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<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal align=center><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Irving Berlin
revue is one for the ages—75 and older<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns =
"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p></SPAN></B></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal align=center><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal align=center><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Bob
Abelman<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal align=center><I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">News-Herald,
Chagrin Valley Times, Solon Times, Geauga Times
Courier<o:p></o:p></SPAN></I></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal align=center><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Member,
International Association of Theatre Critics <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal align=center><I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></I></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal align=center><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">This
review appeared in the <I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Times </I>papers
3/25/10</SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="BACKGROUND: white"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><FONT size=3>Composer and lyricist
Irving Berlin was one of America’s greatest and most prolific songwriters. His
melodies so captured the essence of the monumental eras in which they were
written, such as the Great Depression (“Blue Skies”) and World War II (“God
Bless America”), that they are forever connected. <SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>His masterful “Easter Parade” and “White
Christmas” have become synonymous with those
holidays.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="BACKGROUND: white"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><FONT size=3>Despite Mr. Berlin’s
brilliance, taking over 50 of his songs and cramming them into a two hour
musical revue called <I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">I Love a Piano</I>
cheapens the work.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>In fact, this concoction, conceived by
Ray Roderick and Michael Berkeley, is the musical theater equivalent of a
Costcos or a Sam’s Club, where the product’s value is greatly reduced by its
sheer volume. <o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; BACKGROUND: white"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><FONT size=3>Unless you are of the age
where just hearing these songs jogs fond memories of another time and place,
this show fails to transport anyone anywhere.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>The production, on stage at Actors’
Summit in Hudson through April 11, is a high energy but low frills bit of
continuous song and dance catering to the senior citizens in the
crowd.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; BACKGROUND: white"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; BACKGROUND: white"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><FONT size=3>In <I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">I Love a Piano</I>, Mr. Berlin’s songs are
wrapped around a storyline so thin and translucent—the travels of an upright
piano from the 1910s to the 1950s—that it barely serves as connective tissue
during act one and is all but forgotten by act two.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>As the story unfolds, from one time
period to the next, the piano is simply moved from one side of the stage to
another.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>The frills could be no
lower.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="BACKGROUND: white"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><FONT size=3>So thin is the storyline
that projected images representing the various eras captured in song are
provided for reference.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; BACKGROUND: white"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><FONT size=3>So thin is the storyline
that the period costuming and Julie Goncy’s period choreography are more for
display than to facilitate the storytelling.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; BACKGROUND: white"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; BACKGROUND: white"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><FONT size=3>So thin is the storyline
that it fails to give proper or sufficient context to the many songs originally
written for big film or theatrical productions that contained plenty of
context.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN><o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; BACKGROUND: white"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; BACKGROUND: white"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><FONT size=3>Thin, too, is the talent
in this production.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; BACKGROUND: white"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; BACKGROUND: white"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><FONT size=3>The show is performed by
an enthusiastic troupe of players who, under the lively direction of Neil
Thackaberry, are way too eager to please.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>They appear to be working overtime to convince the audience that, because
they are having such fun performing these musical numbers, we should be having
fun watching them.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Their frozen,
toothy smiles are in perpetual awe-struck mode and their huge, unblinking eyes
are mechanical and, at times, nearly maniacal in their good
intention.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="BACKGROUND: white"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><FONT size=3>Although Mary Jo
Alexander, Shawn Galligan, Jennifer Griffin, Dawn Sniadak, Keith Stevens and
Matthew Wright are talented and polished performers, none come across as true
song-and-dance men or women built for musical revue.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Several showed up on opening night with
tired voices unable to deliver Mr. Berlin’s often complex work with the purity
and power it deserves.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="BACKGROUND: white"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><FONT size=3>The four-piece band, led
by Evie Morris on piano, is wonderful. <o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; BACKGROUND: white"><FONT size=3><I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'">I Love a Piano</SPAN></I><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"> is a show for the ages—75 and
older.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Everyone else will be
amused, but not well entertained and most certainly not enthralled by this
production.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; BACKGROUND: white"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><FONT size=3><SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN><o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P></FONT></DIV></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>