Tanya Keller

Solid ‘Salesman’ in Westfield

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By John Lyle Belden

Nearly everyone has heard of Arthur Miller’s “Death of a Salesman.” If for nothing more, it’s known that this Pulitzer-winning drama is regarded as one of the greatest plays in the English language, with its titular lead Willy Loman ranking with Shakespeare’s Hamlet as a role that defines a great actor. However, I confess I had not seen this play until the current production by Main Street Productions in Westfield.

Directed by Kelly Keller, this staging more than lives up to the work’s reputation. Though it takes a full three hours, its pace and substance fill every minute with meaning. To quote Miller’s script, “Attention must be paid.”

Aaron Moon plays Loman, a traveling salesman who lives in Brooklyn while working the entire New England region. More than 30 years on this circuit has affected him, yet he remains upbeat, smiling big and talking bigger as always. But now there is sadness in his eyes while he speaks triumphantly, mostly of past events – increasingly to people only he can see.

This worries his wife, Linda (Susan Hill), who is also growing frustrated with adult sons Happy (Broden Irwin), who shows no signs of settling down from his playboy lifestyle, and Biff (Connor Phelan) who, while doing all manner of jobs in several different states, has not settled into a productive career path.

The scenes blend this present and Willy’s vivid reminiscing of the past, when his sons were teens, eager to please their old man. The memories especially stick around the time that Biff played in a high school championship football game with college scouts in attendance. These moments include the boys’ schoolmate Bernard (Mike Sosnowski) and his father Charley (Jim Gryga), who remain the Lomans’ friends in the later times.

Willy also remembers his brother, Ben (Tom Smith), who “walked into the jungle, and… walked out rich.”

The cast also includes Jonathan Rogers as Stanley, the waiter at the Chop House, Erin Keller and Desiree Black as two ladies who Happy and Biff meet there, Tanner Brunson as the son of the man who first hired Willy (and is now in charge), and Kristin Hilger as “The Woman.”

This parable from the late 1940s still resonates today with our current hustle and grind culture, coupled with an uncertain job market, as well as anxieties ranging from the personal to society in general. For those who struggle, “fake it till you make it” can only go so far, especially when one can no longer tell the illusion of success from the real thing. Compounding these issues, the play also features themes of mental illness and suicide. The title is not a metaphor.

Moon delivers an award-worthy turn as Willy Loman, a mensch you feel for and fear for as we witness his frustrations, optimistic delusions, and decline. Hill is also stunning as his wife, desperate to bring some sense of stability back to a family that had always been on shifting ground. Irwin’s Happy, in living his own way, is more like his father than he thinks. Phelan is exceptional as conflicted Biff, expressing the strain between expectations that diminish him and a life of freedom that would apparently disappoint those he loves. Smith’s dignified calm speaks volumes.

Excellent set design of the Loman home is by Jay Ganz. The lighting, designed by Stephen DiCarlo and operated by Scott Hall, neatly helps emphasize shifts of time and perspective. Tanya Keller is stage manager.

Remaining performances of “Death of a Salesman” are Thursday through Sunday, Nov. 20-23, at the Basile Westfield Playhouse, 220 N. Union St. Get tickets at westfieldplayhouse.org.

‘Carol’ gets farcical in Westfield

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By John Lyle Belden

We know that a lot of the folks who read our reviews have some experience with community theatre – whether on stage, backstage, or patience-tested family member. For you, “Inspecting Carol” by Daniel Sullivan, presented by Main Street Productions in Westfield, may feel familiar.

At the Soapbox Playhouse, director Zorah (Tanya Haas) and stage manager M.J. (Jennifer Poynter) are having difficulties with rehearsals for the annual production of Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol.” Much of the cast have done it year after year, but that’s not much help, especially since their Scrooge, Larry (Scott Prill), likes to go off script. Also, Luther (Tyler Acquaviva), their Tim, isn’t so “tiny,” putting a strain on Phil (Trever Brown) as Cratchit. Dorothy (Cathie Morgan), who has various roles and a real British accent, is hobbling on a broken foot. Sidney (Brad Burns) is ready to play Marley, providing he gets the chains under control. Newcomer Walter (Malcolm Marshall), who plays the ghosts, is uneasy with being the lone “diversity” casting. At least Bart (Gregory Vander Wyden) is capable of handling both some character lines and moving the set pieces.

Then there’s Wayne (Jeff Haber), a stranger who just showed up, claiming to be a traveling actor seeking stages where he can audition. But he’s not in the union and seems oblivious to things a thespian should know.

Business manager Kevin (Jim Gryga) suspects the visitor could be an undercover inspector sent by the National Endowment for the Arts, which has suspended the company’s grant pending a review.

Directed by Kelly Keller, who has a knack for bringing out the funny, this farce reels from one silly situation to the next, likely cathartically familiar to anyone who has dealt with production mishaps, last-minute changes, dropped lines, and looming budget shortfalls. Debbie Underwood completes the cast. Elianah Atwell is assistant director, with Tanya Keller as stage manager.

Hilariously brilliant performances all around, including Haas keeping Zorah’s Lithuanian blood at a low boil, Prill with Larry’s “updated” script, Haber as well-meaning Wayne, and especially Poynter as the cat-herding jill-of-all-trades pushed to her limit. And if a bad dress rehearsal foretells a great performance, this company could have the best “Carol” ever, once they recover.

See what I mean at “Inspecting Carol,” Thursday through Sunday, Dec. 7-10, at Basile Westfield Playhouse, 220 N. Union St., Westfield. For info and tickets, see westfieldplayhouse.org.

Like a 1980s ‘Hamlet,’ a play to catch a killer

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By John Lyle Belden

On a quiet evening in an empty Broadway theater, a playwright sets up a very special reading of his new drama. It is exactly one year since, on opening night of his latest show, his fiancé died. It appeared to be suicide, but before this night is done, he will reveal who killed her.

This is “Rehearsal for Murder,” a clever early-80s TV movie (by Richard Levinson and William Link) adapted for the stage by D.D. Brooke and presented now by the Belfry Theatre of Hamilton County, directed by Diane Wilson.

Alex Dennison (Kelly Keller) has rented this house for the night, and explains to his young assistant, Sally (Anna E. Blower) what had happened the year before. It was an ill-fated opening night from the start. Monica Welles (Ameetha Widdershins), a B-movie actress seeking fame on the stage, had stirred controversy by missing a preview performance, and an article in that day’s Variety revealed she is secretly engaged to Alex. Still, director Lloyd Andrews (Alex Dantin) and producer Bella Lamb (Kim O’Mara) hope for the best, as Monica shares the stage with promising ingenue Karen Daniels (Olivia Carrier), popular comic Leo Gibbs (Eric Bowman) and handsome lead David Mathews (Gideon Roark).

Opening Night is a hit with the audience, but with the critics – not so much. This puts a damper on the after-party at Monica’s apartment, and as the guests leave, she also sends Alex home. But an hour or so later, she calls him at his apartment, insisting he return – then the phone goes dead. He arrives at her place to find she has apparently jumped from her upper-story window.

Concluding this convenient recap, Alex has Sally set things up, sends stagehand Ernie (Molly Kraus) home, and welcomes a mysterious man (Chris Taylor) who is to stay in the shadows to watch and ensure no one leaves. Then, the “suspects” make their way in for a play reading no one will forget.

Our cast also includes Diane Reed as a caterer; Mason Cordell Hardiman, Tanya Keller, and Richard Wilson as police; and Cindy Duncan as Ms. Santoro, who brings a truck loaded with a special stage set.

Can you guess how Alex knows it’s murder, and who the killer is?

This family-friendly whodunit is one of those shows that is both entertaining to watch and you can tell is fun for the actors to play. Portraying showbiz people, especially when suggesting they killed someone, allows for a lot of interesting scene-chewing but director Wilson and the cast don’t let it go to camp. Kelly Keller keeps a firm hold on proceedings as our host, with each of his cohorts believably portraying their Broadway archetypes. The pages from the reading play out like flashbacks, with Widdershins ghosting in to perform the script’s doomed leading lady.

Kudos to costumers Tanya Keller and Molly Kraus for finding the Barbara Mandrell-style wig for Monica, as well as Sally’s outfit, which helps solidify the ‘80s look. Best-dressed honors, however, go to Variety columnist Meg Jones, though she may be hard to spot.

I’m not good at mysteries, but if you haven’t seen this, it could have you guessing for a while, as well. Regardless, it’s fun to watch it all play out.  Remaining performances are 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 30-Oct. 2, at Ivy Tech Auditorium in Noblesville. Get tickets and info at thebelfrytheatre.com.

Hilarious new creation at Mud Creek

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By John Lyle Belden

In the classic comedy style of something simple going wildly out of control, “In the Beginning…” — a new play at Mud Creek Players — God creates the Heavens and the Earth, and immediately regrets it.

At first, the Almighty (Nicole Crabtree) tries to put the Big Bang back into its bottle, or at least mop up it all up with black holes, but alas, once matter and energy exist, they can’t be destroyed. She may as well see what’s happening on the little blue thing, where a bunch of living things are crawling, swimming, flying and running around everywhere. There, she tries to customize a creature that stands upright, with less fur and a big brain — another mistake.

In this silly possibility of how everything came to be, we meet God’s top angels — Michael (Kate Carpenter), Gabriel (Eric Dixon), Lucifer (Connor Phelan), as well as the Voice of God (Craig Kemp) — and Biblical characters including Adam (Kelly Keller), Eve (Tanya Keller), Noah (Fred Margison) and Moses (Alaina Moore). 

Unless you are really devoted to a literal interpretation of Scripture, you should find all this a lot of hilarious fun. If we are made in the Lord’s image, wouldn’t it make sense that — just like when we invent and accomplish things — our Heavenly Parent is also just making it up as they go along?

Crabtree plays that unprepared Mother/Father with the right touch of exasperation and growing love for the critters she brought into being, however unintended. Dixon and Carpenter keep things lively with his urge to “smite” and her love of writing up new Commandments. Phelan’s Lucifer, naturally, is the smartest angel in the room, suave and brash, but eventually resigned to having to deal with all the extra souls that turned sour. Kemp reassures us that, as we all suspected, the commanding voice of the Almighty has a British accent. The humans all have their humanish quirks, especially Eve, who apparently overdoses on the Tree of Knowledge. And young actors Hadley Skinner and Ben Odom get a charmingly amusing moment in featured roles.

The Mud Creek Barn goes high-tech with this premiere production, with visual effects by Stephen DiCarlo that perfectly help the story along. Jay Ganz directs.Crew member Collin Moore wrote the script, and it shows a fair amount of polish for a new play.

Truly, something wonderful has been created. Performances are Friday through Sunday (Feb. 7-9) and Feb. 14-15 at 9740 E. 86th St. (Castleton/Geist area), Indianapolis. Call 317-290-5343 or visit mudcreekplayers.org.