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by Betty Peters

Human beings expend much time and attention on the wish life.  Even the psychologically healthy among us occasionally try to deny or block out unpleasant and dull aspects of the everyday ordinary people who fill our lives. In Columbus Civic Theater’s production of the classic Come Back Little Sheba, author William Inge and director Richard Albert force characters to see reality and face the problems that are created by refusing to live in the real world.

Lola Delaney sees everything through the prism of her fantasies.  She lives vicariously through the romantic relationships of the young people around her. Melinda Anderson conveys Mrs. Delaney’s sweetness and naiveté to perfection. Anderson is the primary costumer for Columbus Civic Theater and has filled supporting character roles in many productions.  She steps out in this presentation and shines brightly as a lead performer. Pete Swingle is well-suited to the role of Doc. Swingle has a consistent manner and tone in his characterization as he moves from being dutiful and sweet to mean, ugly drunk. Doc never calls his wife by her given name when he is sober.  He constantly addresses  her as “Baby” and gently tells her that it is no good living in the past.  When he gets drunk, he hurls her name at her along with many cruel accusations that ring with truth. We are never sure if Doc has romantic notions about the college student border, Marie, or if he thinks of her as the daughter he never had.  It is probably a bit of both.  Lindsey Fisher strikes a realistic balance between good wholesome girl and slut  in her portrayal of Marie. She is pretty, vivacious and sweet. Unlike Mrs. Delaney, Marie knows exactly what she wants. She is smart and calculating in choosing to dally with a wild college boy before she goes off to marry the reliable guy from back home. Galen Roth is a delight as the stereotypical, handsome, reckless college athlete, Turk.   The relationship between Turk and Marie makes Doc extremely uncomfortable, but he lacks the courage to confront the situation, especially since his wife seems to be orchestrating the whole affair. Doug Mondell is steady and credible as Marie’s fiancé’, Bruce.  Mark Hale Jr. and Jeff Potts provide satisfying moments in their various supporting roles.  Britt Kline is particularly notable as the snooping, helpful neighbor.

The costumes and set designs are effective. The sound track — filled with classical music, pop songs and radio soap operas of the 40’s and 50’s — provides some nice distractions, especially during scene changes.

Inge, who was a protégé of Tennessee Williams, won acclaim as the most promising playwright of the 1950 Broadway season for Come Back Little Sheba. It earned Tony Awards for Shirley Booth and her co-star Sidney Blackmer. Booth captured an Oscar and a Golden Globe when she reprised the role of Loa in the popular 1952 film version with Burt Lancaster.

The past probably was not as wonderful as we imagine. The present seldom fulfills everything we wish for. Real people like Doc and Lola enter into relationships by accident and remain with each other because it becomes familiar and reliable.

Come Back Little Sheba continues through October 15th at the Columbus Civic Theater, 3837 Indianola Ave. in Columbus, with evening performances Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00 p.m.  Ticket prices range from $17.50-$20. For more information or to reserve tickets, call 614-447-7529 or visit the website.

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Betty is an active volunteer in the administrative and business aspects of theatre.  She was recently honored by the Ohio Community Theatre Association (OCTA)  with the “Spirit Award” , in recognition of her enthusiasm and support for Central Ohio community theatre.  Betty holds a Journalism degree from Ohio University. She is retired from Federal Civil Service and the Army Reserve and enjoys attending as many live theatre performances as possible.

Playing now at the Columbus Civic Theater is the William Inge classic, Come Back, Little Sheba. Directed by Richard Albert (who also designed the set.), the play has John C. Bryan as Stage Manager and Sarah Gehring as the lighting designer.

I’ve always been intrigued by this play. Set in 1949, the characters are complex in complicated relationships. This first work by Inge deals with a loveless marriage, and the effect on an older man when an attractive young female college student rents a room from him.

Director Richard Albert wins on at least two levels. The setting is perfect for this intimate stage. The presentation of a front door, a kitchen, dining room, living room, closet and stairs could have appeared cramped together. Instead, by placing the walls at a slight angle to the audience, the illusion is of a much larger acting area than is actually there. In the same regard, the actors move easily around, with no suggestion of being crowded in any way. The pace of the play is steady and no one personality appears to stand above another. Good job, sir. Good job.

In the role of the quietly desperate older man is Pete Swingle as Doc Delaney. In full disclosure, I will tell you I directed Mr. Swingle in a smallish supporting role in a production of Richard III.  With his deep voice and imposing stature, I wondered at the time how he would fare in a leading role. Come Back, Little Sheba gave me the answer. Swingle gives a strong performance. He underplays some of the dialogue, suggesting an introspective nature. At the same time his physical presence is imposing. When he comes home drunk and angry, you cannot for a moment not watch him. The perfect foil for “Doc” is Melinda Anderson as the long-suffering wife, Lola. They are opposites. He is tall, she short. He is imposing in every way, she has the timidity of a mouse. His growing desperation becomes increasingly obvious, she simply withdraws from day-to-day reality.

Strongly supportive performances result in part from inspired casting. In the role of the college student is Lindsey Fisher as Marie. To explain the nature of this character is simply to inform you that Marie sneaks a lover into her room to spend the night before her fiancé is scheduled to arrive in town. Even as I observed this, I found it difficult to judge the character. Marie is in many ways a foreshadowing of a more famous character playwright Inge would later create in Bus Stop. Ms Fisher approaches the role with less than dark lust and more along the lines of galloping enthusiasm. It’s difficult to condemn a character when the performer appears to be having a really good time. (In other words, if this is totally an act, ya got me. It worked.) Along the same lines, I enjoyed Galen Roth as Marie’s first lover, Turk. Mr. Roth bears a marked resemblance to a young Tom Cruise. And, as does Ms. Fisher, Mr. Roth appears to actually enjoy the heavy breathing scenes. (Duh.)  I also thoroughly appreciated Britt Kline in the smaller role of Mrs. Coffman. As a stern German housewife, I believe Ms Kline is supposed to represent condescending judgment. If this is so, she doesn’t make it. Every appearance by the performer strengthened the impression of a character that is both endearing and perky. Rounding out the cast are Mark Hale Jr. in dual roles of the Postman and Ed Anderson, Jeff Potts in the roles of the Milkman, the Western Union Man, and Elmo Anderson; and Doug Mondell as Bruce. Here is a solid supporting ensemble.

Come Back, Little Sheba will continue to be presented by the Columbus Civic Theater through October 15.  I certainly can and do recommend it.

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For most of his career, Bob was employed as a television director, working for stations from Los Angeles to Columbus. During the same time period he wrote and directed plays for theatres all over the Midwest. For several years he was the drama critic for the Spectator newspaper chain and for Channel 6 here in Columbus. Bob has won numerous awards, including two Emmy awards, a Freedom’s Foundation award, and two recent awards from the National Writers Digest playwriting competition.

from left to right: Alex Childs as Goth Soldier, Paul Moon as Lucius, Vince Reese as Goth Soldier, Franklin Grace as Aaron

by Krista Threadgill

One of Shakespeare’s earliest and bloodiest plays, Titus Andronicus is a challenging play of a revenge cycle between Roman general Titus and the captured Empress of the defeated Goths, Tamora. Shepherd Productions—a new offshoot of MadLab Theatre, founded by their Managing Director, Andy Batt—takes this challenge and runs with it.

Under Batt’s direction, a cast of 16 (trimmed from Shakespeare’s original 30) wends their way through the twists and turns of this bloody, convoluted revenge tale. Jim Azelvandre plays the title role of Titus Andronicus. Although Azelvandre’s portrayal of the doomed Roman general’s angrier scenes were fairly strong, his more comic moments seemed to miss the mark. The audience seemed to be genuinely relieved to have a moment to laugh, only to have that moment snatched away just in time for more yelling and skulking in shadows. Courtney Deuser plays the dethroned/rethroned Tamora, and honestly, watching her scenes was nearly painful for me. Her seduction scene with Tamora’s lover and servant Aaron (Franklin Grace) was particularly unconvincing. Her entire speech was given in monotone, and there did not appear to be any real comprehension of what she was saying. She uses a high-pitched little-girl voice when she’s angling to get her way that is grating and irritating at worst, distracting and ineffective at best. Tamora’s two sons, Chiron and Demetrius (played by Jeff Potts and David Tull, respectively) came across more as interchangeable Beavis-and-Butthead-like randy teenagers than vengeful aristocracy. Another slight disappointment is found in Saturninus (Travis Horesman), the newly appointed emperor of Rome. Horseman affected a British accent throughout the course of a play—presumably a directorial choice that never really made itself clear, especially since the accent seemed to slip into something more resembling Irish from time to time. In addition, his macho posturing eventually became tiresome and predictable. One overarching complaint with this production is that the majority of the characters spend so much time being angry and loud that there is no opportunity for an audience to see even a hint of modulation. For example, even as Titus returns victorious with the prize of Tamora and her three sons, he still seems angrier than might be warranted. Several actors mumbled their way through the speeches, making it difficult to glean which actor was playing which character.

Despite the numerous issues in casting, there were a few bright spots: One of these was Erin Fisher’s Lavinia, Titus’ daughter. Her saucy spunk in her first scenes make up somewhat for the destitution of spirit seen after the rape and subsequent mutilation orchestrated by Chiron and Demetrius. Also strong in a smaller role was Lavinia’s betrothed, Bassianus, played by Joel Dickerson. Although his character is killed after only a handful of scenes, his portrayal was likable and sympathetic. Franklin Grace also shines as the blackguard Aaron, adding a favorable combination of menace and charm to a fairly solid overall performance. The cast is rounded out with John Feather, Paul Moon, Edwyn Williams, Vince Reese, Orel De La Mota, Alex Childs, Sean Reid, and Amy Talbott.

The production crew makes use of an alley-staging set-up that places the audience on each side of the actors’ playing field. Instead of investing in buckets of fake blood for the multiple murders and mutilations that take place, they utilize Doug Northeim’s clever lighting system using LEDs and screen projections to artistically bathe the actors in gore. The set was somewhat a mystery: Marble pillars appear to have patches of brick showing through gaps in the marble. The point of this appears to be artistic in nature—possibly showing the audience that the time is near the fall of the Roman Empire?—however, since these columns were typically constructed of pure marble and not a veneer over brick, the significance was lost on me. Jennifer Feather Youngblood’s costume designs appear fairly authentic for ancient Rome; however, several of the men’s skirts are a bit on the short side (to the point I got an eyeful of a lot more than I’m sure was intended during Bassianus’ murder), and several hems were already showing signs of fraying and unraveling on opening night. I sincerely doubt the Roman aristocracy and military elite would be caught dead—literally or figuratively—wearing the equivalent of old flour sacks coming apart at the seams.

Overall, I found many cringe-worthy moments in this play, and few entertaining ones. I applaud Batt, MadLab, and Shepherd Productions for this new venture, and even though this particular play was not entirely to my taste, I look forward to seeing their next theatrical attempt.

*****
Krista Threadgill spent her childhood following her parents around the Actors Guild of Parkersburg. After that, she wiled away her summers at Jenny Wiley Amphitheater, and she has performed in several local productions. She has an English degree from the Ohio State University.

Jim Azelvandre as Titus (foreground), from left to right David Tull as Demetrius (kneeling), Orel D La Mota as Martius, Sean Reid as Alarbus, Alex Childs as Mutius, Franklin Grace as Aaron, Vince Reese as Quintus, Paul Moon as Lucius, Jeff Potts as Chiron (kneeling)

by Danielle Filas

Although the program credits Shepherd Productions, make no mistake, Titus Andronicus as directed by Andy Batt bleeds 100% MadLab. Not only does the program include many MadLab regulars, this condensed and experimental take on Shakespeare’s bloodiest tragedy echoes the parent company’s unabashedly offbeat aesthetic. The slick alley-style staging barely contains the masculine rock-and-roll energy that hums through the space even before the lights dim.

Titus Andronicus opens with the triumphant return of celebrated general, Titus (Jim Azelvandre), to his Roman home, bearing goth captives Queen Tamora (Courtney Deuser), her three sons, Demetrius (David Tull), Chiron (Jeff Potts), and Alarbus (Sean Reid), and her servant/lover Aaron the Moor (Franklin Grace). Titus finds the empire at a cross-roads. The Roman people want him to fill the role of the recently deceased emperor. Being a devoted subject, however, Titus steps aside so Saturninus (Travis Horseman), the dead emperor’s firstborn son, can become the new ruler. So deep is his dedication to the empire, Titus even offers up his daughter, Lavinia (Erin Fisher), to marry Saturninus in spite of her betrothal to Bassianus (Joel Dickerson). The descent to tragedy begins when his brother Marcus (John Feather) and sons, Lucius (Paul Moon), Quintus (Vince Reese), Martius (Orel De La Mota), and Mutius (Alex Childs), defy Titus to help Lavinia and Bassianus escape. The plot thickens, too, when Titus allows Lucius to kill Alarbus, inspiring Tamora, Demetrius, Chiron, and Aaron to plot revenge.

Batt paints in broad strokes. He seems to feel most comfortable with scenes that depict misogyny, aggression, and dark humor. Unfortunately, these broad strokes obliterate the subtle humanity necessary to keep Shakespeare’s most violent characters from devolving into villainous caricatures. Batt directs his actors to stomp about Doug Northeim’s set glaring through their eyebrows and shouting through clenched teeth. Even veteran performer Azelvandre becomes so enamored with his own leering and maniacal laughter that he forgets Titus’ fatal flaw lies in blind devotion to an undeserving empire and not in the desire to simply kick some ass. Even more two-dimensional are Horseman, Tull and Potts whom Batt directs to sustain a macho mania from the first moment to the last, turning their characters into simple cartoon monsters. And with Deuser’s Queen Tamora as a Disney-esque wicked witch, one wonders how moronic the Roman court must be to believe her lies when anyone can clearly see Tamora openly sneering and glowering at everyone in her presence. As written, Aaron the Moor wobbles precariously close to racist stereotype. To fight against this, his nefarious actions ought to be triggered by his treatment as a second-class citizen. Unfortunately, Grace too succumbs to playing the obvious, though it doesn’t seem quite so racist against the backdrop of so many other stock bad guys. The doe-eyed Fisher shows promise with a surprisingly feisty interpretation of her early scenes, but after surviving a brutal rape and mutilation she plays Lavinia’s suffering rather than her determination to exact revenge. Overall, most actors struggle with the poetry and language of the piece, gleaning only a generic sense of scenes while bulldozing the details that help explain the complex and convoluted plot.

If his performances tend toward over-the-top, Batt deftly tackles the daunting technical aspects of a flawed and difficult script. His dramaturg, Kate Tull, trims Shakespeare’s massive list of characters to feature only sixteen actors. Her adaptation, as noted in the program, streamlines the action to two and a half hours by removing “repetitive lines and scenes.” Jennifer Feather Youngblood’s costume design adequately represents the 3rd century A.D. Roman setting, though many of the pieces look unfinished, with loose threads hanging off uneven hemlines. Poor Titus battles an oversized cloak that gets underfoot and makes maneuvering a challenge. Notably, Batt most successfully addresses the script’s notorious onstage violence (choreographed by Jason Speicher) with Northeim’s clever projections and complex light design. Peter Graybeal’s sound design works best when it reflects the impressionistic feel of the lighting, doing away with realistic effects and going instead for emotional ambiance. Though perhaps heavy-handed at times, these stylistic choices do help keep the violence from becoming cheesy and comedic.

Titus Andronicus presented by Shepherd Productions runs at the MadLab Theatre and Gallery through September 17, Thursdays – Saturdays at 8pm, with a 2pm Sunday matinee on September 11. Tickets cost $15 for adults and $10 for students and senior citizens and may be purchased through the company’s website here. For more information call 614.221.5418.

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Danielle Filas serves as a contributing editor to Theatre Vault. She recently moved from Chicago and holds Theatre degrees from Northwestern University and Knox College. You can visit her personal blog by clicking here.