MARK AUERBACH
2015 and The Arts: The Year in Review in Three Acts
Act III: My Favorite Performances
There were some star turns this year. Jeff McCarthy did a superb Don Quixote in Barrington Stage’s “Man of La Mancha”, and Kevin Bacon made Hartford Stage’s “Rear Window” a hot ticket. Three productions had outstanding ensemble performances, where everyone in the show worked seamlessly together. Cheers to Springfield Symphony Maestro Kevin Rhodes who gave a star turn every time he took to the podium. And, it was fun to see wacky WWLP weather man Brian Lapis give a suave song and dance performance as Emcee Fred Kelley in “The Big Broadcast”, the annual Jazz Ensembles of Mount Holyoke College’s live radio show. Kudos to the casts of “Christmas
On The Rocks” at TheaterWorks, “The Laramie Project” at Connecticut Repertory Theatre, “The Homecoming” at Berkshire Theatre Group, and “Les Cagelles” in Goodspeed’s “La Cage Aux Folles.” Great ensemble efforts!
My Favorite Performances
Andrew Benator, as Ever in Dancing Lessons at Theaterworks
Andrew Benator of Dancing Lessons at TheaterWorks in Hartford
Benator played a high-functioning but socially inept man with Asperger’s in a two character comedy/drama, where he begins a relationship with a dancer. He was sympathetic, awkward, quirky, funny, and so poignant, particularly in the scenes where he discovers intimacy. The audience cheered him on.
Felicia Boswell as Aldonza in Man of La Mancha at Barrington Stage
Boswell, who came to Pittsfield from the Broadway production of “Motown The Musical”, brought a street-smart, earthy presence to the role, whose original creator, Joan Diener, played as an operatic diva. Boswell’s energy was transfixing.
Tara Franklin as Ruth in The Homecoming, Berkshire Theatre Group
Tara Franklin from Berkshire Theatre Group’s The Homecoming.
Tara Franklin is a semi-regular at Berkshire Theatre Group, because Eric Hill frequently casts her in plays he directs–for good reason. She was riveting in “The Homecoming”, who really thought through the idiosyncracies of a difficult character. She’s easy on the eyes and the ears, and I found her the most fascinating actor onstage in a very well-cast and performed ensemble.
Mona Golabek, as Lisa Jura in The Pianist of Willisden Lane at Hartford Stage
Mona Golabek, turned her mother’s story into a play, a powerful drama about an aspiring concert pianist sent by her parents on a Kindertransport from Vienna to London in World War II. Golabek combined strong acting talents with a virtuoso piano performance of some of the most beloved pieces of music in the classical repertoire. Her performance had heart and soul, and I thought about her performance for a long time after seeing the show.
Chester Martin as Aaron McKinney, Rev. Fred Phelps, and and other roles in The Laramie Project at Connecticut Repertory Theatre
Chester Martin of Connecticut Repertory Theatre’s The Laraie Project
Sometimes you see an up-and-coming actor and know that he or she is destined for big things. Chester Martin, an upperclassman at UConn, played some difficult roles in Connecticut Repertory Theatre’s “The Laramie Project” – Matthew Shepard’s unrepentent murderer an Westboro Baptist Church’s Fred Phelps. In a tight ensemble cast, he stood out as an actor with real potential, and he held his own among a cast of professional actors, and more experienced students.
Sean McLaughlin, Dr. Carrasco in Man of La Mancha at Barrington Stage
I’d seen McLaughlin in the national tour of “Evita” (he gave, frankly the best performance in that). So, it was nice to see him in a completely different role in Barrington Stage’s “Man of La Mancha”. He’s another on-the-way up actor I hope to see in subsequent productions.
Mamie Parris as Lily Garland in, On The Twentieth Century on Broadway
Mamie Parris, Goodspeed alum, in On The Twentieth Century on BroadwAy
A friend and I had gone to Broadway to see Kristin Chenoweth in “On The Twentieth Century”, but it was understudy day, and several leads, including Chenoweth, were out. I remembered her understudy Mamie Parris from Goodspeed’s production of “The Most Happy Fella”. We decided to see the show, because it was too late to try to get tickets for something else. Well, Parris was divine in the part of the diva Lily Garland. She acted, sang and danced the role, in my mind, better than Chenoweth (who I saw a couple of weeks later). She’s currently starring in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “School of Rock”. I hope she finds the accolades she really deserves.
Jamison Stern from Goodspeed’s La Cage Aux Folles
Jamison Stern as Albin/Zaza in La Cage Aux Folles, at Goodspeed Musicals
Albin is a tough character in “La Cage Aux Folles”, an aging drag queen who is the life of the party, until his partner’s son comes home with a fiancee, and wants Albin and all things gay toned down for her conservative parents. Albin also gets the show’s uplifting anthem, “I Am What I Am”. Stern balanced the onstage “Zaza” with the offstage Albin, sang from the heart, and was the core of the production. His was a star-turn performance.
And A Few Other Notes
Kudos to the Mark Twain House and Museum, the Yiddish Book Center, and the UMass Fine Arts Center for innovative programming. Thanks to the audiences who supported a wealth of programming in our area and bigger thanks to those who shut off their cell phones during a performance. Thank you also to the publicists of the area theatres and performance venues who help me bring good arts reports to you–in particular, Elisa Hale at Goodspeed Musicals, David Cash at the Mark Twain House, David Henderson at Hartford Stage and Paul Marte at The Bushnell. I’m so appreciative.
Mark G. Auerbach studied theatre at American University and the Yale School of Drama. He’s worked for arts organizations and reported on theatre for newspapers and radio.
