THEATER REVIEW - The Somewhat True Tale of Robin Hood
Merry band’s parody should tickle small friars
Wednesday,  March 17, 2010
Margaret Quamme
FOR THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

       The story of Robin Hood is familiar enough, and simple enough, to lend itself easily to parody.
       The Columbus Children Theatre production of Mary Lynn Dobson’s The Somewhat True Tale of Robin Hood takes the classic structure of the tale of the forest hero and gives it more twists than a bowl of spaghetti.
       Under Ryan Scarlata’s antic direction, medieval England is transformed into a bubbling mixture of slapstick physical humor, goofy wordplay and theatrical and pop-culture jokes. Comedy rises out of the contrasts among the various individuals and groups, all of whom are diligently pursuing their own goals and interests with little regard for anything else happening around them.
       Scarlata keeps the elements in balance, so that whatever is going on in the background can divert anyone too young to make complete sense of what’s happening in the foreground.

Pictured (left to right) Roddey Nagy as “Sheriff of Nottingham”, Zachary Lape as “Robin Hood” and Jim Foreman as “Prince John”

      Zachary Lape, tongue firmly in cheek, makes a likable Robin Hood, balancing the character’s high self-regard with natural charm. Leah Distelhorst proves an apt match for him as a feisty and histrionic Maid Marian. Roddey Nagy nicely underplays the villainous Sheriff of Nottingham, and Jim Foreman gives Prince John wicked gusto. Laura Spires shows off an ability to scream as Marian’s Lady in Waiting. Joelle Leigh Harris, as the down-to-earth narrator, grounds the chaos.
       The other cast members — including a trio of “fawning ladies,” surrounding and often accidentally impeding Prince John; and the guys of Sherwood Forest, who are given to shouting, “Sure would!” when asked whether they would like to perform a heroic task — work together ably.
       Carla Chaffin’s supple set allows for quick scene changes, and Curtis Brown’s ironically melodramatic lighting facilitates the frequent changes of place and time.
       The swift pace of the 70-minute one-act might prove wearing for adults, and some of the dialogue is lost amid the noise and action.
       But at the opening-night performance last week, the play left younger audience members squealing with delight and laughing even at points they didn’t apparently understand. When one joke didn’t go over, another followed right on its heels.
       This Robin Hood should hit the mark for its intended audience.

Columbus Children’s Theatre ‘s The Somewhat True Tale of Robin Hood continues at 7:30 p.m. Thursday and Friday, 1, 3 and 5p.m. Saturday and 1 and 3 p.m. Sunday at 512 Park St.
For reservations call 614-224-6672.    

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THEATER REVIEW - The Somewhat True Tale of Robin Hood
 
Sherwood Forest with a twist becomes a funny place
Wednesday,  March 18, 2010
FOR THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH Weekender

       A family seeking a good laugh should find one at the theater.
       The Somewhat True Tale of Robin Hood, in the middle of a three-weekend run at Columbus Children's Theatre, is aptly described as "laugh-a-minute," said William Goldsmith, artistic director.
       The retelling by playwright Mary Lynn Dobson of the classic tale includes some twists.
       The sport in a tournament, for example, has changed from archery to bowling.
       "At the last minute," director Ryan Scarlata said, "the prince (played by Jim Foreman) decided to change it to a bowling tournament.
       "But the narrator (Joelle Leigh Harris) has to teach Robin Hood how to bowl, and they keep butting heads."
       The sold-out audience on opening night responded well to the scene, said Scarlata, a member of the Professional Touring Company of Columbus Children's Theatre.
       "It's very Monty Python-esque in the way it's written," Goldsmith said. "It's meant to be over-the-top. Usually, in theater, if you've gone over the top, you've gone too far."
       The meaning behind the story remains, Scarlata said, with "the ultimate message of the show being that it's a matter of standing up for yourself."
       The difference: Audience members aren't hit over their heads with the moral lessons, he added.
       "The messages in the show are very subtle because the story is saturated with humor," he said. "In fact, the parents are probably going to laugh more than the kids."
       Columbus Children's Theatre hadn't previously staged The Somewhat True Tale of Robin Hood, according to Scarlata.
       "This is a relatively new version, and it's becoming really, really popular with middle schools," he said of the one-act show, which runs about 75 minutes. "It's faster and funnier. The characters are more extreme; they're cartoonish.
       "I definitely have had a blast directing this."       

THEATER REVIEW - The Boxcar Children
Adaptation of book stays on track for young audience
Wednesday,  February 10, 2010
Margaret Quamme
FOR THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

       What children like to read and what adults think they ought to read aren't always the same.  But certain books have survived despite a lack of adult enthusiasm.
       The Boxcar Children volumes are such books. Credit goes to Columbus Children Theatre for putting on a production that remains faithful to the child-pleasing spirit of the original tales while expanding the appeal to adults along for the ride.

Cast members of The Boxcar Children, from left: Eliya Smith, Blair Brightwell, Christopher Wilhoit and Sara Ohm

       To entice reluctant readers, first-grade teacher Gertrude Chandler Warner wrote the first book, The Boxcar Children, in 1924. Its characters are undeveloped; its plot is episodic and its language prosaic.
       But it has an irresistible hook: Four orphaned siblings, afraid they will be separated, set up housekeeping in an old boxcar.
       The two-act adaptation by Barbara Field fills in some of the gaps in the story and develops the characters. The children live in Depression-era Illinois and face feelings of loss as well as physical challenges.
       Although adult characters show up, director William Goldsmith appropriately keeps the spotlight on the siblings; the adults generally stay on a platform above the main action or off in a corner.
       The actors playing the four Alden children work well together, conveying their conflicts as well as their closeness. Christopher Wilhoit has stubborn energy as practical Benny, the youngest of the children; Eliya Smith gives quiet Viola a touching innocence and occasional melancholy; and Blair Brightwell capably balances dreaminess and determination as older brother Henry.
       A standout is Sara Ohm, whose nuanced performance as vigilant older sister Jessie is brave enough to make the character not always likable but always believable.
       Among the adults, Shanelle Marie sparkles as a concerned young social worker, Kurt Barger gives weight to the role of helpful Dr. Truman, and Carole Grote adds warmth and spunk as Truman's cookie-dispensing mother.
       Tim Cogley's lighting helps set the mood of the play: Occasional swaths of full, bright light enliven contented passages, and dim spotlights heighten the suspense in the many brief scenes of danger.
       At the Sunday-afternoon performance, young audience members seemed riveted by how the Alden children faced challenges and came up with inventive solutions. The play is probably most appropriate for the early-elementary-school readers of Warner's books, of which this is the first in a long series.
       It's a pleasure to see children's theater aimed squarely at children.

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Review of The Boxcar Children
by Dennis Thompson
Theatre Roundtable Critic

             Columbus Children Theatre presents a heartwarming production of “The Boxcar Children.” Adapted for the stage by Barbara Field, it is based on the book by Gertrude Chandler Warner.
            There were actually a series of books, as I remember my children going through them when they were younger.  It was a series of adventures, but this play is based on the first one which ties up the story from beginning to end quite nicely.
            Four siblings in the depression era are suddenly orphaned as their parents die before their eyes.  We don’t see this, we see them just after as local authorities are trying to figure out what to do with them.
            When it becomes suspected they will be split up, they make a break for it so they can stay together.
            The story traces their bonding as a family, their caring for each other, their dealings with grief, their struggle for survival.
            This sounds depressing but it’s gradually uplifting, tracing their growth, their spirit, the kindness of those they encounter.
            And there is mystery as well, as someone is posting an ever increasing reward – a fortune in those times – to find them.
            The name comes from an abandoned railroad boxcar which seemingly magically appears to end the first act and becomes their home.
            Director William Goldsmith, along with Scenic Designer Carla Chaffin, imagine a simple set with indications.  A bakery shop is slid in, then gone.  Houses are imagined.
            The exception is the boxcar which comes as if manna from heaven.  As it gradually is made more home-like, we see it as a symbol of their independence and resourcefulness.  We see they have made it as a family and have a home.
            As older brother Henry, Blair Brightwell is laid back and soft spoken, occasionally to the point of monotone.  But he exhibits a quiet strength and exudes a confidence the others rely on.
            Older sister Jessie is played by Sara Ohm.  Ohm plays her as a real spitfire, quick to anger and at first with an understandably bitter edge.  But she mellows, can read people and softens to those around her while ever protective.
             Ohm appeared to be fighting a cold early in the run which added a raspy strain to her voice.  This did not detract, if anything it added another layer of authenticity.  After all, they had just escaped a raging river.
             Eliya Smith shows intelligence, curiosity and vulnerability as younger sister Violet.  Younger brother Benny is said to be ‘slow’ but Christopher Wilhoit instills in him a sense of great awareness and practicality.
             Kurt Barger is grounded and kind as Sam Truman. Carole Grote is bubbly and sensible as his mother. Shanelle Marie is perplexed and concerned as Sarah Calder.
             Some play a variety of adult roles (Barger makes an appearance as a Sheriff).
             Amanda Anderson  goes from an apathetic teacher to a snippy baker to a rough inhabitant of a Hooverville.
             Luther Center is a bit of a wash as Officer Banning, but he truly shines in his other parts. Altering his voice and manner, he is coarse and charming as Cookie and guarded and gruff as Mr. Alden.  Both of these characters gradually evolve from when we first see them.
             Matthew Barr, who can be a ball of fire, is subdued and wordless as the Kid.  In his brief moments he brings a haunted look to his character.
             Opening night showed some edges that are likely smoothed by now.  The pacing was sluggish at times, as if the cast occasionally had to think for a second to remember their next line.
             It’s a plucky play with a little bit of everything, humor and pathos, heartbreak and courage, desolation and redemption.  Was lost, then found – not just the kids, but those they encounter who just didn’t know they had been lost.
             The opening night audience was quite enthusiastic and they'd every right to be.
             It’s a well written adaptation of a wonderful story, well staged and well performed.

Review of Rapunzel
by Dennis Thompson
Theatre Roundtable Critic

Review of The Beat Christmas Pageant Ever
by Dennis Thompson
December 16, 2009
Theatre Roundtable Critic

      Another Christmas tradition has returned to town and has been playing to sold out houses for a month.
      Columbus Children Theatre first performed Barbara Robinson’s “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever” in 1995, then ran it for four straight holiday seasons. It has since come back at least four times in the last decade, the last in 2007.
      It could easily be an annual event, and CCT’s audience agrees as noted by the filled houses. It’s short, only about an hour, not so long as to stretch young attention spans or tax busy parents. More importantly, it is both funny and telling, capturing the true meaning of Christmas almost before we realize it.
      Set in the 1950s, it tells the tale of a traditional family – the Bradley’s – and the annual Christmas pageant they are part of at their traditional church. But into this Norman Rockwell setting come the Herdman’s, the family of neighborhood bullies who infiltrate the play.
      There are so many in the cast who have been in previous productions of this, often in very different parts. It must seem like a family tradition to them.
      This year’s version actually seems a little manic at times. There are moments of camp that have always been present but seem a little more prevalent here. Occasionally Daniel Kington’s Charlie Bradley and Ernest W. Nicastro as his dad seem a bit cartoonish. Deb Vrobel’s Mrs. Armstrong, the usual director of the church pageant, is certainly over the top.
      Nothing wrong with that. In fact, it’s good to tweak it every now and then.
      Judy Dee Sweeney is the calming anchor as Grace Bradley, pressed into service as the pageant director. Hailey Mattes as daughter Beth serves as watchful narrator.
      As always, the Herdman’s are an energetic lot. Evan Hively, Hannah Matias, Malcolm Lawson, Matthew Barr, Tucker Johnson, and Quinn Catherine Zeppernick are all over the place, terrorizing their peers and exasperating the adults.
      But it’s their transformation as the meaning of Christmas is revealed to them that allows the others to see it with new eyes.
      Undoubtedly it was due to familiarity, but the transformation seemed quick this year, as if it came to them because it was time for it in the script.
      Still, it’s Mathias playing the role of Mary as she gently cradles the doll that is Baby Jesus that never fails to bring a hush and a tear. And it’s Zeppernick as the Angel of the Lord shouting out “Hey! Unto you a Child is Born!” that never fails to bring a smile.
      This is a delightful piece. Director Carol Brand returns to give it another loving spin.
      There is a connection with this company and these players and this piece. And there is a connection with this company and this piece and us, the returning audience. It gives us a smile, a chuckle, and tells us it’s Christmas time in Columbus.

THEATER REVIEW - How I Became a Pirate
Swashbuckling musical light, playful
Saturday,  Oct. 24, 2009
Margaret Quamme
FOR THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

      How I Became a Pirate is a simple, satisfying musical, as breezy as an afternoon on the open ocean.
      The one-act by Alyn Cardarelli and Steve Goers is based on Melinda Long's picture book. In Columbus Children Theatre's production, however, young hero Jeremy Jacobs has been transformed into Jenny Jacobs.
      Feisty Jenny (Emily Cipriani) is building an elaborate sand castle when she is approached by five rambunctious pirates, who think her abilities might serve them well when it comes to burying treasure.
      Led by rough but tenderhearted Capt. Braid Beard (Scott Willis), they teach Jenny to talk like a pirate and, in turn, are taught to play shipboard soccer, enhanced with swordplay and other shenanigans.
      Conflict is provided by manipulative Stubby Barbossa (LaRon Lee Hudson), who serves as the ship's accountant because he can count to three.
      The play offers plenty of opportunity for audience interaction, with audience members roaring out a hearty "Arrrrgh" at every invitation.

Pictured L to R:  LaRon Lee Hudson as "Stubby Barbossa," Emily H. Cipirani as "Jenny Jacobs," and Scott Willis as "Captain Braid Beard."

      Cipriani conveys Jenny's enthusiasm without going overboard, and her clear, strong voice provides an effective counterpoint to the gruffer pirate vocalizations.
      The production's seven songs, backed by recorded music, are nautical and offer some surprisingly complex harmonies.
      The pirates interact with the gleeful abandon of 5-year-olds freed from parental supervision.
      Willis' Capt. Braid Beard moves with authority while keeping an eye on his back. Hudson's Barbossa is suave but not too frightening, and Kurt Barger's Jacque Latoe is light on his feet and eager to embrace Jenny's new teachings.
      As hypochondriac Wheezing Stephen McGee, Bruce Thompson brings out the "rrrr's" in all his ailments with wit, while Danielle Mann's Milt Skeeter bolts out snippets of musical-comedy numbers, despite her shipmates' admonition that "Pirates don't sing show tunes!"
      Director Nancy Shelton Williams keeps the slapstick under control and balances comedy with a warm sense of family relationships.
      Brightly colored and vividly patterned costumes contribute to the sense of fun. Swordplay, pistol-brandishing, threatened plank-walking, strobe-created lightning and loud thunder add just enough of a sense of menace to maintain the excitement.
      The show is best-suited for children 4 to 7, but older siblings might take secret pleasure in it as well. Its lighthearted spirit is refreshing.

Review of The Wizard of Oz
by Dennis Thompson
Theatre Roundtable Critic

      Been away from this reviewing thing for awhile but I think I remember how it works.  I sit out here and they do stuff on that stage up there and I write about it.
      But this place doesn’t look familiar and the people on stage are so small.  Am I that far away?
      No, it’s Columbus Children’s Theatre’s “The Wizard of Oz” and the small people up there are Munchkins, or rather children portraying Munchkins in one of the many delightful aspects of this production.
      And the place doesn’t look familiar as it’s my first venture into the restored Lincoln Theatre.  What beautiful work they did in the reconstruction.
      CCT is the one theatre where the children in the audience go “oooh” when the lights go down.  They are rewarded with an ‘Oz’ that is wondrous from beginning to end.
      It’s a musical without much music, only nine numbers but all the favorites.
      It creates a wonderful setting, Scenic Designer Carla Chaffin sets Kansas with a basically bare stage with a little corn on the side. There are times when the indication of corn clash with the ornate Egyptian/African symbols that are part of the Lincoln Theatre stage columns making it seem a cross between “The Lion King” and “Oklahoma”.  But the backdrops of the house and later Oz and Emerald City are massive and colorful.

Pictured (left to right) Jay Rittberger as “Tinman,” Michaella Cipriani as “Dorothy,” Len Williams as “The Cowardly Lion,” and Patrick Walters as “The Scarecrow"

      The players are just right, so reflective of the film without being imitation.  Still, the vocal tone of the players is so familiar.
      Take the Munchkins, played by children who don’t sound like children, but rather play it with the nasally Munchkin sound we all recognize.  They are all delightful, Connor Poulin as the Mayor in particular.
      The leads emulate the style, tone and rhythm of the film characters, but again, in a way that makes it familiar for the audience.
      Michaella Cipriani is charming as Dorothy with a beautiful voice, particularly on the signature “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.” Lynne Doyle and Roddey Nagy (who humorously doubles as an Emerald City flunky) are solid as Aunt Em and Uncle Henry.
            Dorothy’s companions are all great fun.  Patrick Walters brings the floppy physical grace to the Scarecrow, Jay Rittberger is the physically stiff but vulnerable Tin Man, and Len Williams is the boisterously timid Lion.  All are audience favorites and deservedly so.
      John Feather is kindly gruff as Professor Marvel and as…uh, that other guy.
      Both the good witch and the bad are exactly as we like, Brooke Andres’ sweetness as Glinda and Ginny Cipolla’s cackling Witch of the West. Dayton Duvall is fearsome as Tibia. Cipolla and Duvall’s makeup is astounding.
      There are many facets that amaze, not the least of which being that it’s a real Toto up there!  Sir Winston of Tallowood (couldn’t have just been ‘Scruffy”), a 14 year old Yorkshire terrier who is apparently no stranger to the role.  Remarkably, he sits still as Dorothy swings him around in a basket in front of a large audience and amidst the most hectic of scenes.
      There are directorial touches from William Goldsmith that flesh this out beautifully.  The faces of the Lollipop Guild that show they love their work, the visual picture as the Munchkins creep then pause.
      Perhaps most impressive is the synchronized Generals routine that opens Act II and particularly the effect of the mystical forest.
      At nearly 2 ½ hours it runs long for many of the children in the audience who emitted a constant hum throughout the evening and several were seen crawling all over their parents near the end. There are ways it could have been shortened.
      Perhaps it’s from lack of familiarity, but it seems the two numbers that were not included in the movie could have been eliminated. “Jitterbug” displays an energetic, acrobatic group of Jitterbugs but adds nothing to the story. “Evening Star” seems more like a slumber party gab session between Judy and some girls from Emerald City.  Maybe one fewer dash through the forest.
      But this is a magical production that is wondrous throughout.  It’s a cliché, I know, but it truly is great fun for the whole family.

        Performances were in the Lincoln Theatre, 769 East Long Street.