Posts Tagged ‘gary wayne barker’

Moonstone’s Expertly Staged “Sound Inside” is a Carefully Constructed Psychological Drama

Posted in St Louis Theatre, tagged , , , , , on February 9, 2024| Leave a Comment »

The Sound Inside
by Adam Rapp
Directed by Gary Wayne Barker
Moonstone Theatre Company
February 8, 2024

Sharon Hunter, Ryan Lawson-Maeske
Photo by Jon Gitchoff
Moonstone Theatre Company

The latest production from Moonstone Theatre Company is a compelling two-character drama that explores relationships not only between individuals, but also between writers and literature. Adam Rapp’s The Sound Inside is a somewhat twisty play that can seem predictable at times, but always seems to have surprises in store. At Moonstone, directed by Gary Wayne Barker, this play features a well-chosen cast and thoughtful staging that makes this play an intense, fascinating experience.

The way the play is constructed helps present the idea of an authors’ relationship with their work, as well as personal experiences, literary influences, and personal interactions that contribute to shaping that work. Bella Baird (Sharon Hunter) is a tenured professor at Yale who teaches creative writing, as well as being a published author herself. Bella narrates the story in the “present day”, although the sense of time is at times deliberately ambiguous. Bella is a dedicated teacher, but doesn’t seem to have any real friends.  She also has endured some major disappointments and tragedies in her family life, as well as more disappointment regarding the public and critical reception of her writings. Bella seems resigned to the routine of her life until she encounters Christopher Dunn (Ryan Lawson-Maeske), one of her students who shows up at her office without an appointment, and who appears alternately confrontational and evasive. As their interactions continue, Christopher reveals his efforts to write a novel, and Bella offers advice and encouragement, leading to a complex bond developing between teacher and student as the two reveal more about their lives and attitudes toward writing and literature. As Bella’s narrative continues, and a health crisis develops, it may seem obvious where this story is headed, but nothing is entirely as it seems here, with the playwright constructing a clever, insightful script that seems to be not only exploring the relationship between literature and its readers and writers, but also the distinction between fiction and reality.

I can’t go too much into plot details, because the discovery is such an essential part of the drama. I can say that the playwright managed to successfully keep me guessing, and that the construction of this play is both clever and engaging. The staging is also especially gripping, with excellent pacing and strong technical elements like Dunsi Dai’s evocative set and Spencer Roe-Weaver’s striking projections. There’s also impressive work from lighting designer Michael Sullivan, sound designer Amanda Werre, and costume designer Michele Friedman Siler, all contributing to the overall mood and drama of the story and characters.

The centerpiece of this production is its remarkable cast, featuring Moonstone’s artistic director Hunter in an impressively complex performance as Bella, who can be alternately relatable and difficult to figure out. Hunter does a great job of portraying Bella’s professorial side, as well as her clear love of literature, as well as her pervasive loneliness and sense of regret. She is well-matched by the equally excellent Lawson-Maeske as the likable but also difficult to decipher Christopher, who is a fascinating character in his own right, with an air of mystery that only adds to the drama. The interactions between these two are credible and form the emotional heart of this story with all its twists, turns, and explorations of life, literature, loneliness, and longing for personal connection.

The Sound Inside is a short play, running at about 90 minutes with no intermission, but there’s a lot going on in this story, including exploration of some difficult life-or-death issues and decidedly adult subject matter. Some elements seem to be deliberately left up to the audience’s interpretation, as well, and there’s a lot to think about here, including the differentiation between fiction and reality. The well-drawn characters, and compelling performances, are at the center here, making for a remarkable theatrical experience that may linger in viewers’ minds for some time. 

Sharon Hunter, Ryan Lawson-Maeske
Photo by Jon Gitchoff
Moonstone Theatre Company

Moonstone Theatre Company is presenting The Sound Inside at the Robert G. Reim Theater in Kirkwood until February 25, 2024

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Moonstone’s Hilarious “Nerd” is a Master Class in Comic Timing

Posted in St Louis Theatre, tagged , , , , , on July 10, 2023| Leave a Comment »

The Nerd
by Larry Shue
Directed Gary Wayne Barker
Moonstone Theatre Company
July 7, 2023

Greg Johnston, Bridgette Bassa, Leslie Wobbe, Oliver Bacus, Bryce A. Miller
Photo by Jon Gitchoff
Moonstone Theatre Company

Moonstone Theatre Company returns to the stage this summer with a modern classic farce that’s sure to keep audiences laughing. Larry Shue’s The Nerd, directed by Gary Wayne Barker, is a fun, often silly and even ridiculous comedy that requires precise timing and fully committed performances. Fortunately, this production has all that and  more, for a truly entertaining laugh-fest of a production. 

The story is fairly simple at first, but the surprises start early and keep going. In 1981 Terre Haute, Indiana, the earnest architect Willum Cubbert is celebrating his 34th birthday and dealing with a series of frustrations, including a job designing a hotel for a demanding client; a possible end to a relationship before it really begins, as would-be girlfriend Tansy is about to leave town to pursue a dream job; and essentially a life of being somewhat of a doormat. His friends, Tansy and the curmudgeonly theatre critic Axel, hope that Willum can find a way to stand up for himself, but Willum insists he’s fine. Soon, however, Willum’s life is disrupted by the arrival of Rick Steadman, a nerdy, unconventional, and increasingly clingy fellow to whom Willum feels obligated since Rick apparently saved Willum’s life years before in the Vietnam War. Rick’s oddities add frustration to Willum’s life, awkwardly derailing a dinner party with the client, Warnock “Ticky” Waldgrave, his nervous wife Clelia, and incorrigible young son, Thor. As Rick’s intrusion and eccentricities get increasingly more difficult to bear, it’s only a matter of time before Willum is pushed to the breaking point. Along the way, much hilarity ensues, with a series of pratfalls, difficult situations, and awkwardness that builds up over the course of this hilarious farce that threatens to strain plausibility, although the comedy is so well-timed and the situations so well-structured, that by the time the somewhat surprising ending rolls around, it should be clear that the sheer comedic value of this show is its most important point.

The script isn’t merely goofy, though. There is a good deal of wit and snark, as well, mostly coming from Axel, who is played with impressive flair by Bryce A. Miller. Bridgette Bassa is also memorable as the conflicted Tansy, who clearly cares for Willum and has believable chemistry with the supremely likable Oliver Bacus, who plays Willum’s increasing exasperation well. Greg Johnston and Leslie Wobbe have excellent moments as the stuffy Waldgrave and stressed-out Clelia, along with Kieran Thompson as the increasingly confused and terrified young Thor. The real scene-stealer here, though, is Ryan Lawson-Maeske in an expertly played turn as the seemingly obliviously annoying Rick. His Rick is so enthusiastically weird, and perfectly timed in his oddity. The scenes between Lawson-Maeske and Bacus are especially strong, and there’s also a wonderful, cohesive sense of ensemble chemistry that makes the wackiness even more hilarious. 

The setting for all the madcap hijinks is ideal, with a fully realized set by Dunsi Dai, period-specific costumes by Michele Friedman Siler, and excellent lighting by Denisse Chavez and sound by Amanda Werre. It’s not a tech-heavy show, but all the technical elements work well to support the well-orchestrated chaos that ensues in the course of the plot. 

The Nerd is, to put it simply, a ridiculously funny play. If you’re looking for a good laugh, this first-rate production is well worth checking out. It’s another strong staging from Moonstone Theatre Company.

Ryan Lawson-Maeske, Oliver Bacus, Bryce A. Miller, Bridgette Bassa
Photo by Jon Gitchoff
Moonstone Theatre Company

Moonstone Theatre Company is presenting The Nerd at the Kirkwood Performing Arts Center until July 23, 2023

This review was originially published at kdhx.org

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NJT’s “Intimate Apparel” is a Revealing Look at Social Restrictions, Constraints

Posted in St Louis Theatre, tagged , , , , , on February 2, 2017| Leave a Comment »

Intimate Apparel
by Lynn Nottage
Directed by Gary Wayne Barker
New Jewish Theatre
January 26, 2017

Jacqueline Thompson, Julie Layton Photo by Eric Woolsey New Jewish Theatre

Jacqueline Thompson, Julie Layton
Photo by Eric Woolsey
New Jewish Theatre

A corset is an interesting garment. Its function is to be shaping, constraining, but it can also be seen as a thing of beauty and a vessel for self-expression. In Lynn Nottage’s insightful Intimate Apparel,  the playwright explores the ideas of social restriction as well as the desire for self-expression in early 1900’s New York City. Currently on stage at New Jewish Theatre, this play is a well-cast, fascinating exploration.

The play’s central figure is Esther (Jacqueline Thompson), a 35-year-old single African-American woman who lives in a boarding house run by the gossipy but well-meaning Mrs. Dickson (Linda Kennedy) and makes a living sewing “intimate garments” for ladies. Esther can’t read or write, but she is a gifted seamstress with dreams of opening a beauty parlor someday, and who stashes away her earnings in a quilt that she has made. The play is structured in segments that are mostly named after articles of clothing that Esther makes or fabrics that she uses. She purchases the fabrics from Mr. Marks (Jim Butz), a kind Jewish shopkeeper with whom she shares a friendship that, in another time, might blossom into something more. Her main clients that we see are Mrs. Van Buren (Julie Layton), a rich white society woman who’s trapped in a loveless marriage with a man who is increasingly disappointed in her inability to produce children; and her longtime friend Mayme (Andrea Purnell), who works as a prostitute in a nearby saloon and who serves as a contrast to “good girl” Esther, who has played by the rules in hopes of achieving her dream of a good life. There’s also George (Chauncy Thomas), a laborer from Barbados who works on the construction of the Panama Canal, with whom Esther exchanges letters–with the help of Mrs. Van Buren and Mayme, who write them for her–with the increasing promise of marriage. But what happens when George arrives in New York? Will he be the same kind, charming man of his letters or will he be something different? And what of Esther’s dreams, and those of her friends and those around her?

This is an extremely well-structured play with richly developed characters, incisively examining the strict social confines of the society it depicts, and also casting some light on the expectations of women in society even today. Racial, class, and gender differences and expectations are all explored, as well as the ideas of dreams vs. reality and personal agency vs. social pressure. The cast is uniformly strong, led by Thompson in a sensitive, courageous portrayal of the hopeful but conflicted Esther. Her scenes with Butz as the kind Mr. Marks are a highlight, as are her scenes with Purnell’s vivacious but somewhat self-deluded Mayme. There are also strong performances from Kennedy as the nosy but caring Mrs. Dickson, Layton as the refined, confined and curious Mrs. Van Buren, and Thomas in an impressive portrayal of two versions of George–the idealized form in the letters, and the much more complex George of reality.  It’s an extremely cohesive ensemble with no weak links, and all the performers display excellent presence and chemistry in their scenes together.

As is usual for NJT, the technical aspects of this production are truly excellent. The troupe’s black box theatre has been arranged in a more traditional proscenium set-up reflecting its early 20th Century setting, and Peter and Margery Spack’s set is impeccably detailed and period accurate. It’s like being transported to a different time and place, and the well demarcated performance areas also reflect the show’s theme of social restrictions and “boxes” into which its characters are expected to fit, although the staging allows the performers to wander into the other areas of the set as they explore and sometimes test the boundaries into which they are confined. There’s also excellent, meticulously accurate costume design by Michele Friedman Siler and intense, atmospheric lighting by Sean Savoie. This is a play set in very specific time and place, well-represented here and augmented by Amanda Werre’s sound design and era-specific ragtime music.

Intimate Apparel is a play that veers from optimistic to heartbreaking to stubbornly hopeful, and all those aspects are well-portrayed in NJT’s first-rate production. As I’ve come to expect from this ambitious company, excellence is on display here. It’s a journey to the past richly portrayed but also an exploration of some issues that are still very much in the present. It’s an exquisitely constructed theatrical experience.

Jacqueline Thompson, Andrea Purnell Photo by Eric Woolsey New Jewish Theatre

Jacqueline Thompson, Andrea Purnell
Photo by Eric Woolsey
New Jewish Theatre

New Jewish Theatre is presenting Intimate Apparel  at the Marvin & Harlene Wool Studio Theatre at the JCC’s Staenberg Family Complex until February 12, 2017.

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A Profound, Immediately Affecting “Anne Frank” at New Jewish Theatre

Posted in St Louis Theatre, tagged , , , , , , , on October 16, 2014| Leave a Comment »

The Diary of Anne Frank
by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett
Adapted by Wendy Kesselman
Directed by Gary Wayne Barker
New Jewish Theatre
October 12, 2014

Samantha Moyer, Bobby Miller Photo by John Lamb New Jewish Theatre

Samantha Moyer, Bobby Miller
Photo by John Lamb
New Jewish Theatre

It’s easy to think of history with a degree of detachment. World War II was a long time ago, and to many people nowadays, it’s mostly represented by names and dates in books.  As important as the lessons of history can be, especially with events as world-changing and horrific as what transpired in Nazi Germany and its occupied areas, the study of such events can easily become simply academic or philosophical.  New Jewish Theatre, in opening its new season with a profoundly affecting production of The Diary of Anne Frank, has brought history to life in an immediate, intensely compelling way that serves to remind us that these people are not just names in a book. They were real, and what happened to them is not only important to remember–it’s essential.

Anne Frank’s story is a familiar one, with this play having won a Pulitzer Prize and having been filmed several times for both the big and small screens.  This version, a revision of the orginal play that includes more of Anne’s writings, was performed on Broadway in 1997. This is the first time New Jewish Theatre has produced this play, and this remarkable production is definitely worth the wait. Focusing on young Jewish teenager Anne (Samantha Moyer) and her family–father Otto (Bobby Miller), mother Edith (Amy Loui), and older sister Margot (Taylor Steward)–as they hide from oppressive authorities in Nazi-occupied Amsterdam, the play details the struggles of the family as they spend two years living in close quarters in a secret section of Otto Frank’s office building, being aided by sympathetic employees Miep (Stefanie Kluba) and Mr. Kraler (Eric Dean White).  The Franks share their very small space with another family, Mr. and Mrs. Van Daan (Jason Grubbe and Margeau Steinau) and their teenage son, Peter (Leo B. Ramsey), as well as a local dentist, Mr. Dussel (Terry Meddows).  Personality conflicts and a shortage of supplies add to the already tense situation, as everybody waits, hopes and prays for the war to end and the Nazi government to fall so that the Franks and their friends won’t have to hide anymore.

Anyone who knows this story knows how it ends, but the power of this production is in the fact that the suspense is still there.  Even with the inevitability of the conclusion looming, we are left hoping against hope.  The characterizations are so vivid and real, and the staging is immediate and personal, with very little detachment between the audience and the performers.  The incredibly detailed set by Jim Burwinkel creates a believable environment and extends it with little separation from the seating area, allowing us in the audience to feel as if we are in this confined space with the cast, and their sense of confinement is made even more real as a result.  The costumes, designed by Michele Friedman Siler, are also meticulously detailed and period-specific, lending more authenticity to the production along with excellent lighting design by Maureen Berry, sound design by Zoe Sullivan, and properties design by Jenny Smith.  Technically, this is an impressive and immersive production, which adds to the overall drama of the play.

The performances here are very strong all around, with SLU student Samantha Moyer as the bubbly, energetic Anne and veteran performer Bobby Miller as her beloved father Otto forming the emotional center of this production. Their bond is very real and affecting, and their scenes together are among the dramatic highlights. Miller’s last scene is simply devastating.  Loui, as Anne’s concerned mother Edith, and Steward as the more quiet, reflective Margot are also excellent, as are Steinau and Grubbe as the Van Daans.  Meddows brings a lot of sympathy to the nervous Mr. Dussel, and Ramsey is charming as the reserved young Peter, who gradually develops an attraction to Anne. He and Moyer have some very sweet moments together, displaying good chemistry as the smitten young teens.  Kluba and White lend strong support as allies Miep and Mr. Kraler, as well.  This is a top-notch cast, portraying the characters as eminently relatable, bringing an immediate sense of reality and poignancy to the proceedings. We hope the best for these characters as they struggle to stay alive and cling to their hopes and their memories, and as they huddle around the radio listening to news and hoping for freedom. Getting to know these people adds to the inevitable sense of tragedy.

Artistic Director Kathleen Sitzer notes in the program that we will soon be in a time in which the Holocaust will no longer be in living memory, as the last survivors are currently in advanced age.  Soon, nobody will remember this story first-hand, and it falls to books and plays like this to remind us of the horrific reality of the Holocaust and the millions of real people who were affected by it.  Kudos to all involved in this outstanding production for reminding us that these are not just names on a page. Anne Frank, her family and friends were real people facing a real tragedy that needs to be remembered.  This production effectively emphasizes the real human lives involved, and the remarkable young girl at the center at it all who had the heart, courage and wisdom to write down her experiences for generations to remember.  It’s an important production, impressively staged and remarkably realized.

Cast of The Diary of Anne Frank Photo by John Lamb New Jewish Theatre

Cast of The Diary of Anne Frank
Photo by John Lamb
New Jewish Theatre

 

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