Sherry Shameer Cohen - Page 4

Tiny house. Big commotion.

Is there anything Joanna Gleason can't do and do well? Nothing that we can think of. Area theatergoers will no doubt want to see Gleason host 'Winter at the Playhouse: A Holiday Benefit Concert' in Westport in December. The Tony Award winner (as Best Actress in a Musical in Into the Woods) will bring her vocal group of three singers called The Moontones and will head a cast of Broadway performers including some Westport Country Playhouse alumni.

The world premiere translation and adaptation of Moliere's Don Juan is the closing play of the season at the Westport Country Playhouse. It's performed in modern dress, but the book is overly faithful to the original story of the narcissistic womanizer (played well by Nick Westrate). Warning: this is a hard play to like because Don Juan is not likeable and because some of it is vulgar and unnecessary. Nor can Don Juan command any respect because of the way he treats everyone, not just women. There were some patrons who walked out during the intermission. It was their loss to miss out on the rest of the play, which was worth seeing for Bhavesh Patel, who stole the show as Sganarelle, Don Juan's servant. He's a human mop, underpaid and having to clean up his master's messes.

Racism and homophobia reign in 1950s Houston, the setting of Ricardo Pérez González's world premiere of On the Grounds of Belonging. The play begins as white drag queen Thomas Aston (Jeremiah Clapp) from whites only gay bar, The Red Room, hides from a raid at The Gold Room, a blacks only gay bar. Thomas falls head over his high heels for Russell Montgomery (Calvin Leon Smith), a quiet, erudite journalist who has a not too distant past with fellow patron Henry Stanfield (Blake Anthony Morris). But against the advice of bar manager Hugh Williams (Thomas Silcott), Thomas and Rusty begin a serious love affair. This is not a good time or place to be an interracial gay couple, but their biggest threat is Henry, who bashes Thomas in the head out of jealousy and hurt. Mooney Fitzpatrick (Craig Bockhorn), the gay and bigoted owner of the two gay bars, tells Russell that Thomas, whom he loved like a son, died of his wounds. He threatens to lynch the person who killed him. Sounds a bit like Romeo and Juliet, but neither character dies at the end. They are just separated seemingly forever. Rounding out this excellent ensemble is Tanya Starr (Tracey Conyer Lee), a torch singer at The Gold Room, who helps Henry escape. All the cast members are genuine in their roles, playing them without stereotypes. You can't help but feel their loneliness. Bockhorn is chilling as a man who, with his partner, took in a very young orphaned Thomas, yet is vindictive enough to lynch someone. Lee is a talented singer as well as actress.

Lynn Nottage's powerful play, Mlima's Tale, which opened at the Westport Country Playhouse is a bit of a theatrical departure. It is an ensemble play that is not really character driven, but rather a linear narrative of the illegal poaching of elephants. Nevertheless, it is a must-see play for its informative story and superb performances.

Don't miss this tour-de-force performance by the multi-talented Hershey Felder.

Choreographer Doug Shankman makes the dance his own in this energetic production of a long-time favorite.

All Berlin's iconic songs and a background you may not know.

Dominique Morisseau's Skeleton Crew, the third of her Detroit trilogy of plays, opened at the Westport Country Playhouse. The theater company lives up to its tag line, 'Theater worth talking about,' in this powerfully written and well-acted ensemble play.

A lot can happen in 15 years.

Don't let Greek history and mythology intimidate you. This excellent play has a tour de force performance by Rachel Christopher, who just might be the world's greatest but underdiscovered actress.

Nia Vardalos and Cheryl Strayed offer good advice for life.

See one of your favorite Broadway shows in a world class concert hall. Stars Broadway performers Evy Ortiz and Bronson Norris Murphy.

Keep Miller, Mississippi on your theatre radar.

If you think doing a one-person show is hard enough, try doing it as both a thespian and a musician.

A decidedly different tale of surviving the Holocaust.

Kelly McAndrew delivers three incredible performances as grieving moms.

The national issue of gun violence is brought to the Westport Country Playhouse in the world premiere of Matthew Greene's Thousand Pines, directed by Austin Pendleton.

Here's an odd couple for you. Warm, inviting, trusting Midwesterner Sharon (Linda Powell) and shadowy, cautious, tough-as-nails Robyn (Tasha Lawrence), whose last known residence was The Bronx. One suspects that Sharon, a 50something divorcee could use some extra money and, perhaps, some company. Robyn, also a divorcee and now self-proclaimed lesbian, needs some space from her shady past. Both have varying estranged relationships with their children (voiceovers by Isaac Bloodworth as Sharon's son and Moira Malone as Robyn's daughter).

Gisela Adisa just might be the next big name in theatre. A 2018 nominee for the Barrymore Awards for Outstanding Supporting Performance for Lights Out: Nat King Cole, she's got talent to spare, she's gorgeous, she's articulate, she's funny, and she's bold. She's appeared on Broadway in Beautiful and in the national tour of Sister Act. BroadwayWorld.com just had to get to know her better. Her first name is pronounced JEEZ-ela. Remember that. Catch her as she winds up her role as the definitive Aldonza in Man of La Mancha at the Westport Country Playhouse (www.westportplayhouse).