Theater reviews part deux: Festival of Independent Theatres at Bath House Cultural Center in Dallas

by Mary L. Clark of John Garcia's The Column, Carol Anne Gordon of John Garcia's The Column

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Mary L. Clark and Carol Anne Gordon review all eight productions from this year's festival.

Editor's note: The Column staff of critics was given full press access to the 2010 Festival of Independent Theaters. This amazing festival showcases the outstanding talent we have within the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. It will run at the Bath House Cultural Center in Dallas through August 7.

Alice in Wonderland -- reviewed by Mary L. Clark

I had ulterior motives for wanting to see White Rock Pollution's production of Alice in Wonderland (playing on various dates with Georgie Gets a Facelift/Thank U Berry Munch, Feeding the Moonfish, and Once More, With Feeling). Originally developed and performed in the very early '70s, I had performed in this play during the later part of that decade.

While our production was all '70s organic, political guerilla-type theatre, I was so thankful to see that director Tom Parr IV had whittled Alice in Wonderland down to its core essence. If original director, Andre Gregory, had produced the play today, I feel he would have done exactly the same. It was wonderful to see how well this play still worked.

Seated and waiting as the festival joyfully maneuvered more people into an already standing room only audience, we observed the objects strewn around two sides of the stage as merely crates, cans, rags – trash. Once the stage lights came up we understood them to be the possessions in "cardboard homes" for those without one.

Alice, having lost her stuffed "cat" to a child (with mom on cell phone) passerby, retreats back to her corner to find a book and, as she begins to read, the other residents recite The Jabberwocky with her, though all seem to be asleep. As Alice closes the book, her and the audience's dream begins. We follow her down, down, down the rabbit hole on a non-stop, take your breath away ride along with almost all the characters in Alice in Wonderland and two from Through the Looking Glass.

Six actors recreated all the roles and most of the sound effects and became the onstage set and prop crew, using their cardboard homes and possessions. They were a small circus unto themselves, moving organically and being always present in the moment to help each other. One audience member summed it up nicely when she quietly said, "Wow".

Danielle Pickard had the arduous task of portraying Alice. Speaking her lines (trippingly on the tongue) while being hoisted high in the air, somersaulted backward over people, pushed, pulled, and carried around is quite a physical feat of concentration.

All the actors were tremendously gifted in their physical creation of some of the memorable "creatures" of Lewis Carroll's imagination – Dormouse, Cheshire Cat, White Rabbit, and so much more. I could tell Ben Bryant had a blast portraying the hookah-smoking Caterpillar with Hunter S. Thompson overtones. One side note -- there is no credit for properties director as it was probably a joint effort on the part of the actors and director.

The objects used to create Caterpillar's mushroom, his lower torso and all the other objects "found" for each scene were imaginative, inventive, and a huge addition to the play's understanding and enjoyment.

Back to the actors. The Hatter was never madder than in the hands of Clay Wheeler. Non-stop Monty Python orchestration of that infamous tea party proved Wheeler's classic physical comedy skills and his hat was priceless. Tall Brain Witkowicz metamorphosed himself down to a low Crab, then Frog, into the tiny Dormouse and finally back to the regal Don Quixote White Knight whose poem was always sadly endearing.

Whitney Holotik had the fun and the fine art of playing most of the women of Alice in Wonderland such as the pig-cradling Duchess. It was a clever touch to make the White Queen a coy yet befuddled southern belle. Holotik was great as the croquet mallet wielding, "Off with her head" commanding Red Queen.

Randy Pearlman was a chameleon actor, portraying a timid, silly Dodo then that sly, elusive Cheshire Cat. But his Humpty Dumpty was simply "rocking" and the egg's inevitable demise was pure pathos.

A huge round of applause must be given to Costume Designer, Kristin Parr, whose designs, along with the props, gave the actors all they needed to wholly create and perfect their characters. The way she made Alice grow and shrink (with a wink to Wicked) or her use of the simplest headpiece or costume part aided in our journey and was visibly amazing.

Tom Parr fantastically guided his actors through Alice in Wonderland and brought them back again safely and admirably. There are not many actors who have the ability to undertake such a physically demanding play and even less who could comprehend the necessity of working as a solid unit. Under White Rock Pollution's care, this production is a wonder all its own. To say it is one of this theatre season's highlights is an understatement.

I had to wait almost 35 years to see this play again. Please do not let this standing ovation performance pass by. With only three more performances in its present incarnation, my hope is that more are in the near future.

Bible Women -- reviewed by Mary L. Clark

This is why I love the Festival of Independent Theatres (FIT). One moment you are in the fantasy of Alice in Wonderland then, ten minutes or so later, you find yourself time-warped back a couple thousand years to the stories of Bible Women (playing on various dates with The Muse and Georgie Gets a Facelift/Thank U Berry Munch).

Echo Theatre presents this play of songs about some amazing women, some of whom were removed from later interpretations or forgotten over time. You may have heard something about Ruth or Sarah but how about Esther, Lilith or Deborah? These women come from Jewish storytelling and Elizabeth Swados wrote majestic songs fit for these women and their contributions to history. Pulling the songs together, Vicki Caroline Cheatwood added text to these ancient stories, giving them a fresh, contemporary twist.

Under musical direction by Scott Eckert, the music varied stylistically from choral to pop, R&B to classical and blues to some tambourine-shaking gospel. Five women portrayed eight or more Bible Women with a wide range of vocal qualities and styles.

Terri Ferguson and her lovely alto voice sang of "Queen Vashti" and, as Ruth, with dignity and grace on "Whither Thou Goest." Annie Benjamin sang her songs like folk activist Joan Baez, portraying warrior "Esther Invincible." Adding to her vocal talent, Benjamin also played guitar and flute. Jodi Wright's rich soprano voice brought grandeur to "How Can I Endure" and "Lilith." Amy Fisher Hughes' light soprano quality put the flirt into Eve as she sang the sexy "Song of Songs" with percussionist Neeki Bey stepping in as one of the tempted. For that church-going, get-down gospel feel, you cannot do better than Denise Lee who belted "Lead Me to the Rock." She powerfully took Abraham's wife from a laughable woman to one of great sorrow, anger and grief in "Sarah Talks to God."

A beautiful and helpful touch was to project classic artist's interpretations of these women on a white side curtain, making them more earth bound than myth. I was surprised and saddened to see several of the audience members for Alice in Wonderland not return for Bible Women. Maybe they were afraid it was going to be a religious meeting but this play of songs is no holy book-thumping revival.

Bible Women is a celebration of the intelligence and power of this gender that probably scared and angered men enough to attempt to erase them from memory. With glorious music and lyrics and with Echo Theatre's assistance, maybe it's finally time for HER-story to be rewritten.

Once More, With Feeling -- reviewed by Carol Anne Gordon

The five-person cast opens the play (playing on various dates with Purgatory, a Bedroom Farce and Alice in Wonderland)as a Greek Chorus, and explains their raison d'etre: they are there not only to provide most of the exposition and to state out loud the stage directions that the audience would normally be unaware of, but also to supply the emphasis that *bolding* and italics do in print, by speaking in unison along with a character.

A really nice bit of business was that the chorus often made this emphasis by signing in ASL along with the words a character was speaking. (And sometimes they gave little side jokes in ASL, too – watch them carefully, you may still get them through context, even if you don't sign.)

The chorus shepherds us through two stories unfolding in parallel. The first shows us a girl (A) who is writing the script of her fizzling love affair, but her boyfriend (B), just WON'T stick to the script, steps on her lines, goes off into improv, etc. (Just like in real life.)

The second is about a Donna Reed-type housewife (except for the hot red, sky-high-heeled, come-get-me-shoes), played in drag by Sachin Patel, who is reaching the end of her relationship with her significant other – a really big snake.

Director Mac Lower, Costume Designer Lacy Lalene Lynch, Choreographer Tasia Muñoz, and Props Designer Drew Wall created bright, novel, engaging action throughout the play. Some of the jokes that I got I hope are not so "inside" that they will make civilians (aka non-theatre people) go "Huh?", and though I'm not sure I really understand what the play was all about or was trying to say, I left feeling thoroughly entertained.

There were some sound glitches at this performance, which the cast smoothly took in stride in the best tradition of "the show must go on!" and just sang the music a capella as necessary. Now those are great troupers! Due to adult language and situations, this show is NSFK (not safe for kids).

The Muse -- reviewed by Carol Anne Gordon

Though not a word is spoken in this play, the story is eloquently told through dance, physical comedy, and ground-breaking music.

Newton Pittman, "The Machinist," is encased, center stage, in a triangular cage, filled with unique percussion and electronic "instruments" gathered from local junkyards. He re-creates every sound needed, from ocean waves to laughter to a laundry tub being stirred.

Anastasia Muñoz gives a lithe, limber, lyrical performance as the title character. We feel her every emotion through her expressive movements. She is well accompanied by John M. Flores as Adrastos, her four-legged pet of indeterminate origin.

Delicious physical comedy is provided by Lulu Ward as the Draper, and amazingly communicative action is accomplished by Maryam Baig Lush, who wields a puppet head. (In an ironic bit of casting, Maryam, who can act more with her animated eyes than most actors can with their entire faces, bodies, and a whole stage full of props, is completely hidden by a cloth throughout the play!)

Kudos to author Jeffrey Schmidt and Director Lydia Mackay for their skillful blending of myth, fantasy, comedy, emotions, and fashion. (Yes, fashion plays a big role in the plot development!) The play was fascinating, and seemed entirely too short. I was thrilled when the cast came out for bows carrying a sign saying "To Be Continued." I can't wait to see the sequel, if, of course, the same cast and machinist will be there.

This show is WONDERFUL fare for both kids and adults! By the time you see this review, there will be only two performances left, and luckily for you, they're both paired with a performance of the excellent Bible Women. Don't miss them!

Georgie Gets a Facelift/Thank U Berry Munch -- reviewed by Carol Anne Gordon

This dark comedy is presented as two separate short-short plays, and the one shown second is essential to understanding the one shown first.

Only Stephanie Hall plays the same character in both plays, and hers is the hardest role to act in the first play, as she never gets to say a word. Yet her physical comedy in this part – where she channels a rag doll – is hilarious.

In a festival well-known for minimalist sets, this one wins the prize for the most minimalist. Ever. There is almost nothing to distract the viewer – all the attention and focus is on the three actors. LisaAnne Haram has too short a time onstage in both plays, but that's not her fault, it's how her parts were written. Joey Folsom gives two good sad sack performances as two different characters, without repeating himself.

Both plays are so short that if I even attempt to give just an intro as to what the two interlocking plots involve, I would move quickly into spoiler territory. Suffice it to say, you'll laugh at some things in the first play, and then quickly feel somewhat guilty for having done so, until you see the second play and receive some justification for what you feared was inappropriate laughter earlier.

Due to adult language (hilariously sidestepped by "Georgie" in the first play) and situations, this show is NSFK (not safe for kids), so if you're planning to see Alice in Wonderland when it's paired with this show on July 30 (it will also play with Bible Women and Purgatory, a Bedroom Farce), let the kids read or color in the lobby during this show at 8 p.m., then bring them into the theatre for Alice at 9 p.m.

Purgatory, a Bedroom Farce -- reviewed by Carol Anne Gordon

Being Presbyterian, I had no concept of Purgatory, a uniquely Catholic creation, until I went to school in Spain, where its origin was explained to me. By Catholics. So I found it pretty funny that of the four residents of Purgatory that we meet in this play (playing on various dates with Once More, With Feeling and Georgie Gets a Facelift/Thank U Berry Munch), one is Jewish, one is Baptist, and one is presumably (judging by her British accent) Anglican.

Still, each of the characters accepts the fact that they are in Purgatory, for a prescribed amount of time, and for understandable (to them, anyway) reasons, with equanimity.

The plot was an interesting one, but suffered a bit from the redundantly redundant. Theatre audiences these days in general, and at FIT in particular, are very quick, and once a point is made, they don't need it to be repeated over and over before they "get it." Not that the points made weren't good ones, understand. And the final point – a highly profound theological one – was not only surprisingly spiritual (compared with the sex-centric dialogue that comprised the rest of the play), but also quite gratifying. I left the theatre pondering the higher concept of the final plot resolution. Well, that and the many euphemisms that men have for masturbation.

The cast knew their lines, but seemed a little hesitant most of the time. Looking through the FIT schedule, I now see that the performance I reviewed was their opening night. No doubt their ease and fluidity will improve with more performances. This is McClarey Players' first FIT production, and I think they've caught the quirky avant-garde vibe that FIT's more tenured theatre companies usually bring to the party. Due to adult language and situations, this show is NSFK (not safe for kids).

Feeding the Moonfish -- reviewed by Mary L. Clark

Cruising over to the Festival of Independent Theatres (FIT) is always a highlight of the summer season. This particular evening, the temperature had lowered, a light breeze rolled over White Rock Lake, and the geese were getting ready for their evening ritual of coming out of the water in a casual line to snatch bread from their fans before heading back into the water for the night. A close-to-full moon was rising overhead with thin clouds casting a pale glow. All in all, it was simply a lovely evening and a magical location for going to see theatre of a different sort.

I was delighted to be seeing two of the one-act plays from the eight being presented in repertory over four long weekend spans. As the plays are performed randomly during each of those afternoons or evenings, you have the opportunity to pick your dates and time to catch as many plays as possible.

One of my evening's choices, Feeding the Moonfish (playing on various dates with The Turquoise Pontiac and Alice in Wonderland), was wonderfully appropriate considering the night's sky. Setting the play on a rotting wood dock off a salt lake in Florida, you immediately see and hear the fragility of such a place. But soon you realize the fragility lies within the two characters, Martin and Eden.

There is a lot written on the idea that playwright, Barbara Wiechmann, interjected symbols from the zodiac sign, Pisces, in her play with the twin fish, the moon, being a water sign, etc. but Feeding The Moonfish is more a story of nature, tragedy and remembrance come together on a night where two souls collide.

Martin often comes to the dock to reminisce of its former days and to dream of release from his current existence. Certain fish, known as "moonfish," come to feed in the moon's light. Whether real or in Martin's mind, the moonfish sing and talk to him and are the keepers of a terrible secret he relives each time he returns.

Enter Eden, a young, fellow employee at the local restaurant who stashed away in the back of his car to see just where Martin goes after work. She is a whirlwind of sweet and gentle, angry and accusing, coy and manipulative. Through the course of the play the two find, unknowingly, their parallel lives of abandonment, loneliness, anger, and horrific acts of violence no person should ever have to witness or be subjected to. It is only through such a connection that these two can try to break through and find a bond and a beginning.

As dictated by the script, the two actors were staged on a creaking slat dock, maybe 4x15 feet, which added more tension as their characters had little place to go and so had to stay and confront each other or literally fall into the abyss. As Set Designer, Lowell Sargeant also had a great idea to use iridescent glass stones scattered around as the water so they shimmered in the moon lighting. He also designed the mesmerizing and Siren-like quality of the voices of the moonfish.

Feeding the Moonfish put the two actors through some raw, raw emotions. Due to the constraints of the stage, they had no place to go but within themselves in developing Martin and Eden. Susan Sargeant deftly directed and guided them for the most part but lost them in their journey for the play's nuances, the subtle ups and downs that give a performance a deeper richness. Barrett Nash brought Eden in, all spit and vinegar with a huge chip on her shoulder, and hardly allowed her or us time to catch a breath. So many moments to show her heart-aching loneliness and longing were crushed by constant angry barbs. Nash started on a heightened note and simply had no more room to grow, emotionally. Josh Glover, as Martin, had a better awareness of the necessity for subtlety. You could see and hear him attempt to interject different emotional levels for better balance but you cannot do that alone.

There were some sweet comedic moments between them that were lost or barely scratched. Nevertheless, Glover gave us a beautiful glimpse of Martin, easily shifting from elusive loner to a man with childlike innocence when speaking to the fish. Feeding the Moonfish is a powerful piece portraying the human need and want for companionship. The audience got the full impact of all that want and need and was left a bit drained and numb from the experience.

The Turquoise Pontiac -- reviewed by Mary L. Clark

On quite a different level, One Thirty Productions presented a sequel of sorts with a one-act called The Turquoise Pontiac (playing on various dates with Feeding the Moonfish). This is a fantasy play with Twilight Zone-esque qualities. Set in a U.S. western desert off Route 66 in the 1950s, a dazed traveler, headed for Disneyland in California, stumbles into a small bar. He keeps going on about a train engine and a Wagnerian opera soprano (only a small spoiler here). Add a socially conscious bartender and the train engineer and the fantasy continues with aplomb.

In the mid '50s, Disneyland was the most talked about event and most visited place in the country. There had been nothing remotely like it before and I vividly remember marveling at the spaceman and going to "Future World." Walt Disney became so embedded into our culture but, to two of the characters of The Turquoise Pontiac, it was the end of civility itself.

This play is also about adventure, the pull of the road, and the longing for what's beyond. In no way was it ever meant to be realistic or a drama as some seem to believe but more a slice of a specific period in our cultural history, turned on its side and examined with mirth and imagination. The whole point and fun of The Turquoise Pontiac is the quirky scenario and its characters.

Elias Taylorson, as Roscoe, made for a rather fine bartender who likes to keep his tavern tidy. His droll asides and unaffected remarks emphasized his "it's too hot in the desert and no need to rush" demeanor. The Traveler, played by Shane Beeson, was all anxiety and suspicion, making a great counterpoint to the bartender. Morgan Justiss was hysterical playing the "oh so serious" young woman/child portraying a Wagnerian opera, armor wearing Soprano. With a Snow White or Cinderella lilt to her voice, she was so determined in her quest, you had to laugh at the absurdity of it all. Finally, Dan Tillman made the good-natured, philosophical "Uncle" Lee such a fun-loving person with a twinkle in his eye and such a sense of adventure that you'd likely get onboard that train if he asked.

Larry Randolph directed the play and designed his set simply with red and white checkered cloth on tables and chairs and a bar counter serving dual purpose. A large seven point star hung in the back with beveled sides somewhat like a compass would have. Soprano's room was rather a mass of heavy fabrics draped over chairs and chaise and didn't seem to reflect a young woman's taste or her upbringing.

Costume designs by Marty Van Kleeck were pretty nondescript except for one outfit where this designer shone. The materials used to make Soprano's armor and spear were inventive and a visual delight. I won't spoil the fun here but to say I kept looking at them to find more and funnier nuances.

The Turquoise Pontiac is for fun, for absurdity and for thinking outside the box. Like seeing a big old bright blue car heading down the road, it's all in the joy and the wonder.

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