[NEohioPAL]BURN THIS gets HOT REVIEWS!
Jacqiloewy at aol.com
Jacqiloewy at aol.com
Fri Oct 20 09:18:41 PDT 2006
-------------------------------1161361121
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
Content-Language: en
=20
=E2=80=98Burn This' burns brightly at Charenton by Fran Heller, Contributi=
ng=20
Writer, Cleveland Jewish News=20
The first-rate production of Lanford Wilson's =E2=80=9CBurn This=E2=80=9D a=
t Charenton=20
Theater through Oct. 28 proves the power of good acting.=20
Evicted from its original production site at the 11th hour, the itinerant=20
theater company quickly set up shop in a cheerless auditorium without a sta=
ge,=20
set, lighting, or changing room.=20
These fine actors create such heat and fire on their own, sparked by=20
director Christopher Johnston, that what is missing isn't even missed.
=E2=80=9CBurn This=E2=80=9D is set in a Manhattan loft where Anna, a choreo=
grapher, has=20
just returned from the funeral of her roommate and best friend Robbie. Thro=
ugh=20
tears of grief, Anna expresses fierce anger at Robbie's family, who never k=
new=20
he was gay or saw him dance. =20
Anna's grief is shared by her other gay roommate, Larry, and her boyfriend=20
Burton. A month passes when suddenly, without warning, Robbie's older broth=
er=20
Jimmie, a.k.a. Pale, storms into the apartment to collect his dead brother'=
s=20
effects. Pale's drunken stream of obscenities and railing against urban lif=
e=20
mask the pain of his own grief, drawing Anna to him with a tenderness that=20
quickly turns into sexual passion and raw need.
The play is about loss, loneliness and the reluctance to face the truth of=20
one's own feelings. The 1987 drama also deals with issues of alienation and=
=20
the fear of commitment, issues that remain relevant today. The title refers=20=
to=20
something Burton says about art: =E2=80=9CMake it personal, be honest, and t=
hen write =20
on the bottom, =E2=80=98Burn this.'=E2=80=9D
The play involves a tangle of relationships. The relationship between stron=
g=20
but vulnerable Anna (Liz Conway) and her boyfriend, the successful but aloo=
f=20
screenwriter Burton (Andrew Narten), is amiable but devoid of passion. Anna=
=20
shares a greater familiarity and ease with her roommate, ad man Larry (a=20
funny and suitably flamboyant Dan Kilbane).
Enter Pale (a feral Jason Markouc), Robbie's volatile older brother, who=20
awakens in Anna a passion she has never known before. Though Anna and the=20
unsophisticated Pale are =E2=80=9Clike apples and oranges=E2=80=9D (Anna's w=
ords), the two are=20
ineluctably drawn together by the loss of Robbie.
In a play in which all is talk and nothing much happens, the=20
two-and-half-hour production whizzes by. The love triangle between Anna, Pa=
le and Burton is=20
extremely well-drawn. =20
=E2=80=9CBurn This=E2=80=9D is a beautifully written drama that mines the e=
motional terrain=20
of these characters' lives with delicate sensitivity. The chamber piece=20
demands actors who play off each other like finely tuned instruments in a s=
tring=20
quartet. Johnston's exquisite direction keeps the actors in harmony without=
=20
missing a beat.
Such satisfying theater. And it's free!
Charenton Theatre performs through Oct. 28 Thurs.-Sat. at 8 at Gallery 324=20
at The Galleria. _http://www_ (http://www/) . charenton.org or 216-469-9160=
. =20
Burn This -- There are times when performers are called upon to surmount=20
extraordinary obstacles, as happened to the Charenton group when their=20
opening-night playing space was yanked out from under them by city function=
aries.=20
Undaunted, they transplanted this remarkable show to a different location i=
n a=20
couple of hours and turned in an astonishing and compelling effort. Written=
by=20
Lanford Wilson, the play is an exploration of the distances between -- and=20
inside -- people who fear connection. Robbie, a young gay dancer, has died=20=
in a=20
boating accident, and his roommates, fellow hoofer Anna (Liz Conway) and fe=
y=20
Larry (Dan Kilbane), have just returned from the funeral. They are soon=20
joined by wealthy screenwriter pal Burton (Andrew Narten), who cares for An=
na,=20
and Robbie's coke-wired brother Pale, who soon uses his slithery charm to b=
ed=20
Anna. Jason Markouc is as oily as the straight black hair he keeps flipping=
=20
behind his ears, prowling the loft where the brother he never really knew h=
as=20
now left a permanent hole. Grasping each other like drowning people reachin=
g=20
for the last life preserver, these four players, under the direction of=20
Christopher Johnston, turn in a tender and witty ode to urban loneliness. P=
resented=20
by Charenton Theater Company through October 28 at 324 Gallery, 1301 E. 9th=
=20
St., 216-469-9160, _www.charenton.org_ (http://www.charenton.org/) . --=20
Christine Howey - SCENE MAGAZINE=20
-------------------------------1161361121
Content-Type: text/html; charset="UTF-8"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
Content-Language: en
<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
<HTML><HEAD>
<META http-equiv=3DContent-Type content=3D"text/html; charset=3DUTF-8">
<META content=3D"MSHTML 6.00.2900.2963" name=3DGENERATOR></HEAD>
<BODY id=3Drole_body style=3D"FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: #000000; FONT-FAMILY:=20=
Arial"=20
bottomMargin=3D7 leftMargin=3D7 topMargin=3D7 rightMargin=3D7><FONT id=3Drol=
e_document=20
face=3DArial color=3D#000000 size=3D2>
<DIV>
<P class=3Dcontent align=3Dleft><SPAN class=3Dheadline align=3D"left"><FONT=20=
size=3D4>=E2=80=98Burn=20
This' burns brightly at Charenton </FONT><FONT size=3D2>by Fran Heller,=20
Contributing Writer, Cleveland Jewish News</FONT></SPAN></P><SPAN class=3Dhe=
adline=20
align=3D"left"></SPAN>
<P class=3Dcontent align=3Dleft><BR>The first-rate production of Lanford Wil=
son's=20
=E2=80=9CBurn This=E2=80=9D at Charenton Theater through Oct. 28 proves the=20=
power of good=20
acting.</P>
<P class=3Dcontent align=3Dleft><BR><SPAN class=3Dcontent>Evicted from its o=
riginal=20
production site at the 11th hour, the itinerant theater company quickly set=20=
up=20
shop in a cheerless auditorium without a stage, set, lighting, or changing=20
room.</SPAN></P>
<P class=3Dcontent align=3Dleft><SPAN class=3Dcontent><BR>These fine actors=20=
create=20
such heat and fire on their own, sparked by director Christopher Johnston, t=
hat=20
what is missing isn't even missed.<BR><BR>=E2=80=9CBurn This=E2=80=9D is set=
in a Manhattan loft=20
where Anna, a choreographer, has just returned from the funeral of her roomm=
ate=20
and best friend Robbie. Through tears of grief, Anna expresses fierce anger=20=
at=20
Robbie's family, who never knew he was gay or saw him dance.</SPAN> </P>
<P class=3Dcontent align=3Dleft>
<TABLE cellSpacing=3D0 cellPadding=3D0 align=3Dright border=3D0>
<TBODY>
<TR>
<TD></TD></TR>
<TR>
<TD class=3Dcutline></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></P>
<P align=3Dleft><SPAN class=3Dcontent>Anna's grief is shared by her other ga=
y=20
roommate, Larry, and her boyfriend Burton. A month passes when suddenly, wit=
hout=20
warning, Robbie's older brother Jimmie, a.k.a. Pale, storms into the apartme=
nt=20
to collect his dead brother's effects. Pale's drunken stream of obscenities=20=
and=20
railing against urban life mask the pain of his own grief, drawing Anna to h=
im=20
with a tenderness that quickly turns into sexual passion and raw=20
need.<BR><BR>The play is about loss, loneliness and the reluctance to face t=
he=20
truth of one's own feelings. The 1987 drama also deals with issues of aliena=
tion=20
and the fear of commitment, issues that remain relevant today. The title ref=
ers=20
to something Burton says about art: =E2=80=9CMake it personal, be honest, an=
d then write=20
on the bottom, =E2=80=98Burn this.'=E2=80=9D<BR><BR>The play involves a tang=
le of relationships.=20
The relationship between strong but vulnerable Anna (Liz Conway) and her=20
boyfriend, the successful but aloof screenwriter Burton (Andrew Narten), is=20
amiable but devoid of passion. Anna shares a greater familiarity and ease wi=
th=20
her roommate, ad man Larry (a funny and suitably flamboyant Dan=20
Kilbane).<BR><BR>Enter Pale (a feral Jason Markouc), Robbie's volatile older=
=20
brother, who awakens in Anna a passion she has never known before. Though An=
na=20
and the unsophisticated Pale are =E2=80=9Clike apples and oranges=E2=80=9D (=
Anna's words), the=20
two are ineluctably drawn together by the loss of Robbie.<BR><BR>In a play i=
n=20
which all is talk and nothing much happens, the two-and-half-hour production=
=20
whizzes by. The love triangle between Anna, Pale and Burton is extremely=20
well-drawn.</SPAN>=20
<TABLE cellSpacing=3D0 cellPadding=3D0 align=3Dright border=3D0>
<TBODY>
<TR>
<TD></TD></TR>
<TR>
<TD class=3Dcutline></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></P>
<P align=3Dleft><SPAN class=3Dcontent>=E2=80=9CBurn This=E2=80=9D is a beaut=
ifully written drama=20
that mines the emotional terrain of these characters' lives with delicate=20
sensitivity. The chamber piece demands actors who play off each other like=20
finely tuned instruments in a string quartet. Johnston's exquisite direction=
=20
keeps the actors in harmony without missing a beat.<BR><BR>Such satisfying=20
theater. And it's free!</SPAN><SPAN class=3Dcontent><BR><I>Charenton Theatre=
=20
performs through Oct. 28 Thurs.-Sat. at 8 at Gallery 324 at The Galleria. <A=
=20
title=3Dhttp://www/ href=3D"http://www/" target=3D_blank>http://www</A>. cha=
renton.org=20
or 216-469-9160.</I></SPAN> </P>
<P><FONT size=3D3><B><I>Burn This --</I></B><B><I> </I></B>There are times w=
hen=20
performers are called upon to surmount extraordinary obstacles, as happened=20=
to=20
the Charenton group when their opening-night playing space was yanked out fr=
om=20
under them by city functionaries. Undaunted, they transplanted this remarkab=
le=20
show to a different location in a couple of hours and turned in an astonishi=
ng=20
and compelling effort. Written by Lanford Wilson, the play is an exploration=
of=20
the distances between -- and inside -- people who fear connection. Robbie, a=
=20
young gay dancer, has died in a boating accident, and his roommates, fellow=20
hoofer Anna (Liz Conway) and fey Larry (Dan Kilbane), have just returned fro=
m=20
the funeral. They are soon joined by wealthy screenwriter pal Burton (Andrew=
=20
Narten), who cares for Anna, and Robbie's coke-wired brother Pale, who soon=20=
uses=20
his slithery charm to bed Anna. Jason Markouc is as oily as the straight bla=
ck=20
hair he keeps flipping behind his ears, prowling the loft where the brother=20=
he=20
never really knew has now left a permanent hole. Grasping each other like=20
drowning people reaching for the last life preserver, these four players, un=
der=20
the direction of Christopher Johnston, turn in a tender and witty ode to urb=
an=20
loneliness. <I>Presented by Charenton Theater Company through October 28 at=20=
324=20
Gallery, 1301 E. 9th St., 216-469-9160, <A title=3Dhttp://www.charenton.org/=
=20
href=3D"http://www.charenton.org/">www.charenton.org</A>. </I><STRONG>-- Chr=
istine=20
Howey - SCENE MAGAZINE</STRONG></FONT></P>
<P align=3Dleft>
<TABLE cellSpacing=3D0 cellPadding=3D0 align=3Dright border=3D0>
<TBODY>
<TR>
<TD></TD></TR>
<TR>
<TD class=3Dcutline></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></P></DIV></FONT></BODY></=
HTML>
-------------------------------1161361121--
More information about the NEohioPAL
mailing list