<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
<HTML><HEAD>
<META content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1" http-equiv=Content-Type>
<META name=GENERATOR content="MSHTML 8.00.6001.18928">
<STYLE></STYLE>
</HEAD>
<BODY bgColor=#ffffff>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
align=center><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="mso-ansi-language: EN" lang=EN><FONT size=3>‘Oh Dad’ is an oh-so-fun
absurdist comedy<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns =
"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></B></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
align=center><o:p><FONT size=3> </FONT></o:p></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; MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt" class=MsoNormal
align=center><SPAN
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">This
review appeared in the <I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">News-Herald
</I>7/23/10</SPAN><SPAN
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="mso-ansi-language: EN" lang=EN><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3><SPAN
style="mso-ansi-language: EN" lang=EN>The brain trust at Summer Stages found the
perfect complement to its repertory of a Kander and Ebb musical mystery parody
and a sober drama </SPAN><SPAN style="COLOR: windowtext; mso-ansi-language: EN"
lang=EN>about a man inflicted with </SPAN><SPAN
style="COLOR: #333333">neurofibromatosis</SPAN><SPAN
style="COLOR: windowtext">.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>It is
</SPAN><SPAN style="COLOR: windowtext; mso-ansi-language: EN"
lang=EN>the</SPAN><SPAN style="mso-ansi-language: EN" lang=EN> wildly absurd
gothic comedy <I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Oh Dad, Poor Dad, Mamma's
Hung You in the Closet and I'm Feelin' So Sad</I> by Arthur
Kopit.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="mso-ansi-language: EN" lang=EN><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3>This thoroughly
deranged and delightful one-act, whose title runs nearly as long as its
storytelling, features an elegantly monstrous woman who keeps her husband's
coffin at her bedside, his body in the closet, and her grown son attached to her
apron strings.</FONT></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3>It is directed
by Scott Spence with just the right flair for the theatrical, the right touch of
the horrific and a wonderful sense of humor.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3>The play begins
as the family moves into their hotel suite in the Caribbean along with their
cargo, which includes a cat-eating piranha named Rosalinda (played by Amy
Schwabauer, staring out of a fishbowl) and two man-eating Venus flytrap plants
(played by the constantly glaring Tania Benites and Katie McMillen).<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3>Actually,
“moves into” does a disservice to the way Madame Rosepettle, played to the hilt
by the magnificent Everett Quinton in drag, enters at the top of the play.
</FONT></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3>She saunters
onto the stage the way larger-than-life, aging and insane film star Norma
Desmond strides toward the movie camera and says <SPAN
style="mso-ansi-language: EN" lang=EN>"All right Mr. De Mille, I'm ready for my
close-up" in the film </SPAN><I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Sunset
Boulevard</I>.<SPAN style="mso-ansi-language: EN" lang=EN><SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Her eyes are ablaze, her curled
lips reveal a toothy madwoman’s snarl, and her body dramatically enters the room
ten minutes before the rest of her does.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="mso-ansi-language: EN" lang=EN><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="mso-ansi-language: EN" lang=EN><FONT size=3>Another disservice would be
to focus on the story in <I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Oh Dad</I>.
<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>This play and others written in the
absurdist, avant garde tradition of the 1960s, including works by Arthur
Adamov,<B> </B><SPAN style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">Eugène </SPAN>Ionesco
and Samuel Beckett, are more about how things transpire than what transpires.
They are all about the language and less about the
action.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="mso-ansi-language: EN" lang=EN><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3><SPAN
style="mso-ansi-language: EN" lang=EN>In <I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Oh Dad</I>, </SPAN>Madame Rosepettle uses
language like a weapon, employing a string of sentences when one would do.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>With Quinton at the helm, her steady
stream of dark, venomous and melodramatic hyperbole spews like projectile
vomiting. <SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Each word is more acidic
and on target than the next. </FONT></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3>Quinton’s
performance is as hilarious as it is mesmerizing, giving us not only some of the
best moments in this season’s Summer Stages repertory but some of the best
moments in Cleveland professional theater.</FONT></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3>Keeping pace is
Eric Perusek’s incredible portrayal of Madame’s socially underdeveloped son
Jonathan.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Perusek gives his
character’s severe psychological damage a startling physicality, allowing
Jonathan’s nervous stutter to manifest itself in palsied movement and facial
tics.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Each difficult word fighting
to the surface appears to cause both emotional and physical pain.</FONT></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="mso-ansi-language: EN" lang=EN><FONT size=3>George Roth as Commodore
Roseabove, who attempts to seduce the Madame but is in turn seduced, and Jillian
Bumpas as Rosalie, who attempts to seduce Jonathan but is in turn strangled, are
also absolutely wonderful.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Roth is
particularly astute at making every moment on stage count and adds so much to
this production. <o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="mso-ansi-language: EN" lang=EN><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><FONT size=3><SPAN
style="mso-ansi-language: EN" lang=EN>Russ Borski’s scenic, lighting and
properties designs offer all the requisite </SPAN>clichés <SPAN
style="mso-ansi-language: EN" lang=EN>for a hotel room in an absurdist farce,
including an ax on the wall begging to be used, spontaneous light shifts to
reflect changes in a character’s intentions, and plenty of doors for dramatic
passage. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="mso-ansi-language: EN" lang=EN><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="mso-ansi-language: EN" lang=EN><FONT size=3>Not one to pass up an
opportunity to add to the play’s ludicrousness, Spence cleverly choreographs set
changes in full view of the audience, performed by actors playing bell boys and
accompanied by the familiar strains of Rimsky-Korsakov ‘s “Flight of the Bumble
Bee” (played forward and backward) and Aram Khachaturian’s “Sabre
Dance.”<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="mso-ansi-language: EN" lang=EN><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN
style="mso-ansi-language: EN" lang=EN><FONT size=3>Spence even includes an
intermission in this one-act play to give audience members an opportunity to
catch their collective breath and gather themselves.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">There
is some wonderful stuff happening at Summer Stages, and the best of it can be
found in </SPAN><I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN"
lang=EN>Oh Dad</SPAN></I><I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">.</SPAN></I><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN"
lang=EN>Oh Dad, Poor Dad, Mamma's Hung You in the Closet and I'm Feelin' So
Sad</SPAN></I><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN" lang=EN><FONT
face=Calibri> </FONT></SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">continues in
repertory </SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">through
August 5</SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">
at the Factory Theater on East 24<SUP>th</SUP> Street in downtown
Cleveland.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>For tickets, $10 to $15,
call 216-687-2109 or visit <A href=""><FONT
color=#0095a1>http://csu.ticketleap.com</FONT></A>. </SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'; COLOR: #333333; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>