[NEohioPAL] Berko review: 'AVNER THE ECCENTRIC in EXCEPTIONS TO GRAVITY' (JCC and Playhouse Square Center)

[Roy Berko]

‘AVNER THE ECCENTRIC IN EXCEPTIONS OF GRAVITY’
convulses audience

Roy Berko

(Member, American Theatre Critics Association)

--THE TIMES NEWSPAPERS--

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

--coolcleveland.com--

If you were not one of the fortunate theatre-goers who
witnessed the performance of ‘AVNER THE ECCENTRIC in
EXCEPTIONS TO GRAVITY,’ you missed one fun time.  If
you didn’t take your children or grandchildren to see
Avner, you deprived them of an experience they would
not quickly have forgotten.

As is the case with shows that are “child-friendly,” I
took my grandsons (Alex—12, Noah—10 and Ian—7), who
have picked up the tag-name “The Kid Reviewers,” to
see the show presented by the Jewish Community Center
and Playhouse Square Center.  Their evaluation?  A
perfect 10 out of 10 from each of them.  Noah wanted
to know if he could give Avner a 12, but rules are
rules, so 10 it is!

Take a creative elder statesman, add a broom, a
sweater, an alarm clock, a hat, popcorn, paper cups, a
ladder, a newspaper, toilet paper and napkins and you
have all you need for a show of magic, illusion and
audience pleasure.

Avner Eisenberg has the knack of knowing how to “play
an audience.”  He jumps off the stage, has the light
person bring the illumination up and down to introduce
his coming down into the audience, plays around with
those in the front rows, and then sets the mood for
his on-stage shticks.   He “scolded” the late comers. 
He took a paper away from a man in the second row,
proceed to rip it up, balance the pieces on his nose,
and then put it back together.  He made people change
seats.  He grabbed a purse from one woman and
proceeded to pull out a roll of toilet paper, much to
her embarrassment.   He had some female in the first
row kiss his “boo-boo” every time he did a prat-fall. 


Avner balanced a 20-foot aluminum ladder on his
forehead, ate 15 napkins, divided the audience into
sections and had one group stomp on the floor while
another moaned and yet another screamed louder and
softer as he conducted his “human orchestra.”  It was
all totally delightful.  And, he did the whole
90-minute show without saying one word!!!

Ian had difficulty staying in his seat.  He wanted to
be part of the action.  His brothers had to grab him a
couple of times as he vaulted toward the stage.  Alex
was laughing so hard at one point, he slipped off the
chair.  Even “cool and controlled” Noah was
hysterical.

Capsule judgment:  Avner the Eccentric was Avner the
delightful in his recent Ohio Theatre performance.  If
you missed it, you missed a show that the Kid
Reviewers called “great,” “terrific,” “funny,”
“hysterical” and “my favorite play, ever!”




Roy Berko's blog, which contains theatre and dance reviews from 2001 through 2007, as well as his consulting and publications information, can be found at http://royberko.info
      
Roy's theatre and dance reviews appear regularly on NeOHIOpal, an on-line source.   To subscribe to this free service via the World Wide Web, visit http://mailman.listserve.com/listmanager/listinfo/neohiopal.  His reviews also appear on www.coolcleveland.com


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