Quasi-History, Laughs Combine in a World Premiere at CTC

Paul McElwee as President Woodrow Wilson.
Photo by Joe del Tufo/Moonloop Photography.

By Guest Blogger, Mike Logothetis
Mike Logothetis grew up in North Wilmington, performing in school and local theater productions. He lives in Newark, but you can find him wherever the arts are good.

The White House has a total of 132 rooms with 412 doors, 147 windows, and a cadre of servants to keep things running smoothly. Only one of these rooms, two of its doors, two windows, and one servant are needed for After Birth of a Nation to lampoon what might have happened inside the executive mansion on a cold winter’s night over 100 years ago.

Local playwright David Robson has provided City Theater Company a quasi-historical farce loaded with sight gags, cross-dressing, snappy dialog and larger-than-life characters. This World Premiere production keeps the action at a fast pace and will have you laughing out loud at the zany antics. 

We are invited to The Green Room on February 18, 1915, where President Woodrow Wilson (Paul McElwee) has invited filmmaker D.W. Griffith (Jim Burns) to screen his new movie Birth of a Nation at the White House. Trusted adviser Colonel House (Dan Tucker) is trying to improve Wilson’s dovish, professorial image to the nation at a time when the Great War is raging in Europe and former President Teddy Roosevelt is the standard of manliness. Southerner Griffith and northerner House see power within their grasps and form a tentative alliance to use House’s policy ideas and Griffith’s film imagery to transform Wilson into a macho world leader – with them shaping his persona and reaping some rewards.

(L-R): Chris Banker as Clarence Fields, Jim Burns as
D.W. Griffith. Photo by Joe del Tufo/Moonloop Photography.

Meanwhile, First Daughter Margaret Wilson (Dylan Geringer) is a 29-year-old, tee-totaling spinster with dreams of becoming a famous singer; although her morality prohibits her from name-dropping to score coveted auditions.

All the characters are historical figures whose demeanors and true callings are humorously warped to create the premise of this show. Added to the mix are a lascivious southern preacher and his wife – Rev. Richard Gamble (George Tietze) and Cora Gamble (Kerry Kristine McElrone) – plus Russian Ambassador Eugeny Demidov (Jeff Hunsicker). Constantly filling champagne glasses is fictional black servant Clarence Fields (Chris Banker), who futilely acts as the gatekeeper of the room. Clarence also has a sinister agenda which plays out comically throughout the performance. These four characters are artistic constructs to help move the plot along and add more eccentricity to the story, which they do with aplomb.

The plot amusingly weaves from policy talk to social issues to religion to the arts and involves all but one of the characters – introducing the audience to who they are and what their intentions might be. The wacky first act sets up a screwball second where Demidov is inserted into the action to arrive at a satisfying conclusion.

According to Robson, “Margaret is the eye of the storm.” Margaret keeps things relatively sensible until she adds to the madness in the climactic scenes. To wit, Geringer’s exasperation repelling multiple suitors and interjecting herself into world politics are highlights of the show.

Another high point is McElrone as the minister’s wife, who longs to find a new religion – possibly one whose name and tenets she can properly pronounce – and satisfying physical love. Cora’s attempted seduction of Margaret built slowly to a quivering, hilarious climax that had me wishing she had an opportunity to make a second pass at the First Daughter.

Michael Gray directs the action to be quick, with characters entering and departing the stage at a frenetic pace. The set design and lighting by Vicki Neal and Richard A. Kendrick allow the actors to achieve a sense of space while being physically close to each other.

Robson harshly satirizes his subjects, but all of the actors are capable and provide ample character depth along with requisite humor. After Birth of a Nation is a funny look at what might have happened in 1915, but many of the jokes and comical references are topical. Robson has crafted his historical farce for today’s audiences, who should plan to see it.

After Birth of A Nation runs Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evenings at 8:00pm through February 18. Tickets cost $15-28 and the show lasts a jaunty 90 minutes with one 10-minute intermission. 

The Black Box at Opera Delaware Studios is located at 4 South Poplar Street in Wilmington. Alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks plus snacks are available for purchase inside the theater.

See www.city-theater.org.

Take a Trip to Avenue Q — "Q" Stands for Quirky & Quite Funny

We were drawn to the Wilmington Drama League by the intrigue of what a pal described as “…an adult version of Sesame Street.” How could we pass that up?

Avenue Q: The Musical — book by Jeff Whitty and music and lyrics by Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx — opened off-Broadway in March 2003 and subsequently won Tony® Awards for Best Musical, Best Score and Best Book.  In short, it’s the story of a dysfunctional mix of people and puppets who whine, curse, say racist things, drink, surf the ‘Net for porn, and have puppet sex.  But it’s also a tale of friendship, community, relationships and the love that holds it all together.  Welcome to Avenue Q, a place where humans and puppets live in hilarious harmony and Gary Coleman — yes, Gary Coleman — is the building Super.

As the show begins, we meet Princeton (played splendidly by Jason Tokarski, who gives the puppet a boyish, naïve charm), a recent college grad who moves to the big city. Since he’s an English major without a job, he can’t afford to live anywhere but the apartments on Avenue Q.  Here, meets his new “family” — an entertaining array of human and puppet neighbors including Brian (Shawn Kline) and Christmas Eve, his Asian-American therapist fiancée (Suzanne J. Stein); roommates Rod and Nicky (Ernie-and-Bert types played by Jim Burns and Anthony Vitalo, respectively); Trekkie Monster (Nick D’Argenio) and his friend-maybe-more Kate Monster (no relation to Trekkie; not all monsters are related…what are you, racist?). Their lives' complexities ensue, as they all try to find their ‘purposes’ in life.

Kate Monster (Regina Dzielak) is a gentle, compassionate creature that longs for career success, to fulfill her dreams and to find love. Dzielak plays her with humor and vulnerability, her voice sweet and lovely as she sings about Princeton’s “Mix Tape” and the place between friendship and love in “There’s a Fine, Fine Line.”

There were highlights aplenty for me, including Burns’ role as Rod, the impossibly-uptight-possibly-gay-Republican roomie to Vitalo’s Nicky. Burns’ performance — especially in “If You Were Gay” and “My Girlfriend, Who Lives in Canada” — was ROFL funny.  Also delivering side-splitting laughs is Nick D’Argenio as Trekkie Monster, with inappropriate interjections and his performance in “The Internet is for Porn.”  He’s every guy’s guy in a Cookie Monster form.  And, stealing more than one scene are Katie Brady and Chrissy Stief as the Bad Idea Bears — they’re cute, they're cuddly, they’re pure evil and they’re funny as hell.

Tommy Fisher-Klein has a solid comedic performance as “Gary Coleman,” sliding in and out of scenes with quick-witted jabs and reactions that make you laugh out loud. He gives us another highlight (and set-up to the aforementioned puppet sex) with “You Can Be as Loud as the Hell You Want (When You’re Making Love).” The entire scene had the audience hooting.

As mentioned, the cast is a mix of real-life actors and actors, dressed in black to minimize “obstruction,” maneuvering large-scale hand puppets.  At times, it was a bit challenging for me to shift between watching the puppets versus the actors themselves.  However, the performer who made it most seamless was Shelli Ezold as Lucy the Slut.  Ezold does an incredible job in her movement and manner, placing your focus on Lucy’s, um, assets while delivering a power-packed sexpot of a character with her gorgeous, sultry voice.  

Directed by Wayne Meadows, the show is accented with “Sesame-like” multimedia features, as well as fun audience interaction, and I was pleased to see that Meadows chose a live orchestra for music.  The first act moves quickly with the most raucous songs and activity; the second act is a bit slower but still enjoyable.  We sat in the front center row, but I don’t recommend it for everyone…I think the sightlines are a bit better further back in the theater. (Although you’ll miss getting picked on by the cast, which was a riot.) 

While I don’t necessarily wish I lived on Avenue Q, I absolutely loved visiting with its quirky residents, who made me glad that my life doesn’t suck as much as theirs.  Decide for yourself — the show runs through October 6!

See wilmingtondramaleague.org.