Stage Write

  The differences between the sexes have been a topic of discussion and commiseration since the dawn of time. Defending the Caveman is a long-running one-man show on the subject and it has finally made its way to Indianapolis. The show holds the record as the longest running solo play in Broadway history. In addition, it’s made the rounds in Chicago, Las Vegas, Washington D.C. and more; now Hoosiers have the chance to see Kevin Burke perform firsthand.  The production opens on what looks like Fred Flintstone’s living room, complete with caveman drawings on the walls. What follows is a string of observational comedy that most couples can relate to. Burke pokes fun at both sexes but never makes it feel like an attack. The playful teasing is paired with admiration as he highlights the things that sometimes make men and women struggle to connect.      What could be a stale review of well-known clichés about men and women feels fresh because of Burke’s d...

The name Anne Frank is inexorably linked with the Holocaust and immediately brings to mind the tragic story of a young girl lost too soon. The question of who she would have become is left unanswered. In James Still’s play “ And Then They Came for Me," he explores the lives of two children who survived, despite all odds. The play is being produced for the third time on the Indiana Repertory Theatre’s Upperstage and is being seen by a new generation of students in dozens of matinée performances. Eva Geiringer and Ed Silverberg both knew Anne Frank. All three were Jewish children desperately trying to escape the persecution of the Nazi party. Through the portrayal of a small cast of actors and the real footage from filmed interviews with Eva and Ed as seniors, audiences are able to hear their powerful stories. The cast is made up of four young actors and two veteran performers (Mark Goetzinger and Jennifer Johansen) who balance the lively earnestness of the newcomers. The set m...

Billy, a deaf man, is part of a large opinionated family. They are intellectual snobs ruled by a condescending patriarch, Christopher, and his empathetic wife Ruth. Their three adult children have all moved back home after frustrating turns in their own lives. They bustle about the set, a crowded but cozy home filled to the brim with books and knickknacks, all lost in their own problems. Billy (Andrew Martin) has spent his whole life surrounded by the angst and chaos of his family. He's become used to a world in which he is a spectator but rarely a participant. Then he meets Sylvia, a lovely young woman on the verge of losing her hearing. He begins to question his role in the world and the way he interacts with others. Billy and Sylvia (Ryan O’Shea) have wonderful chemistry on stage. O’Shea is particularly good as a young woman trying to come to terms with a massive change in her world. She conveys the mixture of anger and frustration in such a sincere way and it's easy to fe...