[NEohioPAL]Bang and the Clatter Earthquake...

Thu Oct 13 14:44:46 PDT 2005

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New theater company brings something special to stage and to AkronBy David Ritchey DOWNTOWN AKRON — Spectacular in every way is the only adequate description of “The Late Henry Moss,” which is being produced by the new entity The Bang and the Clatter Theatre Company in Summit Artspace. This is an auspicious start for Akron’s newest theater company. In this production, the company raised the performance bar for all Akron performance groups. 
Director Sean McConaha and Sean Derry (actor, scenic designer/technical director) formed this small company in what McConaha described to the opening night audience as “a labor of love.”
The seats were filled opening night. When the complete cast had taken its place for the curtain call, the audience stood, applauded and cheered. We knew we had been in the presence of something special. The only thing missing from the curtain call was McConaha, who deserved to stand with his cast and let the audience cheer for him, too. 
“The Late Henry Moss” is the last of the brothers trilogy by Sam Shepard. The trilogy starts with the Pulitzer-Prize winning “Buried Child.” The second part of the trilogy is “True West.” Each of the plays deals with brothers confronting the absence or death of their father. 
In “The Late Henry Moss,” Ray (Derry) returns to the family home when he receives a call from his brother, Earl (Mark Mayo). Their father, Henry (Jim Viront), has died. The brothers wrestle with what happened to their father. Suddenly, Henry and those people in his life return to perform the important scenes from the end of his life. Those important people include the Esteban man (Tom Barnes) who lives across the street; Conchalla (Tina Thompkins), Henry’s lady friend; and Taxi (David LeMoyne), a cab driver who took him fishing. What they reveal is shocking. What happens is the best theater we’ve seen in Summit County in a long time. 
The setting is Bernalillo, N.M., 1986, where the houses are stucco, the snack of choice is hot peppers and the drink of the day is cheap booze and screw-top wine. 
At one point, Earl says to his brother, “There’s a certain kind of cruelty to you, Ray.” Shepard wrote this line as an understatement. Ray is cruel and relentless in his search for how his father died. The payoff for Ray and the audience is spectacular. 
This is the finest example of ensemble acting to come our way in years. All of the performers understand the playwright, the script and the demands of their roles. We’ve not seen a production with the physical demands of “The Late Henry Moss.” The stage fights are realistic and abusive. The performers are unrelenting in making their characters true. I’ve seldom seen actors dig this far down into their being to bring characters to the stage. Why does this work so well? The company selected a superior script by one of the best American playwrights. The story seems simple — the death of a parent. But, the playwright pushes the story beyond a death and reveals many of the skeletons in this dysfunctional family’s closet. 
McConaha honored the playwright and the script. In the printed script, each act starts with a dance by Henry and Conchalla. The dance shows Henry’s dissipation and Conchalla’s role in his destruction. Too many directors might have cut that dance in an effort to make the play contemporary or easier to produce. Those directors would have cut an important part from the production. 
Shepard wrote a play filled with humor and horror. McConaha honored the script and never shied away from the scenes that had to be performed on the stage. People who admire quality acting and direction must call immediately for tickets. Frankly, theater doesn’t get much better than “The Late Henry Moss.”

Don’t miss this production. This is the standard by which we’ll be judging theatrical performances for a long, long time. The Bang and the Clatter gang is making a big bang in Summit County. The clatter should echo through every production company in this area. A new theatrical day has been born, and it promises to be a bright day. 
The show, which runs Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights and Sunday afternoons, is on stage through Oct. 23. For tickets, call (330) 606-5317. Summit Artspace is located at140 E. Market St. 
David Ritchey has a Ph.D. in communications and is a professor of communications at The University of Akron. He is a member of the American Theatre Critics Association.  
Jim Viront (Henry), left, and Mark Mayo (Earl) star in The Bang and the Clatter Theatre Company’s production of “The Late Henry Moss.” 
Photo courtesy of The Bang and the Clatter Theatre Company 

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<html><H2>New theater company brings something special to stage and to Akron</H2>

By David Ritchey 
DOWNTOWN AKRON — Spectacular in every way is the only adequate description of “The Late Henry Moss,” which is being produced by the new entity The Bang and the Clatter Theatre Company in Summit Artspace. 
This is an auspicious start for Akron’s newest theater company. In this production, the company raised the performance bar for all Akron performance groups. 
Director Sean McConaha and Sean Derry (actor, scenic designer/technical director) formed this small company in what McConaha described to the opening night audience as “a labor of love.” 
The seats were filled opening night. When the complete cast had taken its place for the curtain call, the audience stood, applauded and cheered. We knew we had been in the presence of something special. The only thing missing from the curtain call was McConaha, who deserved to stand with his cast and let the audience cheer for him, too. 
“The Late Henry Moss” is the last of the brothers trilogy by Sam Shepard. The trilogy starts with the Pulitzer-Prize winning “Buried Child.” The second part of the trilogy is “True West.” Each of the plays deals with brothers confronting the absence or death of their father. 
In “The Late Henry Moss,” Ray (Derry) returns to the family home when he receives a call from his brother, Earl (Mark Mayo). Their father, Henry (Jim Viront), has died. The brothers wrestle with what happened to their father. Suddenly, Henry and those people in his life return to perform the important scenes from the end of his life. Those important people include the Esteban man (Tom Barnes) who lives across the street; Conchalla (Tina Thompkins), Henry’s lady friend; and Taxi (David LeMoyne), a cab driver who took him fishing. What they reveal is shocking. What happens is the best theater we’ve seen in Summit County in a long time. 
The setting is Bernalillo, N.M., 1986, where the houses are stucco, the snack of choice is hot peppers and the drink of the day is cheap booze and screw-top wine. 

At one point, Earl says to his brother, “There’s a certain kind of cruelty to you, Ray.” Shepard wrote this line as an understatement. Ray is cruel and relentless in his search for how his father died. The payoff for Ray and the audience is spectacular. 
This is the finest example of ensemble acting to come our way in years. All of the performers understand the playwright, the script and the demands of their roles. We’ve not seen a production with the physical demands of “The Late Henry Moss.” The stage fights are realistic and abusive. The performers are unrelenting in making their characters true. I’ve seldom seen actors dig this far down into their being to bring characters to the stage. Why does this work so well? The company selected a superior script by one of the best American playwrights. The story seems simple — the death of a parent. But, the playwright pushes the story beyond a death and reveals many of the skeletons in this dysfunctional family’s closet. 
McConaha honored the playwright and the script. In the printed script, each act starts with a dance by Henry and Conchalla. The dance shows Henry’s dissipation and Conchalla’s role in his destruction. Too many directors might have cut that dance in an effort to make the play contemporary or easier to produce. Those directors would have cut an important part from the production. 
Shepard wrote a play filled with humor and horror. McConaha honored the script and never shied away from the scenes that had to be performed on the stage. 
People who admire quality acting and direction must call immediately for tickets. Frankly, theater doesn’t get much better than “The Late Henry Moss.” 
Don’t miss this production. This is the standard by which we’ll be judging theatrical performances for a long, long time. The Bang and the Clatter gang is making a big bang in Summit County. The clatter should echo through every production company in this area. A new theatrical day has been born, and it promises to be a bright day. 
The show, which runs Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights and Sunday afternoons, is on stage through Oct. 23. For tickets, call (330) 606-5317. Summit Artspace is located at140 E. Market St. 
 
David Ritchey has a Ph.D. in communications and is a professor of communications at The University of Akron. He is a member of the American Theatre Critics Association. 
<IMG height=173 src="http://akron.com/20051013/images/Spots_Henry%20Moss2322_Copy44.gif" width=238> 




Jim Viront (Henry), left, and Mark Mayo (Earl) star in The Bang and the Clatter Theatre Company’s production of “The Late Henry Moss.” 
Photo courtesy of The Bang and the Clatter Theatre Company </html>

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