Rachel Kelso

IndyFringe: Going Solo

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This is part of the annual Indianapolis Theatre Fringe Festival, a/k/a IndyFringe 2026, held Aug. 13-23 in venues around downtown Massachusetts Ave. Information at indyfringe.org.

By John Lyle Belden with Wendy Carson

Reviews of: “Ambiguous,” by Tiffany Michelle Foster; “Before Breakfast,” by Rachel Kelso; “Father Johnny: I Swear to God,” by John Courtney; “Gollum Girl LIVE,” by Amy Yourd; “The Keeper,” by King Richard; “Maniac,” by Todd Sullivan; “The Perfect Rap Show,” by Cecil Creates; “PsyWrn Simone’s Black Thread: Songs that Nina Taught Me,” by PsyWrn Simone; “Then, Eve,” by Billie Jane; “Starship Napademics,” by Kay Hawthorne. 

An essential element of the Fringe experience is the one-person show. Often, it’s a sort of confessional, telling one’s own story or experience in a way that brings us into their uncomfortable shoes. Sometimes it’s about another person or a topic or idea – like a dressed-up TED talk. Whatever is performed, the performer indulges in a very brave act – regardless of the costume, this person is exposed, standing alone, hoping for our understanding. As Shakespeare wrote, “Gently to hear, kindly to judge.”

Ambiguous

While practically no one-person act involves just one person – there are lights and crew, perhaps a co-writer and/or director – we understand that this is essentially all performer Tiffany Michelle Foster. With the help of friends and fellow artists, she presents video scenes on a stageside screen, setting up a situation she has dealt with throughout her life. It’s easy to say she is a “person of color,” but those who meet her can’t help but be curious of the specifics. Her parents and siblings appear to be Black, while she resembles a Latina. Entering her journey of magical realism to answer the question, “What are you?” – and having accidentally squashed the cricket – she gets a sarcastic cockroach as her guide.

In her first costume, she appears as a perfect live-action version of Dora the Explorer, guided by the singing Map through the Forest of Assumption and along the River of Where Are You REALLY From. The journey will take her through a cartoon interlude in which she appears on stage as Betty Boop, and a horror scene with helpful zombies who guide her to becoming the racially/ethnically fluid “Black or White” era Michael Jackson (she admits this was in part to learn how to moonwalk – which she does well).

Tiffany concludes with a few minutes of standup, in which she answers the big question (ambiguously, of course). She reveals that while by genetic percentage she is one racial identity, by her life experience and the laws of her original home state, she is another. (As she tours with this show and could bring it back to Indy, I’ll leave this for you to find out when you see her.)

The bottom line is that “what” Tiffany Michelle Foster is, is human and funny and entertaining, and a joy to see – whatever label fits at the moment.

Before Breakfast

(Review by Wendy Carson)

Mrs. Rowland (Rachel Kelso) is trapped in a now-loveless marriage. Her husband, once a wealthy heir, is now just a drunken sot. She works her fingers to the bone, but he spends his days drinking and regaling his friends with poetry and stories. Her long-suffering plight is laid out for us while she speaks to her husband, who is hungover in the bedroom.

While they were in love at one point and they both risked the wrath of their families to get married, they are now just going through their paces in a mockery of their union. While nobody could have predicted the conflagration of events that led to their current circumstances, he could at least own up to his responsibility to share the burden of working through them rather than just ignoring them wholesale.

While some may feel her tirade comes of as meaningless nagging, there are moments of sincere sorrow that hearken back to her original feelings for the man. She just wants to know that he still feels anything for her. While her tale is a sad one, in the end, her husband finally does show her a little mercy and gives her the second-best outcome she could hope for.

This classic one-act drama by Eugene O’Neill is dark and sorrowful, but does serve to remind us of how harrowing the past was, as well as the trials and tribulations of adulthood.

Father Johnny: I Swear to God

The subtitle of this standup/storytelling/costume act is more a statement than an interjection, as the good Father, presented by John Courtney, does use some mature language and innuendo – and doesn’t mince words about the un-Christlike nature of those in charge of America. While he has kind things to say about our new U.S.-born Pope, there are some aspects of the Catholic Church he’d like to see improved – a global shortage of priests? Let women be ordained!

He gives us video scenes of odd confessions while changing into old Father O’Saughnessy, a kindly Church Lady, and even J.C. himself. His title character also turns out to be an act – while he attended Catholic seminary, he stopped short of the priesthood, finding the Oath of Obedience to be a step too far.

Bearing in mind that standup is always tricky to judge, Courtney’s show is quirky and clever while still feeling rough at points, something a pro like him will no doubt work on. Ever forgiving of the audience, for each line that doesn’t land, he could glibly take up the next to induce some chuckles.

Father Johnny’s blending of the sacred and profane could inspire a few conservative viewers to “arise and walk,” but I think the trinity of Saints Lenny Bruce, George Carlin, and Bill Hicks would bless it.

Gollum Girl LIVE

(Review by Wendy Carson, as posted to Facebook)

Amy Yourd has embarked upon her own personal quest to educate the world on the glorious wonders of the many worlds of J.R.R. Tolkien, the film trilogies of such by Peter Jackson, as well as her love of the true hero of the stories, Gollum.

Growing up different from others, she has always identified with Gollum’s oddities (more of her school mates know her by the nickname of Gollum Girl than her given name). However, she has lived with the nagging fear that at any minute she, like Gollum, would be thrown out of regular society and forced to live in solitude.

Still, she endeavors to find like-minded individuals who might understand her and accept her no matter how odd she seems. Come and witness her story. Find her afterwards and share your own. See her truth and get to know this amazing person who you will surely find some kinship with.

The Keeper

(Review by Wendy Carson)

Come and meet the newest demigod in the modern pantheon, The Keeper (The Keeper of Names being his full title). It is his duty to collect and remember not only the name, but the life story of every person lynched or otherwise killed in a racist act.

Even though he’s been at the job for a mere 10 years, the work is already taking its toll. He knows this is a supreme honor but is frustrated that his own name is lost to himself as well as history. The oath he swore upon taking the role states, “I forget myself, so that I may remember you.”

Witness his story, say their names, forget not that the struggle continues.

Maniac

(Review by Wendy Carson)

Todd Sullivan gives us a unique and interesting take on the motivations and inner workings of a murderer. We are witnessing the trials of a killer and will determine his verdict before the shows end. The first trial is that of Temerity, the second is Veracity, and the third is Rectitude. The trials are quaint and often silly, but they do give us a glimpse of the workings of the accused’s mind.

I must warn those who plan to attend this show that total audience participation will occur. No matter what, at some point you will interact and become part of the narrative. However, the performance I attended, no one seemed to mind even the smallest hint of participation.

Blending actual history, storytelling, clowning, and a bit of magic effects, this show is a rare delight. One that makes you think yet mindlessly enjoy the whimsey of it all. It’s truly a show that could only have been created for a Fringe audience.

The Perfect Rap Show

(Review by Wendy Carson, as posted to Facebook)

Approximately one year ago Cecil wakes up with a groundbreaking idea: “I should quit my job!”

This, added to a seemingly too-good-to-be-true AI assistant, leads him to the vision of taking his music to the next level by live streaming the perfect rap show.

We are here to witness the inception and ultimate performance of this journey as he hones his desires, finds his voice, polishes his marketing and tries to stay true to himself and the music he creates. This is an innovative and enjoyable look inside the creative process for those unfamiliar with it as well as a raw and vulnerable take on the honest struggles of today’s artists.

While some of the language may challenge viewers, I advise you to look past the words and admire the works. This is a must-see for anyone interested in pursuing a music career or just trying to make it online in their own niche.

PsyWrn Simone’s Black Thread: Songs that Nina Taught Me

First premiered during the Indy Black Solo Festival at the end of January, PsyWrn (pronounced “siren,” like one who entices with her singing and can rock your world) weaves her personal story with that of the legendary Nina Simone. Accompanied by Matthew Dupree on an African drum, PsyWrn presents “an appreciation, honoring her spirit,” seeing Nina (the High Priestess of Soul, 1933-2003) as having embodied “the artist as activist.”

In other words, she wasn’t always “Feeling Good.” In fact, Nina is quoted as saying, “first you get depressed, then you get mad.”  

The set includes audio and visual tributes to Nina Simone, including an LED 3-D rendering. PsyWrn also brings her to life in song, from Civil Rights anthems to the uplifting “To Be Young, Gifted and Black.” The Black Thread of the title weaves through those who struggled in decades past and continues in those taking up the call to end injustice today. In delivering this inspiring tribute, today’s Ms. Simone also shows herself capable of being legendary.

Then, Eve

(Review by Wendy Carson)

Billie Jane gives us a novel retelling of the Genesis story that resonates with our current times:

While their main job of naming all the animals seemed wonderful at first, their sheer numbers (there are over 4,000 different beetles alone), eventually made it drudgery. She wants more and can’t understand why her companion is so satisfied with so little.

There is also a lot of confusion within the task at hand. Why are the females of the species so ugly? Why did that bird sit on that white rock? Was the baby bird trapped inside the white rock? Do the rabbits have to constantly do THAT. Should we be doing that? Why did God put a tree here that we aren’t allowed to have anything to do with?

After a while, her companion deserts her so she becomes best friends with Caterpillar. This leads to another batch of questions as her buddy goes about his metamorphosis. She feels that she needs to transform herself but doesn’t know how. She tries talking to God but to no avail. She sets off to visit Lillith but that only makes her feel worse about her situation. Why does paradise feel so much like a prison?

Since she is miserable, she might as well end it all, so she steels herself and goes to the forbidden tree. Picking a fruit, but not yet eating it, she returns to see Butterfly destroyed by a flash of lightning. This seals her fate and she eats of the fruit, gaining the Knowledge of Good and Evil as well as the reality of her true self.

Jane weaves the story line so brilliantly that you are almost blindsided by the novel twist at the end of it all. This was truly a remarkable and thought-provoking look at an age-old tale.

Starship Napademics

Kay Hawthorne has her home in Indianapolis, roots in Africa, and her eyes on the stars. She invites us along on an Afrofuturism journey, embodying two personas. Nessa the stewardess informs us that all within this little theatre are about to embark – be ready for a change of gravity.

Once on our way, we meet her principal self, Napademics, with stories of discovering other worlds through books of science fact and science fiction by Black authors; the music of Sun Ra, Parliament-Funkadelic, and OutKast; and songs of her own she sings for us. The set is hand-made low-tech with high-tech aspirations, like the child who dreams of the Mothership on her way to applying for NASA.

She takes us by Sun Ra’s home of Saturn, and Napademics’ own planet, Mercury, in word and song. She notes that the mostly white scientific community seems to fear Dark Matter, but she doesn’t, adding “you miss so much that you see Black as empty.” However, we have nothing to fear as Nessa will welcome us back to Indy, safe and sound – and a little more funky.

Elect to experience this ethnic exploration

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By John Lyle Belden

Comedy draws a lot of laughs from discomfort, but what if it could be you in the audience who is feeling it?

In “The Hispanic / Latino / Latina / Latinx / Latine Vote,” by Bernardo Cubria – a National New Play Network rolling world premiere at Fonseca Theatre, directed by Carlos Medina Maldonado – a struggling academic shares her lived discomfort relatable to anyone of a non-white ethnicity in the United States.

Having written a book on the subject, Paola (Yolanda Valdivia) is our “expert” on being Latinx. However, she relates her main stressor is being “39 and single” and wanting a child. In the spirit of this show, she will poll the audience (participation is optional but encouraged) about choices such as the “sperm donor” for her IVF.

Kaj (David Wesley Marlowe), on the national staff of The Political Party (not to be confused with The Other Political Party), found her book and called her in to join his research team. For an absurd amount of money, Paola is to help determine how to reach Hispanic and Latino/a/x/e voters.

Other researchers are Nicola (Lexes Rubio), whose father is Cuban; Bernard (Matthew Ball), who is Black; and Rebecca (Rachel Kelso), whose last name is Feldman, and she spent a semester in Venezuela. They barely know the difference among the various Latin American cultures, still, though things predictably get awkward, they are eager to learn.

All other roles are smartly played by Luis Navarro, including the IVF specialist and several Party survey respondents.

Through a lot of nervous and silly humor, we all learn a lot about how varied yet relatable people are, as well as how political maneuvering doesn’t dispel stereotype but leverage it.

Valdivia’s Paola is our cheerful guide through all this, making our experience both enlightening and entertaining. Marlowe’s Kaj is results-oriented, coming across as crass, often a jerk but never apologetic, being what one would expect from one in his position. Rubio presents Nicola as a bit standoffish, but we learn the reason for her attitude. Ball is surprisingly upbeat for being an obvious token, but Bernard gets to give his perspective on his role. Kelso presents in Rebecca a woman trying too hard to relate, complete with flustered apologies.

Through it all we discover a lot about humanity, and that we all eventually say or think something we regret. However, the only way to disappoint this ensemble is to miss seeing the show. Performances of “The…Vote” run through March 29 at 2508 W. Michigan St., Indianapolis. Get info and tickets at fonsecatheatre.org.

And by the way, Indiana’s primary elections are May 5; voter registration deadline is April 6.

Southbank: Seeing ‘Red’ in Black and White

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By John Lyle Belden

American-born actor Ira Aldridge was the first man of African descent to play the lead role in Shakespeare’s “Othello” on the London stage in 1833.

(The tragic character Othello, as most know, was a Moor, dark-skinned from African heritage. But especially as he is the title role, even when Black actors were available in England he was always played by a White man in blackface.)

The play “Red Velvet,” by Lolita Chakrabarti, presented by Southbank Theatre Company, is about this and more, taking measure of a complex and controversial artist with particular emphasis on one of his many milestones.

We open and close the play in 1867 with Aldridge (Daniel Wilke) on what would be his final tour of Europe, performing “King Lear” in Lodz, Poland. We learn he has been a celebrity throughout the Continent and in the U.K., where he also managed a theatre. Turning 60, he is impatient, blustery, and forbids any press interviews (we’ll understand why later).

A young Polish reporter, Halina (Hannah Embree), manages to make her way into his dressing room, talking the actor into taking a few questions. Feeling her to be impertinent, he then sends her away. However, the memories have been triggered, and our scene switches to London, more than 30 years earlier.

During a sold-out London production of “Othello,” famed actor Edmond Kean, in the title role, has collapsed on stage and will never tread the boards again. Theatre manager Pierre LaPorte (Brant Hughes), a friend of Aldridge, sees a chance to make theatre history. Politically progressive company member Henry Forester (J Charles Weimer), who also supports the demonstrations against slavery in the British Empire raging at the time, likes the idea, but fellow thespians Bernard Ward (Doug Powers) and especially Kean’s son Charles (Matt Hartzburg) – who plays the Moor’s murderous rival Iago – do not.

It is argued that the British stage is for escapist fantasy, where a regular (White) person can pretend to be something he is not. This form of stark realism, Ward remarks, is as absurd as a real simpleton playing Caliban or a real Jew as Shylock. Still, LaPorte is adamant and the show goes on, with Aldridge baring his natural face.

While the men seem to fit archetypes one would expect to see in a story of shaking up things in a treasured institution, the women each take an intriguing perspective.

Ellen Tree (Liz Carrier), like the tragic female lead Desdemona that she plays, seems caught in the middle. She must act opposite Aldridge, the focus of this controversy, and she is the fiancé of Charles Kean, who threatens to walk out in protest. Her allegiance is to the company, and she seems intrigued by this American’s approach to the play and its characters. Wilke and Carrier, like the actors they portray, skillfully present themselves as professionals rehearsing a married couple who must stand close and touch each other as they are bonded by love and destroyed by jealousy. Is that all we see? Neither they nor Chakrabarti’s script under the direction of Donna McFadden give us an easy or definitive answer.

In a role of sublime subtlety capped by the profound moments when she finally speaks her mind, Kendall Maxwell is exquisite as the servant Connie. Just her presence at the back of the room – standing in contrast to the man of color who is treated as a peer and equal to the others who only see her as little more than a tea-serving automaton – speaks volumes.

Rachel Kelso plays Aldrige’s wife, Margaret, casually trusting and true to her famous husband. Her understanding helps buoy our feelings for Ira Aldridge, who in turn expresses genuine affection for her, especially when she is no longer with him.

Embree is also impressive, giving us a character having to power through her own issues in a society determined to limit her.

Also, in the 1867 scenes Weimer amusingly plays a randy German stagehand, while Powers is Aldridge’s longsuffering personal assistant.

Hughes delivers a sharp performance as one struggling to keep both a career and a friendship without losing both. His character’s Frenchness makes him a sufficient outsider to be the catalyst of change, still, he’s all (show) business for his role in these events.

We come to find in the play’s title an aspect of Aldridge’s life’s arc. He recalls peering through velvet curtains as a boy to see his first plays; as an adult, he dons a crimson velvet cloak as the Moor. (Just one of many excellent costumes by Karen Cones.) Turning convention on its head, in preparing to play the aging King, he applies greasepaint to lighten his skin.

A reflection and commentary on racial and gender discrimination that has us considering how much has truly changed, and what it has taken to change it, wrapped in an intriguing portrait of a historic individual, “Red Velvet” has one weekend of performances left, Thursday through Sunday, May 1-4, at Shelton Auditorium, 1000 W. 42nd Street, Indianapolis (Butler University campus).  Get info and tickets at southbanktheatre.org.

Based on a True Story

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By John Lyle Belden 

There is funny, “ha-ha;” there is funny, “strange and/or wrong” – and there is a bold combination of these, “Funny, Like an Abortion,” a dangerously dark comic drama by Rachel Bublitz at IF Theatre, home of IndyFringe.

A co-production of Theatre Unchained with American Lives Theatre, this intense movie-length one-act is directed by TU’s Megan Ann Jacobs and ALT founder Chris Saunders. 

Set in the near future, Monroe (Alicia Ana Hernandez-Roulet) is setting up a surprise party for her bestie, Jade (Rachel Kelso), at least that’s what appears on her social app accounts and is known by her household smart device, Butler (voice of Thomas Sebald). However, once she feels free of any eavesdropping, Monroe springs the real surprise – it’s an “abortion party!” To Jade’s astonishment, the numerous gift bags each hold or represent a means of ending Monroe’s unwanted pregnancy. Legal and therefore safe abortion is a thing of the past, so they must choose the least-bad option to be executed that night, before anyone else can catch on.

In this portrayal of how elements of “Nineteen Eighty-Four” and “The Handmaid’s Tale” could easily come about in today’s high-tech culture, the mood is lightened by laugh-not-to-cry dark humor and moments of game-show presentation, juggling, and a tap-dance break. Hernandez-Roulet and Kelso take on this challenge earnestly as relatable and entertaining characters. Monroe stays upbeat, even manic, to keep ahead of a creeping despair, as Jade feels her way through being both a true friend and an accomplice to a serious felony.

They are also Alicia and Rachel, two actors breaching the Fourth Wall to remind us that while all the methods given in the play are actual abortion tactics (some going back centuries), they are all dangerous and not to be attempted by anyone.

While Bublitz wrote this prior to the Dobbs v Jackson decision that ended the protections of Roe v Wade, the play does anticipate it happening and we do get from the cast a rundown of the various restrictions put in place across America since the Supreme Court’s 2022 ruling. With the results of recent elections, including the likely enacting of Project 2025 measures in the coming year, something like the events portrayed could soon come to pass.

Enlightening and alarming in what it portends, this show is recommended for those who understand to bring friends who need to know – which, to be honest, is all of us.

“Funny, Like an Abortion” has two more weekends, Nov. 15-17 and 21-23 in the Blackbox (formerly Indy Eleven) stage at IF, 719 E. St. Clair St., Indianapolis. Get info and tickets at theatreunchained.org or indyfringe.org.

Glimpses of comics’ lives in ‘Purple Lounge’

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By John Lyle Belden

In case there is any confusion, note that “Live at the Purple Lounge” has nothing to do with Prince. Another clarification: “Green Room” is just the traditional name for the place performers can relax before and after going on stage; it can be any color.

This said, welcome to the Purple Lounge comedy club, presented by Betty Rage Productions at the IndyFringe Basile Theatre. Seating includes cozy little tables, where crew member/bouncer, Chelsea (Kelsey VanVoorst), the New Comic, greets us. She doesn’t enforce a drink minimum but advises there are plenty of adult and alcohol-free beverages available for purchase at the back of the room.

However, what we see before us is not the classic stand-up stage backed with faux brick, but the backstage Green Room, tended by club manager Bethany (Meg McLane). Over the course of a few nights, we hear the last bits of a comic’s set, then see what happens in this room after.

Rory (Brooke Neubaum) closes with laments about her dating life, then comes into the room to find her mother Victoria (Jean Arnold) – a successful sex-positive writer – waiting with a rather stress-inducing surprise.

Sydney (Tracy Herring) slays in her set, then comes backstage to husband John (Chad Pirowski) with news that she can book a West Coast tour – a small miracle for a lesser-known 50-year-old comic. He doesn’t quite share her happiness.

Lena (Anna Himes), on the other hand, bombs – and it’s not the first time. Sure enough, old friend Travis (Dave Pelsue) is there to remind her that it’s been a year now. There’s a way to get herself funny again, he promises.

Anna (Rachel Kelso) makes her set about how sadly vanilla her girlfriend is. Meanwhile, in the Green Room, said partner Logan (Laurel Clark) is on her phone with customer service about a defective sex toy.

Abbie (Jenni White), one of the club regulars, is a hit again. Backstage with Bethany, a long-time friend, she is forced to confide an issue that not even her “husband Bill” can help with.

Being a stand-up comic is a funny life – both “funny ha-ha” and funny/unusual – and we get plenty of both in these scenes. The unique lifestyle and stresses of the job are explored in various ways, as well as the toll they can take on those who love them. Some of the biggest laughs, such as the moments with Rory and Victoria, or Anna and Logan, come with their share of tears. In this backstage sanctuary you’re as likely to find a metaphorical punch in the gut as a gut-busting punchline.

Performances are top-notch, especially McLane, who we usually see in absurd comedy shows, getting to exercise her dramatic range to great effect. Himes and White also hit us directly in the feels in their scenes.

Directed by Betty Rage founder Callie Burk-Hartz, “Live at the Purple Lounge” has just four more performances, 7:30 p.m. Thursday and Friday, 3 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Saturday (May 23-25), at 719 E. St. Clair, Indianapolis. Get info at bettyrageproductions.com and tickets at indyfringe.org.

‘Crew’ remembers forgotten Civil Rights heroes

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By John Lyle Belden

“Cadillac Crews are not fictional. They really happened. But we don’t know the many names of the women who, on them, helped to integrate the American south.” – Playwright Tori Sampson in an interview on www.newpaltz.edu.

Black women in the 1960s faced a battle on two fronts. They endured the struggle for racial equality alongside Black men, who at times placed them in a strictly background role, mostly unheard and largely unknown.

In the play, “Cadillac Crew,” by Tori Sampson, presented by Mud Creek Players, this becomes a hard lesson for Rachel Christopher (Shakisha Mahogany), leader in a Virginia civil rights activists’ office. She has arranged for movement pioneer Rosa Parks to speak at an upcoming conference. However, her day starts with friction from office assistant Abby (Shanae Denise), who feels she should have more duties, considering her pre-law degree. Rachel notes that even with her Masters, all she has done is administrative work, but that should soon change. Dee (Gabrielle Patterson) arrives already under stress, dealing with her daughter starting class at a mostly-White school under a new Integration plan. Finally, there is Sarah (Rachel Kelso), whose Whiteness raises quiet suspicion with Abby and Dee, despite her eagerness to help and Rachel’s willingness to vouch for her.

Two pieces of bad news arrive – the male leadership’s decision to demote Parks’ appearance from a keynote address to perhaps a luncheon, and a report out of Florida of a burned-out Cadillac with the bodies of two women voting rights workers. No names are given, but Abby knew them.

Striving to rise above not only the pervasive Jim Crow racism but also what we now call “erasure,” Rachel volunteers her office as the next Cadillac Crew. Such teams are similar to the Freedom Riders of volunteer college students who traveled into the Deep South to organize and register voters (sometimes with tragic results), but in this case more low-key, driving the back roads to speak to churches and women’s groups to encourage the causes of integration, voting rights and other freedoms.

Seeing the lack of writing on the wall, Rachel is determined not to be forgotten, insisting that she and the others keep diaries of their ramblings through the South. Her lofty speeches seem to be well received, and things are going well, provided the crew can make it over the dusty road to Jackson, Mississippi…

Directed by Dani Lopez-Roque, this play is a powerful reminder of the many mostly-unknown people who worked for the cause of freedom, and how the pressures of that struggle led to a lot of tension and disagreement within the ranks. This isn’t four girls on a road trip; it is four women constantly questioning if any of this is worth it. All four actors are as dedicated as the women they portray, embracing the complexity that even within a settled goal like equality, there are many-sided arguments of how to get there.

The play ends with a final scene in 2024, which seems a little odd, but helps put the preceding events in perspective as a young podcaster strives to un-erase what has been hidden.

The Mud Creek Barn helps set the scene before the play with signage as you enter regarding the strictures of Jim Crow. The program is in the style of newspaper from 1963. And be sure you line up at the “right” window when getting your ticket or popcorn.

Performances of “Cadillac Crew” are Feb. 16-18 and 23-24 at 9740 E. 86th St., Indianapolis. For tickets and info, go to mudcreekplayers.org.

Westfield presents classic drama with current feel

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By John Lyle Belden

“Night Must Fall,” a classic thriller by Emlyn Williams, who also starred in its original 1935 London production, haunts the stage of Main Street Productions in Westfield, directed by Ian Hauer.

In an English countryside estate, bitter Mrs. Bramson (Julie Wallyn) rules from her wheelchair, tolerated by sassy housekeeper Mrs. Terence (Ashley Engstrom) and timid maid Dora (Cassie Knowling), and with a hint of familial obligation by niece Olivia (Rachel Kelso), whom she uses, with unearned distrust, as a personal secretary. When we meet them, Bramson is attended to by visiting Nurse Libby (Lizzie Schultz) while milquetoast family friend Hubert (Matt Hartzburg) tries in vain to woo Olivia.

When the matron seeks to sack Dora for tardiness, the girl confesses to be pregnant. Morally outraged, Bramson nonetheless keeps the maid on the condition that the man who will be the father present himself and commit to marriage. Enter “Babyface” Dan (Adam Phillips) whose lilting peasant voice seems to carry a hypnotic note, quickly winning over the usually suspicious woman.

Soon, Scotland Yard Inspector Belsize (Ian A. Montgomery) visits, inquiring regarding the disappearance of a woman last seen at a local nightspot Dan had been known to frequent. This clinches Olivia’s already growing suspicions, but while she makes her own investigation of their handsome new houseguest, could she be slipping under his spell as well?

This drama also features Brad Staggs in an ominously foreshadowing voiceover.

Under Hauer’s direction, Williams’ script feels ahead of its time as a tense character study of sociopathy – “What’s behind his eyes?” Olivia marvels. Our 2023 audience, having seen true-crime shows, perhaps read such books and heard the podcasts, can only watch as the blind side of human nature fails to foresee what unfolds. These things couldn’t happen decades ago in beautiful genteel Essex, England – until they do.

Wallyn manages to keep Mrs. Bramson equal parts harsh and human. She is not a dupe so much as failing to realize she is being played like an instrument by a virtuoso of persuasion, which in its own way helps us to feel for her, despite her edges.

Kelso is given a lot to work with in two acts, managing to keep pace with Olivia’s odd trajectory. Engstrom adds to the humor factor with Terence’s gaelic-accented commentary, a very what-you-gonna-do-fire-me attitude that Bramson somehow respects. Knowling’s Dora is a bit of a leaf-on-the-wind character, who craves not being the center of attention and is visibly relieved when talk of marrying Dan seems to cease.

Montgomery makes the most of his few scenes as the Inspector, exuding authority while wielding it with tact. Meanwhile, Hartzburg keeps his softy Hubert fairly likable, a character sadly out of his depth who should find love in a much nicer play.

If only posh folk understood the warning of ironic nicknames like “Babyface.” Phillips eases into a character that grifts as easily as breathing. His Dan blurs the line between kind and suspicious behavior so well, he toys with the tension both on stage and among the audience right up to the end.

“Night Must Fall” four more times, Thursday through Sunday, Feb. 16-19, at the Basile Westfield Playhouse, 220 N. Union St. Get tickets and info at WestfieldPlayhouse.org.

Orange is the new Bard

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This is part of Indy Bard Fest 2022, the annual Indianapolis area Shakespeare Festival. For information and tickets, visit indybardfest.com.

By John Lyle Belden

Welcome to a secure common room at a local women’s prison. The ladies of D Block present for the visitors (us) the fruits of their fine arts program, a staging of William Shakespeare’s “Richard II,” adapted by the company with director Glenn Dobbs.

For those like me who sometimes struggle to keep all the Histories straight, Richard II (1377-1399) rules England over 150 years after the fall of King John – who was brother to Richard I (Lionheart), among the first Plantagenet Kings, and the unfortunate subject of another Bard Fest offering this year. Richard will end his reign childless (no obvious heir) as the Plantagenets fracture into the Houses of Lancaster and York in the Wars of the Roses. Also, like John, he is not regarded well by history and lore, considered a tyrant especially as he was a big believer in a king’s absolute power by Divine Right.

As presented by these orange-clad thespians, we easily accept that the mostly-male characters will all have feminine voices. This cast of local actors (not real felons, but play along) get to engage in two levels of character work. Aside from portraying the machinations of the 14th Century English Court, they are also women forged in difficult circumstance, feeling a familiarity to this treacherous culture. At any moment, your blood could be on the floor. To emphasize a challenge, a pack of premium smokes cast down is your gauntlet. Which boss inmate you follow can be a matter of life or death, and that crown – whether metal or bandana – is never fully secure.

Outstanding talents take the lead: Afton Shepard as Richard and Rayanna Bibbs as cousin/rival/successor Bolingbroke; with Damick Lalioff as the Duke of York, Evangeline Bouw as Richard’s faithful noble Aumerle, Savannah Scarborough as Bolingbroke’s right hand Northumberland, Nan Macy as John of Gaunt and the Duchess of York, and Sofy Vida as the banished Mowbray and secretive Bishop of Carlisle. Great contributions as well by Missy Rump, Genna Sever, Gracie Streib, Rachel Kelso, Jamie Devine, Gillian Bennett, Gillian Lintz, and a special shout-out to young Ellie Richart as Richard at coronation.

Shepard gives the kind of strong performance we’ve come to expect from her, showing all the various infamous aspects of the King, delivered with an instability that flows from the madness of power to the wilder madness of being without it. Bibbs gives a commanding performance like someone who somehow knows he will be the title character of the next two plays in the series. Bouw gives us a tragic character we can feel for, a young Duke sure he is on the right side – until he isn’t – then all too desperate to redeem himself. Lalioff smartly plays York as shrewd and decisive (things Richard is not), enabling him to ride the changing tides. Macy is again a marvel in her paternal and maternal roles.

It is from this play we get the line, “let us… tell sad stories of the death of kings,” and what a story we are delivered here! Three performances remain, Friday through Sunday, Oct. 28-30, in the Indy Eleven Theatre at the IndyFringe building, 719 E. St. Clair, Indianapolis.  

Bard Fest: ‘Love’s Labour’s Lost’ a noble find

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By John Lyle Belden

Did William Shakespeare invent the sitcom?

In a wacky set-up worthy of a TV yuk-fest, or even an old Abbot and Costello romp, a group of proud manly-men determine they are so serious to improve their minds that they pledge to ignore the urges of other, more primal, body parts for three whole years. But within minutes, they are visited by beautiful women – one for each of them – and, suddenly, “What oath?! I don’t remember promising anything!”

That, loosely, is the plot of “Love’s Labour’s Lost,” one of the Bard’s early comedies, but a play he took great pains to craft, as it was performed for Queen Elizabeth herself. Thus we deal in the realms of nobility and courtly love. The master of our men is the King of Navarre (little kingdom between Spain and France) and his three nobles were named after popular figures of the era. The visiting party is led by the Princess of France, to discuss a deal for the lands of Aquitaine (a highly valued southern French region), but once she learns of the men’s allegedly binding oath, she puts up with being camped outside the Navarre court with her ladies as an opportunity to indulge in some fun. To please its sophisticated audience, the dialogue is woven with all manner of clever and complex speech – even when topics get a bit bawdy.

To further spice the plot, visiting Spanish noble Armado (not bound by a chaste oath) fancies the love of commoner Jaquenetta. This story crosses streams with the main one when simpleton Costard switches a love letter to her with one intended for a lady of the Princess’s company.

So much going on, and fortunately Bard Fest provides plenty of talent to pull it off. Aaron Jones is noble, in charge, and a little lonely as our King, tutor to Chris Bell as Longaville, Colby Rison as Dumaine, and Matt Hartzburg as Berowne, who resists taking the oath, but reluctantly signs. John Mortell is wonderfully blustery as smitten Armado, attended faithfully by page boy Mote (a sly yet exceptional performance by Justina Savage). Gorgi Parks Fulper charms as Jaquenetta. JB Scoble is scene-stealing Costard, playing the goof to the hilt. Connor Phelan is Dull – that’s the constable’s name and the man’s personality, which Phelan hilariously commits to. We also have Dan Flahive as schoolmaster Holofernes and Thom Johnson as Sir Nathanial, who organize an entertainment for the royal visitors.

Attending the Princess (Jennifer Kaufmann) are Maria (Brittany Davis), who is sweet on Longaville; Katherine (Abigail Simmon), who thinks Dumaine is kinda cute; and Rosaline (Rachel Kelso), who has her eye on Berowne. Kaufmann maintains royal bearing throughout, but with Kelso, in her exchanges with Hartzburg, we see an early version of Shakespeare’s trope of the smart-alec man verbally sparring with the clever woman, sparks of which kindle romance. Director John Johnson takes a hands-on approach by taking the role of the ladies’ escort, Lord Boyet.

In all, this is a fun entertainment full of clever wit and colorful characters, with little in the way of big lessons other than the Princess learning that the time for fun inevitably ends, and our gentlemen exchanging an oath made lightly for a more serious pledge. Being a less-familiar play, I’ll spoil this no further.

Performances are Friday through Sunday, Oct. 29-31, at The Cat Theater, 254 Veterans Way in downtown Carmel. Get info and tickets at indybardfest.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.