[NEohioPAL]SUDS - "Fun summer treat, just like a sip from root beer float" at Actors' Summ

Mon Jun 23 10:05:26 PDT 2003

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Fun summer treat, just like a sip from root beer float 
06/23/03
Linda Eisenstein 
Special to The Plain Dealer

Give Actors' Summit Theatre some credit for gumption and commercial savvy. 
Instead of cutting their season, they've extended it, with a lightweight show 
aimed at baby boomers and beyond. 

"Suds," billed as "the rocking '60s musical soap opera," is summer fare that 
mines nostalgia for box-office gold. It's got a plot as thin as a soap bubble, 
but the creators haven't aimed high; they've concocted a tongue-in-cheek 
excuse to string together a evening of oldies hits. 

Hapless Cindy (Sasha Thackaberry) is having a terrible birthday: Her cat has 
been run over by a Corvair, and she's been dumped by her four-year pen pal for 
someone with better penmanship. She is rescued from her comic suicide attempt 
- her impromptu noose of pedal pushers is caught in a Laundromat's washer - 
by the big-haired Madge (Jean Zarzour) and DeDe (Pamela LaForce), who turn out 
to be her dueling guardian angels. They conjure various schemes to cheer her 
up, mostly involving a series of men (all gamely played by Joel S. Nunley). 

The production looks smart - director/designer MaryJo Alexander's set is 
colorful, the costumes are splashy - but the writing is so often lame that it 
needs a pitch-perfect cast pitch-perfect to float it. 

That's where the Actors' Summit keep-it-in-the-family casting policy falls 
down on the job. Thackaberry looks perky and blank, like a Barbie doll come to 
life, but she has a thin voice that tends to go flat and lose pitch. 
Consequently, there's a hole at the center that even the hardest sell by the other three 
able comics can't always fill. 
With her brassy voice and take-no-prisoners persona, Zarzour gives the 
production what heft it has. LaForce plays a trainee angel with a squeaky voice; in 
a blonde flip and big skirt, she looks like an older version of Sandra Dee. 
Nunley gets the most from his many transformations, "Mister Postman" to geeky 
Milt Dudman as Cindy's "Mystery Date" to a suave "Johnny Angel" who ends up 
"Going to the Chapel" with DeDe. 

Thackaberry's bouncy choreography does a lot to keep the show popping along, 
and when she goes goofy, it's inspired. 

The tone of the show is set for "cute/silly," an all-dessert evening of empty 
calories. Nevertheless, the opening-night audience seemed to eat it up. And 
if that's what it takes to keep a professional theater afloat in these dark 
days, who is this critic to complain? 

Eisenstein is a free-lance writer in Cleveland. 

If you would prefer to not receive updates from Actors' Summit, please reply 
with unsubscribe in the subject line. Thanks.

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<HTML>Fun summer trea=
t, just like a sip from root beer float 
06/23/03 
Linda Eisenstein 
Special to The Plain Dealer 
 
Give Actors' Summit Theatre some credit for gumption and commercial savvy. I=
nstead of cutting their season, they've extended it, with a lightweight show=
 aimed at baby boomers and beyond. 
 
"Suds," billed as "the rocking '60s musical soap opera," is summer fare that=
 mines nostalgia for box-office gold. It's got a plot as thin as a soap bubb=
le, but the creators haven't aimed high; they've concocted a tongue-in-cheek=
 excuse to string together a evening of oldies hits. 
 
Hapless Cindy (Sasha Thackaberry) is having a terrible birthday: Her cat has=
 been run over by a Corvair, and she's been dumped by her four-year pen pal=20=
for someone with better penmanship. She is rescued from her comic suicide at=
tempt - her impromptu noose of pedal pushers is caught in a Laundromat's was=
her - by the big-haired Madge (Jean Zarzour) and DeDe (Pamela LaForce), who=20=
turn out to be her dueling guardian angels. They conjure various schemes to=20=
cheer her up, mostly involving a series of men (all gamely played by Joel S.=
 Nunley). 
 
The production looks smart - director/designer MaryJo Alexander's set is col=
orful, the costumes are splashy - but the writing is so often lame that it n=
eeds a pitch-perfect cast pitch-perfect to float it. 
 
That's where the Actors' Summit keep-it-in-the-family casting policy falls d=
own on the job. Thackaberry looks perky and blank, like a Barbie doll come t=
o life, but she has a thin voice that tends to go flat and lose pitch. Conse=
quently, there's a hole at the center that even the hardest sell by the othe=
r three able comics can't always fill. 
With her brassy voice and take-no-prisoners persona, Zarzour gives the produ=
ction what heft it has. LaForce plays a trainee angel with a squeaky voice;=20=
in a blonde flip and big skirt, she looks like an older version of Sandra De=
e. Nunley gets the most from his many transformations, "Mister Postman" to g=
eeky Milt Dudman as Cindy's "Mystery Date" to a suave "Johnny Angel" who end=
s up "Going to the Chapel" with DeDe. 
 
Thackaberry's bouncy choreography does a lot to keep the show popping along,=
 and when she goes goofy, it's inspired. 
 
The tone of the show is set for "cute/silly," an all-dessert evening of empt=
y calories. Nevertheless, the opening-night audience seemed to eat it up. An=
d if that's what it takes to keep a professional theater afloat in these dar=
k days, who is this critic to complain? 
 
Eisenstein is a free-lance writer in Cleveland. 
 
If you would prefer to not receive updates from Actors' Summit, please reply=
 with unsubscribe in the subject line. Thanks.</HTML>

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