SSU - the Drowsy Chaperone

-The Story:

-The Drowsy Chaperone is a late 90's musical by Bob Martin and Don McKellar. The story is told through the point of view through the show's narrator, known as Man in Chair, who spends his night listening to the 1928 musical "the Drowsy Chaperone" on his vinyl record player in his studio apartment. As the record plays through the night, we the audience see what he is envisioning how the show was performed originally in 1928 as he sits in his chair and commentates throughout.

-The plot of "the Drowsy Chaperone" (by the fictional Gable and Stein) revolves around the wedding day of Janet Van De Graff, a famous broadway showgirl who plans to give up her life on stage in favor of the married life, and Robert Martin, popular oil business owner. George, Robert's best man, urges the couple not to see each other before the ceremony for good luck. Their wedding guests include the hostess of the ceremony, Mrs.Tottendale, Underling (her butler), Mr. Feltzieg (Janet's former producer of the Feltzieg Follies), Kitty (a dim-witted member of the follies), Two gangsters disguised as pastry chefs, Aldolpho (famous latin ladies man), the Drowsy Chaperone (Janet's marital chaperone), and Trix (the aviatrix) because...why not?  

-It cleverly satirizes the golden age of classic Broadway musical comedies. Not only capturing the absurdity of the traditional tropes from other pre existing musical comedies (including Kiss Me Kate, Anything Goes, and many others) but also establishing it's own alternate universe with the show's cast members and each of their own backstories referencing and satirizing big named Broadway  and Hollywood actors of the mid twentieth century.

-The Cast and the DIrection:

-The Man in Chair is played by Matthew Lundergan. He clearly represents us the audience as well as every die-hard fan of broadway musicals. Familiarizing himself with not only the the story of the show but the history behind the original production and the cast members as well. He becomes passionately invested in the experience of the show and gets overly frustrated when elements of the real world break his concentration from the record.

-The Chaperone is played by McKenzie Kimball. She plays this role with a high power of class and comedic cynicism. The best way to describe her performance, is a sophisticated renegade with the musical range on par with Judy Garland. Stealing every scene she is in.

-Janet Van De Graff is played by Alyssa Ivy Bene, who gorgeously captures the beauty of the talented young ingenue of the stage and screen out of the golden age of postmodern showmanship.

-The cast is riddled with with comedic duos with hilarious routines harkening back to classic Vaudeville and Burlesque entertainers. Robert Martin is played by Stephen Zubricki IV, who plays the suave yet absent-minded leading man referencing back to Jimmy Stewart and Carry Grant. The best man George, played by Sam Nudler, serves as the comedic counterpart to Zubricki's straight man of the comedic duo these two are established as.

-The second duo takes the form of Mrs. Tottendale, played by Hannah Cagney, and Underling, played by Nikos Koutsogiannis. The chemistry and routines between these two harkens back to the recycling comedic acts, like Abbott and Costello. A shorter, dim-witted, optimistic character working off of a taller, more intelligent, and more cynical counterpart performing "lame" routines that go on forever and ever.

-The third duo is Mr. Feltzieg, played by Andy Portertfield, and Kitty, played by Emma Quinlan. This duo plays more on the dim-witted vs the cynically intelligent, more so than Tottendale and Underling.

-The Final duo are the undercover gangsters/pastry chefs, played hilariously by Matt Stanley and David Picariello. These two encapsulate pun-filled word-play comedy in relation to the Marx Brothers. Stealing every moment these two are on stage. 

-Finally, one who gets as much laughs as the others, is Aldolpho, played by Asa Pedi, the larger-than-life exotic ladies man who brings the classic trope of mistaken identities to the this ensemble of hilarity.

-The style and tone of the story as well as the decorum of the ensemble is brought out to the fullest under the direction by SSU professor David Allen George. In the comedies he directs, he always takes the comedic elements and brings the ten steps further. Drowsy Chaperone is no exception. All I can say is, there is no better match made in heaven between this show and this director to help foster in the up and coming graduating classes into the newly reopened Sophia Gordon Mainstage Theatre for Salem State University.

-Overall Thoughts:

-This show not only satirizes musical theatre, but it also celebrates what audiences love about it and the influence it has on all of us. in the Prologue of the show, the Man in Chair laments about the depressing harshness of real life and pleads to the audience to understand why this musical means so much to him. Acknowledging the absurdity of it, but also recognizing the importance of that absurdity. In these times of fear, depression, indifference, uncertainty, hatred, and anxiety, one thing is certain. As we stumble along through the dark times ahead of us, the absurdity of musical theatre, as well as general theatre, as well as art itself will be there to take us to other worlds. Simpler worlds. Where logic be damned, where people's emotions can be expressed by breaking out into extravagant song and dance, and where one can marry the person they love and their love for each other will always be lovely in the end.

-The Drowsy Chaperone opens at the new Sophia Gordon Theatre Thursday April 20th at 7:30pm and will be preformed additionally on 04/21 at 7:30pm, 04/23 at 2pm, 04/27-29 at 7:30pm and 04/30 at 2pm. Tickets can be purchased online at salemstatetickets.com          

SSU - the Grapes of Wrath

   Like most countries around the world, America has its fair share of times of poverty. With a large percentage struggling to survive within a failing economy trying to stay true to their origins and their own identity, while another percentage of the population lives off that same economy with no struggle at all. Speaking as a member of a family who has come very close to poverty, I can honestly say I understand what it's like to go through that kind of struggle. American families have struggled the most, in history, during the years of the Great Depression. Not since then have we as a nation struggled through that much poverty to that degree. Though we have come very close from time to time. In the realm of story telling one of the most common time period to tell dramatic survival stories (apart from contemporary zombie apocalyptic survival stories) has been the great depression. One of literature's champions of this time, was author John Steinbeck. He, like most authors of his time, lived through the Depression and injected his experiences into his stories. Whether it be Tortilla Flatts, East of Eden, Of Mice and Men, and of course the Grapes of Wrath. Most of these stories have been adapted on stage after their original publication to help bring Steinbeck's experiences for audiences of the struggling lower class to relate to. Salem State University has been presenting the dramatization of Steinbeck's novel, Grapes of Wrath.    
-the Story-
   The story of the dramatized version to Steinbeck's novel follows very closely to the original source material. Grapes of Wrath tells the story of Tom Joad, his old preacher friend Jim Casey, and his family as they make a cross-country trek from Oklahoma, through Route 66, to California in the hope of finding work. Along the way, tragedy is met with the Joad family, loosing more and more relatives either because they couldn't survive or because they parted ways at a particular checkpoint. Once the family reaches California, they begin to realize that the work they're committing to is built up on broken promises. The Joad family moves from Makeshift camp to Makeshift camp due to a variety of different reasons, whether because of corrupt law enforcement officers or because of a lack of resources. During this time, Casey begins forming a labor union and begins to lead a strike against the deputies and the corporate businesses. Casey is killed in a fight during the strike and Tom kills Casey's attacker in retaliation. He leaves the family behind while on the run from the police, as they continue their trek to land where there is more work.      
-Honorable Mentions-
   This was a very stellar cast, all around. Each member of the central cast as well as the ensemble had moments of sadness and humor. It kept a very good balance for the tone of the production. Many of the ensemble members portrayed more than one character as the story progressed, each one with a very different personality. But the four performances that stood out the most, for me, were the most powerful performances. First is Adrian Peguero as Jim Casey. Casey is a former preacher who has lost his faith. His faith in authority is diminished but his faith in people remains in tact. He helps form the labor union and helps lead the strike due to his rebellious attitude towards the corrupted status quo. Peguero gives the character a lot of wisdom and like-ability. Second, Zack Georgian as Tom Joad. In the book as well as this production, Tom might be the central character, however, to me he seems more like the observer. The story of these characters are told through his eyes. The characters and events of the story evolve around him. Georgian did a very good job as Tom. Because Tom was arrested and put in prison for homicide, we know he could snap back into another episode throughout the story, andGeorgian gets that down very well. At times he's funny and love able, other times he can be violent and intimidating. And finally, Ma and Pa Joad, played by Danielle Woods and James Sheridan. These two worked off of each other perfectly. Whenever you saw them on stage together, you believed that this was a loving married couple who were the heads of this vast and dysfunctional family who weren't giving up but continuing to work to survive. These two ARE Ma and Pa Joad, as far as I'm concerned. They ARE the ones in charge.
-What I did like-
      The direction by Professor Peter Sampieri was spot on. One of my favorite additions to this production was adding live folk musicians performing ballads in between scenes. Not only that, but the musicians also used very primitive sound effects. For example, during a thunder storm, a musician would numerously hit a thunder sheet along with the lighting effects. Or when the family was starting off on their journey, their truck wouldn't start at first. So instead of getting pre recorded sound bites, they instead had the musicians use their percussion instruments to simulate the sounds of the engine. The set design turned the entire theatre into the inside of a barn, making it seem like the audience was watching this show be performed within a spacious barn, using whatever materials they have at their disposal to help tell the story.    
-Overall Recommendations-
   This show made me think a lot about what has been going on in the world lately. Even in our own country. People struggling through poverty, unable to trust the people who have the power to keep them employed, and trying to find out what their place in the world is and who they are as people. Not only is Steinbeck's story emotionally powerful to begin with, but the decision to do a production of Steinbeck's story now, of all times, makes seeing this show all the more significant and meaningful. Salem State University's production of Grapes of Wrath goes from Dec 3 - 13. You won't want to miss this kind of show. If you have already seen this show, let me know what you thought of it in the comment box below.

#salemstate #ssutheatre

Huntington Theater Company - A Confederacy of Dunces

In comedies, the humor of the stories is based heavily on the misery of others. Mostly on either the main character or the ensemble that surrounds the main character. And, with that, the misery of said characters comes from physical pain. Hence the beauty of slapstick comedy. However, there has always been exceptions to this theory. The humor doesn't just come from the physical pain of others, but rather the words that are used to insult them with. Comedies like, Blackadder, have relied less on slapstick comedy or even physical comedy for that matter and more on verbal comedy. The humor depends on the dialogue being spoken by an intelligent (yet extremely cynical) individual surrounded by others who are much less intelligent than himself. As I said before, the pain that the characters endure is in the insults thrown their way. One of the most recent of these kinds of comedies, that I have seen, is the Huntington Theatre Company's current production of A Confederacy of Dunces.
-the Story-
Confederacy of Dunces is a stage adaptation of picaresque novel of the same title, by John Kennedy Toole. In 1960s New Orleans, Ignatius J. Reilly a knowledgable idealist lives his life roaming around the streets and mocking the contemporary world for it's modern pop culture and lack of intelligence and creativity. Especially his own widowed mother, Irene, whom he still lives with. One night, after bailing Ignatius out of the police station for disturbing the peace, Irene accidentally backs her car into the side of a building due to Ignatius distracting her by insulting her driving skills, leading to her having to come up with five-hundred-thousand dollars to pay for the damages. Because she has only a small fraction of that amount to her name and Ignatius' name, Ignatius himself is forced to find a job. Throughout the play, Ignatius goes through several different jobs over the course of a few weeks. Each job ending with him getting fired as a result of him leading rebellions against each of his employers. From office clerk at a family own pants factory to pushing a roadside hotdog stand. All while writing love letters to Myrna Minkoff, a young woman he fell in love with during his college years.
During the story, there are three other subplots occurring as well. From Irene slowly learning to stand up for herself to Ignatius and forming a romantic relationship with a man who was arrested for disturbing the peace the same time Ignatius was arrested, to a black janitor of a local strip club being part of the owner's plan to up her business by making her employee perform strip teases with her pet cockatoo, to the inept police officer who is demoted to a bathroom stall guard at the station in multiple disguises as punishment for arresting Ignatius instead of the other man earlier.
-Honorable Mentions-
The story has it's complicated moments (as does any comedy in existence) however, it's still funny as hell. Playwright, Jeffrey Hatcher, really knows how to write very tongue-in-cheek comedy, in a British comedic fashion. A lot of Ignatius' dialogue and jokes are made up of an intellectual dialect, yet I could still understand what he was saying and found the jokes and insults all the funnier. Watching this performance made me feel like I was watching a classic comedy, like Abbott and Castello or the Marx Brothers. It's nice to know that even to this day, playwrights are still creating stories that harken back to that golden age of comedy and drama.
This production used almost no props at all. The cast mime the use of the props they're suppose to use while being backed up by the use of sound effects. The synchronization between the entire cast and the sound effects by Mark Bennett and Charles Coes is absolutely spot on. Very seldom is there a delay between the two.
-What I liked-
The look of this production was very median. What I mean is, the production was half and half. The characters wore full costumes, hair and makeup, however there were absolutely no props and very little set pieces. Like in my previous blog on Wheelock Family Theatre's production of Trumpet of the Swan, Confederacy of Dunces reminded me a lot of the works by Bertolt Brecht. In which, he used minimal sets, props, and costumes thereby allowing the audience to use their imagination to fill in the blanks. With the use of Bennett and Coes' sounds, lights by Scott Zielinski, and projection images by Sven Ortel we, the audience, were able to do just that. I definitely give credit to the show's director, David Esbjornson. His decision to make this production semi minimalistic made it all the more enjoyable for me to watch.
The cast performed perfectly. Like in a Brechtian play, most of the ensemble cast played more than one character. And, at times, it was kind of hard to notice who was playing who. With the constant quick changes and the immediate switching from one character to a completely different character, this proved to be a very strong ensemble to watch perform. And, of course, there are the two main leads; Nick Offerman as Ignatius and Anita Gillette as Irene. It's no surprise that Offerman's performance is beyond hilarious. His subtle and dignified performance matched with his intellectually insulting dialogue made his performance the funniest part of the production. Gillette's performance as Irene was very special. She starts off as an affectionate mother who cares for nothing more than her own son and continuously takes the verbal beating by him despite what she's done for him. And, my god does she take such a beating from him. You become more invested in her and actually want to see her evolve more as a character when she starts breaking out of her own comfort zone; partying with her friends and forming a new romantic relationship after living the life of a single mother for so long. And that's just what the two arch for these two characters are about, the two of them learning to break out of their comfort zones in order to escape the uneventful lives they live.      
-Overall Recommendation-
The combination of both the classic verbal humor and the Brechtian style of story telling, this was a very well-done and very enjoyable show. The humor is very witty and tongue-in-cheek, the performances are fun and memorable, and the work behind the scenes is very impressive. If you are a fan of classic witty comedies, definitely go check it out. The Huntington Theatre Company's A Confederacy of Dunces continues until Sunday, December 13th. For ticket prices and more information, go to http://www.huntingtontheatre.org/season/2015-2016/confederacy-of-dunces/  You won't want to miss it. If you have already seen this show, let me know what you thought in the comment box below.

Wheelock Family Theatre - the Trumpet of the Swan

Recently I have noticed that many professional theaters, as well as some community theaters, have starting becoming innovative with their story telling to audiences. Especially to those with physical and mental disabilities. These theaters have opened up to the variety of audience members who are handicap or have disabilities by making the performances more accessible to them. Not that this is a brand new thing, but it has become more common and frequent in the theatre scene today. One theatre which serves as an example is the Wheelock Family Theatre, located in Boston. I have only seen two shows presented by this company, and the one thing that I appreciated the most from both performances is how accessible they have made their performances to the handicapped.
Their most recent show at Wheelock, the Trumpet of the Swan, has not only continued with this accessibility, but also deals with a certain disability as well. Suffering from communication disorders. The inability to form words or sounds. Though Trumpet of the Swan is a children's story about a swan who can't talk, family audiences can take comfort in seeing how the characters find ways of communication, not just for the main character but also for those who may be suffering from disorders including; Autism, sensory impairments, Aphasia, Learning disabilities, and speech disorders.

-The Story:

The Trumpet of the Swan, based on the children's book by E.B WHite, tells the story of Louis, a Trumpeter Swan who was born a mute. He quickly becomes the "Ugly Duckling" among his Cygnet siblings, and his parents worry that he might not be able to find a mate if he cannot communicate verbally. On his own, Louis decides that he wants to try and learn to communicate by reading and writing. Louis meets an 11- year-old boy named Sam Beaver, who saved his parents nest some time in the past, before he was born. After telling him that he wants to learn how to read and write, Sam takes Louis to school with him who turns out to have a unique talent in doing so. Sam then buys Louis a chalkboard slate, so he can write his words down. Unfortunately, Louis' parents can't understand the words he is writing down. His father decides to get a trumpet for Louis to use as a means of communicating. He steals it from a local music store, breaking the store window in the process. The humans then start looking for Louis' father for the damage he has done, and he must pay for said damage. Louis tries to play his new trumpet to the love of his life, Serena, but she has flown north. By Sam's suggestion, Louis gets a job in order to obtain the money for his father to pay back. He starts by working at the summer camp that Sam goes to and gets a job as a trumpet player for the campers. After the summer is over, Louis travels along the east coast getting jobs as a trumpet player from the Swan Boats of Boston to the Philadelphia Zoo. While in Philadelphia, Louis saves Serena, who was blown off course by a wind storm, from being kept as an addition to the Zoo. Both Louis and Serena journey back to visit his parents and tell them that they have gotten married. Louis gives the money he has earned to his father in order to pay back the music shop keeper. As Cob is about to land outside of the store, the shop keeper shoots him in the shoulder. As he delivers a message from Louis and the money, Cob flies away. Some years pass and Sam is now 20 years old, camping in Canada, where he hears the sound of Louis playing his trumpet to his children.

-Honorable Mentions:
The first thing that stood out the most to me, at first, were the costumes designed by Lisa Simpson and Katiee Tredway. The costumes, for the animal characters especially, work very well with style of the music that Director, Shelly Bolman, decided to use. Which was Jazz. The costumes for Cob (Jaime Carillo), Cygnus (Caroline Lawton), and Louis (Elbert Joseph) are a perfect combination of Swan like movement and jazz style. 
This production seemed like it was a lot of fun to perform. The cast, both adults and children, clearly are having the time of their lives, and are having a lot of fun playing these characters. Jaime Carillo, playing Cob, was my favorite performance. He was clearly having more fun than everyone else in the cast. His character is often overly dramatic and it fits perfectly in a children's show.

-What I liked:
This production reminded of a children's production of Winnie the Pooh I saw at my community college, Northern Essex Community Collage (NECC). The way the costumes were designed were similar to how the costumes were designed in Trumpet of the Swan. Using a combination of regularly stylized clothing to help depict the animal character. Not only the costumes, but the simplicity of the plot and conflicts that may seem fairly light and simple to adults but heavy and important to children. One other thing that I liked about this production. was the fact that the character of Louis would sometimes talk in sign language. This goes back to what I said earlier with other theaters trying to add more elements into their shows to make them more accessible for children with deafness. It was a nice touch being something the children can look up to as a role model as well as adding to the character's uniqueness.
-What I didn’t like:
These may seem like minor nit-pick, but a lot of the logic behind the plot and some of the character choices seemed very unrealistic. I understand that this is a children's story, but it's hard to believe that a swan would learn to read and write so easily, learn to play a trumpet, and have to be a working member of society. On top of that, all the human characters see all this happening, and they treat it so calmly, like it's an everyday occurrence. There was one scene where a human character meets up with Louis and discovers that he can write and at first thinks about telling other people about this, but then changes his mind believing that no one would believe him. In any other story, I would have a major problem with these problems, but it's a children's story. It runs on child logic. 

-Overall recommendation:
Wheelock is clearly trying to put on a lot of children shows that are fun to watch for the whole family but also tackle situations that children with disabilities can relate to. Seeing characters that deal with similar problems that they do gives them hope and inspires them to preserver through whatever problems they encounter in life. I can see this show doing just that for children. I highly recommend taking the family to see this. There is definitely things in here for both children and parents.
The Trumpet of the Swan is at Wheelock Family Theatre from October 23 to November 22. For more information on tickets, visit their website http://www.wheelockfamilytheatre.org/current-season.aspx and follow the hashtags #trumpetingwft #wft35. If you have already seen this show, let me know what you thought in the comment box below.

SSU - Student Theater Ensemble - 12 Angry Jurors

WIthin the past two years, this nation has been bombarded with tragedies being told to us through social media. Most frequently recent, cases of police officers severely harming suspects for crimes, or reasons, not always clear. The positions of who is more violent towards the other have varied through every case, likewise to the opinions of spectators. Through social media, spectators have all developed their own opinions on the cases based on the evidence they have read about or their own speculations based on their own personal reasons. With that said, there never has the opinions of other spectators been more important than in the realms of courtroom juries. Some jurors have based their verdicts on their opinion on either the crime or the suspect higher than the evidence that is hidden deeper between the lines. Negating said evidence all together. These episodes have occurred for a very long time, since the use of courtroom juries began. 
-The Story:
In 1964, Reginald Rose wrote a stage adaptation of, "Twelve Angry Men", based on the teleplay he wrote ten years earlier. The play takes place in 1954 in a jurors room in a local courthouse. There are twelve jurors present discussing the case of the defendant, a colored teenager who is accused of stabbing his father to death out in public. The jurors must come to a unanimous verdict of guilty or not guilty, and all vote guilty in the beginning until one of the jurors votes not guilty. The lone juror tries to convince the rest of the jury that the case is not so easily one-sided as they originally thought, despite the (often prejudice) stubbornness of the other jurors. What starts out as an easily one-sided verdict progresses into a battle between logic and strategy against stubbornness and prejudice to move the verdict to another side.
Salem State University presents the Student Theatre Ensemble (STE)'s adaptation of Rose's play, with the style of later productions. In which the setting is somewhat modern day, instead of the early 1950's, and the cast, which originally consisted of a all male cast, now includes male and female performers, changing the title from "Twelve Angry Men," to "Twelve Angry Jurors."

-Honorable Mentions:

Each character in this play has no names, they only go by their juror numbers, with the exception of the Foreman (who manages the group), the security guard (who guards the door outside), and the Judge and Clerk (both voice over). The cast do a very good job with their performances. Because this play was originally written in the 50's, the dialogue from most of the characters comes off as corny and somewhat stereotypical. But, honestly it makes the performances fun to watch. Out of all the arguing and conflicts that transpires in the jury room, the most intense conflict is between Juror Eight and Juror Three. Juror Eight being the only juror that votes not guilty and Juror Three being the juror that wants to see the defendant pay for his crime more than anyone else in the room. Each character is given an equal share in the spotlight, allowing the story to show that there is more to them than originally expected. However, the two performances that stand out the most are the two opposing jurors. Juror EIght, played by Jodi Buoncuore, plays a very strong-hearted and determined woman who simply wants true justice to be served where it is deserved. Buoncuore (who was previously in STE's production of Circle Mirror Transformation) has the attributes that make an empowering female lead. The kind that audiences can get behind and route for every step of the way. Juror Three, played by Ted Silva, plays the perfect antagonist. A true opposite to juror Eight. Stubborn, vengeful, hot-headed, but most importantly passionate about what he believes is true justice. Despite how one dimensionally cruel the character is, Silva still manages to make the character enjoyable to watch. He makes the character funny, annoying, intensely intimidating, yet also sympathetic. You can tell that there is something the character is hiding which causes him to be in this mind-set, but you don't need it spelled out for you. Which is what SIlva does perfectly.

-What I didn't like?

As I said earlier, the play was originally written in 50's. Naturally, the dialogue in this production seems a little bit dated at times. It makes it hard to stay in the world these characters are in, when the majority of the time they are talking like they should be on Dragnet. For example, in the beginning of the play, after the group of jurors have entered the room and have gotten settled in, they start talking about themselves and the case all through exposition. One of the jurors, tells the group that she works in advertising. She says this numerous times throughout the show, and at first I found it funny. Until she kept mentioning the same thing at least five times, if not more. It started to get a little annoying to me, almost to the point where I kept thinking to myself, "We get it! You work in advertising! Please move on!" Not only that, but it's never fully established whether this production is suppose to take place in modern day or somewhere in the 50s. At the very top of the show, we hear a montage of different news stations covering many different homicide stories, All from modern day. yet we have characters enter the juror room dressed up like they're all from I Love Lucy.

-What I liked?

Despite the dialogue being very dated, I really did enjoy the performances from the cast, all around. Each character had a distinct personality. And the cast did a really good job portraying these personalities. Though 12 Angry Jurors is suppose to be a heavy courtroom drama, I think it had a good flow and it certainly knew when to lighten up and be a little funny once in a while. The story and the characters certainly know how to suck you into the case with them. When the group goes over the different demonstrations of how the murder may have gone down, you can't help but try to work with them in trying to figure out the truth. Even though the demonstrations themselves might seem a little dated and a lot more simple and innocent compared to days studies, I still think the clues they find are pretty creative.This show makes you want get into the case and try to solve the mystery along with them.

-Overall recommendation:
Samuel Lewis, the director of this production, took a classic drama and made it relevant due to the numerous tragedies effecting this country within the past two years. If ever there was a time to present this production to an audience consisting mostly of college students, it is now. If you are someone who feels strongly about any of the past tragedies occurring all across the country or the people that may have caused it or been a part of it, this show will most likely make you think twice before passing final judgement. 
Though some of the dialogue is a bit dated, and some things about the world building is unclear, this is still a well done courtroom drama. Definitely worth checking out. 12 Angry Jurors opens Thursday November 5th and runs until Sunday November 8th in the Metro room inside the Ellison Campus Center at Salem State University. Order tickets online by emailing stetickets@gmail.com or call the STE hotline at 978-542-7000.

North Shore Music Theater - Billy Elliot (Musical)

We live in a time where there are two things we strive to discover for ourselves, who are we as individuals and what certain community do we belong in? Both are equally difficult to figure out when we're in our adolescent years, but obviously the older we get the more easier it gets for us. But this subject seems to be the main theme of North Shore Music Theater's newest show, Billy Elliot the musical. The musical, an adaptation of the 2000 movie of the same title, takes place in north-eastern England during the coal miners strike of 1984 through 85 and revolves around an eleven year old boy, Billy Elliot, who develops a passion for dancing ballet. However, because of the current situation in his community and the emotional and mental states of his dad, older brother, and grandma, Billy must keep this a secret. Not until he meets a local Ballet instructor, Mrs Wilkinson, who immediately sees Billy's talent and encourages him to continue seeing her so she can train him to audition for the Royal Ballet School to pursue his dream.
Having seen the movie first, I figured that the musical would follow it almost note for note. It does, with the exception of a few added elements. In the movie, it is implied that Grandma was once an aspiring dancer when she was younger. In the musical, there is an entire musical number dedicated to telling the story of ambitions for dancing and her marriage to Billy's Grandfather. Some parts of the movie that might have been skimmed over were explored more deeply in the musical, which made it hard to decide which version was better.
Nevertheless, this production was very good. The performances from the ensemble were very enjoyable to watch all together. Ranging from very funny, to very intense, to very touching. Nicholas Dantes was amazing as Billy. Everyone who has either seen the movie or seen a preview of the show will know that the dancing that Billy does is intensely fast, and Dantes certainly gives out a jolt of electricity whenever he performs. Janet Dickinson played a very good Mrs. Wilkinson. To me she seemed like a less sinister version of Ms. Hannigan from Annie. In that she has the disillusioned-sassy wisdom that she shares with the kids that look up to her. Her chemistry with Dantes was very believable and realistic. Finally, Timothy Gulan's performance as Billy's dad, Jackie, was somewhat different from the movie's Jackie. In the movie, Jackie came off as a lot more mean spirited and more violent towards his sons. Which given the circumstances that lead him to be in this mind set, you can kind of understand. In the musical, Jackie's attitude towards his sons are pulled back a little bit. They took the liberties of making him a little bit more humorous and more lighthearted. He is still the miserable stern father, but he is less intense in this version. When he is being humorous, you can't help but laugh and enjoy this character. The music by Elton John and Lee Hall was composed amazingly by Andrew Bryan and the North Shore orchestra. Likewise to the choreography by the production's director Adam Pelty, Assistant Choreographer Bryan Thomas Hunt and dance captain Vanessa Russo.
Billy Elliot brings up several different subjects in today's society; self discovery, unity among communities, union strikes, homosexuality, and standing up for your passions in life. With the way the show handles these subjects, this production was very enjoyable to watch. Very heavy on the foul language, so I would think about bringing the kids to see this. Besides that, I highly recommend seeing it.
Billy Elliot the musical is being held at North Shore Music Theater, in Beverly MA from September 30th to October 11. For tickets, visit their website at http://www.nsmt.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1180 .          

Newburyport Firehouse - I love you, You're perfect, Now change

In every relationship there are three stages throughout. The first stage consists of finding the right person, going out into the world and fishing through the sea for the right catch. Going on dates, giving/receiving the first kiss, trying to impress each other in and out of the bedroom, and taring down the walls of distrust replacing it with the tall structure of trust. The second stage consisting of taking the new-found relationship to the next levels. Sharing families together, owning a house together, and sharing marital vows together. The third stage consisting of dealing with the aftermath  of previous stages. Dealing with commitments, sacrificing the thrills of the single life for the good of the new marital and parental life, and debating whether they made the right decisions in entering this new life.
On Thursday, June 18, the Newburyport Firehouse will open it's new musical production of I love you, You're Perfect, Now Change. The play is a series of vignettes performed by an ensemble of four. This ensemble consists of Carli Hamilton, Carol Smilinsky, Arthur Gomez, and Stephen Faria, directed by John Budzyna. The music, originally by Jimmy Robberts and Joe DiPietro is performed by Alisa Bucchiere. The play itself is a series of romantic comedies that greatly interpret the three stages of every relationship. The highs and lows. And they are all brought together by the hilarious performances by all four cast members, the classical piano playing by Bucchiere, and of course the brilliant direction by Budzyna.
This show is perfect for all those who have been in relationships, whether newly formed or ongoing for many years. No matter what sort of relationship people have been in, audiences will get a great kick out of the tongue-in-cheek humor of this show. I love you, You're perfect, Now change runs from June 18-28. Get your tickets on there website, http://www.firehouse.org/iloveyou.html.