THE ARTIE AWARDS 2009

I went to the 19th Annual Artie Awards at The Town Ballroom in Buffalo on Monday night somewhat reluctantly, being a little sore at The Arties Committee for ignoring my off-stage voice/stage manager position in DUSTY SPRINGFIELD, WITH YOU, this season. Do they have any idea what it's like to read a script in the dark, manipulate sound and lights, and speak into a microphone, all at the same time? Not to mention remaining alert to any theatrical catastrophe that might occur; staying mindful of terrorism; glaring at the audience as someones' cell phone goes off; reaching for a kleenix with one hand on the sound board and the other on the light board as I'm about to sneeze into the microphone? Where's the nomination for Outstanding All-Around Guy? What the hell is wrong with those people?

Mary Loftus, center, with friends prior to receivieng The Artie

I took three pics with my camera, one an accidental but not inappropriate snap of a half-filled cocktail glass, before the batteries died and the new batteries I brought were the wrong damn batteries. Fortunately, one of the pics were of four time nominated, and soon to be 2009 Artie winner Mary Loftus, for her supporting role in THE BEAUTY QUEEN OF LEENANE.

There was a memorial segment just like in The Academy Awards, where we clap for dead people as their faces are projected on a screen. I hate that. How is it that one dead person can get a bigger applause than another dead person?

Over cocktails, I'm shaking hands with Richard Lambert, Executive Director of The New Phoenix Theatre, accepting an offer to stage manage a production this fall at his theatre. I'm thinking, Jesus, it's just like being at Cannes.

Another champ-ale, my funky friend?

(Best Actor Nominee Richard Lambert with his brother whose name I've forgotten)

Glitz, glamor and Buffalo buffoonery. Cat-calls between the audience and the stage on a first name basis were commonplace.

Host Norm Sham asked award recipient Mary Loftus, as she handled the microphone and put her mouth close to it, "When have you had it so good, Mary?". She quipped, "yesterday".

Some short and gracious acceptance speeches. No long-winded ones.

Outstanding and most enchanted musical performance from the nominated musicals came from the cast of Theatre of Youth's GO DOG GO.

More than once I heard the network TV familiar, "so and so couldn't be here tonight and he's asked me to accept this award on his behalf...". So and so was probably not filming in Spain.

For ten bucks admittance at the door, this show was a real deal. Artvoice should promote it more heavily in other media, as an entertainment in itself. I wonder the chances of having it broadcast on local television.

A complete listing of the 2009 Artie Award winners can be found here.

TOO ABSURD!

Subversive Theatre asked me to play elevator man for patrons of their TOO ABSURD! production, consisting of two 'Theatre of The Absurd" plays on Friday night. I transport audience who can't surmount the three flights of cold hard stairs, on a freight elevator to Subversive's home space on the third floor of The Great Arrow Building, a mostly empty, sprawling industrial complex that once housed The Pierce Arrow Corporation, a manufacturer of luxury cars circa 1910. The building now provides cocooned space to theatre, (Alt Theatre is also in residence there), and sparsely set offices.

Upon boarding the ancient steel and wood freight elevator, that looks like a certain death trap, but glides with the gentleness of a paper airplane, I always yell to the mostly elderly riders, "GOING UP!", to absolutely on one's amusement. Indeed, when the steel gated frame locks us in with a crash, and the heavy wooden doors are slammed shut, and suddenly I can't get the damn thing to go up or down, the look on the concerned faces seem to say, next stop hell.

I stayed for the show. The theatre space was trashed with old newspapers discarded on the floor under and around the seats of the audience. I don't know why, except to say it was absurd. The subsequent plays seemed to have nothing in common with old newspapers.

The first play, absurdist dramatist Eugene Ionesco's "The Lesson", directed by Drew McCabe, finds a maniacal academic professor, (James Wild), badgering a pupil, (Jessica Wegzryn), into submission under the guise of tutoring. The lesson taught involves simple arithmetic, a breeze for the excited and hopeful student, and subtraction, to which she is inept. It evolves into a lesson on sub-languages of Spanish. The play is fun and thought provokingly tragic, and not illogical in it's portrait of an intellectual dominance over the illiterate. Wild paces and stalks the stage like a schizophrenic caged leopard on meds, and Wegzryn's harried student suffers an empathetic breakdown under the weight of a math equation. Both actors take this absurdist play and dance merrily around the logic of Darwin's theory of survival.

"On The Sea", by Polish writer, Slawomir Mrozek, directed here by Mark Tattenbaum, certainly inspired Monty Python's Flying Circus' classic sketch of cannibalistic sailors at sea, ("I wish you'd all quit bickering and eat ME!"). The fun reference to Python is in cold contrast to a notoriety in writer Mrozek's life. In 1953, during the reign of Stalinism in Poland, Mrozek participated in the signing of a letter to Polish authorities, groundlessly accusing three Catholic priests of treason. The priests were condemned to death but never executed.

The director of the first production of "On The Sea", in Poland in 1961, was in attendance at this performance. Three men, a fat one, (Kurt Erb, not nearly fat), a thin one, (Matt Nerber), and a medium one, (David Utter), as listed in the program, are adrift at sea without food and determine their only means of survival is for one of them to be eaten by the others. They draw lots, stage a democratic election, and finally two conspire to eat the third. The play is a lighter absurdity than it's predecessor, with the medium man daintily setting a makeshift dinner table, ("Does the little fork go on the right or left?"), and the unfortunate object of dinner scrambling to find a way out of his predicament, ("I am poisoned,...I have an infected liver,...one leg is shorter than the other"). They are briefly joined by two women, a post woman, (Jennabeth Stockman), and a maid, (Kelsey Arlen), who swim aboard to report news from land, ("You have a message on your cell phone"), certainly an update of the original script. The play was odd and funny, beginning with a ridiculous ukelele strummed Hawaiian novelty song, sung quite well by the three men, and ending with the proclamation of individual rights by the soon to be eaten dinner guest.

Both plays offer not a frustrating wonderment, but insightful, albeit absurd comments on the privileged gentry eating alive the common man.

TENTATIVE ARTIE NOMINATIONS ANNOUNCED

Artvoice newsweekly's Artie Award nominations, honoring outstanding achievement in local theatre productions, were announced Sunday night at 'Q' on Allen Street, although nominations in the categories of Actress and Supporting Actress in a play, have yet to be announced.

Not surprisingly, Musicalfare in Amherst, which produces musicals exclusively, received the most nominations with 27 mentions, tripling the nine nominations the next most nominated theatre, The Kavinoky, received. *( 5/21/09 -A late posting of the actress categories tallies The Irish Classical Theatre with 9 nominations as well.).

Alleyway Theatre's HELL HOLE HONEYS, and Musicalfare's JAMESTOWN GALS and SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE, received the most nominations for a musical with eight each. The Kavinoky Theatre's THE FARNSWORTH INVENTION, Aaron Sorkin's examination of the advent of television, received the most nominations of a play with five, including Best Production.

The Katherine Cornell Award for Outstanding Contribution by a Visiting Artist, have also yet to be announced.

The 19th Annual Artie Awards will be held on June 1 at The Town Ballroom in Buffalo. All benefits from the ceremony will go to The Benedict House, an AIDS related charity.

For a listing of the announced nominees, go to artieawards.webs.com/

BLACKBIRD SINGING IN THE DEAD OF NIGHT

From L to R, Director Kelli Bocock Natale, husband and
show mentor Joe Natale, Cast members Richard Lambert, Candice
Kogut, and blog author.


We closed BLACKBIRD last night.

The audiences were consistently enthusiastic and constant, although never a full house, there was rarely less than 30 patrons, more often as many as 40-45. The controversial subject of child molestation certainly kept some away.




From L to R in back, Kelli Bocock-Natale, Joe Natale, Richard Lambert, House Manager Tom Scahill, cast member Dolly Goodman, and Center, Candice Kogut.




At work, I put a flyer up on the company bulletin board advertising the play, and it was unceremoniously taken down after surviving there for several weeks. I suspect the well promoted theme of child molestation ruffled the feathers of the blue collar company I work for. Actually, I was surprised no one drew a rude mustache on the pic of Candice.

I always try to hustle people from work to come see a play I'm involved in. BLACKBIRD is the first time anyone actually showed up. How I wish I would have snapped a pic of my wonderful friend and co-worker Allison, and her three gorgeous daughters from Canissius College, who were dressed to the hilt, and came to Friday night's performance. They became emotionally and vocally involved in the show, just short of hissing the villainy of reformed child abductor, Peter.

The night before I could distinctly hear my brother in the audience mutter, "you bastard", when the drama of the play suggested the reformed child molester, was still molesting.

God bless my 79 year old mother who fawned over DUSTY SPRINGFIELD ... WITH YOU!, earlier this season, but was only disturbed by BLACKBIRD.

A lot of friends and relatives who would normally come to a show I'm with, declined the offer to watch a play concerning child molestation. It's understandable.

Only one scathing incident that I can account for during the production, aside from some minor cue flaws. Tom, the house manager and I were leaving the theatre in my car one night, I was backing out of a parking space, we were talking, when he suddenly started yelling and screaming. I'm thinking, "Why the hell are you screaming?" If he had verbalized his scream I would have understood I was about to hit a parked car.

and 'crunch!'.

'F'

Tom may argue that he clearly said "You are about to hit a parked car!".

Some minor damage. And some major damage. Certainly I didn't cause all that other damage to the door of the car!?? I took some pics and put a note on the car. Local residents came out of their boroughs and after asking if we were all right proceeded to take down my license plate number, and casually interrogate me. No I'm not drunk, oh civic duty, get back in your houses, can't you see I'm doing all I can about this?

So I'm worried all night and day that some opportunist is going to claim the damage was more severe than it was. In my worst paranoia, I pictured a minor evildoer making it a habit of parking his car exactly where it was, and certainly some a-hole from the theatre will back into it. That's where the other damage must have come from.

The next day, our lead actress, Candice said, "That was my car you hit." Thank god, I said.

Not to suggest Candice drives a greatly damaged car. But it was evident. My damage was a cute little bump by the headlight.

Our lead actor and Executive Director of The New Phoenix, Richard Lambert, and his partner Mark, threw us a party after the show at their place. They really know how to throw together a nice little romp, and I made it a point not to get so loaded I'd pass out on the floor of their bedroom, as I did at the last party. That time I was saved by their would be Saint Bernard, Buddy, who is actually a Basset Hound, who stubbornly licked me back to consciousness. No wooden keg of sherry to greet me, though. And, as it turned out, Joan, who I met at the last party, is not the sexy and gorgeous party girl that Richard and Mark hired to add flamboyance to any room she is in, but simply a neighbor of theirs. I would have wagered otherwise.

And gifts. Damn, I should have bought gifts. Richard gave me a very cool collectible mechanical wind-up robot, that now walks across my kitchen table. He said it was for my robotic-like skills at the boards, (Oh God, I wasn't fluid enough!). He couldn't possibly know that at age 6, I did NOT get the mechanical robot I had begged for at Christmas, and it has been a deep recessive psychosis in me ever since. And jeeze, our dear and talented juvenile actress Dolly Goodman, gave me a box of Antoinette's chocolates and a chocolate rose, that barely survived the ride home. Beer and chocolate, yummy!

And as I was walking out the door of the party, saying goodnight and waving goodbye, I then turned to go and walked directly into the bathroom. It reminded laughing Richard of an episode of the Norman Lear sitcom, MAUDE, (loved it), and that's when he told me Bea Arthur had just died.


God will get you for that, Walter.

THE ODD COUPLE

I'm a member of The Springville Center For The Arts, and I've worked with both actors who play Felix and Oscar in their current production of THE ODD COUPLE, so I took a drive out on sunny Sunday to catch the show. I've also worked with the assistant director, the set designer, costume person, stage manager, the hostess who served the wine, the guy who gave me my ticket, someone who waved to me on the street, blah, blah, blah, - it's community theatre, where everyone's an usher, and a star at heart.
The Odd Couple, Dave Danielson, left, (Oscar Madison) and
Ted Pinneli, (Felix Unger)



The play was spirited and fun with a very able and enthusiastic cast charming a friendly and receptive full-house audience, (there had to be upwards of a hundred people in attendance!). Neil Simon's zingers were delivered with the aim of an archer; the direction, clear, crisp and lively; the set design - a bright and perfect picture of a bowling alley influenced bachelor pad circa 1960's, and those tiny finger sandwiches they served at intermission, (crab?), were as scrumptious as anything out of Felix Unger's kitchen.





Good show, guys! With cast members Sean Farrell, back right, and Gwendolyn and Cecily Pigeon.

NOTES ON STAGE MANAGING "BLACKBIRD" AT THE NEW PHOENIX

During tech week rehearsal, I think I'm not exaggerating to say I was almost killed. I was helping the lighting designer construct lights above the stage, he was atop a tall ladder, I was standing on the stage, sort of just minding my own business, when a large and heavy light fixture suddenly abandoned its support and came crashing to the stage, breaking apart with a thud and a crash, five feet from where I was standing. I gulped and said, "I'm glad I wasn't standing right there", and the lighting designer agreed. It was like a scene out of MURDER SHE WROTE.



The crowds for the show have been sparse. I think it's the subject matter of child molestation that has kept them away this Easter weekend. As the house manager said last night, - everyone is concentrating on the crucifixion of Jesus. No more room for sorrow.



I'm still a neophyte in the workings of the theatre. After being asked to serve as stage manager at The New Phoenix this season, I could be found at home with a big book in my lap, entitled, HOW TO BE A STAGE MANAGER. It didn't really help. It is my understanding the stage manager is responsible for nothing, when everything goes well, and everything, when nothing goes well.



Our director, Kelli Bocock-Natale, gave me a card on opening night that read, in part, "Stage Manager, the show is now in your hands!". It was news to me.



I don't necessarily believe in ghosts, although I've always fancied the thought. Truth be told, I attend a ghost hunt in Lilydale, New York every summer, but I like to think I keep it in check. In all the nights I've roamed dark woods and buildings with other would-be ghost hunters, armed with the most pedestrian digital equiptment, (apparently any camera will suffice, according to the brochure), I've never seen evidence. But if they do exist, one most certainly haunts, or befriends The New Phoenix Theatre. Just a feeling I get when I'm poised over the sound board during a show, ready for the next cue, and there's a creak from the wooden stairs just outside the door, and I turn to see who it is, and there is no one there. Or alone in the theatre, subtle sounds and voices, that I can't discern to be within or outside the building, softly richocheting around the room like echoes out of The Shining. One night walking to my car after locking up, I looked back at the theatre, the perfect picture of a haunted building with it's tall gothic arches against a moonlit sky, and I noticed in a window on the third floor, a working neon 'Open' light. Where the 'F' did that come from? So I went back into the theatre, and instead of fumbling around in the darkness looking for the light switches, I walked to the third floor in the dark, pulled the plug on the neon light, and found my way, Helen Keller style, back down the stairs. I was crossing the big dancing studio on the second floor, when maybe a headlight from a car outside, caused the room to be momentarily illuminated, and I saw, or thought I saw, someone standing at the mirrored wall, staring at his reflection. It put a chill right through me. I stood there, a bit reasonable, a bit mortified, and as if out of a movie script, I called out to the empty room, "Is there somebody there?".



If anything had answered, I almost certainly would have had a heart attack.

BLACKBIRD

I'm the stage manager for BLACKBIRD, the current production at The New Phoenix Theatre On The Park in Buffalo. The play concerns the victims of child molestation. We received an excellent review from The Buffalo News, that I hope to print here. When the run is over, at the end of this month, I'll blog more about it.

SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE

SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE

MusicalFare

Directed by Randall Kramer

Cast: Paschal Frisina III, Jean Stafford, Doug Crane, Sheila McCarthy, Debbie Pappas, Jeffrey Coyle, Louis Colaiacovo, Steve Copps, Anne Ronaldi, Leah Russo, Nicole Marrale Cimato, Amy Jakiel, Kelly Jakiel, Kevin R. Kenndy, Robert J. Cooke

All the bells and whistles of Stephen Sondheim's "Sunday in The Park With George", were evident in MusicalFare's production of the musical speculating on the life of 19th Century French artist Georges Seurat and his masterwork, A Sunday Afternoon on The Isle of La Grande Jette, a painting that now resides in The Art Institute of Chicago. A simple beam of light provides a transfer of the painting to an onstage mesh screen, and is reversed with elements of the painting missing, when seen as a work in progress. A framed image of an earlier Seurat work, Bathers at Asnieres, is wheeled onto the stage, with actors within the frame of the painting, portraying animated sun bathers, a particularly well executed scene. Life sized cardboard cut-out figures of Seurat, as portrayed by Pascal Frisina III, during an artists' cocktail reception, in various poses for comedic effect in Act II, were as professionally mounted as the Broadway production. The monstrous 20th Century artwork, Chromolume 7, seen as a companion piece and an atrocity to Seurat's work, and devised for the musical from James Lapine's book, was effeciently created with pseudo-laser lights and electrical sparks and flash. Dog and monkey silhouettes are grounded to the stage, and then easily walked off by exiting actors, depicting a 19th Century amusement, and an inanimate tree changes position mid-scene, at a sketching artist's request. It seemed to me, if MusicalFare is to take on the task of producing this sometimes lavish, sometimes minimalist production, they needed to get the props right, and the creative and frugal effort displayed here, or maybe the price tag, paid off handsomely.

The 15 member cast is an accomplished troupe of actors and singers, each taking a dual role in the second act. Paschal Frisina III, as subject George Seurat, displays a fine batitone and offers depth and clarity to the struggling artist syndrome. Jean Stafford, as his lover Dot, merely channels Bernadette Peters Broadway preformance of the role, but with such expertise, the character shines through. The remainder of the cast are excellent with standout performances from all, notably Doug Crane, as competing artist Jules, eying and circling Seurat's painting, as if determining how to kill a threatening insect, and Sheila McCarthy as The Old Lady, casting a reserved mothering instinct across the stage, which looms like the shadow of death.

At approximately 2 hours and 45 minutes, the musical runs a little long, but is never dull, and far be it length over a scene cut. At times the fluidity is altered by the stringency of the proceedings, with the cast appearing a bit rushed at times, a bit hesitant at others. But as a fan of Sondheim, and a lover of this particular show, I was quite impressed and entertained.

THE BEAUTY QUEEN OF LEENANE, Theatre Review

THE BEAUTY QUEEN OF LEENANE

The New Phoenix on The Park

Directed by Joeseph Natale

Cast: Betsy Bittar, Mary Loftus, John Kruezer, Eric Rawski

I saw this play a month ago and here's a short review.

Betsy Bittar commands the stage with her voluptuous and frightening presence, and Mary Loftus is perfectly pathetic as a victim of elder abuse in The New Phoenix Theatre On The Park's production of Martin McDonaugh's black comedy, "The Beauty Queen Of Leenane", a play where Tennessee Williams meets Warner Brothers' Looney Tunes.

Bittar plays Maureen Folan, a 40 year old Irishwoman whose last chance at romance may be spoiled by her scheming and senile mother, (Loftus); senile in that she pours pails of urine down the kitchen sink and serves tea immediately afterwards.

Nasty stuff, this, and if it weren't for the cast delivering performances that made this vile Irish corner of the world believable, a striking inanity would prevail. Spinster fears her mother will ruin her last chance at marriage, so spinster torments and physically abuses the old girl. Stop, stop, you're killing me.

Loftus is fascinating as a woman secure with manipulative control yet fearful of the genuinely threatening world around her. She's physically apt as well, taking a believable spill to the floor in one scene.

ROAD LESS TRAVELLED, Triangles

I did manage to see one more Buffalo play before the close of 2008, Road Less Travelled's production of "Triangles". Long-time friend, composer, musician, artist Alan Kryscak composed and performed the music for the production. The show consisted of three one-acts all somewhat revolving around the concept of romantic love triangles. Al stood on a platform over the stage behind a mesh screen playing surpringly aggressive and somber electric guitar including some entire lyrical songs at intervals and scene changes. No surprise that his playing was excellent, gently blending in to the moods of the production, but the original songs, which could easily stand alone as fine pieces of music, were strikingly in sync with the often light-hearted production, casting a dark and mysterious shadow over an impending expectation of romance. The first two one-acts were short forays into the concept of confronting a third party in a romantic triangle. August Strindberg's "The Stronger", consisted of a woman, dressed as if from the late 19th or early 20th Century, confronting another woman in what seemed an outdoor cafe, who is having an affair with her husband. Only the cheated upon woman speaks to the other in the scene. She rationalizes, compromises, and victors over the silent third party, causing one to consider that this isn't an actual confrontation at all, but an extension of an infuriated subconscience. Celebrated local playwright Manny Fried's "Triangle" follows, inspired by the one-act that preceded it. The same two actresses again play two woman, one who remains silent throughout, while the other confronts her regarding her intent to run off with the woman's husband, this time in what seemed a Depression-era set and costume. These are fine little bits, but they seem to me, as often one-acts do, merely character sketches of a larger piece that was never realized. I see nothing so inviting here but the skillful displays of the two actresses Kristen-Tripp-Kelly and Lisa Vitrano. The third piece, "The Elliptical", seems an entire full length play in comparison. It concerns three young friends, a guy and two girls, maturing into somewhat neurotic and sexually questing adults. It's funny, and slight and lofty, and often comes dangerously close to becoming merely a stand-up routine. When I see a production as sharp and succint as "Triangles" is, I can't help but focus on its shortcomings. The players in "The Elliptical" do a fantastic job hustling about the stage blending time frames and delivering monologues, almost at an action packed pace, but some of the comedic deliveries, especially from the talented ladies, Bonnie Jean Taylor and Kelly Meg Brennan, (so what's with the triple names in Buffalo theatre?), both of whom I loved watching perform this sexy and sweet ode to romantic relationships, get a wee bit tiresome and repetitious. Todd Benzin's performance is a class act; that rare display of light-hearted conviction and exceptional timing; groping, lusting, and conniving after the girls like his existance depended on it. Really, this is a production, so friendly and unassuming, you can't help but love it.

THEATRE REVIEW, When Ya Comin' Back Red Ryder?

The American Repertory Theater
Feb. 22 - March 9
Rating: $$$
****************

$$$$$ Five Bills - Excellent

$$$$ Four Bills - Good

$$$ Three Bills - Fair

$$ Two Bills - Not Recommended

$ One Bill -Poor

Mark Medoff's, "When Ya Comin' Back Red Ryder?", is a disturbing and violent modern drama of heroic American ideals biting the dust in the horse opera tradition of it's namesake, Red Ryder, a 1940's western action comic strip which became, among other media icons, a serialized movie series. The name was brought to nostalgic prominence in the form of a Red Ryder BB gun in director Bob Clark's classic 1983 comedy film, "A Christmas Story".

Just as the Red Ryder BB gun is a nasty and dangerous representation of the gentle famed cowboy, this play slanders such heroic deeds by lassoing the corny righteous themes of movie house western serials, ("When ya comin' back Red Ryder?", "Not until them varmint outlaws is caught!"), by comparing a violent incident in a New Mexico diner with America's rather small statured exit from The Vietnam War. But this is not an historic period piece. In Medoff's examination of a changing America "at the end of the sixties", (the designated time frame of the play, which could conceivably be anywhere into the 1970's), comparisons could be made to the Iraqui conflict, as the play tightens a noose around fantastic heroic behavior when it is forced to reveal a lack of valor while confronted with a threat of violence.

At it's core, with all it's disarming bravado of a failed war, and it's lament of a gentler more peaceful time, the play possesses a stark and simple violence, the kind of unexpected social confrontation one might experience as you're parking a car, shopping in a grocery store, or as are the characters in the play, sitting in a diner. It may be inspred by William Inge's classic play, "Bus Stop", also concerning people trapped in a diner, but where the undertow of violence lies unborn in Inge's play, it erupts in a fury in Medoff's "Ryder".

The American Repertory Theater of WNY's production of "When Ya Comin' Back Red Ryder?", it's second production after "Axeman's Jazz" earlier this season, makes the most of the physical action so important to the psychological tension of the play. Characters bully, slap, punch, push and stalk each other with such vehemence, it's as if the boundary between audience and stage may be violated. Director Matthew La Chuisa's action sequences are well staged and advance the play at a, do I dare say, galloping pace.

The ensemble cast is in generally fine form, with Andrew Michalski, outstanding as psychotic Vietnam veteran Teddy, walking a fine line of whacked out drug damage and profound liberating prophet. His many moods, at once passive and antidotal, becoming violent and frenzied, shift with the expertise of a genuine gifted lunatic. Nick Dostal, in the adopted name title role, possesses the anxiety-ridden, war draft threatened, disaffected youth of the era, with gloom and budding heroism as he's forced to confront his inner cowboy at a time of personal peril. Heather Viloanti, as the shy, plain diner waitress, Angel, reveals complexities of her character in an amusing and quietly sorrowful performance which is the heart, and hope of the play. Director La Chuisa, in the role of Lyle Striker, the aging infirmed owner of the neighboring gas station, is a solid and strong patriarch of the ensemble, although his severe limp would have been more effective had it been staged with the noted written prop of an aluminum brace, which would have encompassed the cold and cruel nature of the Vietnam era. Linda Stein and Michael Liszcrynski as an out-of-town couple are convincing and exciting to watch, as horrified and indignant customers who unfortunately stumble into the diner. Emily Littler, as Teddy's girlfriend, Cheryl, has a much smaller psychological space to work from, but like Americans of the '60's watching The Vietnam War unfold on the nightly news, she projects an innocent yet compliant accomplice to violence.

Playwright Mark Medoff, who won the off-Broadway Obie Award in 1974 for "When Ya Comin' Back Red Ryder?", and is the author of the more recognized, "Children of A Lesser God", wrote "Red Ryder" as an ensemble piece, and this production is slightly damaged by the absence of the character of Clark, the owner of the diner, which was cut from the production. The character represents a small time corporate greed, somewhat symbolic to the low wage income earners of the diner, and his vital presence and spoken lines, assigned to other characters, is clumsy and mars the dramatic flow of the tense situation and dialogue.

Still, this production is as exciting and unnerving as witnessing a bank holdup. Like escaping a dangerous fate, it offers appreciation for getting out alive.