[NEohioPAL] Berko review: MAIN-TRAVELLED ROADS (Actors' Summit)

[Roy Berko]

Charming
‘MAIN-TRAVELLED ROADS’ at Actors’ Summit
 
Roy
Berko
 
(Member,
American Theatre Critics Association)
 
--THE
TIMES NEWSPAPERS--
 
Lorain
County Times--Westlaker Times--Lakewood News Times--Olmsted-Fairview Times  
 
COOLCLEVELAND.COM
 
‘MAIN-TRAVELLED
ROADS,’ now on stage at Actors’ Summit, is a charming musical penned by Richard
Rodgers Award winners Dave Hudson and Paul Libman.
 
It
is based on the short stories of Hamlin Garland, whose tales of American rural
life is said to have inspired such writers as John Steinbeck and Theodore
Dreiser. 
 
The musical is set
in turn-of-the-century Wisconsin, and portrays Midwestern farm life and the
struggles of young lovers as they come in contact with the area’s various
cultures and traditions.
The story revolves
around several young couples. One  duo, Will and Aggie,  split
up over a misunderstanding caused by a broken wagon wheel.   As a result, Will leaves town and
Aggie marries someone she is not in love with because she wants to escape the
emotional pain of the loss of Will.   Unfortunately, she finds herself in an abusive relationship.  Then there is the “creamery man” who is
looking for a wife and has his eyes on a wealthy young woman, who is not
interested in him.  Meanwhile,
Nina, a Dutch woman has eyes for the “creamery man” and they eventually wind up
together.
This is a light,
happy musical, so all’s well that end’s well. So, after a six-year absence,
Will shows up on Aggie’s doorstep. He professes his undying love.  And they run off to New England, where he
is now a wealth young business tycoon.  And, of course, the creamery man and Nina live happily every after.
The plot might
sound a little complicated but the show is easy to follow as the
well-integrated songs bridge the segments together.  Whether lighthearted, serious, or silly, each musical
interlude gives a slice of each character’s personality, hopes and dreams.  Such songs as “Small Town Telegraph”
and “Creamery Man” bring smiles and “You Can’t Come Home” makes the eyes well.
Though she has
over-directed several of the scenes, distracting from the words by drawing
attention to movements, the Actors’ Summit production, under the direction and
choreography of Sasha Thackaberry generally works well. 
The four actors
slip in and out of their 11 characters easily.  The vocal sounds are generally good, the musical
accompaniment by Evie Morris, is excellent.
Kathleen Culler
sparkles as Aggie.  She has a fine
singing voice and lights up the stage.  She does an excellent job of creating and maintaining her characterizations.
C. J. Bonde has
some delightful moments as Nina and shows good tenderness as Delia, an
understanding town folk.
Keith Stevens is
charming as Will and has some excellent musical moments.  His role as the mop-coiffed,
cross-dressing Mrs. Haldeman (Nina’s mother) brought prolonged laughter in each
of his appearances.
Stephen Brockway
is properly nasty as Dave (Aggie’s husband) and charming as the “creamery man.”
Special
notice:  Paul Libman and David Hudson, the shows authors,
will be in attendance at the Saturday night, October 4 performance of
‘MAIN-TRAVELLED ROADS.’ Besides viewing the show, Actors’ Summit’s Artistic
Director, A. Neil Thackaberry, will discuss with them the possibility of
producing the duo’s new musical based on the works of John Steinbeck.
CAPSULE
JUDGEMENT:  ‘MAIN-TRAVELLED ROADS’
is a charming musical which gets an excellent production at Actors’
Summit.   If you want to spend
a pleasant evening at the theatre, see this show
 
For tickets
to ‘MAIN-TRAVELLED ROADS’ call  (330-342-0800)
or go to actorssummit.org.  Actors’
Summit is located at 86 Owen Brown Street, Hudson.  
 
UPCOMING
EVENTS:  Theatre and Dance
 
Actors’
Summit’s next staging is ‘NIXON’S NIXON,’ starring A. Neil Thackaberry as
Richard Nixon and George Roth as Henry Kissinger.  Show dates are October 23-November 9.
 
Verb Ballets
will perform at the Ohio Theatre on October 24 at 8 PM.  For tickets call 216-241-6000.
 
Dance
Cleveland presents the Lar Lubovitch Dance Company at the Ohio Theatre on
November 1.  Tickets:  216-241-6000.
 
The Cleveland
Play House presents ‘NOISES OFF’ from October 3-26.  For tickets call 216-795-7000.
 
 Roy Berko's blog, which contains theatre and dance reviews from 2001 through 2008, as well as his consulting and publications information, can be found at http://royberko.info

His reviews can also be found on www.coolcleveland.com and NeOHIOpal (to subscribe visit http://mailman.listserve.com/listmanager/listinfo/neohiopal.)