drama

GSC mounts ‘Richard III’

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By John Lyle Belden

Garfield Shakespeare Company is an exceptional part of the Indianapolis theatre scene. The not-for-profit volunteer company, residing at beautiful Garfield Park south of downtown, keeps the spirit of classic theatre alive with quality productions and free admission for audiences.

Starting its 20th Anniversary Season, GSC presents the tragic history of William Shakespeare’s “Richard III.” Based on one of England’s less-liked monarchs, we see how this proud, ambitious, and unscrupulous Duke murders his way to the Crown, then famously ends up losing his horse.

Mallory Ward directs a cast of varying experience, all dedicated to honoring the Bard’s work. Derrick Krober eagerly plays the title role, from the start charming nearly everyone while noting with a grin to us watching that he intends to be “the villain.”

In various roles, the other players include Rayanna Bibbs (her proud Lady Margaret never fooled by Richard); Spencer Dorian Crane (compelling in vastly different ways as sad Lady Anne, a reluctant assassin, and sassy Catesby); Hans Cummings (his Clarence almost talking his way out of dying); Omar El Jordi; Sydney Engelstein; Susan Gaertner; Guy Grubbs (playing both a King and a Mayor); Joni Metcalf Kemp; Miranda Khoury (as Queen Elizabeth, with a sharply delivered speech late in the play); Fred Margison; Tess Smith (parts include the heroic Earl of Richmond); and Chad Yadon (in the pivotal role of Buckingham). Also, the multi-talented Zella Mae Elm plays prince and princess roles as well as performing traditional and original songs – one with Shakespeare’s lyrics – playing the mandolin in lieu of a lute.

Performances are 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Friday, and Saturday (March 26-28) at the Garfield Park Arts Center, 2432 Conservatory Drive. While admission is free, as seating in this indoor venue is limited, reservations are recommended at gscindy.org.

Tragic depth in half-full bathtubs

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By John Lyle Belden

Fascination with unusual murder has been a pop culture staple for centuries, especially if such stories are true. Through the last century or so, the arts have explored the minds of monstrous killers, as well as the clever persons deducing who did the deed. Now, stories will often focus on those unable to speak for themselves.

In “The Drowning Girls,” at Main Street Productions in Westfield, we hear them loud and clear.

Based on events in England, this unique drama by Canadians Daniela Vlaskalic, Beth Graham, and Charlie Tomlinson, directed here by Molly Bellner, features just three clawfoot bathtubs on the stage, actually containing water. From these emerge the three known murder victims of George Joseph Smith. They speak to each other – and to us – relating how they were each taken in by the lifelong thief, swindler and bigamist, and how he was finally brought to justice for their killings in 1915.

Bessie Mundy (Jo Bennett) went with husband “Henry Williams” to a seaside resort; Alice Burnham Smith (Monya Wolf) was in a Blackpool boardinghouse with husband “George Rose Smith;” Margaret Elizabeth Lloyd (Sarah Eberhardt) resided with husband “John Lloyd” in Highgate, London. All three died of “misadventure” – perhaps a seizure? – in the bath. The women’s savings, and life insurance, naturally went to the husband.

As the three actors examine and reenact the events, they take on other roles as needed, including taking turns as smooth-talking Mr. Smith(Williams/Lloyd). Society and expectations on women play a part, but also the manipulation familiar to stories of psychopathy, abuse, and controlling behavior.

The pacing and style of the material is familiar to those who enjoy true-crime documentaries and podcasts, which aids the sense that this is nonfiction. Having reviewed the steps that led to their watery demise, Bessie, Alice and Margaret then perform as the various people who finally brought Smith to the gallows – including the attentive Burnham parents, their suspicions deepened by strange coincidence, as well as detectives who broke new ground in forensics and investigation.

Bennett, Wolf, and Eberhardt, each outstanding, don’t put on period English accents as their plight is timeless, as likely to happen in 1914 or 2014 (or ’26). They fully take their characters’ opportunity to express their frustration and give their example as warning, complete with charming moments and gallows humor, yet never straying from the circumstances of their fate.

The simple set (complete with waterproofing, we surmise) is by Ed Trout. Beautiful white gowns by costumer Cathie Morgan help complete the scene. Stage manager is Marissa Hassie, with backstage assistant Baylor Bates.

Though it only took a few inches of water to kill them, “The Drowning Girls” go deep. Performances are Thursday through Sunday, March 26-29, at the Basile Westfield Playhouse, 220 N. Union St. (Downtown construction slows traffic, but the site is accessible.) Get tickets from Main Street Productions at westfieldplayhouse.org.

Lessons beyond language in ‘English’ at IRT

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By John Lyle Belden

In the United States, we take for granted speaking one of the most confoundingly complex languages on Earth. Still, for various reasons millions of people around the world insist on learning it.

“English,” a light-hearted drama on the serious pursuit of another language, was an MFA thesis project for Sanaz Toossi, the American daughter of Iranian immigrants. Since the play won a Pulitzer Prize in 2023, we presume she was awarded her degree. The Indiana Repertory Theatre now presents the local premiere on the intimate Janet Allen Stage, directed by Persian American educator Azar Kazemi with a mostly Iranian-American cast.

The setting is a classroom in a city near Teheran in 2008. Marjan (Neagheen Homifar), a teacher who had spent some years in the U.K., is instructing an “advanced learners” course to prepare for the Test of English as a Foreign Language, or TOEFL, a necessity for finding work and other opportunities in English-speaking countries.

Elham (Natasha Behnam) has an adversarial relationship with English, having failed the TOEFL before, but needs it to pursue medical studies in Australia. Roya (Leyla Modirzadeh) wants to better communicate with her grandchildren in Canada. Omid (Revon Yousif) has cousins in the States. Goli (Emelia Maryam Mosay) is just 18 and looking to expand her horizons.

“English Only,” Marjan writes on the dry-erase board. This is not only typical of an immersive language class, but also a hint at the way dialogue is portrayed in the play. When we hear accents and stilted speech, it is these characters’ speaking in classroom English. When they converse more freely (in English), it is what we hear translated from Farsi (modern Persian, the language spoken in Iran).

There is a brief exchange in actual Farsi late in the play, helping us experience not just the isolating effect of a very different tongue, but also to note its flowing poetic nature. The characters treasure it for this, while Goli notes that English presents more function than flavor, like rice in a meal.

While for audiences, relating to current and past international events is unavoidable, such controversies are outside the scope of the play. The adversary for these students is not the people of other lands, but their language which has overtaken global communication. They struggle with pronunciations and wrestle with idioms. Not all of these pupils will finish the course. In this way, the themes of this drama become more relatable – especially the feeling of abandoning or even betraying their culture in learning to converse and even think as those outside their world do.

Homaifar as Marjan keeps the classes upbeat, often fun, with classroom games and even the use of American and British films to learn linguistic quirks. Her patient encouragement reminds us of favorite educators from our youth. Still, moments of uncertainty about her work creep in.

Benham and Modirzadeh each portray bitter pessimism sharpened by cultural pride. Mosay  is eager and open. Yousif’s Omid seems more fluent than he lets on, as his motives grow suspect.

A simple classroom delivers numerous lessons for all of us in “English,” running through April 4 upstairs in the IRT, 140 W. Washington St. in the heart of downtown Indianapolis. See irtlive.com for tickets and information.

Civic’s bold ‘Letter’ centers strong heroine

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By Wendy Carson

I have been writing a lot about strong women these days, and Hester Prynne is undoubtably one of the strongest examples of such in American literature.

She first entered my consciousness when I was seven, watching a silent film version of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel, “The Scarlet Letter.” While she is vastly flawed, her courage and resolve make her an icon of female empowerment and a character to be further explored. With Kate Hamill’s imaginative script, we are presented with a new look at Hester and her situations in the current production by Booth Tarkington Civic Theatre.

As in the book, in 1640s Massachusetts we meet Prynne enduring punishment for a child born out of wedlock. She refuses to name the father and is therefore ordered by Puritan authorities to wear a red “A” (for Adultery) on her chest for the rest of her life.

Directed by Emily Rogge Tzucker, the biggest difference with this staging is the use of a life-sized puppet portraying Hester’s daughter, Pearl. Designed and built by Evangeline Bouw, and voiced and operated by Emily Bohannon, the character takes on a far more ephemeral role. The lone child in a world of strange rules, she highlights the hellion nature of children who provoke and tease others for their own amusement.

Brittany Magee brings forth not only Prynne’s self-sufficiency, but also her unwavering pride and devotion to her precious Pearl. Renee Whiten Lopez as Goody Hibbins channels some of the hysteria of the time by falsely accusing Prynne of witchcraft to justify her own personal shortcomings and try to rectify the unjustness of it all.

Doug Powers’ interpretation of Governor Hibbins keeps him sympathetic in trying to uphold the law in this wild, new land yet not satisfied by doing so. Matt Anderson excellently shows the inner turmoil of Reverend Dimmesdale, the unnamed yet horribly guilty father of Pearl. Daniel Wilke brings a malevolent force to bear as Roger Chillingworth, who carries the darkest secret amongst the group.

While the show’s staging is extremely simple, with limited cast and efficient set and lighting design by Ryan Koharchik, it helps keep the focus on the actors and their stories. The costuming by Adrienne Conces perfectly accents the various needs of narrative in many unexpected ways.

I was greatly impressed by this amazing interpretation of a story for the ages and would have been more than happy to have had it be my introduction to this powerful woman and her story.

Meet Hester and Pearl, and see their world at The Studio Theater of the Allied Solutions Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Carmel through March 28. Get tickets at civictheatre.org or thecenterpresents.org.

Treadwell tragedy retooled by Southbank

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By John Lyle Belden

It’s enticing to explore the mind of a killer, but to only define the person that way misses the point and prevents understanding. In 1927, a woman – an unhappy mother possibly in an abusive marriage – brutally murdered her husband with the help of her lover. One of the most macabre photos published in a newspaper shows the moment of her execution in the electric chair at Sing Sing Prison.

The next year, journalist and playwright Sophie Treadwell published “Machinal,” a fictional examination of a case resembling the one recently in the headlines. This expressionist work with simple staging makes us feel the dark events as we witness them. In the 1920s, women in the workplace were fed into a social machine that used them as the system and the men who ran it saw fit. In the 2020s, Marcia Eppich-Harris proposes that these grinding gears still turn as director of the play for Southbank Theatre Company.

With a dream-like atmosphere (often edging on nightmare), setpieces shift, props become representational, and while costuming stays in the earlier era, technology blends typewriters and telephones with smartphones and laptops. The cast of Natalie Beglin, Brant Hughes, Nia Hughes, Adriana Menefee, Beverly Roche, Patrick Vaughn, and J. Charles Weimer each take on various roles, as well as often appearing in dapper black hats as a sort of Greek Chorus to enhance and punctuate the scenes.

At the center of this is our Young Woman, an excruciatingly brilliant performance by Alaine Sims. With Eppich-Harris’s guidance, she bravely gives substance to the experience of crippling anxiety.

The world is unkind to Her, perhaps as much as for other women who seem to have adapted. With the resigned acceptance of her mother (Roche) and at his insistence she marries her boss (Vaughn) though she can’t stand his touch. She gives him a child, bearing his disappointment at a daughter rather than a son. Then, in the arms of a lover (Brant Hughes) she feels “purified” and plots her escape. Finally, betrayed by lilies and little stones, she meets the fate foretold in the electric hum of the opening scene.

With dialogue often in patter that anticipates beat poetry and hip-hop, and the haunting jazzy Chorus who could be echoes of the press, a jury, or just city folk of the Roaring Twenties who read-all-about-it, this drama flows like a well-told story, reaching out to the frustrated soul within us, reminding us that the machinery is ever turning.

Madison Pickering is assistant director, with Gary Curto as stage manager. The set design is by Kai Harris, with lighting design – essential to this production – by Aaron Burns.

Regarded as one of the greatest plays of the 20th century – with much to say in the 21st – “Machinal” has performances Thursday through Sunday, March 19-22 at Shelton Auditorium, 1000 W. 42nd St., Indianapolis (southwest corner of Butler University campus).

For information and tickets visit southbanktheatre.org.

Fresh serving of ‘Spitfire Grill’ in Hamilton County

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By John Lyle Belden

A balm for hard times, Carmel Community Players returns us to Gilead, Wis., with a new production of “The Spitfire Grill” at The Switch Theatre in Fishers.

Based on the 1996 film, this musical by old friends Fred Alley and James Valcq premiered Off-Broadway in 2001 and has seen many community stagings, including at Westfield in 2023. However, according to licensing agent Concord Theatricals, the show is “newly revised in 2024.” A quick Google didn’t yield details; it appears to us that any changes are subtle, as this is still an uplifting story of redemption – personal and community-wide – with a charm more genuine than the typical “Hallmark” movie romance.

Set around 1990, Percy (Breanna Helms), a young woman released on parole, arrives in this small forest town which she saw featured in an old travel magazine. Though peaceful and located on a trout stream, Gilead is dying as the nearby quarry closed, a major highway bypassed the town, and the celebrated foliage was diminished by logging. Sheriff Joe Sutter (Zach Hoover), the lone lawman and thus Percy’s parole officer, dreams of selling the plot of land he’ll inherit and taking the next bus out. Hannah Ferguson (Susan Boilek Smith) runs the Spitfire Grill, which she has had on the market for 14 years since her husband died.

The Grill is also the only boarding house, and job, for Percy, who takes on serving duties, then is cast almost literally “into the fire” with cooking when Hannah is injured in a fall. We also meet Hannah’s nephew Caleb Thorpe (John Whitaker), who was a foreman at the quarry and is not doing much better in local real estate; his wife, Shelby (Sarah Marone-Sowers), the one thing he feels control over, who he grudgingly allows to help Percy at the Grill; and Effy Krayneck (Christine Sanserino), proprietor of the local combination general store and Post Office, as well as voracious town gossip.

In addition, every night, Hannah leaves out a fresh loaf of bread for a mysterious visitor (Brandon Wentz).

The plot turns on a scheme, introduced by Percy and embraced by Shelby and Hannah, to give the Spitfire Grill to a worthy new owner in a mail-in raffle (Sheriff Joe sings that it’s legal, so don’t come at us with any contrary Wisconsin law). What this does for the town and its residents is fairly predictable, but really nice to watch play out – with only a couple of dramatic bumps on the way.

Under the expert direction of Kathleen Clarke Horrigan, Helms bravely tests the limits of her singing voice while perfectly portraying both Percy’s ex-con attitude and the tenderness she becomes comfortable to reveal. Hoover handsomely presents the Mayberry-esque demeanor appropriate to Sheriff Joe. Marone-Sowers gently portrays good-natured Shelby’s personal growth arc complementary to Percy’s. Whitaker keeps Caleb more stressed than sinister. Sanserino makes Effy a pill, but not entirely unlikable as she acts not out of spite, but her own odd way of striving to belong. Wentz’s mute role speaks volumes.

Smith, a steady stage veteran, is excellent as Hannah in all her maternal aspects. Considering she was Effy in the Westfield production makes an interesting contrast and tribute to her skill that she nailed both roles.

The simple stage set by Jonas Hildreth is enhanced by backstage projections designed by Cassidy Lane, adding atmosphere to the opening number and awe to Percy’s second-act number, “Shine.”

Behold CCP’s “colors of paradise” at The Switch Theatre in Ji-Eun Lee Music Academy, 10029 126th Street, Fishers. Performances of “The Spitfire Grill” are 7:30 p.m. Thursday and Friday, 2:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, March 5-8. Get tickets at carmelplayers.org.

Lessons impact more than students in ALT drama

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By John Lyle Belden

Home Economics education was a normal part of growing up female in America for most of the 20th century. Colleges took it a step further with degree programs and entire departments so that ambitious ladies could get socially acceptable careers in fields like foods and nutrition or education, or to just become more knowledgeable housewives.

In “Borrowed Babies,” the drama by Jennifer Blackmer presented by American Lives Theatre, an enterprising professor at an Indiana college creates an innovation within that system.

In 1952, Judy London (Jen Johansen) starts her “Home Management House” where four senior Home Ec majors will reside while taking on practical projects in aspects such as cooking and sewing. For them to better understand infant care, Mrs. London has arranged for an actual one-month-old from the local Children’s Home, who will live with them throughout the semester.

In 1982, the program has been inactive for over a decade and the House, where Mrs. London still has her office, is about to be demolished by the University to make way for new construction. Assisted by distracted student Shelly (Rachel Ivie), they are packing up accumulated paperwork and records when a 30-year-old woman (Lauren Briggeman) arrives, insisting on speaking with the professor. Wendy, they discover, has been here before.

On a singular stage set, designed by Nick Kilgore, we witness both eras. Bridget Haight’s direction, lighting design by Paully Crumpacker, and the skill of the cast – especially Johansen – make the story’s constant flow between these periods natural and easy to follow.

In the ‘50s, we get to know the four students: Vera (Hannah Luciani) is an honor student, eager to please. Louise (Carmia Imani) is ambitious, her eye on both a career and a certain young man, though she is regarded as the group’s worst cook. Betty (Dorian Underwood) is bright and upbeat with dreams of making it in the New York art scene. Bernie (Sarah Powell), daughter of a former “Rosie the Riveter” and an overbearing father, enjoys fixing things – however, she resists helping to care for the baby, as she doesn’t plan to have one of her own.

Julie Dixon plays Mrs. Rose McGuinness, a social worker with the Children’s Home.

Blackmer, a Professor of Theatre at Ball State University in Muncie, based this play on a past program of “practice houses” there. Having this grounded in a real mid-century experiment, done with the best intentions but a more ends-justify-means standard of ethics typical at the time, makes this drama even more fascinating. It also gives a glimpse into the lives of women college students who must reconcile unlimited potential with limited opportunities.

In addition, this production gives us the pleasure of seeing two of Indy’s best actors, Johansen and Briggeman, go toe-to-toe in a battle of wills. Those playing students also get moments to shine, especially Powell in her deeply conflicted role.

Class is in session, with lessons that ask hard but important questions. “Borrowed Babies” runs through Feb. 22 at the Phoenix Theatre Cultural Centre, 705 N. Illinois St. in downtown Indianapolis. For tickets, go to phoenixtheatre.org.

IRT: Seeking kin and kinship in Wilson’s ‘Joe Turner’

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By John Lyle Belden

“Joe Turner’s Come and Gone” is a blues song with a terrible history. It is also the title of an August Wilson drama now on stage at the Indiana Repertory Theatre.

This is part of Wilson’s famous “American Century Cycle” of ten plays reflecting the African-American experience – nearly all set in Pittsburgh – each in a different decade of the 20th Century. Director Timothy Douglas is particularly qualified to bring “Joe Turner” to life in Indy, having worked with Wilson decades ago at Yale Repertory Theatre, as well as directing nearly all the cycle over the years, including “Jitney” and “Gem of the Ocean” at IRT.

It is 1911 in the boarding house of Seth Holly (Keith Randolph) and his wife Bertha (Stephanie Berry). Black, yet free their entire lives, they rent rooms to many who come up from the South seeking opportunity and some sort of genuine freedom. Emancipation was at least 46 years earlier, so we mainly meet members of its first generation, dealing with a world failing to keep its hard-won promises to them.

Bynum (DeShawn Harold Mitchell) carries the once-hidden tradition of the “root-man” with his herbal remedies and charms, as well as the power of “binding” through the song he received during an encounter with The Shiny Man. Though Seth is proudly pragmatic, he maintains a surprisingly high tolerance for Bynum’s “heebee-jeebee.”

Jeremy (Jacques Jean-Mary) is a young man with more confidence than sense. A day laborer on highway construction, he’s proficient at the guitar and at flirting with women. He works his charms on young, beautiful Mattie (Kaitlyn Boyer), who initially sought Bynum’s help with her broken heart.

The mysterious and constantly agitated Herald Loomis (Shane Taylor) arrives with young daughter Zonia (Kerah Lily Jackson). With an aggressively desperate attitude, he seeks his wife and Zonia’s mother. Despite his concerns, Seth rents them a room but keeps to himself that the women Harold seeks may be past resident Martha Pentecost (Lilian A. Oben).

Discreet and ladylike Molly (Dane Figueroa Edidi) also takes a room for a while.

Seth makes extra money with his skill at making pots, pans, and other objects from sheet metal. His main customer is the peddler Rutherford Selig (Peter Bisgaier), a White man with a reputation as a “people finder.” Selig’s grandfather and father hunted slaves, but he keeps a good rapport with the Black community, helping those scattered by the post-war diaspora to find one another.

While playing outside, Zonia meets and spends time innocently with neighbor boy Reuben (Christian Makai Lucas).

Revealing the genius of Wilson, the skill of Douglas, and the talent of the cast, while there is not much action, there is a whole lot going on. Smith is mostly bluster with just enough edge as Seth. It should be noted that true to his time, Mr. Holly does use the “N” word quite a bit. It shows a delineation in his mind between Blacks like himself with at least a small amount of property and standing, and the poor and often uneducated individuals he notices in increasing numbers. Still, he is reasonable and in this house his word is law, with subtle deference to his wife.

With maternal wisdom and delicious biscuits, Berry as Bertha manages to keep a civil and even cheerful atmosphere even as a palpable tension grows among the house’s residents. We witness in Boyer’s portrayal of Mattie a steady emergence from naiveté. Jean-Mary gives us a somewhat likeable Jeremy, who seems to insist on growing up the hard way. With Bynum, Mitchell gives what could be seen as an un-serious character (analogous to a hippie in later decades) surprising depth and gravitas. He is a keeper of ancient wisdom that somehow survived the slavery era.

Taylor makes the most of a role that tends to get award nominations. He wears his struggles like Herald Loomis’s ever-present heavy coat and black hat. Eventually, we will come to find the source of the man’s pain, wrapped in the chains of a certain tragic song.

Jackson and Lucas are impressive as well – especially in handling a down-front and center scene that includes a monologue for Reuben. (Alternate young actors are Amor Coleman and Joshua Klaman.)

Also notable is the excellent stage design by Tony Cisek, open and dynamic yet giving the impression of these people’s place in the unadorned foundational structure of the Steel City.  

A perfect outing for Black History Month, “Joe Turner’s Come and Gone” runs through Feb. 22 at the IRT, 140 W. Washington St. in the heart of downtown Indianapolis. Get info and tickets at irtlive.com.

Situation of sensitivities tests couple in TOTC premiere

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By John Lyle Belden

How do you strive to do better in a rude and judgmental world without falling into snap judgements, and even, ironically, coming off rude? This conundrum comes with a dose of deeper issues in the dark comedy, “St. Sebastian.”

This Indianapolis premiere is the first full production by That Other Theatre Company, directed by company founder Jay Hemphill. The play by nationally known locally-based playwright Andrew Kramer grapples with bittersweet humor a collision of left-of-center issues including gentrification, race, and LGBTQ, as well as personal trust and faith.

Gay couple Ben (Eric Olson) and Gideon (Joe Wagner) have moved into a house with plans to fix it up and “flip” it. Ben, a former priest who works full-time on the renovation, feels glad to have gotten this foreclosure for a low price at auction. However, Gideon, a younger man who works as a DEI sensitivity trainer, discovers to his dismay that their home is in Robbins, Ill., one of the most notable historically Black towns in America. And Ben and Gideon are white.

Ben encounters a local youth, Rueben (Jy’Ierre Jones), checking out his new neighbors. Finding no ill will either way, Ben soon pays Rueben to do some yard work and odd jobs. Gideon’s extreme reactions reflect current sensibilities while betraying feelings he is reluctant to acknowledge.

The narrative plays out in a series of fairly short scenes, giving snapshots of the plot’s progression. Some elements are given without resolution, such as the padlock on the closet, and the broken window. Does the neighborhood dog (unseen) signify something, or is he just a friendly stray? Perhaps these are reminders that in real life, not everything we encounter has some higher meaning.

Much of the focus is on the love between Ben and Gideon, with honest passion and tested like that of any couple (gay, straight or otherwise). Learning the origin of their relationship could make you uncomfortable, yet Olson and Wagner make their feelings genuine. Their individual perspectives surprise them, with bitter disagreement over what were common goals. Wagner makes Gideon’s overthinking nature a source of both humor and tension.

Jones gives us an interesting, complex character. He is a teen who likes to paint action figures, a neighbor whose presence hints at a past connection to this house. He is curious and a bit insightful, but still a kid.

The title refers to an early Catholic saint, usually pictured as a young man tied to a tree and pierced with arrows, having the honor (or misfortune) to be martyred twice. Noting St. Sebastian’s more recent embrace by the LGBTQ community, Gideon keeps a small statue as a prized possession.

While you may not learn “How Not to Be a Gentrifier,” you might glean an insight into human nature under modern pressures. A show that’s sure to spark some conversations, “St. Sebastian” runs through Feb. 8 on the Basile main stage of the IF Theatre, 719 E. St. Clair St., Indianapolis. Get tickets at indyfringe.org.

Center Stage: #PrideAndPrejudice gets upgrade

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By Wendy Carson      

With all the various Holiday shows on stages right now, Center Stage Community Theater brings us an alternative with a rollicking interpretation of a Jane Austen classic, “Pride @ Prejudice,” by Daniel Elihu Kramer. The show presents a more internet-savvy version of the story including clickbait asides, historical tidbits, and even merchandise for sale. It felt something akin to a Fringe Festival production.

The cast consists of five actors, all portraying various characters in the novel, except for Trinity Pruitt in the single role of main character Elizabeth Bennet, while Adrian Blackwell plays the snide Mr. Darcy and the sleezy Mr. Collins – though there are a few times that a cardboard standee also portrays Mr. Darcy. Given the plethora of characters remaining for Kat Krebs, Todd Isaac, and Tanya Haas, director Matt McKee opts to elevate stage manager Ava McKee to also portray various servant roles and show scene changes.

The story remains unchanged but with frantic pacing and rapid narration, bring about some background commentary that might change your feelings towards some of the characters. The script also incorporates letters from Jane Austen herself to further flesh out the times and situations. Therefore, the show is a very good primer for those unfamiliar with the novel. However, Austen purists made find the irreverence to be off-putting.

Overall, the show is a delight, and the entire cast is fantastic. Highlight performances, for me, were Krebs as Lady Catherine, Blackwell as Mr. Collins, Isaac as Mr. Bingley and Mr. Gardiner, Tanya Haas as Miss de Bourgh, and, of course, Pruitt as Elizabeth.

So, if you’re looking for something different yet still enjoyable this season, head over to Lebanon and catch this top-notch offering.

Performances are Friday through Sunday, Dec. 12-14 and 19-21, at 604 W. Powell St., Lebanon. Get information and tickets at centerstagecommunitytheatre.com.