Mark-Brian Sonna’s “Gassy Awards” for DFW performing arts in 2007

by Mark-Brian Sonna of MBS Productions

Last week I submitted what I considered a list of the “best” performers, technicians, directors etc. whose work graced the North Texas area stages. I called them the “Peggy’s” short for Pegasus. I commented that at the other end of the spectrum (and of the mythological creature Pegasus) there would be the “Gassy” awards. Some of these “gasses” were more offensive then others, but nonetheless, they were passed onto us the audiences. Some were obvious stinkers, others more quiet and deadly. Like passing gas, sometimes it’s easy to pinpoint the culprit, other times you are unsure who is responsible, and yes, at times there must have been a communal release of gas. So put on your sense of humor jacket and don a mask and let’s look at those gassy “oopses”:

Arsenic and Old Lace

Based on the amount of mail received, many of you who read my reviews may have suspected I would have named Russell Vaden performance of the Major General in ICT’s The Pirates of Penzance as one of the worst performances. But as I said in the review, I had mixed feelings about him: while he was good vocally, it was his take on his character that I disliked. If I had to grade him I’d have given him a B-, hardly a flunking grade! The one who deserves to be singled out though comes from a much lauded pedigree. Alberto Gazale’s performance in the titular role of the opera Macbeth by the Dallas Opera really was lackluster. He has a great voice no doubt, and impeccable credentials, but he missed the character not just by a mile, but by a light year, and the night I reviewed the show he was off pitch. He took what is one of the most compelling characters ever created on stage and made him boring. He may wish to not include this performance on his resume.
The lighting in Rossum’s Universal Robots at the University of Texas at Dallas. While the show was a directorial mess and ties with High School Musical and Macbeth in faulty direction, it was the lighting design that really made the biggest and most jolting impression. I was at first impressed with all the trickery that Jeff Stover was able to create for the show form the magnificent lighting system. Unfortunately, it made no sense and got in the way of the performance. By hour 2 of the run, I began to feel like I needed therapy from his lighting abuse. This was the closest I’ve ever come to feeling that a lighting design could actually cause an audience member psychological harm.
This isn’t as much a big “Gassy” award, as it is a little, smelly “poot”. Nonetheless, I have to single it out because it was a deadly one and because I know the person who will receive this will take it in stride and laugh about it. Did it ruin the production? No. But it was such an oversight I’m still wondering how it was overlooked! Theatre Arlington’s production of Arsenic and Old Lace was quite impeccable as was the direction. What didn’t happen was the famous curtain call in which a local celebrity or the director of the play appears as “the corpse”! Maybe they didn’t know about this tradition??? A small theatre not knowing about this tidbit I’d excuse. But BJ Cleveland, one of our most seasoned and knowledgeable directors in North Texas, should have known better!
This is next pass of gas isn’t easy to put the blame on just one person: Runway Theatre’s Board of Directors or whoever is in charge of selecting and editing scripts. Since I am calling this the “Gassy” awards it only seems appropriate to mention Urinetown, after all, since it deals with bodily functions. The show was surprisingly enjoyable, but what bothered me the most was the “sanitizing” of the script. This has become a great American Stage Musical (capitalization intended), and by playing it “safe” it took lots of “teeth” out of it. It would be like doing “The Glass Menagerie” and editing out the references of psychological abuse and alcoholism, you’d end up with a play about a girl going on a date. They had the talent on stage to make this a great show, and blew it by cutting it.
While Rossum’s Universal Robots was awful, it never bored. To me, High School Musical was the biggest stinker this year. Believe it or not, I love this musical, so it hurt seeing it so poorly done. And while there were a few talented kids in the show, they were overwhelmed by enormity of the mess surrounding them. Mentioning that the set changes took drastically way too long because the set was non-functional; the choreography was a direct rip off from the film; the lighting was poor; the direction was inconsistent; etc doesn’t even being to summarize how off the mark this production was. The low quality of this production can best be summarized by the performance of John Biggan as the school “DJ”: he didn’t memorize his lines, snuck his dialogue on stage to read, and still messed up! The curious thing is that because of the ingenious use of double casting Teatro delle Muse guaranteed themselves full houses regardless of the quality of the production. Did parents love seeing their kids on stage? Undoubtedly. Did the show make money? Absolutely. Did the production stink? You bet!