Article published March 29, 2007
Tales of fantasy and reality to entertain audiences in area
From left, Megan Corbin, Lucas Wells, and Erin Yuen rehearse a
scene from Into the Woods at Siena Heights University, Adrian.
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By NANCIANN CHERRY
BLADE STAFF WRITER
A light musical, a dark musical, a children's musical, and a family comedy grace Toledo and area stages this week.
In Adrian, Siena Heights University explores what happens after the "happily ever after" part of various fairy-tale characters in Into the Woods by Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine. The show won several Tony Awards in 1988 but lost in the best musical category to The Phantom of the Opera.
The complicated plot revolves around a baker and his wife who are childless, thanks to a spell put on the baker's family by the witch who lives next door. The witch is not completely heartless; she will end the spell if they provide her, within three days, the ingredients for a potion.
Said ingredients include "the cow as white as milk, the cape as red as blood, the hair as yellow as corn, and the slipper as pure as gold," which brings Jack and the Beanstalk, Little Red Riding Hood, Rapunzel, and Cinderella into the story. The first half of the play deals with what the characters do to get to "happily ever after"; the second half deals with the consequences of the previous behavior.
Mark DiPietro, Siena Heights professor of theater and speech, directs the all-SHU student cast, led by Leah Crocetto as the Baker's Wife.
Crocetto, seen in many Croswell Opera House productions, had been living and working in New York when she decided to return to Siena to finish her degree, DiPietro said.Another Croswell veteran, Erin Yuen, plays the witch, and the Baker is played by Patrick Toth, who has a "beautifully crisp, clear voice," he said.
Into the Woods is a senior project for several of the students, so DiPietro said he tried to pick a show that would provide as much challenge as possible. And the show is such a favorite that he had plenty of response to his casting call.
"I had so many people try out that I separated out some of the characters," he said. The original version of the play has some performers in dual roles, but DiPietro had the luxury of separate casting. And he even got the stage crew involved, casting them as Robin Hood and his Merry Men just to change the sets.
"Into the Woods" is scheduled at 8 p.m. today-Saturday in Francoeur Theatre on the campus of Siena Heights University in Adrian. Tickets are $10 for adults and $8 for SHU students and staff. Information: 517-264-7840.'Cabaret'
Pre-war Berlin will be re-created tonight when the Bowling Green State University department of theater and film opens its production of Cabaret.
Based on John van Druten's 1951 play I Am a Camera and Christopher Isherwood's Berlin Stories, Cabaret was written in 1966 by Joe Masteroff, with music and lyrics by John Kander and Fred Ebb.
The Oscar and Tony Award-winning musical details the rise of Nazism in Germany through the romances of the American writer Cliff and the chanteuse Sally Bowles and the German landlady Frau Schneider and her Jewish lodger Herr Schultz. Much of the action takes place in the cabaret where Bowles works, which is run by the strangely androgynous master of ceremonies.
Some famous songs from the production are "Willkomen," "The Money Song," and "Tomorrow Belongs to Me."
The BGSU production, directed by Michael Ellison, features more than 30 undergraduate and graduate students, headed by Ashley Nowak of Maumee as Sally, Levi Vladiff of Monroeville, Ohio, as Cliff, and Tommy Thurston of Columbus as the emcee.
Although there are laughs, Cabaret is not the typical musical comedy, and due to its content, it is suitable for mature audiences only.
The BGSU production of "Cabaret" opens tonight in the Eva Marie Saint Theatre of University Hall. Performances will be at 8 p.m. today-Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are $10. Free parking is available in Lot A, next to University Hall. Information: 419-372-2719.'House for Sale'
Ever since Old Fort, Ohio, resident Ron Hill finished House for Sale, the play has become a favorite of community theaters in the area. First produced in Fremont, the play has been making the rounds, and it's now the Waterville Playshop's turn to tackle it.
A comedy with dramatic elements, House for Sale is set in the 1950s, when 70-something widower Glen Martin is being urged by his daughter Helen to sell his house and move in with her and her husband. But Miller is resisting. It's not just a house. It's a home where he and his beloved wife, Faye, had good years and good times with Helen. There are a lot of memories in that dwelling.
In an effort to keep his home and his independence, Martin decides to take in a roommate, and the various candidates not only provide some laughs, they help Martin realize that memories are portable.
Directed by John Oster, the cast includes Mike Willinger as Glen Martin, Leah Moore as Helen, and David Del Signore as his best friend, Max.
Others in the cast are Lois Dietzer, Clara Engle, Sean Kirkwood, Inge Klopping, Dan Kwiatowski, Nancy Phlegar, Tim Robinson, and Bob Walls.
Hill will be attending the performances tomorrow and Saturday, and a reception for him is planned during the intermission of each show.
"House for Sale" will be presented at 8 p.m. today-Saturday in the Millennium Theatre at Maumee Valley Country Day School, 1715 South Reynolds Rd. Tickets for the Waterville Playshop production are $10 for adults, $8 for seniors and students, and $5 for children. Information: 419-470-2730.Children's theater
What happens when Jack B. Nimble needs treatment for minor burns or the Crooked Man needs some chiropractic manipulations on his back? In Nursery Rhyme Land, there aren't many options until Mother Goose decides to go to medical school.
Such is the plot of Doc, Doc … Goose!, a musical presented by the youngsters of Children's Theatre Workshop.
The actors range in age from 5 to 17; the crew, including the director and those in charge of props, lighting, and sound, comes from the Teen Company, ranging in age from 13-18. More than 25 schools are represented in the production, including some in Toledo, Sylvania, Maumee, Bowling Green, and Temperance.
Written by Patrick Rainville Dorn, Doc, Doc … Goose! runs about 45 minutes long and features traditional fairy tale characters as well as a few new ones.
According to the mission statement on the CTW's Web site, the group was founded in 1954 by the Junior League, and it teaches skills needed in the theater to help youngsters develop self-esteem, learn teamwork, and build public speaking skills.
Children's Theatre Workshop presents "Doc, Doc … Goose!" at 1 and 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday in the Lois M. Nelson Theater of the Collingwood Arts Center, 2413 Collingwood Blvd. Tickets are $7 for adults and $4.50 for seniors and students. Preschoolers are admitted free. Information: 419-244-5061.
Contact Nanciann Cherry at: ncherry@theblade.com
or 419-724-6130.
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