I have many friends of all ages with a diverse set of interests, from going to the Jersey shore to going around the world, from reading to music, from arts to exercise, from movies to sports. Lots of them enjoy many of these activities but I’ve rarely encountered a person who loves both theater and football. I happen to be one of those odd freaks and my friend Gary Papa, the sports anchor for ABC in Philadelphia before he passed away 16 years ago, was another.  So, I was most curious to finally see the play, “Tommy and Me,” about a sportswriter who labored long and hard to get his Eagles hero, Tommy McDonald, into the football Hall of Fame. Would this make for good theater, I wondered. The answer is most definitely yes!

            The playwright, Ray Didinger, has been a sportswriter and sports commentator for decades. Growing up in the Philadelphia area, he was an avid fan of the Philadelphia Eagles. He was more than that- he was a bit of a sports nerd who knew minute details about every aspect of the game. In “Tommy and Me,” we meet two Rays, the adult and the child, and they converse throughout the play as the boy serves as a sort of conscience, but also as the crazy fan that he was. And as we learn about the neglect of McDonald for Hall of Fame consideration, we are constantly amused by the Didinger duo.

            Tommy McDonald was short and light of weight. He was laughed at and ignored in high school and college until he made the teams and set records. He did the same for the Eagles and was a star in the Eagles championship game against the Green Bay Packers in 1960.  (When I watched the Eagles playoff game against the Packers this year, they had a short clip of McDonald making the game winning catch). That was the final year of the great Norm Van Brocklin at quarterback. The next year, Sonny Jurgensen took the reins and McDonald continued to shine until a new coach entered the picture, traded away McDonald, and the team fell apart.

He spent the next few years being traded to several teams before he retired. He was also a bit of a weird character.  But he was always a kind person, as evidenced when we meet the young McDonald interacting with the young Didinger in Hershey, Pa., where the Eagles went to train and where the passionate Didinger family went to watch.

Didinger campaigned for McDonald’s entry into the Hall of Fame for decades. But my favorite moments (and there were many) came from watching Tom Teti portray the silly, funny, but real McDonald. I loved when the boy says to his grown self “sometimes I can’t believe I grew up and became you.” I loved learning so much about the man in so many entertaining stories.

And what a powerful cast it is! Teti, a veteran actor at People’s Light and all around the Philadelphia region, is outstanding in giving both the nuance and the humor. Matt Pfeiffer, who I know more as an area director, is perfect as the straight man. And Christian Giancaterino was marvelous as the young Tommy. He’s got a great future in theater!

Joe Canuso first produced and directed this play at Theatre Exile as he worked with Didinger almost ten years ago to put in on the stage. It has played in several theaters since, and it is a delight to see it on the People’s Light stage. After each show, Canuso, Didinger, and the cast come on stage to answer questions, another lovely highlight… And lest I forget, McDonald is in the football Hall of Fame, the smallest player. As for his acceptance speed, you gotta see it on the stage.

“Tommy and Me” by Ray Didinger at People’s Light, 39 Conestoga Rd., Malvern, PA 19355, 610-644-3500, peopleslight.org   Extended thru thru February 1, 2025

            “Kiss Me, Kate” opened on Broadway in 1948. With music and lyrics by Cole Porter, it was a modern version of Shakespeare’s “The Taming of the Shrew.“  A year after its premier, it won the very first Tony Award for best musical. Despite its popularity around the world for 75 years, I’d never seen it nor the 1953 movie. I was looking forward to seeing the current production at Quintessence based on the 1999 revival, I was blown away. The actors, the singers, the songs that I knew but didn’t realize that they came from “Kiss Me, Kate,” were a joy to experience. And the powerful direction and choreography by Todd Underwood was outstanding.

From the research I did before the show, I learned that it was inspired by the struggles of Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne, a famed acting couple, during the production of “The Taming of the Shrew” in 1935.  The book, written by Sam and Bella Spewack tells a story of a divorced and estranged couple that are about to play Petruchio and Katherine (Kate) in a production of “The Taming of the Shrew” in 1948. The story shifts back and forth between “Shrew” and the real-life scenes backstage at the theater where there are a few romantic stories that are more than just subplots.

In the play, Lilli Vanessi is cast to play Kate opposite Fred Graham, Vanessi’s estranged ex-husband. While she is angry at him, she occasionally seems to hope they can rekindle something. But he is going after the young Lois Lane (no connection to Superman), a beautiful woman who is a bit of an airhead and who appears to have had many lovers and is seeking the role of Bianca to rise above her past. She toys with Graham but connects with Bill, who is seeking the role of Lucentio, while hiding from gangsters for a big gambling debt. Lots of story, but it’s not really that complicated when you see it on the stage.

            Right from the start, we are drawn into Cole Porter’s memorable songs with “Another Openin’ Another Show” by the company. And what a company it is! And as much as I enjoyed the solos of Porter’s masterpiece, I was incredibly impressed with Underwood’s moving the performers about the set flawlessly despite the complicated nature of the action and the small stage, while they sing the delightful Porter songs.

            As for the songs- “Why Can’t You Behave, Wunderbar, So in Love, We Open in Venice, Tom, Dick or Harry, and I Hate Men”- these were just some of the songs in the first act! “Too Darn Hot” leads off the second act which has others that are classics too. And it was a joy to simply watch them sing and move. So many varied characters portrayed so expertly.

            I saw it the day after the press opening and the female lead playing Lilli Vanessi, Jennie Eisenhower, was ill and the role was played by understudy, Lyse Langley. A fine actor with a beautiful voice, I’d never have known she was an understudy were it not for the statement before the play began. I’m sure it is just as powerful with Eisenhower who was brilliant when she played Dolly Levi in “Hello Dolly” last year at Act II Playhouse. Unfortunately, Chris Cherrin, the male lead who portrayed Fred Graham and Petruchio was not as strong. He had neither the voice nor the presence as Langley or the others in the cast.

            I thoroughly enjoyed Renee McFillin as Lois Lane. She didn’t play it in an over-the-top style where others might have. Yet her voice, her movement on stage was mesmerizing. And as a member of the ensemble, I couldn’t take my eyes off the dancing moves of Ian Coulter Buford.

Two of the guys in men’s ensemble doubled as gangsters and they were a riot. The costumes by Summer Lee Jack were first rate, and the flexible set by John Raley was most creative.

            This production of “Kiss Me, Kate,” is a must see for anyone who loves old Broadway shows and Cole Porter.  Kudos to Producing Artistic Director Alexander Burns for bringing this classic to the Quintessence stage and to Todd Underwood for giving it such life.

“Kiss Me, Kate” Book by Sam & Bella Spewack, Music and Lyrics by Cole Porter at Quintessence Theatre, 7137 Germantown Ave., Philadelphia, PA 19119, 215-987-4450, quintessencetheatre.org   Thru January 5, 2025

Tony Braithwaite has done it again! Last year’s sold-out run of “Christmas in the Catskills” was so successful that Act II is bringing another installation of the comedy of the 1950’s and 60’s in the Catskill Mountains, to the stage at Act II Playhouse. It was outstanding. Braithwaite is remarkable in portraying so many comedy legends- some for only one or two lines, others for a very short routine of jokes- that for 85 minutes, you are totally captivated while laughing your head off!

            It begins with a short comedic song, The Borscht Belt Song, as Braithwaite, accompanied by the outstanding pianist on stage, Dan Matarazzo, prepares us for what is to come while telling jokes. After all, the Catskills in upstate New York, was referred to as the Borscht Belt. Braithwaite tells us that it was like the Bible Belt for Jews. That’s where, when Jews weren’t allowed into so many resorts and hotels elsewhere in the country, they created their own community and where Jews could enjoy lodging, food, recreational sports, and entertainment, particularly comedians. From the Yiddish stage to Vaudeville to the Catskills, Braithwaite gives us a ton of them!

            Whoever heard of Nathan Birnbaum, Melvin Kaminsky, Benjamin Kubelsky, Joan Molinsky, Yaakov Moshe Maza, or Jacob Cohen? I could name dozens more. These were the given names of George Burns, Mel Brooks, Jack Benny, Joan Rivers, Jackie Mason, and Rodney Dangerfield.  These are a few of the many that Braithwaite has researched to discover the jokes and monologues as he brings them to us with their voices. Dressed in his own black suit and bow tie, he still manages to become these comedians as he throws out their one-liners at us. 

            There were jokes with sexual innuendos, jokes about Jewish mothers, jokes about simply living. From materials from the 2000-year-old man of Mel Brooks and Carl Reiner to the “I don’t get no respect” of Rodney Dangerfield to “Can We Talk” of Joan Rivers,” he tosses out lines from Mort Sahl, Phyllis Diller, Buddy Hackett, Danny Kaye, and Jerry Lewis.

            I will not begin to try to relate the many jokes, but they were not only uproariously funny, they were smart as well. In my review last year, I confessed to laughing out loud often. I was laughing even more this time.

            Interspersed between the routines, were two other aspects of the show. Before it began, audience members were asked to fill out brief cards of any memories they had of vacations in the Catskills. Then, he is presented with those cards on stage and his fast ad-lib responses were also a riot. In addition, there were a few very brief clips of people on a screen who gave their responses to questions about their stays at Grossinger’s, Kutsher’s, The Concord, The Nevele, or Browns, five of the many resorts for Jewish travelers, known for their quality. It was fun to watch.

            The team of Braithwaite, Matarazzo, Nick Cardillo, and Patricia G. Sabato did and extraordinary job of collecting materials and piecing them together for this year’s production. Sadly for theater goers, I learned that the entire run has already sold out. I would recommend buying a season subscription to Act II because they do such great work with all their shows. And I hope they stage “Christmas in the Catskills” next year, with even more jokes.

“Christmas in the Catskills 2: A Star is Borscht” created by Tony Braithwaite, Nick Cardillo, Dan Matarazzo, and Patricia G. Sabato at Act II Playhouse, 56 E. Butler Avenue., Ambler, PA 19002, 215-654-0200,   act2.org   thru December 29, 2024

“Othello” was a play first produced in London in 1604 about a powerful Moor living in Venice and married to the beautiful Desdemona. He becomes jealous when the disreputable Iago falsely tells him that his wife is unfaithful. This classic by William Shakespeare runs over 3 hours with 3 intermissions and is still performed all over the world.

 “American Moor” is an 85-minute play, billed as “a poetic exploration of Shakespeare, race, and America, with no intermission.” It is about a 52-year-old veteran African-American actor who is auditioning for the role of Othello before a young white director with an MFA in theater. It raises many relevant issues about acting and directing but is much deeper as it expresses the inner conflict of the actor who is nameless and just referred to in the program as the Actor.

It begins with the lights on in the theater as the Actor (Phillip Brown), breaks the 4^th wall and tells us of his love of theater, especially the works of Shakespeare.  We learn that his American dream is stymied by what he sees as white racists who run the American theater scene. He would love to play Hamlet, Richard II, or Romeo but he is only considered for minor roles as servants or supporting characters. When people met this 6’3” man, the first question they always asked was “did you play basketball.” And when they learned that he was an actor, they’d ask “did you play Othello?” He avoided that role. When asked by Billy, the director who was auditioning him what roles he would have liked to play, he tells the young man, Titania in “Midsummer Night’s Dream.” Her lines spoke to him. Also, it is less about playing a woman than it is about breaking out of the stereotypical role in which he feels Black actors have been cast. But after 30 years in the business, he will take a shot at Othello.

The Actor is arrogant at times. Does he dare play it the way he sees it, or will he bow to the young director’s interpretation? He is resentful that Billy (Thane Madsen), is trying to tell him, a Black man, how to portray a Black man. Whose interpretation is more relevant?

Other times, when Billy is not present, the Actor goes off on rants full of cursing to the audience about his frustration. We feel for him. And it raises questions for us about who is qualified to direct whom that go beyond race. How does it feel for an experienced older actor to be directed by some young hot-shot kid? Can a man direct a play about women? In fact, when Shakespeare wrote the play, women weren’t even allowed on the stage and their roles were played by men. The original Othello was played by a white man. And one question not raised was how the Actor can respect Shakespeare so much when the white bard of Avon was writing about a Black man.  There is much to think about.

I did have some problems with the production when the Actor spewed out many of his lines, so rapidly at times and so soft at other times, in Lantern’s theater in the ¾ round, that I couldn’t make out what he was saying, and it was an effort to listen. I wished director Kash Goins, who has directed many outstanding plays in the Philadelphia area, would have slowed the Actor down of upped his volume when his back was to my side of the stage.

“American Moor” was first staged in 2019 and starred its author, Keith Hamilton Cobb who is 6’3”. He’s traveled with it to many locations. This production had Phillip Brown, who man not be as tall as Cobb, but who does a fine job with Cobb’s play.

“American Moor” by Keith Hamilton Cobb at Lantern Theater Company at St. Stephen’s Theater, 923 Ludlow St., Philadelphia, PA 19107. 215-829-0399   lanterntheater.org  thru December 8, 2024

A National Football League team has just signed a successful running back, Luis Moreno, who had four all star years before being out for a season with a torn ACL. His contract is more than any other running back in NFL history.

It is 2016, before the opening of the last preseason football game, and in a game that we don’t see, we learn that Colin Kaepernick of the San Francisco 49ers took a knee when they started playing the “Star Spangled Banner.” His goal was to use that social platform to bring to the attention of the many viewers, the issues of the oppression of people of color and of police brutality. Much of the country was infuriated by what they felt was his act of disrespect toward flag and country.

From these two events, emerge stories and substories about four teammates in the locker room as they try to come to grips with their own pasts and their futures. “Moreno,” by Pravin Wilkin, is a powerful drama on the stage at InterAct Theatre and it is both captivating and entertaining.

When he arrives, Moreno meets the defensive captain Ezekiel Williams, (Charvez Grant) who has been on the team for ten years. He was a part of the Super Bowl winning teams of the past. But he has questions about his meaning in life, not having followed the pattern his parents. They were Black Panther activists, who saw his being a professional football player as little more than a form of slavery with money. There is Cre’von Garcon (Abdul Sesay), a younger player who tries to be a peacemaker. And there is the white quarterback, Danny Lombardo (Gabriel W. Elmore), who only cares about one thing- winning. Can the new man coming off his injury help that goal?

It is an ethnically missed group- two African Americans, a white guy, and the new star, a Mexican-American, born in the United States from a mother who came when she was a child. He is happy to be making the big bucks, though the veteran Williams has been asked to take a pay cut to help finance the signing.

There are the usual conflicts about who’s in charge- the man making all the money or the quarterback captain. How much respect does the new guy get? Through all the banter there is tons of cursing albeit in the context of locker room chatter. And then, there is the issue of where each player stands on the Colin Kaepernick decision to kneel down. Is it a matter of principle or is it the fear of getting put off the team and losing their hefty incomes that determine their decisions?

It is the emotion of these four football players, who come from different backgrounds, that make this such a strong play. Though each one asks of himself what is the best course, even their positions change as they are affected by outside events. We feel for them.

Pravin-Williams has written a play that may seem simple at first but is most complex in giving us these very complicated men. And Directors Seth Rozin and J. Paul Nicholas have cast and directed four strong actors to present the story on the eve of Trump’s first presidency and the month after. Making its U.S. debut, “Moreno” is sure to get more exposure around the country. It was exciting to be in its first audience.

“Moreno” by Pravin Wilkins at InterAct Theatre Company at The Drake, 302 S. Hicks St., Philadelphia, PA 19102, 215-568-8079  interacttheatre.org  Thru November 24, 2024

A man is staring out, past the audience looking at something. We don’t know what. He is the painter, Mark Rothko. In time, we learn that he is looking at a wall in his studio and thinking about the paintings on that wall that he is preparing for the walls of the new Four Seasons Restaurant that will be part the Seagram’s Building that is being erected on Park Avenue by among others, Philip Johnson. The commission for these murals is the largest ever offered to an artist. At the same time, Rothko hires a new young helper, Ken, a budding artist himself, to help with the daily chores at the studio, including putting the undercoat on paintings and making the frames. He also serves as a sounding board as Rothko rants about the art world while challenging and even humiliating Ken.

            Theatre Exile is presenting the play “Red” which first opened in London in 2009. It then came to Broadway the following year with the same leads, Alfred Molina and Eddie Redmayne- it won six Tony Awards. Exile’s performers are Scott Greer and Zach Valdez who under the fine direction of Matt Pfeiffer, give outstanding performances. Nevertheless, the play did not appeal to me.

            When I think of Rothko, I see the large canvases with huge blocks of color.  He was an abstract expressionist but if you asked him, he would deny being branded by any art movement. In fact, he would deny almost everything you say about him, about art, about any and everything. And as Ken tries to get to know Rothko and his beliefs, he is dismissed by the artist in an obnoxious and cruel manner. He is a know-it-all snob.

            He tells Ken that he will never amount to anything because he is not civilized until he learns of the great poets, philosophers, and historians like Nietzsche, Sophocles, Byron and a dozen others. Rothko, who compares himself to Rembrandt, never even looks at the paintings of the young man. In two years, he asks the young man nothing about himself.

            Meanwhile, with Ken’s assistance, he is preparing many of the canvases with red paint, thus the title of the play. He hates the color black because it implies death to his ideas and to art itself. He feels that his colors evoke a certain resonance of emotion that are a unique language of their own. He scowls at the comic book art of Roy Lichtenstein and the Pop Art of Andy Warhol and his soup cans. He can’t accept any modern art or artists of the day. That is what turns out to be the crux of the story- the older generation not accepting the ideas and the art of a younger, new generation.

            It’s a talky play. Scott Greer as Rothko is superbly obnoxious. But it is tiring to listen to the ranting. We find ourselves looking at Ken (who is never named in the play) to see his reactions to it all and we feel for him. Though I can’t imagine a better production of this play by John Logan, I felt like I was at a lecture rather than in the audience of an interesting or entertaining drama. It isn’t what I go to the theater for.

“Red” by John Logan at Theatre Exile, 1340 S. 13^th St., Philadelphia, PA 19147, 215-218-4022,  boxoffice@theatreexile.org   Thru November 10, 2024

            Lynn Nottage is an African American playwright who has written a dozen plays, two of which won her the Pulitzer Prize for drama- “Ruined” in 2009 and “Sweat” in 2017. Last year, The Arden presented her play “Clydes,” which originally premiered on Broadway in 2021. Now on their stage is an earlier play by Nottage, “Intimate Apparel,” which is based on the life of her great-grandmother, a seamstress, on the lower East Side of New York in 1905.

            This play is not about New York or about the garment industry. It is about Esther, a single, 35-year-old woman, living in a rooming house since she arrived in the city almost two decades before, after her mother had died. It is about her insecurities. It is about her friendships- with her landlady, with her friend who is a prostitute, with a white woman she sews for, and with an Orthodox Jew from whom she buys fabrics. It is also about the man she writes to in Panama who she becomes involved with. It is a powerful story, with six extraordinary actors that could occur in any locale in any era with almost any race, and I loved every minute.

            There is so much substance in Nottage’s play as we watch Esther (Brandi Porter) try to figure out what to do with her life as she turns out exquisite garments on her sewing machine. She aches for romance yet feels unattractive in her mid 30’s. She has lively conversations with Mayme (Jessica Johnson), her prostitute friend who lives a most interesting life as she both listens and tries to give advice to Esther. And Esther hears as her landlady Mrs. Dickson (Zuhairah) tells her about how she married an older man who gave her security but was always cavorting with other women before he died. Even Mrs. Van Buren (Juliana Zinkel), the white woman who helps her read, then compose letters to George (the guy in Panama) because Esther can’t read, shares with her the story of her frustrating marriage to a guy who cheats on her.

            Then, there is Mr. Marks (David Pica), the Orthodox Jew, who she visits to buy material to sew. You can see the attraction, though they never even touch. He is waiting for his future bride to arrive from Romania for their arranged marriage. It is all so complex while it is also so very basic as we watch Esther listen and try to weigh the possibilities with George (Akeem Davis), who wants to come to America to be with her. This is all in the first act, and we are entranced as we watch.

 The stories continue as Esther tries to find her way. I would be giving away too much of it if I told more in this finely crafted work. Everyone in the cast is outstanding. Director Amina Robinson has done an extraordinary job in bringing together this tale about the struggles of life faced by a single, African American woman in New York at the beginning of the 20^th century. 

“Intimate Apparel” by Lynn Nottage at Arden Theatre Company, 40 N. 2^nd Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106. 215-922-11222   ardentheatre.org   extended thru December 8, 2024

The Governor has just been forced to resign and Lt. Governor Ned Newly has taken his place. He’s just given a horrible speech where he basically mumbled and said nothing. He has a horrific fear of public speaking whether it be on tv or in person. And he doesn’t even want to be governor. He’s not a politician- he just did the nuts and bolts for the governor behind the scenes. Now, he has no staff (they were all kicked out) except for a chief of staff who hires a woman, Paige Caldwell and a temp secretary, Louise Peakes. A third person, Arthur Lance saw the tv interview and has taken it upon himself to come to Newley’s aid. What ensues is a satirical and funny look at the way each tries to “rescue” the new governor.

“The Outsider,” this farce by Paul Slade Smith, written six years ago, has landed at Act II Playhouse right before the 2024 election. It is a timely piece as it is constantly stating that the less you know, the farther you’ll go. And these new aides have to prepare the new governor for the special election to confirm him in six months. They want him to appear on tv again which he seeks to avoid. Lance (Peter Bisgaier) is not afraid that the governor will project a naivete, even a stupidity before the cameras. He encourages it, even though Governor Newley is actually a rather brilliant man.

As for the temp, Louise who they will soon be calling Lulu- she is rather dimwitted and has never held a job for more than a single day. She is full of memory lapses and malapropisms. Only the governor’s chief of staff Dave Reilly (Carl Nathaniel Smith) recognizes the crazy extremes instigated by Lance and innocently added to by Lulu (Sabrina Profitt), and he has great trouble dealing with it all. Also on the seemingly normal side is Paige Caldwell, who pushes Reilly to action before going along with Lance.

These five characters along with the reporter and her photographer expressed many different approaches to the comic development of the play. Some worked. Others didn’t.

John Zak was outstanding in his portrayal of the befuddled Ned Neely. We see and understand his fears even though it is funny. The comedic approach of Proffitt as the temp was a riot without being overblown. But I didn’t care for the over-the-top performance of Bisgaier. Rather than being funny, he blustered about, and it was hard to believe that he could have ever been the successful news figure he was. And the reporter who came to get the story also played it much too broadly.

Act II Playhouse billed “The Outsider” as a political farce. That’s the way they tried to play it. When I read that playwright Smith said “The play was never intended to be a comedy about political parties… it is looking at larger ideas,” I came away realizing how smart this play actually was. I wish director Andrew Chown had let the play speak through the words rather than lots of the silliness. There is much substance there that gets buried in his approach.

“The Outsider” by Paul Slade Smith at Act II Playhouse, 56 E. Butler Avenue,  Ambler, PA 19002, 215-654-0200,   act2.org    Extended thru November 10, 2024

In the mid 60’s, I watched a tv satire show called “That Was the Week That Was.” It was a riot, and it was so smart. Referred to as TW3, it was on for less than two season. 1812 Productions Artistic Director Jennifer Childs, who wasn’t even born yet obviously got wind of the show and she started creating and producing “This is the Week That Is.” It has been on their stage each year for 19 seasons. The only professional all-comedy theatre company in the country, 1812 is running “The Election Special” version of it this month. It is extraordinary for its superb writing and fine acting and is very funny.

            Childs is one of six actors on stage who all play many characters from George Washington to John Legend to Hulk Hogan. Men play women. Women play men. And it works! In a series of about a half dozen sketches, in the first act, they play a game show, where the winner gets Pennsylvania’s votes. In another, two women compete at Thanksgiving (one is a conservative, the other a liberal) as they compare the Pilgrim experience to that of the Native American. In one sketch, they create a candidate by selecting someone from the audience, to make the election less weird. It’s silly and smart at the same time.

            Of course, the heart of it is the political satire. In this anxiety filled election year, it is a joy to laugh instead of worry. Needless to say, the humor is mostly aimed at the conservative stances. They don’t have to name the parties- we know.

            In addition, there are two screens where they show some hilarious prerecorded scenes. There are outrageous songs created by Pax Ressler, who is also a member of the cast. She is brilliant in every role she takes on. I am so impressed with the way the six actors and four others created this piece together and will keep it fresh throughout the run by adding any relevant news that they can lampoon.

            The second act is a little more traditional in its approach as Sean Close sits behind the news desk like the hosts of the Daily Show or “Weekend Update” on Saturday Night Live. Accompanied by the videos and breakaways to certain small sketches, the comedy rolls on. I loved it so much, I didn’t even want the audience to laugh too much lest I miss a line.

            Besides Childs, Ressler, and Close, Newton Buchanan, Lexi Thammavong, and Robyn Unger share the stage with hilarious bits that they all created and put together with the expert coordination of director Melanie Cotton.  

            What a great theater tradition! For sheer entertainment and fun, you’ve got to see it.

“This is the Week That Is” by the Ensemble, 1812 Productions, at Players and Players Theater, 1714 Delancey, Philadelphia, PA 19103, 215-592-9560, info@1812 productions.org   Thru November 3, 2024

When I was a kid, I watched the movie, “Cyrano de Bergerac,” starring Jose Ferrer, on television many times. The original play by Edmond Rostand, written in 1897, is the story of a brilliant 17^th century swordsman who is in love with the beautiful Roxanne, but is shunned by all because of his huge nose. It was most entertaining. I even read the play. Quintessence Theatre is presenting the classic to begin its 15^th anniversary season. But it is not really the classic. Rather, it is “freely adapted” by Martin Crimp in 2019- very freely.

            Like the original, it takes place in Paris in 1640. But the costumes, the language, and the events are deliberately moved about to give it a universal setting. What remains constant is the feeling of each of the characters as they talk in rhyming verses like Rostand’s original tale but with modern terms, including curse words.

            Cyrano is an intellectual. He writes. He reads. He recites. And his cousin Roxane is also very bright, also a reader. But she falls for the handsome Christian, not realizing that her cousin has a very serious crush on her. He never states his love to her- he feels ugly because of his nose, and he believes no one can love a man as ugly as he. While I enjoyed the story when as I was younger, I liked it even more now. I hurt for his being overlooked as a complex man whose beauty was much deeper than his physical appearance.

            The play is about art, about love, about friendship, about power, about ego. We watch as Cyrano is threatened by a hundred swordsmen and how he defeats them. We see others who have more political power and how he tries to deal with it. But most of all, we watch as he comes to the support of Roxane in trying to protect Christian (at her request). He befriends this rival of his. And we painstakingly observe as Cyrano assists Christian in courting his cousin by writing romantic letters for him, to her to offset Christian’s awkwardness. In person, he has nothing intelligent to say despite Roxane’s pleading for more beautiful words. She doesn’t understand how he can be so simple-minded when he writes so beautifully.

            The rhymes created by Rostand and Crimp are quite natural. They fit smoothly into the conversations and even add humor to the play. And J. Hernandez is superb as Cyrano. He is not some mythic figure, but a real person. From boasting one moment to painful anxiety and lying the next, we care about this man.

            The cast around him is mostly strong. Tim Dugan as De Guiche, the nasty SOB who wants Roxane for himself, is menacing. And Janice Dardaris as Leila, also an intellectual, is very effective as the café owner who is a sounding board for Cyrano. I had problems with the portrayals of Christian and Roxane. Instead of playing it shy and awkward, Daniel Chase Miller plays him as rather stupid. As for Erica Lynn Bridge’s Roxane, though she is most beautiful, I never believed for a moment that she was the intellectual that Rostand and Crimp created. I didn’t feel the depth of the character.

            Still, it’s wonderful to see this play back on stage, even with major alterations in setting, words, and style. Kudos to Quintessence and its founder and artistic director, Alex Burns (who also directed “Cyrano”) for keeping the classics alive.

“Cyrano de Bergerac” by Edmond Rostand, adapted by Martin Crimp at Quintessence Theatre, 7137 Germantown Ave., Philadelphia, PA 19119, 215-987-4450, quintessencetheatre.org   Thru October 20, 2024