Tag Archives: The Rep

Clyde’s

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Clyde’s

Imagine a sandwich so sublime that it literally takes your breath away. This ambrosia, this culinary aspiration comes not from the Clyde’s of cabin fame. That Clyde’s is in the Soo. This one is at some truck stop in Pennsylvania. That one mainly hires high schoolers. This one only hires ex-cons. That Clyde’s recruits from Whitopia. This Clyde’s features all the colors of the rainbow. With that one, Clyde was one of Bub’s classmates and was definitely a guy. With this one, Clyde identifies as a woman but is probably more devil than human.

This is the play Clyde’s, now at the Rep. This one act play, set in a greasy spoon’s kitchen, features four chefs, three acolytes and one master chef. All of them aspiring to make the perfect sandwich, amid dealing with the problems garnered in prison. Throughout the show each of these cons turned chefs in turn unveil their latest creations. Seeking each other’s approval, they are always stymied by their own personal demons. Lording over this tableau is Clyde. Always barking orders to the denizens of the kitchen over an annoyingly too loud overhead speaker. Short of stature she rules over this diner with bluster, scorn and just plain meanness. Her convicted employees have nowhere else to go, they know it, she knows it. Prisoners still of their past, of mistakes made, paid for, but unforgiven. Like the devil itself she tortures them still.

Athena

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Athena Graphic

When the obstacle becomes the way—motto of the Greek goddess Athena

“En garde! Prêts? Allez!” Athena is all about fencing and not about fencing at all. The stage is a piste—the official flat strip of a platform where fencers compete. The audience is seated on both sides of the action. We were seated front row center. The two teenage épée fencers spend most of the play in full gear. Action, action and more action is always happening. These seventeen-year-olds are training for nationals. Athena (a nom de guerre) and Mary Wallace are different sides of the same coin. Athena, the daughter of a famous journalist is angry, hostile and friendless. While Wallace, the daughter of teachers is sensitive, maybe too sensitive, but more approachable. Athena lives in the city. While Mary commutes to NYC from the burbs. They agree to train together and begin to create a friendship. These two actresses comprise 90% of the play, until its climax, when a third fencer is introduced, during the qualifiers for nationals. After this short 75-minute play in the Rep’s black box studio, we adjourned next-door to where else, but Cyrano’s, for a late-night dessert. Touche! 

Million Dollar Quartet Christmas

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On December 4th, 1956, Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins all happened to meet at the Sun Records studio in Memphis, Tennesse, where they had all had their start. They then played together in an impromptu jam session, which Sun Records owner, Sam Phillips dubbed the “Million Dollar Quartet.” Colin Escott later lionized this event in his musical by the same name, which we saw in 2017. Apparently, Escott has taken another dip at the well, with his Million Dollar Quartet Christmas show that we saw last night.

Back in ’56, Sam had rolled tape that fateful afternoon, from which several albums ensued. Phillips had also snapped photos of this gathering, “Because otherwise no one was going to believe that this ever happened.” The most popular version of that shot is on the left and shows a closeup of the quartet around the piano. The actual photo has a wider angle that included Marylin Evans, Elvis’s girlfriend at the time, sitting on the piano beside the four. The quartet had primarily played old gospel songs, because those were the only ones that they all knew, but in Escott’s retelling of this event it is almost all rock and roll. With twenty-two tunes in that show, there are way too many to enumerate.

That December was a hard time for Sam Phillips and Sun Records. He had already sold Presley’s contract to RCA just to keep his business afloat and Cash’s contract was ending. Perkins had all but faded, Sam only hot prospect left was Jerry Lee Lewis. And boy did he know it. Lewis and his ego have a gift for getting under people’s skin and riling everyone’s tempers. In this retelling of a retelling, Marylin steps forward to sooth those ruffled feathers and bring a little Christmas cheer. The original musical replaced gospel music with rock-and-roll and in this new one, rock-and-roll is replaced with Christmas music, with a Sun Records touch, Mele Kalikimaka was not ever on my dance card.

Even with all of this holiday cheer, the second act draws to a downbeat close. Elvis has just gotten his draft notice. Meaning he and the rest of the quartet are set to go their separate ways. As they began to file out the door to the tune of a Presley ballad, a whole third act/encore is cut loose. First bringing the audience to their feet, only to then be told to sit down again and stay awhile longer. It was a great show that sure as heck beat another retelling of a Christmas Carol. 

Stormy Weather

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Riders Across the Rain Swept Plains

Thursday night, we attended the theater and saw August: Osage County at the Rep. This play portrays the Weston family of Pawhuska, OK, who collectively totally take the fun out of dysfunctional. Presented in three acts, after the first one, I seriously considered asking Anne if we could leave, but I knew that she would say no. On my way out to the lobby, I noticed another couple who were already acting on my wishes. After the second act, again during intermission, I was in the men’s room where I let out a heavy sigh. Another guy there offered his hope that maybe there would be some redemption in the third act. I told him that I was just hoping for a Hamlet ending, where everyone dies at the end.

In the play, this family seemingly committed every sin imaginable. Enumerating them, you have infidelity, drug addiction, alcoholism, child molestation, incest, suicide, bigotry and just plain meanness. I realize that some of these sins are forms of mental illness, but when you smuggle pills into rehab using your cooch, you have a problem. There was no redemptive moment at the end and only one person died. Everything just collapsed in upon itself with a whimper.

 

Moby Dick

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Queequeg

Call me Ishmael. But do not call me late for supper. Last night, we went to the theater and saw the new production of Moby Dick at the Rep. The hook for this revival was the introduction of aerialist to the theater. While hardly the same caliber of aerial stylings as the Chinese Shenyang acrobatic troupe, there introduction was a novel and interesting innovation. All of the ropes and tackle that they used played well with the sets rigging, used to portray the Pequod.

Less pleasing was the length of the production. Did it really require two and a half hours to bring Captain Ahab’s madness to full fruition? He seemed a few cards short of a full deck from the get-go. The Rep has had an on again, off again vibe all season, what with its looming financial problems. Thankfully, these seem to be solved and the Rep will close its season with one more play, August: Osage County. A play whose production of was on the bubble.

It’s a Wonderful Life

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It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play

The story of this beloved American holiday classic movie is reborn as a live 1940s radio broadcast. An ensemble that brings the dozens of characters from the movie to the stage, the story of idealistic George Bailey unfolds as he considers ending his life one fateful Christmas Eve. Most people know this story. It has been a perennial television favorite for more years than I care to remember. Anne even watched it on TV again earlier this week.

Holiday performances such as this show have always been a staple of local theater. Their popularity with audiences has been a reliable source of monetary support for companies, propping up their bottom line. Never has this been truer than it is this year for our repertoire company. Earlier this season a $2.5M budget shortfall was announced and an emergency fundraising campaign was launched. Last night, as preamble to the evening’s performance the production manager expressed his confidence at making this fundraising goal. Tomorrow, Saint Louis native and actor John Goodman will headline a charity fundraiser.

Last night’s performance was an enjoyable divertissement. Its staging recalled that of old-time radio variety shows like, A Prairie Home Companion. The actor who played George Bailey perfectly imitated Jimmy Stewart’s gravelly voice. If I closed my eyes and just listened to the show, I was transported back to earlier this week, when Anne was watching the movie, and I was listening to it in the next room. But I could not close my eyes. Sitting in the fourth row, this show was all in my face. Its second act was dark and scary and frightened a boy sitting behind us. Then with relief this radio play went to commercial break. These faux ads featured real local sponsors. Sponsors who real goal was support of the arts.