[NEohioPAL] Berko review: FROGS at Cain Park

Sat Aug 2 08:32:10 PDT 2014

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*“The Frogs” fails to create much excitement at Cain Park*

“The Frogs,” Stephen Sondheim and Burt Shevelove’s musical adaptation of
Aristophanes’ ancient Greek comedy, had a novel introduction to the stage.  In
1974 it was produced in Yale University’s Swimming Pool by the Yale
Repertory Theatre.

The fact that the show closed in 8 performances should have been an omen of
what was to come.

Like many Greek plays, “The Frogs” looks at serious issues.  In this case,
it examines the challenges of human existence and confronts fear,
understandings, life, death, the role of the arts in changing the course of
human evolution, and whether the common man is coerced by dubious
politicians, conservatives and right-wing thinkers.

The outrageous musical, like the play, follows Dionysos, the God of wine
and theatre, as he attempts to go to Hades in search of a theatrical
spokesman to spread the word about earthly problems.  Dionysos doesn’t
think that present day playwrights have the ability to make major impact
like Chekov did, who is, often referred to as the” father of the Russian
Revolution.”  Dionysos’ intention is to get Irish/British playwright George
Bernard Shaw to write plays about today as he did at the turn of the
century when he attacked the British political, educational, social and
medical systems in his uncompromising language.

After an arduous trek, Dionysos and his slave arrive in Hades, convince the
powers that be to hold a battle of words between Shaw and Shakespeare to
determine who gets to come back to earth and help out society.  It’s like a
prose/poetry slam.  Shakespeare wins and comes back with Dionysos,
supposedly to “cure” the ills of the world with the powerful tool of
theatre speech.

The musical “The Frogs,” as was the case of the original Greek version, is
filled with pratfalls, satire, choral speaking, homosexual revelations,
outlandish characterizations, and overblown situations.

In July, 2004, a version of the musical, which was revised “even more
freely by Nathan Lane,” who starred in the production, opened in New
York.  Though
Sondheim added seven songs, none of them is memorable.

The show opened to mixed reviews.  Most commented on how “Lane used the
stage as a forum” for his Borsht-belt shticks which were made possible by
the “loose” nature of the plot.  The run lasted only 92 performances.

The Cain Park version makes allusions to people afraid of change (e.g.,
conservatives and Tea Party members), politicians who lie to get their
needs met (e.g., G. W. Bush and Dick Chaney), and takes a general
pro-liberal bent.  At the end of the show, Dionysos steps forward and
addresses the audience.  He urges them to shake off lethargy, and to take
action to resolve the earthly problems that plague our times.

In spite of the cast wearing microphones, The Cain Park is plagued by a
sound system which makes much of the dialogue and singing
unintelligible.  Since
the lyrics are unfamiliar to many, the story is lost in the sloshing sound.

The show is creatively staged by Martin Friedman, the local Sondheim maven.
Friedman understands the complexity of Sondheim’s story development and
erudite lyrics, but not even he can overcome the script’s weaknesses.

Dan Folino, portrays Dionysos as a 60s stoner.  This is a little strange as
he relates that the play takes place “today.”  That withstanding, Folino
has a strong singing voice, and displays a nice sense of the ironic.  He
doesn’t have the Nathan Lane comic aura, so some of the extended humor that
Lane added to the show is not present, but with the sound as it was, we
probably wouldn’t have heard the asides anyway.

Michael Regnier (George Bernard Shaw) and Mitchell Fields (Shakespeare)
both look amazingly like the men they are portraying, and are wonderful in
reciting the writings of “The Shaw” and “The Bard.”

The standout of the production may well be wrestler turned dancer, Tom
Sweeney.  The University of Michigan student lights up the stage with his
dancing and expressive face.  He would make a great candidate for TV’s
“Dancing With the Stars” competition and could step into a dancing role in
Broadway’s “Newsies” right now.

The highlight of the show is Martin Céspedes’s choreography.  The ability
of his well-synced dancers to creatively change moods and step-styles is
impressive.  The section where the dancers marched like Nazis, dressed in
black suits, and waving little flags emblazed with The Tea Party emblem,
was meaning-filled and delightful.  The dancing gives the show its only
creative texturing.

Musical Director Nathan Motta’s orchestra is excellent, backing up rather
than drowning out the singers.

Ron Newell’s scenic design, complete with a river of real running water,
and Tesia Dugan Benson’s costumes help in setting the right mood for the
production

*Capsule judgement: Though the message of “The Frogs” is generally clear,
and Martin Friedman’s directing is on target, and Martin Céspedes’s
choreography is prime, the script, the music, and the lyrics fail to incite
much excitement.  The tepid response of the audience on preview night
brings into question the wisdom in selecting this script.  *

“The Frogs” runs from July 31-August 17 in the Alma Theatre of Cain Park in
Cleveland Heights.  For tickets call 216-371-3000 or go on line to
www.cainpark.com

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