Live Theatre Review - Evening Star Productions's Oleanna

Evening Star Productions opens David Mamet’s Oleanna this weekend at Sol Theatre in Boca Raton, Florida. Director Rosalie Grant stages another successful psychological hit.

Without giving away too many spoilery details, I can say that the actors beautifully illustrated a sliding scale power shift. Sara Grant’s Carol went from mousy to domineering and Todd Bruno took John from self-assured to broken-spirited, but the transition is subtle and the illusion is aided by their hairstyles and clothing choices. But just when it appears that the character’s personality was summed up, a new facet was revealed and the situation became more complex and clouded and opened up a labyrinth of questions.

We discussed the possibilities on the way home and then some for 3 hours after the show, and the next morning it was still on our minds.

This is a three-act, one-setting, two-actor play, so much importance is placed on the nuances of the characters. Subtlety is everything. Grant spoke volumes with one exaggerated eyeroll or the way she perched on a chair or glided across the room.

Bruno similarly purveyed so much with subtext: his mouth was delivering a set of lines that told us about his character while his body delivered a separate set with every telephone call that John took. In fact, it wasn’t until halfway through the third act that it occurred to me that Bruno wasn’t actually on a telephone call with another party – his acting, however, brought that disembodied other party into the show as well, and the other side of the telephone conversations were fully credible.

The chemistry between the two was such that they were able to smooth out the staccato lines that Mamet scripted.

This play is extremely relevant in today’s world. We are confronted daily with so many cases of abuse of power – the news is resplendent with the idea of privilege: what it is, what it does, what it means for those who have or don’t have it. Oleanna doesn’t answer any of these questions, but rather poses them and forces the audience members to begin to try to answer those questions by themselves – and for themselves.

Oleanna runs at Sol Theatre from September 21, 2017 – October 8, 2017.

Tickets are $30 / $20 for students and seniors.

Thursdays - Saturdays @ 8pm
Sunday @ 2pm
through October 8

All performances are at Sol Theatre, 3333 N. Federal Hwy, Boca Raton, FL 33431

photos by Carol Kassie

Live Theatre Review - Sol Children Theatre's Alice in Wonderland

*THIS REVIEW CONTAINS MILD SPOILERS FOR THIS PRODUCTION OF Alice in Wonderland*

Before I begin my review of Sol Children Theatre’s Alice in Wonderland, I need to give a little background:

I didn’t always love Alice in Wonderland. In fact, for a long time, I disliked it. I saw a couple of versions of it as a child that were varying degrees of weird, disturbing, confusing, and frightening. Therefore, it wasn’t until I was in high school that I saw Disney’s animated Alice (my English class watched the film in lieu of reading the book – thanks Texas education!) and fell madly – if you’ll pardon the pun - in love with the story, particularly with the Mad Tea Party.

In college, we studied Alice in one of the many literature classes I took which culminated in my English degree, but I hadn’t re-read the story since then (and I was rather unsure as to whether I had read the text in its entirety then. I had a LOT of reading for my classes. Stuff got skimmed. I have been making the effort to revisit the works that got less of my time in college, and this show was the perfect occasion to revisit Alice).

Having attended many Sol shows and knowing what kind of quality goes into them and armed with my deep love of Alice and my refreshed knowledge of the text – I finished the reread a few hours before show time – I had high hopes for this production.

My hopes were exceeded.

Even with a cast of 22 – very large for a Sol production, there was not a superfluous character. This is the first show that I’ve seen that does not have at least one adult actor, but the poise and professionalism of these child actors makes one forget that they are all school-aged.

The White Rabbit (Noah Fineman) emcees the play. He provides the necessary direction for Alice and sets up the framework for the show.

Eden Wexler opens the play as the iconic Alice. Mandy Feuerman takes on Alice in Act 2, and Zoe Alarcon plays Act 3 Alice, and Jamie Feuerman plays Real World Alice. Each actor delivers a full performance, each endowing Alice with her signature feistiness and sense of wonder.

The Tiger Lily (Olivia Shiver), the Rose (Violet Zeiders), and the Caterpillar (Faith Alfieri) are wonderfully snide in their encounters with Alice, being both helpful and not at all helpful simultaneously.

Samantha Mascaro and Kimberly Wilkinson portray the Cheshire Cat. Having two actors playing the Cheshire Cat solves some obvious staging problems for a cat who disappears at will. These two Cats were mesmerizing.

Tweedle Dum (Natalie Macador) and Tweedle Dee’s (Isabella Welch) recital of the Walrus and the Carpenter is fun and imaginative and another creative way to lose neither the exposition nor the viewer’s attention.

Also of note is the breathtaking way that Jabberwocky is incorporated into the work. To say anything more I fear would spoil what was one of the most pleasant surprises of the show and beautifully in keeping with an aspect of the original text.

As Alice is geared toward a younger audience but engaging and enjoyable for all ages, I was pleased with the ingenious ways of keeping the original texts of these beautiful poems while still keeping the audience engaged.

Chronology of the text is not adhered to – but after all, this is Wonderland and one would not expect to stand on convention. Due to time and space constraints, as well as fanciful events being translated to real life without a Walt Disney budget, some things were rearranged to ease the flow of the production. A very clever device is employed to explain these changes (and perhaps to appeal to the purists, whether they be text, animated Disney, or live-action lovers).

The most crucial element for me would be the Mad Tea Party – after all, it was this segment of Disney’s animated silliness that cemented me as a lover of Alice in Wonderland. I felt like the tea party could make or break this performance for me.

It. Was. Excellent!

I don’t want to give anything away, but The Mad Hatter (Ava Cavasos), The March Hare (Kylie Lawrence), and the Doormouse (Zoe Wexler) remain remarkably in character as the most ridiculous action takes place. Alice, too, should be praised for her ability to act and react to the script and not to the scene.

Cavasos’s Mad Hatter is neither Ed Wynne nor Johnny Depp. Rather, she brings her own charm and madness to the character and is a more accurate reflection of Carroll’s original vision than either of the former. I could watch her as the Mad Hatter all day. Congratulations and thank you for doing beautiful justice to one of my all-time favorite characters!

The Royal Cards (Amalia Hasselman, Alan Hasselman, Violet Zeiders, and Olivia Shiver) play a vital comedic role.

Rylee Siegel is poised and elegant as the Red Queen, Emma Lawrence is hilariously rumpled and frazzled as the White Queen. Brooke Hall expertly plays the Queen of Hearts with a deranged, faraway look in her eye, mercilessly sentencing all she encounters with a beheading. Addison Wexler is a comic treasure as the henpecked King of Hearts. Celia Roberts is a hilarious Duchess channeling rage and madness as well as contempt and apathy.

The play is necessarily wordy, and the actors deliver a tremendous number of lines, often at a rapid pace. Everyone handles their lines swiftly and eloquently.

I have to take a moment to praise set design (Ardean Landhuis and Kate McVay), costume (MJ Baum and Briana Earhart), and make-up (Netta Nicosia). Alice is such a magical story with such a wide variety of interpretations (after all, the text debuted in 1865 and the story has been translated from the page and reimagined for more than a century-and-a-half!) that these three elements are the things that make each new vision of Alice unique. These artistic expressions are so beautiful of their own accord and they only enhance the experience.

Whatever your experience with Alice is, I urge you to come out and see what this company has accomplished. In a black box theatre in about one hour, these youth bring to life a fanciful world full of beloved characters with the grace of pros.

Alice in Wonderland is adapted by Seth Trucks and directed by Trucks and Savannah Rootes. Alice runs from August 10 – 20 at Sol Theatre before moving to Delray Beach Children’s Garden for three special Sunset Garden Performances.

Sol Theatre is a 501(c)(3) corporation that relies on generous donors to continue to carry out its mission of bringing affordable, quality theatre to South Florida and to making theatre accessible and exciting to young people and youth actors. If this production is indicative of Sol's work, then the money invested in this non-profit is well-spent.

Alice in Wonderland
By Lewis Carroll, adapted by Seth Trucks
August 10-20
Tickets: $20/$15 for Juniors (11 and under)
For Tickets: 561-447-8829 / www.solchildren.org
Performances: Thursday, Friday & Saturday at 7 pm / Saturday and Sunday at 2 pm
Sol Theatre
3333 North Federal Highway
Boca Raton, FL 33431


August 24-26
Tickets: $20
For Tickets: Brown Paper Tickets
Performances: Sunset performances Garden Gate to open at 7pm
Delray Beach Children’s Garden
137 SW 2nd Ave
Delray Beach, FL 33444 (US)

Live Theatre Review - Shakespeare Miami's The Merchant of Venice

**CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR THE MERCHANT OF VENICE**
Shakespeare Miami’s The Merchant of Venice, directed by Colleen Stovall and staged as the 2017 free Shakespeare in the Park production, opened on January 6, 2017, in Mizner Park.

The set is rather simple: twin stairs leading to a balcony, but it is all that is necessary to carry the audience to Venice. The more important element of the staging comes in the beautiful costumes, elaborate and artfully designed by Stovall. The “tiring scene” where Portia (Thiana Berrick) is dressed by her maids is a fantastic tool to educate on the intricacies of women’s fashion and the challenges faced by dressing in that time. Nerissa’s (Alexandra Grunberg) dress is lovely, and the way she navigates the stairs in it is both delicate and fierce.

The suitors for Portia’s hand are all finely arrayed, and the costumes for Shylock (Seth Trucks) and Tubal (Christopher Lam) are vibrant and adhere to the custom of Jews being required to wear red to identify themselves at all times.

Although this play is one of Shakespeare’s comedies, the atmosphere of this production is more serious than comedic. As it addresses the very heavy subject matter of prejudice, race relations, and religious persecution, this production seems to downplay all but the most comedic of elements. David Tetteh-Quarshie is remarkable as the Moroccan prince who vies for Portia’s hand. He and Jair Bula as Aragon, the second suitor, provide two of the true comedic performances. The other two are the Gobbos: Launcelot Gobbo (Christian Cooper) and his father Old Gobbo (Seth Trucks), whose farcical performances elicited laughs as well.

The cross-dressing device, which at one time must have been a source of great amusement, is less humorous in our time as women commonly dress “as men” – in trousers instead of dresses. Kudos to this production for not camping it up with false facial hair and the like when Portia, Nerissa, and Jessica (Devin Tupler) all pose as men in order to get away with something.

Due to the timing within the play, the first half seems a bit long, but the second half speeds through following the brief intermission.

The trial is well-staged, a clear division between loyalties. You love to hate Gratiano (Arturo Sierra) at his treatment of Shylock after the Jew gets his “justice.”

The character of Shylock is well portrayed though this staging – Shylock is not a good person, but that has nothing to do with his faith. The treatment he is dealt from the opening scene to the closing gives fair explanation of why a person could become like him. And when Trucks deals Shylock’s famous speech – “Hath not a Jew eyes?...” sympathy grows for Shylock such that you are disappointed by the “justice” he receives.

Shakespeare Miami wraps up in Mizner tonight at 6:00 then takes the show on the road for the next three weekends:


COCONUT GROVE - The Barnacle Historic State Park JANUARY 13, 14, 15- 2017

PINECREST - Pinecrest Gardens Shakespeare Stage JANUARY 20, 21 & 22- 2017

HOLLYWOOD - The ArtsPark Amphitheater JANUARY 27 & 28- 2017


Come out, enjoy a night of culture with your entire family (but leave the pets at home, please!), and don’t forget to tip your actors. Shakespeare Miami operates off of the donations of its patrons.

From the website: Shakespeare Miami is a regional non-profit theater company dedicated to live performance of the works of William Shakespeare. The mission of Shakespeare Miami is to promote literacy, culture and a passion for the arts through free performances of the works of William Shakespeare.

The Cost of a family attending a cultural event together has become prohibitively expensive for the average family in America. Schools have cut arts programming and field trips to see live performances. Often, the first live theatrical production a family in South Florida attends is a free Shakespeare in the Park Event.

Live Theatre Review: Evening Star Production's Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) (Revised)

Evening Star Productions presents The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged)[revised], directed by Savannah Rootes (a "Solster" in her directorial debut).

Edward Scott, Seth Trucks, and Alex Weiss take on the ambitious task of presenting all 37 of the Bard's plays in under 2 hours - and they succeed with gusto! Granted, some of the plays are seriously abridged, but the manner in which this is accomplished will have you gasping for breath! Skip the abs workout and see this show with the same results!

The trio makes the most out of the small space of the theatre and some limited props to represent over 1000 characters in 97 minutes. The presentation of the tragedies is as funny as that of the comedies, and the histories are presented in a fresh, clever, and surprisingly apt way.

Expect to participate, but no prior knowledge of Shakespeare is necessary to enjoy the show (although during the presentation of the comedies, a little familiarity with the works is helpful - the more knowledge of the comedies you have, the more you'll get the subtle jokes, but the obvious ones are plentiful enough for someone with even zero knowledge of the plays.)

Complete Works sets out to demonstrate that Shakespeare is not just for the mature and the literati - everyone at every level and every age can enjoy Shakespeare. And anyone who attends this riotous play is sure to walk away with a fresh appreciation of the Bard.

The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged)[revised] will run from June 17 – 26 at Sol Theatre in Boca Raton, FL. Tickets are $15 and $10 for students. Group rates are also available. Tickets are on sale now, and can be purchased by calling 561-447-8829 or online at Evening Star Productions.

Live Theatre Review: Sol Children's Theatre's Thumbelina

Sol Children’s Theatre presents Thumbelina, adapted from the Hans Christian Andersen tale by Wade Bradford, running from August 27 – September 6, Thursdays through Sundays at 7pm with a 2pm matinee on the weekends. Thumbelina tells the story of a childless woman whose wish to become a mother is granted by a faerie.

I absolutely loved the way director Christopher Mitchell worked around the logistical problem of difference of size between Thumbelina and the magical characters’ world and that of the humans that share the stage with them. Since there is no cinematic magic available, the characters each work half of the stage, playing up or down to each other in a clever fix.

The cast is downright adorable, and a large part of the show is just ooo-ing and aaaah-ing at these cute little actors. However, despite their tender ages, this isn’t an amateurish play. These kids know what they are doing and they are quite good at it. They have excellent rhythm and elocution that often goes amiss in productions by much older actors.

Brooke Hall is a lovely Thumbelina, showcasing her talents of song and dance. She shows great poise while playing a timid but eager character.

Her human mother, played by Denise Michelle, conquers her logistically-challenged role with equanimity. Though she scarcely gets to play off another characters, she emotes just as if she was speaking directly to her “little” co-stars.

Some of the children play dual or triple roles. Eden Wexler is a spunky little firecracker, especially as a baby mouse, and Addison Wexler charms in her matriarchal roles.

Addison is not the only actor playing against type; Austin Stein is a suave, elderly mole whose kindness to Thumbelina has suspicious origins.

Murphy Hayes is great as Uncle Jack the field mouse, the crotchety counterpart to Thumbelina’s optimist.

There is much comedy in this show – at times the audience laughter caused me to miss some of the actors’ lines. Isabella Welch has a great role as a caterpillar coming to terms with puberty which she executes hilariously. The couple of times when the actors break the invisible “fourth wall,” it enriches rather than detracts from the play.

Costume design (Ember Everett) and makeup (Christopher Lam & Elizabeth Condon) are beautiful artistic elements of this show: Zoe Alarcon’s elegantly-played black widow and Samantha Mascaro’s “chirpy” sparrow are both enhanced by these.

I am always in awe of the beautiful artwork (Kate McVay) that is created for the backdrop of Sol’s productions. Thumbelina is no exception; a verdant mural serves to create the setting, and the cobblestone path encountered along the journey is worth a closer look after the show.

In short, I highly recommend this play for all ages – the little theatre-goers have a special pint-sized front row just for them. At only approximately 60 minutes with no intermission, the play is timed perfectly with scene changes to keep younger viewers engaged and more mature audience members enchanted.

Sol Children's Theatre is located at 3333 N. Federal Highway, Boca Raton, FL 33431. Tickets for future performances can be purchased here.

Sol Children's Theatre is a 501(c)(3) corporation and would benefit greatly with your tax-deductible support, all of which is invested right back into providing quality theatre entertainment for the community.