David Wood

Civic ‘Anne Frank’ stirs young audience

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By Wendy Carson 

This past Wednesday, I was fortunate enough to be allowed to attend one of the special student showings of “The Diary of Anne Frank,” at the Booth Tarkington Civic Theatre. It was eye-opening for all, to say the least. Overhearing their comments both during and after the show helped drive home how important theatrical productions of Holocaust stories are in our world.

With most of the audience being of roughly the same age as Anne, the tragedy of her life and situation really resonated with the students. While they were aware of World War II as history, seeing the images in context really drove these horrors home. After the performance, most were busy wiping tears from their eyes, even those who had read Anne’s “Diary of a Young Girl” prior to attendance.

The power of the show begins with the spectacular set design of Ryan Koharchik. The multi-level set reflects the spaces these souls were forced to inhabit during their two years in hiding but the grim truth of the situation comes from the high, chain-link fence topped with razor wire that serves at the back wall to the show. This also allows for Michael J. Lasley to project timely background photos to further the message beginning with the initial one of Anne’s photograph and actual pages of writing from her diary. Lasley also has a short moment on stage near the end of the show.

While Wendy Kesselman’s new adaption of the play by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett is stirring, nothing would ring true without the amazing skills of the actors here, under the direction of versatile theatre artist Claire Wilcher. Especially since many regular theater goers will know several of them for their numerous comedic roles and will be delighted to see their incredible range highlighted here.

Rebecca Piñero brings the shy stoicism of Anne’s older sister Edith to light, keeping her character from being overlooked and fading into the background.

Kevin Caraher as Mr. Kraler, who keeps the doors to the Franks’ business open and running while ensuring no one else is aware of the eight souls above, shows both the hopefulness and fear of his role.

Mookie Harris as the dentist Mr. Dussel keeps his character cold and very removed from the others he is with, but also hints that this is the character’s way of shielding himself from the devastation of losing more people he cares about.

Jay Hemphill and Carrie Reiberg as Mr. and Mrs. Van Daan bring the elitist pomposity out in their characters, yet still show us the struggles of a couple terrified of the situation they have been put into.

Garrett Rowe, as Peter Van Daan, brings his character’s growth from fear at being thrown into a new situation with unbearable co-inhabitants, delicately budding into happiness and growing romance throughout their time together.

David Wood as Otto Frank keeps the optimistic outlook as the leader of this group of survivors. Brittany Magee’s maternal turn as Edith Frank is perfection indeed. She enacts the struggles and sorrows of a mother fighting to keep control of her family and situation so well you might think she has raised a slew of teenagers herself.

Anyone who has ever witnessed her on stage before obviously knows the spectacular comic whirlwind that is Kelsey VanVoorst. Now we are a party to the depth of her pathos as she portrays Miep Gies, the character most at risk of tragedy for her part in this endeavor. VenVoorst keeps Miep as upbeat as possible as she bravely smuggles in the supplies to keep the group alive during their time in hiding. The strength and resolve that keeps her going are evident as she forces herself to find the happiest news she can find to share with the families.

Finally, we arrive at the cornerstone role of the play, Gemma Rollison as Anne Frank (alternately played by Sydney Pinchouck on Feb. 28 and 24). Known as a brave girl who fought through so much to keep herself optimistic through her lifetime, this side of Anne is presented perfectly, yet Rollinson also brings the girl’s precocious and obnoxious spirit also noted in her writing and memories of her surviving father. Beginning as an oblivious 13-year-old who thinks teasing her companions is the height of joy, Rollinson exquisitely brings out Anne’s changes into a budding young woman by the show’s end.

As this country has recently experienced fear and confinement from a life-threatening disease, it feels like we can identify somewhat with the desperation and anxiety faced here. However, the fatalities of the Coronavirus are nothing in comparison to the horrors of the Holocaust. This grave, terrible reality is precisely why these stories must be told and retold. As the years pass and memories begin to fade, we must ensure that this dark chapter of the past is never forgotten or allowed to recur. The Indianapolis Jewish Community Relations Council is on hand in the lobby to provide information of how to participate in continuing this vital effort.

After seeing the reactions of the young people in the audience, I urge you to get as many of them to this show as you can (as well as yourselves). While the subject matter is rather intense and is probably not suitable for all ages, anyone 13 and up really needs to see what life could have been like for themselves if they had been born during this time. Performances run through Feb. 25 (public showtimes at 7 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays, 2 p.m. Sundays) at the Tarkington theatre in the Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Carmel. Get info and tickets at civictheatre.org or thecenterpresents.org.

Civic hosts Christie’s deadly countdown

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By John Lyle Belden

Set in the intimate confines of the Studio Theater, rather than its regular stage next door, the Booth Tarkington Civic Theatre invites you to look in on a classic mystery: See those 10 people at the party? They are all guilty of something, and one by one they will die. Who will be standing at the end? Are you sure you know?

The Civic presents Agatha Christie’s “And Then There Were None.” Director Charles Goad (who we are more used to seeing on the stage than behind it) has trusted his talented cast the freedom to bring out the dark humor in the play’s growing suspense. Even when a character is one you wouldn’t mind seeing become the next victim of “Mr. Unknown,” he or she is presented in an entertaining manner.

Matt Anderson and Christy Walker sharply portray the domestics who literally help set the scene in a fine house on an island off the English coast. Vera (Carrie Schlatter at her steadily unraveling best) thought this was just a job opportunity. Army Cpt. Lombard (Joshua Ramsey as a unflappable man proud of all his qualities, good and bad) was advised to bring his revolver, just in case. Anthony (Bradford Reilly, doing upper-class spoiled well) is up for any kind of adventure. Mr. Daniels – or is that Blore? – (Steve Kruze, working the fine line between gruffness and guilt) was, or is, a cop, making him impossible to trust. Retired Gen. MacKenzie (Tom Beeler, showing mastery of a subtle character) can see this for the final battle it is. Emily (Christine Kruze, working a stiff upper lip that could break glass) is as sure of her own innocence as she is of everyone else’s immorality. Dr. Armstrong (David Wood, becoming even more likable as we find the man’s flaws) feels he could really use a drink, though he doesn’t dare. And prominent judge Sir William Wargrave (David Mosedale in top form) knows a thing or two about unnatural death, having sentenced so many to the gallows.

The cast is completed by Dick Davis as Fred, the man with the boat.

These actors give a delicious recreation of the old story which doesn’t feel dated, considering a strong storm on a remote island would cut off smartphone reception just the same as past means of communication. The plot is propelled by the old poem “Ten Little Soldiers” (a more palatable version than the frequently used “Ten Little Indians” or its original, more controversial, title). Ten tin soldiers stand on the mantle, their number decreasing throughout the play as the victims accumulate. The verse is on a plaque by the fireplace, and reprinted in the program for us to follow along.

I don’t want to give spoilers, but bear in mind that Christie wrote more than one way to end the story. See for yourself at the Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Carmel through April 8. Call 317-843-3800 or visit civictheatre.org.

Review: Complex killer musical at BCP

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By John Lyle Belden

For about a year now, it has been the unofficial Year of Sondheim around central Indiana stages. And now it appears to be Buck Creek Players’ turn, with its production of the musical, “Assassins.”

This play brings together in a dark-humored fantasia various men and women who killed – or tried to kill – the President of the United States. The genius of this piece by Sondheim and James Weidman is that it compellingly presents these individuals’ point of view without glorifying their acts.

The Proprietor (Steven R. Linville) in this room outside of time and space is offering guns to the various frustrated characters seeking – something. Perhaps it’s personal relief; perhaps it’s attention; perhaps it’s to change the world. The solution? Shoot the President.

The characters represent people who actually existed (a couple are even still alive), who you may or may not have heard of, but they all look up to the one we all know: Lincoln’s assassin, John Wilkes Booth (Mark Meyer). Charles Guiteau (David Wood) would be shocked that we don’t know his name as readily, as he expected his shooting of President James Garfield (briefly played by chorus member W. Michael Davidson) to boost sales of his book and lead to him becoming President himself – rather than be hanged, which happened instead.

We also hear of the irrational motivations behind Leon Czolgosz (Jake McDuffee) shooting William McKinley, Guiseppe Zangara (Scott Fleshood) shooting at Franklin Roosevelt, John Hinckley Jr. (Trenton Baker) shooting Ronald Reagan, and Lynette “Squeaky” Fromme (Stacia Ann Hulen) and Sara Jane Moore (Cathy Tolzmann) taking shots at Gerald Ford (played, complete with pratfall, by Bryan D. Padgett).

Most intriguing are the ramblings of Samuel Byck (Daniel Draves), taken from the actual tape recordings he made and sent to journalists, before attempting his plan to crash a passenger jet into the White House to kill Richard Nixon (his gun was used on others as he tried to take over the plane).

To let us know these assassins’ stories, we hear from a Balladeer (Luke McConnell), who eventually finds his own dark and infamous purpose.

These are not heroes; most are arguably insane, but it’s hard to say they are entirely bad people. These facts add depth to performances throughout the cast. Guiteau’s delusions make Wood’s portrayal one of the more entertaining. Hulen as a loopy-hippie Fromme and Tolzmann’s Kathy-Bates-esque turn as Moore provide much of the dark humor, especially in Moore’s total incompetence with a firearm. Mary Hayes Tuttle boldly portrays famed anarchist Emma Goldman, an influence on Czolgosz, who McDuffie infuses with desperation. Fleshood plays Zangara earnestly, an appropriate approach for someone whose pain was real but actions made little sense. And Draves is like an obscenity-spewing force of nature as Byck – the dirty Santa suit he wears to protest Nixon making him look even more unhinged. Baker’s Hinckley is a lost, confused boy with a gun.

Above all, Meyer exudes a charisma befitting Booth, a renowned actor before committing the one act he is known for, as he takes charge of this macabre exclusive club. Linville and McConnell ably represent American Culture and History, respectively, as tangible beings with genuine influence on the stories we see, making it feel inevitable when McConnell’s young man picks up the rifle.

(Note: This production doesn’t hold back on language. But then, the topic already makes this not a show for children.)

With sharp direction by D. Scott Robinson with Christine Schaefer, and interesting set design by Aaron B. Bailey, this is worth taking a shot at seeing down at the Buck Creek Playhouse, 11150 Southeastern Ave. (Acton Road exit off I-74), through June 12. Just kindly leave your firearms outside.

No actual Presidents were harmed in the making of this musical. Find info at www.buckcreekplayers.com or call 317-862-2270.

(This was also posted at The Word [later The Eagle], Indy’s LGBTQ newspaper)