Phoenix Theatre

‘Extreme’ measures test family in need

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By John Lyle Belden

In the wake of tragedy, we often have the wish that we could start over, have a new life, even a new house. For a select few, at least the latter happened, aired on national television. A desperate Texas family seeks to join that number in the drama, “Extreme Home Makeover,” by Makasha Copeland, presented by American Lives Theatre at the Phoenix Theatre Cultural Centre.

The title references the ABC television show, “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” (using its common nickname to avoid trademark issues). The process of being chosen, among hundreds of applicants, involved making a video recording to audition by showing both the necessary home renovations and the worthiness of the homeowning family. Scenes here are frequently played to an unseen camera, putting the audience in the position of the mysterious producers who could decide the family’s fate.

Three generations are crowded into this Kingsville, Texas, home: Valentina (Sofia Salgada), her mother Guadalupe (Caroline Lee Sanchez), teen son Marco (Diego Sanchez-Galvan), and 10-year-old daughter Lupe (Laila Matuk). Valentina’s husband, David, recently died, leaving her struggling to keep the house and unable to afford its upkeep, including a broken toilet.

Guadalupe is not thrilled at all about this bid for televised fame. She sees it as yet another insult to the honor of a family who lived on the land since it was part of Mexico two centuries ago, since then being made to work it for the benefit of non-Latino owners. Valentina, however, is practically blinded by hope, insisting on getting the audition just right so that a new home can help rectify their tenuous situation. The children, eager to please both Mom and Abuela, try hard to do their part in the scheme. Marco applies for his first job, while Lupe – who talks to “Aybeecee” like a friend she’s trying to impress – seeks to prove she’s not as useless as she feels.

Local actor Carlos Medina Maldonado directs. He saw the play in development while a student at Texas Tech, noting it reminded him of his own family, with aspects we can all relate to. Intertwined with the themes of hard times and holding on to one’s culture is the universal experience of grief, made more intense when it is the family patriarch who is suddenly gone. Aside from some clothes and possessions, their principal reminder of David is a video of him at Lupe’s last birthday – his singing to her embarrassing then, but treasured now.

The cast’s familial chemistry, combining personalities that are distinct and natural, draw us into their world, feeling both their loving bonds and growing need. Even when they clash, each acts from their perspective of love. Salgada’s Valentina is driven, barely hiding her growing desperation while feeling it is up to her to make everything right. Sanchez’s Guadelupe is a bit of a curmudgeon but adopts a softer touch to help mend their growing crisis, coming through as only a loving grandma can. Sanchez-Galvan’s Marco feels the weight of man-of-the-house expectations, though he’s not feeling quite ready to grow up yet. Matuk, who is over twice the age of the girl she plays, maintains Lupe’s sweetness and innocence, along with a naïve grit of one who doesn’t know what she allegedly can’t do – showing that where there’s a will, there’s Google.

The stage, brilliantly designed and built by Carlos Teeters, has no visible walls and audience seating on two sides, showing the fishbowl environment brought about by private spaces being exposed to judging strangers. We see the floor plan, while the people upon it show what makes a house a home.

Note the dialogue is a Spanglish mixture that would be genuinely heard in a home like this, yet not too hard to follow for non-Spanish speakers.

An emotionally engaging and inspiring story of a family needing to make some changes, “Extreme Home Makeover” runs through Aug. 2 in the Basile black-box stage at 705 N. Illinois St., downtown Indianapolis. Get tickets at phoenixtheatre.org, and information at americanlivestheatre.org.

What a ‘Ride’!

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By John Lyle Belden

For those in search of the next “Rocky Horror” phenomenon, or who feel that the stakes in “Spelling Bee” weren’t high enough, we invite you to “Ride the Cyclone”!

First developed in Canada in 2008 by Jacob Richmond and Brooke Maxwell, then appearing Off-Broadway the next year, “Ride the Cyclone: The Musical” has more recently taken on cult status with a large Tik-Tok community of fan art, theories, and costumes. The Phoenix Theatre now gives this experience a whirl, directed by K.T. Peterson.

In a storage building for a traveling carnival, a ghostly lament is heard, and the Amazing Karnak (Ben Asaykwee) awakens. Not a boast, he says, just the name on the side of his box. Unknown carny magic allows him to read the future, but only of one’s time and manner of death. This being too much of a downer, he’s been adjusted to be more cryptic. As he knows his own demise is imminent, he uses his remaining power to find those he couldn’t properly warn. Six teens, members of a school choir from Uranium City in far north Saskatchewan, died when The Cyclone roller coaster went off its rails. Their spirits are summoned to give one of them the opportunity to resume the life they had lost.

Enter overachiever Ocean (Mia Stewart); sassy only-gay-in-town Noel (Parker Taylor); surly adoptee from Ukraine, Mischa (Seth Jacobsen); comics-obsessed dreamer Ricky (Noah Lee), who had been struck mute from an earlier trauma; and plain and shy Constance (Marachey Fowler), most notable for being Ocean’s best friend and whose catchphrase is a very Canadian “So-rry!”

They are soon joined by Jane Doe (Olivia Broadwater), who had not been identified after the accident as no one could find her head. She replaces it with one from a doll. Having no identity of her own, she looks, acts, and speaks like an animated toy.

They each sing their case for going back through the light (like “Cats,” but more relatable) in a show that is at turns funny, moving, and surreal.

Asaykwee brings a bit of magic to all his roles. Here he gives wide expression to his wooden face, taking charge of the entire stage though he never leaves his box. He also shares this space with some of the best young talent we have seen around Indy.

Taylor once again makes us love a quirky character, even if his life’s dream is to die elsewhere. His Noel is comfortable in his queerness, while frustrated at missing the opportunity to be where he better fits in.

In fact, they all wanted to escape life in their dying former mining town (in our present day, home to under 100 residents). Perhaps it is more frustrating for Ocean, who Stewart plays as a controlling Alpha whose youth shows in her lack of tact. Or for Constance, who feared becoming resigned to living her whole life in Uranium (which, sadly, happened). Fowler takes on her pain of being overlooked and taken advantage of, converting it to inner strength.  

Ricky surprises them all, having regained his voice, and he has a lot to say. Ironically upbeat, Lee shares his sad origin and the cool sci-fi fantasy synthesized from his unconventional upbringing, complete with sexy catgirls.

Mischa is a little older than the others but was mostly denied a regular childhood. Jacobson handles his angst well. Feeling culturally mixed-up, he channels his feelings into hip-hop rhymes, and longs for the girl who liked him on YouTube.

Broadwater shows immense talent in working within the limits of her character in both movement and personality, taking her from creepy to heartbreaking with apparent ease.

Note the production is for teens and up, complete with a few F-bombs and a giant rat (Kristin Wentz). Appropriately cluttered yet versatile stage design is by David B. Vogel, complimented by lighting design by Michael Moffatt and sound and video projections by Ben Dobler.

Like the best carnival rides, The Cyclone is fun, wild, exhilarating, and affecting – and makes me want to get in line for another ticket.

Get yours at the Phoenix Theatre Cultural Centre, where “Ride the Cyclone: The Musical” runs through Aug. 2 at 705 N. Illinois St., downtown Indianapolis. See phoenixtheatre.org.

ALT: Heroic act has its own victim

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By John Lyle Belden

We know from our American history classes that four United States Presidents were assassinated. Wikipedia conveniently lists plots and attempts against about a dozen others, and that two who died of natural causes were suspected to have been poisoned. While interesting – this not being a review of the musical “Assassins” – it’s mostly beside the point here.

In “Arlington, or, Your Forgotten American Hero,” a play by Andrew Kramer in its world premiere by American Lives Theatre at the Phoenix Theatre Cultural Centre, the focus is on one of two notable attempts on the life of President Gerald Ford in California in 1975, particularly on the man who stopped a would-be assassin in San Francisco.

Oliver “Billy” Sipple was out for a walk when he came upon a crowd outside a downtown hotel. People excitedly said the President was staying there. He waited with the throng for a chance at a glimpse of Ford, trying not to bump into a middle-aged woman. When the President appeared, that woman drew out a pistol, fired point-blank – and missed. Having been a U.S. Marine who served tours in Vietnam, Sipple’s well-trained instincts were likely awakened by the report of the gun. With barely a thought, before the woman could fire a second time, he knocked the firearm from her hand while others tackled her to deliver her to Secret Service agents. This single brief yet heroic action would affect Billy Sipple for the rest of his life.

Directed by ALT founder and artistic director Chris Saunders, the play presents Michael Hosp giving an earnest portrayal of Sipple. We first meet Billy years after that fateful encounter with history, alone in his apartment easy chair watching television with a nearly empty bottle of whiskey, lamenting his life.

Suddenly, dead San Francisco LGBT icons appear around him: Writer/publisher/organizers Del Martin (Suzanne Fleenor) and Wayne Friday (Jonathan Studdard); “dangerous” gay activist Rev. Ray Broshears (Rob Johansen); first out gay political convention delegate and community organizer Jim Foster (Evan Wolfgang); and legendary gay politician – and Sipple’s close friend – Harvey Milk (Jay Hemphill). They alert a bewildered Billy that this is “a ritual of reclamation.” What follows recounts the story of one man’s undesired fame and the infamy he feared which followed.

Need I mention that Sipple was gay? This shouldn’t have mattered, except that this was the mid-1970s, which meant it very much did.

Hosp is outstanding as an ordinary guy not just thrust into extraordinary circumstances, but also seeing that story taken and told by others for their benefit, leaving him feeling used on all sides. His moment of respite with “the guy at the end of the bar” (Wolfgang) gives limited relief as it is that aspect of his life that makes what happens to him worse.

Seeing it as more of a boost to their cause than a betrayal, his well-meaning friends out him to Chronicle columnist Herb Caen (Studdard). Suddenly, Sipple transforms in the national press from anonymous to oddity: the “gay ex-Marine.” This will not go down well with his parents (Fleenor and Johansen) back in Detroit.  

Fleenor also plays his friendly and empathetic neighbor. Wolfgang nicely portrays Billy’s brother George, who eventually comes to his own understanding.

Hemphill has a gift for playing larger-than-life characters, and so makes a believable Harvey Milk, complete with activist fire and celebrity charisma. His presence almost seems too convenient to the plot to be real, but was indeed based on fact. Milk and Sipple, two men who each had their own moment involving a political assassination, were long-time friends.

Hero? Gay icon? Just a guy who did what was needed at the time? Billy Sipple was never sure. Today, him having his wish of being left alone (in the Golden Gate National Cemetery) leaves him nearly forgotten. At the end of the play, we get a perspective on its title, which provides us a more suitable memorial.

Get to know this more than ordinary man in “Arlington,” through June 7 at 705 N. Illinois St., downtown Indianapolis. For tickets, go to phoenixtheatre.org, info at americanlivestheatre.org.

Elementary, ‘Ms. Holmes’ (a study in Summit)

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By John Lyle Belden

A new game is afoot! Summit Performance presents “Ms. Holmes & Ms. Watson, Apt. 2B,” by Kate Hamill, at the Phoenix Theatre Cultural Centre.

Those who regularly read these reviews might now be saying, “Wait a minute! Didn’t we just have a female Sherlock Holmes Play a few weeks ago?” In an odd coincidence, there was the Christopher Walsh comedy “Miss Holmes” in April at Mud Creek. However, while that version was set in Victorian London, “Ms. Holmes…” takes place in 2021 – still in London with a flat on Baker Street – and Dr. Joan Watson is now an American.

Watson (Kelsey VanVoorst) has found herself in London, looking for a place to stay for a while, relax, maybe get some writing done. Fate has other plans, as this affordable downtown rental means sharing an apartment with a hyperactive, eccentric young woman named “Sherlock” (Frankie Jo Bolda). If you are familiar with the local theatre scene – especially improv, parody shows, and farcical and Shakespeare comedies – these actors’ names should alert you to the madness that will ensue.

Playing someone who is famously neurodivergent with a 200+ IQ, Bolda also lets Holmes’ id run rampant in a manner that goes beyond recent portrayals (Cumberbatch, Downey Jr., et al) such that it resembles the manic style of “Doctor Who.” Her clothing (boldly designed by Devan O’Malia Mathias) reflects this as well – layered for foggy London, colorful as a panto player. Still, she is no clown. While expressions and actions seem random, her mind and focus are sharp. While others notice her, she notices everything.  

VanVoorst also plays into her strengths as the straight character the comic partner bounces off of. Watson has always been the reader/viewer proxy in these stories, and she gets as frustrated and overwhelmed as we would be, but in a much funnier manner. Few can manage the barely-able-to-speak sputter of a character on the edge like her, and Watson gets plenty of these moments. As the plot unfolds, we find her naturally drawn in towards believable acceptance of this classic odd-couple relationship.

In the roles of Everyone Else: Andrea Heiden nimbly wears many distinctive faces as kindly, understanding Mrs. Hudson, untrustworthy beauty Irene Adler, and others. Clay Mabbit can play likable and slyly evil in equal measure, appearing as Inspector Lestrade, billionaire Elliott Monk, and others, including the introductory narrator.

Holmes fans will readily recognize the first case the women take on, from “A Study in Scarlet” by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (his first Sherlock Holmes novel, which also brings the literary Holmes and Watson together). Sufficient liberties were taken with the story to give this a fresh look for the 21st-century version of the detectives. Speaking of the era, there are references to the Covid lockdown, as well as current technology – which Holmes avoids, complaining it makes people intellectually lazy (she has a point, to be honest). She insists on using her mind and magnifying glass, leaving the “Googles” to others.

Other canon aspects of the characters are preserved. Watson has PTSD, while Holmes takes bong hits to calm her ever-spinning brain. Also, where there’s a super-sleuth, there lurks someone in the shadows who could be her equal.

Direction is by Summit founder Lauren Briggeman, who manages to keep the madcap happenings under control while bringing out the entertaining best in the cast. Fight, movement, and intimacy director Jaddy Ciucci is a big help with all the physical comedy and other action throughout. Erin Robson-Smith is stage manager.

Even if you don’t know or care about Sherlock Holmes, this production works as a wildly hilarious British buddy comedy with murderous intent. Even the furniture is funny (rarely has an innocent recliner gotten so many laughs).

Come see “Ms. Holmes & Ms. Watson” through May 24 in the Basile Black Box stage at 705 N. Illinois St., downtown Indianapolis. Get tickets at phoenixtheatre.org.

Phoenix presents quirky quest for a dignified end

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By John Lyle Belden

As often happens, we find the way to feel comfortable about a serious topic is through comedy. You don’t get much more serious than imminent death.

Welcome to “Wasabia,” a fairly new play by Wendy Herlich presented by the Phoenix Theatre, directed by Brian Balcom.

In her senior community apartment, 73-year-old Vivian (Jan Lucas) receives a surprise visit from 19-year-old Carla (Hannah Luciani) who works with a hospice (helping people facing the end of life). During the brilliantly awkward comic encounter, we find that Vivian isn’t dying soon. However, with the onset of Alzheimers, her mind could go at any time.

The stars of this show, though, are Val and Di (Arika Casey and Jennifer Johansen), short for Valium and Digoxin, the principal components in a cocktail of drugs used in physician assisted death; in their words, “your last best friends.” These pharmaceutical personifications wear the best costumes (designed by Brittannie McKenna Travis) and enlighten us on their importance in ending one’s life with dignity. They play attendants at a Terminal for the final destination, as well as game show hosts of “The Suffering Contest.”

Andrew Martin plays Brody, nephew of the person Carla was supposed to work with before accidentally going to Vivian’s door. Goofy but well-meaning, he becomes critical to the plot.

Lucas plays Vivian like the role was written for her, giving a master class in playing a stubborn curmudgeon with wisdom and dry humor that plainly argues her perspective. Her sharp copy-editor brain is her most prized possession, slipping away, and she desperately seeks to personally complete her story’s final draft.

Luciani gives full dimension to a young woman with issues of her own, mainly from losing her mother to cancer months earlier. She understands giving comfort in the face of death, but reacts as many of us would at hastening its arrival. In her own way, she is reaching a threshold in dealing with inner pain.

Casey also cameos as Wanda, a former hospice nurse. In addition, Jackie Mahon (assistant to stage manager Denielle Buckel Klein) appears in a Val & Di song-and-dance number.

Balcom, a widely accomplished director and no stranger to personal challenges, strikes an excellent balance between the humor and pathos, the former giving insight into aspects of the latter.  Herlich gave him excellent material derived from, in her words, “deep engagement of the topic” both in research and personal experience.

You likely have your own feelings on death with dignity laws and practices (an authorizing bill in the Indiana state legislature apparently failed). This play should be part of the important national conversation around it.

The title? Referred to obliquely, it’s apparently somewhere you don’t want to be trapped, though many of us are headed there. “Wasabia” runs through April 12 in the Basille black box stage of the Phoenix Theatre Cultural Centre, 705 N. Illinois St., downtown Indianapolis. Get tickets at phoenixtheatre.org.

Indy Drag’s crowning achievement

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By John Lyle Belden

“Divorced. Beheaded. Died. Divorced. Beheaded. Survived.” Divas – Bedazzled – Live!

If there was ever a Broadway show perfect for Indy Drag Theatre parody treatment, it’s “Six.” Now the concert musical gets IDT’s royal treatment as its debut production in the Phoenix Theatre Cultural Centre.

The original musical by Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss (a smash in the UK as well as New York) is a fabulous fantasia in which the six wives of England’s King Henry VIII arrive from the afterlife as pop stars. In a sing-off, the one who had the worst time with the legendary monarch gets named the girl group’s leader.

No strangers to corsets, we have six queens* playing the Queen: Natasha Kennedy is Catherine of Aragon, whom Henry started an entire church denomination to dump. CiCi Pasiòn is Anne Boleyn, who found out the hard way she was not allowed to fool around like the randy Royal. Madison Avenue is Jane Seymour, who would give Henry a son if it was the last thing she’d do – and it was. Brentlee Bich is Anna of Cleves, the German whose portrait was apparently the Renaissance version of Glamour Shots. Kiki Crimi is Katherine Howard, who even in this venue can’t catch a break, after a life of abusive treatment before losing her head. Natalie PortMa’am is Cathine Parr, who put up with the gout-ridden old King through his final days. (Tip of the crown to Kelsey McDaniel, our lady in waiting serving as Swing.)

Aside from taking creative license as a Drag Parody, the production is expanded to include an on-stage “band” – The Crown Jewels – play-synching their instruments: Dallas Fort Worth as Sir Pluck-A-Lot on bass, Jared Matthew as Keys McQueen on keyboards, Faith Camire as the Earl of Beats on drums, and the fabulous Freddie Fatale as Duke Strummer on guitar. They add a couple of extra songs, including a big number featuring puppet versions of the Six women.

This spectacular is directed by April Rosè, who also choreographed, assisted by Canila Carpenter. Costumes are by Caitlin Davey, with makeup by Celeste Al’Dreams and wigs by Gayle Thyme. Stage set is by Miss Kay-Otic, with props by Tricera Tits. Stage manager is Brian Kitta. Lighting is by Paully Crumpacker, with sound by Cadence.

The show is supremely entertaining with just enough real history to make you want to go look it up. This is coupled with the ever-present issue of women – even at the highest office – being tied to the fortunes of men, disregarded on their own merits. Each Queen presents her frustration while also showing her strength. Catherine confronts rejection; Anne consoles herself with her post-mortal fame; Jane tempers pride of motherhood with regret. Anna of Cleves’s section especially satirizes modern beauty standards with her swipe-left/swipe-right number, and demonstrates that unconventional beauty is still beautiful, worthy to be “Queen of the Castle.”

High artistic standards coupled with individual passions coming together in unselfish collaboration continue a local entertainment phenomenon. The house is a little bigger, but will still get filled.

Performances of “Six: A Drag Parody Musical” continue through Sunday, March 15, on the Livia & Steve Russell main stage at 705 N. Illinois St. in downtown Indianapolis. Get tickets at phoenixtheatre.org, and info at indydragtheatre.org.  

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*(Note: Out of respect for the art form and its performers, they are identified by their Drag names as given in the show program.)

Don’t tell her it’s ‘About Nothing’

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By Wendy Carson and John Lyle Belden

IndyShakes brings us the World Premiere of Lavina Jadhwani’s clever play, “Ado.” In what would be her last theatrical work before being taken by cancer in September, she sought to “fix” a logical flaw in William Shakespeare’s comedy, “Much Ado About Nothing.” How does a noble woman – named “Hero” no less – just accept trauma and go forth blindly with an absurd plan?

The action in “Ado” takes place during the offstage hours in Hero’s bedchambers after she was accused of infidelity and spurned by her beloved Claudio at what was to be their wedding. She fainted at the altar, leading to news that she has died from a broken heart.

Our play begins as Hero (Senaite Tekle) and her faithful servant Margaret (Kelli Malise) arrive in her room. She fumes not only about the slights to her character and virtue but also the fact that not a single person, even her father, spoke out in support of her.

The truth of how Margaret was tricked into aiding this betrayal is revealed. Then Hero’s cousin Beatrice (LaKesha Lorene) joins them, only to find that she was masterfully manipulated by the other women to fall for Benedick (a soldier whose return with Claudio from war sets off the plot of the greater Shakespeare work). Already known for her sharp tongue, Beatrice doesn’t take this well.

Hero and Beatrice’s beloved Auntie Ursula (Claire Wilcher) also shows up. Being both independent and traditional, she charmingly talks the others through their issues – hoping, despite the anger in the room, for a happy wedding in the morning. Thus, after much drink, an ersatz Bachelorette Party ensues. Decisions are made, including what to break in lieu of their hearts.

As a feminist examination of the way women in every era are treated and controlled, the setting has a current-day feel, complete with bits of today’s music. Modern syntax mixes in Shakepearean words and phrases to aid the timeless feel, making the events relatable without seeming anachronistic. By the time “epitaphs” are spun in a hip-hop style, it just adds to their cathartic fun.

Directed by Dawn Monique Williams, who was selected by Jadhwani, our cast add relatable depth to the archetypes the Bard assigned to them. Tekle presents Hero’s depth of feeling as strength rather than weakness, finding herself awakened from the fairy tale her life had been. Malise’s Margaret is sassy and unapologetically sexy, aware of her place in society while only feeling shame in her hurting a woman she loves.

Lorene takes Beatrice’s attitude and makes it less a shrew (as the source play implies) and more a fox. She will love Benedick on her own terms; now we can see exactly what those are. Wilcher gives her own sense of fun to a character given limited weight in the original work, but here taking on the role of catalyst, with the wisdom earned by her own life experience.

As the saying goes, the show must go on and that will be for your next viewing of “Much Ado…,” now with a perspective on the considerations behind the play’s happy-ending nuptials.

But even if this is all you see, it is well worth joining this little party with its own great comic moments, especially in their reactions to Claudio’s offstage attempt at repentance. In all, it is nice to see someone peek into the inner thoughts of these characters to reveal the drama not shown in Shakespeare’s script.

Attend “Ado,” playing through March 3 in the black box Basile stage of the Phoenix Theatre Cultural Centre, 705 N. Illinois St. in downtown Indianapolis. Get tickets at phoenixtheatre.org and information at indyshakes.com.

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.

Phoenix in its Xmas era

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By John Lyle Belden

That Holiday Tradition that’s an alternative to Nutcrackers or Tiny Tim or other Christmassy cliches – except perhaps to mock them – has returned to the Phoenix Theatre Cultural Centre.

“A Very Phoenix Xmas XVII: Sleigh, Queen, Sleigh!” takes the stage with its various funny and nicely naughty short plays. This time these all-original skits all have common creators – written by director Zack Neiditch with songs by Paige Scott. They are brought to life by Suraj Choudhary, Samantha Lewis, Craig Underwood, Cara Wilson, and Christine Zavakos, who also each give a disturbingly charming (or charmingly disturbing) “Christmas memory” in videos by Zach Rosing.

The various pieces are presented in historical order from past to present, starting with a breaking TV news report from Roman Palestine. A more historically accurate approach is taken in a hilarious look at Christmas in Renaissance-era England. As for the Victorian era, Marley’s still dead. In the 20th century, things really get strange. With more recent decades, be sure to “like and subscribe.”

Note this isn’t all-ages. Mature content includes f-bombs and middle fingers, but no outright blasphemy. Think of it as SNL with HBO standards.

The ensemble work very well together, with most of them interacting in nearly every scene. Neiditch’s knack for comedy and Scott’s for a catchy tune give them plenty to work with.

If this kind of humor fits your stocking, you’ll find it very entertaining with familiar themes taken on like nobody else.  

“A Very Phoenix Xmas” runs through Dec. 21 at 705 N. Illinois St., downtown Indianapolis. Get info and tickets at phoenixtheatre.org.

New play presents a fateful correspondence

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By John Lyle Belden

There is much to be said for the magic of the theatre, the blurring of space, distance, and communication between characters and to our silent witness, all on the limited confines right in front of us. Thus, our minds easily suspend disbelief, forego the logic that requires more physical and temporal structure expected in cinema or even a novel, all to give us the essence and substance of the story. Put simply, I believe “Wad,” by Keiko Green, could only work on the stage – and the current world premiere production by American Lives Theatre and The New Harmony Project works brilliantly.

Nyce – pronounced “Neese” – (Mollie Murk) is a Ft. Lauderdale teen fascinated with the macabre who finds a program to mail letters to prison inmates on Florida’s Death Row. She selects Jim (Eric Reiberg) and writes to him noting that she has not read about his case beyond being convicted for “double first-degree murder,” that she would rather find out about it from him, from his perspective.  His execution date is five months away.

The black-box confines of the Basile stage in the Phoenix Theatre Cultural Centre are evenly divided between Nyce’s bedroom and Jim’s cell (set design by Matt Mott). Under the direction of Emily Moler, we see Nyce and Jim communicate across the hundred-plus mile distance via balled-up letters thrown across the center line like paper-wads in a classroom (hence the title). What in reality takes days become flowing conversations, complete with mutual-fantasy interactions across the center line. They enact a history lesson, a meet-cute, and even a puppet show. In addition, they each find themselves revealed as lies are discovered and evasions become useless as time grows ever shorter.

Murk nicely embodies the girl at the cusp of adulthood, naively thinking hard truths will come easy. While she is at a turning point at the start of life’s potential, Reiberg gives us a man facing down his end. He is at first indifferent, but finding a non-judgemental friend gives him a cruel dose of hope. Aided by what we learn about his fate through their correspondence, the conclusion is felt more than seen.

While obviously a drama, there is a fair amount of dark comedy, especially in their early interactions – a blend of adolescent sarcasm and genuine gallows humor. Watch closely for deeper elements, such as both characters being Libras – a hint at the scales of Justice, and the fragile sense of balance throughout the narrative.

In all, “Wad” is a fascinating, thought-provoking, and affecting look at two distinct characters, revealing the humanity they share with each other – and us. Performances run through Sept. 28 at 705 N. Illinois St., downtown Indianapolis. Get info and tickets at phoenixtheatre.org.