aging

‘Old Broads’ up to new tricks at Buck Creek

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By John Lyle Belden

Something’s not right at Magnolia Place senior assisted living facility.

Imogene (Gari Williams) is having “episodes” with memory lapses; Maude (Wendy Brown) has stopped bathing and obsessively plans her own funeral; and best friends Beatrice (Jan White) and Eaddy Mae (Cathie Morgan) need to get to the bottom of why, soon, so they’ll be on time for their planned cruise vacation.

Meet “Four Old Broads,” the comedy by Leslie Kimbell at Buck Creek Players. 

Feisty Beatrice and churchy Eaddy Mae suspect the problem is the hostile new facility director, Nurse Pat (Lauren Johnson), who is keeping all the residents’ medicine and doling it out to them. Since this started, a lot of folks have crossed over to the “dark side” ward with swiftly declining conditions. The ladies are offered help from aging Elvis impersonator Sam (David Mears), who still feels like a hunka-hunka burnin’ love.  At least new nurse Ruby Sue (Ruth Shirley) seems nice, if she can get her nose out of that trashy romance book.

A comedy, mystery, and maybe sly commentary on how we treat our elders, this show is full of laughs and surprises, directed by Tracy Friddle.

White as Beatrice is a force of nature, sporting a wild attitude with clothes to match. Morgan as Eaddy Mae is more a force of nurture, sweet and sensible, with frequent prayer breaks — acting as Beatrice’s conscience as well as her own. Williams as Imogene gets the most complex role, entertaining even when in an apparent coma. Brown’s Maude exasperates all on stage, especially with her attachment to her TV “stories,” further adding to the laugh factor. Mears as Sam seems like a bit much at first, but wins his way into our hearts, as well as one of the ladies. Shirley as Ruby Sue does a lot with what deceptively looks like a little role, and Johnson’s Pat is appropriately despicable. 

“I’m not trying to get into anyone’s personal business,” as Eaddy would say, but I’d advise getting up to stretch and take a break during intermission, as the play does run long. When the mystery is solved, there is still a scene to tie up other loose ends.

One weekend remains with the “Four Old Broads,” Friday through Sunday, Feb. 7-9, at the Buck Creek Playhouse, 11150 Southeastern Ave. (Acton Road exit off I-74); call 317-862-2270 or visit www.buckcreekplayers.com.

Life lessons continue for aging friends in IRT comedy

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By John Lyle Belden

Even after we’ve been around for decades, life can surprise or even shock us, and as long as we’re alive, we have to work out what’s next. In this spirit, “Morning After Grace,” by Carey Crim, a comedy with all the dramatic feels, appears on the Indiana Repertory Theatre stage. 

As the play opens, Abigail (Laura T. Fisher) and Angus (Henry Woronicz) experience a “morning after” following meeting at a funeral. Since they live in a retirement village in Florida, it’s not as unusual as you’d think. And while they are sorting things out, neighbor Ollie (Joseph Primes) pays a visit. From the beginning, misunderstandings and miscommunications bring about hilariously comic moments. 

Through the actors’ skill, and direction by IRT Artistic Director Janet Allen, this trio develop a wild, quirky chemistry that you get with people with so little in common thrust together. What they do share is a need to deal with loss, and with conflicts with those they now find it difficult to love. 

But another facet is how all three look forward — while acknowledging it being “of a certain age,” they each see a future: Abigail has a career as a counselor; Angus has a beautiful house and an opportunity to start over; and soon Ollie will put aside that cane he walks with and embrace life with his beloved. 

With all this depth, I must reiterate that this is a comedy; at times I nearly laughed myself blind. The trio execute the comic beats perfectly — for Woronicz especially refreshing to see the flip side of his dramatic acting in “12 Angry Men” last year.

The end result is like your favorite episode of a classic sitcom with serious undertones, like “MASH,” “Seinfeld,” “Mom,” or the similar “Cool Kids” — but with one well-placed F-bomb.

Escape the cold for this warm-hearted delight, through Feb. 9 at the IRT, 140 W. Washington in downtown Indy (near Circle Center). Call 317-635-5252 or visit irtlive.com.

And congratulations to Janet Allen for being named the Margot Lacy Eccles Artistic Director with the endowment of a $2 million gift to the IRT by the Eccles charitable fund. The late Ms. Eccles was an avid supporter and board member of the theatre.

Phoenix: Thinking of ‘The Children’

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By John Lyle Belden

“The Children,” the title of a recent Broadway drama by Lucy Kirkwood, now at the Phoenix Theatre, doesn’t seem to tell us much. There are no youngsters on the stage — in fact, the trio we meet are all in their 60s. But this play understands that when we are grown, if we’re not thinking of our children and what we would do for them, we often indulge in that child still within each of us.

On the English coast, at a time that could be now, we are in the aftermath of a disaster much like the one that occurred several years ago in Japan: the triple-shock of earthquake, tidal wave and a crippled nuclear power plant.

Hazel and Robin (Donna Steele and Charles Goad) were among the scientists who engineered the reactor, now they live on the very edge of the irradiated zone. They are visited by past friend and colleague (as well Robin’s lover) Rose (Diane Kondrat). Old memories and issues are brought up, leading to moments of friction. But even more devastating is the issue of what happens next.

Directed by Phoenix artistic director Bill Simmons, this veteran cast give excellent, layered performances. In Hazel, Steele presents a fastidious character who prides herself on her maturity, while staying young as possible through healthy eating and yoga. Goad’s Robin seems fondly attached to the farm he is having to give up, but his daily trips to the barn have a darker purpose. Kondrat, once again a woman of many facets, gives us a Rose who has come a long way from her impulsive youth to a woman who has faced her mortality and must finally think outside herself. Their interactions throughout the play crackle with energy that rivals the broken facility on their horizon.

The larger questions surrounding nuclear energy and the environment stay in the background, as the issues at play here are more personal — dealing with reconciling out pasts, facing our ends, considering the next generation, and what we all must do to make our actions and lives meaningful. Sometimes it takes a disaster to make us truly think of The Children, and to force us to finally grow up.

Performances run through May 19 on the smaller Basile stage of the Phoenix, 705 N. Illinois St. in downtown Indy. Call 317-635-7529 or visit phoenixtheatre.org.

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One last note (this did come up with an audience member at the preview performance): Though she is in the promotional photo, actor Jolene Mentink Moffatt does not appear in the play. The publicity picture was taken long before casting decisions were made, and aside from being not quite old enough for the roles, she was busy with her recent run on the Phoenix’s “Hotel Nepenthe.”

DivaFest: Bittersweet ‘Tomato’

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This is part of the 2019 Diva Fest, presented by IndyFringe at 719 E. St. Clair St., Indianapolis, through April 21. All shows are by women playwrights, presented as one-hour one-acts at a Fringe price. For information and tickets, see www.indyfringe.org.

By John Lyle Belden

In “I Say Tomato, You Say Cheese,” by MaryAnne Mathews, Tom Harrison is superbly charming as Joe Carpenter, an 85-year-old man living alone — aside from the spirit of his recently-passed wife, Annie (Wendy Brown) — as best he can.

Joe’s daughter Sarah (Laura Baltz) is getting concerned, as he tends to forget and lose track of things, and keeps getting into accidents while driving. The doctor (Stefanie Patterson) confirms that his cognitive abilities are indeed on the decline.

It doesn’t help the situation that there are constantly scammers out to take advantage of the elderly. The voice of the “IRS agent” on the phone Joe can deal with, with great humor. But the fast-talking roofing contractor (Joe Maratea) is a different matter.

Mathews’ gentle drama is an interesting look at this serious situation with characters we can relate to, or even feel we’re related to. The title refers to a family story melding the old song with the meal of tomato soup and toasted cheese — like this play, comfort food for the soul.

Remaining performances are 8:15 p.m. Friday and 3:30 p.m. Saturday (April 19-20).

Indyfringe: ‘Too Old to be This Young’

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This show is part of the 14th Annual Indianapolis Theatre Fringe Festival, a/k/a IndyFringe, Aug. 16-26, 2018 on Mass Ave downtown. Info, etc., at www.IndyFringe.org.

By John Lyle Belden

Laura Hedli recounts for us the year she lost her virginity – at age 26.

She hadn’t intended to wait so long. She just wanted the big moment to mean something, and other aspects of her life took up her time. Her writing career, for instance, which with a full-time part-time gig finally made her a ghost writer – to a ghost writer – to her boss. But behold, this job also comes with a hot coworker, and he is very interested in her. Though he seems like a bit of a tool to us listening to Laura’s story, he is just the thing to fix her undamaged virtue.

And the book that she is ghost-ghost writing? It’s on “age management medicine” for middle-aged and older men, especially testosterone therapy. This, naturally, leads to necessary research (including interviews) and writing on sex – you know, that thing she finally got to experience two days ago.

She also notes that the stable of writers she’s in hires young, and that as she approaches 30, she could “age out” of the age management business.

All this makes what could have been a mildly interesting workplace anecdote into an engaging hour of storytelling, with Laura slipping into a couple of characters including her boss, a randy Swedish man, and her beau, the man she calls “Broken.” It makes for a unique perspective on aging and how we confront and defy it. Come listen and see how well she expresses herself under her own name, as we explore whether a year of one’s life is worth reaching a significant personal milestone – and six words in a book’s Acknowledgements.

Laura relates her story one more time for us, 6 p.m. Monday, Aug. 20, at the IndyFringe Indy Eleven Theatre, 719 E. St. Clair, just off Mass Ave. and College.

Fringe review: Auditioning for Swan Lake

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By John Lyle Belden

In “Auditioning for Swan Lake” at the IndyFringe Indy Eleven Theatre, storyteller Lou Ann Homan starts us off with an Estonian fairy tale, which alone is nearly worth the price of admission, and helps set the theme of this story of stories about dance.

Homan always wanted to be a dancer, but she grew up Baptist. When an AARP bulletin says that the three ways to preserve memory as you age are learning a new language (took that in high school), learn an instrument (piano, got that covered) and learn to dance (oops!), she seeks to express her inner ballerina. She finds an adult class, and after a few months has the desire to try out for a local production of “Swan Lake.” Where lack of raw talent or actual ability might fail her, she’s sure to persevere with her knack for telling stories – right?

No matter what her ballet judges thought, Homan wins us over with her true tales of how she “almost danced” on skates, how a Saturday night dance helped save her son’s life, and how sometimes what you need isn’t in the flash cards. If you’re in the mood for stories spun with heart and humor, this is definitely a show to check out. Wearing a tutu is optional, but she’ll have hers on.