[NEohioPAL] Berko review: AKARUI @ Cleveland Public Theatre

[Roy Berko]

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*AKARUI [Bright] confounds at Cleveland Public Theatre*



Roy Berko

(Member, American Theatre Critics Association & Cleveland Critics Circle)





Cleveland Public Theatre’s mission is to raise consciousness and nurture
compassion through ground breaking new, adventurous work.  Under the
guidance of Artistic Director Raymond Bobgan, the theatre challenges
audiences mainly strong works.  Included in the winners have been this
season’s ANTELBELLUM, and past offerings such as DARWINNI, THE COMUPPANCE
OF MAN, BLUE SKY TRANSMISSION:  A TIBETAN BOOK OF THE DEAD, and INSOMNIA
THE WAKING OF HERSELVES.  Some other offerings have confounded more than
excited.



Unfortunately, AKARUI [Bright], which closed the 2011-2012 season, tends to
fall into the less than successful offerings category.



The overly long and over-staged work transports the viewer to a rave cave
(scenic designer Todd Krispinski’s effective metal scaffold set) at the
supposed end of the world.  Akarui, a  disk jockey, spins songs that summon
the lost and the desperate to examine their transitions.



Yes, all things are in transition.  Transsexuals, transition from one
gender to another.  The dead find themselves in the nether world after
their demise.  Those who commit crimes against others are caught changing
as their guilt develops.  In evolutionary terms, fish transition from
swimming to crawling to standing erect  humans.  The butterfly is the
result of a transition from being a larva.  Scientists develop theories and
change as their successes and failures mount.

*AMENT, AN EVENING OF W. B. YEATS’ E BOOK OF GRACE*

These are all situations which writer Jen Silverman rolls out in AKARUI.  These
are the images that director Raymond Bobgan places before the viewer.



Silverman’s writing is often poetic.  She proposes that until transgender
people complete their process of transition, they are only “half done.”  That
people “climb out of their nightmares.” And, “you slap girls but you punch
boys.”   Her script is filled with allusions and metaphors.  These often
combine to make the obvious abstract.  Though the author’s concept is
clear, the continued repetition of the same idea, makes for a long sit.



The same could be said for Bobgan’s staging.  The oft repeated stomping
choreography, drumming and chanting just became too much after there
original impact, stretching the production to a tedious level.   A
combination of editing of both script and actions would have aided to make
this a more audience-friendly production.



The cast includes some excellent performances.  Beth Wood as Baba Yaga, the
doctor/witch, James Alexander Rankin as Joshua, a youth brutally killed who
finds himself in the nether world, and Molly Andrews-Hinders, as DC, who is
transiting from female to male, show understanding of their roles.  David
Aguila’s transition from fish to human is visually mesmerizing.   The
chorus carries out Bobgan’s intentions well.



Benjamin Gantose’s lighting and Michael Roesch and Raymond Bobgan’s sound
designs work well.



*Capsule judgement:  AKARUI [Bright] brings to an end another theatre year
for Cleveland Public Theatre.  Though a challenging concept, the play and
production just didn’t have the same positive effect as some other
offerings by CPT.*



AKARUI [Bright] ran through June 9.

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