[NEohioPAL]Berko review: NICKLE AND DIMED @ CPT/GLTF

[Roy Berko]

‘NICKEL AND DIMED’ PAYS BIG DIVIDENDS FOR CPT & GLTF 

Roy Berko

(Member, American Theatre Critics Association)

--THE TIMES NEWSPAPERS--

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

Randy Rollison, Artistic Director of Cleveland Public
Theatre and Charles Fee, the Producing Artistic
Director of the Great Lakes Theatre Festival, stood
center stage in the Gordon Square Theatre, welcoming
the opening night full house to their jointly produced
‘NICKEL AND DIMED.’   Thus ushered in yet another
exciting recent Cleveland innovation...a joint
production between two local theatre companies.   

There have been others, but this one is unique.  In
these times of tight dollars, to blend subscribing
audiences, to run a jointly-produced show for a run
that will last a month, is a gutsy move.  It is the
kind of creativity that has been the hallmark of
Cleveland Public Theatre since the team of Rollison
and Executive Director James Levin teamed up.  

It has also been the practice of Fee, since coming to
the area a short time ago, to look for alternative
ways of doing theatre.  In yet another of Fee’s moves,
GLTF will revert back to its roots this year and
produce a summer season of shows in rotating
repertory, to be followed by a fall repertory and a
holiday program.  This is exciting stuff!

As to the show itself...millions of Americans work
full-time, year-round, for poverty level wages. In
1998, Barbara Ehrenreich decided to join their forces.
She set out to find out how anyone can survive, let
alone prosper, on the minimum wage, on six to seven
dollars an hour. 

Moving from Florida to Maine to Minnesota, Ehrenreich
worked as a waitress, a hotel maid, a cleaning woman,
a nursing home aide, and a Wal-Mart sales clerk. She
discovered that every job required exhausting mental
and muscular effort. She also learned that one job is
not enough; you need at least two if you intend to
live indoors. 

The theatres’ joint production of Barbara Ehrenreich’s
‘NICKEL AND DIMED’ is superlative.  In spite of some
opening night stumbles, the production, the acting,
the setting all work perfectly.   It far surpasses the
script, which lectures a little too much and makes the
director, technicians and actors work too hard to get
the message across.  The cast, under the creative
direction of Melissa Kievman is flawless.  Each
character is clearly developed.  There is never a
moment when the audience’s attention isn’t anywhere
but on the stage.

Nan Wray, Sheffia W. Randall, Nina Domingue, George
Roth, Tracee Patterson each play a multitude of parts,
with a multitude of accents, and a multitude of
costumes and props.  Jill Levin portrays Barbara. 
This is an ensemble piece that defies separating out
the performers.  One weak link and the entire chain
fractures.  There is no weak link.  Applause,
applause!

Todd Krispinsky has created a series of set piece
which wheel on and off the stage with precision and
ease.  The running crew deserves a special curtain
call.  Trad Burns light, Alison Hernan’s costumes and
Peter John Still’s sound design all work to
perfection. 

CAPSULE JUDGEMENT: After seeing “NICKEL AND DIMED,’
you will never see a motel bathroom or a eat a
restaurant meal in quite the same way again.   You’ll
think twice before you shop at Wal-Mart.  You’ll think
twice before stiffing a waitress.  ‘NICKLE AND DIMED’
is not just a theatrical experience, it is a life
altering experience.  This production isn’t just a
see...IT’S A MUST SEE!!!

Tickets, which I’m sure will sell out quickly, are a
reasonable $15 for Thursdays and Sundays, and $20 for
Fridays and Saturdays, with a $9 student admission. 
For reservations call 216-631-2727.  The show runs
through May 29.


=====
Roy Berko's web page can be found at royberko.info


	
		
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