Stage Write

  Welcome to Big Cherry where the dedicated city council members are ready and waiting to plan the annual heritage festival. The American Lives Theatre production of Tracy Letts’ one-act play “The Minutes” is on stage now at the Phoenix Theatre Cultural Centre.  The show has a slow start as the meeting we’re watching is almost too realistic. It hits close to home if you’ve ever attended small-town meetings with petty conflicts and private grievances. It took me back to my years as a daily reporter covering the board of zoning appeals, and town councils.  Robert’s Rules of Order go out the window when blood begins to boil. When Charles Goad (Mr. Carp) appears the plot kicks into high gear. His role looms large in the story even before he arrives. As the catalyst for the action, he’s perfect, both passionate and sincere. Up until that point, it feels a bit like an awkward waiting game as Mr. Peel (Josh Ramsey) sits on the sidelines desperate for answers.     R...

For more than 60 years, the tale of Atticus and Scout has captivated the world. As a novel, a film, and then as a play, audiences have loved the complex story of a father trying to do what’s right as his raises his young children. This Broadway Across America production features Aaron Sorkin’s adaptation of the book. Sorkin chooses to begin with the end in his script, which works perfectly because so many people already know the story. There’s no worry about spoiling the ending. It’s a verbose production, though I would expect nothing less from him.     In this adaptation there’s much more emphasis on the trial than the coming-of-age story. There are more conversations between Atticus and the other adults, Tom, Cal, the judge, and Bob Ewell. In the novel, it’s Scout story, and we see the plot unfold through her eyes. This iteration of the play is much more focused on Atticus. It’s like seeing a behind the scenes glimpse into the original Mockingbird. The story is the same bu...