Stage Write

  In a city that rarely sees a production of Shakespeare without an easily recognizable name, the EclecticPond Theatre Company (ETC) has become a welcome respite. The group, which was founded in 2010, has embraced some of the Bard’s lesser-known works, with productions like “The Comedy of Errors” and “Shakespeare Wrote What? and “10x10.” Now, about to close its third season, ETC decided to tackle something big.   Their latest endeavor is the most ambitious to date, “The War of the Roses” covers eight of Shakespeare’s histories using on eight actors. The shows will be spaced over the course of four weekends with different batches shown on different days. Audience members will have the opportunity to see the shows all in one day, two at a time or four at a time. This unique experience, which has been in the works for more than a year, begins in June. The cast and crew are excited to see how this new challenge unfolds. There are three directors sharing the responsibilit...

Everyone’s favorite dark family is parading its macabre members across the Clowes Memorial Hall stage in a national tour of The Addams Family musical. The instantly recognizable characters are all there; from Lurch’s slow gait to Uncle Fester’s giggle.      In this latest rendition of the group, young Wednesday has fallen in love and is struggling to understand her new “sunny” disposition. Jennifer Fogarty’s plays the tempestuous girl and her powerful voice brings songs like “Pulled” to life. When her “normal” boyfriend is introduced it’s clear that everyone is embarrassed by their parents, no matter who they are. The patriarch of the family, Gomez, is played by Jesse Sharp. Despite the family’s ghoulish tendencies, Gomez is a loyal husband and devoted dad. His biggest problem is when one of those roles conflicts with the other and he has to keep a secret from his seductive wife, Morticia (KeLeen Snowgren.) The two always seem able to tango their way through...

Les Misérables has seen a resurgence in the past couple years. The popular musical, which tells the story of a convict who finds redemption, has been everywhere from Broadway to the Beef & Boards Dinner Theatre and is now on stage at the Booth Tarkington Civic Theatre. Yet despite being around for decades, there are still audience members at each performance seeing the show for the first time. It is with those individuals in mind that I recommend this production. Anyone who has seen the show many times will inevitably compare it, which makes it easy to pick out the flaws, but those seeing it for the first time will be swept away by the huge cast and the sheer scope of the story. The production’s minimalist set makes use of lighting over set pieces. The lighting design, by Ryan Koharchik, balances some tricky moments when one cast member is performing at the front of the stage and the set is being shuffled for the next scene in the back. The result is relatively smooth transit...