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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'; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Beck’s
risk pays off with</SPAN></B><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">
<B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">maverick musical ‘Bloody Bloody Andrew
Jackson’<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns =
"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p></B></SPAN></P>
<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'; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><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">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,<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; 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 will appear in the <I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">News-Herald
</I></SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">on
6/8/12</SPAN><SPAN style="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'; 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'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">The
musical “Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson”—a raucous mix of subversive political
satire, emo rock rhythm, and jello-shots of audacity—could very well serve as a
history lesson for Generation Y.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: black; 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'; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">A
recent off-Broadway success created by Alex Timbers (book) and Michael Friedman
(music and lyrics), the play tells the revisionist tale of America’s first
political maverick who became our seventh President.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>The Beck Center’s regional premiere
production of “Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson” is a fast-paced, in-your-face
entertainment that leaves little time to breathe, reflect, or revolt.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Yet, despite its bold, hit-and-run
recklessness, it never loses focus, direction, or its audience’s undivided
attention.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: black; 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'; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Known
as the father of modern democracy and the man behind Manifest Destiny, Jackson
was the early 19<SUP>th</SUP> century equivalent of a rock star: a populist,
loose cannon politician who, according to John Mecham’s biography <I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">American Lion</I>, “was beloved and hated,
venerated and reviled… and gave voice to the hopes and fears of a restless
nation.”<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: black; 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'; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">“Bloody
Bloody Andrew Jackson” not only runs with the rock star theme, but runs wild.
<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>A traditional orchestra is replaced
with a phenomenal, pulsating on-stage band featuring Dennis Yurick on guitar,
Ingrid Lang on bass, Jason Giaco on drums, and frequent visits from Dan
Folino—as a young, profane, sexually charged Andrew Jackson—on
vocals.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: black; 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'; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Rock
star politician is the role that Folino, a superb actor and the lead singer of
his own band, was born to play.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>Equipped with full-throttled swagger, tight pants and punk-pink hair,
Folino doesn’t so much play the restless, impulsive Jackson as bring to life an
imagining of the man’s monumental ego.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>Brought to the forefront are Jackson’s egregious qualities that made him
both a memorable renegade and forgettable leader during a time of great change,
when the nation was a doe-eyed adolescent aching for a hero. <SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: black; 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">The show unfolds in
pseudo-historic moments that erupt into musical numbers.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Behind closed doors and in the song
“Illness is a Metaphor,” w</SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">e
witness the p</SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">leasure Jackson
derives from his own pain and, by extension, the misery he introduces to the
invading Spanish and the loitering British.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Acts of violence are reverted to running
slapstick sketches or, in the case of the massacre of Native Americans, a
haunting rendition of the “10 Little Indians” nursery rhyme.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Mock press conferences and parodies of
contemporary campaign commercials are all fodder for this unique brand of
storytelling.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: black; 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'; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">To
accomplish all this, Folino is surrounded by a brilliant ensemble of local area
actors who step in and out of caricatures of real-life people.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>They include Trey Gilpin as Martin Van
Buren; Mike Majer as John Quincy Adams; Chris McCarrell as Henry Clay; Gilgamesh
Taggett as James Monroe and Black Fox, Sam Wolf as John Calhoun, Keri Rene
Fuller as Jackson’s wife Rachel; Alyssa Easterly as Naomi; Casey Cott as Red
Eagle; Pat Miller as a messenger; Amiee Collier as a featured vocalist; Lindsey
Mercer as a tour guide; Elliot Lockshine as Jackson’s son Lyncoya; and Hester
Lewellen as the Storyteller.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: black; 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'; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Every
performer is devoted body and soul to this enterprise, and delivers the show’s
acerbic humor—of which there is plenty—with the same aplomb as they do its speed
dialing dialogue and the intense, primal, and frequently rowdy musical numbers
masterfully choreographed by </SPAN><STRONG><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-WEIGHT: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">Martín
Céspedes</SPAN></STRONG><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: black; 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><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: black; 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'; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">This
show has been relegated to Beck’s second stage—a small black box arrangement
where its riskier, more risqué shows reside, as if no one will notice them as
much if in the back corner by the bathroom.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Notice this they will, for “Bloody
Bloody Andrew Jackson” sparks on all cylinders and, under Scott Spence’s astute
and creative direction, employs the intimacy of the Studio Theater to its
fullest advantage.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: black; 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'; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Also
noticeable are the disturbing parallels this play unveils between the
carnival-like affairs of state of yesteryear and the circus that is today’s
political arena. The more things change, we are told through the modern
trappings in which this old story is conveyed, the more they remain the
same.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>In fact, while Trad A Burns’
wonderful multi-tiered set design resembles a period saloon, it offers a
three-ringed space for Jackson’s personal and political life to unfold in
big-tent fashion.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Jennifer
Sparano’s wonderful costuming reinforces this concept.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: black; 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'; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">“Bloody
Bloody Andrew Jackson” is invigorating theater; the type of show that will
attract a younger audience and expand the sensibilities of an older crowd.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>These are both admirable aspirations and
prove that quality entertainment comes in all forms and is worth the risk. <SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: black; 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><I><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">“Bloody
Bloody Andrew Jackson” </SPAN></I><I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">runs through July 1
at the Beck Center for the Arts in Lakewood.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>For tickets, which range
from $17 to $28, call 216-521-2540 x10 or visit <A href=""><FONT
color=#004276>www.beckcenter.org</FONT></A><o:p></o:p></SPAN></I></P></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>