[NEohioPAL]See Ensemble Theatre's "The Sweepers"!! $2 Off Regular Tix for NEOhioPal Subscribers & $5 Student Rush Tix

Thu Jun 3 13:02:03 PDT 2004

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Ensemble Theatre
presents

THE SWEEPERS
BY JOHN C. PICARDI

Now Playing through JUNE 13
in the Brooks Theatre at The Cleveland Play House:

Friday& Saturday @ 8 pm--$20
Sunday @ 3:30 pm--$18

$2 DISCOUNT FOR NEOhioPal Subscribers!!
$5 Student Rush Tickets also available--call for more info!
Just mention this ad when making a reservation!
Call 216-321-2930 for ticket info & reservations

Check out Christine Howey's review from Scene Magazine below:

      What, No Mobsters?

      Italian Americans fight WWII and each other in The Sweepers.
      BY CHRISTINE HOWEY
      feedback at clevescene.com

War puts a lot of stress on people. Consider the devilish decisions the rich
in this country now face, with the cash from wartime tax cuts festering in
their bank accounts. Should they invest in Viacom or Microsoft? Or should
they just shovel more money into campaign coffers so they can get their
payback the easy way -- through federally financed welfare for the wealthy?
Fortunately, poorer folk don't have such daunting choices to make. Since
college has been priced beyond their means, they can go stock shelves at a
big box or sign up for military service.
While the burden of sacrifice was shared more evenly in World War II than it
is in Iraq, poor kids still composed a hefty percentage of this country's
troops. And in John C. Picardi's play The Sweepers, now at Ensemble Theatre,
the focus is on a small, low-rent Italian American community in North
Boston, where the women have been left alone to deal with the real stress
that war creates: the fear that loved ones will end up physically maimed,
emotionally scarred, or dead.

Set in the summer of 1945, Picardi's story line attempts to integrate the
faraway battles and reports of an ominous new atom bomb with the more
mundane concerns of three women who have grown into middle age together in
their cheek-by-jowl homes. Sharing the same postage-stamp backyard, along
with strict Catholic beliefs and a dedication to some antiquated rituals
from the old country, these loving but feisty gals have plenty of challenges
to face. Mary, stern and quick-witted, has both a husband and son in the
Pacific. Sweet but slightly dim Dotty also has a son at war; her husband is
shell-shocked and being treated in a Boston hospital. Only lusty,
loudmouthed Bella doesn't have a family member in the conflict, since her
son, Sonny, was declared 4-F due to a heart murmur. He has used this freedom
to garner a law degree and an engagement to Karen, a Wellesley-educated
Italian girl whose family boasts major political connections.

Picardi's script is wonderfully evocative of the time, place, and ethnic
aura, and it's often quite funny, but there are serious fissures produced by
melodramatic overreaching and a monomaniacal fixation on one rather strange
plot point. Certainly the negative effects of war on the families of
soldiers are highly emotional, which makes it all the more important that a
playwright not wade casually into those wellsprings of sentiment.
Unfortunately, Picardi dons his hip boots and clomps around like Gene Kelly
performing "Singin' in the Pain." In the first act, we learn that Dotty's
son has lost a leg and is going through rehab in California, that Bella has
lost her adored brother Antonio, and that Dotty is keeping her hubby locked
up because she can't deal with his neurotic twitches. This tendency toward
the bathetic is redoubled in Act Two, as the tragedies mount at an alarming
rate.

With all these world-shaking events taking place, the three women seem most
obsessed with making sure that Karen and Sonny -- who foolishly agree to
spend their wedding night in his mom's house -- display the marital bedsheet
so that everyone in the neighborhood can eyeball the evidence that Karen was
a virgin. According to Bella's helpful explanation of this old Italian
custom, this means that the stained sheet must be "waving in the wind like a
Jap flag" off the back porch. Of course, the young couple is mightily
offended by this bizarre suggestion. As a minor plot point, this could have
been quirky and interesting. But the playwright keeps gnawing on this silly
argument throughout the play, and by the time Bella's moral hypocrisy is
revealed near the end, the impact is dissipated.

Even against these obstacles, however, a splendid Ensemble cast almost pulls
it off. Jean Zarzour is broad but entirely credible as Bella, bullying her
family and manipulating her friends, even as she hides her own shameful
secret. Her drunk scene in Act Two is woozy and wobbly, with a slicing edge.
As the taciturn Mary, Meg Kelly Schroeder is steely yet warm, and she
surmounts a highly unbelievable plot contortion to make her dramatically
gratuitous revelation at the curtain. Tracey Field is enormously endearing
as the slightly dotty Dotty, praying fervently to the statue of the Blessed
Mother as she tries to keep the peace between her two pals. Mother-dominated
Sonny is given a crisp portrayal by James Savage, and Jennifer Clifford is
gracious but unshakable as the put-upon Karen.

Director Lucia Colombi no doubt shares the playwright's interest in
presenting positive images of Italian Americans (you mean they're not all
related to Paulie Walnuts?). But dialing back the more florid parts, both in
words and in performance, would have served that cause better.

      clevescene.com | originally published: June 2, 2004

To read more about Ensmble Theatre click below:
http://www.cleveland.com/search/index.ssf?/base/entertainment/10858233161639
30.xml?easta

Ensemble Theatre
P.O. Box 181309
Cleveland Hts., OH 44118-1309
Phone.216.321-2930.Fax.216.397-5740

email: info at ensemble-theatre.com

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<META http-equiv=3DContent-Type content=3D"text/html; =
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<BODY>
<DIV align=3Dcenter><FONT face=3D"Mistral AV" color=3D#0000ff =
size=3D7><SPAN=20
class=3D410561019-03062004>Ensemble Theatre </SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV align=3Dcenter><FONT face=3D"Mistral AV" color=3D#0000ff =
size=3D6><SPAN=20
class=3D410561019-03062004>presents</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV align=3Dcenter><FONT color=3D#800080 size=3D6><SPAN=20
class=3D410561019-03062004></SPAN></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV align=3Dcenter><FONT color=3D#800080 size=3D6><SPAN =
class=3D410561019-03062004>THE=20
SWEEPERS</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV align=3Dcenter><FONT color=3D#800080 size=3D4><SPAN =
class=3D410561019-03062004>BY=20
JOHN C. PICARDI</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV align=3Dcenter><FONT color=3D#800080 size=3D4><SPAN=20
class=3D410561019-03062004></SPAN></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV align=3Dcenter><FONT color=3D#800080 size=3D6><SPAN=20
class=3D410561019-03062004></SPAN></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV align=3Dcenter><FONT color=3D#800080 size=3D5><SPAN =
class=3D410561019-03062004>Now=20
Playing through JUNE 13 </SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV align=3Dcenter><FONT color=3D#800080 size=3D5><SPAN =
class=3D410561019-03062004>in=20
the Brooks Theatre at The Cleveland Play House:</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV align=3Dcenter><FONT color=3D#800080 size=3D5><SPAN=20
class=3D410561019-03062004></SPAN></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV align=3Dcenter><FONT color=3D#800080 size=3D5><SPAN=20
class=3D410561019-03062004>Friday& Saturday @ 8 =
pm--$20</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV align=3Dcenter><FONT color=3D#800080 size=3D5><SPAN=20
class=3D410561019-03062004></SPAN></FONT><FONT color=3D#800080 =
size=3D5><SPAN=20
class=3D410561019-03062004>Sunday @ 3:30 pm--$18</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV align=3Dcenter><FONT color=3D#800080 size=3D5><SPAN=20
class=3D410561019-03062004></SPAN></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV align=3Dcenter><FONT color=3D#008000 size=3D6><SPAN =
class=3D410561019-03062004>$2=20
DISCOUNT FOR NEOhioPal Subscribers!!</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV align=3Dcenter><FONT color=3D#008000 size=3D6><SPAN =
class=3D410561019-03062004>$5=20
Student Rush Tickets also available--call for more =
info!</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV align=3Dcenter><FONT color=3D#008000 size=3D5><SPAN =
class=3D410561019-03062004>Just=20
mention this ad when making a reservation!</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV align=3Dcenter><FONT color=3D#008000 size=3D5><SPAN =
class=3D410561019-03062004>Call=20
216-321-2930 for ticket info & reservations</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV align=3Dcenter><FONT color=3D#008000 size=3D5><SPAN=20
class=3D410561019-03062004></SPAN></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV align=3Dcenter><FONT color=3D#800080 size=3D5><SPAN=20
class=3D410561019-03062004>Check out Christine Howey's review from Scene =
Magazine=20
below:</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV align=3Dcenter><FONT color=3D#008000 size=3D5><SPAN=20
class=3D410561019-03062004></SPAN></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV align=3Dleft><FONT color=3D#800080 size=3D5><SPAN =
class=3D410561019-03062004>
<TABLE class=3Dstorytext1 cellSpacing=3D2 cellPadding=3D0 width=3D"100%" =
border=3D0>
  <TBODY>
  <TR>
    <TD><SPAN class=3Dstoryhed><B>What, No Mobsters?</B></SPAN> </TD>
    <TD vAlign=3Dbottom align=3Dright rowSpan=3D2><BR></TD></TR>
  <TR>
    <TD><SPAN class=3Dstorydeck>Italian Americans fight WWII and each =
other in=20
      <I>The Sweepers</I>.</SPAN> </TD></TR>
  <TR>
    <TD colSpan=3D2><SPAN class=3Dstoryby><B>BY CHRISTINE =
HOWEY</B></SPAN><BR><A=20
      class=3Dindexlink=20
      =
href=3D"http://www.clevescene.com/feedback/index_html?author_email=3Dfeed=
back at clevescene.com&feedback_email=3Dnope&headline=3DWhat%2C%20No=
%20Mobsters%3F&issuedate=3D2004/06/02">feedback at clevescene.com</A>=20
    </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=3D410561019-03062004></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=3D410561019-03062004>Wa</SPAN>r puts a lot of stress on =
people.=20
Consider the devilish decisions the rich in this country now face, with =
the cash=20
from wartime tax cuts festering in their bank accounts. Should they =
invest in=20
Viacom or Microsoft? Or should they just shovel more money into campaign =
coffers=20
so they can get their payback the easy way -- through federally financed =
welfare=20
for the wealthy? Fortunately, poorer folk don't have such daunting =
choices to=20
make. Since college has been priced beyond their means, they can go =
stock=20
shelves at a big box or sign up for military service. </DIV>
<P>While the burden of sacrifice was shared more evenly in World War II =
than it=20
is in Iraq, poor kids still composed a hefty percentage of this =
country's=20
troops. And in John C. Picardi's play <B><I>The Sweepers</I></B>,<B><I>=20
</I></B>now at Ensemble Theatre, the focus is on a small, low-rent =
Italian=20
American community in North Boston, where the women have been left alone =
to deal=20
with the real stress that war creates: the fear that loved ones will end =
up=20
physically maimed, emotionally scarred, or dead. </P>
<P>Set in the summer of 1945, Picardi's story line attempts to integrate =
the=20
faraway battles and reports of an ominous new atom bomb with the more =
mundane=20
concerns of three women who have grown into middle age together in their =

cheek-by-jowl homes. Sharing the same postage-stamp backyard, along with =
strict=20
Catholic beliefs and a dedication to some antiquated rituals from the =
old=20
country, these loving but feisty gals have plenty of challenges to face. =
Mary,=20
stern and quick-witted, has both a husband and son in the Pacific. Sweet =
but=20
slightly dim Dotty also has a son at war; her husband is shell-shocked =
and being=20
treated in a Boston hospital. Only lusty, loudmouthed Bella doesn't have =
a=20
family member in the conflict, since her son, Sonny, was declared 4-F =
due to a=20
heart murmur. He has used this freedom to garner a law degree and an =
engagement=20
to Karen, a Wellesley-educated Italian girl whose family boasts major =
political=20
connections. </P>
<P>Picardi's script is wonderfully evocative of the time, place, and =
ethnic=20
aura, and it's often quite funny, but there are serious fissures =
produced by=20
melodramatic overreaching and a monomaniacal fixation on one rather =
strange plot=20
point. Certainly the negative effects of war on the families of soldiers =
are=20
highly emotional, which makes it all the more important that a =
playwright not=20
wade casually into those wellsprings of sentiment. Unfortunately, =
Picardi dons=20
his hip boots and clomps around like Gene Kelly performing =
<I>"</I>Singin' in=20
the Pain." In the first act, we learn that Dotty's son has lost a leg =
and is=20
going through rehab in California, that Bella has lost her adored =
brother=20
Antonio, and that Dotty is keeping her hubby locked up because she can't =
deal=20
with his neurotic twitches. This tendency toward the bathetic is =
redoubled in=20
Act Two, as the tragedies mount at an alarming rate. </P>
<P>With all these world-shaking events taking place, the three women =
seem most=20
obsessed with making sure that Karen and Sonny -- who foolishly agree to =
spend=20
their wedding night in his mom's house -- display the marital bedsheet =
so that=20
everyone in the neighborhood can eyeball the evidence that Karen was a =
virgin.=20
According to Bella's helpful explanation of this old Italian custom, =
this means=20
that the stained sheet must be "waving in the wind like a Jap flag" off =
the back=20
porch. Of course, the young couple is mightily offended by this bizarre=20
suggestion. As a minor plot point, this could have been quirky and =
interesting.=20
But the playwright keeps gnawing on this silly argument throughout the =
play, and=20
by the time Bella's moral hypocrisy is revealed near the end, the impact =
is=20
dissipated. </P>
<P>Even against these obstacles, however, a splendid Ensemble cast =
almost pulls=20
it off. Jean Zarzour is broad but entirely credible as Bella, bullying =
her=20
family and manipulating her friends, even as she hides her own shameful =
secret.=20
Her drunk scene in Act Two is woozy and wobbly, with a slicing edge. As =
the=20
taciturn Mary, Meg Kelly Schroeder is steely yet warm, and she surmounts =
a=20
highly unbelievable plot contortion to make her dramatically gratuitous=20
revelation at the curtain. Tracey Field is enormously endearing as the =
slightly=20
dotty Dotty, praying fervently to the statue of the Blessed Mother as =
she tries=20
to keep the peace between her two pals. Mother-dominated Sonny is given =
a crisp=20
portrayal by James Savage, and Jennifer Clifford is gracious but =
unshakable as=20
the put-upon Karen. </P>
<P>Director Lucia Colombi no doubt shares the playwright's interest in=20
presenting positive images of Italian Americans (you mean they're not =
all=20
related to Paulie Walnuts?). But dialing back the more florid parts, =
both in=20
words and in performance, would have served that cause better. </P>
<P></P>
<P>
<TABLE class=3Dstorytext1 cellSpacing=3D0 cellPadding=3D0 border=3D0>
  <TBODY>
  <TR>
    <TD><A=20
      =
href=3D"http://www.clevescene.com/index.html"><B>clevescene.com</B></A> =
|=20
      originally published: June 2, 2004 </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></P>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=3D410561019-03062004></SPAN><FONT color=3D#800080><FONT =

size=3D5>To read more about Ensmble =
Theatre click=20
below:</DIV>
<DIV><A=20
href=3D"http://www.cleveland.com/search/index.ssf?/base/entertainment/108=
5823316163930.xml?easta">http://www.cleveland.com/search/index.ssf?/base/=
entertainment/1085823316163930.xml?easta</A> </DI=
V>
<SPAN=20
class=3D410561019-03062004> 
 
Ensemble =
Theatre  <FONT=20
face=3DArial size=3D2>P.O. Box 181309 Cleveland=20
Hts., OH 44118-1309 Phone.216.321-2930.Fax.216.397-5740
email: =
info at ensemble-theatre.com
 
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