Love Letters

admin — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 04:02:34 +0000

Love Letters is a Pulitzer Prize for Drama nominated play by A. R. Gurney. The play centers on just two characters, Melissa Gardner and Andrew Makepeace Ladd III. Using the epistolary form sometimes found in novels, they sit side by side at tables and read the notes, letters and cards – in which over nearly 50 years, they discuss their hopes and ambitions, dreams and disappointments, victories and defeats – that have passed between them throughout their separated lives.

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Jekyll and Hyde Photos

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Spitfire Grill Reviews

admin — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 23:00:30 +0000

If Frank Capra, the auteur behind classics such as “It’s a Wonderful Life” and “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington”, ever did a musical, it’d probably be something like “The Spitfire Grill”, the beautifully acted and staged musical currently playing at the Muse Theatre.
Unabashedly earnest and unashamedly sentimental, the story focuses around the tiny Wisconsin town of Gilead as a recently released prisoner, Percy Talbott, tries to start a new life by working at the titular Spitfire Grill for the gruff Hannah Ferguson, who wants to unload the grill due to hurtful memories. With the help of a mousy housewife, Shelby, and a kindly sheriff, Joe, Percy adapts to her new surroundings and comes up with an idea as to how to get somebody to take over the grill; an essay contest.
In the lead role of Percy, Natalie Wikstrom excels at giving her character the right amount of grit without verging into parody. Her voice has shades of a young Delta Dawn era Tanya Tucker, which adds to the already catchy tunes. Her Second Act tune “Shine” is particularly of note as Wikstrom captures her character’s growth and awakening.
In the roles of Hannah and Shelby, Vicki Elwood and Beth Lakmann are delights. They take old staples — lovable but tough talker, introverted housewife — and milk them both for laughs and tears in a very grounded way. They are easy characters to play at merely superficial levels, but both actresses dig in deep and, along with Wikstrom, show great chemistry when they interact with one another.
A true scene stealer is Emily Bourland as Effy Krayneck, Gilead’s town gossip. Her turn as the acid-tongued busybody is hilarious without going too broad.
In a show dominated by women, the men could easily be lost in the shuffle, but Rhys Woff as Shelby’s controlling husband and Jonathan Krocker as Sheriff Joe are crucial presences in the musical. Wolff’s First Act number “Digging Stone” is a tour-de-force of acting and singing as he wonders what happened to being just a hardworking man.
Krocker is a great romantic lead who isn’t just a blank slate to move the plot along. His number “This Wide Woods” is easily identifiable to anybody who strives to leave where they are at, as well as showing a romantic spark between he and Wikstrom’s character, something that can be lacking when you’re seeing a musical. The duo truly makes you believe a romance could develop between these two characters.
In the silent role of The Visitor, Lucas Niedfeldt actually is able to craft a character of sorts out of what could’ve been nothing more than a recurring cameo.
Overall, “The Spitfire Grill” is a musical that dishes up a good time for all.

Jonathan Krocker
Second Supper
Vol. 10, No.9

Location Three

admin — Fri, 11 Feb 2011 18:14:08 +0000

The Muse Theatre