Stage Write

 And they’re off! The 2014 IndyFringe Festival favorite is back in a full-length format. The Great Bike Race tells the store of the second running of the Tour de France in the most hilarious way possible. It was vicious, with cyclist cheating their way to the finish line, willing to sabotage anyone who crossed their path. The show is done in a series of vignettes that introduce each of the racers separately. The staging is simple. A screen shows the landscape scrolling by as the bikers pass. Each person holds a set of handlebars to indicate their cycle. Frankie Bolda plays the 16-year-old contender Henri Cornet with a wide-eyed innocence. He wants a gentlemanly race, but his competitors are set on playing dirty. He’s an ambitious lad with dreams of Parisian girls meeting him at the finish line and Bolda shines with her earnest portrayal. The main race is between the cut-throat favorites Hippolyte Acoutrier (Paige Scott) and Maurice Garin (Ben Asaykwee). The prideful pai...

Cabaret Poe is a macabre delight that has become an annual tradition for Indy theatergoers. For the first time it has moved from its Irvington home to Theater on the Square on Mass Ave and has a more elaborate set. This was my first time seeing the show, so I can't compare it to previous productions, but I can say the current version is a must see.  The entire original musical was created by Ben Asaykwee, and uses Edgar Allan Poe’s poetry and infamous short stories to create a collective work perfectly suited for October. At times the cast performs a scene, at others they recite poetry. There's a wonderful balance of variety. There's also live music on the stage enhancing every scene. Each performance features a cast of three people, but Asaykwee is the only actor featured in every show. The remaining two parts rotate between four women. The performance I saw featured Jaddy Ciucci and Renae Stone. Asaykwee could bring on a chill or a laugh with a single raised...

Theatre on the Square is thrilled to announce its 2015/16 season. Season tickets are now on sale.  Enter Love September 11 – 27, 2015 – Christel DeHaan Main Stage Director: Lynn Lupold A musical about the ever-changing nature of romantic relationships in the first decade of the 21st century. It is set in an international airport, located in a large city somewhere in the mid-west. The production consists of a series of encounters—with dialogue and music—that take place between an assortment of couples and individuals at various locations—arrival and departure concourses, waiting lounges, baggage check, observation deck, and the central location, a bar—in the airport. Special Co-Production – To be announced soon  October 3 – 31, 2015 – Christel DeHaan Main Stage Director: Ben Asaykwee Miss Gulch Returns October 23 – November 8, 2015 – Stage Two Brent Marty revives his one-man/one-woman musical comedy written and originally performed by Fred...

Can women really “have it all”? Do they want to? The Theatre on the Square’s production of Rapture, Blister, Burn explores this topic with a stark honesty and balance that’s rare with such a hot button issue. Two former grad school roommates reconnect in their 40s. Catherine is a literary success who lives in New York and is single. Gwen is married (to Catherine’s former boyfriend) and raising kids in a small town. Both women can’t help but feel curious about how their lives might have unfolded if they’d made different decisions.    Shows like this often have a hard time not infuriating one side or the other of the issue. All women seem to be both defensive and opinionated about the “right way” to live your life. Somehow this play, written by Gina Gianfriddo, manages to avoid all of those pitfalls. Instead of attacking either side it opens the discussion, guiding the audience to consider both sides equally. Using a college course as the vehicle to drive the exploration...