Dear Baseball - A Plea from Guest Blogger Jesse Skaff

A few days before baseball fans got the long-awaited news that there would be a MLB season after all - albeit a truncated one - my friend, Jesse Skaff, penned a heartfelt plea to resolve the impasse that had kept players and owners from agreeing to play ball. I was so moved by reading Jesse's letter that I asked his permission to share it with readers of The White Rhino Report.

It is appropriate that our friendship got its start at a Red Sox game in the "lyric little bandbox of a ballpark" known as Fenway Park. Jesse and his father were seated behind me in Section 21 of the grandstands, directly behind home plate, but a few rows above the box seats. I overheard the father and son mention "The Governors Academy" (formerly Governor Dummer Academy), my alma mater. We quickly discovered that we were fellow alumni separated by a couple of generations. And an enduring friendship was born.

Enjoy Jesse's carefully reasoned and impassioned plea to "PLAY BALL"!

@ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @

Dear Baseball,

As a lifelong, diehard baseball fan, please hear me. Please hear us: the fans. We want baseball. The players want baseball. America needs baseball.

It is no secret that these past 11½ weeks of stalemate are tainting and tarnishing the reputation of Baseball as an institution and league and it is reaching a point of no return. Do you not see the articles – do you not hear the conversations – about people wondering aloud, “would I really miss baseball?” The fact that this is even a remote consideration breaks my heart. It breaks the hearts of the fans – the civilians who spend hard-earned paychecks at your ballparks and stadiums, on your concessions, on jerseys and memorabilia of their children’s favorite player. You have perpetually raised ticket prices and we continue to show up; you have traded away our favorite players and we continue to show up.

You had a chance to be the only sport this summer and command the undivided attention of the sports world; you bungled it. Now, your best chance is to share screen time with two other major sports amidst their playoffs, then compete your end of season with the start of the NFL season. Baseball has traditional, niche viewership and is already struggling to attract a younger, broader audience. In a world where immediate satisfaction is king and the average attention span is decreasing with everything at our fingertips, you are gravely hurting your allure by prolonging the fussing and fighting.

With all the young talent in the game, you are allowing – throwing away even – the excitement brought to us by players like Ronald Acuña, Christian Yelich, and Javy Baez. Without baseball, this is a wasted year of supreme talent.

Dear Commissioner Manfred,

The longer this sad saga continues, the greater the mistrust between the MLB and MLBPA, and the more your following will deteriorate. You have likely already alienated and lost the fans that have thought to themselves, “I’ve been fine thus far without baseball, I don’t really care if they resume.” Do you want to risk losing the casual fans that want to watch, but will abandon the sport for others if it does not come back? And worst of all, do you really want to lose the fans who have stood by the game and wish every night that there was baseball on? It’s no secret that fan engagement and declining viewership – not so long ago the primary concern of the league – are still existential issues to the game.

Don’t take us for granted. Please hear us. We love this game and we want it back.

You may say, “well the fans aren’t in on the negotiations. They don’t know about the business of the game,” and to that we say “fair.” But much has been reported on and disclosed about the abomination that has become these negotiations dare I call them. It is very clear this is about billionaires refusing to compromise with millionaires. We understand the sunk costs already and that players are risking their health for smaller paychecks. We understand the CBA of 2021 is at the forefront of everyone’s mind. And we realize, just like you do, that the crux of this issue is principal. Principal! It is easy for both sides to hardline in this instance, to set themselves up for next year’s negotiations, call the other side’s bluffs, or simply not play. But then what are you negotiating for next year? A damaged game with unrest and mistrust.

You had the stage to yourselves and a monumental opportunity to show unity. For a game that the players insist they would play for free; for a game that they love because they get to compete like they are kids again; for a game that provides them the chance to win that so-called “piece of metal” that grown men cry for and play through pain for and spend 81 days on the road away from their families for. Everyone in 2020 is losing, and the biggest problem here is that Baseball wants to win. Yet the biggest loser here is the game itself: baseball.

Dear Owners,

You are the problem, not the solution. You are not the reason we fans tune in to watch on tv (with whose networks you sign billion dollar contracts); you are not the reason we buy tickets to buy expensive concessions with pay money that we subconsciously know is going back into your pockets. Please put your rigid frugality aside; you are billionaires controlling a $10 billion industry of a kid’s game.

The façade you’ve put up about cost saving, furloughing employees, and cutting minor leaguers is condemnable and ugly. We are loyal but we are not stupid. These opaque moves are a bad look for you, your franchises, and for Baseball. Billionaires taking morally questionable action to save a few bucks is unattractive from every optical angle. And yet the players – your employees – bailed you out because they knew it was the right thing to do.

Just this once, lead with your morals not your wallets. Because if you do, baseball will return and we will return. The money will be back inevitably, and because we are forgiving and we root for the names on the front AND the back, we will continue to be your consumers. Please find solace in that.

Dear Players,

From an outsider’s perspective we understand your grievance. We blame the owners too. But please try to channel your 12 year old selves. We understand the business behind the 2021 CBA and creating solid footing for next year’s negotiations. We understand you have principles with which you base your negotiations. But please try to find it in yourselves as the MLBPA to find space to negotiate where you can. You are the reason we watch. You are the childhood heroes. And you are the lucky ones. Please just keep us in mind and remember your Little League days. Remember that baseball is more far reaching and life changing than Baseball.

Dear fellow fans and baseball community,

The previous paragraphs may not directly represent your feelings or opinions, but I think it is safe to say we all want baseball back. I share your disappointment and I empathize in feeling the daily absence of our game. But I ask you to stick it out. Don’t give up on America’s Pastime. Don’t turn your back on the foundational pillar of American sports that has already withstood and survived two World Wars, a pandemic, and has only struck out once. As fans, let’s appreciate that succeeding 3/10 times in baseball is being great, so even if Baseball is slumping right now, let’s cheer it on and back it until it breaks out with a ringing single up the middle.

Dear baseball,

Please come back. Soon.

Loyally,

The Fans

Written by Jesse Skaff 6/16/2020

jskaff516@gmail.com

Thanks, Jesse.

Go Sox!

Al

Greater Boston Stage Company Presents "She Loves Me" - The Sweet Smell of Success in Stoneham Square

The setting of "She Loves Me" is an upscale parfumerie in pre-war Budapest, Maraczek's shop. The story line is a familiar one. Think of the film "You've Got Mail" or "The Shop Around The Corner." Two lonely singles reach out through anonymous correspondence and fall in love with the idea of the person they are imagining. Then they meet, and complications ensue. Before the days of eHarmony and Tinder, there were organizations called Lonely Hearts Clubs (even before Sargeant Pepper!). Individuals would be matched blindly with someone of the opposite sex with whom they would begin a correspondence. Amalia Balash (Jennifer Ellis) and Georg Nowack (Sam Simahk) have been matched, and have become smitten with the literary personas of one another.

I think I have figured out the recipe that Director Ilyse Robbins used in assembling this amazing cast to tell this simple and intimate story. Here it is:

• Crash the closing night cast party of the recent Huntington Theatre smash hit "Merrily We Roll Along."
• Throw a lassoo around some of Boston's best talent, including Jen Ellis, Aimee Doherty, Robert Saoud, Bransen Gates, and Music Director Matt Stern.
• Toss them in a van, and drive north on I-93, exiting at Montvale Avenue.
• Drop them off at the stage door of The Boston Stage Company.
• Induce Sam Simahk to return home to Boston after completing a year on the road in the National Tour of "The King and I."
• Cast as Arpad Brendan Callahan, one of the most talented high school actors working in Boston who has trained with Greater Boston Stage Company.
• Hold auditions to fill in the rest of the roles with great triple threat singers, dancers,and actors.
• Start rehearsals.
• Set them free to tell this delightful story.

"She Loves Me" appeared briefly on Broadway in 1963 starring the late Barbara Cooke. It had a short run, partly because this is a delicate little music box of a musical, and audiences were buying tickets to bigger productions like "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum," and "Oliver." Ilyse Robbins has always loved this show, ever since being cast in it as her first Actors' Equity gig. She has done us the favor of reviving the show, and opening up the little music box for us to listen to the delicate notes, and take in the fragrence of a story well told.

The book for this show is by Joe Masteroff, adapted from a play by Miklos Laszio. Music is by Jerry Bock, and Lyrics by Sheldon Harnick. For this production, the wonderful foldout Scenic Design is by Brynna Bloomfield, effective and elegant period Costume Design is by Gail Astrid Buckley, mood-setting Lighting Design is by Jeff Adelberg, and appropriate ambient Sound Design is by John Stone.  As written, this story is strong in that it allows each character to reveal who they are through action, dialogue, and song or dance.

What makes this production one that you will not want to miss is the skillfully directed cast. Here are some of the things that stood out for me:

• Jen Ellis, Jen Ellis, Jen Ellis. Her interpretation of Amalia shows us a woman who is desperate for a job, opportunistic, linguistically sophisticated, vulnerable, saucy, lonely, fearful, sometimes petty, alluring, demure, and always adorable. Her sparks of conflict, and then of love, with George are incandescent. We see her revealed in the wonderful songs "Will He Like Me?" "Dear Friend," and "Vanilla Ice Cream."

Jennifer Ellis as Amalia
"She Loves Me"
Directed by Ilyse Robbins
The Greater Boston Stage Company
Stoneham Theater
Through December 23rd

• Sam Simahk, welcome home! His Georg is complex, having to navigate some unexpected obstacles - in his work at Maraczek's, and in his correspondence and romance with Dear Friend. When he sings "She Loves Me," his gorgeous tenor voice fills the theater with his sense of joy and urgency. His exuberance reminded me of the infectious joi de vivre of Gene Kelly in "Singin' In The Rain." The chemistry that reigns between Ms. Ellis and Mr. Simahk is just as evocative as the authors envisioned.

Sam Simahk as George

"She Loves Me"

Directed by Ilyse Robbins

The Greater Boston Stage Company

Stoneham Theater

Through December 23rd

• Aimee Doherty is often at her best when she and Ms. Ellis are cast in complementary roles. Her Ilona Ritter is struggling with her own romantic complications and loneliness. She befriends newly hired clerk, Amalia. They get to exchange some "girl talk" in the shop's upstairs work room as they sing "I Don't Know His Name." Her time to shine comes when she describes having her eyes opened when she meets her new optometrist beau in "A Trip To The Library."

Aimee Doherty as Ritter

"She Loves Me"

Directed by Ilyse Robbins

The Greater Boston Stage Company

Stoneham Theater

Through December 23rd

• Robert Saoud is gently wondrous as senior clerk Ladislav Sipos, a humble man trying not to get fired from his position as the pre-war Hungarian economy stumbles. He poignantly proclaims his philosophy of life in the moving "Perspective." He uses Russian nesting dolls as props to demonstrate his view of the world and his place in it - Matrioshki at Maraczek's! Whether intentional or not, those nesting dolls serve for me as a metaphor for each of the characters in this play. "If you take the time to pry me open, you just might find that there is more inside than initially meets the eye."
• Jared Troilo skillfully manipulates us into hating his smarmy Lothario, Steven Kodaly. He gets to show of his impressive vocal range as he dramatically departs Maraczek's with his swan song "Grand Knowing You."

Jared Troilo as Kodaly

"She Loves Me"

Directed by Ilyse Robbins

The Greater Boston Stage Company

Stoneham Theater

Through December 23rd

• As the owner of the shop, Tom Gleadow is perfectly cast. He is at times officious, at other times avuncular, and then fragile and vulnerable when he learns about his wife's infidelities. His reminiscences of his lively youth in "Days Gone By" is a delight. It is like watching Ebeneezer Scrooge gleefully returning to Mr. Fezziwig's Christmas party.
• As the young messenger and clerk-in-training, Arpad, Brendan Callahan is a revelation. This student from St. John's Prep fully inhabits the role, and rules the stage when he pleads for a chance to be promoted to clerk as he sings "Try Me." This young actor has a bright future, and an already impressive past and present.
• Ensemble members Sarah Coombs and Bransen Gates are dressed to the nines as they tango while Amalia and George spar at the cafe. The birthday boy was in fine form last evening.
• Nick Sulfaro as Headwaiter sets the right tone for the lovers' hideaway as he croons "A Romantic Atmosphere."
• Additional ensemble members are Sean Mitchell Crosley, Angelo McDonough, Jennifer Mischley, and Sara Jane Morse Mullins.

As he always does, Matt Stern adds a deft touch as Music Director and conductor of the 9-piece band.

Here is one final observation that may convince you to come see this show, and to bring others with you to share the joy. The plot is a familiar one, and I could see the denouement coming from a mile away. I was prepared not to be moved when the big reveal happened, but the skill of Jennifer Ellis and Sam Simahk is at such a level, that the look of recognition and sheer joy that erupted on the faces of Amalia and Georg at the key moment caused me to experience chills and tears over which I had no control. That is the sweet smell of theater at its best!

Through December 23rd.

Greater Boston Stage Website

Enjoy!

Al

Reagle Music Theatre Dazzles With A Flawless Production of "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat"

Unlike Egypt under Pharaoh Ramses II, Reagle Music Theatre never seems to suffer any seasons of famine or drought. Each year, for the 49th straight summer, they have offered up a banquet of musical theater delicacies that delight, inspire, and entertain. This summer is no exception. The current production of "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" is a flawless delight that is the best version of this musical I have ever witnessed.

The story comes from the book of Genesis, telling of the rise, fall, and rebirth of Joseph, favorite son of Jacob. The pedigree of this musical telling of the Joseph saga also harks back to biblical times - back when Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice were students at the Colet Court School in the London.

This production is vibrant, colorful, fast-paced and unmitigated fun. It is masterfully Directed and Choreographed by Susan M. Chebookjian, based on original Choreography by Anthony Van Laast. Exquisite Lighting is by David Wilson. The gorgeous Set has been designed by Peter Colao and Richard Schreiber. Music Director Dan Rodriguez leads a 17-piece orchestra that beautifully interprets the disparate music styles and genres that Lloyd Webber tosses into this tasty bouillabaisse of a score.

While showcasing three Principals in Joseph, Pharaoh, and Narrator, this show is very much an ensemble piece. The cast, including a spectacular 21-voice Children's Choir, is perfect, from the 12 brothers and their wives. to Jacob/Potiphar, the Baker and the Butler.

Let's begin with the Principals:

• Ayla Brown presents the ancient storyline as Narrator. From her first entrance, she owns the stage. Her regal and statuesque carriage give her a commanding stage presence, yet she can be as approachable as a kindergarten teacher in telling the story of Joseph to the children in the choir. She shows off her impressive vocal chops in the "Prologue," "Go, Go, Go Joseph," and the reprise of "Any Dream Will Do."

Ayla Brown as Narrator

Children's Choir

"Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat"

Reagle Music Theatre

Through June 18th

• Peter Mill as Joseph takes us on a tortuous emotional journey that is both moving and mesmerizing. The dreamer who alienated his eleven brothers with his hubris becomes the trusted interpreter of dreams for the all-powerful Pharaoh. We see the impressive range of his voice and acting - beginning with the hopeful "Any Dream Will Do," to the despair of the prison cell in "Close Every Door."  Mr. Mill's pleading rendition of this song of hopelessness gave me chills - always a sign that I am experiencing great theater!

Peter Mill as Joseph

The Brothers

"Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat"

Reagle Music Theatre

Through June 18th

• And then there is Andrew Giordano as Pharaoh - The King in many ways. The character of Pharaoh is written to be performed as Elvis, with all of the attendant vocal tics and bodily gyrations. Mr. Giordano buys into this fun shtick and sells it to the audience with panache and aplomb. His "Song of the King" is a tour de force that had audience members enraptured. That he got to repeat this number during the "Megamix/Curtain Call" felt like being given a second dessert after a sumptuous and satisfying meal. 

Andrew Giordano as Pharaoh
"Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat"
Reagle Music Theatre
Through June 18th

Then there are the remaining sons of Jacob, who are the progenitors of the twelve tribes of Israel. Individually, these actors bring great talent. Collectively they are the solid foundation upon which this production stands. They show great stylistic range - both vocally and physically - in a variety of impressive production numbers. They adopt a cowboy elegy twang in "One More Angel in Heaven." In "Those Canaan Days," they raise their berets and intone a Gallic lament that would make Maurice Chevalier feel as home.

They are:  

• Christopher Infantino as Reuben
• Adam Winer as Simeon
• Louis Brogna as Levi
• Taavon Gamble as Naphtali, whose solo in "Benjamin Calypso" is a highlight.
• AJ Manuel Lucero as Issachar
• Chris Scott as Asher and Pharaoh's Butler
• Jacob Sherburne as Dan
• Leo Galletto as Zebulun
• Anthony L. Gervais as Gad and Pharaoh's Baker
• Jack Dwyer as Benjamin
• Bernie Baldassaro as Judah

The Brothers

"Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat"

Reagle Music Theatre

Through June 18th

On the distaff side, their wives are played by Joy Clark, Emma Clinch, Laura Sky Herman, Lenni Alexandra Kmiec, Helen Lee, Madeline Mathias, Paris Martino, Ashley Mayorquin, Hannah Shihdanian, Angela Syrett, Suzi Weisberg.

Rick Sherburne is Jacob and Potiphar, and Joy Clark is the seductive Mrs. Potiphar.

The Children's Choir, clad in all of the colors of the rainbow - matching Joseph's colorful coat - are: Phoebe Anthony, Jessica Arsenian, Georgia Buendia, Meghan Caldera, Jackson Daley, Tayah Fulciniti, Ananda Geller, Mia Giatrelis, Benjamin Harris, Audree Hedequist, Shiv Meiyur, Eden Melville, ANabel Moda, Druthi Muppala, Tanvi Muppala, Asher NAvisky, Clare Soucy, Rylee Truesdale, Julia Viaud, Gabe Watson, Sarah Wirth.

As I was leaving the theater after a prolonged curtain call and a rollicking standing ovation, I overheard two women behind me enthusing about what we had all just experienced: "You know, I have been coming to this theater for many years. This is the best show I have seen here." If you would like to find out for yourself what all of the brouhaha is about, you have four more chances to experience the wonders of "Joseph": Thursday at 3:00, Friday and Saturday at 7:30, and Sunday at 2:00 at Waltham High School.

Reagle Music Theatre Website

Enjoy!

Al

Ogunquit Playhouse Opens Its Season With "Sister Act" - Hallelujah!

The 2015 season for Ogunquit Playhouse got off to a rollicking start with the very entertaining "Sister Act," which will run through June 20.  You may know the set up of the story from the film version starring Whoopi Goldberg.  Deloris Van Cartier, a lounge singer, inadvertently witnesses her underworld boyfriend carrying out a gangland execution, so she must go into hiding until he goes to trial.  She takes refuge in a convent, assuming the alias of "Sister Mary Clarence," but she shakes things up so much that she might as well have been called "Sister Mary Vesuvius."  She and the Mother Superior clash from the very beginning.as Deloris adds some soul and some pop to the nun's singing, and the Mother Superior is appalled.

Director Stephen Beckler has assembled a terrific creative team and cast, and the audience roared its approval at every opportunity.Set Designer Adam Koch has created an elegant set with multiple moving parts that allow the stage to serve as a church, a disco lounge, a cloister and a cold water flat. Erin Henry's choreography is dazzling and entertaining, enabling the once staid nuns to "get down"! Music Director Brent-Alan Huffman leads  a 7-piece ensemble that fills the performance space with waves of sounds upon which the performers surf with delight and abandon.  Lighting by Richard Latta, Sound by Jeremy Oleksa and glittery costumes by Dustin Cross complete the creation of an environment in which the actors thrive in telling this tale of two women who begin poles apart and meet in the middle, with everyone in between feeling the heat and light of their passion.



The cast is first rate from the lowest postulant to the lordly Monsignor.

• Deloris Van Cartier is played by the superbly talented Rashidra Scott.  She brings her Broadway and national tour experience to this production, and she is at the top of her game in terms of her singing and acting.  Her transformation from an ambitious show business denizen to one who feels a loyalty and solidarity with the nuns in the convent is a convincing arc that is both entertaining and moving.  Her vocal skills shine through in her rendition of "Take Me To Heaven" and the title number, "Sister Act."\

Jennifer Allen as Mother Superior
"Sister Act"
Ogunquit Playhouse
Through June 20

• As Mother Superior, Broadway veteran Jennifer Allen is simply heavenly.  Her vocal talent is prodigious, but her facial expressions are the icing on the cake as she is caught between her rigid and traditional faith and the Monsignor's insistence that she harbor Deloris to bring in some money to keep the doors of the struggling parish open.  She owns the stage when she sings the hilarious "Haven't Got A Prayer."
• As Deloris' shady boyfriend, Curtis Jackson, Apollo Levine is appropriately intimidating as he instructs his gang of hoods to find and silence Deloris.  His moment to stand out vocally occurs when he and his henchmen sing "When I Find My Baby."
• The trio of thugs is played in wonderfully over-the-top style by three fine actors - Chris Cooke as Joey, Tyler Simahk as Pablo and Avionce as TJ.  Regular readers of The White Rhino Report may recognize the name of Mr. Simahk, for I recently reviewed his star turn in the Emerson Stage production of "Merrily We Roll Along.  "Sister Act" represents his first professional engagement since graduating a few weeks ago from Emerson College.

Avionce as TJ
Apollo Levnie as Curtis
Tyler Simahk as Pablo
Chris Cooke as Joey
"Sister Act"
Ogunquit Playhouse
Through June 20

• The role of "Sweaty Eddie" is played with great swagger and attitude by Dashaun Young.  As a police officer, he is trying to save Deloris while secretly in love with her.  He expresses his feelings for her in the song "I Could Be That Guy."
• Blake Hammond is a cherubic and playful Monsignor O'Hara.  His character is called upon to often pour oil upon troubled waters and to mediate between Deloris and Mother Superior.
• The chorus of nuns and acolytes is played by a gifted ensemble, composed of Meryn Beckett, Lexi Lyric, Madge Dietrich, Rashad Guy, Joe Meallo, Julia Mosby, Michelle Rombola, Amy Persons, Heather Jane Rolff, Natalie Storrs, Zuri Washington and Bridget Elise Yingling.
• Three nuns in particular stand out from the crowd for their memorable characters and bravura performances.  As timid postulant, Sister Mary Robert, Celeste Rose goes through a wonderful transformation from wallflower to a rose in full bloom as she stands up to Mother Superior in support of Deloris.  Her solo, "The Life I Never Led," is a highlight of this production. Dierdra Friel is Sister Mary Patrick, a role made iconic in the film by Kathy Najimy.  Ms. Friel channels that same sense of  helpless and silly enthusiasm and wins over not only Deloris but the entire audience with her performance.  As the almost fossilized Sister Mary Lazarus, Tina Johnson takes her character on an unlikely journey.  She begins the show as the inept choir director, mired in tradition and mediocrity.  She comes bursting out of that tomb into a new life as a hip and glitter-wearing devotee of Deloris's new way of worshiping.  Hers is performance for the ages..

Rashidra Scott as Deloris Van Cartier
Ensemble of Sisters
"Sister Act"
Ogunquit Playhouse
Through June 20

This thoroughly delightful show will run only through June 20, so put your money in the collection plate and make your way to the temporary parish on Route 1 in Ogunquit. You will find it "mass-ively" inspiring..

Ogunquit Playhouse Website

Enjoy!

Al

First Night In Boston 2015 - Some Reflections As The New Year Dawns

I probably have a broader range of experiences than most when it comes to New Year's Eve celebrations.  Earliest memories are of being shipped off to my maternal grandparents' home in Salisbury, Massachusetts.  My grandmother, Ruth Champoux, was a master at creating diversions for us grandchildren - games, treats, costumes.  And we would watch as Dick Clark narrated the crystal ball's teasingly slow descent from 1955 to 1956 - the heart of the Eisenhower era.

Fast forward to my freshman year of college - 1965 - and a visit to my girlfriend, Peg, and her family on Long Island.  We spent the first of what would eventually turn out to be three New Years' Eves for me jostled among the throngs of revelers in Times Square.  I recall just after midnight being swept down the stairs into the subway entrance on 7th Avenue - a journey that Peg and I had not planned on taking, but we had no choice but to go with the flow of the madding crowd.

In subsequent years, I have spent New Years' Eve in Minnesota; Illinois; Connecticut; Maine; New Hampshire; Washington, D.C.; Kiev, Fermathe, Haiti; Moscow; Krakow; Timisoara, Romania and London.  A year ago I was back in Times Square shepherding my son Thymn's new Polish in-laws through their first NYC experiences.

This year, I found myself in Boston for the First Night celebrations.  Boston does it right.  We celebrate with enthusiasm and, for the most part, with decorum.  The arts are at the center of the celebration, as orchestrated by the folks at FirstNightBoston.org, who work year round to assemble artists who will appeal to families with children as well as to mature audiences.

First Night Boston Website

This year I took in the Parade down Boylston Street and through Copley Square, the Ice Sculptures in Copley Square and Boston Common, and a performance at the Hynes Convention Center.  Sons of Serendip performed in Ballroom A to an overflow crowd that roared its appreciation after each song.
Fresh from their recent success as Finalists in America's Got Talent, these four gifted musicians offered up a buffet sampling of their music that left the enthusiastic crowd wanting more.  Micah Christian as lead singer, Kendall Ramseur on cello, Mason Morton on harp and Cordaro Rodriguez on keyboard have created a unique sound that blends pop and classical styles  The resulting mixture is gorgeous.  Watch for their upcoming album and national tour.  Their hometown of Boston is proud of these Sons of Serendip who first came to know each other while they were at Boston University.

Sons of Serendip

Sons of Serendip Website

Let me share one cautionary note as you make your plans to attend First Night 2016: Plan ahead and arrive early.  Boston Ballet offered free ticket to the Nutcracker for the first 50 First Night button holders.  I arrived an hour early, and there already more than 100 people in line.  Lesson learned: getting a free ticket to Boston Ballet is a tough nut to crack!

Bottom line: First Night is a blessing, and we should be proud of our city's ability to throw a memorable party each year and generosity in inviting us all to attend.

Happy New Year!

Al

New Rep Theatre Continues Its 30th Season and Hits The Mark With Stephen Sondheim's "Assassins"

The starting pistol has been fired for the second production of the 30th season of the New Rep Theatre.  And the gun did not misfire.  It would be hard to imagine a more perfect production or more flawless interpretation of Stephen Sondheim's iconic and controversial musical "Assassins."

The Cast of "Assassins"

Presented by
New Rep Theatre

As the audience enters the theater, we are met by a perfect and evocative multi-level set - designed by Kamilla Kurmanbekova.  Faded and dusky stripes of red and white line the floor of the stage and bleed up into a field of blue with stars that appear to have been pierced by bullets.  In this play, these colors do run!  The band is positioned just off stage - upstage right.  Under the steady Musical Direction of Matthew Stern, who conducts from the keyboard, they provide the ideal backdrop for the telling of this story that takes us on a journey that blends time and space.  The Lighting by Jedidiah Roe, Sound by Michael Policare, Choreography by Judith Chaffee and Costumes by Chelsea Kerl create the kind of visual and auditory ecosystem that allows the superb cast to help us to try to enter the minds of a bevy of assassins and would-be assassins who were hell bent on changing political destinies and writing - or scribbling - their names in the history books.

Director Jim Petosa has assembled a cast that features many stand-out performances and no weak links.  He has set them up for success by giving them the freedom to speak and sing and move in ways that beckon us to try to understand what itches they were trying to scratch when they "moved their little finger" and pulled the trigger.  This is very much an ensemble piece.  The characters - gathered from the far corners of several centuries and geographies - convene in one place and time to tell their stories.

Peter S. Adams is Samuel Byck, who planned to fly a 747 into Nixon's White House.   His mania is palpable in his soliloquy in which we see him spooling up to his planned act of violence that never came to fruition.  He is frighteningly believable as this Santa Claus outfit bedecked misfit.

Harrison Bryan is Giuseppe Zangara, the Italian immigrant who attempted to shoot FDR, but who instead killed Chicago Mayor Cermak in Miami.  His spasms of stomach pain are so realistic that I may have been tempted to dial 911 had I not already obediently turned off my cell phone.

McCaela Donovan gives yet another memorable performance, this time as Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme, girlfriend of Charles Manson and would-be assassin of Gerald Ford.  Her interactions with Sara Jane Moore are highlights of this show, as is her duet with John Hinckley, Jr., "Unworthy of Your Love."

Benjamin Evett is the Proprietor of the shooting gallery where he entices the assassins to assemble to receive their weapons.  He plays the role in a very low key way, appropriately not drawing focus from the more kinetic characters.  He shines in the songs "Everybody's Got The Right," and "Another National Anthem."

Evan Gambardella is rock solid in the dual roles of Balladeer and Lee Harvey Oswald.  He shows impressive vocal and emotional range and commands the stage during much of the action.

Jesse Garlick plays multiple ensemble roles with great agility and also serves as Dance Captain.

Paula Langton is Sara Jane Moore, the klutzy housewife who also plans to assassinate Gerald Ford.  It is difficult to play this role without creating a cartoonish caricature, but Ms. Langton walks that tightrope without a misstep.  Together with fellow female assassin-in-waiting "Squeaky" Fromme, Langton and Donovan raise dizziness and ditziness to an art form.

The Would-Be Femmes Fatales
McCaela Donovan as "Squeaky" Fromme
Paula Langton as Sara Jane Moore
"Assassins"
Presented by
New Rep Theatre

Mark Linhan is John Wilkes Booth, the Elder Statesman among the assembled assassins.  His vocal prowess and stage presence make him an imposing figure, His "Ballad of Booth," sung with the Balladeer, sets the stage for the action to follow.

Kevin Patrick Martin is Leon Czolgosz, a Polish-American steelworker, whose frustrations at the plight of his fellow laborers and working men led him to Buffalo to kill William McKinley.  Mr. Martin possesses a particularly impressive singing voice that he uses to great effect, particularly in the "Gun Song" along with Booth, Guiteau and Moore.

Brad Daniel Peloquin is Charles Guiteau, delusional would-be Ambassador to France.  When James Garfield and his advisors told Guiteau to stop pestering them with his request, he lay in waiting at a train station, and shot Garfield twice, inflicting wounds that would lead to the death of the President eleven weeks later.   Mr. Peloquin was impressive as the foppish jack-of-all-trades, and the "Ballad of Guiteau," sung magnificently with the Balladeer, is another highlight of this production.

Casey Tucker is the anarchist Emma Goldman and several additional ensemble roles.  The song, "Something Just Broke" allows her talent to shine.

Patrick Varner is John Hinckley, Jr. whose monomania in trying to win the love of actress Jodie Foster impels him toward an encounter with Ronald Reagan.  Mr. Varner is heartrending in his duet with Ms. Donovan, "Unworthy of Your Love."  This song is emblematic of the depth of this show.  On the one hand, it demonstrates just how unhinged these human beings are who plan to shoot Presidents. On the other hand, it opens windows of vulnerability that allow us to see them less as monsters and more as deeply flawed human beings.

For many audience members, "Assassins" is an acquired taste.  At first, we are uncomfortable.  Is it permissible to laugh at and with men and women with murder in their hearts?  As he did in "Sweeney Todd," Mr. Sondheim has crafted songs that invite us to consider the full spectrum of who these violence-prone people may be, and to explore possible explanations - if not excuses - for their actions.  Whether or not you have already acquired a taste for this musical, I encourage you to buy a ticket and allow the wonders of the creative geniuses at work here to take aim at your mind and your heart.

"Assassins" will be performed at The Arsenal Center for the Arts through October 26.

New Rep Website

Enjoy!

Al

L-R: Peter S. Adams, Harrison Bryan, McCaela Donovan, Evan Gambardella,
Patrick Varner, Paula Langton, Brad Daniel Peloquin,
Kevin Patrick Martin, and Mark Linehan.
"Assassins"
Presented by
New Rep Theatre

Carolee Carmello: The Boston Concert Presented by F.U.D.G.E. Theatre Company - A Veritable Master Class In How To Tell A Story Through Song

The Radiant Carolee Carmello

Earlier this week, F.U.D.G.E. Theatre Company, is association with Matt Phillipps, pulled off a stunning coup.  They managed to schedule the illustrious Broadway actor Carolee Carmello to grace the stage at The Arsenal Center for the Arts for a one-night-only concert.  Having watched Ms. Carmello light up the stage night after night as Madame du Maurier in the current A.R.T. production of "Finding Neverland," I made my way to Watertown with high expectations.  I came expecting a very entertaining concert, but what I experienced was far deeper and longer lasting.  Carolee Carmello shared with the audience an intimate invitation to walk with her down the memory pathway of her Broadway career.  The evening was nothing less than a Master Class in how to relate to an audience and how to tell riveting stories through a seamless weaving together of anecdote and song. Each song was placed in a dual context.  She told us how the show fit into her long journey from Upstate New York and SUNY Albany to Broadway and multiple Tony nominations.  Then she set the song and the character in the context of the play's narrative arc.  So we were not just hearing beautiful isolated songs, we were being introduced to real characters who were telling us a key part of their story through this particular melody.  I have seen and heard Audra McDonald do the same thing in concert.  And that places Ms. Carmello in very good company!

• Very ably accompanied by her Music Director, the talented Phil Reno, she eased into the journey by recounting her role as an understudy in "Les Miserables" - 27 years ago!  Her rendition of "I Dreamed A Dream" was as heart-rending as the composer intended it to be.  Victor Hugo would have been proud of this Fantine.
• I have heard the iconic "Broadway Baby" from Stephen Sondheim's "Follies" sung by Barbara Cook, Bernadette Peters and other titans of the Broadway and London stage.  Ms. Carmello's rendition was as saucy and delightful as any I have heard before.
• A highlight of the evening was the cleverly written ditty from "City of Angels" "You Can Always Count On Me."  Singing the roles of two women who always manage to attract the wrong kind of man, Carolee was appropriately seductive and ironic as she sang about attracting the "men who are longing to do my hair"!
• As the bar maid Nancy in "Oliver," she was simply mesmerizing in "As Long As He Needs Me" - trying to convince us why she had stuck with the abusive Bill Sykes for so long.
• Another highlight of the concert was her portrayal of Audrey - another abused woman - in "Little Shop of Horrors."  Her Skid Row accent was pitch perfect, and she made the deliberately kitschy lyrics touching as she crooned "Somewhere That's Green."
• The concert continued with the gorgeous "When I Look At You" from "The Scarlet Pimpernel."  I had seen her perform this song on Broadway, and this evening's version was particularly poignant as she lamented losing the husband she had fallen in love with and who stood before her - distant and mysterious and changed.
• "You're Just in Love" from "Call Me Madam" and "Trip To The Library" from "She Loves Me" demonstrated still more colors in the full spectrum of Ms. Carmello's singing and acting range.
• "Our Story Goes On/Patterns" gave her an opportunity to reprise two roles she had played at different poles in her career in two productions of "Baby."  She was believable both as the young first time wide-eyed mother-to-be and the stunned empty nester who finds herself once again in the family way.

A wonderful surprise and a touching moment was calling her father from the audience to sing with her a duet that they had begun to sing when she was a girl back in New York.

We took a short break to stretch our legs and to give Ms. Carmello a chance to change into a stunning crimson evening gown.  Most of us spent the Intermission congratulating ourselves on our good fortune to be present at such a memorable and stunning event.

• "Why Can't I" from "Scandalous" kicked off the second half of the concert, followed by the powerful "I Haven't Got A Prayer" from "Sister Act."  This may be the best song written for a Mother Superior since "Climb Every Mountain," and Carolee's interpretation of the number was - well, Superior!
• "Crimson Kiss" from the short-lived and all-too-mortal "Lestat" allowed her to show her maternal side in talking about the impending death of a key character in the story.
• The next song was set in the context of the 9/11 tragedy.  Broadway was shut down for several days, and on the first night that shows re-opened, only a handful of stalwart theatergoers made their way to the Great White Way that had been darkened by the terrorist attacks.  Carolee recounted how terrified she was to step back on the stage to sing "So In Love" from the revival of Cole Porter's "Kiss Me Kate."  By the time she began the song, I think most of us were caught in a reverie of where we were during those tragic 2001 September days.
• I do not believe that Ms. Carmello was aware of how close to home she was hitting in reminding us of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.  For the Arsenal Center for the Arts sits just a few hundred yards from the staging area that police used in their manhunt for the Boston Marathon bombers.  I am sure that I was not the only person in the audience who made that connection.
• The beautiful "All The Wasted Time" from "Parade" gave way to "I'm Going Back" from "Bells Are Ringing."  The song was a rousing tour de force of comic timing and Mermanesque belting out a great tune.
• Her valedictory number, "The Winner Takes It All" was presented as a celebration of "Mamma Mia!' as well as of her career and of the wonder of musical theater as an art form.

• The icing on the cake was two encores.  Finishing with "Don't Rain On My Parade" from "Funny Girl" sent us all out into the street with heads held high and hearts beating with joy and appreciation for what we had just witnessed.

If you ever have a chance to see this gifted performer- in concert or in a musical - it is worth moving heaven and earth to get to any venue that tries to contain this enormous talent.  Boston was blessed to have a small taste of that talent this week, and for the past several weeks in Cambridge in "Finding Neverland."

What a splendid evening!

Al

Orion Griffiths - From Boston Street Performer to Broadway - By Geoff Edgers of the Boston Globe

Orion Griffiths in Pippin - Opening of Act II

Geoff Edgers of the Boston Globe has written a wonderfully insightful feature article about current Pippin cast member, Orion Griffiths.  I am pleased to offer the full text below, as well as a link to the original story that appeared in the May 1 edition of the Boston Globe, just below the fold on the front page.

Let me add a few additional personal comments to the vivid picture that Mr. Edgers has painted of Orion.  I have come to know Mr. Griffiths quite well in the past few months.  I recall watching him perform with his siblings in front of Quincy Market.  He and I have shared coffee and meals together on several occasions – both while he was in residence with the Pippin company at  the American Repertory Theater, and since the show has moved to Broadway.

Orion is everything the article indicates – and more.  After his sister Vicky’s accident, Orion’s parents we forced to stop performing to be able to be at their daughter’s bedside as her life hung in the balance for many months.  Orion, as a 12 year-old, took to the streets to begin performing so that he might support the entire family.  When you look at his picture, you see physical strength; those of us who have had a chance to look at the person inside see even more impressive strength of character.

The feat that he performs to open Act II of Pippin as “The Rolla Bolla Man” is an astounding acrobatic achievement.  It is also a metaphor for the many countervailing forces that this young man has learned to balance in his already storied life.

From Boston street performer to Broadway

By Geoff Edgers

 

NEW YORK — It was a chilly night on Broadway when Orion Venture Maximillian Fitz Griffiths emerged from the stage door of the Music Box Theatre, shuffled past fans waiting to meet the stars, and began his nightly walk to his temporary flat.

He wore a T-shirt, no jacket, but the cold didn’t bother him. It’s no wonder. For his Broadway debut in the musical “Pippin,” Griffiths wears a skimpy vest and a pair of red leathery shorts that could make a Chippendales dancer blush.

“I had them put one more seam on the bottom,” the longtime Boston street performer said, laughing. “Now they don’t ride up my leg so much.”

Dealing with a Broadway wardrobe is not the only first for Griffiths, who spent much of his life on the road in his family’s traveling circus. At 25, he’s finally got a bank account and a place to stay that isn’t on wheels. Griffiths is one of seven acrobats in the revival of “Pippin,” which originated this season at the American Repertory Theater in Cambridge, opened on Broadway last Thursday, and earned an impressive 10 Tony Award nominations on Tuesday, including one for best revival of a musical. The show has generated considerable buzz for its cast and its Tony-nominated director, ART artistic director Diane Paulus. In his review, New York Times critic Ben Brantley called the musical’s acrobats “pretty astonishing.”

Related

·         Acrobatic street performer appears in ‘Pippin’

§  ART production of ‘Pippin’ gets 10 Tony Award nominations

JENNIFER TAYLOR FOR THE BOSTON GLOBE

Orion Griffiths, a longtime Boston street performer, is one of seven acrobats in the revival of “Pippin.”

Many Bostonians would recognize Griffiths. He’s performed to thousands at Faneuil Hall as part of the Sardine Family Circus. And the ART sold out the more than six-week run of “Pippin” that ended in January. But for Griffiths, the show is more than a big break. It’s a complicated break, giving him a chance to move into the spotlight but forcing him to alter his life. This is the first time Griffiths has left the family behind. It has also meant delaying his dream of competing in the world’s premier circus festival in Monte Carlo.

‘The proudest part of circus performing is the bow. . . . It’s like the payment. Your bow is getting paid by the crowd.’

Which is why, when Griffiths was invited to join “Pippin” without an audition — he’s that good — he, at first, dismissed the idea.

“I’m a circus performer” is how Griffiths remembered responding at first to the offer.

He eventually changed his mind and joined the production, which stars Patina Miller, Matthew James Thomas, Terrence Mann, and Charlotte d’Amboise. Though Griffiths has fewer than a handful of lines, he’s onstage for much of the two-plus hours of the musical.

Gypsy Snider, the veteran circus director in charge of “circus creation” for the “Pippin” revival, calls Griffiths her “saving grace.”

“Orion’s kind of a legend in the circus world,” said Snider, who hired Griffiths for the show last year. “He’s one of those performers who is so multitalented, who really knows how to sell the merchandise on the stage. He has a rare and wonderful talent.”

When he talks of the circus life, Griffiths doesn’t mean Ringling Bros. or Big Apple. His universe is about the smaller troupes that began emerging in the 1970s: talented, close-knit crews inspired by European circuses that drew on showmanship and athleticism to capture audiences on street corners.

Griffiths’s skills perfectly suit “Pippin,” which uses the circus motif to reshape the Bob Fosse-directed 1970s musical about a young prince searching for the meaning of life. In the show, even seasoned Broadway stars have learned to flip, fly on a trapeze, or ride a unicycle. As Pippin’s grandmother, Andrea Martin has brought down the house by dangling in the air with a muscled circus performer.

But for those who know him, Griffiths has pulled off the biggest trick.

For most of his life, home was Holland, Spain, Alabama, California, England, or just about anywhere the Sardine Family Circus rolled into town. His parents, John and Pauline, founded the troupe in the mid-1980s. Typically, they stayed on the road, never in one place for more than three to six months.

“I climbed on the roof of a train.’’

That’s how older sister Vicky begins the story of the accident that changed their lives.

Griffiths as a child in Amsterdam. For most of his life, home was Holland, Spain, Alabama, California, England, or just about anywhere the Sardine Family Circus rolled into town.

GRIFFFITHS FAMILY

The Sardine Family Circus was in Austria, performing, when the the 9-year-old girl decided to play in the old railroad station. It was a snowy day in October, and she hit a live wire, shot into the air, and had 75 percent of her body burned. Doctors had to amputate her right arm, and Vicky stayed in the intensive care unit in a medically induced coma for six months.

Only a few months after she got out of the hospital, John Griffiths taught his daughter how to ride a unicycle again. Then he heard about the Shriners Hospitals for Children, where Vicky could get free treatment.

That’s how the family ended up in Massachusetts. To date, Vicky has had 52 operations, the most recent two months ago. And it was in the parking lot of the Shriners Hospital for Children in Springfield that Orion Griffiths met his future wife.

Karly O’Keefe, 12 years old at the time, spotted Orion, then 14, doing handstands from her house, near the parking lot. She came out one day and did somersaults.

“I remember being admitted and Rion telling me about this girl he had just met and how pretty she was,” said Vicky, using the family’s nickname for Griffiths. “Once I was discharged, I met all of the O’Keefe family. Really awesome people.”

These days, Springfield is the closest thing Griffiths has to home. Vicky and sister Keleigh, each married, remain there. So does the O’Keefe family. And it was Karly who urged Griffiths to realize just what the “Pippin” offer meant when he wavered.

“I thought: Oh my God, this is huge. I don’t know why you’re looking past this. You need to think about this,” said Karly, who had married Orion last May. “And he did.”

When he was young, Griffiths remembers, he often looked at the other kids, with their toys and bedrooms and television sets, and thought, “Why can’t my life be like this?” The only life he knew was the circus.

“But by the time I’d reached 15,” he said, “I had such an overpowering love for the life, I couldn’t think of any other way.”

The Griffiths children were all skilled, but it was Orion, born to British parents in Holland in 1987, who pushed a little harder.

“Anything he ever touched, he had to be perfect,” John Griffiths said by phone from San Francisco, where he, Pauline, and two of their children live in the family RVs. “Regardless of what our program was at the time, he always got up at 5 or 6 o’clock in the morning and worked out for a couple of hours.”

John Griffiths remembers the boy scrawling a message wherever he could when he was just 4 or 5.

“On walls, on his schoolbooks, on a foggy window, he’d write, ‘Rion is the best,’ ” he said.

In those days, the Sardine Family Circus was 10 strong, the eight children and two parents playing streets, city festivals, and occasional tent shows. They were never anywhere for long, and while the children didn’t have much formal schooling, they developed a work ethic and focus beyond their years. The big change came in the mid-1990s, when Vicky had her accident. Three siblings headed off on their own. By the time the Sardine Family Circus moved to Springfield permanently in 2003, the Griffithses were down to five children in the troupe.

As John and Pauline stepped back from performing, Orion developed a three-person act with his sister Meisje and brother Alex. In the show, Meisje, a contortionist, would be largely silent. Alex, a masterful unicyclist, generally played the clown. Orion served as ringleader, charming the audience, playfully mocking those not paying proper attention and building suspense as they worked toward their best tricks.

“He makes a show out of everything and everybody,” said Paula Davis, a retiree from California who came upon Griffiths performing alone last summer in San Francisco. “He did tricks, he would tell jokes, and at first there was hardly anyone there, but he pulled everyone that walked by in with his sense of humor.”

Griffiths was living in San Francisco with his family last year when Snider called him.

She had hired six acrobats for “Pippin” and needed one more. But Snider was having a difficult time. “Finding a big guy who is also a talented acrobat, who can flip, who can hand-mount, it almost doesn’t exist,” said Snider.

Her family had founded the Pickle Family Circus back in the 1970s in San Francisco, so Snider began calling people she knew there.

“Instantly, Orion’s name came up,” said Snider. “In fact, one of the acrobats I had already hired said, ‘Oh my God, I trained with that guy and he’s amazing.’ ”

When Griffiths told his father about the offer, John got upset.

“I cannot deny it,” he said. “I hang on to my kids. But when it became a reality, I did everything I could to help him out. Got him to airports. Made sure he had money. Not that I was happy about it. The fact of the matter is this is not the apex of where Rion can go. If he were the star of the show, I would agree, and Rion is the star of every stage he’s on. That’s where he belongs.”

The father isn’t the only one torn.

Griffiths misses his family. He also isn’t ready to give up his street act.

Earlier this year, after “Pippin” wrapped at the ART and before rehearsals began in New York, he and Karly drove an RV to Florida so he could play to the crowds in Key West. He plans to find a spot in New York this summer where he can put on a show.

On the street, he’s reminded of what he misses the most in “Pippin”: the chance to take a solo bow.

“The proudest part of circus performing is the bow,” said Griffiths. “You gave something which is something you worked your whole life on, your act, the crowd accepts it and is now giving it back to you. It’s like the payment. Your bow is getting paid by the crowd.”

Though he’s getting paid by the Broadway production, Griffiths isn’t changing the way he operates. He doesn’t drink or smoke, and he avoids sugar. While some cast members have rented pricey apartments near the Midtown theater, he and Karly found a place in the Bronx for $1,200 a month. She works as a nanny for Andrew Cekala, the 12-year-old Weston boy who is in the cast.

Performing in “Pippin,” Griffiths said, has been exhilarating. He loves being onstage, and he’s proudest of the moment, right after intermission, when he shows off his specialty, the rolla bolla. That act requires him to balance on a narrow board atop stacked, moving cylinders.

It is a highlight of his street show, and it wasn’t originally in “Pippin.” Then, one day during a rehearsal, Snider asked the acrobats to demonstrate their chops.

“I said, ‘Orion, just do it like you’re on the street,’ ” she remembered. “He just entertained the whole cast. People were just laughing and actually were really touched. It was so endearing. He started talking about his family and that he would never leave them. And of course, in many ways, he is leaving his family. But he really needed us to understand that he’s not the one who deserts people. It was just so moving.”

When he left San Francisco, Griffiths made a promise to younger sister Meisje. He would one day reunite with his siblings and they would perform again as the Sardine Family Circus. It is a promise his father expects him to keep.

“For me, it’s not a hope,” said John Griffiths. “It’s a question of when. Whether Pauline and I will still be alive to watch it, it will happen. They’ve got too much power when you put them together.”

Geoff Edgers can be reached at gedgers@globe.com.

bostonglobe.com - From Boston Street Performer to Broadway

Enjoy!

Al