[NEohioPAL]Berko Review: TRIPLE ESPRRESSO/Hanna Theatre

[Roy Berko]

‘TRIPLE ESPRESSO’ A BAD CUP OF COFFEE

Roy Berko

(Member, American Theatre Critics Association)

--THE TIMES NEWSPAPERS--

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

As the public relations release for ‘TRIPLE ESPRESSO,’
the show which recently opened at the Hanna Theatre
relates, “Early in 1995, Bill Arnold, Michael Pearce
Donley, and Bob Stromberg, three successful solo
performers who admired each other's work, gathered
over coffee, never knowing the full impact the
caffeinated brew would have on their future.   They
decided to write something they could perform as a
trio. Wanting to set a reasonable goal, they decided
to write "the funniest show in America"; and booked a
performance for three weeks later in a local church.”

Since then, the show has received welcoming arms.  In
San Diego the show has been running for five years.  
A Denver reviewer stated, “Triple Espresso is light,
funny and family friendly. Yeah, it may not be all
that sophisticated, but it sure is fun!”  A St. Louis
commentary indicated, “Its good mood jumps down from
the stage right into the audience - and so, sometimes,
do the actors.”  

I hate to rain on the parade, but I don’t know what
those reviewers found so wonderful.  Count me as one
of those who wasn’t impressed.  I found most of the
show to be trite and begging for laughs.  

"TRIPLE ESPRESSO" supposedly takes place at a
coffeehouse where pianist Hugh Butternut (Michael
Pearce Donley) is marking his silver anniversary at
the keyboard. This is not exactly the career Hugh
envisioned; he used to belong to a trio with big
dreams of "The Mike Douglas Show" and appearances on
Cable Zaire.  (Honest, I didn’t make this up.)   For
the anniversary, he reunites with his old partners,
magician Buzz Maxwell (George Tovar) and comedian
Bobby Bean (Bob Stromberg). Sharing memories and
renewing old squabbles, they go through a series of
routines intended to show why their act didn’t work. 
Hmmm......

Donley and Stromberg are two of the original
conceivers of the doings.  Donley has a fine singing
voice and is a wonderful pianist.  Too bad he just
didn’t spend the evening singing and playing, it would
have been a treat.  The segment where he took audience
requests and played and sang the likes of Elton John
and Billy Joel was great.  His children’s song
take-offs was also a treat.

Stromberg, who tries to be a combination of Dickie
Smothers and Jerry VanDyke, elicited laughs from the
audience who seemed to enjoy his over-the-top broad
farce.  I guess if you like to see the same goofy
facial expressions, vocal sounds and prat falls over
and over, you’d enjoy Stromberg.  To his credit, a
segment of shadow play using his hands was excellent.

Tovar is a delight.  His static face, intentionally
bad magic routines and droll comedy offered some of
evenings best highlights.

CAPSULE JUDGEMENT:  When I go to the theatre I want to
leave with a  feeling of having spent my time well. 
That was not the case with ‘TRIPLE ESPRESSO.’  The
trite premise was just not to my liking.  If you want
to see a wonderful review, walk right past the Hanna
and go into the 14th Street Playhouse and see
‘MENOPAUSE, THE MUSICAL’ a premise that works!  

‘TRIPLE ESPRESSO’ is in an open run at the Hanna
Theatre.  For tickets call 216-241 6000 or
1-800-766-6048 or go on line to
www.playhousesquare.com.




=====
Roy Berko's web page can be found at royberko.info.  His theatre and dance reviews appear on NeOHIOpal, a free on-line source, which can be subscribed to at neohiopal at lists.fredsternfeld.com.


	
		
__________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
New and Improved Yahoo! Mail - 100MB free storage!
http://promotions.yahoo.com/new_mail