REVIEW: The Miracle Worker

Kate Hurster as Annie Sullivan and Daria LeGrand as Helen Keller in the Denver Center Theatre Company production of William Gibson’s powerful and inspiring play The Miracle Worker. Photo by Terry Shapiro

As a Christian reviewer, I tend to look for what is good and true and beautiful in a performance, in a production, in a play. It's not a "pollyanna" bias; it's an informed aesthetic developed through the filter of faith. And so I often compliment work that other, more jaded minds might see as "fair to middlin'."

Most of the time this is a helpful approach to theatre reviewing. But when a theatrical event occurs that is so truly outstanding, so flawless, affecting audiences so deeply and proclaiming hope in such human yet transcendent terms, what words are left that don't sound like mere hyperbole?

The Denver Center Theatre Company's superior production of William Gibson's The Miracle Worker is a play that can change lives, our perception of how we see and treat one another, and awaken the longing in our own hearts for a glimpse of the kingdom of heaven. It's not just entertainment, any more than the plays performed at religious festivals in ancient Greece and medieval Europe were just "shows."

Based on Helen Keller's 1903 autobiography "The Story of My Life," The Miracle Worker is the true story of a desperate family's attempts to help their deaf/blind child, and the equally desperate teacher who answers the call. It's a story of sacrificial love, hard-won redemption, and fervent prayers answered.

Youthful Daria LeGrand shines as Helen, a feral child living in a well-to-do home amongst a well-meaning family of enablers. Kate Hurster is all grit and gristle as the anguished teacher Annie, who rose from a hellish asylum to become a haunted teacher, a determined deliverer who believes God owes her a resurrection. Together they form the core of the play, around which the other characters revolve.

The physical and emotional action is visceral, exhausting, grueling, as Annie and Helen engage in a battle of wills for Helen's soul. Like God's plan for all of us, Annie brings Helen first to obedience, then to fellowship, from exile to restoration, and at last, finally to knowing. All of the Kellers have obstacles to overcome. Everyone wants the same thing: a whole family, but great gulfs and barriers must be bridged before real communion is possible.

Director Art Manke is unerring in his direction of the first rate cast, which also includes John Hutton as the sputtering, powerless papa, Rachel Fowler as Helen's unwittingly smothering mother, and Leigh Miller as their upstart son, among others.

More than 6,000 middle school students will see the inspiring production, and I can't think of a better script, cast or setting to help introduce them to the wonders of live theatre, and also help move them beyond the "good guy/bad guy" aesthetic to which they've been accustomed.

The Miracle Worker plays at the Denver Center Theatre Company's Space Theatre through December 20. Call 303-893-4100 or visit online at www.denvercenter.org for information and reservations.

REVIEW: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Matteo Correa, Dell Domnik and Austin Terrell in the Denver Vic's production of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

I've never liked the Willy Wonka movies, for the same reason I don't like Alice in Wonderland. They scare me. There's something chaotic, even horrific about these stories, in which a young protagonist is thrust unprepared into a hostile and confusing world where the rules are constantly shifting, and bystanders all around meet terrifying fates. Also, both Gene Wilder's creepy, and Johnny Depp's even creepier interpretations of the bizarre man child Wonka give me the willies.

What a relief it is to have thoroughly enjoyed the stage version of Roald Dahl's modern classic Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, ably directed by Rita Broderick and presented by the Denver Victorian Playhouse through December 21, 2008.

Let's give credit where it's due. Broderick's directorial imagination and Austin Terrell's quirky (but not creepy) interpretation of Willy Wonka more than make up for Richard R. George's clunky and haphazard stage adaptation of Dahl's novel.

Optimistic Charlie Bucket (Mateo Correa) and his beloved Grandpa Joe (Dell Domnik) join a host of variously spoiled and undeserving brats, along with their harried parents, on a tour of the mysterious Willy Wonka's uncanny and labyrinthine candy factory. One by one the children are eliminated in ghastly but probably not lethal ways, until only Charlie remains to inherit the enterprise.

There's a hint of morality play in the depiction of the perhaps not-quite-deadly sins of the other children, and the consequences they reap, but Wonka himself is still disturbingly amoral. Putting children in harm's way in a hazardous environment isn't nearly as much a concern for him as maintaining the purity of his product, as if something with no nutritional value should be revered solely for its originality.

And yet, abstracted for the stage, the disturbing aspects of the story are downplayed, freeing the audience to enjoy Dahl's wry, satiric wit. Also, there are no shudder-inducing Oompa Loompas, except in voice over, and no one bursts into song.

Broderick has assembled a cast of familiar adult faces from the local community, and up and coming young actors from the Denver School of the Arts. The colorful set accommodates the vast array of settings fairly well, and the sound design is superb. The spirit of the play is enhanced by the sale of actual Wonka Bars in the lobby of the Victorian Playhouse, and some of them actually have "golden tickets," with which lucky chocoholics can win a prize.

So while I may still think that Charlie's moral victory and subsequent acquisition of the chocolate factory is a mixed blessing, the Vic's production of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is a fun and enjoyable play for the whole family.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory plays at the Denver Victorian Playhouse in north Denver through December 21, 2008. Call 303-433-4343 or visit online at www.denvervic.com for information and reservations.

REVIEW: Funny Money

Dan Connell (back), Bob Leggett, Luke Terry cut up in Spotlight Theatre's production of Funny Money. Photo credit: Cat Smith

Denver's master of farce Pat Payne has brought yet another Ray Cooney laugh-fest to madcap life with Spotlight Theatre's current production of Funny Money, playing through December 20 in the small but mighty John Hand Theater. In his director's notes, Payne quotes British playwright Ray Cooney on the distinction between farce and comedy, and it's so helpful, I'm reprinting it here:

According to Cooney, "Comedy is frequently about an eccentric person in an everyday situation; whereas farce usually involves ordinary people attempting to deal with an eccentric situation."

That's a very practical way of putting it. What interests me most, is how a comical crisis can expose an otherwise normal person's character flaws. Farce can reveal the dark side of our sinful nature in a "no harm done" environment. We laugh, and in the case of Funny Money, laugh our heads off, but we're also aware that none of us knows our real character until it is put to the test.

Mild-mannered Henry Perkins (perfectly cast and brilliantly played by Bob Leggett) has the misfortune of accidentally picking up someone else's briefcase. Only later does he discover that it contains a fortune in untraceable currency. With no way in which to return the briefcase, and mindful that the true owner, who is certainly a criminal, now possesses his name and address from the contents of his own satchel, Henry decides to take the money and run.

What follows are a serious of increasingly preposterous complications involving his wife Jean (Linda N. Suttle) who doesn't want to go anywhere except to the liquor cabinet, his friends Vic and Betty (Luke Allen Terry and Amy Ratliff) who become enablers, a pesky taxi cab driver (Charles Hettinger) and no fewer than two detectives (Clint Heyn, Dan Connell) with different reasons for coming to the Perkins house. The farce reaches its climax when the owner of the briefcase (Michael Kienker) arrives to claim what is rightfully his, sparking an uproarious chase scene set to the tune of the Benny Hill theme song.

The bulk of the play's humor revolves around the hordes of imaginary relatives created by Henry, Jean and others as excuses for various characters' presence or absence, and the difficulty in keeping them straight. I wouldn't have been surprised if one of them finally announced that "I'm my own grandpa!" In addition to variations on this one joke, the complete disintegration of moral standards provides one comic shock after another. In the course of the play, the otherwise straight-laced characters sink to deception and outright lying, greed, alcohol abuse, bribery, implied homosexual activity, group sex and spouse swapping.

There's a "no harm no foul" caveat to the piece, and though the social order isn't fully restored, at least the play has a happy ending. But the idea of how a small sin can erode and then let loose a flood of degenerate behavior leaves a lasting impression. For this reason, Funny Money is a surprisingly, and perhaps unintentionally moral farce.

Spotlight Theatre's production of Funny Money plays through December 20, 2008 at the John Hand Theater, in the Lowry development. For information and reservations, call 720-880-8727 or visit online at www.thisisspotlight.org.

REVIEW: The Little Foxes

Boni McIntyre as Regina in The Little Foxes at Vintage Theatre. Photo Credit: Ellen Nelson

The only thing that keeps Lillian Hellman's The Little Foxes from becoming just another overwrought potboiler costume melodrama about a monstrously dysfunctional family, is the genius of Hellman herself. Vintage Theatre's current presentation of Foxes is a first rate production of a surprisingly contemporary, if heavy-handed "period" play.

The Little Foxes is a direct literary descendant of the 19th century social realism plays of Hebbel, Ibsen, Strindberg and the like, with a carefully crafted plot, formal language (complete with pithy speeches about moral and social responsibility), and high quality versions of essentially stock characters. The play is "edgier" than a typical melodrama, because there is no hero to rescue the heroine, and the villains pretty much get away with their evil deeds.

In Reconstructionist Georgia, three scheming southern siblings plot and maneuver to control and increase the family fortune by lying, cheating and betraying anyone and everyone they can. In defiance of biblical injunctions, they oppress the poor and revel in their greed, but their real joy comes from tormenting one another in a sick power play of domestic dominance.

Innocent bystanders are played like pawns and discarded without a second thought. The only hope for goodness is for the rising generation to break the cycle, renounce the family curse, stop playing the game and just walk away.

Director Craig A. Bond has done an outstanding job of keeping the cliches to a minimum and maximizing the play's dramatic impact. The play invites the actors to indulge in bold histrionics and scenery-chewing, but Bond keeps a tight rein on his fine cast, letting the audience feel the suspense and outrage for themselves.

Even so, the three leads, who gave stellar performances, were booed by the audience at their curtain call for the villainous roles they played. Also worthy of mention is the superb set, designed by Peggy Morgan-Stenmark.

Vintage Theatre, celebrating it's first year (and eight productions) in its cozy new space at 2119 E. 17th Ave. in Denver, is creating a very impressive reputation for excellence in play selection and performance.

The Little Foxes plays at the Vintage Theatre through December 14, 2008. Call 303-839-1361 or visit online at www.vintagetheatre.com for information and reservations.

REVIEW: An O. Henry Christmas

Tyler D. Collins and Aimee Carlisle play a newlywed couple trying to find the perfect Christmas gift in "The Gift of the Magi" portion of Miner's Alley Playhouse's An O. Henry Christmas.

As the sagging jack-o-lanterns succumb to voracious squirrels, and the last of the leftover trick or treaty candy vanishes -- except around the waistline -- it's time to let Indian Summer and Halloween go, and turn toward autumn and the approaching winter in earnest.

Miner's Alley Playhouse's production of An O. Henry Christmas offers a sweet, charming and Christian-friendly segue into the bleakest season. The musical, which actually plays a lot like light opera, includes "The Last Leaf" and "The Gift of the Magi," with book, music and lyrics by Peter Ekstrom, and directed by Robert Kramer.

Both pieces hearken back to a simpler time, when the struggle to survive and flourish might actually have seemed romantic. Both explore the themes of generosity and sacrificial love as supreme virtues, and both have key moments involving prayer.

"The Last Leaf" is appropriately autumnal in tone, dealing somewhat morbidly with death, redemption and salvation. Two young "starving" artists, sculptor Sue (Kellie Rae Rockey) and painter Johnsey (Jade A. Tiller) share a flat in the artist's colony of Greenwich Village. Sue sketches for an advertising agency to put food on the table, and Johnsey paints only gray skies, never blue.

An eccentric and frequently tipsy older artist from across the hall (Wade Livingston) encourages them to persevere in their vocations, while a physician (Cat Smith) recognizes the delicate and mysterious connection between body and soul. When pneumonia cuts a deadly swath through Bleeker Street, the artists consider what it really means to live and die for art.

Despite a couple of very upbeat numbers, "The Last Leaf" evokes a more somber tone, befitting the season and the subject matter.

"The Gift of the Magi," on the other hand, is a frolicsome, frequently hilarious piece, punctuated by occasionally serious moments. Newlyweds Jim (Tyler D. Collins) and Della (Aimee Carlisle) are desperately poor, but also passionately in love. On Christmas Eve, each considers what they treasure most, and make ironic but endearing sacrifices.

Ekstrom's songs are engaging and enchanting, and frequently hilarious. Only a couple of the performers stand out as classically trained singers, but all are well cast and carry their fair share. Kramer's direction is particularly notable for the many ways he "humanizes" the characters, through actions and reactions.

An O. Henry Christmas isn't a spectacular celebration of Christmas along the lines of Nutcracker or A Christmas Carol, and it's a far cry from a Nativity play, but it's still a quiet, intimate, wonderful way to ease into the holiday season.

For those of us who pay attention to such things, An O. Henry Christmas is actually the ideal ADVENT musical. The show's heart is in the right place, the material is rich with emotional and thematic gems, and the performances are endearing, bringing a warm, cheery light when it's most needed.

Miner's Alley Playhouse's production of An O. Henry Christmas performs through December 21. Call 303-935-3044 or visit www.minersalley.com for information and reservations.