Hoosier-made short “The Dean’s List” is among the dozens of movies (short and feature-length) at the Indy Film Fest, July 16-25 at the Indianapolis Museum of Art. – Photo provided
Only one live theatre opening is on our schedule for this weekend, “Alfred Hitchcock’s ‘The 39 Steps'” at Carmel Community Players. This Tony-winning show takes a comedic approach to the classic Hitchcock thriller.
But that’s not the only thing happening in “theaters.” Of course, there are lots of movies — you could see “Minions” or watch “Jurassic World” again — but more importantly, the Indy Film Fest gets under way tomorrow (Thursday) and runs through July July 25 at the Indianapolis Museum of Art. It promises lots and lots of features and shorts that you’re not likely to see anywhere else, or at least so easily. Click on that link a couple of sentences back for the whole lineup and more details.
Amy Studabaker (left) is townie hairdresser Paulette and Payton Cole is Harvard law student Elle Woods in the CrazyLake Acting Company production of “Legally Blonde: The Musical” — CrazyLake photo
By Wendy Carson
CrazyLake’s new show, “Legally Blonde: The Musical,” does a fantastic job of showcasing many of the talented young adults in the Hancock County area. With a mere 15 percent of the enormous cast consisting of adults, it’s really impressive to see these kids ruling the stage. I’m sure most of them will be off to college and out of the area very soon, but those that do stick around should be regulars on the area stages very soon.
Besides the overall level of acting and singing, the true stand-out here is the choreography by Amy Studabaker. The various dances are not only artfully crafted but perfectly executed. This is especially amazing in the numbers with seven or more dancers performing in unison. The finale with the entire cast is particularly breathtaking.
The show’s story is very faithful to the original movie’s script and the elaborate musical numbers do not detract from the story. However, like the film it was based on, it never takes itself too seriously. Hence, the running gag of Elle’s “Greek Chorus” appearing periodically thoughout.
Payton Cole is sheer perfection in her turn as Elle, a ditzy sorority girl who will do anything (including getting in to Harvard Law School) to snag the man she feels she is destined to be with. Harrison Kenn is appropriately pompous and self-involved as the object of Elle’s affections. Patrick Gawrys-Strand’s does a beautifully nuanced job in his role as Emmitt, the financially disadvantaged kid who is Elle’s most faithful supporter. Studebaker is delightful as Paulette, the salon owner with her dreams of Ireland and a better life with a good man who truly supports her.
Still, many of the true stand-outs are in some of the “lesser role,” such as the divine band of ladies playing Elle’s sorority sisters and the Greek Chorus. Trevor Brown’s take on Kyle, the UPS guy, was hilarious and fun to behold. Of course, I cannot leave out the amazing talents of the two most adorable cast members, Banner McDowell-Fisher and Buddy Brown as Bruiser Woods and Rufus — they were consummate professionals through and through.Honestly, I could easily write at least a dozen or so more paragraphs highlighting every single performer and role but I already feel like I’m exhausting my audience’s patience as well as running out of adjectives. So just let me say that every single cast member was sheer perfection, and if anyone out there misses this production, they will truly regret it.
Performances are today through Sunday and July 17-19 at the H.J. Ricks Centre for the Arts, 122 W. Main St. in downtown Greenfield (on U.S. 40, just west of the county courthouse). Info and tickets at the CrazyLake Facebook page and CrazyLake.com.
With the July 4 holiday behind us, a new bunch of plays open this week.
The Phoenix Theatre in downtown Indy opens the Simpsons-inspired comedy, “Mr. Burns: A Post-Electric Play,” Thursday (likely today if you are reading this within hours of our posting it). Just a couple of blocks away, Theatre on the Square opens the acclaimed “Love, Loss and What I Wore” by Nora and Delia Ephron on Friday. Just up Alabama Street, two more shows open Friday: a young-adults production of “West Side Story” at Footlite Musicals and a more mature cast in Epilogue Players‘ “The Second Time Around.”
Meanwhile, out in Greenfield, the CrazyLake Acting Company presents an excellent and fun production of the musical “Legally Blonde” for a two-weekend run at the Ricks Centre for the Arts, just a block or so west of the county courthouse on U.S. 40.
And up in northwest Indy, by the Pyramids, “Smoke on the Mountain: Homecoming” opens at Beef & Boards Dinner Theatre. As this is one of B&B’s most popular series of plays, the preceding sentence is all one would have to say to inspire sellouts through the end of the month. Judging by the previous editions, if you find the term “old-time Gospel sing” at all appealing, this show is a must-see.
Edward James Olmos as Admiral Adama on the 2004-09 version of “Battlestar Galactica.” Meme from some joker on the internet, photo from NBC/Universal
All the geeky aspects of pop culture go on display at Indy PopCon, Friday through Sunday at the Indiana Convention Center in downtown Indianapolis. This critical mass of gaming, internet culture, comics, costumes, TV, movies, anime, fantasy and sci-fi features celebrity guests including Edward James Olmos (“Battlestar Galactica”), Sam Jones (“Flash Gordon”), John DeLancie (“Star Trek”), Malcolm Goodwin (“iZombie”), Sophie Henderson (“Doctor Who”), “Face Off” winner Rashaad Santiago and former WWE star Chris Masters.
This is neither the only big thing downtown nor the only convention in town. A few blocks away, at Military Park, just north of the Eiteljorg Museum, is the Eiteljorg’s annual Indian Market and Festival, celebrating Native American art and culture 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. There is also a more expensive pre-party on Friday, see website for details.
As for the other con, out at the Wyndham Indianapolis West, horror extravaganza Days of the Dead returns with appearances by Tobin Bell of the “Saw” movie series, wrestling legend Rick Flair, “Phantasm” star Angus Scrimm, “Tales From the Crypt”s John Kassir, the now-grown-up twins from “The Shining,” and legendary hosts Joe Bob Briggs and Indy’s own Sammy Terry – as well as numerous other slasher and suspense stars, makeup effects artists and more.
As for fresh theatre, there is a lot of buzz around the premiere of Gregory Hancock Dance Theatre‘s “La Caza Azul,” based on the life of artist Frida Kahlo. It will be on stage just this weekend, Friday through Sunday at the Tarkington theater in The Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Carmel.
Looking ahead, we must note that, in addition to next week featuring the Fourth of July (and the arrival of the Rolling Stones at IMS – are the Brits upstaging our holiday?) there will also be another home-grown sci-fi convention, the 35th InConJunction July 3-5 at the Indianapolis Marriott East – where John&Wendy are among the convention volunteers.
Cast of Casey Ross Productions’ “She Stoops to Conquer,” Friday, June 19, 2015 — photo by John Belden
By John Lyle Belden and Wendy Carson
It’s too easy to call the Grove Haus, the funky former church building in Indy’s Fountain Square district where Casey Ross puts on her plays, the “Groove House” – because Miss “Uncanny Casey” is so, well, groovy.
And speaking of mildly-outdated but still appropriate words, Ross takes the 1700s Oliver Goldsmith comedy “She Stoops to Conquer” and gives it a groovalicious update.
Like the 18th century, the 1980s were a time of big hair, regretful fashion and wacky music. In the meantime, Florida has become synonymous with rednecks, stupidity and all manner of bizarre behavior. Add these two elements to the script of the classic and slightly bawdy play and you have CRP’s latest entertaining diversion. The tale of arranged marriages (including one between two cousins), mistaken identities, besotted or scheming individuals, and overall confusion meshes well with the chosen setting.
Dick and Dorothy Hardcastle (David Malloy and Ross) own both a home and a motel, sufficiently tacky that one can’t tell one from the other. Dick wants charming daughter Kate (Ann Marie Elloitt) to check out his old friend’s son Marlow (Max Jones), whom they haven’t met, as a potential husband; while Dorothy wants her drunken slacker son Tony (Taylor Cox) to marry his cousin (and Kate’s bestie) Constance (Veronica Orech) to better secure their property, especially the precious jewels that Constance inherited and Dorothy is holding onto as dowry.
Marlow arrives with best friend Hastings (Tyler Gordon), who has cultivated a romance with Constance. From here on, the plot gets twisty, as Tony pranks Marlow into thinking the Hardcastle home is the motel, so the young suitor treats Dick like the hired help and pines for Kate, thinking she is a just a maid and not the lady he was supposed to meet – the girl, in turn, plays along for comic situations that would do the Bard proud. Meanwhile, Hastings and Constance conspire to run away to marry, enlisting Tony’s help in getting the valuable jewels. Everything goes wrong, and, this being a comedy, everything goes right in the end.
The play not only makes use of the small stage at the head of the house, but also the central floor area, with actors occasionally sitting with and talking directly to the audience. This intimate staging not only helps us connect with the action, but also precludes the need for sticking microphones to the actors. This is a refreshing change from most Indy-area community theatre. However, in this environment, enunciation and vocal projection are more critical, and any failings are more noticeable. Opening night only had a few unclear lines, which no doubt have been worked on during this intervening week, and the story was easy to follow.
The stage set is appropriately tacky, with a couple of in-joke posters, and Ross’s sound design includes a lot of snippets of ’80s hits, keeping the mood light and fun.
Under the direction of partner “Fedora Dave” Matthews, Ross makes a welcome return to the boards, exuding gleeful maternal malevolence under a burgundy wig. Elliott is 100 percent pure-cane sweetness; Cox does slackerdom proud; Gordon is suave and valiant; Orech is comically sharp; and Molloy is fun as the blustering patriarch. Also notable is John Garlick, who comes in late in the play as Marlow’s father. Jones does great at his complex character, having to come off as naive, shy and buffoonish, but then win us over as the romantic hero at the end (Elliott-as-Kate’s kind, forgiving nature helps).
The setting doesn’t translate 100 percent, but is close enough when one considers Southern society can be at least as idiosyncratic as Olde England. One reference to pounds instead of dollars sounds out of place, but can be forgiven.
The show has one more weekend, Friday through Sunday at 1001 Hosbrook St. Tickets are $15. Get info at facebook.com/caseyrossproductions and go get your groove on.
“Ja-ja-ja-jaded…” Carly Kincannon shows the softer side of Aerosmith during an informal cabaret show June 17 at Theatre on the Square. — photo by John Belden
By Wendy Carson
Wednesday night, select members of the “American Idiot” cast got together at Theatre on the Square for an “Idiot Cabaret” concert. Even though most notice of the show was by Facebook invite or other theater insider word-of-mouth, the crowd was decently large and up for anything.
Taking the stage dressed in what would best be called “casual black” were Lydia Burke, Lisa Ermel, Olivia Huntley and Carly Kincannon, with castmates Spencer Curnutt and Matthew Lee. (“American Idiot” continues through July 5 at the Phoenix Theatre.)
The theme for the evening was “Songs of Angst,” with the first half of the set being popular songs that were meaningful to each performer during their school years and the second half being favorite songs of angst from Broadway.
While the radio hits were familiar, each singer chose their own arrangement, and while most were in stark contrast to the original, all of them were equally beautiful. Who would have thought that “Jaded” by Aerosmith would work perfectly as a torch song?
The whole show was spectacular, with each singer bringing their all — even the few technical glitches between the songs were entertaining. Everyone who missed this event really missed out on a unique and fantastic show.
For anyone out there who didn’t know about the cabaret show, John and I are doing our best to find out about these events as soon as possible and will be posting that information here, as well as the Facebook page, so you won’t miss another one.
Personally, I would really like to see more of these cabaret events happening. Hopefully, someone will step up and organize them into a monthly occurrence. Besides replacing the “Glee” withdrawal most of us are feeling, the opportunity to showcase many of our talented local actors in a more relaxed light would be very welcome. Especially our teen and young adult performers would get a chance to test their range and gain more experience. There is so much potential for some amazing shows, plus, the one-night-only scheduling should help to make the audiences more diverse yet still very supportive.
Gettin’ Stoop-id: The cast of Casey Ross Productions’ “She Stoops to Conquer” — CRP photo
John just got finished updating the Stage Calendar to add the very full season just announced at Theatre on the Square, as well as a few shows presented by Wisdom Tooth. The TOTS season includes “Batboy: The Musical,” Sondheim’s “Passion,” Tony nominee “Skylight,” the return of “Miss Gulch Returns” and “8 Reindeer Monologues” – the latter of which runs at the same time as the stage version of “A Christmas Story” – the intriguing “Porn Stars at Home,” and wraps up next summer with a production of the musical “Rent.”
As for fresh theatre this week, local playwright Casey Ross adapts and stars in the 1700s comedy “She Stoops to Conquer,” opening Friday at Grove Haus, 1001 Hosbrook St., near Fountain Square. Since it’s too hot for powdered wigs, the play is reset in 1980s Florida. Given the level of insanity the state is known for, this should be good.
The city’s oldest beer fest, Brew-Ha-Ha, returns Saturday to the street in front of the Phoenix Theatre (700 block of N. Park Ave.), for which the event is a fundraiser. The price is $30 in advance, $35 on site, but you get as many samples as you can handle from 29 local and area breweries. Hours are 3 to 7 p.m., but if you get the advance VIP ticket for 50 bucks, you can start at 2 p.m. Rather than drink and drive, you could consider sobering up at the Phoenix’s “American Idiot” at 8 (costs its own ticket, get a reservation in case it sells out again).
Thursday night we are checking out the 10@10 Comedy Open Mic at ComedySportz, 721 Mass Ave. Looks like it’s a weekly event until CSz gets tired of it. Aside from its regular all-ages improv comedy “games,” ComedySportz also has mature-audiences long-form improv late on Friday nights – lately they have been skewering the “Wizard of Oz.”
No big openings in local theatre companies this weekend – feel free to see continuing productions at Phoenix, TOTS, Beef & Boards and IndyFringe, as well as what Bobdirex and Eclectic Pond are up to.
Actually, there is one “new” show in town. The touring production of the stage musical version of “Dirty Dancing” is under way through Sunday at Clowes Memorial Hall. Sounds like fun, if you loved the movie, and who doesn’t love that movie?!
For us, this is one of our favorite weekends of the year. Aside from the bigger-than-ever Pride festival, there is the Independent Music and Arts Festival at the Harrison Center for the Arts at the corner of 16th and Delaware streets downtown. The IMAF is all free, and you get to see some great local art, shop among area artisans and crafters, and see and hear several great musical acts.
Meanwhile, just a block away from IMAF is the Talbot Street Art Fair, celebrating its 60th year Saturday and Sunday. Entry is free, with dozens and dozens of booths to check out. Many people complement Wendy on her tie-dye dresses; she gets them at the Talbot Street fair, from Kiss of Color. Please check them out.
Away from downtown, there is also the Indianapolis mayor’s office-hosted Veterans picnic from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at Garfield Park (free food for those who served and their families), and Holy Rosary’s annual Italian Fest Friday and Saturday with lots of generously-portioned food. On Sunday, the 4th Annual Irvington Folk Festival (through June 20) gets started just a few miles east of downtown.
Sean Baker (right) rehearses with Dan Flahive, who is also in the cast of Baker’s “Perfect ’10′”, holding its world premiere at Theatre on the Square in downtown Indianapolis. — TOTS photo
By Wendy Carson
Theater on the Square is currently presenting the world premiere of a new play, “The Perfect ’10’,” by local musical talent, Sean Baker. Baker has a long musical history in the Circle City, comprising of being part of several bands, The Leisure Kings being the most well known. He is also the house pianist for Chef Joseph’s at the Connoisseur room, the current and more upscale incarnation of Agio.
Being an autobiographical piece, the story is a new artistic offering for Baker. However, it does fall short of its goal. It plays more as a play being workshopped than a finished product.
This is not to say that it is entirely unwatchable and does not show some promise. The story development in the second act is quite compelling and does prove that, with some polish and rewrites, that this play will work.
There are quite a few good laughs to be had, especially Sean’s encounter with “Beaux Derek.” Maybe with the trimming of unneeded characters, Justine and Allyson in particular, it would flow better. The interactions with Sean’s therapist might be better reflected with her in voice-over, save for a late-night phone call which plays perfectly. Also, while the bartender’s actions are quite funny, he does tend to upstage and draw attention from some of the more vital dialogue. A reining in of his antics is needed. Plus, it wouldn’t hurt to add a few more songs and eventually turn the show into a full-fledged musical.
I would advise you to either watch or re-watch the movie, “10” (1979, directed by Blake Edwards, starring Dudley Moore and Bo Derek) prior to the show as there are quite a few inside jokes and nods to it in the play. Still, if you’d like to catch a rising talent at beginning of his writing career, go and check out “The Perfect ’10’” at TOTS, 627 Massachusetts Ave., Indianapolis. Call 317-685-8687.
Plays with John & Wendy 