[NEohioPAL]Reviews of Constant Star and the Ohio Ballet

Sun Feb 3 12:57:07 PST 2002

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Dobama and Ohio Ballet reviews.

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<I>CONSTANT STAR</I> --AN EFFECTIVE HISTORY LESSON AT DOBAMA<P>
Roy Berko<P>
(Member, American Theatre Critics Association)--<P>
The Times Newspapers--<BR>
<I></I><BR>
<I>Lorain County Times--Westlaker Times--Lakewood News Times--Olmsted-Fairview Times</I><BR>
<I><P>
</I><BR>
     Booker T. Washington, Rosa Parks, Frederick Douglas, Martin Luther King, Ida
B. Wells.  While the first four names may be familiar, the last one, Ida B. Wells probably
is not.  Those who have taken US history classes, even those that attempted to give a
voice to African American achievements and concerns, were probably not introduced
to Wells.  Playwright Tazewell Thompson's desire to right the historical wrong gave
birth to <I>CONSTANT STAR</I>, now in its Ohio premiere at Dobama Theatre.<BR>
     Operating under the motto, "I was put on this earth to agitate," Wells, who was
born in Mississippi in 1862, was a slave for the first six months of her life and spent the
rest fighting for the rights of free blacks and justice for all.   Maybe the lack of historical
attention was due to her style.  She operated under an umbrella of  no compromise and
not pulling punches. Her mother had left her with the motto, "Remember, girl, no one
is better than you." Ida B. Wells seemed to wholly embrace that philosophy. Her
disdain for Frederick Douglas, who she considered an "Uncle Tom" and for the
NAACP, which she felt "accomplished nothing" were not popular stands.   <BR>
     Wells pursued her beliefs in earnest. She sued a railroad for their attempt to force
her to sit in the smoking car in spite of the civil rights laws that guaranteed black
passage in first class.  As a journalist she conducted a lifelong campaign against lynching
and she led a boycott of the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition when she felt it lacked 
highlights of African American achievements.   She led Blacks to believe they could
defend themselves.  She didn't believe in turning the others cheek.  She once challenged
a group of whites by stating, "If I go down, some of you will go down with me." This
was a woman of arrogance, self-centeredness and determination.  OIn spite of her
activity, maybe another reason for her lack of historical note was that she has no
specific accomplishment to which her name is tied.  She has no "I Have a Dream"
speech, no attitude changing bus boycott, nor a March on Washington.<BR>
     Thompson's play is powerful, but talky.  It is repetitious, too long and needs
heavy cutting to make it compact and effective.  The musical interludes, which take us
from one scene to another are well-conceived and effective.<BR>
     Dobama's production is well-honed by director Margaret Ford-Taylor.  Her cast
of five African American women, playing interchangeable parts as Wells at various
times in her life, as well as supporting characters, were generally fine.  Though there
were some line lapses, the ideas flowed well.  Especially effective was Yolanda Davis, a
junior at Kent State, who commanded the stage whenever she spoke.  There was a glint
in her eye and an edge to her voice that were both powerful and compassionate.  J.
Elaine Linzy also stood out.  <BR>
     <I>CONSTANT STAR</I> has an important message for all audience members, no
matter their race.   It is a play to be seen, thought about,   and talked about.<BR>
<I>     CONSTANT STAR</I> runs at Dobama Theatre, 1846 Coventry Road, Cleveland through
February 16.  For tickets call 216-932-6838.<P>
OHIO BALLET--BASEBALL, FLAMENCO AND THE POINT SISTERS<P>
     Several weeks ago when I met with Jeffrey Graham Hughes, the Artistic Director
of the Ohio Ballet, we discussed the future and his dream for the company.  He is
interested in taking it in a direction quite different from the Heinz Poll years.  With the
dream come pitfalls.  Many OB loyalists have difficulty moving on...they were
comfortable with the old and want it to remain.  We also discussed my observations
that though I most often find the new works creative, I often feel that they are not well 
polished.  <BR>
     Creativity and polish were not an issue with at least one of the pieces from OB's
newest offerings,<I> DIAMONDS AND BLUES</I> at Playhouse Square's Allen Theatre.  The
program is being repeated at E. J. Thomas Hall in Akron February 8 & 9.   <BR>
     Karen Gabay, the dancing darling of the now defunct Cleveland San Jose Ballet
has started to establish herself as a fine choreographer.  Her <I>NOUVEAU FLAMENCO</I> is
a modern version of the classic flamenco dance, flamenco on toe shoes.  This piece is
creative, exciting, and was perfectly executed.  Dennis Dugan's lighting added greatly to
the production as did Natasha Guruleva's black and red costumes.  Jesica Salomon was
radiant in Part II.  Though dancing strongly, with soaring leaps, Dmitry Tubolstev
continues to distract with grimacing facial expressions.   The company worked as a fine-
honed unit in the other segments.<BR>
     In <I>Hot Riffs And Blue Notes</I> choreographer Gregory Robinson of the Dayton
Ballet presented a series of creative modern dance pieces to the music of the Pointer
Sisters.  Though innovatively conceived there was a lack of unity among the dancers. 
Many did not pick up the attitude of the music in their bodies and faces.  For example,
in <I>Salt Peanuts</I>, the fast pleasurable music engendered hip attitudes.  The woman were
fine.  With the exception of Brian Murphy, whose face and body burst with energy,  the
male dancers appeared to be concentrating so hard they forgot to have fun, to let loose. 
(Come on guys, this is not <I>Swan Lake</I>.)  Jesica Salomon was wonderfully sensual in <I>Black
Coffee</I>.  Lowell A. Mathwich's costumes were attitude perfect.<BR>
     In an interesting program inclusion, pianist David Fisher presented a musical
interlude of three Spanish dance compositions.<BR>
     The highlight of the evening was supposed to be PLAY BALL!  It is intended to
take the game of baseball and translate it into a fun-filled ballet.  The music spanned
most major classical pieces including "Carmen," "The Comedians," and "The Barber of
Seville." The piece lacks a strong sense of comedy needed to make it outstanding.  Part
of the issue is that ballet dancers are hard to accept as baseball players.  Also there
needs to be a sense of farcical acting that isn't often part of a dancers' repertoire.  The
serious tone of most of the music also seems to get in the way. The highlight of the
number was Brian Murphy and Anitra Nurnberger's nicely performed sixth inning pas
de deux.  Overall, bad? No.  Great? No.  Memorable?  No.   Enjoyable?  Yes.<BR>
     It's worth attending this weekend's Ohio Ballet performance for no other reason
than to see Karen Gabay's <I>NOUVEAU FLAMENCO</I>.  The program should work even
better in a setting other than the huge bowling alley shaped Allen Theatre.  I'm glad
they saved the Playhouse Square theatres but the Allen is a problematic setting for
almost every venue, especially for intimate ballet.<BR>
     For tickets to this weekend's Ohio Ballet presentations in Akron call 330-945-
9400.

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