Anna Himes

Ankh gets ‘Reckless’ in a good way

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By John Lyle Belden

Indianapolis sees constant production of theatre arts by groups tied not to a place as much to ideas and creative vision. This includes – among others – No Exit, Catalyst Repertory, Q Artistry, Summit Performance, NAATC, Southbank Theatre Company, Theatre Unchained, American Lives Theatre, 4th Wall, Clerical Error Productions, Betty Rage, Cryptid Entertainment, and Defiance Comedy.

Ankh Productions deserves to be in that conversation.

Having moved on from the sadly now-closed Storefront Theatre, their neon elephant shines for the moment in the Bates-Hendricks neighborhood south of downtown Indy with Ankh’s production of “Non-Traditional Reckless Relations,” a collection of short plays by Jamaal McCray, at Lincoln Lane Coffee Co.

McCray is joined by Ankh co-founder Chandra Lynch, Zachariah Stonerock, and Anna Himes in pieces that explore with raw emotion, wild humor, and entertaining absurdity, how we relate to one another through unusual stress.

It’s too simplistic to compare this to known properties like Marx Brothers, Monty Python, SNL, or In Living Color, yet the same root is under the surface, back to the smiling Greek masks and tall tales around ancient fires. McCray says the title refers to his efforts not to slip into “traditions of mediocrity,” to take stagecraft and “strip(ed) it down to its raw essence.” As Lynch puts it in a Facebook post, “Just the art; pure, alive, unfiltered.”

High artistic goals, indeed. In “NTRR,” we see them making the climb.

This show was written by McCray as the third in a trilogy that started with “Love You Reckless,” last seen in April 2022. (He is still working on Part Two, he said.)

The foursome start with a piece heavy with avant-garde metaphor – confronting directionality, personal preferences, political groupthink, light, and more – which grabs our attention, elicits laughter while provoking thought, and gets us ready to expect practically anything.

This is followed by the next playlet, where Stonerock reads a breakup letter while using the toilet.

Yes, things get a bit crude, with R-rated language at points, but no nudity or sim-sex, so it’s okay for teens and up.

The bare-bones aesthetic, in part from low-budget necessity, concentrates our attention on the actors while employing a few simple props. A chain wrench finds an amazing array of uses.

The humor is never far from far deeper context. Exploring raw emotion and toxicity in relationships gets somehow easier when you’re battling a giant pigeon or stuck on a small boat in shallow water. When you need to fix something, at some point you’re not really talking about the thing before you that you’re repairing.

McCray, Lynch, Stonerock, and Himes all give excellent performances and interact well throughout, showing commitment to the concept and vision.

So, even if you are not planning your lover’s murder, or negotiating with the trash collector, you’ll still find plenty to relate to, and even enjoy, in these “Non-Traditional Reckless Relations.” Performances are Friday through Sunday at 516 Lincoln Street (corner of Lincoln and East Street), Indianapolis. (Note that coffee service will have closed earlier in the afternoon.)

For information and tickets, visit ankhproductions.org.

‘Sensitive’ look at campus life

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By John Lyle Belden

“Sensitive Guys” by M.J. Kaufman, presented by Theatre Unchained at IF Theatre, has a vibe like a goofy Fringe-show version of a campus comedy. The laughs come easy as what appear to be feminist and dude-bro archetypes strive to say something important for both the audience and one another.

“What’s the trick to being a good guy?” one asks. It feels naïve, but for someone maybe 20 years old, expected to be an adult while his higher brain functions aren’t yet mature, this is a truly serious question. And circumstances will get quite serious.

Joe Wagner, with wide experience acting in comedy and drama, takes on direction of this comic drama, entrusting five “she” or “they” actors to play all characters including five young women in a sexual assault Survivor Support Group and the five members of the Men’s Peer Education Group at fictional Watson College – a small liberal institution of higher learning that loves to tout its “empowerment” of students.

While the college recites “core principles” that are little more than background noise, for our co-eds the theme is “transformation” – changing both themselves and the world around them for the better.

Anna Himes portrays the newcomers to each group. Will, who asks the question above, is a young man working on his empathy. As Leslie, she finds taking charge of her sexual experiences didn’t shield her from consent being taken from her. Adding to her sense of betrayal, the perpetrator is in the Peer Group.

Gayle Radwick is Katie in the women’s group, and Jordan of the men’s, who is in a relationship with Shanya Nicole as Tracey, the woman who happens to say something that bothers her male role, Tyler. Sheila Raghavendran is Amy with the women, Pete with the men. Monya Wolf is Diana with the women and Danny, the men’s group founder.

Shifts in wardrobe and stance, besides deepening the voice when a dude, make the character transitions easy to follow. Indulging in a bit of caricature also aids the comedy. Seeing gender as not just two aspects of humanity but also two versions of the same faces help unify their experiences as part of the same student body, all seeking guidance and needing a sense of safety.

While attending this college, don’t be surprised that you in the audience get a lesson as well. The facts that will be presented (aside from a fictional paragraph about Watson) will all sadly be true.

An entertaining satire with a healthy dose of awareness, take a seat with “Sensitive Guys,” March 7-9 and 13-15 on the IF Basile Theatre, 719 E. St. Clair St., Indianapolis. Get tickets at indyfringe.org, info at theatreunchained.org.

Glimpses of comics’ lives in ‘Purple Lounge’

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By John Lyle Belden

In case there is any confusion, note that “Live at the Purple Lounge” has nothing to do with Prince. Another clarification: “Green Room” is just the traditional name for the place performers can relax before and after going on stage; it can be any color.

This said, welcome to the Purple Lounge comedy club, presented by Betty Rage Productions at the IndyFringe Basile Theatre. Seating includes cozy little tables, where crew member/bouncer, Chelsea (Kelsey VanVoorst), the New Comic, greets us. She doesn’t enforce a drink minimum but advises there are plenty of adult and alcohol-free beverages available for purchase at the back of the room.

However, what we see before us is not the classic stand-up stage backed with faux brick, but the backstage Green Room, tended by club manager Bethany (Meg McLane). Over the course of a few nights, we hear the last bits of a comic’s set, then see what happens in this room after.

Rory (Brooke Neubaum) closes with laments about her dating life, then comes into the room to find her mother Victoria (Jean Arnold) – a successful sex-positive writer – waiting with a rather stress-inducing surprise.

Sydney (Tracy Herring) slays in her set, then comes backstage to husband John (Chad Pirowski) with news that she can book a West Coast tour – a small miracle for a lesser-known 50-year-old comic. He doesn’t quite share her happiness.

Lena (Anna Himes), on the other hand, bombs – and it’s not the first time. Sure enough, old friend Travis (Dave Pelsue) is there to remind her that it’s been a year now. There’s a way to get herself funny again, he promises.

Anna (Rachel Kelso) makes her set about how sadly vanilla her girlfriend is. Meanwhile, in the Green Room, said partner Logan (Laurel Clark) is on her phone with customer service about a defective sex toy.

Abbie (Jenni White), one of the club regulars, is a hit again. Backstage with Bethany, a long-time friend, she is forced to confide an issue that not even her “husband Bill” can help with.

Being a stand-up comic is a funny life – both “funny ha-ha” and funny/unusual – and we get plenty of both in these scenes. The unique lifestyle and stresses of the job are explored in various ways, as well as the toll they can take on those who love them. Some of the biggest laughs, such as the moments with Rory and Victoria, or Anna and Logan, come with their share of tears. In this backstage sanctuary you’re as likely to find a metaphorical punch in the gut as a gut-busting punchline.

Performances are top-notch, especially McLane, who we usually see in absurd comedy shows, getting to exercise her dramatic range to great effect. Himes and White also hit us directly in the feels in their scenes.

Directed by Betty Rage founder Callie Burk-Hartz, “Live at the Purple Lounge” has just four more performances, 7:30 p.m. Thursday and Friday, 3 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Saturday (May 23-25), at 719 E. St. Clair, Indianapolis. Get info at bettyrageproductions.com and tickets at indyfringe.org.

Bard Fest presents heavy ‘Hedda’

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By John Lyle Belden

Trigger warning: Suicide.

Now that I’ve given that necessary note, I can delve into why – if you feel up to it – you should see the Indy Bard Fest production of Henrik Ibsen’s “Hedda Gabler,” adapted by Jon Robin Baitz, directed by Chris Saunders at Arts for Lawrence’s Theater at the Fort.

For those, like me, who may have read Ibsen’s “A Doll’s House” in school but are not aware of this work, another example of his bold realistic look at society in late 19th century Norway, Gabler is a headstrong woman whose beauty attracts men while her icy demeanor keeps them at bay: the original “mean girl.” The daughter of an army General, she is also accustomed to a certain standard of living.

The play opens with Hedda (Morgan Morton) returning from her long honeymoon after marrying the academic George Tesman (Joe Wagner), an uber-nerd who spent most of those months in tedious research. It becomes evident that she has married him mostly for his potential status once his scholarly works are published, and takes his puppy-like devotion as her due. She enjoys being rude to George’s aunt Julia (Susan Hill) and indifferent to the servant Berta (Carrie Reiberg) in this big house that George can barely afford.

The Tesmans aren’t the only ones back in town. Eilert Lovborg (Matt Kraft), who had been a hopeless alcoholic as well as Hedda’s old flame, has turned up sober with a popular book that rivals the one George is still working on. Aided by Thea (Anna Himes), whom Hedda used to bully in their school days, he also composed an even better follow-up – the only manuscript copy of which is in his bag. However, a boys’ night out with George and the unscrupulous Judge Brack (Clay Mabbitt) sets in motion events with tragic consequences, aided by Hedda’s machinations.

Though the play predates Freud’s works, it shows Ibsen’s keen perception of various neurotic types – which our cast ably take on. Kraft’s Lovborg is the restless genius bohemian; Wagner’s detail-obsessed yet socially oblivious George appears to be on the autistic spectrum; Himes’ Thea is desperate to rise above her fears, and at the very least redirect her people-pleasing impulses to someone more appreciative than the distant husband she left to be with Eilert; Mabbitt’s Brack is the classic sleazy womanizer and party hound with a position he can use over others.

But most fascinating, of course, is our title character. Hedda’s narcissistic aspects are obvious, but she also has a unique perspective on life, honor, and the way things should be that lead her to an even more untenable position. Morton has all her stone glances and manic moments down perfectly, keeping her fascinating enough to not let us be completely put off by her brusque demeanor.

This brilliant examination of a fateful 48 hours in the lives of people filled with pride and potential has one more weekend, Friday through Sunday, Nov. 10-12, at Theater at the Fort, 8920 Otis Ave., Lawrence. Get info at indybardfest.com, tickets at artsforlawrence.org.

Drama at District a raw look at recovery

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By John Lyle Belden

Ever had a “toxic” relationship? How about literally toxic.

“Drugs and alcohol have never let me down. They have always loved me.”

These are the words of Emma, a struggling actress at the center of “People, Places & Things” by Duncan Macmillan (writer of “Every Brilliant Thing”) which had a successful London premiere in 2015. Stage Door Productions brings it to Indianapolis, nurtured and directed by Kevin Caraher, playing at The District Theatre on Mass Ave.

Emma (Trick Blanchfield), scarred by traumas of which we will learn, whole-heartedly believes her statement above, but comes to suspect the chemicals’ love is destroying her. To quote an unrelated work, breaking up is hard to do.

She prefers to live in the masks of the characters she portrays, but they are starting to blur into one another. The play opens with her on the stage of a classic work, having a dissociative episode. When she inevitably checks into rehab, she claims the name of the character she plays. During her recovery and relapses, she is accompanied by shadows of herself (Sara Williams, Audrey Stonerock, Cara Wilson).

Thus, the central point-of-view character is also an unreliable narrator, bringing to bear one of the frustrating factors of recovery. Even when the person wants to change and craves help, lying has become as natural as breathing, especially to one’s self. Macmillan’s words effectively keep the audience following the plot off-balance: Is Emma’s brother dead, as she says, and which set of circumstances she relates are true? Do the no-nonsense Nurse at the rehab center and happy-shiny Therapist for group sessions actually look like her Mom (all played pitch-perfect by Denise Jaeckel)? Are her parents as deeply flawed and toxic in their own way as she claims? Is even her name what she says it is at any point?

Emma’s love of stagecraft becomes a vector for hard lessons as other members of Group use her as their sounding-board for “exercises” in what each recovering addict will say to a significant person in their lives. Mark (Ryan Powell in an award-worthy performance), who immediately sees through her BS, gets that ball rolling, and continues to challenge her throughout the play. He has gained wisdom the hard way, including understanding without mentioning it that any (if this were Hollywood) romantic connection would just be the chemicals and desperation talking. (Thank you, Mr. Macmillan, for dodging that trope.)  

Other members of Group, played by Tailynn Downing, Anna Himes, Matt Kraft, David Molloy, Adrienne Reiswerg, and Bryan Ball Carvajal (as Foster, past patient and present staffer) each have their own perspective of addiction, relating the various paths both the downward spiral and upward climb can take. Then there’s brave, brilliant Dan Flahive as Paul, the patient who takes things too far, whose higher power is apparently a schizophrenic Jesus. What could be, and to a small extent is, played as comic relief becomes a look into the abyss any staffer or past patient of such a facility has seen too often.

Still, in contrast to Emma, the others “get it,” the reason why they are there, that they are sick and desire to truly get well.

Some might see thematic similarities to the 2000 recovery rom-com film, “28 Days,” starring Sandra Bulloch, but this story has a lot more raw, authentic-feeling edges and is better played through the style and magical realism of live theatre. It reflects the real-world fact that one visit to an institution is rarely enough. Also, know that not all its characters will be alive at the end of the play.

Saving the best for last, I’ll note that Blanchfield is truly outstanding. She draws on wells of pain and strength like few can, while somehow getting some hope in that bucket. She communicates “hot mess” while still making us want to root for her. We are blessed beyond reason to have her recently join the central Indiana theatre scene.

In a lighter note (and there are a few) we do get to see an actor nearly naked – and it’s not who you might expect (consider yourself warned).

A huge thank you to Caraher for getting this masterpiece to Indy, and executing it so well, and hat-tip to stage managers Whitney Leigh and Amelie Zirnheld. While this has a simple set, by Kathy Hoefgen, it is notable for the visual metaphor that the “EXIT,” whether triumphant or tragic, is always there.

Performances continue tonight (as I post this), Sunday, and next weekend with two shows on Saturday, through June 25. For tickets, visit indydistricttheatre.org. (Note to Googlers: There is a Stage Door Productions in Virginia, so for the Indiana company, look up their Facebook page.)

Catalyst creates outstanding ‘Streetcar’

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By Wendy Carson and John Lyle Belden

With all of the winter weather we are having, it is satisfying to have Catalyst Repertory bring us a steamy trip to 1950s New Orleans with its imaginative production of Tennessee Williams’ “A Streetcar Named Desire.”

The first clue to the uniqueness of the show is the inventive set design of Nick Kilgore. He has basically cut apart the walls and rooms of an apartment house to make them easily flow into each other without losing each location’s identity. The actors enter, exit, and perform within the full 360 degrees of set as well as multiple levels available to them. With the size of the stage, you might think this is incredibly cramped, but it never feels claustrophobic. In fact, the layout causes a rare intimacy to occur between the troupe and audience, seated “in the round,” which makes the whole a more enjoyable evening. A couple of pieces – a bedroom vanity, a nearby bar piano – even extend into the audience space naturally. The concessions bar for patrons at intermission is even part of the set, suggesting a piece of nearby Bourbon Street.

For those unfamiliar with the tale: Fading Southern belle Blanche DuBois (Sara Castillo Dandurand) turns up on the shabby doorstep of her younger sister, Stella (Anna Himes) and Stella’s husband Stanley Kowalski (Ian McCabe). Blanche lives in a world of delusion she consistently concocts to keep her from realizing that she is desperate, alone, old, and without any other place to go. After months of living with her disdain and lying, Stanley is determined to send her packing.

This description, of course, doesn’t do justice to the genius of Williams’ drama, and in the practiced hands of director Casey Ross – herself an artisan of plot and dialogue – narrative richness and tension as thick as Louisiana humidity imbues the play from start to finish.  

Dandurand transforms into Blanche, wearing her pride like a fading flower, masking dysfunction with flirtatious charm so well it fools everyone – except Stanley. For his part, McCabe ably puts on Kowalski’s working-man swagger. He is devoted to Stella, but has issues (to put it mildly), complete with a low-simmering rage fed by a lifetime of being called a Pollack, among other things. Perhaps the fact he has to present a public mask helps him detect Blanche’s. The two circle each other throughout, like a pampered cat and a mangy dog, claws out, fangs in their smiles. Himes is also wonderful as a Stella who sees the good in Stanley, is eagerly the yin to his yang, and tries to be at peace with the fact her debutante days may be gone forever.

Making a stunning dramatic debut is Brian DeHeer as Mitch Mitchell, Stanley’s bowling and poker buddy who knew him since their WWII service together. Feeling lonely as he tends to his ailing mother, Mitch starts falling for Blanche – it won’t be a soft landing. 

In excellent support are Audrey Stonerock and Matt Kraft as neighbors Eunice and Steve Hubbell, as well as Tom Alvarez as poker buddy Pablo, Mitchell Wray as a boy who comes around, and Viviana Quinones as a local flower-seller. Alvarez’s partner in Magic Thread Cabaret (a co-producer), Dustin Klein, tickles the ivories at the corner piano, with old tunes and his new compositions to underscore the action. At the club microphone is the exquisite voice of Courtney Wiggins. David Mosedale and Wendy Brown complete the cast, mainly in the final scene.

For either those new to “Streetcar,” or Williams fanatics looking for something fresh, we cannot recommend this production enough. There are adult themes and herbal cigarettes (though perhaps the first-ever Ross-directed play without an F-bomb), yet if you can take the heat, you won’t regret the experience of this scorching masterpiece.

Performances run Fridays through Sundays, through March 19 at the IndyFringe Basile Theatre, 719 E. St. Clair, Indianapolis. For tickets, go to IndyFringe.org.