[NEohioPAL]Berko review: ALL IN THE TIMING (Actors' Summit)

[Roy Berko]

DELIGHTFUL ‘ALL IN THE TIMING’ MENTALLY CHALLENGES AT
ACTOR’S SUMMIT

Roy Berko

(Member, American Theatre Critics Association)

--THE TIMES NEWSPAPERS--

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


The world according to David Ives, the author of ‘ALL
IN THE TIMING,’ now on stage at Actors’ Summit, is a
very odd piece.  Ives loves to play with the English
language and disorient an audience.

On the surface, the segments don’t seem to hook
together.  In actuality they do.  They all deal with
language.  They probe the way language is used, how it
is created, and whether people are really
communicating when they use language.  This is both
the strength and weakness of the script.  It will
delight many but frustrate those who like things
clearly spelled out.

‘ALL IN THE TIMING’ was originally a book of six
one-act plays by David Ives written from 1987 to 1993.
 The current script contains fourteen one acts. 
Actors’ Summit is using the original script.

The short plays include ‘SURE THING’ in which a man
and a woman meet for the first time in a cafe, where
they have an awkward meeting continually reset each
time they say the wrong thing, until, finally, they
connect.  

‘WORDS, WORDS, WORDS’ displays three chimpanzees in
their attempt to write Hamlet.  ‘THE UNIVERSAL
LANGUAGE’ finds a man and a woman falling in love
while communicating in the invented language intended
to be used as part of a con game. 

‘PHILIP GLASS BUYS A LOAF OF BREAD’ is a musical
parody of contemporary composer Philip Glass, in which
he has an existential crisis in a bakery.  ‘THE
PHILADELPHIA’ concerns a man in a strange state where
he must ask for the opposite of what he wants in a
restaurant.  In ‘VARIATIONS ON THE DEATH OF TROTSKY’
Leon Trotsky dies, and dies and dies. 
	
The Actors’ Summit cast, under the adept direction of
A. Neil Thackaberry, does a consistently excellent job
of developing the many roles they portray.  Both
Alicia Kahn and Noah Varness milk the humor out of
‘SURE THING.’   Kahn, Peter Voinovich and Sally Groth
totally “monkey-around” in ‘WORDS, WORDS, WORDS.’ 
Sally Groth and Peter Voinovich do an amazing job of
making the audience understand a language that is not
understandable.  Their ability to remember the complex
lines is amazing.  

The Philip Glass piece is creatively staged as the
actors move in parallel time to the composer’s
discordant music.  Kahn, Varness and Voinovich are
excellent as people caught in black holes where they
can’t get what they want.  Only ‘VARIATIONS OF THE
DEATH OF TROTSKY’ falls short.  The piece becomes
tedious and doesn’t have the creative power to wrap up
the evening.

Ives, in explaining why he writes for the theatre
stated, “Our lives happen in voices: in inner
monologue and outer dialogue, in scenes of interwoven
tension and resolution with comic byplay.  As drama.
As comedy. As a live, local, handmade event.  As
theater.”
 
CAPSULE JUDGEMENT:  Ives’ ‘ALL IN THE TIMING’ displays
Ives' philosophy and receives a fine production at
Actors’ Summit.

For tickets to the production, which runs through May
14, call 330-342-0800 or go on line to
www.actorssummit.org.

Actor’s Summit has announced it’s 2006-07 season. 
Productions will include:  ‘THE MUSICAL OF
MUSICALS--THE MUSICAL!,’ ‘TUESDAYS WITH MORRIE
(starring Glenn Colerider and Neil Thackaberry),’
‘ARMS AND THE MAN’ (which will feature Reuben and
Dorothy Silver, the first family of Cleveland
theatre), ‘CHRISTMAS SURVIVAL GUIDE,’ ‘ QED,’ ‘POLISH
JOKE,’ ‘DEATH OF A SALESMAN,’ AND ‘QUILTERS.’  Call
the theatre for details and subscription details.



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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