Susanne Bush

BCP: The importance of I, You, and We

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By John Lyle Belden

“You’re not really what I expected today.”

Those words are by celebrated playwright Lauren Gunderson, in “I and You,” presented by Buck Creek Players. They are spoken by Caroline, a girl uncertain which will come first – the end of her senior year of high school, or the end of her life.

The words that take on the most meaning are in verses by 19th-century American poet Walt Whitman. Caroline (Piper Williams) is greeted by them – “In this mystery here I stand” – said by unexpected visitor Anthony (Braeden Adams).  They are classmates, though they have never met. She mostly lives in her bedroom, having spent her life in bad health and now needing a liver transplant. He says he is her project partner in American Lit class, needing to make a presentation on the use of “I,” “You,” and “We” in Whitman’s “Leaves of Grass.”

She is furious at first, untrusting, rejecting. But he persists that he’s just there to complete the assigned homework and eventually gets to stay. She has no interest in old poetry, then becomes intrigued. He states she should be able to relate to it, a regrettable statement as it hints at the topic of her health. Their verbal dance gets more intricate as it goes along, addressing her condition, getting to know other aspects of each other, learning about his own heartbreak.

Williams and Adams are brilliant in this dramedy pas de deux, directed by Cathy Cutshall, assisted by Scout Dunlevy.

Cutting and catty, Williams gives us the girl in a frustrating situation few can relate with, not so much afraid of death but tired of years of staring it down. She has low tolerance for those being “nice” as she has long learned to sense its shallow cover for others’ discomfort.

With kindly persistence, Adams gives us the boy who likes girls but not interacting with their various moods. This situation has paired him with someone who intrigues him, and whom he can’t help liking – though cautiously. He seems willing to open up, sharing aspects of his life and the things he enjoys, though we sense a bigger secret in his demeanor.

Complete with a treasured Turtle and an energetic air-piano solo, we see this important project through to its end. The result is uplifting, heartwarming and memorable.

As always, all work here is volunteered, including the excellent set design and build (Carolyn’s neatly decorated upstairs bedroom) by Susanne Bush.

BCP is also involving the Indiana Donor Network with an ad in the program and a table in the lobby. For information on becoming an organ donor, visit donatelifeindiana.org.

Performances are Friday through Sunday, April 17-19, at Buck Creek Playhouse, 11150 Southeastern Ave., Indianapolis (Acton Road exit off I-74). See buckcreekplayers.com.

BCP: Convent winery spilling secrets

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By John Lyle Belden

I suspect Catholic orders are nowhere near as fun as they are portrayed in stage comedies. Still, welcome to the Sisters of Perpetual Sewing in “Drinking Habits,” the hilarious comedy by Tom Smith on stage at Buck Creek Players, directed by Thom Turner.

Sister Augusta (Marie McNelis) and Sister Philamena (Beth Popplewell) have found that mending the garments of priests and Cardinals doesn’t bring in enough money to keep the convent open, so they let the juice from their grapes ferment and sell the wine in town – secretly, as Mother Superior (Ben Jones) is opposed to alcohol of any kind. Even mentioning it by name is forbidden.

This is far from the only secret. Just before the arrival of a new nun, Sister Mary Catherine (Megan Slocum), there is word of a secret visitor coming from the Vatican. Also, a pair of local reporters, Paul (Noah Lee) and Sally (Lauren Lotzow), are snooping around. Parish priest Father Chenille (Caleb Slocum) gets caught up in the paranoia, and gets the young groundskeeper George (Will Wortman) involved in some subterfuge.

All this makes for non-stop farcical slamming-doors slapstick fun, complete with all manner of clerical disguises.

Jones is divine (easy to accept as Mother since drag queens naturally command attention) and never cracks no matter how wacky things get. McNelis and especially Popplewell are fantastically frantic. Lee handles his ever-shifting role with comic aplomb. Lotzow, as well as her character, has fun with Sally’s steady focus on getting the scoop. Megan Slocum keeps Mary Catherine a mix of nervous and serene which makes her endearing. Caleb Slocum plays the priest as overwhelmed but still good-natured. Wortman keeps George sweet and simple without being dumb, just rolling with events as they happen.

The stage set, designed by Susanne Bush, includes a cutaway view of the Holy Closet, enhancing many comic moments.

For a good time, complete with creative euphemisms for alcohol (Satan’s Mouthwash, anyone?), “Drinking Habits” has just three more performances, Friday through Sunday, Feb. 13-15, at the Buck Creek Playhouse, 11150 Southeastern Ave., Indianapolis (Acton Road exit of I-74). Tickets at buckcreekplayers.com.

Chekhov’s fun: Epilogue presents Durang hit

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By John Lyle Belden

Celebrated American playwright Christopher Durang, notable for his comedies, gave us in 2012 an instant classic – “Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike” – inspired by the legacy of Anton Chekhov, a Russian writer at the turn of the 20th century known for more serious fare. The play is a mashup of styles, loaded with wit and belly-laughs while delivered in a mode in which everything seems fraught with meaning.

The foursome, plus two, take the stage at Epilogue Players in downtown Indy, directed by Michael and Marie Beason.

On a warm April day in Bucks County, Pa., 50-something siblings Vanya (David Johnson) and Sonia (Alyce Penry) sit with coffee and look out the windows to see if the blue heron is at the pond. They and their sister Masha (Christine Kruze) – a popular film actor – were raised by literature professors, hence their Chekhovian names. Cleaning lady Cassandra (Susan Hill) seems to live out her own legendary name, frequently declaring prophesies. “Beware of Hootie Pie!”

Masha arrives with her current lover, Spike (Logan Laflin), a hot young aspiring actor. He goes out to the pond for a swim (so much for that heron) and returns with Nina (Emily Reese Castro) a young woman from the neighboring farm who is also an adoring fan of Masha (and an aspiring actress, of course).

All six will attend a local costume ball, with their outfits arranged by Masha (or rather her assistant, Hootie Pie). As the setting doesn’t change, we mainly see the consequences the following day. There is also a reading of an unusual play that Vanya has been working on, held at the insistence of Nina – now affectionately calling him Uncle Vanya – who reads as the main character.

Chekhovian delivery actually enhances the play’s comic potential, coupled with absurdities like Cassandra’s voodoo antics, contrasting with Spike being the type of guy who thinks Chekhov only has something to do with Star Trek. Will a gun go off? One of the siblings certainly will, verbally. After all, the fate of the farmhouse and its cherry (sort of) orchard is at stake.

Hill is a hoot as the wacky prophetess pressed into making lunch. Penry is a delight as the overlooked sibling, even in her sad-sack moments (“I haven’t lived,” she moans), which makes it all the more charming when things go her way. Johnson exudes easy calm as Vanya, the peacemaker of the family, at least up to a point.

Kruze portrays Masha’s vanity as her shield against uncertainty and regret. Laflin handsomely embodies a dude who has everything except maturity. On the other hand, Castro plays Nina as an energetic youth with an old soul.

The at-home feeling set is designed by Andy and Mel Burnett, decorated by Susanne Bush. Lola Brewster is stage manager.

It’s not every show where we laugh until we hurt at people who are crying. But it’s this kind of juxtaposition that makes “Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike” fascinating company. Performances are Thursday through Sunday, Feb. 12-15, at 1849 N. Alabama St. (corner of 19th and Alabama), Indianapolis. Get tickets at epilogueplayers.com.

‘Misery’ still thrills at BCP

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By John Lyle Belden

In the years since Stephen King published his thriller “Misery” in 1987, there have been countless real-world stories of deranged fans stalking and even killing their celebrity obsessions. Yet this story is the most chilling, thanks in part to the William Goldman film adaptation, directed by Robert Reiner and released in 1990, starring James Caan and Kathy Bates (winning her an Oscar).

Goldman also adapted “Misery” for the stage, which Buck Creek Players now brings to life. Popular author Paul Sheldon (Mark Meyer) awakens severely injured in a remote house in the Colorado Rockies. The home belongs to Annie Wilkes (Lisa Banning), a nurse who rescued Sheldon from an auto wreck during a blizzard – and happens to be Paul’s “Number One Fan.”

Annie is obsessed with Paul’s novels about Victorian heroine Misery Chastain, and while caring for Paul reads his new non-Misery manuscript (which she hates), then makes her way into town to get the latest copy of his just-released “Misery’s Child.” She gushes over this new story, until she reaches the final chapter. Misery is dead?! Seeing this happen to her favorite character – her hero, practically a friend in her mind – enrages her beyond disbelief. Paul must write, and right this wrong!

As in the book and movie, this is an engrossing battle of wits. Paul, in a slowly-healing body, through his fog of pain, desperately seeks a way out of his entrapment. Meanwhile, Annie’s madness grows while sharpening her realization that there is only one way her and Paul’s story can end.

Aaron Beal completes the cast as Sheriff Buster, whose suspicions of what’s happening at Annie’s house grow with every visit.

Banning convincingly portrays Annie’s obsessive nature – at first fawning over Paul, later driving her to treat him like a misbehaving pet, at all times a little unbalanced – as well as her strict moral sense, with a sort of charming (at first) sense of eccentricity. It evokes in the best way the chilling transformation of Bates in the film.

Meyer tackles the role of Paul as a fairly nice regular guy who happens to have an exceptional talent for which he hides away in a mountain lodge to bang out a novel. This disruption to his routine has him forcing Paul to plot events in real life, which proves to be a lot harder than typing them to the page. His moments of pain are quite convincing – here’s hoping he wasn’t too “method.”

Jeremy Tuterow directs, and Susanne Bush designed an excellent stage set featuring Paul’s room isolated away from the more welcoming kitchen, with sight-lines that draw us in to Annie’s tightly controlled world.

Three performances remain of “Misery,” Friday through Sunday, April 4-6, at the BCP Playhouse, 11150 Southeastern Ave., Indianapolis (Acton Road exit off I-74). Get info and tickets at buckcreekplayers.com.