[NEohioPAL]Berko review: RESPECT (Playhouse Square)

[Roy Berko]

‘RESPECT’ leaves ‘em screaming and dancing at the
Hanna

Roy Berko

(Member, American Theatre Critics Association)

--THE TIMES NEWSPAPERS--

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

Over the last century, the lives of women, have gone
through a major transformation.  This topic has been
the subject of a number of musical and straight plays.
 ‘RESPECT:  A MUSICAL JOURNEY OF WOMEN,’ now on stage
at the Hanna Theatre, is another in the series.  
Judging from the opening night audience, this journey
is going to have a lot of travelers on board.

Dorothy Marcic, the show’s author, based the script on
her book, ‘RESPECT, WOMEN AND POPULAR MUSIC.’  That
manuscript analyzed the top-40 female song lyrics
since 1900.  She conceived the show in a chronological
sequence, mainly centering on the experiences of one
woman, her female relatives and the individuals with
who they came in contact, or were the movers and
shakers during the 60-some year journey.

The author states, “ For more than the first half of
the last century, the voices of women in Top-40
popular music has been one of neediness and
dependency.  I'll do anything for you; just be my
baby, even if you're no good and treat me bad; just
LOVE me and I'll stand by my man.  By the end of the
century, things were quite different. Popular music
had come far enough so that women looked for the hero
within themselves, were urged to get on their feet and
make it happen, ready to stand on her own with or
without a man.” 

The conclusion that Marcic reaches is "I am woman-hear
me roar," and "I will survive." Thus, women should
find and follow their own dreams.  Where this leaves
men is another topic, one not dealt with in this
script.

The script generally flows well with logical verbal
and vocal transitions.  Though a little long, a 90
minute one-act, rather than a two-act production would
be preferable.  Some songs could be easily dropped
such as, “How Much Is That Doggie in the Window,” the
television tunes segment, and “Video” even though it
was cleverly choreographed.

The Hanna show is well directed by David Arisco, with
strong music supervision by Phil Hinton and musical
direction by Gary Rusnak.  Russ Borski’s scenic
design, Jean Tessier’s lighting design and Mary Lynn
Izzo’s creative costumes add to the quality of the
production.  Though no choreographer is listed, the
dance sequences were cleverly conceived.

The stars of the show, besides the songs, are the cast
members.    Working their way through the likes of
“Bird In a Gilded Cage,” “Someone to Watch Over Me,” 
“I Enjoy Being a Girl,” “You Don’t Own Me,” and
“R-E-S-P-E-C-T,” the four woman cast generally acted,
danced and sang with purpose.  They accomplished the
goal of clearly interpreting the songs and using
verbal transitions to further the author’s purpose.

Tina D. Stump, who is pure soul, wailed her way
through “I Will Survive” and ripped her way through
“Hard Hearted Hannah.”  The woman controls the stage
and every song she warbles.

Tricia Bestic is a dynamic and endearing performer. 
Her version of “As Long As He Needs Me” was
electrifying.  “I Wanna Be Loved By You” was a smile
highlight as was “These Boots Are Made for Walking.”  

Melissa Barber was generally fine, but, at times, she
displayed some inconsistency in her vocalizations and
song interpretations.  

Paula Kline-Messner was excellent as the narrator. 
She was totally believable in the spoken segments and
sang well.  

Capsule judgment:   ‘MENOPAUSE’ ran and ran and ran at
the 14th Street Theatre in Playhouse Square.  Judging
by the opening night audience’s reactions, the same
production group has another hit with RESPECT.  

‘RESPECT’ is scheduled to run until Oct 1.  Be
assured, as happened with ‘MENOPAUSE,’  that the run
will be extended and extended. For tickets go to
tickets.com or call 216-241-6000 or 800-766-6048.


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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