Carla Maria Verdino-Süllwold - Page 4

Maine State Music Theatre opened its Theatre for Young Audiences series with a delightful, energetic, and amusing production of Robin and Clark’s JACK AND THE BEANSTALK that drew a crowd of enthusiastic youngsters, their teachers, parents, and grandparents for the four performances on June 13.

What did our critic think of MSMT's Sound of Music? What happens when one of the most beloved musicals in the canon comes to the stage at the very point in time when history and a harsh pandemic seem to intersect with an iconic story?

“Marc Robin ‘s vision for this production of THE SOUND OF MUSIC is that of a joyful, hopeful child,” says Hanley Smith, the actress who makes her debut as Maria von Trapp this week as Maine State Music Theatre kicks off its “Revival Season.” Describing the lens through which director/choreographer Robin views the piece, she continues, “This production comes from a very joyful, youthful place at the same time that there is an awareness of the weight and import of the story. In the face of deep darkness in the world, the light becomes all the brighter. Marc knows how to create both those worlds and the battle between them and make you really want the light to win. And you believe it CAN win. And that is not naïveté; that is an act of courage.”

Portland Stage closes its 2021-2022 season with a new play with music that is really a chamber opera, SABINA, about the pioneer in psychoanalysis, the muse and lover of Carl Jung and colleague of Sigmund Freud, Sabina Spielrein. Sabina’s story from Jung’s catatonic patient to medical student and respected doctor in the turbulent years leading up to WWII is a fascinating one, filled with history and hope.

Portland’s Good Theater’s final offering of its nineteenth season is a deliciously zany and stylish production of Peter Kellogg and David Friedman’s 2017 musical comedy, DESPERATE MEASURES, a witty, saucy sendup of Shakespeare’s MEASURE FOR MEASURE set in the Wild West. Directed by Brian P. Allen and Cary Libkin with musical staging by Raymond Marc Dumont, the comedy written in rhyming verse is a rollicking, madcap adventure from start to finish.

The Public Theatre’s latest offering is a poignant, quirky romantic comedy that becomes a heartwarming pas de deux between its injured dancer heroine and a geoscientist with Asperger’s Syndrome, who enlists her help not only in learning to dance, but also in exploring, what for him, is the uncharted territory of human friendship and intimacy. Mark St. Germain’s 2014 two-character, seventy-five minute play dances with an ironic humor, fast repartee, unexpected revelations that evolve from the relationship of this mismatched pair, and an ending that is hopeful in its transformative inner reality.

The Good Theater’s latest offering, SIGNIFICANT OTHER, is an edgy, quirky, bittersweet look at the complexities and pitfalls of modern love and friendship, seen from the perspective of a quartet of marriage-age friends, who try to navigate this rocky road as best they can. Told with humor and compassion, Harmon’s play, examines the yearnings, strivings, and conflicts that befall the heart.

The Maine premiere of George Eastman’s HARRY TOWNSEND’s LAST STAND is a sad, sweet, sassy rumination on aging and the fragile communications between father and son as they navigate this daunting process. Despite its poignant and serious underpinnings, Eastman’s play succeeds because of its unsparing humor, uncanny ear for authentic dialogue, the trim direction of Brian P. Allen, and the strong performances of the Good Theater’s stars, Will Rhys and James Noel Hoban.

In the midst of the winter doldrums and yet another pandemic surge, Maine's theatre scene is experiencing a hiatus. Several companies have been forced to cancel shows or postpone openings, and all are struggling mightily to fulfill their programming plans and bring Mainers the live theatre they crave.

Forced to cancel its holiday production of Dickens’ A CHRISTMAS CAROL because of Covid issues, Portland Stage has forged ahead and created a digital-on-demand version to bring some cheer to audiences. The streamlined and re-imagined production, directed by Sally Wood. is captured effectively in Mical Huston’s video editing and serves to keep the Christmas message of this perennial favorite alive.

Born out of pandemic necessity, the recently formed Isle Theater Company premiered a video-on-demand version of their new play, DO NOT MOVE STONES, a modern retelling of Aeschylus’ THE SUPPLIANTS. Beautifully filmed in the breathtaking outdoor setting of the rock quarry on Deer Isle, this modern version of an ancient classic demonstrates both the uncanny relevance of Aeschylus’ original and the compelling issues its story and characters present for a 21st century. Written and directed by Marvin Merritt IV and Anna Fitzgerald, DO NOT MOVE STONES tells the story of fifty sisters – intended as unwilling brides for their cousins to fulfill a contract based on property issues – who flee from the altar and sail to the rocky coast of Maine where they seek asylum at the home of Piero and his family, only to be pursued by their grooms. There, three of the sisters negotiate for their future, as all the nine characters come to reassess their perspectives and values.

The Good Theater reopened its doors last night with a breathtakingly stunning world premiere of Rob Urbinati’s new play LADY SUSAN, directed by Brian P. Allen and James Noel Hoban. Taking its inspiration from Jane Austen, this 21st century work has all the eloquence of an early 19th century classic, as it explores the intricate, timeless mating games that seem as relevant today as they did more than two hundred years ago.

The Public Theatre’s production of Dan Clancy’s MIDDLETOWN proves a clever way to maneuver the company back into production after the pandemic pause. The four-character comedy-drama, designed to be performed without scenery or costumes by actors who read from scripts at podiums, requires a minimalist production and asks the audience to concentrate only on the characters’ journey from kindergarten to old age. That story, as directed by Janet Mitchko, is sweetly funny and warmly heartfelt.

“It all began with Wizard of Oz at Maine State Music Theatre,” confides ten-year-old Lily Philbrook. “That was the show where I found my real passion for theatre. It was a huge show and working with Marc [Robin] and everyone at MSMT was an amazing experience.” In those performances, for Lily Philbrook, a dream was born- one that would carry her over her own rainbow – to performing on stages at leading regional theatres.

BWW Review: A Refreshing Romp: MSMT’s ROCKY HORROR SHOW at Cadenza MSMT returned to Freeport’s Cadenza last night for a three-show run of the 1973 Richard O’Brien cult classic, The ROCKY HORROR SHOW. Presented to a sold-out house by the Fellowship Performers, the theatre’s young artists, the colorful, outrageous, wild and wickedly funny send-up of science fiction, horror movies, and punk rock culture proved to be a refreshing romp for artists and audience.

In this last week of Maine State Music Theatre’s 2021 season, despite having to cancel several productions due to Covid-related issues, the 63-year-old company demonstrated its continued vitality and commitment to delivering the best in musical theatre. With two performances, held at Freeport’s Cadenza, MSMT showcased fourteen young professionals who, together with Music Director Ben McNaboe, created one of the most vibrant cabaret evenings in recent memory. The generous more than 90-minute program featured ta varied repertoire ranging from Broadway classics to more recent shows, to pop covers in a series of ensembles, duets, and solos. The program was crafted by McNaboe, who did all the vocal coaching and led the evening from the grand piano, where he demonstrated his own versatility and impressive musicianship.

In the final moments of the 2005 hit musical JERSEY BOYS, Frankie Valli muses, “We were all just chasing the music.” For those fans of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons and the Bob Gaudio/Bob Crewe/Marshall Brickman & Rick Elice show about the group’s rise to fame and artistic and personal struggles, the “chase” need take them no farther than Westbrook Performing Arts Center where Maine State Music Theatre has mounted a spectacular production that is a must-see. In their only main stage show of the 2021 season, MSMT’s JERSEY BOYS, directed by Mark Martino and choreographed by Kenny Ingram, is a joyous, boisterous, dazzling, powerful, incisive, edgy and ultimately uplifting story that rivets from start to finish.

Last seen in 2017 when she wowed audiences in ALWAYS, PATSY CLINE, and then again for a single knockout number in the MSMT Gala 60th Anniversary Concert in 2018, Christine Mild returned to the Pickard stage this week for three solo concerts in which she unleashed the power and splendor of her voice and the sheer dazzling dynamism of her stage presence. In a generous, two-hour evening, entitled CHRISTINE & PATSY TOGETHER AGAIN in honor of its core sets, Christine Mild, sang the music of Patsy Cline, Dolly Parton, Whitney Houston, Linda Ronstadt, and Patti LaBelle, paying tribute to these iconic legends at the same time she puts her own highly original stamp on each song.

The David Lindsay-Abaire-Jeanine Tesori musical, SHREK, JR. with its joyous celebration of difference and diversity is a perfect theatrical experience for young audiences, and MSMT’s latest production is filled with exuberance, fantasy and fun. Directed by Betsy Puelle and performed by a cast of young artists, this twisted fairytale filled with zany characters and storybook favorites takes the audience on a journey to find that “big, bright, beautiful world out there.”

In its first season after the pandemic, MSMT has offered many noteworthy moments of memory, but perhaps few as thrilling as this tribute concert to two of the greatest names in popular music of the late 20th century: Billy Joel and Elton John. In a spectacular musical evening that focuses largely on the seminal recordings made by these two legends in the 1970s, PIANO MEN celebrates two artists born on opposite sides of the Pond, whose albums from that period featured not only classic rock arrangements, but also lush, full-scale orchestrations. MSMT conjures up the ambiance with Joe Boucher’s dazzling four- piece rock band partnered by the breathtakingly grand twenty-piece MSMT orchestra under the impressive baton of Ben McNaboe.