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<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal align=center><STRONG><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #333333; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">‘The
Museum Play’ exhibits a few missing links<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns =
"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p></SPAN></STRONG></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal align=center><STRONG><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #333333; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></STRONG></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><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><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,<o:p></o:p></SPAN></I></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">The
Morning Journal, 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,
American Theatre Critics Association <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 will appear in the <I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">News-Herald
</I></SPAN><SPAN
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">6/3/11</SPAN><SPAN
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%; 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><STRONG><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #333333; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></STRONG></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal><STRONG><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #333333; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-WEIGHT: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">Convergence-Continuum
has carved out an interesting niche for itself by embracing funky plays whose
storylines are not easily summarized.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>Playwright Jordan Harrison’s handiwork, <I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">The Museum Play</I>, fits the bill. <SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><o:p></o:p></SPAN></STRONG></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal><STRONG><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #333333; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-WEIGHT: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></STRONG></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal><STRONG><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #333333; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-WEIGHT: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">Unlike
his equally bizarre </SPAN></STRONG><I><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Act a
Lady</SPAN></I><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic">
and <I>Finn in the Underworld</I>,</SPAN><STRONG><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #333333; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-WEIGHT: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">
which have been performed in the recent past by the Con-Con crew, this work
fails to impress.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></STRONG></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal><STRONG><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #333333; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-WEIGHT: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></STRONG></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><STRONG><I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #333333; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-WEIGHT: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">The
Museum Play</SPAN></I></STRONG><STRONG><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #333333; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-WEIGHT: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">
takes place in a natural history museum—a site that is plenty disturbing on its
own accord, with its cavernous vaulted corridors and rooms layered with dead
things frozen in action poses. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></STRONG></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal><STRONG><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #333333; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-WEIGHT: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></STRONG></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal><STRONG><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #333333; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-WEIGHT: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">Harrison
accentuates what is implicitly surreal about this setting by creating a world
where the exhibits are inexplicably escaping. They do so under the watch of an
anarchist security guard (Lauren B. Smith) who, as a baby, was abandoned at the
museum and whose caregiver (Clyde Simon) perished under unusual
circumstances.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN><o:p></o:p></SPAN></STRONG></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal><STRONG><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #333333; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-WEIGHT: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></STRONG></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal><STRONG><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #333333; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-WEIGHT: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">The
playwright adds a touch of the sinister by staffing the museum with a macabre
curator (Sarah Kunchik) intent on replacing each fugitive still-life with
something that is still living.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></STRONG></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal><STRONG><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #333333; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-WEIGHT: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></STRONG></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal><STRONG><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #333333; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-WEIGHT: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">Harrison
dabbles in social commentary as well, by featuring two young men (Zac Hudak and
Stuart Hoffman) who are going through the motions of a meaningful and satisfying
relationship, but fail to achieve it because of the pressures of work and the
persistence of traditional mores (Jessica A.
Fleming).<o:p></o:p></SPAN></STRONG></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal><STRONG><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #333333; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-WEIGHT: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></STRONG></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal><STRONG><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #333333; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-WEIGHT: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">Using
these characters as a springboard, the playwright suggests that we live in a
curated culture that tends to hide some things while selectively showcasing
others.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>We recklessly rewrite
natural and personal histories—capturing for prosperity what we want rather than
what we remember—without anyone being the wiser. <SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><o:p></o:p></SPAN></STRONG></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal><STRONG><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #333333; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-WEIGHT: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></STRONG></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal><STRONG><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #333333; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-WEIGHT: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">This
intriguing central theme is best depicted in a scene where the two men, Jame and
Vin, are captured by the curator and turned into an animatronic display at the
museum, where their cuddling is replicated without context.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>At home, their artifacts are placed in a
memorial exhibit that similarly misrepresents their lives.
<o:p></o:p></SPAN></STRONG></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal><STRONG><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #333333; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-WEIGHT: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></STRONG></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal><STRONG><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #333333; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-WEIGHT: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">This
is really good stuff.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>It would make
a great play if all the pieces and parts merged to form a comprehensive,
comprehendible whole.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>They do not.
<o:p></o:p></SPAN></STRONG></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal><STRONG><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #333333; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-WEIGHT: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></STRONG></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal><STRONG><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #333333; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-WEIGHT: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">This
play creates a theatrical habitat where the surreal, the sinister and the social
commentary are expected to coexist, but their relationship is anything but
symbiotic.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>One marvels at their
display, thanks to some fine performances by a talented cast, but each
distinctive ingredient cancels the others out.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Despite some gorgeous, vivid dialogue,
the play’s narrative is the equivalent of an unguided tour that meanders from
one exhibit to the next.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>After a
while disorientation sets in, then disinterest.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></STRONG></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal><STRONG><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #333333; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-WEIGHT: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></STRONG></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal><STRONG><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #333333; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-WEIGHT: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">Director
Cory Molner’s vision is hindered by Con-Con’s truncated performance space. <SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>The theater’s in-your-lap intimacy allows
for the actors to hauntingly stare back at the audience the way a museum’s
community of taxidermy seems to stare back at its visitors. However, the limited
space and the simplicity of Colleen Albrecht’s lighting design and Jim Smith’s
set design work against the script’s references to cabinets, habitats and
hallways. <SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><o:p></o:p></SPAN></STRONG></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal><STRONG><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #333333; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-WEIGHT: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></STRONG></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><STRONG><I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #333333; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-WEIGHT: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">The
Museum Play</SPAN></I></STRONG><STRONG><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #333333; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-WEIGHT: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">
is an intriguing excursion, but the missing links on exhibit keep it from being
an effective piece of storytelling.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN><SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><o:p></o:p></SPAN></STRONG></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal><STRONG><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #333333; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-WEIGHT: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></STRONG></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><STRONG><I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #333333; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-WEIGHT: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">The
Museum Play</SPAN></I></STRONG><STRONG><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #333333; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-WEIGHT: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">
</SPAN></STRONG><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">continues through
June 4 at Convergence-Continuum’s Liminis Theatre in historic Tremont.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>For tickets, which range from $10 to
$15, call 216-687-0074</SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><FONT face=Calibri>
</FONT></SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">or visit <B><A
href=""><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: normal; TEXT-DECORATION: none; text-underline: none"><FONT
color=#1a1a1a>www.convergence-continuum.org</FONT></SPAN></A>.<o:p></o:p></B></SPAN></P></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>