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Rave and Pan: May 2015

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Saturday, May 23, 2015. Dontrell, Who Kissed the Sea, Cleveland Public Theatre. Kalim Hill as Dontrell). Family legacy is a biggie for some clans, especially when their history has been as tortured as it has been for African-Americans. The result of this can be seen in most cities and towns in America, where some young black men clearly have a hard time connecting to the more inspiring stories of their forebears. That is not the problem for the title character in Dontrell, Who Kissed the Sea. Back at hom...

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Rave and Pan: July 2015

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Saturday, July 11, 2015. Camelot, Mercury Theatre Company. Around the year 1960, two Camelots opened to acclaim on the east coast: one in Washington DC and the other on Broadway. While JFK and family were getting ensconced in the White House and beginning to create their heralded “Camelot era,” the Lerner and Lowe production of Camelot. Was raising the curtain in New York City. This tuneful show, based on the King Arthur legend and not nearly as funny as Spamalot,. With most of the action centered on a r...

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Rave and Pan: Treasure Island, Oberlin Summer Theater Festival

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Sunday, July 5, 2015. Treasure Island, Oberlin Summer Theater Festival. If Robert Louis Stevenson never imagined his novel, about an innkeeper’s son who happens upon a map of buried treasure, as a stage play, he certainly should have. Because this production mounted by the Oberlin Summer Theater Festival earns a rating of “ARRR” for maximum pirate-y swashbuckling. As adapted by Ken Ludwig ( Lend Me a Tenor, Moon Over Buffalo. Among the very capable cast are David Bugher as the impulsive Squire Trelawney,...

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Rave and Pan: August 2014

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Sunday, August 10, 2014. Henry IV, Part I, Ohio Shakespeare Festival. It’s hard for a father to watch an apparently wayward son find his way in life, and that parental angst forms the personal core of the “history play” Henry IV, Part One. Is a long play loaded with all kinds of political details, but as usual the talented Ohio Shakespeare Festival company manages to sort it all out. In the highlight role of Falstaff, director Terry Burgler offers a mostly comfortable version of this boozy whore hound&#4...

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Rave and Pan: A Little Night Music, Porthouse Theatre

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Saturday, June 20, 2015. A Little Night Music, Porthouse Theatre. Left to right: Fabio Polanco as Fredrik, Terri J. Kent as Desiree and Jim Weaver as Count Carl-Magnus.). There’s a lot of hanky-panky going on in this lush Stephen Sondheim musical, with an elegant and witty book by Hugh Wheeler. Set in Sweden around the turn of the 20. Century, it’s surprising that all these cool Nordic types are so hot to trot given the perpetual summer sun at this elevated latitude. Standouts in the cast include Fabio P...

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Rave and Pan: October 2014

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Wednesday, October 15, 2014. Title of show], Beck Center. From left: Pat Miller, Caitlin Elizabeth Reilly, Amiee Collier and Will Sanborn). Those well-meaning copywriters were sent back to their cubicles with their Dixon Ticonderogas tucked between their legs, because that is a too-easy, too-facile way to write an engaging spot. The same, it turns out, is true for the theatrical version of that gambit, which is [title of show]. Now at Beck Center. No doubt, there were howls of laughter eight years ago as...

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Rave and Pan: June 2015

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Sunday, June 21, 2015. Godspell, Cain Park. This show, consisting of biblical parables and the lyrics of hymns set to rock and pop melodies, has been around for almost half a century. Still, many people never tire of it, probably because of the infectious energy with which it is usually presented. Not literally, of course.) This staging of Godspell. At Cain Park’s Alma Theatre offers plenty of enjoyment along with the bite-size nuggets of behavior tips gleaned from the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. Among ...

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Rave and Pan: Triassic Parq, Blank Canvas Theatre

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Wednesday, June 17, 2015. Triassic Parq, Blank Canvas Theatre. There are two things most young boys are immensely interested in: dinosaurs and their own penises. And evidently, most males never completely lose their focus on those two objects of affection. This is especially true with Triassic Parq, the Musical. Now at Blank Canvas Theatre. This almost-parody of the Jurassic Park. But oddly enough, the whole enterprise loses some steam when it ventures into deep thinking. The dino leader, Velocirapto...

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Rave and Pan: September 2014

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Tuesday, September 23, 2014. Loki and Lucy, Talespinner Children’s Theatre. Bryan Ritchey as Loki and Melissa T. Crum as Lucy). It’s always best if a children’s theater piece is also amusing to the adults who are accompanying the little ones. After all, they deserve something for bringing the tykes to the show, paying for their tickets, and keeping track of their shoes, etc. Bryan Ritchey as the tree-man Loki is remarkably agile, entirely personable, and quite a kidder: “Pull my finger! 8221; And Melissa...

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Rave and Pan: Camelot, Mercury Theatre Company

http://raveandpan.blogspot.com/2015/07/camelot-mercury-theatre-company.html

Saturday, July 11, 2015. Camelot, Mercury Theatre Company. Around the year 1960, two Camelots opened to acclaim on the east coast: one in Washington DC and the other on Broadway. While JFK and family were getting ensconced in the White House and beginning to create their heralded “Camelot era,” the Lerner and Lowe production of Camelot. Was raising the curtain in New York City. This tuneful show, based on the King Arthur legend and not nearly as funny as Spamalot,. With most of the action centered on a r...