Phoenix Theatre

IndyFringe: Act a Foo’ Improv Crew

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By John Lyle Belden

I debated even bothering with this review, because who doesn’t know about Act a Foo’? For a few years now, this ensemble has been making people laugh with improvisational comedy all over Indy. They even have a regular gig at the IndyFringe building.

For this year’s Fringe festival, the Crew are on the Phoenix Theatre mainstage. And from what I’ve seen, they get funnier and more polished with every performance. So, naturally, what you next see will be even better than what I saw. Funny how that works.

The style of comedy is little “games” like the popular TV show “Whose Line is it Anyway”  in which audience suggestions get incorporated into skits make up on the spot. These guys have been at it long enough that they even enjoy throwing verbal curveballs at each other to try to disrupt their natural comic rhythm, with even funnier results.

And don’t think it’s all on them. Audience members not only have to give suggestions, but occasionally also get involved, like when two ordinary folks have to move the arms and legs for two crew members trying to engage in a silly conversation.

Now for the important part: last shows for this festival are Saturday and Sunday afternoons, Aug. 27-28. Info and tickets at indyfringefestival.com.

IndyFringe: Silken Veils

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By John Lyle Belden

Like others of my generation and older, I remember seeing the Iranian revolution of 1979 in news reports on television. The taking of hostages at the American Embassy by the revolutionaries overshadowed for us any other thoughts of how the events affected others.

Today we are presented with another point of view, in the multimedia play “Silken Veils.”

In modern America (the 1990s, judging by the ages of the characters) a bride flees the altar and hides in her changing room. Afraid she will become like her parents, she must confront her conflicted feelings towards them — a father who stood against the Shah only to help bring another oppressive regime to power, the mother who responded to rejection by loving her husband anyway — and the memory of her brother’s horrific death.

The telling of the intertwined stories incorporates live actors, flashbacks, Rumi poetry, shadow puppetry, marionettes and animation. The Pantea Productions players flow these elements perfectly into one another for a unified performance that will touch your heart, and remind you that while those captured Americans were able to end their ordeal, for some who called Persia home, the pain continues.

From my experience of more than a dozen IndyFringe shows this year, I’m declaring “Silken Veils” the best show of the Fringe — a high bar, considering other performances. Judge for yourself at the final performance 10:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 27, on the main stage of the Phoenix Theatre. Info and tickets at indyfringefestival.com.

IndyFringe: A Third Live Here in the High Court

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By Wendy Carson

Each and every Fringe, there is that one show. The one that makes you leave it wondering what you just witnessed.

Well, folks, this show is certainly it.

It is a tale told through quotes and factoids more than actual dialogue. The semblance of story is woven in a mobius strip of time, place and reason. It is abstract impressionism acted out. While the performance is interesting, compelling, and extremely thought-provoking, it is definitely not for everyone.

So, if you feel like a challenge or are just curious as to what this is all about, check out Khaos company’s show.

Performances Aug. 25, 27 and 28 at the Phoenix Underground. Info and tickets at indyfringefestival.com.

IndyFringe: The Juniper Tree

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By Wendy Carson

Playwright Timothy Taylor presents a loving insight into three generations of women and their struggles with their personal histories. Our first character, Anna (or Bubbe), is the Grandmother. Her determination to connect with her past life and traditions, ripped away from her by antisemitism throughout her beloved homeland of Ukraine. Her stories are touching and sweet, yet sad and rueful. She brings forth the story of The Juniper Tree, which can grow and thrive anywhere they are planted. She is determined to be that hardy and bear fruit no matter how harsh her environment.

In a solid counterpoint, is her daughter, Cece. We see her as a typical, hot mess of a seventies woman. She’s visiting her friend’s shrink, mostly for valium to help her deal with her stress. Although she initially exits when she can’t get what she feels she needs, she eventually comes back to the doctor’s office and we are treated to a glimpse into what made her the way she is. I was utterly surprised at the depth of her story considering how shallow she initially appears to be.

Finally, we have Rachel, Cece’s daughter who has decided that she wants to reconnect with Bubbe, who she has not seen or heard from since she was an infant. She sends a tape recorder & tapes so that she can get a true oral history for her family’s past, as well as insight into what caused the rift between her mother & grandmother in the first place.

This show is a solid look at family structures and the small choices that can ripple through a lifetime and destroy that which has been so hard fought to preserve. Susan Bennett does an admirable job fully forming the characters into believable women and not just the stereotypes that they could have easily lent themselves to becoming.

While the opening night house was only half-filled, I hope that word-of-mouth will help increase ticket sales so that the remaining performances get the larger audience this show deserves.

Performances at the Phoenix Theatre underground Aug. 22,  26 and 27. Get info and tickets at indyfringefestival.com.

Review: Not your kids’ puppet show

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By John Lyle Belden

In “Hand to God,” the outrageous comedy on stage at Indy’s Phoenix Theatre through July 17, it takes a possibly-possessed hand puppet to show the inner demons in all of us.

Just be warned: Though this play is set at a church, and involves youths working on a puppet show, it is most definitely NOT for children. For content, language and sex, this is very much an “R” rated event, and not for easily-offended churchgoers.

Jason (Nathan Robbins) and his mother Margery (Angela R. Plank) work through their grief at losing his father/her husband by putting on a puppet show at church at the suggestion of Pastor Greg (Paul Nicely), who has the hots for the new widow. The other kids in the puppet ministry, Timothy (Adam Tran) and Jessica (Jaddy Ciucci), are barely cooperative. But things really get out of hand (pardon the pun) when Jason’s puppet Tyrone starts speaking out. In expletive-loaded bursts, he says what others are only thinking, and then some. Jason sees the danger, but it’s too late, as after Tyrone is supposedly destroyed he comes back – with teeth.

Possibly coincidentally, these characters start acting way out of their comfort zone – including acts that would in the real world end in arrest. One can then wonder, to what extent do we think “the devil made them do it,” or was it just hidden desires suddenly given license? It’s telling that Jessica’s desperate ploy to get past Jason’s cloth alter-ego to reach the real boy she cares for involves one of the most shocking yet funny scenes of the play.

For wild can’t-believe-I’m-laughing-at-this hilarity and thought-provoking drama, this show is highly recommended. But even more amazing is the ability Robbins – a confessed puppetry novice – shows in displaying two completely separate characters, making Tyrone in voice and manner seem like a whole other person, despite being at the end of the arm of the helpless, scared boy coincidentally moving his lips.

This is likely not the first review of this play you’ve seen; the run started in June. But let me add to the chorus of satisfied audiences saying – if you’re not too easily offended – you really should see “Hand to God” at the Phoenix, 749 N. Park Ave. (corner of Park and St. Clair just north of Mass. Ave.). Call 317-635-7529 or see www.phoenixtheatre.org.

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

Review: Folk tales not so foreign as they seem

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By John Lyle Belden

The Spanish word leyenda can be translated to mean legend; in the new play “Leyenda,” on the main stage of the Phoenix Theatre through May 1, the meaning is closer to folk or fairy tale.

This world premiere work was written by Phoenix playwright-in-residence Tom Horan with producing director Bryan Fonseca, using traditional Latino tales, each with its own moral.

Bridgette Richards plays a sort of Latina Scheherezade, telling a cruel ruler story after story to keep him from growing dissatisfied and killing her. To extend the drama (and her life) she doesn’t give the endings right away, leading to a layered narrative that is still easy to follow.

Richards and fellow cast members Jean Arnold, Paeton Chavis, A.J. Morrison and Keith Potts act out the stories with the help of colorful costumes, masks, some dancing and even puppetry.

The dialogue is best described as “Spanglish” – but with enough English mixed in for non-Spanish speakers to follow (one story, “Coazones de Fuego/Hearts of Fire,” is almost entirely in Spanish, but is mostly “told” in dance). One tale even features an English-speaker who struggles with Spanish, a welcome reflection of the audience’s possible difficulties.

This show is not only an excellent view into Latin American culture, but also a revelation of how universal some stories are, as we find aspects of tales we’ve heard from other sources, like Aesop or the Brothers Grimm. A few moments, like appearances of El Cucoy (the Bogeyman), get intense, but otherwise this play is good for all ages.

Performances are Thursdays through Sundays, and April 30 and May 1 shows will be entirely in Spanish. For more information and tickets, call 317-635-7529 or see phoenixtheatre.org.

(Also posted at The Word)

 

Review: Not an easy ‘Road’

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By John Lyle Belden

The Phoenix Theatre doesn’t shy away from difficult topics, and neither does popular playwright Steven Dietz, whose newest work, “Clover Road,” occupies the Phoenix’s Basile downstairs stage through April 10.

Kate Hunter (played by Jen Johansen), a mother whose child has been missing for four years, receives word that her teenage daughter is on the compound of a cult run by the charismatic Harris McClain (Bill Simmons). We meet Kate as she arrives at a room in an abandoned motel with a man (Rob Johansen) who has been hired to abduct the girl and bring her back to the room for deprogramming. He tests her resolve and thickness of her psychic armor before leaving, then arrives later with a girl Kate doesn’t recognize (Mara Lefler). The mind games begin – for everyone involved in this story – building to an inevitably tragic conclusion.

The opening night performance made a profound impression on mental health professionals in the audience.

“I kept thinking, ‘this is very realistic,’” said Katie Sahm, a licensed clinical social worker with Counseling Associates in the Community Health network, during a post-play discussion. Lefler’s portrayal of a youth convinced of the cult leader’s apocalyptic message felt accurate, she said.

The play reveals “the vulnerability of all of us,” said Jim Bush, Director of Operations for Eskenazi Health Midtown Community Mental Health Center. The desperation to believe what they hope is true and right is shown in all the characters, aside from svengali McClain, who Simmons imbues with easy charisma.

Sahm, Bush and family therapist Dr. Barbara Riggs, with play director Courtney Sale, frequently cited a person’s need for validation as a factor in why teens like the girl in “Clover Road” find themselves in cults, gangs or with strangers they meet online. Audience discussion turned to the role of social media. At one point in the play, it’s revealed the missing girl had been in contact with a person online who told her what she wanted, or needed, to hear.

“That’s the truly frightening part,” Sahm said of the issue of defending against predators who would wield personal validation as a weapon.

The play’s themes and the expert portrayals – the Johansens and Simmons are excellent as always, and Lefler makes a brilliant Phoenix debut – deliver riveting drama, and are bound to start interesting conversations on the way home.

The Phoenix Theatre is at 749 N. Park Ave. (corner of Park and St. Clair) in downtown Indy. Call 317-635-7529 or see phoenixtheatre.org.

(Review also posted at The Word.)

Review: Civil War comedy works

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By John Lyle Belden

NOTE: Review also appears online with The Word (www.theygayword.com).

The most entertaining lesson this Black History Month only has one February weekend of performances, the comic drama “Butler” at Indy’s Phoenix Theatre through Sunday. It is also an important insight into the struggle to bring about the end of slavery, or to at least give African Americans some long-denied dignity.

Lawyer turned Union Army General Benjamin Franklin Butler (played by Stephen Hunt, who perfectly resembles historical photos of Butler), takes command of a fortress that by a fluke of geography is the only piece of Virginia still belonging to the North during the Civil War. As he’s settling in, he receives word of escaped slaves, led by Shepard Malloy (Ramon Hutchins), who insists on speaking to the General.

The opening scene, mainly a conversation between Butler and one of his junior officers (Brandon Alstott), helps set the tone for this play. We get a feel for Butler’s gruff personality and though his agitation over seemingly small details seems eccentric, we find ourselves “astonished” at how well it sets up the dry but sharp comedy of later scenes.

Hutchins is exceptional in a very complex role. His Malloy yearns for freedom, yet his intellect and impulsiveness make him his own worst enemy in a world where people like him aren’t allowed to get in the last word. Yet in one-on-one conversations with Butler, their verbal sparring challenges each other as well as the audience, even while extracting welcome yet un-guilty laughter.

Doug Powers appears as a Confederate Major sent to fetch the escaped slaves, ironically citing the laws of the Union his state was seceding from to compel Butler to return them to his custody. It is in this situation that the Union General reverts to lawyer mode and comes up with a loophole to keep Malloy and his companions in the fort. Note this is based on true events, including the legal means by which Butler manages to hold on to the “property” of a Southern slaveowner.

If an uplifting Civil War comedy can happen, anything is possible. See for yourself Feb. 4-7. Call 317-635-7529 or see phoenixtheatre.org.

Review: Untraditional tradition delivers again

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By John Lyle Belden

Gayle Steigerwald – a very familiar face to Phoenix Theatre patrons – admits during “A Very Phoenix Xmas X: Oh Come Let Us Adore Us” that what is mainly a lampoon of holiday traditions has become an Indianapolis holiday tradition itself.

Steigerwald, a veteran of numerous “Phoenix Xmas” skits, acts as emcee for this year’s show, with its mixture of old and new elements in its songs and short plays, garnished with projected photos from past productions while Steigerwald banters as the cast change costumes. The other players – Scot Greenwell, Paul Hansen, Olivia Huntley, Rob Johanson, Eric J. Olson, Sara Rieman and Lincoln Sientz with musician Deb Mullins – are also familiar faces, and eagerly deliver like the pros they are.

The sock monkeys and lighted dancers return, and we get unusual takes on Christmas carols, the tree, gifting, and even the jolly character at the center of the celebration. There’s an avant garde piece, a bit of political commentary, and moments that reach more for the heart than the funny bone. Nothing is too sacred for this bunch, but there is no big sacrilege either. So, feel free to indulge in this alternate “tradition,” playing through Dec. 20 at the Phoenix, 749 Park Ave. (corner of Park and St. Clair downtown); see www.phoenixtheatre.org or call 317-635-7529.

Review: Online life taken to disturbing depths

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By John Lyle Belden

In the near-future, the Internet evolves into the Nether, where people log on immersively to work, go to school and be entertained. Some never leave. This world is explored in a disturbing new drama, “The Nether,” playing through Nov. 22 at the Phoenix Theatre, 749 N. Park Ave. in downtown Indianapolis.

A detective (Sarah McGee) investigates “Papa” (Bill Simmons), who has developed, within the Nether, the Hideaway, where residents can indulge the most depraved of urges – but if it’s virtual and all participants are adults, what’s the harm? When desires that are dangerous in the real world are fulfilled to your five senses, even if no one is physically hurt, does it still chip away at something within you?

Deep, uneasy questions are explored, confronting the dark possibilities of our online culture. Sure, in the bright and happy musical “Avenue Q” we sing that “The Internet is for Porn,” but when Papa says it in a firm voice of affirmation, it no longer seems so amusing.

The impressive set splits the stage between the cold sterile interrogation room and a beautiful Victorian parlor within the Hideaway. The lush virtual world is in contrast to the ruined outside world hinted at in conversation — with references to an environment with few trees and little natural beauty remaining — a world it would make sense one would want to escape, maybe even permanently.

Rich Rand plays a Hideaway user, and Paeton Chavis and Scot Greenwell portray Nether avatars; they, Simmons and McGee all give compelling performances. Unless easily offended or triggered, mature audiences should welcome the challenge of this play. Info and tickets at 317-635-7529 or phoenixtheatre.org.