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<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal
align=center><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><FONT size=3>Partial assembly required
in Dobama’s ‘Made in America’<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns =
"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></B></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal
align=center><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal
align=center><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><FONT size=3>Bob
Abelman<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal
align=center><I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><FONT size=3>Cleveland Jewish
News<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></I></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal
align=center><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><FONT
size=3>Member, International Association of Theatre Critics
<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal
align=center><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal
align=center><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><FONT size=3>This
review will appear in the <I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Cleveland
Jewish News </I>on 3/14/14<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal
align=center><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></B></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN"
lang=EN><o:p><FONT size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN" lang=EN><FONT
size=3>When the lights come up on Joel Hammer’s “Made in America,” currently
enjoying its world premiere at Dobama Theatre in Cleveland Hts., we meet sales
rep Esther (Colleen Longshaw) and buyer Barry (Joel Hammer) at a hotel bar.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>They stand toe to toe with drinks in
hand, ready to talk shop and do business.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>She wants to close the deal, score the commission and fly back to
California; he wants to play hard to get in order to get what he can under the
table or, perhaps, on the side.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN"
lang=EN><o:p><FONT size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN" lang=EN><FONT
size=3>So begins a promising play that sheds light on backroom deals, the
martial art and unethical craft of contract negotiation, and the indelicate
dance performed by those who have with those who
want.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN"
lang=EN><o:p><FONT size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: EN" lang=EN><FONT
size=3>But what plays out on stage is a <SPAN
style="COLOR: black; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt">poor man’s “Glengarry Glen Ross”
– another dark comedy about salesmen, salesmanship, and the personal and
professional cost of doing business.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>“Made in America” lacks the depth, drive, and drama of David Mamet’s
Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning play, despite promotional claims to the
contrary.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>And while an interesting
work, it is not nearly as engaging or satisfying.
<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: black; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt"
lang=EN><o:p><FONT size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: black; mso-ansi-language: EN"
lang=EN><FONT size=3>Like Mamet, who himself worked the same Chicago real estate
territory as his play’s characters, Hammer’s off-stage career in business makes
him familiar with the vendor/customer relationship and the types of
personalities involved in negotiating sales and closing deals.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Consequently, his Barry is the real deal
– a crude and cocky middle manager whose bravado and reckless demeanor belies
some genuine business smarts.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>And
Hammer plays him convincingly.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN><o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: black; mso-ansi-language: EN"
lang=EN><o:p><FONT size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; BACKGROUND: white" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><FONT
size=3>In one stellar scene early in the play, Barry brags about his negotiating
prowess by recalling the time he bested a merchant at a thrift market by talking
down the price of a cheap pair of sunglasses.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>This well written and brilliantly
delivered monologue all at once offers insight into Barry’s shameless soul and
serves as prophecy for the direction his business meeting with Esther will be
taking. <SPAN style="COLOR: #898989"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: black; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt"><FONT
size=3><SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: black; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt"
lang=EN>Unfortunately, most of the dialogue in this two-act, two-hour production
loiters around already established territory and </SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: black; mso-ansi-language: EN"
lang=EN>stumbles over its own overkill rather than raising the stakes or <SPAN
style="mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt">tactically progressing the plot.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>As such, this play </SPAN>moves
ploddingly through the shifting power struggle between Barry and Esther. <SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>And the language, while at times powerful
and justifiably profane, never rises to the <SPAN
style="mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt">street poetry that Mamet offers his audiences
and which makes the characters so much more interesting to listen
to.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: black; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt"
lang=EN><o:p><FONT size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: black; mso-ansi-language: EN"
lang=EN><FONT size=3>As a black female, Esther provides an intriguing
counterpoint to Barry’s whiteness and old-boy mentality, and Longshaw plays both
the race card and her character’s sexuality delightfully close to the vest.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>However, each time her obvious gender
and color are explicitly referenced in the dialogue, which the playwright does
often, they are exposed as mere theatrical contrivances and are cheapened
accordingly.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>When, in the second
act, these contrivances become more central to the storytelling, the play loses
much of its authenticity.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: black; mso-ansi-language: EN"
lang=EN><o:p><FONT size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0.1pt 0in"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">Director
Scott Miller, who spearheaded marvelous productions of “Sons of the Prophet,”
“Dead Man’s Cell Phone” and “The Seafarer” at Dobama, seems handcuffed
here.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Perhaps it’s because one half
of the play moors its characters to a table in the corner of a bar and the other
half has them tied to a bed in a hotel room.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>As such, movement seems motivated by the
need to have something to look at rather than the story itself.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>This adds another layer of artificiality
to the proceedings.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0.1pt 0in"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold"><SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: black; mso-ansi-language: EN"
lang=EN><FONT size=3>This play offers up some wonderful and surprising moments,
particularly at the close of each act, but the audience needs to overlook too
many shortcomings in between and piece together the good parts of this
play.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Partial assembly should not
be required, particularly in a play titled “Made in
America.”<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: black; mso-ansi-language: EN"
lang=EN><FONT size=3><SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-AUTOSPACE: ; mso-layout-grid-align: none"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><FONT
size=3>WHAT:<SPAN
style="mso-tab-count: 1"> </SPAN>“Made
in America<SPAN
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic">”<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-AUTOSPACE: ; mso-layout-grid-align: none"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic"><FONT
size=3>WHERE:<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><SPAN
style="mso-tab-count: 1"> </SPAN>Dobama Theatre,
2340 Lee Rd., Cleveland Heights.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-AUTOSPACE: ; mso-layout-grid-align: none"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic"><FONT
size=3>WHEN:<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><SPAN
style="mso-tab-count: 1">
T</SPAN>hrough Sunday, April 6<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P
style="MARGIN: 0in 4.5pt 0pt 0in; mso-line-height-alt: 9.0pt; tab-stops: 1.0in 5.25in"
class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic">TICKETS:<SPAN
style="mso-tab-count: 1"> </SPAN></SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: CS" lang=CS>$10 –
$26.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Call 216-932-3396 or visit
</SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'"><A href=""><SPAN
style="mso-ansi-language: CS" lang=CS><FONT
color=#0000ff>www.dobama.org</FONT></SPAN></A></SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-ansi-language: CS"
lang=CS>.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>