Sunday, May 3, 2015

"Educating Rita"

May 3, 2015 — Northern New England Repertory Theatre presented British playwright Willy Russell's "Educating Rita," directed by John Goodlin, in the former courtroom converted to a theatre in the Whipple Memorial Town Hall in New London, New Hampshire.

The two-actor play features Tamara Scott as Rita, a slightly loopy hairdresser from a working class background, who hopes to improve her lot by taking the open university literature course offered by Frank, a jaded, hard-drinking professor, played by Paul O'Connor.

This is a charming little play, reminiscent of "My Fair Lady," but I'm sorry to say I was somewhat disappointed. I lost much of Rita's dialog because Scott worked a bit too hard at her East End accent, succeeding only in making herself hard to understand, at least to my ears. Otherwise, she played the part well, always vibrant and animated, going through many costume changes.

O'Connor, rumpled and bushy-haired, slipped naturally into the role of the heavy-drinking Frank, who keeps bottles of Scotch hidden behind the volumes in his huge bookcases. He's unhappy with his open university assignment and finds Rita annoying at first, but their relationship has many highs and lows over time.

Saturday, May 2, 2015

"Time Stands Still"

May 2, 2015 — By special invitation, I attended theatre KAPOW's read-through of the script of "Time Stands Still" by Donald Margulies about a month ago. I wondered if that would spoil the final production for me, but I needn't have worried. It can't compare to the finished product performed by actors in a well-staged setting, directed by Matt Cahoon, at the Derry Opera House in Derry, New Hampshire..

Carey Cahoon, 2014 winner of the New Hampshire Theatre Award for Best Actress, convincingly portrays the badly injured war-zone photographer Sarah. John Decareau is her journalist soul-mate, James. Peter Josephson, also a New Hampshire Theatre Award winner, plays middle-aged Richard, a photo editor, and Gina Carballo appears as Richard's ditzy young girl-friend, Mandy.

The play challenges actors with its many changing moods, moving from humor to recrimination to anger many times over as it spans a period of several months in the characters' lives. The acting was superb all around. The set, a loft in Brooklyn, which theatre KAPOW worked hard to put together, posting photos and videos of its construction on Facebook as it  progressed, was exceptionally well-done.

For me, the play's message is that no matter how much we search, we can find our happiness in unexpected places, and sometimes find it right where it was all along.

KAPOW has announced "Time Stands Still," originally planned for this weekend only, is now being repeated next weekend. Check their Facebook page for information:

https://www.facebook.com/theatre.kapow?fref=pb&hc_location=profile_browser