GODS–A Mythical Reality

A Real Beginning for Rob Kristie’s GODS–A Mythical Musical at The Grand Theatre.

We have all seen directors cringe as they watch a production they have directed after leaving it in the hands of cast and crew. Imagine if you wrote the script… In this case, Rob Kristie wrote the book, music and lyrics for GODS—A Mythical Musical that was “performed” on the Grand Theatre’s stage in Williamstown, New Jersey.

GODS is Kristie’s second original musical. The first was entitled THE DOLL–a Raggedy Musical, which began as a staged reading at the RITZ Theater in Haddon Township, NJ. Later a full production evolved with eight performances at the Sketch Club in Woodbury, NJ, and that musical was nominated for a Perry award in 2011 for OUTSTANDING ORIGINAL MUSICAL.

Rob Kristie’s GODS was a different kind of stage reading for me in that it was a musical, and therefore contained more elements than the standard play reading. A review of a staged reading is not unheard of, but it, too, must contain the reflection and comment in a proper perspective.

GODS—MYTHICAL MUSICAL took place at the Grand to a nearly full house to see if this pared down realization of his idea resonated with an audience. While the staged reading experience with amplified acting, music, sound effects, and lights was unusual, it was necessary. Obviously if a play contains music–well, that has to be audience-tested, too. With the bigger audience, there was more opportunity for proper input. Hence, The Grand Theatre was a great venue choice.

Edith Hamilton’s Mythology—a book many of us used in school–about the Greek, Roman and Norse gods whose dalliances with humans created an exciting bridge to an immortal world inspired Kristie.

The world in which the gods operate is a little different now. While active in ancient times, the gods (all of them) exist in a passive state, coming to Earth only to observe or participate briefly without getting involved.

As you might expect, immortal gods and mortal humans once again collide. This time it’s on a cruise ship at sea. Here, a beautiful goddess catches the eye of a handsome British performer, and they fall in love at first sight. Of course, they can never be together—or can they? How does a human prove worthy to a god(dess)? For that matter, how do any of us prove our worth to  the guardians of someone we care about? Naturally, there is more, but I don’t want to spoil it for you. We must not anger the gods.

The musical is essentially an interesting variation of “boy wins girl,” “boy loves girl and she loves him,” “girl loses boy,” and “boy gets girl back.” All that and be careful not to anger the gods.

We see the world briefly from the eyes of the gods. We see a detached but meaningful look at world society today. The characters are interesting and the music is engaging, while the story takes us back to our childhood studies of human beliefs.

Making theatre magic is not as easy as it looks…and that is because most of the productions we, audience members, attend have had the benefit of testing, and changes and/or adaptations suggested by another audience.

In this setting, the audience must create each scene in its mind while attending to the action on stage…so the experience is participatory to say the least. The actors/singers themselves have to produce art with the barest of direction, seeing their characters in a stage designer’s environment, in a production that hasn’t happened yet. However, the audience must try to do so as well. Actual productions would differ with the casting and directorial vision. In Rob Kristie’s GODS –A MYTHICAL MUSICAL, there appears to be plenty of room for production style variations. That’s a good thing.

Kristie has created an extra character, a narrator, to tell the audience the stage directions. Accidental or not, the narrator, played by Glenn Fennimore, was quite entertaining and presented an intriguing element in the theatrical storytelling not unlike the mythology itself. Nine actors/singers, including Fennimore: Jeff Blomquist, Cierra Olmo, Danielle Dipillo, Lani Campagno, Chuck Gill, Steve Pracilio, Amanda Peacock and Tyrone Fuimaono gave enthusiastic, finished performances on stage.

The music was consistent and lively with catchy lyrics, although a couple musical numbers and dialogue among the gods seemed to slow down the action in the second act. The first act ended in a “chirp,” rather than an exciting change. A tableau of frozen character action might have achieved a stronger effect or depth of change. Or, a stronger song. Or, any number of theatrical devices. Perhaps, even the opposite of a tableau—a dance number—might achieve the same success.

It takes a staged reading to see those very comments emerge.

Although all the songs had merit, one number in particular stood out for me. It had a country feel to it rather than the typical “musical theatre” sound. By itself, it seems out of place, but such a good song deserves to be heard, and maybe more with same “difference.” Then, the GODS musical would be distinctive indeed.

Theatre is a collaborative art that has to start somewhere. Somewhere is not always a theatre. It is often a bare room with actors sitting around a table with a small audience looking on. Kristie has done better than that in having both staged readings in established theatres and by doing so was able to add more elements, i.e., sound effects, music and some lighting. Ultimately it will be he who will weigh and make the decisions to sublimate his art.

A staged reading is the first time an audience sees the beginning of theatre magic. It works without the benefit of direction, blocking, creating and setting, costuming and lighting a stage—essentially the minimum of what appears to be the beginnings of a theatrical production. If the “reading” is a musical as this one, the instruments are basic as well. From this, the creator solicits feedback intended to improve the work. A brave move, but it is the next step.

As an actor who has collaborated on several original plays and screenplays, I can tell you that bringing an original work to the stage takes nerve, but it is an exhilarating and innovative time for all involved. Even for the audience. Harder work is ahead.

Of course, this is not really the beginning for a production; the creator has decided it is time for audience input. Long before that, friends and family members gave their input. Often, it takes years for the theatre artist’s conception to fruition on stage even in its barest of forms.

It’s good to see this one made it. The best is yet to come.

For more on GODS – A Mythical Musical, check out its Face Book page.

GODS–A Mythical Musical
Written and directed by Rob Kristie
Coming soon to a theatre near you.

In Makr’s Shadow: A Working Title for Harry’s Reality

If you can read between the lines, you will find hidden meanings. Harry sees two worlds on the same planet: fantasy and reality, but there is something in between, a hidden meaning he seeks.

We needn’t leave the idea of a hidden meaning to Harry. There are hidden meanings in all things creative, but also in the practical world. We read between the lines every day in OUR OWN reality. We have to or we couldn’t understand each other.

For example, words and phrases can have different meanings not readily apparent. A while, awhile and while are words that depend on how you use them. This “word” can be a noun, a verb or a conjunction.

Thus, the words have meanings depending on context–a form of reading between the lines.

If words alone can do that, how do you plant ideas between the lines?

To make that happen you have to lend your creative package to a total stranger.

I tried editing my novel once, twice, a million times–after being told once by a professional author that I could do it easily. Instead I found it difficult for several reasons:

• I was too close to it to the work; it was too personally attached to my psyche.
• It had been written and re-written over a long time.
• I decided to write it in first person and changed my mind, which only meant there was opportunity for more errors.
• I needed to find a focus and stick with it.

Writing a novel, as I have found it, is excruciating if you want to do it right. It takes time–a lot of time to tell a good story and have it mean something to anyone who reads it. That scenario is unlikely to happen without a good editor.

Most people think of an editor as a proofreader, pointing out the usual grammar, spelling and typos. Not so. A copywriter does that. Of course when you start looking for an editor, you have little idea where to look.

Obviously you look for someone who has worked with your particular genre, see some examples of their work, but most importantly you need to talk with the person directly so you both are thinking alike.

Hopefully, before you turn it over to an editor, you have done the most you can do in telling the story your way, with the style that can be attributed only to you. You may fear the editor will “edit” more like a teacher, and spoil your masterpiece.

At the moment it is a masterpiece only to you. At times, it is more like a child and you, the parent, have to keep correcting it. You have to stop. Stop parenting or babysitting, and go on to the next project. That’s the hardest part.

When I made the decision to have In Makr’s Shadow professionally edited, I was far from ready. I had a mangled piece of writing close to my heart–for at least a decade. When I looked at it, it seemed all right, but it didn’t snap–it didn’t grab me. As I looked to publish, I found errors constantly because most of all the changes were of my own making.

Here’s where the editor or a mechanic comes in to fix it. In my case, it was a true book doctor, an editor Tricia Johnson. I made changes every time I read a passage to make it perfect. It’s happened on this blog. I post a clip, but as I’m reading it–it’s all wrong, and disappointing so I fix it. In reality, I’m may not be fixing it at all; I have clarified a paragraph that didn’t read well, but I may have also changed the style and focus for the reader each time I tried to fix it.

Like the perfectionist most creators try to be, we change anything we craft if there is a way to do it. While it’s impossible to change a piece of art without creating something new, it’s not so hard in other creative endeavors. If we are musicians, we try to produce a better result, or a different result every time we play the same song. If we are actors on stage, we do the same thing–every night. No two performances are alike. It is the “creative” part of us that can’t leave the work alone. In some cases, that’s fine, but not with writing a novel.

Tricia took my novel and broke it down into what it communicated to her. She made my message stronger and the delivery better by deleting words, entire paragraphs, asking me to clarify what I meant. To do this, often paragraphs and chapters were moved around. More importantly as she did this, the novel became more focused, tighter and direct–a grabber and keeper of interest. All that we want in our work.

The King’s English and American English are different. I had selected a British editor who had experience editing science fiction. It seemed to me her perspective could be interesting and it was. There were some surprising differences between us–all good. Now I had a choice. Should the book have an international or American reading? So, I gave a hard look at my idioms, singularly American word choices and phrasing. I changed them to include a more universal audience.

My editor, Tricia Johnson, The Word Weaver, gave me a list with page and paragraph numbers so I could take another look at what I had written. She rewrote passages, changed tenses and cleaned it up in so many ways, but most of all she gave advice–advice that came from editing other novels. What came back to me was a focused, gripping novel. Over the course of the experience, the novel took on a new significance. Instead of a jumbled mess, it was whole and something to be proud of. Tricia’s work was phenomenal. It helped me create my masterpiece. More importantly, she taught me to read between the lines of my own work.

I recently added Tricia to my Facebook and LinkedIn. In fact, upon seeing the result of her fantastic work online, in Harry’s Reality, she pointed out to me that maybe my idea of juxtaposing a frightening image with a less than a mysterious title didn’t working so well. I wanted the novel to be received both as dramatic in thought and scary, and trusting Tricia as I do, a new cover title may be coming soon.

Originally titled, In Makr’s Shadow, there may be a change back to the past. Ironically, it was the working title for Harry’s Reality. The cover will remain the same with the exception of the title. Hopefully, that will make a difference in the first impression the book makes on the public.

At present, Harry’s Reality is available in any digital format wherever fine e-books are sold.

 

URINETOWN: The Musical – Satirical, Comedic Fun at The Eagle Theatre

To pee or not to pee, that is the question.

That’s enough potty humor. In fact there is no more. I promise.

My wife, daughter and I just attended the opening night of URINETOWN THE MUSICAL at The Eagle Theatre in Hammonton New Jersey. Let me say this first: don’t let the name fool you. This is not a show full of potty humor. It is an hilarious satirical attack on the legal system, corporate greed and corruption, capitalism, social irresponsibility and municipal politics. At the same time it pokes fun at itself, the Broadway musical as an art form,  and specifically at shows like THE CRADLE WILL ROCK and LES MISERABLÉS. And that’s if you want to be serious. If not, the show is full of “unexpected surprises,” if I can say that. Okay, wait for it.

On the fun scale from one to ten, this production has to be over twelve. Seriously. So, even if all the brilliance of the intelligentsia, or the satiric wit doesn’t impress you, I promise the performances are lively enough to keep you smiling all night long after your bout with laughing hysterically. The music is catching. The singing is flawless. The characters keep coming at you. All the while, you know it’s a play because Officer Lockstock tells you so, but you let these dirty characters in anyway because they are so individually different and engaging.

Secondly, superlatives are not enough, but I’ll get to them soon enough. I’ll even number them for you. The short and sweet of it all almost sounds contrary to its name: URINETOWN THE MUSICAL is one of the best musicals I have seen in a couple of years–even at The Eagle Theatre, where I can always count on a good professional show in the South Jersey/Philadelphia area.

Usually theatre critics start with a synopsis, but here…well it might be a little grim for you. No more than…say, LES MISERABLÉS. Okay, just a little. There is a worldwide drought with no sign of letting up and the water table is judiciously guarded. Not only the homeless, but everyone has no place to go (you know, to pee and such) without paying a company that has taken over the public facilities. No private toilets allowed. The company has bribed its way through the police and legislature to make huge profits. It is strictly against the law–punishment harsh and swift–for anyone caught using the bushes as a facility and, therefore, affects the water table. To do so means a trip to Urinetown, which is a euphemism for being executed. The society using the public facilities revolts. There is a love story as in every musical I can think of and a strange satirical, comedic ending. It’s really about how we get there that is all the fun. Remember, it is more than a story.

Let’s start at the beginning of our opening night theatre experience:

It’s opening night at The Eagle Theatre in Hammonton, New Jersey. The rain is coming down so hard my convertible is leaking; I don’t know–maybe I should put the top up. I know immediately as I walk into The Eagle Theatre that this is a professional theatre. Oh, not all the shine of fine furnishing. What they have is certainly nice enough. It is the theatre people, smiling greeting audience members as they enter and to usher in “first class” ticket holders to their special area up front, an angel stands, also greeting everyone. (1)  (My 14-year-old daughter, accompanying my wife and I, whispers excitedly, “Dad, she’s sooo pretty!” She’s at that age where she would like to skip the rest of her teen years and suddenly be 20.) Did I mention that this theatre has a wonderful wine bar?

Backstage, The Eagle Theatre company of professionals are getting ready to unleash a very unusual musical on the audience. From the very first when one of the co-artistic directors, Ted Wioncek, III, is led to the front of the stage in handcuffs by two sturdy policemen, giving him the evil eye while forcing him to instruct the audience quickly with the usual introduction, i.e., turn off cell phones, no texting, check out the wine bar at intermission, and the 2014 season. Ted is quite the comedian in his own right in reacting to the policemen’s threatening posturing, so the mood is set (2).

Brilliantly directed by Ed Corsi (3) so every scene is art on stage. Ed is also the co-artistic director of The Eagle Theatre. Choreography by Justina Ercole was so varied and appropriate that it blended perfectly in the moment (4). I suspect some of the credit is owed also to Franklin Anthony, the dance captain (5). Kate Schafer’s costumes also hit the mark (6). Justin Walsh’s set worked well, too, (7) and the director used every bit of it. Lighting (Chris Miller) (8), sound (David Pierron) (9) and music (Tom Abruzzo) (10) were at their usual best. The company as a whole was terrific, but you know the individual performers that grab you sometimes with the notes they can reach or the characters they nail to become the ones who stand out for you. Here are mine: narrator and villain, “Officer Lockstock,” played with a most evil sneer by John Jackowski (11), “Bobby Strong” (our hero) played with a look and a grin by the devilishly handsome Tim Rinehart (12), Megan Pisors played “Hope Cladwell” as beautiful and innocent as she is with two of something–hearts, I think (13), Molly Tower played “Penelope Pennywise” with such power in that beautiful voice and fantastic presence…(14) Paul Weagraff played the villainous company boss, “Caldwell B. Cladwell,” with such honesty he wasn’t far from being booed off the stage (15) and finally but not least, I couldn’t be more impressed with Samantha Morrone as “Little Sally” who I loved from the moment she stepped on the stage (16). She truly owned the part. And, so did they all.

URINETOWN THE MUSICAL
Music by Mark Hollmann
Lyrics by Mark Hollmann and Greg Kotis
Book by Greg Kotis
Directed by Ed Corsi
The Eagle Theatre
208 Vine Street
Hammonton, NJ

THE DROWSY CHAPERONE is Fantastically Magic or Magically Fantastic

Large scale musicals generally make me groan. You have play the stage just right, move people around without bumping into each other, and still have room to dance and otherwise perform. I couldn’t have groaned if I wanted to I was so busy laughing.

If you missed THE DROWSY CHAPERONE at Haddonfield Plays and Players tonight, you missed the magic of musical theatre. I could start laughing at any moment just thinking of any single moment in the show. This comedy musical (and yes I said it that way on purpose) has no comparison to any large musical in my recent viewing history. I thoroughly enjoyed my musical theatre experience of 1928 mixed with today’s commentary by The Man in the Chair.

This rip-roaring 1920s-style musical is filled with the Vaudevillian comic bits that have become classics. You know the ones so well that you can finish the bit yourself. Still, we laughed until there were tears, and were wowed again with another dance number. It was magical then in that age; it is magical now.

The storyline in musicals then was simply to set up elaborate song and dance numbers. In a typical story, a situation arises that seems like a crisis to characters on stage and, of course, it is resolved in the end. Forget that the plots didn’t make sense. They weren’t meant to have any resemblance to reality anyway. The story was a gap filler as were the comedy bits between the larger acts. Still, we loved the fantasy place it took us with the bigger-than-life actors, acting badly or badly acting.  Usually both, but that was the way it was. Now we have TV, and sometimes that’s not nearly as entertaining.  Well, maybe reality TV.  Kidding.

The direction was super and considering the director, Craig Hutchings, played a fantastic character role as well–that’s just amazing.  I’m sure Craig won’t mind if I say everyone gave a performance of a lifetime.  The acting, singing, dancing and the music that came from the wings was all excellent. The performance was a true demonstration of what musical theatre can do.

Michael Hicks was totally believable as The Man in the Chair who wants to get rid of the blues by playing his favorite musical soundtrack from 1928–a show called THE DROWSY CHAPERONE.  As he shares it with us with such lovely zeal, the stage suddenly comes alive with the players acting, singing, and dancing the numbers in his living room–right down to the record skips and stops. In between the grand numbers, there are the comedy bits–ridiculous and predictable–yet hilarious nonetheless.

The play isn’t about The Man in the Chair, not really, but about us and our affection, better make that adoration, for the musicals we fashioned in the past.  The music and choreography was terrific here as well as every individual number. I won’t talk about standouts here because everyone was great. As near a perfect cast as a director could find, but you know it wasn’t so; it just seemed that way. There were of course talented major players, to be sure, but when a show goes so well you don’t want to set anyone a part.

I like it when I am so pleasantly surprised–when my preconceived notions (like big musicals) are shattered and I am moved to laugh.  Did I mention there was a rare well-earned standing ovation?  Bravo!  If you saw my Acting Smarts post urging you to see this show and you don’t, you’ll wish you had!

I hope this gets posted in time for you to see it and take yourself out to the theater for a real treat.

That’s my told you so.

Don’t Miss THE DROWSY CHAPERONE–A Very Different Comedy Musical

Sometimes it pays to be direct. And yes, I said it. “Comedy Musical.” I said it that way because it seems that is the moniker it most splendidly deserves, rather than the other way around. I like unusual musicals. If you are going to do an homage to jazz musicals of a vaudevillian tone, you start with comedy. The idea is to examine the effects that musicals have on their fans. Besides, what else could it be when the main character is a “The Man in the Chair” who has the fondest memories of days long gone by so he re-plays it for us with comic results. He is trying to cure his “non-specific sadness,” by listening to a recording of a fictional 1928 musical comedy, The Drowsy Chaperone. As he listens to this rare recording, he is transported as are we into the musical. The characters and musical numbers come alive in his apartment. It sounds like too much fun.

THE DROWSY CHAPERONE is a comedy/musical with book by Bob Martin and Don McKellar and music and lyrics by Lisa Lambert and Greg Morrison. Winning a Tony for Best Book and Best Score, it began as a spoof of old musicals written by friends of Bob and Janet Martin for their wedding. It was quite successful on Broadway, but didn’t see near the success in the West End. It could be it’s because “the musical” is very American; ironically, as I said this is not your typical musical.

Craig Hutchings directs the show for Haddonfield Plays and Players, and he also plays a character, sings and dances, etc., etc., etc.–well, you know how it goes sometimes. But it couldn’t happen to a nicer and more talented guy. He also directed the much acclaimed SEUSSICAL THE MUSICAL with much success.

I had a chance to talk with Craig today about the show. It seems the theatre is not sold out. It should be with all the talent crammed into this show. I know the names, but I won’t go into them now. So many theaters, so many shows in our densely populated area. This show never got a review, or a human interest story, or a controversial article, or an interview. So, I guess, it’s like the clichéd tree falling in the forest; nobody hears it. This is one show I have missed so far in its run. Sometimes life is hectic.

Rumor has it from my theatre and non-theatre friends that this is one hysterical show. This is the last weekend. Why not see for yourself? I won’t miss it. If I had, I could have written a review–and I wish I had. Missing art is like missing a life–an extraordinary life. Knowing Craig to be the consummate performer and director, this show shouldn’t be missed by anyone.

Stephen Sondheim, the man who found his heart in the non-traditional musical, wrote that the days of the traditional musical is over–or words to that effect, and that is true here, too. The trick with any non-traditional musical is to tie the songs together. Often they are sung through with the songs sung through without words in between as in SEUSSICAL and THE LAST FIVE YEARS, or in this case, they are tied together by THE DROWSY CHAPERONE. Let’s all yearn for yesteryear together. Of course, my parents were barely thought of in 1928, and neither was I, but to live and dream and experience the music that lived then has to be fantastical.

Hysterical COOLERS in Collingswood

I had fun tonight. There were moments I was filled with hysterical and historical laughter—if that’s even possible. I found myself laughing with many other audience members at the jokes and bits from Vaudeville long before my time and at jokes so old they shouldn’t have been funny today. And, yet they were. New jokes and bits propelled the play along at a breathtaking pace.

It's prohibition, and nothing like a little libation to make a bad show feel better to the actors in the new play, COOLERS.

I just saw COOLERS, an Imagination Creation, in conjunction with The Perkins Center of the Arts and Bravo Entertainment production of an original comedy with music, at The Perkins Center for the Arts in Collingswood, NJ, and enjoyed it immensely.

COOLERS is advertised as “a valentine to the days of Vaudeville and to the entertainers who kept all of America singing and laughing into a new century!” It certainly is that. Local playwright Alex Wilkie created an enormously entertaining play with delightful characters, while he plays tribute to the glory and decline of Vaudeville days and remembers the troupers—some of whom were quite the performers as well.

“Coolers,” if you didn’t know, is the name that was given to the vaudeville performers who kept the audience entertained while the movie projectors cooled and new movie reels could be loaded.

Chuck Gill, who produced and directed the show, put together a true ensemble production. He also gave us some unusual but effective staging like keeping the entire cast on stage most of the time, giving us almost a chorus line effect. That only added to the chaos and delight. When the individual acts start rehearsing on their own, we are treated to stronger reminders of how good these acts could be, and that they weren’t as bad as they thought they were. When characters dialogued, you heard their personal stories.

I like plays with heart–plays that are more than a vehicle for catchy tunes and this is one. COOLERS was well performed from “Bill’s” gruff opening to the play’s final heartfelt song that seemed genuinely shared with the audience. Without gushing, I can say I enjoyed each individual performance of each distinct character. I know Melissa Connell is capable of fine singing because I have heard her sing in other shows so I was naturally impressed when she faked not being able to sing. That’s harder to do than you think.

I could easily mention every single performance as a standout performance and not be exaggerating. Alex Wilkie’s characters are also stars. They seem real, as if based on real vaudevillian performers, and if they aren’t, he did as great a job creating them as the actors did bringing them to life.

Generally, crowded stages bother me, but it seemed here that it was intentional. I would have liked a larger stage for the actors rather than few actors on stage to give them room for their own individual and special moments, but that’s me and my style of directing.  And, I grant you it is easier to cut down on actors than make a bigger stage, but here the actors deserved it, impossible though it would be.

Chuck Gill did a terrific job of directing an original play in conjunction with the writer in untested venue as well. Kudos also to the rest of the production staff that included Andre Vermeulen, the Music Director, Travis Lawrence, the Technical Director, Jeff Bettencourt, Lighting Design, Jason Gonserkevis, Sound Design, Frank Caputo for Props and Rob Paluso for Costumes.

This was the first play performed in the Loft of the Perkins Center for the Arts this year and should it prove successful, I’m sure there will be others. In my mind it was successful. The usual theater amenities are lacking at this point but with such a good show, the audience is forgiving. The stage could have been higher or the seats elevated in the back, but when you’re new, resources are an issue and you don’t have the luxury of having a complete set of dinnerware—if you get my drift. And, in many ways, it was a test to see if an audience would come. Those amenities will come in time. Meanwhile, the space is flexible and all a theatre company really needs is an audience.

For actors: Plays have been written about how much “fun” doing a local original play can be, but most of the time it really is a great experience for everyone involved. I was in a play called PLAY ON! in which the playwright kept changing the play at the last minute.  The result:  great fun for the audience (which was the idea), and not so much for the “cast” and “crew” in the play within the play (but the actors and crew loved it).  Moreover, I’ve seen the benefits of such a creative collaboration when artists have their heads together.  I’ve performed in three original plays and they become a special part of your acting resume and your repertoire of plays you want to direct someday. Acting or directing a show is a creative process all by itself. Add in working with the playwright, hearing from him or her about the intent of this or that scene, understanding the play directly from his or her point of view is a learning experience every performer should have.

I admit it makes me nervous to be part of a brand new untested play, but after having done it, I even have the courage to take a failed play, discover what made it fail, correct those mistakes and make it work the way it should. I will also admit that I sit in the theatre when an original play is being presented, as I did with this one, and wonder if it’s going to measure up to the standards of plays I know have stood the test.

For COOLERS:  Is the writing worthy of an audience, or does the audience have to forgive too much, or must the actors become the creators of more than their own characters? This play is excellent; it gets a very good grade from me, for what it’s worth, and passes the test.  The play has a few days left in its short run:  March 5, 11th and 12th.  I hope you get to see it.  For more on theatre reviews, including this one, and other theatre topics, check out Acting Smarts at STAGE MAGAZINE and become a subscriber.