1970s

Couples collide in Belfry farce

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By John Lyle Belden

Oh, the things we could get away with in the days before cell phones and social media – or at least thought we could get away with.

Belfry Theatre presents “How the Other Half Loves,” the American version of a popular British farce by Alan Ayckbourn. In this play, we are presented with two couples in decaying marriages. In fact, one of the husbands is in an affair with the other’s wife. When pressed for an alibi, the guilty individuals name a boring couple they barely know, who then get entangled in the ensuing mess.

The production is also a study in contrasts. The Fosters, Frank (Tim Long) and Fiona (Susan Hill) are wealthy, while the home of Frank’s employee Bob Phillips (Ronan Marra Sr.) and his wife Terri (Sarah Froehlke) is more modest and cluttered with items from caring for their baby Benjamin (sound effect and bundle in a “portapram”). These homes are presented simultaneously, with both sets of living room furniture present, and the walls sectioned for a lenticular effect. Kudos to director Nicole Amsler and set designer and builder Julia French for the excellent stage, with perfect spacing and visual cues to help pull off the desired effect.

Set in 1972, the story begins on a Thursday morning, after both Bob and Fiona had been out until the wee hours – with each other. To cover, Bob tells Terri he spent the night reassuring William Detweiler (Ken Kingshill) who suspects his wife is having an affair. In turn, Fiona tells Frank she was out reassuring Mary Detweiler (Lisa Warner) who suspects her husband is having an affair.

These stories are soon tested as Frank announces that William is joining Bob’s work team and that the Detweilers are coming over for dinner that night. Meanwhile, Terri arranges for a dinner with the couple on Friday (to “help” and to give the harried homebound mom more adults to talk to). Thus Ayckbourn’s script gets particularly inventive, as the two intimate dinner parties at two locations on two nights are presented simultaneously, involving a couple of rather bewildered Detweilers.

This is going to be one wild weekend.

Long gives us an interesting character in Frank, who comes off as a bit scatterbrained (almost worrisome at times) but eventually picking up on the clues – though not necessarily the right ones. Hill’s Fiona is detached and jaded, yet entertaining in her own acerbic way. Marra’s Bob is a cad – sorta likable, but still an ass – the kind of person who gets away with little, yet more than he should. It helps that Froehlke has amiable but frustrated Terri keep at least a degree of love and grace for him, even when he’s at his worst. Kingshill and Warner present an eccentric introverted couple whose relationship seems to have reddish flags of its own, but are well suited to each other.

The outfits they all wear are appropriate to the period, especially Froehlke’s, which could only be described as “groovy.” Compliments to costumer Sue Kuehnhold. Desiree Black is stage manager.

Constant comic confusion and mild slapstick generate laughs throughout, though seeing this work of a prior generation from the perspective of today’s awareness of disorders and dysfunctional relationships did temper my response. There’s even a brief bit of angry violence. This is very much an artifact of its time, the kind of wacky show you’d see after watching “Laugh-In.” Taken in that context, this time capsule works splendidly.

Performances run through Sunday, Oct. 1, at Arts for Lawrence’s Theater at the Fort, 8920 Otis Ave. For info and tickets visit thebelfrytheatre.com or artsforlawrence.org.

Memory of a ‘Wild’ time at Phoenix Theatre

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By John Lyle Belden

I find it interesting that in “Wild Horses,” by Allison Gregory, on stage at the Phoenix Theatre, the main character of the one-woman play is 13 in the 1970s, around when I turned that age.

The story would feel familiar to anyone – recollections of a teenage year when it felt big things were happening and everything was changing – but there is a distinct feel in those days of kids among the first to identify as Generation X, more recent than the halcyon era of the 1950s or ‘60s, but before the decades when technology overtook our daily lives.

The girl we meet is unnamed (though one friend calls her “Frenchie,” likely a reference to the recently-released “Grease” movie) so we see things happen through her eyes. She lives in a countryside southern California suburb with a troubled mother, very strict father, and a 14-year-old sister she calls “the Favorite” whom she resents as much as she loves. Her best friends are accident-prone Skinny Linnie and budding delinquent Zabby, a tomboy with older brothers, Donno (whom our narrator is crushing on) and the eldest, who is aptly called “Mean Dean.”

When you hit your teens, a popular song on the radio is your anthem; for a typically horse-crazy girl, that’s doubly so with America’s “Horse With No Name.” The story opens with her trying to win an unusual radio contest in which entrants are asked to give the poor animal a name. We find out about the Favorite’s dangerous liaison, Mom’s condition – and her little secret – and the adventures our girl gets into with her besties. A badly-planned trip to rob a liquor store turns into an ill-advised venture through the fields of Morningstar Farms, a local horse ranch. A discovery made there in the dark is part of a summer she will never forget.

Directed by Lori Wolter Hudson, “Wild Horses” is performed by two different women: artistic director Constance Macy on some dates, and Jen Johansen on others. Macy, who we saw, notes in the program that the two have quite similar styles, which we agree makes for what we can assure will be an excellent theatre experience. However, the fact that this is a passion project for her does show through in her performance. We see both the woman remembering, and the girl living these events, in the way she presents this unique yet relatable coming-of-age story.

To help set the mood, theatre patrons are encouraged to add to a wall of notes reflecting on what ‘70s music we love and how we were in our youth.

Performances run through March 5 at the Phoenix Theatre Cultural Centre, 705 N. Illinois St., Indianapolis. Get tickets and info at phoenixtheatre.org.

BCP succeeds at ‘Disaster’

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By John Lyle Belden

Before we give the world to the Millennials, let’s have one more fun show for the memories of Boomers and Generation X, a silly tribute to 1970s pop music and death-defying films in “Disaster! The Musical,” on stage through June 16 at Buck Creek Players.

This show by Seth Rudetsky (an “ah-mah-zing” personality on Sirius/XM’s Broadway channel) and Jack Plotnick takes on thrillers such as “Earthquake” and “The Poseidon Adventure,” and adds fire, rats, sharks, piranhas and disco.

It’s 1979 New York, and the casino ship Barracuda is holding its grand opening. It only has to float to be legit, so it stays moored to the pier. Owner Tony Delvecchio (Corey Yeaman) sank a lot of money into this venture, so what’s a few cut corners going to hurt? That shaking is just construction on the West End Highway, right?

Chad (Scott A. Fleshood) needs to get back into action with the ladies, so gets friend Scott (Jamison Hemmert) to bring him on the boat as a fellow waiter. But just as he’s getting his “what’s your sign?” working, he runs into Marianne (Allie Buchanan), who left him at the altar, choosing her career as a Times reporter over him.

Others on this journey include disaster expert Professor Ted Scheider (Joe Wagner), who wants everyone off the boat immediately; Sister Mary Downey (Emily Gaddy), out to save souls, but worries for her own when faced with an old temptation; Maury and Shirley Summers (Michael Davis and Laura Duvall-Whitson), a couple in a long, happy marriage on what could be their last voyage; disco diva Levora Verona (Joi Blalock), whose career is on the skids; and ship’s entertainer Jackie Noelle (Jessica Crum Hawkins) and her twins Ben and Lisa (both played by Ava Lusby).

The cast also includes Joshua Cox, Christine King, Paige Land, Carrie Powell, Jason Ryan, and Ben Rockey in dual roles as the dutiful security guard and a rich passenger.

The show manages to balance an absurd, fun atmosphere with a touch of genuine suspense. It unapologetically embraces cheesy elements including puppet killer fish, obviously fake body doubles, and a “CASINO” sign that flips over to signal when the boat has capsized, somehow making it all work. And then there’s the music, as pop hit lyrics are warped to fit the plot, and vice versa. For instance, during the opening number every possible meaning for the words “Hot Stuff” is explored to help set up the various elements of the oncoming calamity.

Fleshood makes ‘70s suave look cool; Yeaman is just sleazy enough for us to enjoy every misfortune he encounters; Wagner makes a likable egghead; Hemmert is charming in a hard-luck way; Duval-Whitson and Davis are sweet enough to induce sugar-shock; Rockey can’t help but steal scenes; and the ladies are top-notch — Buchanan providing a humorous yet respectful reflection of the era’s feminist struggles; Hawkins giving dimension to what could have been just a damsel-in-distress role; Blalock being a sassy force of nature in her own right; and Gaddy making a supporting role look like a star turn.  

Lusby is very impressive in her community theatre debut. The seventh-grader shows a lot of talent and a knack for comedy as she smoothly switches between siblings throughout the show.

Director D. Scott Robinson can be reassured that ironically, in this “Disaster” everything went right. Find the Buck Creek Playhouse at 11150 Southeastern Ave. (Acton Road exit off I-74). Find info and tickets at 317-862-2270 or buckcreekplayers.com.

Review: Adults from adult films, adulting

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By John Lyle Belden

Let’s clear up one thing right away: There is no sex, simulated or otherwise, in the play “Porno Stars at Home,” on the second stage at Theatre on the Square through April 23. Nor is there nudity (which seems odd, considering TOTS’s brave history). Believe it or not, there is more sex in the shows which both precede and follow it on the theatre’s schedule.

What you get, in Leonard Melfi’s famous 1970s drama, are five people portraying five real, fragile women and men who happen to have jobs engaging in sex acts for adult films.

“My birthday party will not be a disaster,” declares Georgia Lloyd Bernhardt (played by Lisa Marie Smith) as guests start to arrive at her tidy New York apartment. She desperately wants and needs to believe that statement is true, as she faces the stress of turning 35 in an industry that demands youth, as well as a secret she will eventually reveal to her friends. Her quest for a clean space away from her “work” is reflected in her spartan furnishings and desire that all keep even their language clean (a hopeless quest).

First to arrive is her peer, Barry Olivier (Todd Kenworthy). Later we meet hyper Norma Jean Brando (Frankie Bolda), hunky Montgomery McQueen (Jay Hemphill) and beautiful Uta Bergman-Hayes (Miranda Nehrig).

Norma Jean, a confessed nymphomaniac, has a surprise of her own: The last man she casually had sex with is allegedly a playwright and would not only write a part for her, but a play for all five of this group, telling about their lives. (Who knew “going meta” was a thing in the ’70s?) The anticipation of a visit by this man, and the hope it gives to these actors longing for “legitimate” roles, is a touchstone for the drama that follows.

As one might guess, this quintet aren’t happy with a life of boinking on film. Montgomery confesses he hates working in all-male films, despite his ample “talent” tenting his slacks. Meanwhile, Uta says she is tired of sex in all forms and wishes to find a more real and less physical form of intimacy – her attitude is reflected in her wardrobe, sharply dressed in a pantsuit that covers her to her neck and wrists, topped off on her entry with a concealing hat. Barry apparently has compartmentalized his feelings for women from the sex of his job, but seems conflicted on which applies in his relationship with Georgia, one of his more popular co-stars.

I won’t spoil much by saying that Georgia’s little party is indeed a “disaster” – a beautiful, entertaining wreck that tests and humanizes these characters who found themselves in lives of equal parts fame and shame. Considering that thousands of men and women are involved in the adult film industry to this day (a much bigger, wilder world thanks to the internet), this look at the “scene” 40 years ago has striking relevance – only the rotary phone (and no individual mobiles) betrays the era, since retro décor and disco fashion could become in vogue at any time. Kudos to this quintet, and director Bill Wilkison, for bringing these hurting souls to life – and I can’t help but hope those alter egos made it away from their “day job” to answer an audition notice by an enigmatic off-Broadway playwright by the name of Melfi…

Needless to say, “Porno Stars at Home” is for mature audiences. Find TOTS at 627 Massachusetts Ave., Indianapolis. Call 317-685-8687 or visit0 tots.org.

(Review also published at The Word.)