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<DIV>the only important relationship in theatre is the actor and the audience
during the performance</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>that is the magic, and word of mouth is stronger than any ad, any
publicity, and any positive or negative review</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>it is true, if you build it, they will come</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>this review triggered people defending the craft, for that is a good
thing, you sling it, you take it</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>thank you</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>kevin</DIV>
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<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>
<DIV>In a message dated 5/14/2010 10:41:21 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time,
royberko@yahoo.com writes:</DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE style="BORDER-LEFT: blue 2px solid; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px"><FONT style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent" color=#000000 size=2 face=Arial>Brecksville’s ‘GYPSY’ exceeds expectations <BR><BR>Roy
Berko<BR><BR>(Member, American Theatre Critics Association)<BR><BR>--THE TIMES
NEWSPAPERS--<BR><BR>Lorain County Times--Westlaker Times--Lakewood News
Times--Olmsted-Fairview Times<BR><BR>--COOLCLEVELAND.COM—<BR><BR>‘GYPSY’ by
Jule Styne, Stephen Sondheim, and Arthur Laurents, is a musical theatre
classic. It is based on Gypsy the memoirs of Gypsy Rose Lee, the
famous striptease artist and her relationship with her mother, Rose, the
aggressive show business mother, who appears to be using her daughters to
achieve what she never could. In spite of, or maybe because of Rose,
Gypsy became a star, and sister June Havoc also achieved acting fame.<BR><BR>I
normally don’t review community theatre shows, but I made an exception when I
found out that Monica Olejko was coming out of a self-imposed retirement to
star as Mama Rose in Brecksville Theatre on the Square’s ‘GYPSY. ‘ <BR><BR>I
was not disappointed. In fact, the production turned out to be much
better than I anticipated. Olejko controls a stage. When she’s on,
all eyes are on her. It’s not that she is a scene stealer, it’s just
that she is so talented that almost all her moves are right on point.
Her versions of “Some People,” “Mr. Goldstone” and “Everything’s Comin’ Up
Roses,” were all excellent. Her verbal and physical attack of “Rose’s
Turn,” often called Rose’s Lament, was strong and clearly developed the
message of Rose’s understanding of why she pushed her daughters to be what she
couldn’t be. Wow!<BR><BR>Robb Gibb was excellent as Herbie.
“You’ll Never Get Away From Me,” his duet <BR>With Rose, was
delightful.<BR><BR>Bridget Chebo was exceptional as Louise. She has an
excellent voice and much stage presence. <BR><BR>A strong performance
was turned in by Shane Joseph Siniscalchi as Tulsa.<BR><BR>Heather Hersh,
Jeanette Stack Luli, Kimberly Bush, and the audience, had a wonderful time
during the trio’s bump and grind routine, “You Gotta Get A
Gimmick.”<BR><BR>Musical director Georgiann Bodle did an excellent job of
making sure her musicians backed up, rather than overpowered the
singers. <BR><BR>Director Geoffrey Short kept the show well paced.
It would have been nice if he could have worked with some of the support cast
to develop clearer and consistent characterizations, but this is
community theatre, and that means the quality of the talent can’t be expected
to be consistently top drawer.<BR><BR>‘CAPSULE JUDGEMENT: Thanks
to Monica Olejko, Rob Gibb and Bridget Chebo , Brecksville Theatre on the
Square’s ‘GYPSY’ was better than most community theatre productions of this
show. Nice job!<BR><BR>The show continues at Brecksville Theatre
on the Square in the Brecksville Old Town Hall through May 16. Call
440-526-3443 for tickets.<BR><BR>Roy Berko's blog, which contains theatre and
dance reviews from 2001 through 2010, as well as his consulting and
publications information, can be found at http://royberko.info<BR><BR>His
reviews can also be found on www.coolcleveland.com and NeOHIOpal (to subscribe
visit http://mailman.listserve.com/listmanager/listinfo/neohiopal.)<BR>Roy
Berko's blog, which contains theatre and dance reviews from 2001 through 2010,
as well as his consulting and publications information, can be found at
http://royberko.info<BR><BR>His reviews can also be found on
www.coolcleveland.com and NeOHIOpal (to subscribe visit
http://mailman.listserve.com/listmanager/listinfo/neohiopal.)<BR><BR><BR><BR>
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