[NEohioPAL]Strindberg Plays Continue Cesear's Forum Run At Kennedy's Thru August 24th

Tue Aug 6 00:03:48 PDT 2002

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Two compact one-act plays of unrequited love provide quiet tension, 
bittersweet humor and perspectives on infidelity in August Strindberg's THE 
STRONGER and PLAYING WITH FIRE, currently on display at Kennedy's Down Under, 
Playhouse Square Center's Cesear's Forum production.  Plain Dealer Critic 
Tony Brown described the plays this way: "Astringently and occasionally 
viciously funny, they both focus on small groups of people who make a game of 
sexual betrayal."

THE STRONGER, a "fifteen-minute" play, has been called a monodrama, a 
dramatic monologue, a battle of the brains in one scene and a tour-de-force.  
Two characters compete for the affections of the same man. Beacon Journal 
Staff Writer Kerry Clawson writes: "In the Cesear's Forum production, 
actresses Sheila Maloney and Juliette Regnier carry this battle of wills off 
admirably.  Maloney's Mme X has an antagonizing yet somewhat desperate air, 
while Regnier beautifully shows Mlle Y's cold contempt without speaking at 
all.  Regnier demonstrates how bodily language can be a form of aggression as 
Maloney's Mme X becomes increasingly more hateful with her cutting words.

Strindberg never wrote a lighter play than PLAYING WITH FIRE, in which he 
examines the emotional lives of six idle rich people.  Free Times Writer 
Marie Andrusewicz writes: "The story centers on a family vacationing on an 
island, and the extramarital passions that threaten the surface calm; Kristie 
J. Lang plays 'The Daughter-In-Law' and Mark Rabant plays 'The Friend' whose 
illicit love will destroy the already loosely held social structure.  The 
play is melodramatic and also weirdly comic - more like Mary Hartman, Mary 
Hartman than Melrose Place."  The cast also includes Brian Bowers, Michael & 
Juliette Regnier and Mary Drake.  Performances are Fridays and Saturdays at 8 
pm, now through August 24th.  Playhouse Square Center, 1501 Euclid Avenue, 
Cleveland.  Tickets $15.  Call 216-241-6000.

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<HTML><BODY BGCOLOR="#ffffff">Two compact one-act plays of unrequited love provide quiet tension, bittersweet humor and perspectives on infidelity in August Strindberg's THE STRONGER and PLAYING WITH FIRE, currently on display at Kennedy's Down Under, Playhouse Square Center's Cesear's Forum production.  Plain Dealer Critic Tony Brown described the plays this way: "Astringently and occasionally viciously funny, they both focus on small groups of people who make a game of sexual betrayal."
 
 THE STRONGER, a "fifteen-minute" play, has been called a monodrama, a dramatic monologue, a battle of the brains in one scene and a tour-de-force.  Two characters compete for the affections of the same man. Beacon Journal Staff Writer Kerry Clawson writes: "In the Cesear's Forum production, actresses Sheila Maloney and Juliette Regnier carry this battle of wills off admirably.  Maloney's Mme X has an antagonizing yet somewhat desperate air, while Regnier beautifully shows Mlle Y's cold contempt without speaking at all.  Regnier demonstrates how bodily language can be a form of aggression as Maloney's Mme X becomes increasingly more hateful with her cutting words.
 
 Strindberg never wrote a lighter play than PLAYING WITH FIRE, in which he examines the emotional lives of six idle rich people.  Free Times Writer Marie Andrusewicz writes: "The story centers on a family vacationing on an island, and the extramarital passions that threaten the surface calm; Kristie J. Lang plays 'The Daughter-In-Law' and Mark Rabant plays 'The Friend' whose illicit love will destroy the already loosely held social structure.  The play is melodramatic and also weirdly comic - more like Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman than Melrose Place."  The cast also includes Brian Bowers, Michael & Juliette Regnier and Mary Drake.  Performances are Fridays and Saturdays at 8 pm, now through August 24th.  Playhouse Square Center, 1501 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland.  Tickets $15.  Call 216-241-6000.
 
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