[NEohioPAL]BERKO REVIEWS: PROOF ADDS UP, STONES DISAPPOINTS, JOURNEY GOOD HISTORY

[Roy Berko]

PROOF ADDS UP, STONES DISAPPOINTS, JOURNEY GOOD
HISTORY LESSON

Roy Berko

(Member, American Theatre Critics Association)

--THE TIMES NEWSPAPERS--

Lorain County Times—Westlaker Times--Lakewood News
Times--Olmsted-Fairview Times	

PROOF ADDS UP AT THE CLEVELAND PLAY HOUSE

YOU DO NOT HAVE TO KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT MATH TO
APPRECIATE PROOF, now on stage at The Cleveland Play
House.  In fact, there are no math formulas even
presented.  This is a poignant drama about
relationships and the search for self, not numbers.

PROOF is the story of 25 year-old Catherine and her
relationships with her brilliant father, estranged
sister, and the father’s former student.  They are all
pieces of the puzzle in the search for the truth
behind a mysterious mathematical proof  Questions
arise.   Who is responsible for the brilliant
mathematical results that Hal, the student finds while
searching through notebooks that Robert, the father,
left behind?  Is Catherine following her father on the
path of the fragile line between his brilliance and
insanity?  Are Hal’s affections toward Catherine real
or a put-on to obtain the formula?  

PROOF, which recently closed on Broadway, won the 2001
Tony Award for Best Play, 
the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the Outer Critics
Circle Award for Outstanding Broadway Play.  It has
been called "stunning and riveting , ""rich and
compelling," "full of life, laughter and hope," and
"One elegant piece of work."  

Seth Gordon, who recently was given a Times Theatre
Tribute Award for his direction of THREE IN THE BACK,
TWO IN THE HEAD at Dobama Theatre, again is right on
his  directorial target.  The play is well-staged, has
a clear purpose, and achieves its goal.  Only the very
ending is slightly flawed by a lack of finality in the
closing speech.  The audience was unaware that the
play was over.

Derdriu Ring is nothing short of brilliant as
Catherine.  Her flaming red hair and flashing eyes
light up the stage.   She flows from depression, to
satire, to glee with ease.  Mike Hartman as the father
and Carol Dunne as Catherine’s sister Claire are also
excellent.  There is clarity and consistency in their
performances.  Only Chad Willett, as the student,
falters.  His is not a bad performance, it just lacks
depth.  He stays on the surface, his concentration
sometimes slips, and he often acts rather than reacts
to his lines and those of others.    

Michael Ganio’s set is wonderful.  The backstage porch
is appropriately surrounded by hundreds of suspended
student theme books.  He wisely pulled the whole set
forward, toward the audience, thus creating the
closeness that the Baxter Theatre’s designers had
promised.

The Cleveland Play House has selected a brilliant play
well-worth performing and given it a wonderful
interpretation.  Go see PROOF!

Tickets for PROOF, which range in price from $12 to
$47.50 may be obtained by calling 216-795-7000 or
visiting www.clevelandplayhouse.com.


STONES IN HIS POCKETS DISAPPOINTS AT PALACE

In London, STONES IN HIS POCKETS was called "'a comic
masterpiece." It received three Tony Award
Nominations.  It was the winner of London’s Olivier
Award for Best Comedy.

The play is partly based on Marie Jones' experiences
of acting in films shot in Ireland.   It relates what
happens when a major Hollywood film studio descends on
a village in County Kerry.   The story is told from
the viewpoint of Charlie and Jake, two locally hired
extras employed to look downtrodden and oppressed on
demand.  The quirk is that two actors not only play
Charlie and Jake, but 15 different male and female
roles, including a spoiled starlet, the harassed
director and a host of local characters.  All this is
done without costume changes.

The show has been hyped as hyperkinetic, hysterical,
and satirical.  Unfortunately, the touring show,
starring Bronson Pinchot, best know for his role in
TV’s PERFECT STRANGERS, and Tim Ruddy, an Irish actor
who has a solid list of credentials, doesn’t fulfill
the hype.  The exit of a great number of audience
members at intermission, and the mild applause at the
curtain call, attests to the lack of viewer pleasure.

With all the positives, why didn’t the show work at
the Palace Theatre?   

First, this is an intimate play.  It gets lost in the
cavernous space of Playhouse Square’s  Palace Theatre.
 Attenders who sat beyond the middle of the main floor
complained that they could not hear nor see some of
the subtle characterization changes. 

Second, Pinchot and Ruddy simply didn’t let loose. 
The hysterical humor that might have emanated from the
lines was often lost due to a lack of dynamic, playful
presentation.  Part of this may have been caused
because of Pinchot’s reported recent illness.  

Third, the advertisements for the show got the
audience ready for hysteria.  This, at least as
presented is not a hysterical show.  This is another
of those Irish bleak tales of Gallic woe and
self-hatred.  Are there funny moments?  Absolutely. 
Are there some delightful characters? Yes.   But, a
hysterical play?  I think not.   That is, unless in
the hands of a more adept set of actors it might have
been given a different slant.  That’s what I’ve been
told was the case from those who saw the show in New
York and London.  But this is the Cleveland
production, and it was disappointing.

STONES IN HIS POCKETS runs at the palace theatre until
January 19.  For tickets call 216-241-6000 or log on
to www.playhousesquare.com.

JOURNEY A GOOD LESSON IN AFRICAN-AMERICAN HISTORY

Ohio Dance Theatre, under the able guidance of
Artistic Director Denise Gula is noted for its
dancing.  That’s what they do best.  The company
decided to broaden its mission and develop a
presentation that would serve as a staged educational
experience.  Gula, who has a strong background as a
theatrical director and actress as well as
choreographer, chose the topic of the plight of the
African American.  Appropriately, JOURNEY: THE STORY
OF UMOJA is being presented in area venues during
Black history month.

Much like Martin Duberman’s play IN WHITE AMERICA,
JOURNEY exposes the audience to a trip from slavery to
the civil rights movement and beyond.  This is done
through words, dance and song.    Unfortunately, the
singing and dancing are much to brief and often the
words are much too much.  There are several long
periods where only words are present.  Normally, this
would not be a bad thing, but the dancing and singing
were so well done, so powerful, that when words were
used alone, the production slowed down.   

As is, students who see the production, and there are
many who will see the show at both the Cleveland Play
House and Lorain County Community College’s Stocker
Center, will gain an insight into the plight of
African Americans, and be exposed to the thrill of
live theatrics.   It’s too bad that Gula was not able
to incorporate dancing throughout, even when the
speeches of such historical figures as Martin Luther
King, Barbara Jordan. and Medgar Evers were being
presented.  It would have made the experience even
more powerful.

The cast is excellent.  The visual images are
generally engrossing.  The study guide that
accompanies the performances should help teachers and
students learn history in an interesting manner.

Accolades to the Cleveland Play House for welcoming
the Ohio Dance Theatre to its facilities.  From June
27-30 the company, which is dedicated to enhancing the
quality of life throughout Northern Ohio by offering
quality dance performances and educational programs,
will present the ballet CINDERELLA at CPH.

For information about Ohio Dance Theatre write them at
39 South Main Street, Oberlin, OH 44074.

(Listen to Roy Berko discussing Northern Ohio
entertainment on WERE-AM (1300), Friday’s from 1-2
PM.)



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