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face=Georgia>CPT’s ‘Barbecue’ is savory if, at times, a tad
under-spiced</FONT></SPAN></B></P>
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align=center><B><SPAN
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face=Georgia></FONT></SPAN></B> </P>
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align=center><SPAN
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face=Georgia>Bob Abelman</FONT></SPAN><SPAN
style='FONT-FAMILY: ; COLOR: ; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"'></SPAN></P>
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align=center><I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
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face=Georgia>Cleveland Jewish News, The News Herald, The Morning
Journal</FONT></SPAN></I><SPAN
style='FONT-FAMILY: ; COLOR: ; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"'></SPAN></P>
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face=Georgia>Member, International Association of Theatre
Critics</FONT></SPAN><SPAN
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face="Times New Roman"> </FONT></SPAN><SPAN
style='FONT-FAMILY: ; COLOR: ; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"'><FONT
face=Georgia><FONT color=#333333><FONT style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt">Playwright Robert
O’Hara has an affinity for laying bare issues of race, class and culture in
America by poking all kinds of audacious fun at them.</FONT><SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"><FONT style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt">
</FONT></SPAN></FONT></FONT></SPAN></P>
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style='FONT-FAMILY: ; COLOR: ; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"'><FONT
color=#333333 face=Georgia></FONT></SPAN> </P>
<P style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><SPAN
style='FONT-FAMILY: ; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"'><FONT
face=Georgia>In <SPAN style="COLOR: "><FONT color=#333333>“Bootycandy,” seen
last year at the Cleveland Public Theater, O’Hara explored the stigmatization of
homosexuality in African-American culture by presenting it as TV sketch
comedy.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>And, by doing so, he
managed to also call attention to the egregious portrayal of blacks in TV sketch
comedy.</FONT></SPAN></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><SPAN
style='FONT-FAMILY: ; COLOR: ; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"'><FONT
color=#333333 face=Georgia></FONT></SPAN> </P>
<P style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><SPAN
style='FONT-FAMILY: ; COLOR: ; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"'><FONT
face=Georgia><FONT color=#333333>In “Barbecue,” which premiered Off-Broadway in
2015 and is currently on stage at the CPT, he showcases similarities in white
and black lower-class family dysfunction by having it unfold in the familiar
format of the Hollywood domestic comedy. <SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>And, by doing so, he manages to also call
attention to the egregious portrayal of the lower class in
domcoms.</FONT></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><SPAN
style='FONT-FAMILY: ; COLOR: ; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"'><FONT
color=#333333 face=Georgia></FONT></SPAN> </P>
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style='FONT-FAMILY: ; COLOR: ; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"'><FONT
face=Georgia><FONT color=#333333>In both plays, which are loaded with
ferociously funny one-liners, the outrageousness sometimes gets the better of
O’Hara’s good intentions and his efforts to cover so much ground occasionally
hits a bump or two.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>“Barbecue” is
particularly problematic in that its first act is rubbed with vinegar and
char-grilled on an open flame while its second act is slow-cooked and basted
with molasses.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN></FONT></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><SPAN
style='FONT-FAMILY: ; COLOR: ; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"'><FONT
color=#333333 face=Georgia></FONT></SPAN> </P>
<P style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: normal"><SPAN
style='FONT-FAMILY: ; COLOR: ; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"'><FONT
face=Georgia><FONT color=#333333>Although this CPT production under Beth Woods’
direction has some difficulty reconciling these inconsistent stylings by being
particularly plodding after intermission, it is nonetheless a savory and
satisfying offering.</FONT></FONT></SPAN></P>
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style='FONT-FAMILY: ; COLOR: ; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"'><FONT
color=#333333 face=Georgia></FONT></SPAN> </P>
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face=Georgia><I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
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more of this review, go to </SPAN></I><I
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style='BORDER-TOP: windowtext 1pt; FONT-FAMILY: ; BORDER-RIGHT: windowtext 1pt; BORDER-BOTTOM: windowtext 1pt; COLOR: ; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; PADDING-TOP: 0in; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; BORDER-LEFT: windowtext 1pt; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: arial; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in'><FONT
color=#0000ff>www.clevelandjewishnews.com/columnists/</FONT></SPAN></I><I
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