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ON CT & NY THEATREBy Marlene S. Gaylinn

CT Critics Circle / ctcritics.org September/2013

OBLIVIONWestport Country Playhouse

Each season, Artistic Director, Mark Lamos,

likes to include at least one new work. This

time he has chosen a play about an American

family that is very hard to describe.At first impression, Oblivion appears to focus

on a rebellious teenager and her open-minded

parents. Their defiant daughter is also a free-

thinker, but she chooses to follow a different

path.Simply put, the play begins with a conflict,

peaks with a surprise revelation, and ends in akind of uncertain harmony. Uncertain is the

key word, for there seems to be little purpose to

what we have just seen because of plays abruptending. We are literally left in the dark --

expecting to learn whats going to happen to this

family next week. This formula reminds us of

an All In the Family TV episode which isnot surprising, as Menschs daytime job is

writing for sit-coms.But wait, thats not the whole story. Beneath

the plays simple framework, theres another

level of expression to be considered. Its

Menschs philosophical ideas, sharp wit, and her

use of symbolism that appears to be the mostimportant factor. If you get at this, youre okay.

If not, its the writer that has taken on too much

of a challenge.Whatever you think about the plays structure

and meaning, its certain that Carley Mensch

takes this opportunity to tackle topics that maybe too sensitive to discuss in mixed company.In fact, her characters are pretty blunt when they

poke fun at the origins of religion. She targets

hypocrisy, and the wide spread unquestioning ofout-dated dogmas. The Mormons get a

particular beating.

Well, criticizing religion is usually considered

taboo -- even for outspoken, open-minded,Westportersa community of special folks who

never squirm with embarrassment overcontroversial subjects. However, under Mark

Brokaws careful direction, we understand the

characters and therefore their irreverent puns

elicit lots of laughter throughout the production.Neil Patels set resembles a place of worship

because of its high ceiling, enormous windows

and colored, glass panes. At the same time, this

large, living space could be considered a

converted, warehouse loft. In any event, we getthe feeling that what were seeing is a

microcosm of society. With a minimum ofprops and creative lighting by Japhy Weideman,

the setting magically serves as a family room,

library, office, dining area and laundry.Kathie Broad plays the rebellious teenager,

Julie. Shes disrespectful, her words are cold

and sharp, and her insults sting like a bee.

Aidan Kunze, Julies friend, is an Asian-Baptistnamed Bernard. Like the saintly dog, he

follows Julies lead. Bernards ambition is tobecome a filmmaker. At times, Bernard alsoserves as the plays narrator and Menschs

thoughts are mostly expressed through Kunzes

admirably rendered soliloquies.

Johanna Day and Reg Rogers are convincing intheir roles as hypocritical parents whose open

minded views suddenly change when it

concerns their own daughter. Here, theplaywright makes it clear that these characters

are actually conforming elitists, bound by the

same prejudices of the people they ridicule.When Julie arrives on the scene, aftermysteriously spending a night away from home,

the parents naturally fear the worst -- that their

daughter is in serious trouble.Because of Julies evasiveness, protective

instincts emerge, the defiant teenager issues

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nasty insults, and the parents counter with

lectures about lying.Dixon underhandedly discovers that Julie

actually attended a religious retreat with

Bernard and the daughter finally admits that she

accepted Jesus as her savior (that is, for thetime-being)and so much for open-

mindedness.

Never the less, the parents eventually simmerdown (we dont know why) and their fickle

daughter returns to the family fold (for

whatever reason you care to invent). Thats it!If anyone has the ambition to make sense of all

thisperhaps its the fact that life does not have

to make sense. Its like the familys viewing

Bernards symbolic, movie-making at the playsend. We continue to create our own fairy tales,

desperately hoping that the film doesnt split

during the best parts, and that the show will go

on forever.To sum up, this is an unconventional play about

ideas rather than individual characters. There

are no universal truths that can be agreed upon,and therefore the playwright cannot lead us

anywhereso be prepared to leave unsatisfied.

Plays to Sept. 8 203-227-4177

OLIVER

Westchester Broadway Theatre, Elmsford, NY

The musical Oliver, contains some wonderfulmusic and lyrics by Lionel Bart. Add some

professional actors, a large cast of children fromStanding Ovation Studios (SOS), headed by

Director/Producer, John Fahnelli and his wife

Nannette (both have tons of experience working

with young people) and Westchester BroadwayTheatre (WBT) has another successful show.

Oliver is based on Oliver Twist, a Charles

Dickens book about a runaway orphan whoencounters some interesting adventures and a

very hard life among the street-smart charactersof London. Like many of Dickenss works,

there are many characters and sub-plots thateventually fit together like pieces of a jigsaw

puzzle at the end.

Unfortunately, when the novel is condensedinto a musical, some important details suffer.

For example, in Oliver the musical, we dont

learn much about Englands IndustrialRevolution -- how the changes affected society,

and what motivated each of the characters to

behave the way they did. Without reading thebook, we cannot possibly understand the

attitudes and complex family relationships of

Olivers wealthy patrons with whom he

eventually finds happiness.While the musical lacks cohesiveness, its main

purpose is to entertain. In that sense, it cannot

be denied that this show is packed withwonderful songs, lots of dancing, a gang of

precocious children plus a few villains. Taken as

pure entertainment, Oliver at WBT is loads offun for folks of all ages.

Of the many productions weve seen, Brandon

Singel, a cute 6th

grader at LMK Middle School,

in Harrison, NY, is most outstanding in the titlerole. Trained by SOS, hes spunky, moves well,

and has a clear, strong voice. His sweet,

innocent face and tender rendition of Where is

Love, will surely move you.John Anthony Lopez as Fagin, is the

appropriate father figure to his gang of starving,

street orphans. He adds cartoon like amusementto the song and dance numbers Pick a Pocket

or Two, and Reviewing the Situation, but

does not become a fully developed character.There s a lot of action going on at the same

time and Fagins cultural background -- why he

became trapped by circumstances and created

his family of boys, is glossed over in favor of

fun and frolic.John Treacy Egan is the sinister, orphanage

director, Mr. Bumble, and Regina Singel aptlyplays his friend, the Widow Corney. Lucy

Braid powerfully sings her heart out as

Nancy, in the haunting, As Long As He

Needs Me. Her lover is Brian Krinsky, whoplays a very cruel Bill Sykes. Christina

Tompkins and John Caldara make a lively pair

of funeral directors and Todd Ritch plays theArtful Dodger with charming finesse. Carrie

Silvernail is responsible for the livelychoreography and the orchestra is under the

direction of Kurt Kelly.While the opening number in Oliver is

Food, Glorious Food, which turns out to be

gruel at the orphanage -- you can be assuredthat the menu of this dinner theatre does contain

many glorious choices.

Plays to Sept. 8 914-592-2225Followed by Kiss Me Kate Sept. 12-Nov. 3