Lucky

I’ve attended multiple performances of a production many times in the past. When the now-defunct Stage 1 did Children’s Letters to God, I saw every single one of the show’s 8 or 9 performances. I was at the theater mostly for logistical reasons but nothing was compelling me to watch the show every time. I chose to watch it every time because it was an awesome production.

In other cases, a show like VA Rep’s The Color Purple has compelled me to take different groups of friends to it as proof of the quality of Richmond theater. 

For Quill’s Lysistrata, starring Grey Garrett, I saw the show three times mostly for business reasons. My new venture, Behind-the-Scenes RVA, dovetails perfectly with Quill’s mission: they seek to produce theatre worth talking about and one of my goals with BTS-RVA is to provide context that can inform those conversations.

After seeing the show for the third time, I realized how my perspective on the show had changed and, also, what I was focusing on in the third viewing versus the first. To whit:

• There are some comedic powerhouses in this cast. Jeff Clevenger and Maggie Bavolack, in particular, are so talented that they can generate laughs with a look or a line delivery. After the first viewing, theirs were the performances I remembered. But after repeated viewings, I gained appreciation for CJ Bergin as the Spartan herald who had several very choice bits and absolutely nailed them every single time. I also grew to love the playful dynamics between Michael Hawke and Melissa Johnston Price and the small comic moments they capitalized on, Michael getting a hearty laugh by dangling his feet like a toddler and Melissa’s sarcasm after removing “the mother of all gnats” from Michael’s eye. Certainly, a good chunk of credit must be given to director James Ricks for locating these moments and elevating them, but the execution was also exceptional.


• In part because they are obscured behind masks, it’s easy to overlook the work of the chorus of old women who seize control of the Acropolis. Some choice lines are delivered by Katherine Wright, Addie Barnhart and especially Amanda Durst with her rambling fig rant.

• I’m sure epic poems could be written about the beauty, both unclothed and clothed, of Terrie Elam as Ismenia/Peace. But it is also her sweet clear voice that lends another layer of pathos to the show’s final scene, rising up a cappella as the gravity of what has happened sinks in.


• And while on the subject of the beauty of the cast, it’s worth mentioning that, in Lysistrata, Rachel Rose Gilmour bolsters the significant cred she earned through a stellar performance in The Toxic Avenger as much more than just a pretty face. She shows exceptional comic chops in her teasing of a delightfully confounded Adrian Grantz; she’s one of many reasons I’m looking forward to 5th Wall’s Murder Ballad.

• Having seen Grey Garrett in a range of excellent roles, at first I came away from Lysistrata disappointed about her part. As I described in the Curtain Call podcast, she’s kind of the scold of the piece, forced to repeatedly browbeat her team into staying in line. It was only through repeated viewing that I saw more of the subtlety of her performance, her very fun teasing of Kinesias as her approaches the Acropolis, her look of anticipatory victory right before she brings Peace out to the inflamed negotiators. I still have liked her better in her restrained mania in The Wild Party or as the unexpectedly empathetic White Queen in Alice. But she still manages to shine in this less meaty role.


• Ah, the ending. While at first I was conflicted by the ending, I’ve grown to really appreciate it. Out of the numerous choices James Ricks had in wrapping up what is usually kind of a “meh” ending to the story, he took a bold choice, a somewhat unsettling choice, but one that puts a succinct button on the underlying issues addressed in the show. I’m sure it is somehow inconsistent with different conventions – either of traditional Greek comedy or arguably of modern “sitcom” comedy – but for me, it makes me leave the show with more to chew on rather than just walk away blithely satisfied at being well entertained.

There are issues of feminism and sexism that have been talked about rather openly thanks to the Style review and the response James wrote to it so I’m not going to circle back on them now. These issues were debated quite rigorously among people who came to the Behind-the-Scenes tours. And that kind of conversation is pretty awesome, I think, and just goes to show that this was indeed theatre worth talking about.

By the way, if you’re reading this, please tell your friends and family (and strangers on the street) about future Behind-the-Scenes opportunities; there’s one coming up for RTP’s Cloud 9 this Friday and Firehouse’s Desire Under the Elms the first week in November. More talking about theater will hopefully get more people to get out of their houses and attending live theater. That’s a win for us all!

It's the Music

It’s silly to say that what makes musicals different is the music. But it's certainly the music that makes the difference in the currently running co-production by Yes, And! Entertainment and TheatreLab, “The Last Five Years.”

The accompaniment for many musicals in Richmond – and I expect most other mid-market cities – is often electronic. Musicians need to be paid and arranged and rehearsed and such, which can be expensive, so many shows are tracked. It’s easy to think that this doesn’t diminish the impact of the production, particularly if the vocalists are strong.

But then you hear the robust, glorious sound of musical director John-Stuart Fauquet’s consummate 6-person crew – 2 cellos and a violin bolstering the piano / guitar / bass trio – and you realize an essential element that is too often missing in other shows. It’s delightful to hear the soar and swell of this chamber group in service of Jason Robert Brown’s complex score. As my wife said afterwards, the music is essentially a character in this emotional two-hander and Fauquet and company bring that character to vibrant, almost symphonic, life.

The music perfectly complements performers as powerful as Christie Jackson and Alexander Sapp. Anyone who knows Richmond theater knows these two actors and how incredibly good they are. That director Chelsea Burke wrangled them both for this production was a stroke of genius; as soon as they were announced, this production became one of the most anticipated in town.

I don’t believe Style is going to do a review of this production because it already published a fine preview by Rich Griset. I’m not offering a review here and would defer to Mr. Williams at Sifter who gave a review that I (for once) am almost entirely in agreement with, down to his drawing attention to the occasionally glitchy lights. Jerry uses words like “flawless” and “charming” and “superb,” all adjectives I heartily endorse.

I will augment Jerry’s review by offering a few additional comments:

• Alexander Sapp continues to be phenomenal without being annoying. I never lose sight of his humanity; that’s part of what made his portrayals in “Toxic Avenger” and “Croaker” so good, projecting something relatable even when the characters were literally inhuman. That relatability serves him exceptionally well here, as his character responds to his changing fortunes with choices that may not exactly be admirable but are certainly understandable.


• Christie Jackson’s delivery of the “Climbing Uphill/Audition Sequence” song may be one of the best single performances of a song I’ve witnessed in a long time. As lovely and talented as she is, she made clear the crippling insecurity and uncertainty that an audition provokes, at the same time singing her heart out through the tricky melodies and the “belting as high as [she] can.”


• In his review, Jerry mentions that Jackon’s character has “less versatility and character depth,” which was the basis of a conversation I had during the car ride home after the show. The show is ingenious in many ways but that shortfall is the one nit I would have to pick. I would have appreciated it just that much more if Cathy had been on the cusp of some kind of positive transition at the show’s end or if some additional layers of experience could have been mixed into her story. It’s disappointing principally because Jackson has proved many times she can deliver whatever nuance and depth is required in a role. I loved her in this part but felt like it only exercised 75% of her range and can image how spectacular it would have been if we had gotten closer to 100%.

That said, this minor deficit in the musical’s book takes nothing away from the success of this production. This is the kind of production that makes me appreciate the surprising wealth of talent we have in Richmond. From the brilliant musicians offstage to the captivating actors onstage, it’s hard for me to imagine a better staging of this show.