“We are hosting secondary auditions and call backs on Sat. Jan 14th starting at noon for Moliere’s School for Husbands, a cast of nine.
Here is classical theater at it’s funniest, wisest, and most engaging ever. In the battle of the sexes, who trains who? Brothers, Sganarelle and Ariste are guardians to two sisters, Isabelle and Léonor. The brothers have two very different theories of how to …school their wards. The stern and repressive upbringing that Sganarelle imposes on his charge is in direct contrast to the loving treatment his brother, Ariste gives to his own young ward. Molière deliciously shows us that Sganarelle’s folly is no match for a woman’s resourcefulness. We hope to have a great turnout. ”

For location and other information, see http://www.thevillageplayers.org/

Bell, Book, and Candle is a product of the 1950s, and it is one of those plays in which the New York City characters live inexplicably lavish lives in a very expensive city. I take that back: in this play the extravagance and luxury in which many of the characters live – including the lead character Gillian (Kate Abu-Absi) – is explained by their ability to control some aspects of reality (including their financial condition and material quality of life) through witchcraft. To summarize, the play tells the story of a relationship between Gillian and Shep (Matthew Gretzinger) that begins through a love spell placed on Shep by Gillian an which meets troubled times when Shep discovers he has been enchanted. It’s a catchy story that is easy for the audience to sink it’s teeth into, and the script is loaded with quick laugh moments.

Overall, the cast worked quite well as an ensemble. Abu-Absi should be noted for conveying a true transformation of her character, as she moved from cynical witch to sincere, loving human being. Both Abu-Absi and Gretzinger moved refreshingly away from the light tone that is often taken in 1950s comedies of this sort, by producing characters who are haunted by some rather realistic emotional turmoil. By playing against the script in this way, Gretzinger produced a deeper level of emotional truth and character than one might expect from a light, romantic comedy. (In case you have any questions, this is a positive statement.)

Unlike Abu-Absi and Gretzinger, the other actors in the play agreed with the tone of the script did. Although it must be admitted that this made it seem at times as if the other characters lived in a different dramatic world – a more surface and less sincere one – this was not inappropriate. For all of the other characters in the play – Nicky (John DuVall), Queenie (Jennifer Lake), and Sidney Redlitch (John Paul Welch) – did in fact seem to run in circles of people who suppressed their true selves and lived to manipulate the world on the basis of their own selfish interests. This distinction between the lead characters and the supporting cast did a great deal to emphasize the human aspects of the romantic relationship that drives the plot of Bell, Book, and Candle.

One final note: the set that Ryan Bernard Tymensky designed for  the play was wonderful. I found it mesmerizing with its puzzle-like wall of suspended shelves that were loaded with interesting objects and special lighting. The maroon-tone of the apartment was strangely appealing to the eye. Tymensky made great use of the available space on the stage, and his upward-moving shelf design authentically reflected the creative use of space that New Yorkers employ to deal with their tight surroundings.

Bell, Book, and Candle is sure to delight fans of light romantic comedy and witchery.

The show runs four more times: 17, 18, 19, 20, 2011.

For times, tickets, and address information go to: http://www.toledorep.org/shows/current.htm

Deadly Murder tells the story of Camille Dargus, who has fought her way up from humble beginnings to a glittering Manhattan lifestyle. She has beauty, brains, wealth, and a successful career as a jewelry designer for the leading lights of New York society. One night at a society gala she meets Billy, a handsome young waiter, and brings him back to her Soho apartment. But there’s more to Billy than meets the eye. Full of twists and turns, bluffs and double bluffs, this brilliantly intricate thriller will be one step ahead of you all the way!

For more information about The Village Players and Deadly Murder see: http://thevillageplayers.org/Deadly%20Murder.htm

Juan C. Rodriquez (Oberon - above); Starr Chellsea Cutino (Hermia), and Brian J. Prudue (Lysander) in Cornel Gabara's production of Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream. (Produced by the University of Toledo Department of Theatre and Film.)

Cornel Gabara’s vision for Midsummer Night’s Dream is a refreshing and highly entertaining interpretation of the famous play that, as last night’s production at the Valentine Theatre proved, is compelling and hilarious to audience members of all ages. Gabara, the cast, the and design team seem to have captured something of the timeless humor that makes this one of the most often produced of the Bard’s plays.

Everything from the modernist and simplistic set - with its abstractly-phallic memorial and gargantuan, Luna-invoking moon – to the sharp, human, and well-polished performances of the University of Toledo student actors emphasizes one of the central questions of this play: With all of the madness that accompanies the process of falling in love, how do people ever make a wise decision regarding who to take on as a life partner?

I must note that the final performance of the mechanicals was one of the funniest and most convincing I have ever seen – the audiences was rolling with laughter and applauding with glee at their exquisitely-executed antics. The comical rage and tension between Hermia and Helena was embodied with the utmost comical truth.

The truth within this comic production was also enhanced through the emphasis of ludicrous aspects of daily life. For instance, the four young lovers send their messages to one another via texting on blackberries, rather than the traditional letters or offstage discussions.

This is an excellent version of Midsummer Night’s Dream. If you want to be transported to a new and wondrous realm of fairyland, see the show before it closes on November 6.

Remaining performances Saturday, Nov. 5, at 7:30 p.m and Sunday, Nov. 6 at 2 p.m.

Tickets for “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” at the Valentine Theatre are $20 for premium seats, $15 for floor seats and $10 for balcony/loge.

Season tickets, season flex passes and group ticket discounts are available online at utoledo.edu/boxoffice, by phone at 419.530.2375 and at the Center for Performing Arts Box Office.

To read the UT News coverage of the production, which includes comments from the director, see: http://utnews.utoledo.edu/index.php/11_02_2011/a-midsummer-night-dream-to-open-at-valentine-theatre

Edmund B. Lingan is a director of theatre, a theatre and performance art historian, and an Assistant Professor of Theatre at the University of Toledo’s Department of Theatre and Film. He received his PhD. in theatre from the Graduate Center of the City University of New York in 2006 and moved to Toledo, OH in 2007.

The play opens Thursday, 11/4 and it runs thereafter on November  5, 11, 12, 13, 17, 18, 19, and 20.

Toledo Repertoire Theatre – Address:16 10th St.,Toledo, OH 43604  – Phone: (419) 243-9277

For more information see: http://www.toledorep.org/shows/1112/bellbookcandle.htm 

This a great opportunity to see Shakespeare in Toledo from the angle of an excellent director who has worked and trained with some of the world’s most renowned experimental dirctors.

The opening night performance will be Friday, Nov. 4, at 7:30 p.m. There also will be a performance Saturday, Nov. 5, at 7:30 p.m. The Sunday, Nov. 6, performance will be at 2 p.m.

In addition, the University will present two daytime matinees prior to opening night for schools and groups at special discounted rates. They will be held Thursday and Friday, Nov. 3 and 4, at 9:30 a.m. Groups must reserve seats in advance.

Tickets for “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” at the Valentine Theatre are $20 for premium seats, $15 for floor seats and $10 for balcony/loge.

Season tickets, season flex passes and group ticket discounts are available online at utoledo.edu/boxoffice, by phone at 419.530.2375 and at the Center for Performing Arts Box Office.

To read the UT News coverage of the production, which includes comments from the director, see: http://utnews.utoledo.edu/index.php/11_02_2011/a-midsummer-night-dream-to-open-at-valentine-theatre

Artist Ricardo Quiñónez Alemán will open his installation art exhibition “Dia de los Muertos” (Day of the Dead) on Saturday November 5th 2011. From 6:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. The installation will take place at La Galeria de las Americas (1222-1224 Broadway St., south end, Toledo, OH 43609).

The exhibit will  run from November 5 until November 30, 2011.

PERFORMERS WANTED

Actors (preferably with dance skills), musicians and dancers wanted for a performance celebrating the Winter Solstice at the Toledo

Museum of Art. The date will be December 16, evening or December 17 or 18 in the afternoon. Come work with a great group of people!

Contact Jill at: jberkana@bex.net

“Sober – adj, 1. temperate, esp. in the use of liquor; 2. not drunk; 3. serious, reasonable, sedate, etc; 4. not flashy, plain, as color, clothes, etc.”

The Performance Laboratory’s next show will be on December 16th, The SOBER Show. Propose a performance idea by emailing performancelab@thecaid.org.

The Performance Laboratory is housed at  the Contemporary Art Institute of Detroit (5141 Rosa Parks Blvd., Detroit, MI). This is an ideal situation for performance artists, media artists, and multimedia artists who have work in development in South Michigan  and North Ohio.

Oh, they need audiences too.
Be warned – this is not for the kids – or overly sensitive adults. The Performance Laboratory lives on the edge.

For more information see:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Performance-Laboratory/139602749441643

Anyone interested in performing should contact the Performance Laboratory at:

performancelab@thecaid.org

For more information about the Contemporary Art Institute of Detroit, see:

http://www.thecaid.org/

Edmund B. Lingan is a director of theatre, a theatre and performance art historian, and an Assistant Professor of Theatre at the University of Toledo’s Department of Theatre and Film. He got his PhD. in theatre from the Graduate Center of the City University of New York in 2006 and moved to Toledo, OH in 2007.

Detroit’s Performance Laboratory is a performance development incubator. As far as performers and audiences are concerned: it will appeal most to the adventurous souls who long to journey to the edge of art, to the interdisciplinary urban wilderness of expression where anything – and I do believe I mean “anything” – can happen. Last night a satanic high priest disguised as a 1950s housewife apparently sacrificed several fresh tomatoes with a claw hammer while a kitchen timer ticked away. A bassist projected stories of the beginning and end of the universe, and played the complete birth and death of the universe in 13 minutes and change. A monologue artist simulated masturbation on the stage, and followed this with a monologue that expressed her fear that her family may only learn to accept her lesbianism in the afterlife. A novelist crawled into the room, zombified and dressed in decaying black tails, and spoke of wild ruminations that are too complex to discuss here. And all of this is FREE, for god’s sake. Emilia Javanica and Carrie Elizabeth Morris, who are the co-curators of the Performance Laboratory, only ask for donations after the show. It was the most low pressure call for financial support I’ve ever seen.

In short, the Performance Laboratory is a classic performance art development program. It is democratic in every way: anyone can afford to see it. Anyone can perform there. Anyone who lives on the borders of art and life should be chomping at the bit to put in a proposal for performance (they are always happy to put newcomers on the stage) and gearing up to race to 5141 Rosa Parks Blvd., the location of the Contemporary Art Institute of Detroit, which houses the Performance Laboratory. Performance artists, media artists, and multimedia artists of all kinds in  South Michigan  and North Ohio have a home at the Performance Laboratory. They have a place to find like-minded artists, and get to know who else out there is treading the boards in an experimental and unpredictable way.

If you want to see something fascinating, daring, in development, and pleasingly off-balanced on a regular basis, you should become a devoted audience member of the bi-monthly Performance Laboratory shows. They need you. They deserve you. Go.

For more information about the Performance Laboratory, see their Facebook page:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Performance-Laboratory/139602749441643

Anyone interested in performing should contact the Performance Laboratory at:

performancelab@thecaid.org

For more information about the Contemporary Art Institute of Detroit, see:

http://www.thecaid.org/

Edmund B. Lingan is a director of theatre, a theatre and performance art historian, and an Assistant Professor of Theatre at the University of Toledo’s Department of Theatre and Film. He got his PhD. in theatre from the Graduate Center of the City University of New York in 2006 and moved to Toledo, OH in 2007.