Epilogue Players

At Epilogue, ‘Business’ is good

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By John Lyle Belden

Economic conditions are uncertain, but aren’t they always? In 1982, with the Reagan era getting under way, various stresses threaten “A Little Family Business” in the comic drama by Jay Presson Allen (adapted from a French farce by Pierre Barillet and Jean Pierre Gredy) at Epilogue Players, directed by Elizabeth Ruddell.

Ben Ridley (David Beck), president of the Cobbs Carpet Sweeper company is facing competition from inexpensive Japanese electric sweepers, as well as worker unrest. His disappointing son Scott (Mac Wright) plays the flute for a living; daughter Connie (Hazel Bolt) bugs him about his diet like a health nut, but her Republican heart is in the right place; faithful secretary Nadine (Samantha Kelly) is still doable, though he has younger ladies on his mind; and it turns out he forgot his wife’s –heiress Lillian [nee Cobb](Tanya Haas) – birthday. On top of all this, hated former employee and Democratic candidate for Governor Salvatore Farrantino (James Kenjorski) is in town. Still, railing like a slightly updated Archie Bunker, Ben is not about to back down to anyone – until his weak heart intervenes.

Forced to take a leave of absence, the boss is left with little choice but to leave his wife – who had been mostly idle except for catalogue-fueled shopping sprees (and secret donations to progressive causes) – in charge of the company. But after Lillian gets past telling the factory employee grievance committee (H. Dupiton, Katherine Novick, Dale W. Smith, and Mike Harold) she’s “just a woman,” it dawns on her that that is enough. And she has ideas.

Set at a time when women in charge were becoming more common (like Margaret Thatcher in Britain) though still rare, this show offers a light-hearted dose of empowerment with some interesting family dynamics. This includes the distress inadvertently triggered by Scott’s choice of fiancé, as Ben, Sal, and Lillian come to terms with the circumstances of past affairs.

Haas is charming and even when Lillian’s unsure, keeps her whip-smart. Beck makes the randy bigot Ben somehow likable, no doubt aided by the fact his wife never really gives up on him. Bolt boldly plays a feminine Alex P. Keaton – if this were more of a drama, we would no doubt be exploring some daddy issues. Wright plays Scott as one accustomed to his father’s disappointment, which gives him a subtle wisdom as he goes-along gets-along so he can do his own thing. Kenjorski presents a big smile, big handshake, savvy politician with some actual heart for the common man (and uncommon folk like the Ridleys – especially Lillian). Kelly puts the “professional” in professional assistant as Nadine, heroic for putting up with Ben, and making herself invaluable to Lillian.

Kelly also serves as stage manager, and Wright is assistant director. The elegant yet functional set was designed by Ruddell and Ed Mobley

Invest a little time and ticket fare in “A Little Family Business,” Thursday through Sunday, April 18-21, at 1849 N. Alabama St. (corner of 19th and Alabama), downtown Indianapolis. Get tickets and info at epilogueplayers.com.

Life gets funnier with age for these ‘Girls’

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By John Lyle Belden

“Life is like Jello,” says Carlene, the “black widow of Eden Falls.” We’re not sure if that’s true, but we did find ourselves shaking a lot – from laughter – at “The Hallelujah Girls,” the Jones Hope Wooten comedy on stage at Epilogue Players, directed by Therese Burns.

Lea Ellingwood plays manicurist Carlene, thrice widowed and giving up on love, while Barbara Lemay is her sister, Crystal, who hasn’t been the same since that tornado, yet is ever joyous with her celebration – complete with baking and invented “carols” – of every calendar holiday. They join Mavis (Elizabeth Popplewell), who doesn’t mind time away from her frustratingly drab husband, and Nita (Tracy Brunner) who escapes with trashy romance novels like her ne’er-do-well son likes to escape his parole officer, to meet up with Sugar Lee (Valerie Nowosielski) at a long-abandoned church. In the wake of a mutual friend passing away without realizing her dreams, Sugar has decided this building will become her new day-spa, and she needs her fellow 50-plus ladies to pitch in.

At first reluctant at this mutual midlife project, the others agree, and Spa-Dee-Dah! becomes the Georgia town’s newest hotspot, complete with sauna. Not everyone is thrilled with this, as social vultu- I mean butterfly Bunny Sutherland (Elizabeth Ruddell) wanted to raze the old church and build a museum to hersel- I mean the town. Her first attempt at sabotage fails; sending Sugar’s ex-fiance Bobby Dwayne (Brad Burns) to take the renovation contract gives the women the most reliable worker in the area. Sugar and Bobby smolder below the surface, but she refuses to forgive him for what happened the day of their high school graduation, tolerating him until the work is done.

Meanwhile, single postal worker Porter (Grant Bowen), having survived a near-death experience, decides to court Carlene. Noticing the women working at the former church, he dubs them “the Hallelujah Girls.”

The play takes place over a year of Fridays, when the Girls routinely gather, highlighted by Crystal’s latest over-the-top costume. There are the ups and downs of starting a small business, Bunny’s endless plotting, and, my, Bobby Dwayne does look good in them shorts, right, Sugar Lee?

Still, through all the laughs and fun, one bad swing of the hammer brings certain disaster. Given the setting, maybe they’ll get a miracle.

Epilogue Players was established as a place for those 50 and older to shine, so this show is a perfect fit, with lively performances by these young-at-heart actors. The wisecracks about aging sound genuine, but with more good humor than despair, striking the funny bone just right. Also, the costume outfits Burns comes up with for Crystal are a treat in themselves. Everyone is sweet-tea refreshing, except for Bunny, whom Ruddell makes just as deliciously evil.

Amanda Greene is assistant director and stage manager. And a hat-tip to props master Diane McGuire for finding the “Why limit Happy to one Hour?” sign that could serve as a theme for the whole project.

With an upbeat theme that it is never too late in life to work on your dreams (including romance), hilarity liberally scattered throughout, and a lesson on the true value of a good peach brandy, this is a fun escape from the local Georgia-like heat, with remaining performances Thursday through Sunday, June 22-25, at 1849 N. Alabama St. (corner of 19th and Alabama), downtown Indianapolis. Tickets and info at epilogueplayers.com.

Epilogue: Secrets of neighborhood ‘Miracle’ revealed

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By John Lyle Belden

As posted in the program, playwright Tom Dudzick was inspired by an actual shrine to the Blessed Virgin Mary erected in his childhood Buffalo, N.Y., neighborhood by a barber who said She had appeared to him in his shop. Thinking, “there’s a story here,” Dudzick made up the Nowak family of his comedy, “Miracle on South Division Street,” on stage Thursday through Sunday at Epilogue Players.

In the year 2000, Ruth (Shannon Clancy), an aspiring actress and writer, calls a family meeting. Garbage-truck driving brother Jimmy (Grant Bowen) is on hand, and mother Clara (Letitia Clemons) arrives to critique Ruth’s method of preparing lunch. Soon, sister Beverly (Jeanna Little) joins them, persuaded to put off bowling practice (big tournament tonight!) to find out what is going on.  

These Nowaks, Polish Catholics of varying piety, are caretakers of the famous statue, revered in the neighborhood but ignored by the Vatican. Ruth has both good and potentially bad news: rather than pen her in-progress novel, she will write a play about the shrine, for which a producer has already approached her; however, the story of the statue will be quite different from the one Clara has had them tell their entire lives.

Family mayhem ensues. But as revelations crash like waves upon the family – “like if the Hardy Boys were Catholic!” Jimmy declares – a bigger story comes into focus, bringing fresh meaning to the “Blessed Mother.”

The characters occupy two ends of a spectrum, with Clara embodying a traditional mother type that Clemons imbues with a loving spirit, and simple-pleasures Beverly an upper-Midwest archetype. Meanwhile Ruth has Big Apple ambitions and one foot in the closet, while Jimmy is courting danger by seeing a woman outside the faith. Bowen balances a man/boy character who doesn’t want to make waves yet feels the need to make his own way. Clancy ably handles the burden of being the fulcrum on which the plot balances, a sister and daughter resigned to being the truth-teller, though she feels it could cost her the trust and love of her family.

Directed by Ed Mobley, this very funny heart-filled family drama is a reminder that miracles do happen – often in ways we don’t expect.

Performances, through April 30, are at Epilogue’s corner stage at 1849 N. Alabama St., Indianapolis. Info and tickets at epilogueplayers.com.

Epilogue brings monster tale to life with radio magic

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By John Lyle Belden

When dealing with a familiar favorite story, the best part is in how it’s told.

In “Frankenstein: The Radio Play,” presented by Epilogue Players, Mary Shelley’s classic novel is presented as a radio drama produced in 1940s London – an escape from the horrors of the real world. Adapted by Philip Grecian from his stage play, based on Shelley’s 1818 book, the production gives us a theatre of the mind experience while providing a glimpse into how the audio magic is made.

The immersive experience goes a step further by not renaming the actors as British counterparts, and by including radio ads promoting every advertiser in the program. This may be the best promotion English Ivy’s restaurant and bar (in today’s Indianapolis, just down the street) has ever gotten.

Craig Kemp (actually from the U.K., by the way) voices the titular figure, Victor Frankenstein – whom any literature buff will note is the true “monster” of the novel – in fine fashion, from the soothing doctor in love to the ecstatic “it’s ALIVE!” during the creature’s “birth.” Other actors provide major and minor parts (the broadcast audience can’t see them, so switching is a manner of inflection, which they easily do). Principally, Alex Bast is the doctor’s friend and assistant, Henry Clerval; Dale W. Smith is their peer, Professor Waldman; Caity Withers, the studio announcer and producer, is Baroness Frankenstein; Phoebe Aldridge is young Catherine Frankenstein; Melody Simms is Catherine’s governess, Justine Moritz; Bella King is Victor’s cousin and fiancé, Elizabeth Frankenstein; Grant Bowen is Arctic explorer Capt. Robert Walton, as well as the blind man, Delacey; and Jason Creighton is The Creature (usually referred to by epithets, by himself as Adam/Lucifer, but never as his “father’s” name), giving an appropriately powerful rendition of the misunderstood beast.

Also deserving of star billing are foley artists Amanda Greene, Roger E. Dutcher, Karen Markle, and Zach Thompson, who undertake complex effects with as close as the era allowed to surround-sound. Seeing the various gadgets used only adds to the fun while their acoustical accuracy doesn’t break their spell. Daniel Watson directs and composed some of the music, performed by Bethany Watson on piano.

Glancing over the novel’s plot summary as well as various films from James Whale to Kenneth Branagh and variations including breakfast cereal and Abbot & Costello, I probably should make some notes of the story here. This play does start and end on Cpt. Walton’s ship approaching the North Pole. Henry sounds quite handsome, with no hunchback noted, and is a fellow scientist, not a servant. Also, a critical plot point, the brain supplied to the creature is that of a genius Victor admires (not “Abbie Normal”), which becomes evident at the Adam’s clarity after his initial mental fog, making his reasoned impulses for revenge more menacing. Finally, there is no postmodern wink or sight-gags among the English cast; this show is played for chills, not laughs.

Performances run through Feb. 26. Space is limited at the little theatre on Hedback Corner, 1849 N. Alabama St., and tickets are selling fast. Get yours at EpiloguePlayers.com.   

Mothers know best in Epilogue comedy

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By Wendy Carson

Parents – we all have them; we all love them; they all give us both good and bad advice; and they all drive us crazy. This is the basic premise of Katherine DiSavino’s “Things My Mother Taught Me,” presented by Epilogue Players.

Young Olivia (Erynne Sutton) and her long-time boyfriend Gabe (Ethen Romba) are in the process of moving in together. However, the new chair they picked out together is stuck in the doorway, which also alludes to how they are still stuck under their parents’ careful scrutiny, even after moving halfway across the country.

Since Gabe is a mama’s boy, he, naturally but to Olivia’s surprise, invites his parents to come help with the move. Lydia (Serita Borgeas) is the classic definition of a “Smother,” and her husband Wyatt (Tom Meador) is easy-going and totally oblivious to her overzealous nature. Once they arrive, Lydia takes over everything and poor Olivia is overwhelmed.

Things go even more haywire when Olivia’s parents Karen (Karen K. Temple) and Carter (R.C. Thorne) arrive as well. Add to this their moving van being stolen and the crazy antics of their building manager, Max (Stephen E. Foxworthy) and you can see how the laughs just keep on coming in this delightful farce.

Sutton gives Olivia a tender hopefulness that everything will eventually work out for everyone while Romba keeps Gabe at wits end trying to keep all of his plans together, no matter who spoils them.

Borgeas shows the caring side of Lydia that is often overlooked due to her commandeering ways while Meador shows Wyatt is more interested in finding a fix to a situation that the repercussions his actions might have. Temple brings Karen’s fears of her child repeating her own mistakes to the forefront of her own neurosis while Thorne brings so much light-hearted sweetness to his role as Carter.

Director Brent Wooldridge keeps the laughs coming, while allowing the solid parental advice within the script to be heard.

Learning can be fun – at least when you’re in the audience. Take a lesson at Epilogue, “Hedback Corner” at 1849 N. Alabama, Indianapolis, through Sunday, Sept. 25. Get information and reserve tickets at epilogueplayers.com.

Bizarre courtship for ‘Sara’ at Epilogue

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By John Lyle Belden

“Getting Sara Married” plays out like a rom-com by way of the Twilight Zone, but if you roll with the absurdity, it’s a lot of fun.

In this comedy by Sam Bobrick, directed by Veronique Duprey at Epilogue Players, Sara (Monya Wolf) is a busy New York defense attorney and, as the title hints, single. She enjoys her solitary lifestyle and has no interest in marriage whatsoever.

Thus her Aunt Martha (Molly Kraus) takes it upon herself to engage in some unusual matchmaking. She has Brandon (Vince Pratt), the handsome professional she has selected for Sara, bonked on the head by “jack of all trades” Noogie (Brian Nichols) and delivered, unconscious, to Sara’s apartment. Need we mention Martha might not be entirely sane?

Shocked, Sara scrambles to prevent needing a defense lawyer herself. Brandon awakes, and after an amusing bout of amnesia, sorts out who he is, but not why he’s in a strange woman’s home — which he is impressed with, by the way. He grabs a quick bite before leaving, but is taken down by a just-remembered food allergy.

How is Brandon going to explain all this to his fiance, Heather (Rachel Kelso)?

Set just before smartphones took over the world, we only see Martha at the stage edge, on the other end of her landline — sometimes getting work from her favorite chiropractor (Alex Dantin) — presented charmingly by Kraus with unflagging confidence. 

Wolf ably takes us along on Sara’s emotional roller-coaster. Pratt plays a bit of a confused goof, but not dumb, so we can see the qualities that got Brandon chosen for this odd adventure. Nichols as eager-to-please Noogie is a likable mook, and I’m not just saying that so I don’t have to keep looking over my shoulder. Kelso has an interesting arc with Heather, a woman who — though initially infuriated — comes to understand the situation. Dantin seems to enjoy being the strong, silent type.

Hilarious with an odd charm, the show has four more performances, Thursday through Sunday, Feb. 20-23, at Hedback Corner, 1849 N. Alabama St. near downtown Indianapolis. Call 317-926-3139 or visit www.epilogueplayers.com.

Zach & Zack’s ‘Angry Inch’ measures up

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By John Lyle Belden

Once again, internationally ignored superstar Hedwig Robinson takes the stage in Indianapolis, fronting “Hedwig and the Angry Inch.” The German glam goddess tells her story while shadowing former partner Johnny Gnosis, who is on another stage, reaping the benefits of scandal.

“Hedwig,” the acclaimed Off-Broadway musical, is a transcendent sensory experience when done right — and Zach (Rosing) & Zack (Neiditch) may have succeeded with this month’s production on the Epilogue Players stage.

That’s right, this punk youthquake is in the little corner theatre that typically showcases older actors. But on the other hand, given her Cold War backstory, the character of Hedwig isn’t so young anymore. The show was originally performed and set around the year 2000, so to keep the story fresh this play blurs the last 20 years into a spacetime setting of its own — not hard to reconcile for folks like me for whom the 20th century feels like yesterday, but might require some don’t-think-about-it for younger viewers.

Tim Hunt is Hedwig, with face, voice and attitude much like the show’s creator and original star, John Cameron Mitchell. Her look is made complete by exquisite costumes and headpieces by costumer Beck Jones, especially during “Wig in a Box.”

Hedwig’s present husband, Yitzhak, is portrayed perfectly by Kate Homan, from his sulking resentment and grudging fidelity to an outstanding transformation at the end.

They are backed by a solid onstage band of Jacob Stensberg, Matt Day, Steven Byroad and Andrew McAfee. They perform on a punk-aesthetic stage complete with cleverly used discarded-but-functional televisions.

As fans know, the “Angry Inch” refers to more than the band; it’s the result of the botched sex-change operation in East Berlin when young Hansel Schmidt became Hedwig. So, needless to say, there is mature content in this show (but no nudity). And as the historical context slips further into the past, and it being less unusual to see a Trans entertainer on stage, we are confronted with the other, larger, more universal theme of the play — the personal search for completion.

This world’s foundational myth (in the “Origin of Love”) is that humanity was only content when each “person” was a complete set of two individuals fused together. But in the longing for finding one’s other half, they ironically lose or give away parts of themselves. This is Hedwig’s journey — losing her “parts” to gain a man, yielding her creativity in the attempt to hold another, then denying Yitzhak his own completion for as long as her own soul is fragmented.

As the many puzzles presented come together, we all share in the completion of a beautiful experience, a feeling no one can tear down.

Performances are Thursday through Sunday (Jan. 11-14) at 1849 N. Alabama St. Click here for info and tickets.

Epilogue presents inspiring ‘Tribute’

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By John Lyle Belden

Sometimes a man can be a friend or even hero to the people he meets and works with in a career, but still be distant to his own family. This theme is at the heart of “Tribute,” the 1970s comic drama by Bernard Slade (writer of the hit “Same Time Next Year,” who also helped bring “The Flying Nun” and “Partridge Family” to TV), presented through Nov. 19 at Epilogue Players.

Scottie Templeton (played by Greg Howard) has had a varied career – writing plays, producing in Hollywood – while taking none of it seriously. This attitude has made him a friend to everyone, giving him connections that he can link as a consummate man behind the scenes. But he is also long estranged from his ex-wife and a stranger to the grown son who had worshiped him as a child – before the divorce.

Circumstances bring his ex, Maggie (Laura Baltz), and son, Jud (Joshua Brunsting), to his New York apartment. Scottie tries desperately to reconnect – especially with the young man who is as humorlessly serious as he is carefree – because he has discovered he has leukemia and might have only months to live. His close friend and business partner Lou (Dennis Forkel) and doctor, Gladys (Wendy Brown), try to do what’s best for him. Meanwhile, Scottie sets up his young friend, Sally (Lauren McDaniel), with Jud in an attempt to loosen him up. Melissa Cleaver completes the cast as Hillary, a woman who received much-needed aid from unjudgemental Scottie, and returns to town to repay a little of his kindness.

We get the full measure of the man both from these scenes and in testimonials at the “Tribute” thrown in his honor, the dramatic device that enrobes the play. And we get a good measure of the style and charisma of Howard, who never lets up on the charm, yet often allows Scottie to betray the seriousness of the situation.

The women are each charming in their own way – Baltz as a caring realist who has come to terms with the quirks of the men in his life; McDaniel as a pillar of confidence who will not be taken lightly; Brown as a caring soul, both the healer wanting to help and the friend not wanting so see someone she cares for die; and Cleaver as one wacky nurse.

Brunsting’s Jud is such a stick in the mud, but he’s not unlikable. As we, and Scottie, come to understand the lifetime of pain and estrangement, we see through the layers to the boy inside who once enjoyed cracking corny jokes with his dad.

Directed by Catherine Mobley, “Tribute” fits excellently into Epilogue’s mission of finding great roles for young-at-heart actors, including strong woman characters.

In seeing this play, we can’t help but think of the people we need to better connect with, as well as consider how much what we do to help others’ success is really appreciated. The laughs far outnumber the tears here, but there is a heart to this show, worthy of being honored by a full applauding theatre.

Performances are Friday through Sunday, Nov. 17-19, at 1849 N. Alabama Street (corner of 19th and Alabama) in downtown Indy. Call 317-926-3139 or visit www.epilogueplayers.com.