[NEohioPAL] Review of "Frankenstein's Wake" at Cleveland Public Theatre

[Bob Abelman via NEohioPAL]

Cleveland Public Theatre’s ‘Frankenstein’s Wake’ a weighty, captivating creation



Bob Abelman

Cleveland Jewish News, The News Herald, The Morning Journal

Member, International Association of Theatre Critics

It’s alive!



In an intriguing 65-minute, one-woman piece of performance poetry, actress Holly Holsinger reanimates Mary Shelley’s 1818 masterpiece “Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus.”



True to the original work – with its gothic narrative, heightened and richly romanticized verbosity, and undercurrent of meaning so much deeper than the watered-down Hollywood adaptations familiar to most – co-creators and co-designers Holsinger and Raymond Bobgan condense and dramatize the fundamental Frankenstein story.  



And by concentrating on the novel’s core inquisition about the human condition – that is, the underlying loneliness of existence, the moral responsibilities that come with mortality, and the consequences of the choices we make in life – the nuts and bolts, if you will, of Shelley’s storytelling are laid bare on center stage for our consideration. 



So, too, is Holsinger, a daring and intense artist who uses just a few costume pieces, some props, and the assistance of a chanting chorus (Chloe Mlinarcik, Sarah Moore and Shannon Sharkey) to fully engage the audience.



 For more of this review, go to www.clevelandjewishnews.com/columnists/.  
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.neohiopal.org/pipermail/neohiopal-neohiopal.org/attachments/20160119/4bfef394/attachment.htm>