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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><b style><span style="color:black">LOBSTER
ALICE:<span style> </span>Salvatore Dali and Walt
Disney at convergence continuum </span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><span style="color:black"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><span style="color:black">Roy Berko</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:10pt;color:black">(Member, American Theatre Critics
Association, Cleveland Critics Circle)</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:10pt;color:black"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><span style="color:black">Walt Disney was an animator, cartoonist, producer,
director, screenwriter, and the voice of Mickey Mouse.<span style> </span>He won 22 Academy Awards.<span style> </span>It is ironic that for a man noted for
producing some of the most beloved and lovable visual characters, he was
emotionally conservative, not often drawing attention to himself.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><span style="color:black"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><span style="color:black">Salvador Dali was an egotistical surrealist Spanish
painter, who was noted for his bizarre and striking art images.<span style> </span>His best-known piece was “The
Persistence of Memory,” a melting clock.<span style>
</span>He “loved everything that was gilded and excessive.”<span style> </span>He wore bizarre oriental clothing and
colorful scarves.<span style> </span>He loved to draw
attention to himself, and freely expressed his views.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><span style="color:black"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><span style="color:black">Ironically, Disney and Dali, formed a partnership when,
in 1946, the former hired the latter to be the creative consultant on Disney’s
“Alice in Wonderland.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><span style="color:black"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><span style="color:black">Kira Obolensky’s “Lobster Alice,” which is now in
production at convergence-continuum, is a historification of Dali’s involvement
in the Alice project and the very short film that resulted from his “Hollywood
adventure.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><span style="color:black"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><span style="color:black">The story centers on John Finch, an uptight, pedestrian Disney
animator and his secretary/assistant, Alice Horowitz.<span style> </span>He is working on the “Alice in Wonderland” project and
has a crush on his secretary.<span style> </span>She,
much like the wonderland lass, is blonde and curious.<span style> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><span style="color:black"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><span style="color:black">Enter Dali, out goes routine.<span style> </span>Enter Dali, the whole world turns upside down, including
Alice falling down a hole.<span style> </span>In this
case, it’s a hole in the sofa in the Disney studio office.<span style> </span>(Hey, remember, this is a fantasy.)</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><span style="color:black"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><span style="color:black">The buttoned-down Finch has been assigned to oversee
Dali’s animating the song, “Destino” in hopes of creating another
“Fantasia.”<span style> </span>Weekly, Monday
meetings are planned.<span style> </span>But Dali
isn’t one for sticking to a project, following rules, or letting Finch and
Alice lead their previous ordered existence.<span style> </span>Yes, Dali believes that “anything is possible in painting
and in life,” and turns into the Mad Hatter who stirs the simmering dreams of
Finch and Alice.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><span style="color:black"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><span style="color:black">Obolensky’s surreal script isn’t extremely well written,
but it does have enough bizarre lines and situations to hold the audience’s
attention.<span style> </span>There are lots of
mind-bending visual effects, some confounding uses of lobsters, a couch which
acts as Alice’s hole to wonderland, a green and yellow “Caterpillar,” a
cleaning man, Alice’s former boyfriend, and, of course, Salvador Dali.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><span style="color:black"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><span style="color:black">Sarah Maria Hess, she of blond curls, a blue “ALICE IN
WONDERLAND” dress, Betty Boop cutesy voice, and saucer blue eyes, makes for a
delightful Alice Horowitz.<span style> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><span style="color:black"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><span style="color:black">Tom Coles is properly uptight as John Finch.<span style> </span>Though the writing causes him to
overplay a naïve twit, he carries off the characterization well.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><span style="color:black"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><span style="color:black">Grey Cross is hysterical as Dali. Complete with the
famous “Dali waxed mustache,” he looks like the great surrealist.<span style> </span>He walks, swishes, sashays and controls
the stage with a bigger than life portrayal.<span style> </span>Without Cross, the play would have gone down the hole and
never come back.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><span style="color:black"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><span style="color:black">Beau Reinker plays multi-roles, including a Caterpillar,
with a nice touch of irony.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><span style="color:black"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><span style="color:black">Director Clyde Simon keeps the action humming right
along.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><span style="color:black"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><i style><span style="color:black">Capsule
Judgement: <span style> </span>“Lobster Alice” is not a
great play, but con-con gives it a surrealist production which should delight
the theatre’s niche audience.<span style> </span>If
you want an evening of the unexpected and irrational, this could be your thing.
</span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><span style="color:black"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><span style="color:black">“Lobster Alice” runs through<span style> </span>April 5, 2014 at 8 pm Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at
convergence-continuum’s artistic home, The Liminis, at 2438 Scranton Rd. in
Cleveland’s Tremont neighborhood. For information and reservations call
216-687-0074.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><span style="color:black"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:black">Con-con’s next show is the Cleveland premiere of
”Swimming in the Shallow” by Adam Bock, which runs from May 2nd through the 24th.</span></p>
<br><span style="color:rgb(255,0,0)">••••••••••••••••••••••••••••</span><br></div>