[NEohioPAL] Berko review: SPANK! THE FIFTY SHADES PARODY @ Hanna Theatre

[Roy Berko]

•••••••••••••••••••

Screaming women encourage the sexual goings-on at the Hanna Theatre

Roy Berko

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

There are some weird and off-beat goings-on in downtown Cleveland’s
PlayhouseSquare.  At the State, cross-dressers and a transvestite are
feverishly dancing and preening in PRISCILLA, QUEEN OF THE DESERT, THE
MUSICAL.  At the Hanna, witches and warlocks are cavorting in BELL, BOOK
AND CANDLE.  On stage at the Hanna, in SPANK!  THE FIFTY SHADES PARODY,
whips, chains, handcuffs and undulating abs have the mostly 20-something
female crowd screaming for more.  Yes, female crowd…the farer sex
outnumbered the males by at least 100 to 1.

British author, Ericka Leonard’s Fifty Grades of Grey erotic novel trilogy
(e.g., FIFTY SHADES OF GREY, FIFTY SHADES DARKER and FIFTY SHADES FREED)
has sold 65 million copies, making it the biggest selling paperback series
of all time.

It is, as I was told by Cher, Rachel and Janine, the helpful trio of
beauties sitting behind me, a take-off on all those soft back novels
available in drug stores, that are consumed by women who sit at home
consuming calories and sexual illusions.  You know, the books with the
photo-shopped sculpted, gym-toned male studs on the cover.

In addition, the trio told me that some vignettes in the FIFTY SHADES books
have allusions to the TWILIGHT series, the four vampire-themed novels
by  American
author Stephanie Meyer.

I must, in full-disclosure, admit to not having read any of the Leonard or
Meyer books, so little did I know what I was getting in for when I entered
the “she-den,” known most of the time as The Hanna Theatre.

SPANK! THE FIFTY SHADES OF PARODY is a musical written by seven, yes, seven
authors.  There is little music, and the story line, I was told by my bevy
of beauties, parallels the first book and tacks on the ending of the second
book. (I have to trust them that this is true.  Would those cuties lie to
me?)

The “story” concerns a woman writer who has the weekend where her husband
and children are off to Disneyland, to write one or more books aimed at
adult women.  The requisites?  The novels must contain lots of sex, sado
masochism, sex, fantasy, sex, anatomical and slang references to about
every part of a woman’s body, sex, and some more sex.

The heroine, Anastasia Steele, is created before our eyes by the writer,
who tinkers and adjusts the script as we observe.  Ana encounters wealthy,
studly, Hugh Hanson, a man tormented by demons and consumed by the need to
control.  A man of perfectly formed abs and a vivid sexual imagination,
which centers mostly on s and m.  He is beautiful, brilliant and
intimidating, and looks great in his form fitting tiny Batman underwear,
that conceal little, and skin tight jeans, which also leave little to the
imagination.

The innocent Ana longs to be with him, and surrender her virginity.  (Were
you expecting something else?)  Huge (I mean Hugh…hmm…was that a Freudian
slip?) wants her, but on his own terms, which is included in a long
contract (like the type Sheldon requires of those with whom he is in
relationship on TV’s THE BIG BANG THEORY).  Along the way, the story
includes snatches from THE SOUND OF MUSIC, Gilbert and Sullivan operettas,
CHARLEY AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY, and of course, TWILIGHT.  This is a tale
of obsession, possession and a night of fantasy when the women viewers go
home and relive the experience through dreams in their own beds.

SPANK! is a hoot for the first half hour.  It kind of bogs down after the
titillation is over.  It picks up when Alice Moran (Tasha) goes out into
the audience to castigate (or castrate) the guy in the front row who has
the nerve to be texting while the show is going on, and then ask advice
from another audience member about what is proper to insert into one’s
posterior, tushie, butt.   (BTW…the woman who was being queried, answered
“Nothing,” but was talked into a modification of her response.)

Suzanne Sole (E. G. Janet) has a great time being the “writer” of the novel
which develops before our eyes.  After a while, however, her repeated
attempts at sexuality got a bit much.  She has a nice singing voice, which,
unfortunately, didn’t get a lot of use.

Suzanne Sole (Tasha Woode), has a wonderful wide-eyed innocence and does
well with the humor.

I can assume that the woman would have liked more of handsome, sensual Gabe
Bowling (Hugh Hanson) stripping, bumping, grinding, and playing Chippendale
dancer.  Moving out onto the runway that surrounded the thrust part of the
stage might have met with dollar bills thrust into his Batman briefs.  The
women who lined up after the show to have their picture taken with the
dangerous dude were loving every minute of it.  Some had to be restrained
from touching the merchandise!

*CAPSULE JUDGMENT:  SPANK! THE FIFTY SHADES OF PARODY is definitely not a
production for everyone.  Twenty-something women, with maybe a few 30s and
40s thrown in, who have read and love THE SHADES OF GREY trilogy, want to
let loose, have a couple of glasses of wine and scream and yell, will have
a great time.  Others, like this old white guy who hasn’t read the books,
should have been at home! *

SPANK! runs through January 27 at the HANNA THEATRE.  For tickets call
216-241-6000 or go to www.clevelandplayhouse.com.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.neohiopal.org/pipermail/neohiopal-neohiopal.org/attachments/20130119/aee9c80c/attachment-0003.htm>