Culture Surfing

AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS: Passepartout (Paul Hester, from left), Phileas Fogg (Tom Key) and Detective Fix (Bill Murphey)

Phileas Fogg, the English gentleman who journeys around the world in 80 days in Jules Verne’s novel of the same name, resembles a modern, 21st-century traveler circumnavigating the globe of 1872. Punctuality and exactitude define Fogg, and he’s capable of such precise estimates of travel times, it’s like his head contains a Wi-Fi connection to Travelocity. In his era, departures relied on the whims of tides and weather that could result in delays of weeks. Fogg’s more like the air commuter who gets impatient when the plane leaves the gate at 6:44 a.m. instead of 6:43.

Given that today you could drive to Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport and book a trip around the world in less than 80 hours, audiences need to put themselves in a pre-Wright Brothers mindset for Theatrical Outfit’s Around the World in 80 Days. Clint Thornton directs a high-spirited, almost giddy production of Mark Brown’s fleet adaptation, which will please anyone who finds a thrill in traveling by rail or steamship.

Continue Reading “Theatrical Outfit runs amazing race Around the World in 80 Days“

(Photo by Chris Bartelski)

Bookmark It

FAST AND FURIOUS: Coty (Eric Mendenhall, left) and Darla (Veronika Duerr)

Theatre in the Square’s comedy Tradin’ Paint, like the theatrical chestnut Educating Rita, depicts a working-class woman who finds empowerment and confidence through learning. While Rita takes place in a university professor’s office in Liverpool, Paint’s action primarily occurs amid the stock car races of Tennessee’s Bristol Motor Speedway.

Written by Catherine Bush, Paint sets a contrast between two women: one who’s in a pit crew, and one who’s just in the pits. Lucky Tibbs (Kate Donadio) runs her racing husband Skeeter Jett’s (Chad Martin) pit crew and serves as a completely capable, small-town feminist icon. Meanwhile, Darla Frye (Veronika Duerr) works as an auto parts clerk and suffers from the neglect of her bitter boyfriend, Coty (Eric Mendenhall). Coty shows less appreciation for Darla than for her fried chicken, the bones of which he throws at the track in a speedway tradition. He’s an ignorant boor, who can’t stand KFC, calling Colonel Sanders a “faggot” for wearing a string tie.

Continue reading “Tradin’ Paint puts female empowerment in driver’s seat”

(Photo by MJ Conboy)

Bookmark It

LIP SERVICE: Dr. Sugar (Joe Sykes, left) and Catharine (Kate Donadio) share some sweets.

When mental patient Catharine Holly declares “I just think I’m dreaming this. It doesn’t seem real,” she offers convenient advice on how to watch Suddenly, Last Summer.

The 1958 play qualifies as one of the weirdest in Tennessee Williams’ canon. It’s the go-to work for detractors who want to decry the playwright’s penchant for overheated extremes of human behavior. When Suddenly touches on lobotomies and sexual predation, it’s just getting warmed up. Actor’s Express’ compelling production, directed by Melissa Foulger, implicitly suggests that audiences relinquish expectations for realistic roles developed in conventional, satisfying ways. It’s more rewarding to view Suddenly, Last Summer as Williams’ act of self-psychotherapy, energized with a kind of climactic cross-examination scene worthy of courtroom drama.

From the outset, Suddenly presents the stage as a mindscape’s dark jungle more than an everyday setting. Fronds hang over the set of a New Orleans mansion’s overgrown garden, full of Venus flytraps and other primordial life forms. Wealthy Mrs. Venable (Shannon Eubanks) explains to young Dr. Cukrowicz (Joe Sykes), aka Dr. Sugar about her beloved, fortyish son Sebastian. Mother and son had the kind of relationship Oedipus would envy. Mrs. Venable holds a grudge against Sebastian’s nubile cousin Catharine (Kate Donadio) for her “child’s” besmirched reputation and death at a tropical hellhole called Cabeza de Lobo, or “Wolf’s Head.” (Symbolism alert!)

Continue reading “Tennessee Williams’ mind games have Sudden impact”

Bookmark It