Redd Tale Theatre Company has a knack for taking well-worn stories and delivering them with a fresh perspective.  Currently during their “summer of creation” they are exploring the themes of what it means to be human and how our need to connect on a deeper level drives all living creatures.  By currently pairing a well-known and time-honored old fashioned horror story – Frankenstein – with a newly written modern sci-fi piece – Gabriel – this talented ensemble is virtually flipping a coin for us and showing two sides of a very complex issue during one ambitious night of theatre.

The first act begins long ago, with Frankenstein With Mary Shelley (adapted by Virginia Bartholomew / directed and edited by Will Le Vasseur).  As the title indicates, this is as much Mary Shelley’s chronicle of how the story came to possess her as it is the story of the Doctor and his Creature.  Virginia Bartholomew not only adapted the original text but interprets all three characters brilliantly.  She moves fluidly from young writer to consumed scientist, to unfortunate monster – imbuing each with the same spirit of determination that drove them to complete their task.   Bartholomew is a gifted actress who commands the stage and holds you in the palm of her hand; she is mesmerizing, dynamic and radiant.

By illuminating and juxtaposing Mary Shelley’s journey as she creates “Frankenstein” the story,  Bartholomew (as playwright) examines the way Shelley herself took a lifeless form and lovingly worked upon it until it rose … sparked by the electricity of her desire to create not merely new life, but new heights to which the reader’s imagination could ascend.

The second act vaults us into the future – or at least a parallel present – with Gabriel written by Le Vasseur and directed by Lynn Kenny.   In this sci-fi tale of creation we meet  Henry (Le Vasseur), a wealthy British geneticist who, it appears, has time and resources to dabble in much the same work that Doctor Frankenstein did – minus the grave robbing. When we come upon Henry he’s nervously awaiting his friends Pierce (James Stewart) and Susan (Cameran Hebb) – fellow scientists and dear friends.  He is about to introduce them to his own creation: Gabriel.

Gabriel is not your father’s test tube baby.  In fact, he’s no baby … after only six months he has formed into a fully grown man and his skills include being brilliant, being able to link to others in order to speak telepathically, and getting drunk far faster than the average human.  Since Gabriel doesn’t actually speak he is played by two actors: Michael Komala voices Gabriel remotely in dulcet tones while Michael Wetherbee moves about the stage and stares intently.

What worked so well in Gabriel was the exploration of the theme of Frankenstein taken to a “what if” level.  What if the Doctor had been successful in creating a being that could be accepted by society?  What if the creator could find a way to not only connect with the new creature, but celebrate its existence and delight in its actualization?  What if the bond between the two was mutual and fulfilling, rather than horrific and filled with despair?

By presenting this as the through-line which ties both ends together, Frankenstein and Gabriel amount to a thoughtful, entertaining, engaging night of theatre.

~~~

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• Love Triumphs In This New Adaptation Of “Triumph Of Love”
• MADDY – A Modern Day Medea + The Swan Song = One Great Night of Classic Tales
• Some Time For The OTHERS
• Desk Set: Back Then, The Future Was Now

Cast of Macbeth (photo by Ben Strothmann)

This may not be a popular theory, but I always felt that if Shakespeare were alive today and writing this Scottish play the plot might very well be the same . . . but the title would be Lady Macbeth and the emphasis would be completely different.  For without the devious, devilish, deliciously deceitful Lady at his side Macbeth would be just another Hamlet, wandering about the castle wondering when his future was ever going to relieve him of his everlasting present.

Director Will Le Vasseur has done two things with Redd Tale Theatre Company’s Macbeth that I applaud him for.  One, he’s “tightly edited” the original Shakespeare in ways that leave the story  in tact while still getting the audience back on their feet before numbness sets in.  However, the bigger triumph lies with point two.  What Le Vasseur has done here – which I have yet to see done in other productions – is give this traditionally male-dominated Shakespearean Tale to the women.  He’s managed to make a Feminist Macbeth.  Now if I could only lobby to get him to change the title . . .

Whether this was intentional or unintentional is hard to say but hardly matters – it works.  This choice can be seen right from the beginning when the three witches (Jodi Mara, Melissa Smith, and Merrie Jane Brackin) begin the play not as haggard old crones but as lovely witches (think original Eastwick – minus the  bad perms).   The status of the witches as an omnipresent supernatural constant is another choice of emphasis that I think is also quite unique in Le Vasseur’s production. Instead of the witches merely being auguries of the future they seem to be participants of the present as well – darting in and out to do what must be done to turn the plot just so.  They are more like faeiries than witches in this way – like a darker version of their midsummer nights dream cousins – pushing and prodding the key players on the stage of their lives so as to make what needs to happen happen.

Of course, this is Macbeth, and it’s not as if Le Vasseur takes total liberties with the script – but he did go ahead and cast Duncan with Maria Silverman (who plays a number of other roles throughout the play as well, including Hecate and Lady Macduff) which was a bold and interesting choice.  Silverman easily maneuvers through her many roles and brings fire and strength to her characters.

Virginia Bartholomew as Lady Macbeth and James Stewart as Macbeth (phot by Ben Strothmann)

However, this production completely elevates to another level the moment Lady Macbeth (Virginia Bartholomew) arrives.  There are actors who are completely comfortable with Shakespearean roles, able to recite the text with the appropriate amount of emotion and umbrage and for the most part, Macbeth‘s ensemble is filled with that type of actor.  Then there are the actors who take the old Shakespearean text and transform it into something captivating – Ms. Bartholomew is that kind of actor.   Bartholomew creates a Lady Macbeth who steals your breath and leaves you on the edge of your seat; though this story may be a familiar one and the lines as recognizable as childhood rhymes there is such an anticipation created around her scenes that it’s almost as if you’re not quite sure what may happen next.  She is so fierce, so determined and so unbridled that it is impossible to imagine anything ever not turning out exactly as she wants.  To see the desire and lust for power in her eyes is to see a woman waiting to be fully born, and frustrated that she can only fulfill her true destiny by constantly propping up her man.

The rest of the cast does a great job of putting the familiar cadence of Macbeth into the matrix of this new supernatural feminist thriller. James Stewart as Macbeth and Collin McConnell as Banquo have their lives turned upside down – transformed (then ruined) by the witches.  Malcolm (Brad Lewandowski) and Donalbain (Michael Komala) are the sons who are acceptable heirs-apparent rather than superlative ones until their father’s death sends them on their own hero’s journey that ends them at the beginning of their story – after the ending of Macbeth’s.

And the rest … with many members of the cast playing double roles, there often seems to be many more in the cast than there actually are.  Everyone is working together to tell the story of the warring factions of being pushed and pulled where the fates (or in this case the witches and human frailty) would pull them.

Throughout, the talent and expert of the people behind the scenes shine.  Mike Yahn and Alec Barbour  did a great job with fight choreography.  Rebecca Smith -Millstein made the witches’ choreography – specifically when they interact with Lady Macbeth – weave a spell on us all.   Will LeVasseur’s touch was apparent again in the great costumes (modern kilts, tank tops and coordinating sashes)  and set design (especially the phosphorescent witches’ Mandela that was activated in black light).

Shakespeare’s Macbeth maybe one of the world’s great tragedies, but Le Vasseur’s Macbeth is a great success.

~~~

Related Posts:

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• Something Wicked (2014 Frigid New York Festival)

We’re going to start this review off with a quiz to illustrate a point.  What’s the title of the poem that begins “By The Shores Of Gitche Gumee?” Go ahead, I’ll wait while you find out for me.

Back so soon?  And your answer?  That’s right.  “The Song of Hiawatha” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.  And just about how long did it take you to find out the answer?  Well, if you were like me you typed the title into Google, hit “search” and in .29 seconds (that’s literally the blink of an eye) not one, not two but 27,800 results were at your finger tips.  You could have the text of the poem itself, the Wikipedia entry that gives the history of the poem, the 1996 novel by Tama Janowitz, a link to amazon.com where you can buy the Janowitz book if you wanted to, or some videos from YouTube.

What in the world did we we do before Google?  Easy.  Before Google there were Gals . . . or more precisely there was The Desk Set: Bunny Watson, head librarian of the reference department at the International Broadcasting Company, and her team of librarians.  These gals were equipped with an encyclopedic knowledge of everything from batting averages to the names of Santa’s reindeer.  And they’d give it to you in . . . well . . . the blink of an eye.

Kristen Vaughan (Bunny Watson)

Like all the plays put on by Retro Productions, The Desk Set (written by William Marchant and directed by Tim Errickson) has solid roots in the past.  While the more famous incarnation may be the movie with Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn, this production stays true to the original which does not come off as a Hepburn/Tracy vehicle centering on their taut love connection.  Rather, this play focuses more on the story of a bustling research department whose staff uses their wits, copious amounts of library books, and their winning personalities to field whatever questions are tossed at them during the course of their fast and furious workday.  They do it with a smile that makes it all seem easy.

The department is run by Bunny (Kristen Vaughan) whose superior intelligence and gentle zingers keep the wheels of the department turning year after year, one frantic day after another. Under her is the wise-cracking Peg Costello (Heather E. Cunningham) who breezily triumphs over the most difficult of brain twisters with a sly wink and an arched brow.  Ruthie Saylor (Alisha Spielmann) and Sadel Meyer (Aubrie Therrien) round out the desk set; as devoted to their leader as they are to setting the record straight and producing the correct answer no matter how much research it takes.

Heather E. Cunningham (Peg Costello)

Enter Richard Sumner (Matthew Trumbull),  a “methods engineer” and nephew of the big boss of the company.  He just recently installed a new “mechanical brain” in the accounting department saving the company time and thus money,  forcing the old-timers to accept the inevitable march of progress.  Mr. Sumner is now assigned to assess the possibility of installing a second mechanical brain in the research department. It’s a possibility that leaves the desk set rattled and defensive.

Kristen Vaughan’s Bunny is full of intelligence and fire.  She masters the difficult dialogue with style and ease, completely convincing you that she loves this job and would give her life for it.  Heather Cunningham does a number on the character of Peg – expanding her from a one-note good time gal into someone who runs deeper and truer.  Peg is brassy and bold, but Cunningham will every so slightly allow her vulnerability to peek through, and it’s at that moment when you fall in love with her.  Alisha Spielmann’s Ruthie is the new girl around the office, whose excitement about learning all there is to being a great researcher like Bunny is doused by the possibility of being downsized by Sumner’s machine.  Spielmann gives Ruthie that innocence we all had at our first job, that “I’ll do anything” spirit, that youthful earnestness that we all may remember, and she does so without making Ruthie a pushover or childish.   Matthew Trumbull as Mr. Sumner epitmizes the techy who comes into a new office wanting to “help everyone” but really wanting to “change everything” and naively believes there are not going to be any hard feelings as he does so.  Bunny’s long time non-fiance Abe Cuttler (Ric Sechrest) does a great job at portraying the typical 50′s old boys network – he’s part of that middle manager club who slowly makes his way up the ladder by trying to create Progress without actually progressing the company forward at all.

Matthew Trumbull (Richard Sumner)

The set (designed byJack and Rebecca Cunningham) is amazing, right down to the letter (or, should I say, the letter opener).  With props designed by Heather Cunningham and Casandera M. J. Lollar the ambiance is almost like another character of the play.  The texture of the wood and the old fashioned (though cutting edge at the time) office implements  take us back to the energetic time when  the future was screaming toward us like a Boeing 707.  The beauty of this play is that it captures the excitement of all the technological changes of the times, but in such a retro way that this progressive play of the 50′s becomes a thrilling example of Steam Punk.  And unlike Paul Bunyan’s or John Henry’s tragic tale of legends of past ages succumbing  to the inevitable tide of progress, the tone of The Desk Set has the flavor of a romantic comedy and therefore is able to be a more thoughtful story of how The Future can learn from The Past.  And, giggle all you want at the Mechanical Brain, but we’re finding these jumps of progress happening ever faster as Twitter and  smartphones now make our world of just 10 years ago look old fashioned.  We can take away a lot from this time capsule of a play as we all learn to adapt to the changes in the world around us.

So come and see what you can learn about your future by taking a vivd and exciting glimpse at the past  and The Desk Set.

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Society doesn’t look kindly upon mothers who kill their children, intentionally or otherwise; right now the court of public opinion is busily vilifying Diane Schuler who was reportedly drunk and stoned when she piled a group of children (her own daughter included) into her car and then drove the wrong way on the Taconic State Parkway killing everyone as well as (some would say rightfully) herself. Before that, there was the infamous Andrea Yates, who, in a stupor of post-partum depression and psychosis, systematically drowned one child after another until all 5 of her young boys were dead. But really, the “how” is never the question. In fact, the “how” is pretty much shushed away quickly, no one wants to hear how a mother kills her own children. What we are left asking is … why? Why would a mother kill these little ones?

The Greeks have always been amazing storytellers; their myths and tragedies are rife with the themes that pulse through every level of society. Show me an Icarus and I’ll show you a victim of Bernie Madoff. But the story of Medea has always been a little harder to figure out; a woman who is so angered by her husband’s betrayal that she kills her sons in order to exact revenge on him. Again, this “why” never quite resonated enough with me to be clearly understood. A woman can more easily identify with killing herself over a tragic affair than she can with killing her own child. So updating Medea has to be done very carefully. Luckily, playwright Will Le Vasseur has found a way to give his Medea the perfect out, thus preserving the original story while making his main character actually sympathetic. In this updated version, MADDY A Modern Day Medea By Will Le Vasseur (also directed by Le Vasseur), all the traditional conventions of Greek tragedy are there; a single plot, a single day, a catastrophe. And the original tale remains too, almost down to the letter but with a fantastic twist that is enjoyable to watch unfold.

Seven years ago in the midst of a storm Maddy (Lynn Kenny) spared Billy-Jay (Blaine Pennington) from death rather than allow him to be victim of a natural disaster. Taken with his charm, his good looks, his magnetism, she chose to leave her natural state of being and become like him in order to be with him. Yet, despite her great sacrifice of leaving her life, her ways and her people, Billy-Jay decides to betray her after seven years of marriage and two children in order to marry the (unseen but apparently very unattractive) daughter of Cleetus (Ben Strothmann), the rich landowner who owns most of the trailer parks, including the one they’ve been living in. From the original Medea: I saved your life — … I killed, and I raised aloft for you the fair light of escape from death. Of my own accord I abandoned my father and my home and came with you … showing more love than sense … And after such benefits from me, o basest of men, you have betrayed me and have taken a new marriage, though we had children. For if you were still childless, your desire for this marriage would be understandable.

The situation Le Vasseur creates to absolve Maddy, and to give us a way to understand her, is to give the life she left an extra twist … whereas Medea was a Barbarian, Maddy was actually immortal, with no human feelings whatsoever prior to meeting Billy-Jay. She was an “Elemental” to be exact, not a human per se, but one who takes on human form in order to live among other humans. She and her kind are responsible for the elements which keep the earth in balance, and each of the Elementals are allowed to experience humanity for a number of years if they choose. However, at the end of an appointed amount of time (seven years) they can choose to stay in the human form and live a mortal life, full of all the pains and tragedies that come with it, or they can return to their immortality and lose all human contact, lose all feelings they aquired during their stay, and above all, lose (or rather remove) all trace of themselves. This would include children.

Lynn Kenny (Maddy) and Blaine Pennington (Billy-Jay)

On the one hand, the choice is easy. Maddy loves her children, she’s grappled with but come to understand all the human emotions that writhe and swell within her, and she’s still in love with Billy-Jay. For his part, Billy-Jay is still in love with her too, and explains that he is only marrying this other woman for the money; he will still provide for his children and for Maddy though he probably won’t see much of them. This too is taken directly from the original play: I shall not argue any more of this case with you. But if you wish to get some of my money to help the children and yourself in exile, say the word, for I am ready to give with unstinting hand, and also to send tokens to my friends, who will treat you well. You would be a fool not to accept this offer, woman. Forget your anger and it will be the better for you.

So obviously, on the other hand, the choice is not so easy. Staying means a life “in the servitude of someone else” … always struggling for work, never free to love the man she left her people for … and always feeling alone, out of place, disconnected. Really … not such an easy choice at all.

Playwright Le Vasseur does an amazing job of capturing all the intrinsic elements of the classic play while still making this a completely believable trailer park story, adding all the typical white trash touches like neighbors who gossip behind the beer cans. Heather Shields as Flo is at once dim and wise; she hasn’t moved much beyond her trailer park borders but she’s got a heart big enough to navigate the newness of someone as strange as Maddy, and give her the warmth and friendship she deserves. Lynn Kenny does a superb job of bringing confused life to Maddy; a woman only 7 years into her fleet of emotions and already saddled with a betraying husband, no job prospects, two kids under the age of 10, and a trailer park full of woman who won’t give her the time of day but have no shortage of sullen glances and whispered rumors to pass her way. Blaine Pennington is wonderful as the pretty but vapid Billy-Jay who ultimately is too weak to choose to be with the woman he loves.

There are some wonderful touches in this production, such as fans which blow directly on the audience during one pivotal scene, and the use of an unseen TV to describes scenes which would otherwise be difficult to recreate on such a small stage. By allowing the audience to hear things from a neighbor’s TV the scene becomes that much more vivid and ghastly, and ultimately the destruction seems more permanent.

In the end, Maddy makes her choice, and it’s pretty much what you’d expect. Even so, I won’t spoil it — you may figure out the “what”, but you’ll have to see it to understand the “why”.

THE SWAN SONG

Starring Will Le Vasseur and Ben Strothmann. Directed by Lynn Kenny

How does one follow a re-telling of Medea? With Chekhov, of course. This time Will Le Vasseur casts himself in one of the most intimate, eerie, personal pieces I’ve seen in a long time. Set in a darkened theatre after the show is over, an old drunken actor awakes from the back room to find the theatre empty and the place abandoned. Le Vasseur is so touchingly real that I found myself holding my breath at times; there were moments which were so fragile that it was impossible to move. Seeing Le Vasseur embody an old actor, once great, now reduced to buffoonish clowning, is heartbreakingly poignant. When he begins to play some of the greats (Hamlet, MacBeth) to the empty theatre he does so with terrific ease, an actor playing an actor, playing his long-ago best. Truly a stunning feat. Chekov is always good, but this is probably one of the best I’ve seen and I almost can understand why it’s not done more often; it is to an actor what Queen of the Night’s Rage Aria ‘Der Hölle Rache’ from W Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte (If you’ve seen Amadeus, you’ve heard it) is to a Soprano – stunningly complex and multifaceted and can only be attempted by the most accomplished of talents. I was lucky enough to watch it not just performed but almost created around me. A piece of theatre this touching is very rare.

In one night I was lucky enough to catch all the talents of this triple threat … writer, director, actor — I see good things for Will Le Vasseur. I hope that I get to see more of what he does in the future.

Related Posts:

• The Thrill Of Creation – “Frankenstein With Mary Shelley” | “Gabriel”
• Macbeth – Behind Every Good Man . . .
• Love Triumphs In This New Adaptation Of “Triumph Of Love”
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