[NEohioPAL]Berko review: OPAL (Kalliope)

[Roy Berko]

KALLIOPE STAGE DOES AREA PREMIERE OF ‘OPAL’

Roy Berko

(Member, American Theatre Critics Association)

--THE TIMES NEWSPAPERS--

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

‘OPAL,’ the Richard Rodgers and AT&T Award-winning
musical by Robert Lindsey Nassif, is getting its local
premiere at Kalliope Stage.  Nassif ,who penned the
book, music and lyrics, is known to Cleveland
audiences for his authorship of ‘HONKY TONK HIGHWAY,’
and ‘ ELIOT NESS IN CLEVELAND,’ which had local
productions.

Opal is a full-length musical in one long act, that
explores a young girl's attempt to "make earth glad"
by helping those around her fulfill their needs and
desires.   Billed as the true story of Francoise
D'Orleans, who, as a child, was shipwrecked off the
Oregon coast.  It is a bittersweet story that
supposedly grew out of Francoise's own diary entries.

The reality, however, was that ten months after the
diary was published, D’Orleans was accused of fraud. 
Critics said she fabricated her biography, especially
her claims that she was adopted by the Whiteleys and
that her parents were actually French aristocracy.  
She was also accused of writing the diary as an adult,
not when she was a child.  

After the untruthful revelations, Opal fled America
and was found in England more than 20 years later
wandering through the rubble and burned-out buildings
left in the wake of World War II.  She was committed
to an insane asylum, identified as Schizophrenic, and
remained there the rest of her life.  She died in
1992, just weeks before the New York debut of the
musical based on her writings.   

No matter the veracity of the tale, the bottom line is
that Opal’s story is compelling, mysterious and
tragic.

The play opens with the shipwreck and illustrates what
happens when Francoise is taken in by The Mamma, an
embittered woman.  The child, who believes her parents
will come back one day, is given the name Opal, the
same name as The Mamma’s dead daughter.  To
psychologically survive, Francoise creates a world of
fantasy which includes naming things by cultural
connections in her background.  For example, she names
her pet pig “Peter Paul Rubens.”   She gives nicknames
to the people of the town:  “the thought-girl with far
away look in her eyes,” “the girl that has no seeing,”
and “the man that wears gray neckties.”   Her
extraordinary imagination affects the lives of those
around her.

This isn’t the traditional musical theatre feel-good
fluff story with a neatly packaged happy ending.  This
is a story that is a mix of happiness and sorrow.

Kalliope Stage’s production, under the adept directing
of Paul F. Gurgol, is generally excellent.  Gurgol
does a masterful job of using the theatre’s small
stage to its maximum.  He has cast members linger
around the stage, doing various tasks such as
needle-point, knitting, and sawing wood to the best
effect.  The scenes flow well and transition
effectively.  The pacing is excellent.  The opening
storm scene is quite realistic and his creation of
visual pictures, such as the human tree, is
impressive.  

There are some very strong performances.  Marla Berg
as Sadie McKibben, the washer woman who befriends
Opal, has a fine singing voice and develops a clear
character.   Kris Comer, the blind girl, creates a
perfect image of a woman who is  vulnerable and in
need of love.  Scott Posey has a powerful voice and
also hits all the right acting notes as The Shy Man
that Wears Gray Neckties.  His future bride, The
Thought-Girl with the Far Away Look in her Eyes, is
nicely developed and sung by Jodi Brinkman.  Each of
the narrators is effective.   

On the other hand, Ayeshah Douglas as The Mamma fails
to texture her role.  Her lines often miss depth of
meaning and she acts, rather than reacts to Opal and
the other characters.

Evaluating a play that has a child lead is often a
difficult task.  No matter the quality of character
development and singing abilities, it is expected that
the child, due to her age, is to be judged as
“wonderful.”  However, I feel that it is unfair to use
one criteria for the rest of the cast and another for
child actors, especially ones in musicals like
‘ANNIE,’ ‘OLIVER,’ and ‘OPAL’ where they are the
pivotal centers of the show.  With that said, eleven
year-old Dani Apple makes for an acceptable Opal.  She
has a nice singing voice.  Her acting is not quite as
good.  She often says lines, rather than creating
meanings.  Her speaking voice sometimes gets into the
high registers which is hard on the ears.  Gurgol
needed to work with her on emotional development which
stretched beyond yelling when she was distraught, and
looking directly into the eyes of other characters as
she speaks.

The choral work is excellent as are the musical sounds
created by Brad Wyner and Anthony Ruggiero.  Russ
Borski’s set design is effective and Lance Switzer’s
lighting works well.

CAPSULE JUDGEMENT:  ‘OPAL’ is an arresting play that
gets a very good production at Kalliope Stage.  

The show runs through December 18  at Kalliope Stage,
2134 Lee Road.  For tickets call 216-321-0870 or go on
line to www.KalliopeStage.com.  Kalliope Stage’s next
production is ‘COMING TO AMERICA’ which will have its
world premiere on February 9, 2006.


Roy Berko's web page can be found at www.royberko.info.  His theatre and dance reviews appear on NeOHIOpal, an on-line source.   To subscribe to this free service via the World Wide Web, visit http://lists.fredsternfeld.com/mailman/listinfo/neohiopal.


	
		
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