PicksInSix Review: The Secret Garden - Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre

Outstanding Performances Seed Theo’s ‘Secret Garden’
PicksInSix® Review | Guest Contributor | Ronald Keaton

It’s a famous children’s story that ends up, in this reincarnation, being the most adult tale in the room—and it works in both realms.  The Francis Hodgson Burnett 1911 novel “The Secret Garden,” presented by the always ambitious Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre as its annual holiday offering through December 22, tells the tale of Mary Lennox, a girl doing her best to stifle her grief through her own entitlement, while simultaneously searching for her self-worth at a Yorkshire estate full of colorful gardens, one of which is locked away, kept in secret, while also holding surprises of its own.

Mary (a complicated role in this guise that Joryhebel Ginorio handles with great aplomb and intelligence) is orphaned because of a cholera pandemic in India that took the lives of her parents and her guardian. She has been sent to England to live with her uncle, Archibald Craven (Will Koski offers articulate, clear choices with a handsome, tight tenor voice to boot), who is mourning himself the death of his wife Lily—seen and heard in ghostly form, as others are in this musical, by the graceful presence and voice of Brennan Martinez. Now Mary is very entitled, it seems, but the arc of this attitude is not given very much shrift, thanks to the fabulous Dakota Hughes as Martha, a chambermaid who exerts much influence and calm on Mary, all the while showing her own excitement in life.

The parade of characters, all with varying degrees of influence, include: Martha’s brother Dickon (an easy, accessible Lincoln J. Skoien), who actually tells Mary of a ‘secret garden’ to explore; Ben (a folksy turn by Bill Chamberlain), a gardener who keeps his word to Lily to tend the estate gardens after her passing; Mrs. Medlock (Kathleen Puls Andrade, properly conservative and authoritarian), who meets Mary first and takes her to her new home; Colin (an honestly thankless role given fine depth and nuance by Kailey Azure Green), whose health diagnosis keeps the lad bedridden for a major part of the story; Rose (with Rachel Guth’s lovely singing voice), Lily’s ghostly sister; and Dr. Neville Craven (Jeffrey Charles makes him more human than the character deserves), the nemesis here who has kept Colin in bed for most of his life.

A word should be said about this adaptation. People who know Brunett’s beloved book are aware, as they watch the progress of the musical, that Dr. Craven has been elevated to the status of villain and given more strength in the plot by original bookwriter/lyricist Marsha Norman, so some of his influence and characterization are a bit contrived in its expansion to help make such a choice work. Same with the fact that the story’s conclusion is not just Mary’s story, but Colin’s as well—and how the ‘secret garden’ actually might contain its own healing magic.

But that’s why adaptations are of varying degree. And the choices made do indeed allow truly fine musical moments to occur; the duet between Neville and Archibald about “Lily’s Eyes” is a great sight and sound to behold between Mr. Koski and Mr. Charles. Martha’s solo “If I Had A Fine White House” is energetic and fascinating, as shared by Dakota Hughes. In fact, the entire Lucy Simon score is offered in a mature, charming guise by music director Carolyn Brady and her charges.  And this chorus… outstanding. Wow!

Director Christopher Pazdernik requires praise here, too. The Theo space is simply a flat stage that needs lots of filling. And it’s been done admirably. There are six or so tables with four seats at each table, all enveloped in the walled seating that the space has available. But Mx. Pazdernik, a literal expert in musical theatre story and history, weaves the cast in and out of the seating area with small set pieces and literal lit areas for the ‘invisible’ chorus to inhabit. It’s pretty imaginative and strong. The minimalist set pieces from scenic designer Rose Johnson are a fine corollary. Levi J. Wilkins offers constant atmospheric lighting to proper and spirited effect for Lucy Elkin’s rich costumes. “The Secret Garden” is a surprisingly difficult story to tell, even with today’s sensibilities and maturity. But at Theo, it has earned a respect as a marvelous holiday offering.

GUEST CONTRIBUTOR | RONALD KEATON received an Equity Jeff Award for the performance of his one-man show CHURCHILL. www.solochicagotheatre.com  Coming soon, his new solo play “Echo Holler.” www.echoholler.com

PHOTO|Time Stops Photography

Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre
presents
The Secret Garden
721 Howard Street
Evanston, IL
through December 22, 2024

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PicksInSix Review: The Bridges of Madison County - Dunes Arts Summer Theatre

“Spinning By In One Split Second”
PicksInSix® Review | Ed Tracy

Francesca (Kristianna Dilworth) and her husband Richard “Bud” Johnson (Gabriel Reitemeier) have overcome multiple challenges to forge a life on a 300 acre farm in Winterset, Iowa with their two teenage children Michael (Jackson Mikkelsen) and Carolyn (Emma Radtke). As “The Bridges of Madison County” opens, she sings hopefully of the life they have built together, one we find out along the way that is not at all what she envisioned as a young girl growing up in Italy during World War II. She would meet Bud after the death of her soldier fiancé, leave Naples as it was being brutally torn apart and arrive in America to start anew, learning the language and all that comes with raising a family.

Now, years later in 1965, Francesca’s feelings of isolation in the Midwest, trapped within the daily routine of her life, are all consuming. So, with little enthusiasm for the Indiana State Fair and more for reading a book and watching the sky go by, she decides to stay behind alone as Bud takes the kids and a two-ton steer to the 4H national competition. The separation feels natural in a way: Bud, Carolyn and Michael are excited about the event and Francesca admits that having no plans at all for the few days by herself will be a liberating experience.

When Robert Kincaid (Max DeTogne), a National Geographic photographer on assignment, arrives at the door of the Johnson home, Francesca offers to ride with him to the location of Roseman, the last bridge he needs to photograph and the first step on a path that leads the two together into a passionate affair that presents both unimaginable opportunities and a potentially devastating outcome.

The Dunes Arts Summer Theatre production, the brilliant and sensitively staged work of Artistic Director Steve Scott, features the equally superb music direction of Andrew Flasch who renders the rich Jason Robert Brown score brimming with melodies and counter melodies with ease. The book by Marsha Norman is based on the bestselling novel by Robert James Waller that also spawned the 1995 film starring Meryl Streep and Clint Eastwood.

The Dunes ensemble, whose impressive vocal harmonies add depth and nuance to the piece, are led by the extraordinary performances of Dilworth and DeTogne in lead roles. Dilworth, a St. Louis native who now lives in Arlington, Virginia, is simply stunning in all facets of the deeply layered role of Francesca expressing the complexity of a woman at a turning point in her life, upended by passion, conflicted and longing for a path to what could be.  I have long admired DeTogne’s work in Chicago and this may well be one of his finest performances to date, delivering a strong, yet sensitive man who understands the enormous consequences of his deep, abiding love for Francesca.

Director Scott also successfully navigates two delicate relationships in the piece: the ebb and flow between Francesca and Bud, a finely-paced line that Reitemeier follows impeccably with depth and understanding while displaying his own exceptional vocal skills; and, Marge (Kim Lampl) and Charlie (Jim Lampl), the down home neighbors who recognize what is transpiring and provide the caring support that Francesca will need to sort things out. Framed in a sleek modular set designed by Micheal Lasswell, fine costume work by Emily Chidalek with evocative lights and sound by Arturo Pozos and Jake Tillman, the Dunes production of “The Bridges of Madison County” is a moving and memorable evening of theatre not to be missed.

PHOTO|Andy Neal

Dunes Arts Summer Theatre
presents
The Bridges of Madison County
Michiana Shores, Indiana
through August 11

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PicksInSix Review: Talley's Folly - Dunes Arts Summer Theatre

Lovers Reunite in Dune’s “Talley’s Folly”
PicksInSix® Review | Ed Tracy

The second production of the 2024 Dunes Arts Summer Theatre season is Lanford Wilson’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play “Talley’s Folly,” the second installment of Wilson’s Talley Trilogy that includes “Fifth of July” and “Talley and Son.” Released as a prequel to the critically acclaimed “Fifth of July” set in Wilson’s hometown of Lebanon, Missouri and chronicling the Talley family in 1977, the two other installments are set thirty three years earlier on the same day: July 4, 1944.

While “Talley and Son” plays out in the Talley homestead as a confrontation between generations about the future of the Talley family and is chronologically first in the trilogy, Wilson wrote and set “Talley’s Folly” in an isolated and decaying folly on the estate where Sally Talley (Amanda Tomczak), a young nurse, reunites with Matt Friedman (Rob Morris), a middle-aged Jewish accountant who returns to rekindle the romance of the previous summer and to propose marriage.

Directed at Dunes by Morgan McCabe, the two-hander unfolds over the course of ninety-seven minutes on an elaborate and impressive dockside set designed by Michael Lasswell with evocative lighting by Arturo Pozos. In the early evening, Matt awaits the arrival of Sally who has vigorously avoided him over the past year since their passionate liaison yet seeks him out. One might expect a more heartfelt reunion, but Sally’s abrupt and immediate admonishment comes as a shock to Matt. There are reasons for Sally’s behavior, we learn, as things progress. At the same time, Matt discloses the stunningly severe, inhumane treatment his family has endured as they fled Nazi oppression.

Early on, “Talley’s Folly” feels like an ill-fated love story, particularly as we discover the clash of Sally’s southern roots and Matt’s Jewish heritage. When the couple first met in the summer of 1943, the tide of the war had not yet turned so we are left to imagine the two lovers finding their emotional escape together within the fear of the time and isolation of the folly. That hopefulness, dashed by the family’s wholesale rejection of the affair, leaves only Matt’s dogged persistence to bring them back together.

Morris and Tomczak dive into these two challenging roles with gusto and there is a sense that their destiny is to escape together when all is done. Tomczak’s Sally is a strong, southern survivor whose life, shaped by fate, now offers few hopeful alternatives. In playing to the uneasy pressure and remorse to abide by her family’s wishes, Tomczak often overshadows the genuine love and affection that lies just beneath the surface and is desperate to reveal itself. Morris, whose lively character sets the tone of the piece, is effective in breaking through those emotional barriers to find common ground. And while satisfying, the production would benefit from the hint of playfulness that lovers have in such a secluded rendezvous to help elevate the humor in Wilson’s text while sustaining the moments of confrontation and drama in the piece as the two face the prospect of a challenging, post-war future together.

“Talley’s Folly” runs through July 14 at the Dunes theatre and is followed by “The Bridges of Madison County” with book by Marsha Norman and music and lyrics by Jason Robert Brown, directed by Dunes artistic director Steve Scott opening July 26. 

PHOTO|Dunes Summer Theatre
Dunes Arts Summer Theatre
presents
Talley’s Folly
Michiana Shores, Indiana
through July 14

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PicksInSix® is a registered trademark of Roxbury Road Creative, LLC