"Send the Light" Tonight

As part of New Route Theatre's "One Shot Deal" series, Don Shandrow is bringing his electrifying musical "Send the Light" back to Bloomington-Normal tonight.

Did you know it was a risk for Depression-era farmers to organize electric co-ops? No? Then this is the musical for you, showing various characters who struggle with and celebrate the changes and possibilities that arise when electricity is connected to the countryside. The script includes oldsters and youngsters, husbands and wives, fathers, mothers and sons, dreamers, survivors, pioneers and agents of change.

"Send the Light" premiered here in 2007, with six performances at the McLean County Museum of History. Shandrow also took his story of how rural electrical cooperatives were organized in the 1930s on the road to Springfield and St. Louis, including four actors, two musicians, eleven scenes and more than a dozen characters. You can see a Pantagraph article about that initial run here.

The show was written and conceived by Don Shandrow, with songs by Phil Shaw and incidental music by David Berchtold. Just like back in 2007, actors Rhys Lovell and Irene Taylor are on stage, with Hannah Kerns, back then the production assistant, added to the cast along with newcomer Ryan Tipton. The music of "Send the Light" will be performed by Shaw, Berchtold and Blues Hall of Fame inductee Steve "the Harp" Mehlberg.

Tickets are $5 and may be purchased at the door. For more information, you may visit the event's Facebook page.

SEND THE LIGHT

Wednesday, August 10

The Eaton Gallery
411 North Center Street, Bloomington

Reminders!

Just a quick update to remind you that this weekend represents your last chance to visit the Illinois Shakespeare Festival and the Miller Park production of Schoolhouse Rock.

And this is also your first weekend to see my friend Kevin Wickart in "H.M.S. Pinafore" with Prairie Fire Theatre (performances at Normal Community High School), as well as my friend Joel Shoemaker in "Hairspray" at Eastlight over in East Peoria.

Hie thee to a theater! Quickly, before everything is gone!

My Take on "Crazy, Stupid, Love."

Everybody I know who's seen "Crazy, Stupid, Love." -- the new divorce comedy from writer Dan Fogelman and directors Glenn Ficarra and John Requa -- has loved it. I didn't. I liked it well enough. And it has definitely stuck with me. But I'm just not 100% on board with it. And I'm not exactly sure why.

On paper, "Crazy, Stupid, Love." sounds perfect for me (with the exception of that second comma and the period at the end, both of which really bug). I love Steve Carell and Julianne Moore. I like Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone. I love romantic comedies (I wrote about 35 of them for Harlequin Books, after all) and some of my favorite Hollywood movies are the divorce/remarriage comedies, like "The Awful Truth" and "The Philadelphia Story." There's just something irresistible about two people who clearly belong together who are having a hard time seeing that fact as clearly as we in the audience do.

The trailer for "Crazy, Stupid, Love." makes it look like a laugh-a-minute comedy, but when you're actually watching the film, it becomes clear pretty quickly that that's not really what it is. Instead, it's a sweet, sad movie about the difficulty and pain involved in opening yourself up, the awkwardness of trying to reach out, and overall, just how tough (and yes, crazy and stupid) love can be. And there are times when the aching vulnerability of its characters make "Crazy, Stupid, Love." kind of hard to watch. We've all been stupid for love at some point in our lives, whether we're middle-aged, like Cal and Emily, the couple who've been married for 25 years but are on the verge of divorce, or in the prime of our lives, like 20-somethings Jacob and Hannah -- he's a suave player, while she's the smart girl who keeps spurning his advances -- or so young it hurts, like 17-year-old babysitter Jessica, who has a crush on Cal even as her 13-year-old charge, Robbie, desperately yearns for her.

Steve Carell is a much better actor than people give him credit for (well, it may be his own fault. "Dinner for Schmucks,"anyone?) and he does a beautiful job with Cal, the man who wears New Balance sneakers and baggy Dockers, who is so surprised that his wife wants a divorce that he completely shuts down. Cal is the heart of the movie, and Carell makes every on-screen moment count.

Julianne Moore gets less to do as Emily, the wife who dumps him, and her character is also less sympathetic. Still, the two have excellent chemistry, and Moore makes you wish we got more time with Emily to really figure out what went wrong.

Ryan Gosling has been given the showiest role, as Jacob the womanizer who takes pity on poor Cal and gives him a makeover and some serious lessons in How to Pick Up Chicks. He's been dressed to look like a hipster fashion maven with a hard candy shell, but it is to Gosling's credit that he can do the about-face the script demands and suddenly show the cracks in the perfect facade. He is lucky enough to be playing opposite Emma Stone as Hannah the law student, since she has a warmth and intelligence that humanizes her love interest, too.

Supporting players Kevin Bacon (as the guy Emily cheats with) and Marisa Tomei (as a woman Cal picks up in a bar) do fine work, adding good energy and humor to the mix.

Even the youngsters -- former "America's Next Top Model" contender Analeigh Tipton as Jessica, the babysitter, and a scruffy kid named Jonah Bobo as Cal and Emily's son Robbie -- are compelling and authentic, as well as easy to root for. Still, the sexy bits they get involved in are more than a little cringe-worthy.

My other problems with "Crazy, Stupid, Love." (aside from the title punctuation) are the plot points that strain credulity, like all these people in what looks like a thriving suburban area all going to the same bar, and even though some of them know each other, they never see each other at that bar where they all hang out. There are other big coincidences that I'm not going to spoil, but let's just say that I felt like they were a bit of a cheat, too.

So there's the rub. I fell in love a little, especially with hapless Cal, the regular guy dealt such a hard blow at the beginning. He felt very real, so real I began to root for him and hurt for him and want him to turn out okay. But in the home stretch, Fogelman's script undercut the real emotions with whiz-bang comedy coincidences and slapstick melees, with "Oh, no!" reveals and out-of-nowhere payoffs, instead of a really satisfying conclusion. It's the old bait and switch. Or maybe just a screenwriter who didn't trust his own characters, who felt the need to go silly instead of sentimental when it counted most.

CRAZY, STUPID, LOVE.

Directors: Glenn Ficarra and John Requa
Screenwriter: Dan Fogelman

Cast incudes: Steve Carell, Julianne Moore, Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone, Analeigh Tipton, Jonah Bobo, Marisa Tomei, Kevin Bacon, Beth Littleford, John Carroll Lynch, Liza Lapira, Joey King and Josh Groban.

Running time: 1:58
MPAA Rating: PG-13

Currently playing at Carmike Palace Cinema 10, Starplex Normal Stadium 14 and Wehrenberg Bloomington Galaxy 14 Cinema.

Jon Benjamin Has a Van AND an ISU Alum on Comedy Central

The amazing Pete Guither, whose official title is, I believe Assistant Dean for Communications and Facilities, College of Fine Arts, Illinois State University, shared an interesting communication a day or two ago.

It seems that an ISU alum named Gary Wilmes has a role on a TV series called JON BENJAMIN HAS A VAN airing on Comedy Central, Wednesdays at 9:30 Central time. Wilmes posted a Facebook notice about his show, asking people to a) watch and b) pass along the news, both to get more viewers for JON BENJAMIN HAS A VAN and to test the new social media waters.

From Wilmes' appeal:

"I happen to be on a show you probably never heard of.

If you know me, you know I don't ask for much. If you don't know me, you received this because you know someone who does know me. Or someone who knows someone who knows someone who...

The show is Jon Benjamin Has A Van.

It's on the bubble and needs viewers tomorrow night [Wednesday, August 3] at 10:30 pm est on Comedy Central. Just before the Daily Show.

If you can watch it, great. If you have to set your dvrs, cool. And if you can't do either, please re post this post. I'm asking you to make this post go viral.

Share it on your wall. Ask your friends to share it on their wall. Post it. Link it. Like it. Question it. I'm curious to know if this social media gorilla can actually make a difference."

So there you have it.

Sincerely
Gary Wilmes"

You can see video clips here as well as more information in general about JON BENJAMIN HAS A VAN, billed as an "inventive, irreverent and hilarious narrative/fake news magazine comedy show." Comedy Central's site also says, "Each show is a new adventure where Jon unwittingly becomes part of a story he's investigating. From hard hitting news to the softer side of human interest stories Jon, and his van, are there. Hop in!"

Remember: JON BENJAMIN HAS A VAN airs on Comedy Central on Wednesdays at 10:30 pm Eastern/9:30 pm Central. And Gary Wilmes, an ISU alum, is in it, even though he is not the naked one with wings in the picture above and he may or may not be in the van. I do know he plays a character named Dave Kneebone, but not his relationship with either Jon Benjamin or the van. I guess we'll all have to watch it to find out.

Gaily Tripping, Lightly Skipping... Kevin Paul Wickart on "H.M.S. Pinafore"

My friend Kevin Paul Wickart has shared his theatrical experiences with us before, as you may recall. Here is Kevin again, this time on the subject of "H.M.S Pinafore" with Prairie Fire Theatre, in which Kevin plays Sir Joseph Porter.


This article already resides in Topsy-Turvydom in that it is essentially a review of a show that has not yet opened. I will hold this Gilbertian convention by continuing the article more or less backwards.

WHO: Prairie Fire Theatre
WHAT: H.M.S. Pinafore, by W.S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan
WHEN: August 5-7 and 13-14; Sunday performances at 3:00pm, all others at 7:30pm.
WHERE: The stage at Normal Community High School
TICKETS: Adults $18.00; Seniors (60+) $15.00; Students (incl. college) $10.00. Group discounts available. Tickets may be purchased at the door.

If you are a devotee of Gilbert & Sullivan's work, you will love this production; if not, ditto. Either way, you will be entertained.

How can I be so certain of this statement? When I first told my musical theatre friends that Prairie Fire was producing Pinafore in the summer, the conversation pretty much echoed one of the running jokes in the show:

"We're doing Pinafore in August."
"What, again?"
"Yes, again."
"What, again?"
"Well...sort of."

Trust me--if you're a G&S fan, you're probably rolling on the floor right now.

To the uninitiated, hearing the best-known works of G&S described as "operettas" equates them with opera, and thus evokes the image of a lot of people standing around and singing very high or very low about subjects that are incomprehensible unless you understand Italian or German.

However, Gilbert & Sullivan were not of that ilk. They wrote of themes to which the common man could relate; they were social commentators. In a very weird way, they were the Monty Python's Flying Circus of the Victorian Era. Their themes are absurd, their situations ridiculous, but they make a very telling point with regard to social convention. There is an edge to the humor. The music is grand, intricate and powerful; it lifts the spirit, crushes the soul and draws the laugh with equal facility. It was groundbreaking stuff for the late 1800's, and is the reason G&S are held with such esteem.

This esteem, unfortunately, has led to many directors of Gilbert & Sullivan playing the ends of the directorial spectrum. They either stage a production dripping with so much respect for the writers that the humor ends up hiding below-decks, or let it all drift into such a campy mess that the cast's constant winking at the audience comes near to triggering seizures. In light of this, it's hard to fault the people whose eyes glaze over when you mention G&S; to them it's more like G&S&M.

For the current Prairie Fire production, Gwen De Veer (in her directorial debut) strikes a wonderful balance. She clearly "gets" what G&S were going for in writing this operetta, and brings that out in the cast performances. She is also a trained actress and singer, and so allows the cast members to explore their own ideas for their characters without compromising her vision for the show. The result is a show in which the cast is thoroughly invested from overture to grand finale. Joyous performances and often-madcap antics are held together (and occasionally under control) by amazing vocal performances, all of it remaining in context and focused on the central themes of the libretto. This may be one of the truest presentations of Gilbert and Sullivan's material. Don't believe me? Come see the show and then compare it to the events shown in the G&S pseudo-biopic "Topsy-Turvy." You'll be better for both experiences.

For those of you who are not familiar with H.M.S. Pinafore (or, as I was until about two months ago, eternally confusing it with Pirates of Penzance), here's the basic plot:

Captain Corcoran of the British vessel H.M.S. Pinafore has a beautiful daughter, Josephine, who he plans to marry off to the First Lord of the Royal Navy--the Right Honorable Sir Joseph Porter, K.C.B. Josephine, however, is in love with Ralph Rackstraw, one of her father's low-born sailors; and he loves her in turn. She understands the restrictions of class, agrees to abide by her father's wishes, and vows that Ralph will never know of her feelings for him. Mistaking her hesitation in accepting his proposal as concern over his "exalted rank," Sir Joseph assures her that "love is a platform upon which all ranks meet." Thus heartened, Josephine confesses her love to Ralph and they plan to elope. Captain Corcoran is tipped off to their plan by his most hideous seaman, Dick Deadeye, and rushes to stop them. Sir Joseph discovers the plot and it appears as if nobody will live happily ever after...but for a dark secret revealed by an unexpected source.

Josephine is played by both Lindsay Eckhardt and Carolyn Pircon; each brings a powerful soprano voice to the role, as well as a unique blend of poised Englishwoman and petulant girl-child. Her father, Captain Corcoran, is portrayed by Brandon Albee with appropriate fatherly concern tinged with a bit of ambitious toadying. Michael Schneider is the remarkably fine fellow Ralph Rackstraw, projecting emotional earnestness and almost terminal bewilderment as events unfold around him. The role of Buttercup is also double-cast with Kate Rozycki and Jennifer Lumsdon, who each have a solidly different take on the flirtatious and yet matronly. In the catalytic role of Sir Joseph Porter, we have Yours Truly. With so many earnest and serious characters already on deck, I opted for a more unconventional portrayal that is supported by the director. Another catalyst is Dick Deadeye, played for all its self-aware grotesqueness by Matt Skibo. Rounding out the primary cast is Cousin Hebe, leader of Sir Joseph's entourage of female relatives, played to the fawning hilt by both Dana Anderson and Samm Bettis. Supporting them is a chorus of more than a dozen excellent voices and actors as the crew of the Pinafore and the rest of the relatives. Far from the frequent "park and bark" type of chorus, these folks are an active part of every scene.

Casting was based primarily upon vocal ability, and this comes out in the music that makes up 85% of the show. The performances are joyous, earnest and honest. As a cast we are having the time of our lives on stage; we're certain you'll do the same in the audience.

So there you have it -- all the reasons you need to see H.M.S. Pinafore this weekend or next, charmingly provided by Mr. Kevin Paul Wickart. Thanks, Kevin! For more information, including ticket info, click here.

Happy August to Me!

See the chimpanzee and the birthday cake up there? I used that art last year to accompany my "What's happening in August" blog, since August is my birth month and I've always liked monkeys. And that post got a ton of hits. It's still getting hits.

I can't imagine any reason people would still be interested in reading about what was going on in August, 2010, in Bloomington-Normal, so I have to think it's the chimp and the birthday cake that's drawing all the hits. And that is why I'm using it again, as a test, to see if it will do the same thing this year. (My friend Kathleen has noticed the same phenomenon with hedgehogs in her blog.)

For those of you actually interested in finding out what's happening this month, feel free to ignore the monkey and read on.

August is traditionally a slow month in local theaters, as summer seasons wind down and everybody clears the decks for fall. But there are certainly options if you're in a theater-going mood.

First up, the Illinois Shakespeare Festival has one more week and six performances to go. There are two opportunities left to see their luminous "Romeo and Juliet," romping "Complete Works of Shakespeare (Abridged)" and emotional "Winter's Tale." I especially liked Deb Alley's production of "The Winter's Tale," set in the Empire period, and I recommend you catch it while you can.

"The 39 Steps" also continues through this weekend at Urbana's Station Theater. This funny, silly farce, using four actors to portray way more than 39 characters, is well worth a visit.

Performing outside at Miller Park, the BCPA Spotlight Theatre Camp has one weekend left of "Schoolhouse Rock," where you'll learn about conjunctions and verbs and How a Bill Becomes a Law, all in the zippiest way possible.

When it comes to new shows in August, Prairie Fire and their "HMS Pinafore" should be first on your list. It opens August 5th and runs through the 14th, with performances at Normal Community High School Auditorium, 3900 East Raab Road, Normal. Kevin Paul Wickart, one of the stars of the show, will tell you more about this "Pinafore" tomorrow, so tune in for that one right here at A Follow Spot.

New Route Theatre continues its "One Shot Deal Series" with "Send in the Light," their flagship production, conceived and written by Don Shandrow with songs by Phil Shaw and incidental music by David Berchtold. Shandrow describes the show as, "a celebration of the change electricity brought to rural America in the 1930's" and invites you to join New Route Theatre at the Eaton Gallery on August 10th at 7 pm to experience that light.

Over in Champaign, the Champaign-Urbana Theatre Company will present "The Music Man" August 4-14 on the Parkland College Stage.

If you are already itching to get your fall plans in shape, you can buy your tickets to Community Players' "And Then There Were None," get season tickets to Heartland Theatre, peruse the fall schedules for ISU and IWU, and check out the Normal Theater's brand-new website.

As for me, I will be celebrating my birthday and my anniversary and trying to find a nice chimp to blow out the candles.

"Slings and Arrows" Offers Outrageous, Hilarious Fortune

As we head into the last week of our local Shakespeare Festival, I have been having fun augmenting my experience, first with Jane Dentinger's "Winter's Tale" mystery novel and now with a Canadian TV series (three seasons, six episodes each) called "Slings and Arrows."

My friend Ron introduced me to "Slings and Arrows," which concerns the crazy backstage happenings at a fictional (and quite dysfunctional) Canadian Shakespeare festival that seems to be based on the Stratford Festival. After the first episode, I was completely smitten. The series is funny, fast and brimming over with outrageous theater people as well as inside info on how art and commerce battle it out. It benefits from terrific performances from Paul Gross (famous for "Due North" and the short-lived TV version of "The Witches of Eastwick") as Geoffrey Tennant, a talented director and actor who is dragged back to this "New Burbage Festival" even though he is madder than a hatter (and madder than Hamlet, regardless of hawks and handsaws); Gross's real-life wife Martha Burns as his former love and leading lady who is still hanging around New Burbage, now playing Gertrude instead of Ophelia; Stratford Festival regular Stephen Ouimette as Oliver Welles, the artistic director who once betrayed Geoffrey and sold out his art; and Mark McKinney, one of the Kids in the Hall, as bean-counter Richard Smith-Jones, whose secret love is "Mamma Mia" instead of "Much Ado."

"Hamlet" is the focus of the first season, as Oliver gets drunk and gets hit by a truck, Geoffrey is lured back to New Burbage to replace him and direct the same play that drove him crazy years ago AND contend with an untested and unsure Hollywood star playing Hamlet, a la Keanu Reeves, all while Oliver keeps haunting Geoffrey at every turn, not unlike Hamlet's dad in the play. Oh, and Geoffrey tries to figure out how to get Oliver's skull on-stage as Yorick. And there's a subplot involving Rachel McAdams as a New Burbage newbie; she took this "Slings and Arrows" role just before she broke out in "The Notebook."

Season Two has "Macbeth" as its main play, with Geraint Wyn Davies ('Forever Knight') as an ambitious leading actor with ego issues. There's a little "Romeo and Juliet" on the side, as directed by an avant garde doofus. (Don McKellar, part of the team behind "The Drowsy Chaperone," shows up as that doofus, Darren Nichols, every season.) Off-stage, Ellen (Martha Burns) has tax troubles and Richard (Mark McKinney) gets involved with a new marketing initiative helmed by Colm Feore as a New Age nutball named Sanjay.

And Season Three moves on to "King Lear," as a legendary actor (played by legendary Canadian actor William Hutt, who spent 39 years at Stratford) comes out of retirement to play the role, and a beautiful newcomer (played by Sarah Polley) as his Cordelia. Meanwhile, Geoffrey is acting crazier than ever, Geoffrey and Ellen struggle to make their relationship work, and Richard Smith-Jones finally gets a musical in the line-up.

I am happy to tell you that all three seasons are on DVD (as you can see by the "complete collection" box above), making them easily accessible. So far, I have shared the "Slings and Arrows" experience with quite a few friends, and they've all loved it, too.

Revisiting the episodes has made me love this series even more. Season One is the best, no question, with Paul Gross at his best as whacked-out Geoffrey, Rachel McAdams absolutely lovely as Ophelia and Luke Kirby spot-on as the wannabe Hamlet, but the other two have their joys, as well. All along the way, there's plenty of madness and outrageous fortune to spread around.

If only we could get another season. After all, there's Much Ado and Tempest and Othello and plenty of other Shakespeare with issues for Geoffrey & Co. to explore.

I just can't recommend "Slings and Arrows" highly enough. If you like Shakespeare, if you've ever hung out with crazy theater people, if you ever wondered what happens behind the scenes at summer rep... "Slings and Arrows" is for you.