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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: #333333; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Clever
‘Kin’ explores the ties that bind <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns =
"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p></SPAN></B></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #333333; 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">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'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Cleveland Jewish
News<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'; 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><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">This review will
appear in the <I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Cleveland Jewish News
</I>on 5/2/14<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; BACKGROUND: white"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #363636; 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: #333333; 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: #333333; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">If
the characters in Eugene O’Neill’s “Beyond the Horizon,” currently on stage at
Ensemble Theatre and reviewed in the CJN, happened to meet the characters in
Bathsheba Doran’s “Kin,” currently on stage at Dobama Theatre, they would have a
good laugh.<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: #333333; 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: #333333; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">That
is, if they had the energy to laugh after staring death, disease, and
deprivation in the face for three acts and 2 ½ hours.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>They would be laughing at the
comparatively mundane problems encountered by the people who populate “Kin” –
the bouts of insecurity, the minor speed bumps in a career, the inconvenience of
the rain.<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: #333333; 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: #333333; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">But
that is precisely the point of “Kin,” a modern-day dramedy that explores the
seemingly insignificant and inane aspects of our lives as seen through the
relationships we develop while living it.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>In 20 short, mostly two-person scenes, we meet a likable group of people
who are sweating the little things in life as if they actually mattered.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Because they do. <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: #333333; 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: #333333; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">And
we don’t just meet them.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>As the
scenes progress, we learn that the random strangers on stage are in fact a
circle of friends and family, and that their mundane problems have deep
roots.<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: #333333; 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: #333333; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">We
learn that the silly bouts of insecurity displayed by the out-of-work actress
Helena (a manic but still appealing Leighann Delorenzo) are symptoms of
depression and self-destruction.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>That the work performed by Anna (a rather bland Elana Kepner), who is a
poetry scholar at Columbia University and whose life, family and friends are at
the center of this play, serves to replace what is missing at home.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>That the rain triggers haunting,
horrible memories for Linda (brilliantly depicted by Lenne Snively) that refuse
to go away. <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: #333333; 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: #333333; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">“It’s
awful, isn’t it?” asks Anna in the final scene of the play.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>“What is?” says Sean (played with great
sensitivity by Geoff Knox), an Irish personal trainer who falls in and out and
in love with Anna.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>“Getting to know
someone,” she replies. <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: #333333; 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: #333333; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Everyone,
the playwright is reminding us, has emotional baggage that come part and parcel
with every relationship.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>And it is
fascinating and, yes, awful to discover their points of
origin.<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: #333333; 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: #333333; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">As if
this point is not sufficiently clear in the script or in Shannon Sindelar’s
delicate direction of it, Tiffany Scribner’s set consists of a wall comprised of
baggage, like the lost luggage room at an a</SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #222222; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN"
lang=EN>irport</SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #333333; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>The white-washed wall also serves as the
surface for Mike Tutaj’s projections, which effectively establish a sense of
time and place for each scene.<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: #333333; 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: #333333; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">This
intimate play, first produced off-Broadway and performed without an
intermission, is very clever in its construction and intriguingly abstract in
its presentation.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>The collection of
small scenes – and the genuinely tender moments they provide, courtesy of some
fine writing and an excellent ensemble that also includes Pete Ferry, Bob Keefe,
Jeanne Task and David Bugher -- add up and are surprisingly
moving.<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: #333333; 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: #333333; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Key
to this play’s success is that, by its conclusion, the audience cares about
these people and their baggage. <SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>If
we do, then we leave better understanding our own relationships and our own
baggage. <SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Mission accomplished.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Hell, even Eugene O’Neill’s tragic
characters would care about these people, which is no small feat.<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: #333333; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P
style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-AUTOSPACE: ; mso-layout-grid-align: none"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">WHAT:<SPAN
style="mso-tab-count: 1">
</SPAN>“Kin<SPAN
style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic">”<o:p></o:p></SPAN></SPAN></P>
<P
style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-AUTOSPACE: ; mso-layout-grid-align: none"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic">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></SPAN></P>
<P
style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-AUTOSPACE: ; mso-layout-grid-align: none"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic">WHEN:<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><SPAN
style="mso-tab-count: 1">
</SPAN>Through May 25<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P
style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 4.5pt 0pt 0in; tab-stops: 1.0in 5.25in"
class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; 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'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; 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'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><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'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: CS"
lang=CS>.<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: #333333; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: CS"
lang=CS><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>