Charity, Judas, and Picnic

One of the things I love about the area's theatrical scene is the diversity of experiences. In the past four days I've seen a musical, a modern comedy, and a classic drama. Today I'll be seeing two children's shows, both originals.

Sweet Charity

Sweet Charity was very entertaining, but not particularly spectacular.

Molly Ringwald has extreme amounts of stage presence, but she neither dances nor acts as well as others on stage. Without repeating what I wrote in my review, I'll just say that while it was still better than anything I could have watched on television or seen in the movies, it wasn't particularly memorable either.

One of the things I disliked was the accent that Ringwald affected for Charity. It weakened her voice. I also found it a little strange that she wore only one dress for the entire story. Granted, it was the boldness of the red strapless dress with its crossed top that commanded a lot of the attention and kept your eye on her throughout the show, but I'm sure there could have been other costumes equally striking. I also thought the redness of the dress made her trademark hair color wash out.

Another nitpick was that the dancing went from absolutely stunning to uneven.

Overall, I'm glad that I went even if I wouldn't rush to see the show again.

Last Days of Judas Iscariot

One of things I love about Peppermint Creek is that their shows are meaty without being preachy. They serve as sparks for discussion and give me a lot to think about long after I've left the auditorium.

The Last Days of Judas Iscariot is no different. While it is one of their most uneven shows of the season, it is still a strong one with some incredible acting and an overall fascinating production. They're back at 110 Charles Street which is an intimate setting that puts you right up next to the performers.

I'm hoping to review this show for Epinions in the next day or so, so I won't get too much more detailed. However, in addition to the usual high production values of a PCT show and the stellar acting, I think what I like most about this show is the script. It has some wonderfully challenging ideas in it while being completely sound in scholarship and pretty traditional in theology. In fact, even though the language is very late-night HBO, there is little about what is presented that Biblical theologians could argue with. Pop religionists might object, but then we live in a time where even religious folks are disdainful of theology and dogma.

Hmm, perhaps I'd better move on to Picnic before I start myself off on a religious tangent from which it would be difficult to return.

Picnic

Starlight Dinner Theater opened its final show of the season last night with William Inge's Picnic.

It was a pretty solid show with some very sweet moments. Interestingly, the chemistry between Hal and Millie seemed much stronger than the one between Hal and Madge. Perhaps that's because the Millie was played so well. She was also quite the looker.

Linda Granger and Gary Mitchell also had some great moments and were very comfortable together on stage. Linda has a talent for breaking the audience's heart and her Rosemary definitely elicited sympathy.

Likewise, any show that gets Winifred Olds on stage is a plus in my book.

Rest of the Weekend

Today I'm off to see my beloved (and a bunch of other people) in If the Shoe Fits at BoarsHead. I have yet to see that show this time around and the run is almost over. We're then off to see Young King Arthur at Riverwalk. Tomorrow is Music from a Sparkling Planet at Williamston and I'm going to try to take in some of the Children's Ballet Theater rehearsal.

This week is also tech week for the plays that we're doing at school. The lower elementary are performing four 10-minute shows that are peace-themed (celebrating Maria Montessori's 100th birthday and the school's 30th birthday). The upper elementary is performing Misaki and the Four Truths and scenes from Shakepseare's Midsummer Night's Dream.