody Ought to Have a Maid."
Unlike later Sondheim works, many of the songs are actually singable.
And this cast is filled with people who have strong, hearty voices
– especially Costello, Martinelli, Lynch. While for the tender
ballads, there’s the youthful sincerity of Scorcia (a student
at Brooklyn Technical High School) and DelSorbo (a freshman at
St. Francis College).
Arezzo and Steve Burns have designed a simple set of three doors
representing the houses of Lycus, Senex and Erronius (an old
Roman who is still mourning the capture of his two children by
pirates many years ago – important for the eventual resolution
of the plot). The doors allow the actors to make their precipitous
exits and entrances and leave plenty of room for dancing, slapstick
and general mayhem. The era is evoked by togas, armor and other
accoutrements of the Roman Empire.
Perhaps this production is most notable for its great energy
and perfect timing. Martinelli and Lynch work together in the
tradition of great comic teams such as Lewis and Martin or Abbott
and Costello. And Cassuto-Eckelman and Coreschi are perfect as
the harpy wife and the henpecked husband.
"A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum" has
a long and successful history. It was made into a film in 1966
with Zero Mostel, Jack Gilford, Buster Keaton, Michael Crawford
and Phil Silvers (who also starred in a 1972 Broadway revival).
It was also revived in 1996 with Nathan Lane as Pseudolus, replaced
later in the run by Whoopi Goldberg.
The Strivelli Players’ "Forum" is a modest production.
It has minimal orchestration and set design. But it has all the
energy of a major show. Don’t miss the fun at the "Forum."
The Strivelli Players production of "A Funny Thing Happened
on the Way to the Forum" plays through April 24, Friday
and Saturday at 8 pm and Sunday at 3 pm at the St. Bernadette
School Auditorium, 8201 13th Ave. at 82nd Street in Dyker Heights.
Tickets are $15, $13 students and seniors. For reservations and
more information, call (718) 907-3422.
Music ’Man’
Four hundred years after Miguel de Cervantes penned "Don
Quixote de la Mancha," literary critics have still not been
able to decide whether the novelist was writing a tribute to
chivalry and idealism or ridiculing foolish and unrealistic optimism
and faith. But there is no such uncertainty about "Man of
La Mancha," the 1965 Broadway hit, written by Dale Wasserman
with music by Mitch Leigh and lyrics by Joe Darion, which is
on stage now through April 24 at Brooklyn Theatre Arts Project
in Bay Ridge.
For Wasserman, Cervantes is immediately recognizable as a playwright,
no matter what he is writing. In a 1997 speech at Hofstra University
Wasserman said, "Again and again we find evidence that Don
Quixote is acting his role. We rarely see him alone, but when
we do, it is observable that he no longer acts the madman but
is calm and introspective – the introspection of an actor mentally
devising further scenes in the drama Most of all, however, Cervantes
deals with the matter which is fundamental to all theater – the
collision of reality with illusion."
There’s no doubt that Wasserman wrote a beautiful and inventive
script that remains true to Cervantes while bearing the imprint
of a 20th-century interpretation. But "Man of La Mancha"
would never have been the success it was without the brilliant
score that incorporates Spanish themes, Tin Pan Alley, folk and
liturgical music.
In Brooklyn Theatre Arts Project’s "Man of La Mancha,"
director Paul Campione takes good care of the score, but loses
much of the story through poor casting and spotty direction.
Franco Ferro, who plays Cervantes/Don Quixote, has an impressive
resume that includes appearances as a soloist at Carnegie Hall
and Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall, but he is much too old
for the role. The musical presents the story as a play within
a play. It takes place in a Seville prison where Cervantes, awaiting
sentencing by the Inquisition, is first tried by his fellow inmates.
These prisoners are prepared to toss Cervantes’ manuscript into
the fire if they don’t like the story it tells. So in order to
preserve his novel, Cervantes becomes Don Quixote, and with the
help of his faithful servant, acts out the story while the inmates
take on other roles.
Thus Don Quixote is a young man playing an old man who becomes
young in his service to chivalric values. He is thin, agile and
vigorous. (Richard Kiley who created the role comes to mind.)
The only thing youthful about Ferro is his rich baritone voice.
There are a number of other incongruities in this production.
Ferro speaks with a thick Spanish accent that often makes his
words hard to understand. But Joseph Cirillo, who plays Sancho,
has a decidedly Brooklyn accent. Cirillo has all the energy Ferro
lacks, but his clownishness sometimes overpowers the play’s serious
themes. Sancho may be a coward and sometimes a fool, but he is
above all else sincere (remember "I Really Like Him"),
and Cirillo’s mugging does not do Sancho justice.
Aubrey Barbosa has a beautiful soprano voice, but her Aldonza
is more virginal than bawdy. As a result, the transformative
nature of Don Quixote’s love does not seem nearly as impressive
as it should.
Campione keeps the action running smoothly even through many
scene changes. This sometimes means scenery must be repositioned
during dialogue, but the actors move so quickly and effortlessly,
it is only a bit distracting.
"Man of La Mancha" has an excellent ensemble that makes
"Golden Helmet of Mambrino" and "Little Bird Little
Bird" spirited, energetic numbers. In fact, musically this
production is quite wonderful. Other pluses are a simple but
sufficient set painted by John Kohan, the costumes supplied by
Off the Cuff Wardrobe and Carissa Bellando’s choreography – most
outstanding in the gypsy dancing scene.
Despite all of its flaws, there is something magical about "Man
of La Mancha" that resounds in this production. The music
transports and the theme is everlasting. Like its hero, Don Quixote,
it stumbles but triumphs in the end.
Brooklyn Theatre Arts Project’s production of "Man of La
Mancha" plays through April 24, Friday and Saturday at 8
pm and Sunday at 2 pm at Christ Church Theater, 7301 Ridge Blvd.
between 73rd and 74th streets in Bay Ridge. Tickets are $25,
$12 seniors and students. For reservations and more information,
call (718) 390-7189.
