Stage Write

Over the past three years Beef & Boards Dinner Theatre's audiences have enjoyed the antics of the Smoke in the Mountains clan every summer. This year "Church Basement Ladies" fills the big shoes vacated by the Sanders clan. Though the "Smoke" shows are a tough act to follow, the cooking ladies of a Minnesota Lutheran church rise to the challenge. The show is set in the 1960s in the church basement's kitchen as four women prepare meals for a fundraiser, funeral and a wedding. Dressed in sensible shoes and aprons, the women cook up heaping Norwegian dishes. In one musical number they celebrate the joys of cooking with butter and doing the "Pale Food Polka." The cast works wonderfully together. The oldest of the group struggles to accept changes in the church, while the youngest tries to square her parent's beliefs with her own. Karen Pappas portrayal of Mavis is especially fun. She brings an impressive energy to her role, which provides c...

"Show me a beautiful woman and I'll show you a guy that's tired of F***ing her." As crude as that line is, it perfectly sums up the character of Kent, who says it during "Reasons to be Pretty," on stage now at the Phoenix Theatre. The show premiered off-Broadway in 2008 and is the final play in Neil LaBute's trilogy about society's perception of beauty. The Shape of Things, the first play, was turned into a film starring Paul Rudd. The second, Fat Pig, was part of the Phoenix Theatre's 2007 season. "Reasons to be Pretty" is about a couple, Stephanie and Greg, who fall out after she find out he called her face "regular" compared to a pretty co-worker's face. On the surface it's simple enough, but it delves much deeper into other issues in their relationship and in Greg's relationship with his self-centered friend Kent. Angela Plank, who also co-starred in Fat Pig, plays Stephanie. She does an excellent job exudi...

The Theater Within has once again chosen a play that tackles a complicated subject. "Proof," the 2001 winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, deals with the thin line between genius and madness and the strain it can place on a family. The story begins with Catherine on the eve of her 25th birthday. After years of caring for her mentally unstable father, a famed mathematician, she now has to cope with his death. She put her life on hold to care for him and the years have made her caustic and distrustful. The cast finds its footing in the second half, moving past stereotypes into the meat of the roles. Glenn Dobbs plays the struggling mathematician and he shines in his scenes with Catherine (Danna Sheridan). His convincing paternal nature makes the audience understand her devotion to him. Jeremy Kinnett is fittingly awkward but sincere as Hal, Robert's social-stunted former student. Kristin Katsu excellent as Claire, Catherine's older sister. With her A-type personalit...

For this year's annual Family show, Beef & Boards Dinner Theatre chose Disney High School Musical. The plot deals with high school cliques, pressure to succeed and balancing of diverse interests. But this is certainly not a serious drama. Perky songs and choreographed dance numbers keep things moving quickly and over-the-top drama queens provide comic relief. The show features only two adult roles, which means decades of experience is not in the cards for most of the cast. Productions that depend so heavily on young actors can be tricky, but B&B manages it with ease. The cast brings a freshness and energy to the show that's infectious. Gabriella, played by Jessica Ann Murphy, has both a beautiful voice and a natural ease, which makes her performance believable. She and her co-star, Tim Barsten (Troy), work well together. They have great stage chemistry. Scenic designer Michael Layton turns a movie, that moves throughout an entire high school, into a single ...

Long before we met the delinquents of Jersey Shore, there was "Jersey Boys," the musical that took Broadway by storm in 2005. It tells the story of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, the group that wrote and sang dozens of hits that sold a million records, like "Can't Take My Eyes Off of You" and "Walk Like a Man." The Broadway Across America show, currently on stage at the Murat Theatre, has it all. It's the story of an American Dream that came true for a few blue-collar boys. Four guys from Jersey created a brand new sound that allowed them to rocket up the charts in the 1960s. The boys' unexpected success was, as it always is, both a blessing and a curse. (J oseph Leo Bwarie as Frankie Valli) Joseph Leo Bwarie plays Frankie Valli, the talented lead singer. Bwarie's unbelievable range mimics Valli own unique pitches. We meet Valli when he's an innocent 16-year-old and watch his journey to stardom. The three other leads, Nick, Tom...

Almost any French farce will reliably include slamming doors, jealous spouses and sometimes angry Prussians and speech impediments. This jumble of elements creates a frenzy of misunderstandings that's only straightened out in the end. The Indianapolis Civic Theatre's production of Georges Feydeau's most famous farce, "A Flea in Her Ear," has all of those elements and more. Add a few pistols, a seedy hotel, and a love letter and you've got a recipe for disaster. A randy German and an angry Hispanic man add extra doses of humor throughout the show. The show gets off to a slow start, but begins to crackle in the second half. There are three acts and one intermission. This production lacks the pacing essential for a farce to work. It's a delicate balance between banter and action sequences, but the show relied too heavily on the banter in the first half and the action in the second. Paul Hansen serves as both the wrongly accused husband Victor Emmnauel and a d...

Music has a way of seeping into your pores. There's no way to explain the affect that certain songs or artists can have on an individual. It's as if they speak to your soul. Those are the notes and lyrics you heart would have sung if it had a voice. Beef & Boards Dinner Theatre's latest show, "Always... Patsy Cline" is a musical created to celebrate this very fact and the unlikely friendship that formed between the singer and one of her biggest fans. After meeting during a concert Cline gave in Texas, Patsy and Louise Seger became real life pen pals. Christine Mild stars as Patsy Cline, the world-renowned country singer. It's obvious Mild is comfortable in the role, one that she's performed all over the country. Not only does she sound shockingly similar to Cline, she also bears an eerie resemblance to the singer. Her rich voice washes over the crowd in every number. She brings a southern charm and cheek to the role, which is perfectly compliment...