Brevard Culture

Melbourne Civic Theatre closes a wildly successful season with dramatic flair thanks to its handsome and artful production of “The Elephant Man.”

Playwright Bernard Pomerance received the 1979 Tony and Drama Desk awards for his riveting, compelling depiction of the final years in the pitiful life of horribly disfigured John Merrick, known simply as the “Elephant Man.”

In it, Dr. Frederick Treves rescues Merrick, who is in his 20s, from life that is nothing more than a freak show existence. Treves brings Merrick to the London Hospital where he is clothed, fed and given, essentially, his first home since the age of three. While there, Merrick forges his first real friendship with a woman — an actress named Mrs. Kendal. It is the tenderness of their friendship that is the most revelatory of Merrick’s true sensitivity and intellectual nature.

While the play deals with the basic plot and characters forming Merrick’s life, it also rises into lofty poetic pursuits. Although he is badly made, Merrick is our lump of clay given breath and voice to question love, human compassion and divine grace.

The real man beneath the monstrous mantel emerges and captivates London society. He is still put on display, albeit in more genteel surroundings. Leaders of culture, medicine, religion and politics find order in his abstract form and each see in him the best of who they are…or, want to be.

Directed by Peg Girard, the high concept production moves like a waltz. All its elements, from sound design and projections of titles, to blocking and lighting cues, move in a tightly choreographed manner.

Adrian Cahill brings an intense dignity to Treves and shows him to be a deeply compassionate individual.

As Merrick, Anthony DeTrano has his best turn yet on stage. He brings tenderness and a true love for his character, which shows in his heartfelt portrayal.

Tracey Thompson carves out an appealing, multi-layered portrayal of Mrs. Kendall. The scenes between Mrs. Kendall and Merrick are rich ones which resonate long after the final curtain. Unfortunately, her final scene with him is a bit rushed. It’s so delectable and human that we want to savor it and Merrick’s reaction. Here is a good spot to slow down that waltz and let the moment really sink in.

Chandler McRee hits the theatrical bullseye as Ross, the freak show barker who employed Merrick. In his final scene, McRee takes his time and reveals the sad, miserable existence Ross has endured. His acting is so vivid you can almost smell the rot gut whiskey Ross drinks. It’s a good dramatic scene that enlivens the production and engages DeTrano in his best work as well.

Scenic designer Gary Postlethwait does a good job with this highly presentational production. His minimal design employs a low wall that curves along the upstage, forming a circus like setting. After the opening, Girard described it as an operating theater. Regardless of the visual metaphor, it serves well the over-arching theme of dissecting Merrick and his keeper, Treves.

Alan Selby’s lighting design is juicily delicious. Warm colors, nice, low lighting, tight spots and rear title projections overall create a very theatrical production. If this is what all those raffles have gone to, then this is money very well spent indeed.

Such a good play to choose for a season closer. It’s taut drama, well told and compelling. The artists involved here all work together to reveal the truths about which Pomerance wrote: That underneath our suave exteriors, we are as misshapen as the monster next door; and that hope and grace can still live beneath the horrors that trap us Certainly good ideas to ponder given the headlines and times we live.

SIDE O’ GRITS: “The Elephant Man” runs through June 17 at Melbourne Civic Theatre, 817 E. Strawbridge Ave., Melbourne. Tickets are $20 general and $18 seniors, military and students. Call 321-723-6935 or visit www.mymct.org.

"Rent" at Surfside Playhouse

Although it opened on Broadway just 16 years ago (where it ran for an astounding 5123 performances), “Rent” has a strong foothold in theater legend. Its creator, Jonathan Larson, reportedly worked seven years on his rock opera. He lived an impoverished life and died of an aortic aneurysm the night before his ground-breaking show previewed at the Off-Broadway New York Theater Workshop. He was almost 36 years old when he died. The Off-Broadway production sold out within 24 hours of opening night (source: pbs.org).

In it, Larson took the theme to Puccini’s “La Boheme” and updated it to reflect the lives of young artists living in New York City’s down and out “Alphabet City.” But Larson layered into this the existentialism embraced by Generation X. Theirs is the reality of HIV and AIDS, drug abuse, poverty, anger and general hopelessness in the face of a nation more prone to point a finger than lend a hand and which did nothing to avert a plague.

Directed by Steven Heron, Surfside’s “Rent” resonates with talent. In fact, you’ll wonder where so many of these fine singers and performers have been hiding.

Here are just some who have been hiding in choruses and ensembles for far too long: TJ Cravens delivers a fine and emotional “One Song Glory,” in which Roger expresses his desire to create at least one wonderful song before he dies. The wonderful Michael Bradley shows an amazing vocal and emotional range as Collins in “I’ll Cover for You,” which he sings in concert with Angel. As the landlord, Benny, Angel Martinez shows some sweet vocal strength.

Cameron Jiminez (oh my heavens, what a find!) takes his third turn in the role of Angel, the flirtatious drag queen who seduces the audience as easily as he seduces Collins. Although this is his first time on stage at Surfside, we’re not putting Jiminez into the category of those who “have been hiding in choruses…” because there’s no way this baby would ever fit into a corner.

Jesse Huffman (Hysterium in “Forum” at Titusville), as Mark, brings humor and a lovable nerdy quality to Mark, the young man who yearns to become a filmmaker. As Maureen, Leyla Erdogan (Molly Malloy in CVP’s “Windy City”) takes a big, savage, wonderful step into theater as art. She is funny and smart and creates unique and memorable stage moments in “Over the Moon.”

And as lawyer Joanne, Evita Clowney stands out, big time in this featured role. As Mimi, Yvana Clowney (Sarah in CVP’s “Ragtime”) dazzles in the quieter numbers like “Goodbye Love,” where you can hear the richness of her voice. Particularly chilling is “Light My Candle,” in which she asks Roger to, literally, light her candle so she can see in the dark. What’s chilling about this is that the lighting of a candle, being passed on, is metaphor for the AIDS epidemic, which has in its grip, the young characters of this story.

Under Heron’s direction, there is a sense of urgency to this musical. It drives with frenzied rock and roll spirit from the first downbeat of its terrific on-stage combo (Leslie Mitchell, Spener Croswell, Jacob Fjeldheim, Scott Herzog, Claudia Thomas and Forrest Mitchell).

The entire cast delivers its iconic number, “Seasons of Love,” with heartfelt emotion as they plea to us to measure our own 525,600 minutes as opportunities for love.

Despite some missed lighting cues and amplification that frequently goes on and off, this show and its performers reveal the true heart of community theater. They do this by making themselves vulnerable, putting it all out there and finding the heart and soul of this powerful musical. Warning: Bring a hanky. There is no way you can watch this production without being sincerely moved.

SIDE O’ GRITS: “Rent” through May 6 at Surfside Playhouse, 301 Ramp Road, Cocoa Beach. It performs 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays. Tickets are $20 for adults, $18 for seniors and active military, $15 for students. Be advised that there is strong language and sexual content. Call 321-783-3127 or visit www.surfsideplayers.com.

" Bridge & Tunnel" with Karen Stephens

Written by Sarah Jones, “Bridge & Tunnel” is a pastiche of the rich multiculturalism living and breathing in New York City. In it, one woman (here, an oh-so-wonderful Karen Stephens) brings to the stage the voices of 14 distinctly different but all acutely articulate people. They have met under a sign that reads: “I.A.M.A.P.O.E.T.T.O.O” — Immigrant and Multiculturalist American Poets or Enthusiasts Traveling Toward Optimistic Openness.

The location is a subterranean spot in South Queens, near JFK airport. Each character comes to the stage and reveals truths about their lives that make you giggle, nod in understanding or even cry in empathy for their human plight.

When looking at the form and content of the play, having one woman become all these characters speaks to the shared realities — the many voices in one humanity. Moreover, director/designer Allen Cornell uses the motif of “foundation” in this show. Bricks, columns and substructure form the background and sides. The unmistakable metaphor here speaks to the immigrant as laying America’s foundation.

But it is the inhabitants of the stage which resonate. And Stephens does that with terrific talent and ability. She adroitly takes the audience into the lives of a wide range of American immigrants. In each brief portrait (the show runs, uninterrupted for 85 minutes), she brings deep, well rounded respect. We get to know each character intimately.

It begins with Muhammad Ali, the thumbs-up optimistic Pakistani host who, we quickly learn, will probably be deported after having been a solid American citizen for more than 20 years. He understands the Homeland Security worry, he says, but do not worry, he tells his wife, America is good and just. But we fear bad news awaits him the next day.

He introduces the first poet, Lorraine Levine, a Jewish woman who immigrated from Lithuania in the ’30s. She recounts times when she dealt with bigotry and then reads her sardonic poem, “No, really, please don’t get up.” Stephens then turns into an angry young Vietnamese man, then a sweet Jamaican woman whose hysterical poem recounts the frigid day she moved to New York. Then there is Juan Marin, a union organizer who now uses a wheelchair. “The scaffold wasn’t strong enough to hold up all that immigrant hope,” he says.

There are more, including a little 11 year-old girl who delights in her poem about growing up, a Chinese American woman who learns to accept her daughter’s lesbianism and a Haitian woman whose poem “God Bless America,” praises America for its big heart.

Indeed, all this introspection on the part of these characters evokes the same in the audience. It makes you wonder how many more poems we might all hear that speak to our shared deeper longings, fears, frustrations, hopes.

Riverside’s audiences responded enthusiastically to the show’s opening night. That should be a good, positive cue to Cornell that they want more. Moving an audience is always the mark of good drama, well written and well done.

Photo by Dusty Terrell

SIDE O’ GRITS: “Bridge & Tunnel” runs through April 29 at Riverside Theatre, 3250 Riverside Drive, Vero Beach. Curtain is 8 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, 2 p.m. Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday. Tickets are $40. Call 772-231-6990 or visit www.riversidetheatre.com.

Riverside Theatre's "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum"

This is led by director James Brennan, whose credits include Broadway, Off-Broadway, Paper Mill Playhouse, Goodspeed and more. Inspired by the show’s name, Brennan embroiders Riverside’s production with rich vaudeville schtick delivered by one of the best casts you will ever see assembled on stage at one time — whether it’s in these latitudes or on Broadway.

Set one day in ancient Rome, the storyline revolves around the conniving slave Pseudolus. In order to win his freedom, Pseudolus plots to bring together Hero, his master’s son, and the virgin next door, Philia. However, the house next door is a brothel and Philia has been promised to victorious Roman soldier, Miles Gloriosus.

Giving birth to this face-paced musical comedy was the great team of librettists Burt Shevelove and Larry Gelbart and composer/lyricist Stephen Sondheim. After its 1962 Broadway debut, the show has had two Broadway revivals — 1972 and 1996.

Riverside’s cast lives up well to the storied history of comic actors who have brought this show to life, including Zero Mostel, Phil Silvers, Dick Shawn, Jack Gilford and Nathan Lane.

Here, it is led by Dana Snyder, who was Max Bialystock in Riverside’s production of “The Producers” earlier this season. Although Snyder has his own understated, droll style (and, oh my what a rim-shot funny fake death scene), you can’t help but think Phil Silvers when watching his Pseudolus. In a way, his is a delicious homage to theater legend which has that Silvers turned down the role of Pseudolus for the original Broadway production because of his glasses. (Later, Silvers was Pseudolus for the 1972 production but was replaced after suffering a stroke.)

While Snyder has the lead, there is no one star in this production. Each member of this professional cast, many with Broadway and off-Broadway credits, shines brilliantly.

Stephen Berger breathes fun and exquisite timing into hen-pecked husband Senex. Riverside veteran Ron Wisniski brings his trademark double-take high energy and comic know-how to his portrayal of brothel owner Marcus Lycus. And what a find in Patrick Richwood, who, as head slave Hysterium, reveals uncommon talent and skill in physical comedy. This threesome, along with Snyder, serve up a great treat in the number “Everybody Ought to Have a Maid.”

Skyler Adams and Kimberly Doreen Burns as Hero and Philia score big in their duet, “Lovely,” in which Philia sings how she can do nothing but be lovely.

Director Brennan adds to broad comedy with his three Proteans — Nikko Kimzin, Xander Chauney and Ryan Dietz. They are the comic trio backing up the action. At one point, they are squealing Eunuchs and another, bumbling Roman Soldiers. They also support the prologue in the funniest opening number this reviewer has ever seen.

As Senex’s overbearing wife, Domina, you’ll see stage power in Karen Murphy (the understudy for Angela Lansbury in Broadway’s “A Little Night Music”).

Jarid Faubel hits the right pompous notes as Miles Gloriosus and veteran actor Chet Carlin is probably the goofiest Eronius you’ll ever see. Carlin’s walk-ons are the stuff that others will want to imitate.

The sexy courtesans fleshing out the comedy include Purdie Baumann, Jessica Bircann, Judy Cornell, Bethany Flora, Caitlin McGinty and Kelly Sheerins.

With both large gesture and smart attention to detail, scenic designer Ray Klausen, provides a perfect setting for all the fun. Klausen has impressive credits including Broadway, television, and even designing for the Tony Awards show.

Lighting designer Eric Haugen is known primarily by Central Florida theater goers as the artist behind Orlando Shakespeare Theatre’s gorgeous lighting designs. Here, his lighting design breathes and works in smart concert with Klausen’s scenic design.

Musical director Ken Clifton leads a flawless orchestra. He leads both his players and the cast in music that lingers with you days later.

Woah. Wait a minute. This is Vero Beach? I thought I was just getting a slice at Times Square. There are so many pros in this show you’ll feel transported. This is, simply, one of the funniest and best-produced musical comedies this reviewer has ever seen. It’s designed and served up by pros with extensive experience and know-how. These guys have been around the block, more than once. And it shows. Big time.

Photo by Rob Downey. Left to right, Dana Snyder, Chet Carlin and Patrick Richwood.

SIDE O’ GRITS: “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum” runs through May 6 at Riverside Theatre, 3250 Riverside Park Drive, Vero Beach. Curtain times vary. Call 772-231-6990 or visit www.riversidetheatre.com.