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November 2008
Chart-topping act Boyz II Men carries torch to Schuster
DAYTON — The 1990s chart-topping vocal ensemble Boyz II Men set the standard by which all other so-called “boy bands” of the decade aspired.
Now marking 18 years in the music business, three of the original four members continue to carry the torch for heartfelt melodic balladry sung with soul and style.
That torch blazed hot Saturday night, Nov. 29, at the Schuster Center as the trio performed a retrospective of its memorable catalogue of hits as well as a selection of classic Motown covers featured on its latest album, “Motown: A Journey Through Hitsville USA.”
Dressed in three-piece suits, Shawn Stockman, Nathan Morris and Wanya Morris (related only through music) took to a stage devoid of extraneous trappings. Three stools (barely touched), three microphone stands (rarely used) and a small riser (holding water and three bouquets of roses) were the only accessories.
This show’s special effects came in the form of the group’s soaring vocals, spine-tingling harmonies and synchronized dance movements.
With backup accompaniment from a programmed tape loop, rather than a live band, the hit-filled trip down memory lane might have begun to feel like a choreographed karaoke act, if not for the singers’ vocal originality and dexterity — and a brief technical glitch.
About half-way through the 90-minute show, as the trio concluded a high-energy, call-and-response-heavy rendition of Edwin Starr’s “War,” the anticipated segue into the next song faltered when the computerized musical backup stopped.
Calls to “sing a cappella” rang out from the audience, and after a quick on-stage conference, the trio responded with a soulful “Silent Night,” in three-part harmony.
“That’s the difference between us and other groups,” Stockman said, before continuing the show as planned.
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Tweet‘Soldier’ musical is contest finalist
“Summer of My German Soldier,” a musical by Dayton’s Encore Theatre directors David Brush and Jim Farley, has been named a finalist for the 2008 American Harmony Prize.
The second annual playwriting award, sponsored by the Stamford, Conn., theater company Curtain Call, spotlights new musicals that explore ethnic, religious and gender issues. The winner will be announced in mid-December and performed as a concert reading in Curtain Call’s Mondays series in February 2009.
Based on the novel of the same name by Bette Green, “Summer of My German Soldier” is about a 12-year-old girl in Arkansas who harbors an escaped German POW during World War II with the help of the family’s black housekeeper. It was previously a finalist for Theatre Building Chicago’s Stages festival and has been produced at the University of Dayton.
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TweetWomen in Guild play are together and alone
DAYTON — What’s the real story behind a photograph? The Dayton Theatre Guild explores the question with mixed success in the R.T. Robinson play “The Cover of Life.”
It’s about three wives left behind in a small Louisiana town when their husbands go off to fight in World War II. They move in with their mother in law (Jennifer Lockwood in a quietly compelling performance). Her man is AWOL for less patriotic reasons. A writer from Life magazine (played by Debra Strauss) comes from New York to do a cover story on the wives and learns way more than she expected to.
Like a photo that’s open to interpretation, this two-act play directed by Fran Pesch is about more than that, and less.
With kooky characters named Tood (Angela Timpone as the play’s central character), Weetsie (Wendi Williams) and hometown reporter Addie Mae (Heather Martin in a crisp and lively portrayal), the first impression is a Southern-fried comedy. But that’s fleeting.
The script aspires to be more — too much more — with elements of tragedy. It doesn’t have the stuff to be convincing on that level very often. One exception is a well-played Act 2 soliloquy for Holly Kuhn as fast and flashy Sybil, who proves to have a soft and conventional soul beneath her modern, bold swagger.
What’s sorely missing is a connection between the women. That’s almost as nonexistent as their mostly unreliable men. We only see one of them (Matt Curry as Tommy) in imaginary visits while his wife, Tood, reads his letters. The main quest in her life seems to be to convince him not to go into his brother’s bait business. She’d rather switch to venturing out on their own.
For all of the suggestions that her struggle is somehow profound, the drama’s actual heft is much lighter. The blame for that is in the script, not in Timpone’s measured performance.
“The Cover of Life’s” most significant aspect is how alone and on their own all of these people are. Lockwood expresses the cost of that emptiness very clearly as Ola.
Performances continue on weekends through Dec. 7 at 2330 Salem Ave. Tickets are $10-$17 at (937) 278-5993.
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TweetScreen dream reaches back to Sheen
Former New Lebanon resident Jeff Dorsten, who decided to take up theater in his mid-30s after attending an acting workshop led by Martin Sheen, may share a scene with Sheen’s brother, Joe Estevez, in his film debut.
Estevez, along with young stars Matt Bushnell and Michael Welch, who are fresh from the recent release “Twilight,” will be featured in “Rough Hustle,” an indie casino feature that’s being partially filmed in Mesquite, Nev., for a 2009 release.
Dorsten, who made his stage debut in 1998 at the Dayton Theatre Guild, moved to Mesquite two years ago. He has landed a speaking cameo in “Rough Hustle” as a standup comedian in one of the lounge scenes and said he has also been cast as a blackjack dealer.
“To have my first film be with Martin Sheen’s brother, I’m just on cloud nine,” he said. “I’ve been dreaming of this for a long time.”
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TweetRockettes an easy match for their hype
At least one hyped event of the season besides Thanksgiving dinner has turned out to be as advertised: “The Radio City Music Hall Spectacular.”
Starring the high-kicking, but also toe-tapping, Santa-impersonating, manger-visiting, tour bus-riding and soldier-marching Rockettes, the touring version of New York City’s winter tradition had its local premiere Tuesday, Nov. 25, at Wright State University’s Nutter Center.
The first of three performances — there were two more on Wednesday — featured the famed dance corps as expected. If a first-rate cast of 24 is a smaller contingent than in New York, their dancing and personality as the centerpiece of a wonderfully staged, beautifully dressed variety show lived up to their reputation.
The 90 non-stop minutes opened with the Rockettes as reindeer. Topped with flashing antlers and hitched to a never more understandably jolly Santa’s sleigh, they led a trip to the North Pole, a journey suggested by projected images on a screen stretching the width of the stage behind them.
The screen was used to more convincing effect to during a tour of New York on a double-decker bus with the Rockettes as passengers whose every move had been choreographed, and as the sky over Bethlehem.
The holiday production also incorporated an orchestra of musicians arranged above and at both sides of the main stage, six singers who helped fill the time for major costume and set changes, live animals including a camel for the living nativity scene near the end of the show, ice skaters, an extra contingent of male and female dancers, a girl in pointe shoes who portrayed Clara during a “Nutcracker” scene brimming with dancing bears, and a subplot featuring two young brothers whose skepticism about Santa evaporated following a traditional lesson about giving.
They and Santa flew high over the audience, as did streamers fired from cannons. But it was the Rockettes’ combination of grace, precision, happiness and sex appeal that earned top billing.
They displayed several variations of their trademark kick line, but their best number was the one in which they marched stiff legged as toy soldiers, only to be felled like slow-motion dominoes by a gunner who had the consideration to hurry behind the last woman in line and place a pillow there for her to land on.
If not the equal of what you can see at Radio City, it had to be close.
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TweetThey’re a Tom and Katt dance duo
Guys two, three and four or more times Tom Balaj’s age may want to know what it takes to dance with Catherine “Katt” Saliba.
It takes knowing how, for one thing.
Tom, 10, a fifth-grader at Miami Valley School, studies with Saliba at Always Ballroom studio in Dayton and competed with her recently in the 2008 Ohio Star Ball in Columbus, the largest ballroom dance contest in the United States.
“Katt” Saliba in rehearsal with Tom Balaj
The only junior competitor from the Miami Valley, he was the youngest in a field of more than 60 couples on Tuesday, Nov. 16, during which he didn’t win the overall title for the Bronze level (his category), but he did take a first place. He was back on the floor with her on Saturday, Nov. 22, to compete in five international-style dances: waltz, fox trot, Viennese waltz and quickstep.
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TweetFox ends 32 years of Sinclair dance
Friends, students and colleagues said farewell to Sinclair Community College dance director Patricia Ann Fox on Sunday, Nov. 16, with a performance, reception and dinner.
She is retiring after 32 years of welcoming beginners of all ages to her classes on the top floor of Sinclair’s Building 2, turning many of them into performers, dance enthusiasts and teachers in local studios.
Entitled “The Long and Winding Road,” the performance included several works done to Beatles songs.
Choreographers included Middle Eastern dancer and dancemaker Denise Miller, Contemporary Dance Sinclair director Rodney Veal and Fox, in a piece performed by former student and current Sinclair staff member Vicky Korosei.
Longtime friend and collaborator Kathy Frauman played a medley of Beatles songs on the studio piano, ending with “She’s Leaving Home.”
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TweetPlayhouse’s ‘Mame’ shakes off doldrums
All 24 scenes in the Dayton Playhouse’s production of the Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee play “Auntie Mame” end with the face of Tina McPhearson as the title character in spotlight. She’s often smiling in delight or mischief.
Those freezes seemed only slightly slower paced than much of the first act during the Friday, Nov. 14, performance, which finally gained momentum shortly before intermission.
Patience was rewarded. Act 2 delivered crisp scenes and well-tuned appearances by an array of performers, including Dave Nickel as Beauregard Jackson Pickett Burnside, Pam McGinnis as Vera Charles, Gary Hergenrather as Babcock, Renee Franck Reed as Norah Muldoon, Megan Grabiel as Gloria Upson, Cynthia Karns and Robert Martin as Mrs. and Mr. Upson and Terry Lupp as Mother Burnside.
Director Brian Sharp made effective use of the talent at his command.
It was hard to tell where the enthusiastic and gregarious McPhearson left off and Mame began. McPhearson, making a return to the stage for the first time in several years, could play the role in her sleep. Thankfully, she just played herself instead.
Cassandra Engber turned in a delightfully detailed, scene-stealing performance as twitchy, newly awakened, bespectacled secretary Agnes Gooch. Also making impressions: Adam Lupp as Mame’s young nephew Patrick, particularly when it came to whipping up a martini; Nathan Hudson as grown-up Patrick, Kali Stripe as Sally Cato and Shanessa Sweeney as Pegeen.
Although set changes did slow down the pace, Chris Harmon supplied scenery not just for Mame’s theatrical apartment, but also for locations as varied as the Alps, Egypt and Macy’s department store.
“Auntie Mame” continues with performances at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Nov. 21 and 22, and 2 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 23. Tickets are $12-$15. Call (937) 424-8477.
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TweetTroy’s Mayflower goes art house
TROY — Alan Teicher wishes he could roll out a red carpet and bring in searchlights to scan the Miami County skies, but it’s not in the budget.
Tonight, Friday, Nov. 14, marks the premiere of his 80-year-old Mayflower Theater, 11 W. Main St., as an art film house.
“I always wanted to do this. My brother had three art theaters in Detroit when I was 16 or 17,” said Teicher, 74, of Troy, who owns eight movie theaters in four states. One of the others is Movies 5, also in Troy.
The first was the Mayflower, purchased 40 years ago.
In part because September and October “are terrible months for getting people out to see first-run movies,” he closed the four-screen theater at the end of summer to make the change.
“We did some painting and a lot of cleaning. It just felt like the right time to try this. Until now, there was no art theater between Dayton and Toledo. The Neon Movies can be too far to drive if you live in Sidney or Wapakoneta,” he said.
Since announcing the change, “I’ve had a lot of phone calls. People have offered thanks and congratulations. I just hope all those folks will make a habit of coming.”
For now, the switch is an experiment. “We’ll try it for three or four months and see how it goes.”
First attractions include: “The Duchess,” “W.”, “Choke” and “Religulous.”
Tickets at the Mayflower Art Theater are $5-$7. More information is available at (937) 339-3456 or www.teichertheaters.com.
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TweetMoved by the Soweto spirit
DAYTON — The Grammy-winning Soweto Gospel Choir presented a spirited and spirit-filled concert Thursday night, Nov. 13, at Victoria Theatre.
Made up of select members of Soweto, South Africa’s various Christian church choirs, the 26-member group came to town through the auspices of Cityfolk, Dayton’s nonprofit ethnic and traditional arts organization.
“African Spirit” is the name of the choir’s current tour, so-called for its most-recent album release on the Shanachie label. And while the group’s infectious rhythms, colorful regalia and layered vocal resonance captured a definitive South African quality, the performers also invoked the blessings of the divine spirit and honored the irrepressible nature of the human spirit.
Our shared humanity was a binding thread throughout the two-hour-plus concert, which featured South African gospel and traditional tunes along with contemporary pop songs of an inspirational nature.
The singers, whose voices ranged widely in their individual textures, remained in constant motion throughout — from the processional-style opening on a traditional tune sung in Zulu, to the joyous encore of “Oh, Happy Day,” sung in English.
The power and energy of their performance seemed to invite more active audience participation than a typical concert setting, and I, for one, longed to stand up and dance along.
A day later, I still feel it.
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TweetGrant backs Human Race musical incubator
The Human Race Theatre Company has received a major grant to solidify its growing reputation for developing new musicals.
Announced Monday, Nov. 10, the gift of almost $94,000 from the Dayton-based Miriam Rosenthal Trust Fund will support two summer musical festivals, a Lovewell Institute educational theater program, two residencies and two major musical productions at The Loft Theatre between July 2009 and July 2010.
Company executive director Kevin Moore said “the huge vote of faith” means Dayton’s resident professional theater “can set up an entire pilot year of developing new works. It means we can build on all of the small things we’ve been able to do the past eight years — the workshops and residencies we’ve been able to do sporadically when the money has been available.”
Moore, a board member of the National Alliance for Musical Theater, has co-chaired the New York Festival for New Musicals the past two years.
He said he has modeled The Human Race’s musical incubator partially on Palo Alto Theatreworks in the Silicon Valley and Goodspeed Musicals in Connecticut.
“There’s no reason we couldn’t do the same thing here,” Moore said. “We’ll need more funding to carry this forward, but this is an opportunity to build something new here.”
Richard C. McCauley, chairman of the Rosenthal Fund, expressed excitement “about the opportunity to identify The Human Race as a hub for new musical development and for local talent to be involved and exposed to professionals in this field.”
The Human Race has cultivated new shows through its Musical Theatre Workshop program. It has produced works by legends in the field, including Stephen Schwartz and Tom Jones, as well as emerging artists such as Joseph Thalken, Gregg Coffin and Rob Hartmann.
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TweetKuss Quartet introduces itself to Dayton
DAYTON — A string quartet’s concert program doesn’t get much more canonical than Franz Joseph Hadyn’s “Lark,” Franz Schubert’s “Rosamunde” and the second of Bela Bartok’s six compositions for the classic chamber ensemble.
While Hadyn (1732-1809) defined the genre, with the “Lark” eventually earning a reputation as one of his most beloved examples, Bartok (1881-1945) refined the form for the 20th century. Schubert (1797-1828) — along with Beethoven — provided the compositional link.
Such was the program that the Berlin-based Kuss Quartet performed the evening of Saturday, Nov. 8 at the Dayton Art Institute as part of the Vanguard Concerts series.
It is also the program the young group is taking this month to such venues as the Frick Gallery in New York and the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., as well as the campuses of Yale, Brown and Duke universities.
Appealing to audiences who appreciate hearing the old favorites, the program also serves as an introduction to the Kuss’s artistic interests.
What was revealed Saturday was an ensemble that leans more toward the cerebral than the emotional, with an intense concern for tonality and form.
The next Vanguard Concert won’t come until winter’s end, when Croatian guitarist Robert Belinic performs March 14. For more information, call (937) 512-0144 or (937) 436-0244.
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TweetBrad Paisley coming to Nutter
FAIRBORN — Chart-topping country music star Brad Paisley has announced plans for an early 2009 tour that includes a stop Jan. 29 at Wright State University’s Ervin J. Nutter Center.
Current ACM and CMA Vocalist of the Year, Paisley released his sixth studio album, “Play,” earlier this week. His current single, “I’m Still a Guy,” follows three consecutive No. 1 hits, “Ticks,” “Online” and “Letter to Me.”
Joining Paisley on the road will be Dierks Bentley, who released his first greatest hits collection last spring; and Darius Rucker, former lead singer for Hootie & the Blowfish.
Tickets for the 7:30 p.m. show go on sale at 10 a.m. Nov. 15 at the Nutter Center and all Ticketmaster outlets, including by phone at (937) 228-2323 and online at www.ticketmaster.com. Prices are $51.75 and $41.75.
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TweetWSU’s “Millie” plays easy to get
FAIRBORN — The Broadway musical “Thoroughly Modern Millie” has already been thoroughly produced in the area over the past few seasons.
No matter. Wright State University Theatre’s “Millie”-come-lately reinforces the first few impressions that this show doesn’t wear out its welcome. It’s like a friend you always have a good time with, even when you try to resist or are sure you aren’t in the mood.
Directed by Joe Deer, with choreography by Teressa Wylie McWilliams and musical direction by Rick Church, “Millie’s” old-fashioned story, irresistible songs and colorful characters prove to be a happy combination.
Big-voiced Melissa Grochowski nails the spunky, determined side of Millie and those same qualities in her showpiece number, “Gimme, Gimme.”
That rhymes with Jimmy, who is played with poise, smooth vitality and clear tenor voice by Matt Kopec, whose multiple talents are showcased as the leading man.
Supporting players Lindsay Flick as Miss Dorothy, the suave Jerome Doerger as Trevor Graydon, Anthony Lopez and Jonathan Ramos as Ching Ho and Bun Fo, Maddie Paul as Muzzy, a marvelous ensemble and pleasing orchestra are just as consistent. But Elyse Dawson steals her many scenes as the diabolical Mrs. Meers, as she should
Sets by Pam Knauert Lavarnway, costumes by Matthew D. Carney and lighting by Matthew P. Benjamin aid and abet the delightful mischief, romance and complications.
If you’ve seen “Millie” once, twice, or even three times, she’s still very easy on the eyes and ears. WSU’s production will continue through Nov. 16 in the Creative Arts Center. Tickets are $17-$19. Call (937) 775-2500.
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2377 or tmorris@DaytonDailyNews.com.
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