John

Want to see a snowman? ETC presents ‘Frozen’

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By John Lyle Belden

Given the weather lately, some ice and snow would be refreshing. To get the feel, if not the chill, enter an air-conditioned church hall to see the musical “Frozen Jr.” presented by Epsilon Theatrical Company.

As the title indicates, this is the stage version of the 2013 animated Disney film which added songs, a few updates, and hit Broadway in 2018, with book by the movie’s screenwriter Jennifer Lee and music and lyrics by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez.

The addition of “Jr.” means that this is both cast with and appropriate for children, with ETC’s actors aged about 9 to 19. The content edits are few enough to keep the show tight length-wise, while not lacking in substance. And though a community kids’ production, the talent and dedication are exceptional throughout.

The familiar plot is intact: In the Norway-adjacent kingdom of Arendelle, the King and Queen’s two daughters love each other, but the fact that one of them has magical ice-elemental powers leads to near-tragedy and their parents keeping them apart as they grow up. Later, with the parents lost at sea, elder Princess Elsa is crowned queen as she comes of age, and despite her best efforts, inadvertently releases her weather powers. Seen as a “monster,” she runs away into the mountains. Her sister Princess Anna, eventually joined by local ice-cutter Kristoff, reindeer Sven, and the living snowman Olaf (who the sisters made when they were children), travel off to find her. After Elsa’s big song – you know the one – there is conflict, betrayal, and a true-love ending a little different from other Disney fairy-tale classics.

Epsilon treats us to three sets of sisters – Lila Dodyk and Ellie Richart as young Anna and Elsa, Riley Sutton and Rose Kennerk as “middle” Anna and Elsa with a charming “Do You Want to Make a Snowman?” and Brynn Dunlap and Lauren Bowman completing the play as the maturing Anna and Elsa, respectively. Dunlap gives us the full range of her character, from hopeful, to smitten, to determined, to commanding and heroic. Bowman delivers an apt performance of immense power barely checked by equally powerful fear. Pushed to her limit vocally, she ascends without “letting go” of her vocal chords.

Silas Tripple and Ashlynn Stone play the King and Queen. Other nobility on hand include Caleb Estes as the Duke of Weselton (his “weasel”-ish political demeanor makes him quite entertaining) and Zach Kolterman as Prince Hans of the Southern Isles, who sparks an instant romance with Anna.  Gavin McMillin is the Bishop at the coronation.

The stone trolls of the film have been replaced by the “hidden folk,” also of Scandinavian lore, led by Pabbie (Thomas Kim) and skilled in the ways of magic.

For provisions on Anna and Kristoff’s journey, there is the Oaken Family shop wagon, where Oaken (Tripple) and his kin go all out to provide “Hygge.” Soloists in that rousing musical number include Fender Brokamp, Kennerk, and Amelia Landrum.

Speaking of Kristoff, Aaron Owens delivers the country-boy charm with subtle dignity, accompanied by Judah Owens as Sven – charming in his own way, with more speaking lines than I recall the deer having in the movie. As the “love interest,” Kolterman effectively gives us both sides of Prince Hans.

Elsa’s powers manifest with a “Snow Chorus” of dancers: Molly Ades, Rebecca Burkhart, Bethany Frederick, Hazel Heath, Ellie Richart, and Riley Sutton. Their presence worked without being gimmicky or distracting, arms pointing like the spread of frost on windows. A crew member mentioned to me that some had formal ballet training, and the others learned to follow right in step to deliver their effects.

Natural scene-stealer Colm Tripple embodies the naïve and noble Olaf with easy charisma. He is said to be interested in working behind the scenes as well, so I expect we’ll be seeing a lot of this kid in the future.

The talented cast also includes Norah Ambrose, Ceci Burkhart, Althea Butz, Skyler Cook, Jonah Gibbons, Sarahanne Gibbons, Phebie Heath, Lydia Nilsen, Ella Owens, Jonny Owens, Adelaide Phillips, Nova Prater, Bea Rader, Abby Rowls, Brooklynn Shaw, Ember Stritar, Zoe’Rose Taylor, Greta Wolff, Conrad Zook, and Graham Zook.

Past ETC company member Allyssa Moore returns again to direct, with music director Tiffany Billingsly, choreographer Kennedy Wilson, and stage manager Mia Joelle Baille. The impressive costuming was thanks to costume manager Kate Ambrose, wardrobe director Lawana Penrod, and Moore as “glam squad & wig design.”

All the fun of the popular show, with the thrill of having it all happen right in front of you by eager young local performers, find “Frozen Jr.” playing at Broadway United Methodist Church, 609 E. 29th St., Indianapolis, Friday through Sunday, June 27-29. Get tickets at epsilontheatricalco.org.

‘Everybody’s Girl’ on Epilogue stage

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By John Lyle Belden

Going up Alabama Street to see Madison Avenue sounds confusing – especially if you know the layout of Indianapolis – but actually, it’s the direction to a fabulous show.

Magic Thread Cabaret (Klein and Alvarez Productions) presents drag artist Jim Melton as Ms. Madison Avenue in “Maddie: Everybody’s Girl” for two weekends at Epilogue Players theatre.

We attended and enjoyed her performance of this revue at the White Rabbit in Fountain Square in March. Portraying the hour before she takes the stage, we visit Maddie preparing with accompanist Dustin Klein (every dressing room has a piano, right?) and occasionally fussed over by Tina Brannum Mahern as Mimi the maid. Make no mistake, though, this is all about Maddie and “the mostly true story of my colorful life.”

We learn she is the hottest thing to come out of Bull’s Butt, Idaho, as she relates her struggles with show biz, life, and her inner diva, interspersed with showtunes and standards including the full (with intro) version of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.” She is a bit vulnerable, quite funny, and all heart (but not “Roxy Hart,” she substitutes “Madison Avenue” in that lyric).  

Admitting to her stumbles and that at 26, “I’m still learning,” she also notes, “I’m the greatest star, but no one knows it” (from “Funny Girl”). This production is a step in the right direction.

Funny and fabulous, showing she can carry a tune and hold an audience, experience the glow of Madison Avenue, “Everybody’s Girl,” June 27-29 and July 5-6 at 1849 N. Alabama St. (corner of 19th and Alabama), Indianapolis. Get tickets at kleinandalvarez.com.

Charming look at ‘Club’ all eventually join

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By John Lyle Belden

Epilogue Players presents the lively comedy, “The Cemetery Club,” by Ivan Menchell, directed by Kelly Keller.

Once a month, Jewish widows Ida (Valerie Nowosielski), Lucille (Lisa Warner Lowe), and Doris (Marie McNelis) meet at Ida’s place and go to a cemetery in Forest Hills, Queens, to visit the graves of their husbands. When we meet them, it is the four-year anniversary of the passing of Doris’s husband, Abe, to whom she is as devoted as ever. Ida still loves her Murray, but is starting to feel she wants to do more than converse with a stone. Lucille is just glad her Harry is staying in one place.

Sam Katz (Tom Smith), the local butcher, comes by to visit the grave of his wife Myrna, and things get interesting.

With an upcoming social event – their friend Selma is getting married, again, and all are invited – the opportunity for dating, and maybe more, is in the air. Tom, feeling like a nervous teen, asks Ida out. Perpetual flirt Lucille appears jealous, while Doris is appalled at the whole situation. This results in hilarious situations reminiscent of “Sex and the City,” but older and more Jewish (and less sex). Mary DeBoer adds spice as Mildred, an additional wedding guest.

Aside from being very funny, the play also tugs at the heartstrings as we see friendships tested while they each in their own way continue to deal with loss and the need to “write a new chapter.” Nowosielski, Lowe, and McNelis have the chemistry of three ladies long comfortable with one another’s quirks. However, this familiarity leads to presumptions of what is best for one who is acting differently. Smith’s character is like a guy at any age who is caught up in a women’s world, trying seemingly in vain to do what is right.

Wendy Brown is assistant director, and Patti Boyle is stage manager.

Embrace life by attending “The Cemetery Club,” performances Thursday through Sunday (June 19-22), at Epilogue Players, 1849 N. Alabama (corner of 19th and Alabama St.), Indianapolis. Reserve tickets at epilogueplayers.com.

This reviewer praises CCP young artist production

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By John Lyle Belden

Carmel Community Players presents the fantastical tale “This Girl Laughs, This Girl Cries, This Girl Does Nothing,” an internationally popular play for young actors and audiences by Finegan Kruckemeyer, the CCP Rising Star Production performing through this next Sunday at The Cat in Carmel.

Starting with a Grimm premise – a woodcutter father abandons his triplet daughters in the woods – we get a story with more whimsical adventure than grown-up reality, which works just fine in a work as entertaining as it is allegorical. A talented cast ages 13 to 18, directed by Amber K. Roth, keep the mood light with a fair number of laughs at the play’s little absurdities.

From the “once/twice/thrice upon a time” that they are born, the title characters are played – from girls to women – by Sydney Weitz as Albienne, the one who loves sweets and, seeing the abandonment as an opportunity, laughs and heads out towards the west; Maile Alpizar as Beatrix, the one who loves the sun and, resolving to find their Papa to understand what happened, dries her tears and heads out towards the east; and Vivienne Thibodeau as Carmen, the one who tends to carry the weight of the world for others, feels this is a perfect time to unshoulder the burden and make the most of where she is.

Events are described through with the aid of a cast of Narrators who also play supporting characters including various villagers, “Vickings,” and woodland creatures: Maggie Croddy, Lucy Cooper, Amelie Thibodeau, Emmy Bobenmoyer, Sophia Sweeney, Delaney McWilliams, and Corbin Cowles, whose roles include a romantic interest or two.

There is also a lighthouse with a perplexed keeper (Bobenmeyer), a sword, a cheeky badger (Cooper, who also plays Papa), some cherry trees, and a boombox, all in a triple-shot globe-circling journey that will somehow bring things back to where they began. The moral of the story is quoted on the cover, “Life is not for going back;” for the lessons, truly applicable to all ages, you need to see this for yourself.

Performances nicely carry the narrative forward with appropriate youthful energy. Weitz plays her character as one with an appetite not to consume for its own sake but to savor – even if it’s the thrills of a different vocation. Alpizar wears her freckles with pride, shining like an intrusive sunbeam into every situation. Vivienne Thibodeau aptly portrays the arc of an empath learning how much of a regard for others is too little, too much, and just right.

Roth is assisted by Student Dramaturg Anna Pfeiffer. Samantha Kelly is Stage Manager, assisted by Grace Kelly.

A jam-packed 75 minutes – not too much for the young, worth the ticket for the rest – follow “This Girl…” Thursday through Sunday at The Cat, 254, Veterans Way, downtown Carmel. Get tickets at carmelplayers.org or thecat.biz.

BCP comedy one for the books

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By John Lyle Belden

In “The Book Club Play,” a small group who meet regularly to discuss the literature they have all read adds an element of “Big Brother,” a new member or two, and before long the gathering becomes what one describes as “‘Lord of the Flies’ with wine.”

In this comedy by Karen Zacarias, presented by Buck Creek Players, Ana (Amanda McCabe) hosts the club at her home with close friend Will (Jericho Frank), a fellow literary snob, and husband Rob (Jeff Haber), who is there for the snacks. There is also Will’s friend Jen (Alyssa Lay); joining the club helped her recover from a downward spiral. Ana has brought in her new coworker at the newspaper where they work, Lily (Nia Hughes), who can’t help but notice she’s the only non-white person in the room.

Another source of tension: Ana – and the others, in signed releases – agreed to having a camera installed in the living room, recording everything during Book Club evenings. The footage goes to a famous Danish documentarian working on a film about the American phenomenon of these get-togethers. “Act natural,” Ana insists.

After lively discussions on “Moby Dick” and “The Age of Innocence” – the latter book affecting Rob deeply after he actually reads it – Lily shakes things up by selecting “Twilight.” This leads to the unexpected addition of Alex (Grant Bowen), a professor of literature seeking to understand the appeal – and unexpected merit – of popular fiction.

Between club meetings, we get brief scenes of various people apparently interviewed for the documentary, entertainingly portrayed by Connie Salvini-Thompson. (Note: One involves the smoking of an herbal cigarette near the front of the stage.)

It could be said that reading can change your life – but these readers aren’t prepared for what’s coming. This is especially true of Ana, the kind of person who feels things need to be perfect, as she sees it, and thrives on being in control. McCabe wonderfully portrays these borderline narcissistic tendencies, letting the comedy flow naturally from the contrast between her expectations and how things turn out. She seethes, but swallows her rage as she tries in vain not to look neurotic for the camera.

For the others, surprises start to alter their perspectives. A meeting on “The DaVinci Code” brings out secrets not on the pages. Then, an attempted discussion of a “Tarzan” book goes completely wild.

In the last chapters they read together, all is revealed.

In their performances, the cast show how the usual motivations for these clubs, equal parts fellowship and meaningful conversations with the book as a catalyst, get warped by the fact that there is an unblinking “audience.” Hughes’ Lily doesn’t mean to be provocative, yet stating the obvious seems to brush against unwritten rules. Contrast this with Bowen’s Alex, who, as an academic, welcomes and encourages debate.  Frank’s Will constantly flips between confident and unsure – and if he trips your gaydar, we all see it, too (well, not everyone). Lay as Jen gently finds necessary growth of character throughout. As for Rob, Haber’s portrayal of this go-along/get-along personality shows him finding he has lost track of what he really wants and needs.

Meanwhile, Salvini-Thompson’s character work adds wonderful comic touches – starting in full Capote mode, then a stiff Secret Service agent, down-home Wal-Mart associate, prison “dealer,” and a feisty retired librarian (with the final punchline at the end of the curtain call).

It’s all well-crafted by Josh Rooks in his directing debut, adding to past onstage experience in bringing the funny. He is assisted by producer and fellow BCP mainstay Ben Jones.

“The Book Club Play” is uproariously funny, and it might even give you a fresh perspective on books and reading – note its pitfalls if you wish to start a club of your own! Performances are Friday through Sunday, June 13-15 at the Buck Creek Playhouse, 11150 Southeastern Ave. (Acton Road exit off I-74), Indianapolis. Get tickets at buckcreekplayers.com.

GHDT finishes season strong; watch for more

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By John Lyle Belden

This evening (June 7) Gregory Hancock Dance Theatre concludes its 27th season with bold works for “Summer Solstice.”

According to my quick websearch, earth.com notes the Solstice (longest day of the year, coming in just two weeks) is celebrated by many spiritual traditions, important for “setting an intention” for the coming months. With this weekend’s program, Gregory Glade Hancock and his talented dancers show their continued willingness to expand the use of movement to communicate feelings and stories.

In the world-premiere of “Let It Be Known,” poet Bruce Ford delivers a long monologue of hip-hop style verse that speaks to struggle and aspiration that draws on his Black experience and hope for humanity. As he speaks, dancers Thomas Mason, Sophie Jones, Abigail Lessaris, Josie Moody, Cordelia Newton, Olivia Payton, and Audrey Springer reflect and illuminate his words. Together, they make the “music” that we feel – no background song is played or necessary. Ryan Koharchik’s exceptional (as always) lighting design comes into play here with precise use of spotlights.

Another premiere is “Journey to Freedom,” a series of dances evoking the pain of a nation’s people being invaded, occupied, and displaced, as well as their bravery to overcome. The focus is on Eastern Europe, which Hancock is personally familiar with, including recent travels. The pieces honor Latvia, where residents once kept a secret “national anthem;” Poland, once invaded on two fronts attempting to erase if from the map; and, Ukraine, where their struggle continues today. The movement is strong and evocative, to music ranging from traditional to contemporary, as well as sublime work by Polish composer Frederic Chopin (a beautiful solo by Moody). The principal dancers are joined by summer interns Nathalie Boyle, Gwynevere Deterding, Tasha Sterns-Clemons, and Izzy Wolf, with Academy of GHDT student Hazel Moore appearing as the “flower girl.”

After the intermission, the mood shifts from the very serious to the exceedingly strange with an abridged version of Hancock’s 2006 “Alice and Her Bizarre Adventures in Wonderland,” envisioning Lewis Carrol’s classic story through a warped punk-Goth lens – as if to wonder, what would frighten yet enthrall a young girl today? Springer is our title character, bringing us with her down the rabbit hole to meet a fascinating edging on nightmarish cast. Highlights include Payton as the Cheshire Cat, Mason as the Caterpillar, Lessaris as the Duchess, Newton as the Mouse, Moody as Queen of Hearts, and Jones as the Mock Turtle. All the dancers are in Wonderland, including students Moore, Fiadh Flynn, Penelope Lomax, Josie Steinmetz, and Megan Webb.

As for the dance sequences, Hancock said he was once asked, “if you choreograph this while awake, what are your nightmares like?” It says something about our tastes, I guess, but we were thrilled, with Wendy hoping to see the full show staged again someday.

What we know will happen is the upcoming 28th season. It kicks off with the “Fashion at the Florence” fundraiser on Sept. 13 at 329 Gradle Drive, Carmel. Dance programs feature the return of “The Casket Girls” in October, “Exodus” in March 2026 and “Antony and Cleopatra” the following June. There will also be “Melange” presentations of improvised dance and art with guest vocalists the weekends of Sept. 20 and Nov. 15, as well as March 14 and May 16, 2026.

For all the details – and tickets to today’s 5 p.m. performance at The Tarkington stage of the Allied Solutions Center for the Performing Arts in Carmel, if you see this right after it’s posted – visit gregoryhancockdancetheatre.org.  

‘Time to Dance’ with Summer Stock Stage ‘Prom’

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By John Lyle Belden

Indianapolis young artist program Summer Stock Stage opens its 2025 season with “The Prom,” a 2018 Broadway musical loosely based on actual events and still-persistent attitudes. This is an Eclipse production (no relation to the Bloomington company) in which young actors gain professional experience alongside experienced and Equity performers.

New York theatre narcissistic has-beens Barry Glickman (Adam B. Shapiro) and Dee Dee Allen (Lanene Charters) discover their latest musical is such a flop, it will immediately close. Commiserating with friend Angie Dickinson (Alexandria Van Paris), a 20-year veteran who can’t escape the chorus, and unemployed former sitcom star Trent Oliver (Logan Mortier) – who can’t stop talking about attending Juilliard – they decide they need to take on an activist cause to enhance their public profiles. Finding an online story about a prom cancelled because a lesbian student wants to take a girl as her date, inspiration strikes.

Meanwhile, at fictional James Madison High School in Edgewater, Indiana, Emma (Mai Caslowitz) finds herself bullied even more than usual as the other students blame her for the prom’s cancellation. Fortunately, Principal Hawkins (Ryan Artzberger) is an ally and working on both a legal remedy and persuading the PTA, led by homophobic president Mrs. Greene (Megan Raymont). That meeting appears to be about to bring about the dance’s reinstatement, when suddenly, our Broadway gang shows up to “help.”

With incurable hams in the land of the tenderloin, we get a lot of laughs and maybe a bit of schadenfreude at watching the New Yorkers fail spectacularly. On the other hand, it’s cruel to Emma, who has enough stress from the fact that her secret girlfriend Alyssa (Jocylon Evans) is Mrs. Greene’s daughter.

Still, there is a lot of heart, hope and energy in this fun musical by Bob Martin, Chad Beguelin and Matthew Sklar, based on a concept by Jack Viertel. This production is directed by SSS Artistic Director Emily Ristine Holloway, expertly managing the comical interventions and put-downs of Hoosier culture while maintaining the humanity of all the characters.

Considering the real-life 2010 incident that inspired the musical happened in Mississippi (complete with prom fake-out and celebrity aid), the show was apparently set in Indiana as a thumb in the eye of then-Vice President Mike Pence. It is good to see local companies take charge of the way Hoosiers are portrayed, even with an honest look at anti-LGBTQ attitudes. Frankly, though I understand the rules regarding scripts, I think it would be best if there were a local (fictional) setting for any conservative state where the musical is staged, lest folks think this is just poking fun at the ignorant people “over there.”

Any concerns about the story are rendered moot by the excellent performances. Charters and Shapiro are delights as well-meaning divas working to get over themselves. Van Paris, “antelope legs” and all, brings the “zazz” throughout. Mortier nimbly plays a goober who seems self-absorbed but wants to just feel appreciated, which comes about in – for him – a surprising way. Local treasure Ben Asaykwee brings his understated charm to the role of Glickman and Allen’s assistant Sheldon. Artzberger is solid as always, and a natural aid in helping the younger stars shine.

As for the youthful roles, Caslowitz gives an award-worthy, relatable, endearing performance, winning our hearts in the songs “Dance With You” and “Unruly Heart.” Evans does a lot with her principal supporting role, especially Alyssa’s signature song.

Excellent work as well by ensemble players Isabella Agresta, Lauren Blackwood, Keilyn Bryant, Izzy Casciani, Noah Greer, Tess Holloway, Seth Jacobsen, Day Johnson, Jilayne Kistner, Reagan Cole Minnette, Maddux Morrison, Martini Olaletan, Jacob Richardon, and Sofia Warren Fitzgerald.

The dancing is also fantastic, choreographed by Sean Aaron Carmon with choreography supervisor Phillip Crawshaw.

One week remains of this spectacle – a sort of “Footloose” for our times – as Summer Stock Stage takes on its new residence at Schrott Center for the Arts at Butler University. Performances are Wednesday through Sunday, with two shows on Saturday, June 4-8. Get tickets at summerstockstage.com or butlerartscenter.org.

‘Wit’ in Westfield: Facing a ‘very tough’ end

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By John Lyle Belden

In ‘Wit,’ the Pulitzer-winning drama by Margaret Edson, presented by Main Street Productions in Westfield, it’s not a big spoiler to say that our central character, Vivian Bearing, Ph.D, dies at the end of aggressive stage-four ovarian cancer.

Vivian (Beverly Roche) confides as much when she enters the stage as her own narrator. Feeling the play’s run-time, she condenses the necessary flashbacks and eight months of experimental chemotherapy into having less than two hours to live. In her friendly engagement with us across the fourth wall, it feels initially like a one-woman play that happens to have several supporting actors – however, we also gain a sense of their own feelings on their endless struggle against the forces of death.

Dr. Bearing is not a medical doctor, but a renowned professor of literature, weaving her career-long study of the works of 16th century English poet John Donne (sonnets include “Death be not Proud”) into the narrative of her final days, grasping for the wit she saw in his approach to life and mortality. We see a pivotal moment of her as a college student of Donne expert E.M. Ashford (Susan Hill), engaging her attention to detail that would make Vivian notorious as a teacher herself.

“You have cancer,” Harvey Kelekian, M.D., (Mark Kamish) says frankly – which she appreciates. Being advanced stage four (there is no “stage five”), he sets up what turns out to be a brutal course of chemotherapy, telling Vivian he needs her “to be very tough.” She agrees and, somehow, will see it all through, bringing us all along.

We meet medical staff with contrasting approaches to her treatment: Dr. Kelekian’s research fellow, Dr. Jason Posner (Connor Phelan), who seems more interested in the cancerous cells than the woman they inhabit, and Nurse Susie Monahan (Becca Bartley) whose humanity and empathy become increasingly valuable as they work through the coming ordeal. 

Other roles are played smartly by Eric Bowman, Leah Hoover, MaryAnne Mathews, and Teresa Otis Skelton.

The play is directed with compassionate detail by Eric Bryant and Becky Schlomann. Bryant said he had proposed directing the play to MSP, then felt grateful when circumstances allowed him to add a co-director for a woman’s perspective. Their easy cooperation is reflected throughout the ensemble, who were encouraged in preparation to reflect on their own experiences with loved ones dying and/or working through cancer.

The background work included assistance from dramaturg Brooke Conti, Ph.D., of Cleveland, for her expertise on Donne; clinical consultant Glenn Dobbs, who aside from his involvement in local theatre is a retired OB/GYN; and intimacy director Lola LaVacious, considering the very personal and invasive nature of the disease and treatment.

“People always talk to us about the production (after a performance),” Schlomann said, but with this show, they “bring up their own stories, they find a personal connection.”

As Vivian, Roche makes that sense of kinship feel natural, as both a fascinating lecturer and an engaging guide. Her disease has cracked the professor’s cynical shell, allowing us to see the soul – with its stubborn wit – within.

Hill, whose professor has a more tempered approach to the Poet, gives us a wise mentor who bookends Vivian’s journey with a touching penultimate scene. Bartley’s Susie kindly and heroically reminds us that there is more to good medicine than doctorate-level knowledge.

Phelan’s Dr. Posner seems at times aloof, practically on the neurodivergent spectrum, but maintains his own complexity with his devotion to research and fascination with the “immortal” nature of cancer cells. Perhaps there is also a discomfort with mortality that informs his clinical distance from his very mortal patient.

This play, even with its own sense of wit among the serious goings-on, can be challenging to watch – especially if you have had any experience with the events portrayed – but it is well worth the effort to experience.

Speaking of which, it won’t be easy to reach the Westfield Basile Playhouse, 220 N. Union St., due to highway construction downtown. We found our way by driving the streets that lead to Westfield High School, then turning south on Union. Consult a maps app for alternate routes.

Performances of “Wit” are Thursday through Sunday, June 5-8. Get tickets at westfieldplayhouse.org.

Hyperion presents man’s ‘zero hour’

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By John Lyle Belden

BE ADVISED: This play explores heavy topics, including suicide.

What does the dark, serious comedy “Rocket Man” by Steven Dietz, performed for one weekend by Hyperion Players in Fishers, directed by Daniel Maloy, have to do with the 1972 hit song by Elton John and Bernie Taupin?

In my mind, absolutely nothing – and everything.

The song was reportedly inspired by a sci-fi story by Ray Bradbury about a time when being an astronaut will be just a regular job. The lyrics are less about the wonder of traveling in space and more about the ennui and loneliness of the very long commute.

In this play, Donny (Bailey Hunt), in his 40s, finds himself in a crisis he can’t just brush off as “midlife.” It’s a crisis of time and space. He’s “losing” time; hours and days seem to pass without his noticing. He plans a milestone birthday party for teenage daughter Trisha (Amelia Bostick), not realizing it was a week ago.

As for space, he’s been changing his relationship to it. Having quit his long-time successful job as a land surveyor and abandoned his past ambition to be a landscape architect, Donny cleared his house of all its objects – to the shock of Trisha, surprise of good friend and neighbor Buck (Greg Fiebig), and chagrin of his ex-wife Rita (Isabel Hunt) – except for the attic, in which he has reopened the skylight and set up his E-Z Boy recliner for stargazing.

Donny’s best friend and former survey partner Louise (Lauren Taylor) comes over as well. Her chronic insomnia has somehow led her to study at a seminary. Buck confides in her on a spiritual manner: he is sure he is hearing voices around his own house, telling him to build an ark (like in the biblical Noah story).

Rita contends with the consequences of her “year of being real,” in which she always told people what she thought of them – a factor in her and Donny’s divorce. Still, it is his unsettled mind that primarily drives him.

There is also a crosswalk sign, “terrible” cookies, the moon and stars, an umbrella, things not done, things not finished, the song, “Quiet Nights of Quiet Stars,” and some recognizable signs that a person is taking a one-way voyage.

However, once we reach that other world – where things are the same, yet different – the troubled feelings aren’t necessarily better.

This inventive look at loss and what-ifs is wonderfully presented and incredibly challenging. Hunt’s performance is of a man feeling the pressure of being between worlds – age, creativity, even literal planets – who only feels relief in a desperate plan. The others play well their unusual aspects, enriching the context for the story’s Bradbury-esque strangeness.

Fiebig also designed the excellent attic setting in which nearly all the action takes place.

This play has remaining performances tonight (as I post this) and Sunday, May 31-June 1, at The Switch theatre in Ji-Eun Lee Music Academy, 10029 126th St., Fishers. Info and tickets at hyperionplayers.com.

– – –

Can’t help but see the events of the pivotal moment between Acts in these lyrics:

“And I think it’s gonna be a long, long time
‘Til touchdown brings me ’round again to find
I’m not the man they think I am at home
Oh, no, no, no
I’m a rocket man
Rocket man
Burning out his fuse up here alone.”

Mysterious forces at work in ‘Oak’ at Phoenix Theatre

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By John Lyle Belden

During the new Terry Guest drama “Oak” at the Phoenix Theatre Cultural Center, you could ask, what’s happening? The simple answer is that children and teenagers routinely disappear near Odella Creek, deep in rural Georgia, and have for generations. The query then follows: How? And why?

To learn the legend, we meet local youngsters Pickle (Jadah Rowan), her little brother Big Man (Joshua Short), and their cousin Suga (Tracy Nakigozi). They each know a version of the two-century-old story of Odella, a slave girl who, not long after giving birth, found an opportunity to escape – alone. It was believed that she drowned in the creek that now bears her name, near the old oak.

The implied question becomes, is this a simple horror story of a disturbed ghost, a vengeful spirit preying on children? Or is this something different – a cryptid, wild animals, or even a human predator? However, the question that we hear, announced over public address systems, is “Do you know where your children are?”

Pickle and Big Man get home after the 7 p.m. curfew, which only adds to the annoyance of their mother, Peaches (Psywrn Simone), who prepares for her shift at Krystal (a Southern burger chain similar to White Castle). The kids must stay at home after dark, at least until “snatching season” ends in July. On the radio, an urgent report states that this time, a white girl has disappeared.

Meanwhile, on the way to her house, Suga sees the glowing red eyes.

This chilling piece of Southern Gothic horror is a National New Play Network Rolling World Premiere. At each stop (this being the second between theatres in Florida and New York), the production takes on a different approach. For the Phoenix, Guest is joined by director Mikael Burke, who also worked on his “Magnolia Ballet” in 2022.

Conjuring the proper spooky atmosphere in a live performance is challenging, so the crew’s contributions are especially vital. The simple yet effective set design by Robert Koharchik, aided by lighting by Laura E. Glover and soundscape by Brian Grimm, put the action “in the round” with seating surrounding the floor of the black-box Basile stage. Aided by fog effects, well-played paranoia, and those “eyes,” the sense is not that we are surrounding the actors but that the setting has surrounded us with them.

Within this story is a memory best told as a fairy tale, “The Princess and the Wolf,” with excellent puppets by props artisan Kristin Renee Boyd.

Suspense grows, tempered with nervous humor – especially in the kids’ encounter with Simone as First Lady Temple, the shotgun-wielding old woman said to be the only survivor of whatever truly happens at Odella Creek.

Rowan, Short, and Nakigozi have not only the youthful look, but also deliver the right touch of childhood wonder, fear, and risk-taking appropriate to their young characters. Even at 16, Pickle still feels that childlike urge to believe what adults say is impossible – how else does she explain this world? With similar hopeful naivete, she and Suga feel that they will be safer if they move away to a big city.

Subtext is dense here, hanging thick as the moss around the stage or the Southern humidity you swear you can feel. The Black experience today and the burden of history are reflected in the horrors of Odella’s experience, the media’s different attitude towards a routine tragedy when inflicted on a white child, and an aspect of Paradise being where the taxis always stop for you. A reference to the Atlanta Ripper of the 1920s (an actual unsolved case) shows the history of public indifference when girls with dark skin vanish. The perils of escape – however it’s defined – are a constant motif.

We will get few answers here, and those received may haunt as much as those left unknown. Dare to find out what waits at the “Oak,” with performances through June 8 at 705 N. Illinois St., downtown Indianapolis. Get info and tickets at phoenixtheatre.org.