Mousetrap at the Resident Ensemble Players

Monkwell Inn

Forty-nine years after I first saw this play at the Ambassadors in January 1965, it seemed just as fun. The beautiful set with the magically realistic snowfall outside the large French windows made me think of the AmbassadorsTheatre and seeing Agatha Christie four rows ahead of us and stage-whispering, ‘Mama, that’s Agatha Christie’ so loudly that the graceful lady waved her fashionably gloved hand in recognition.

Steve Tague kept everything as it had been in 1965: the luxuriously rambling manor, the period clothes and the cheerily British murderers – Christie style indeed. Elizabeth Heflin as Mollie Ralston and Mic Matarrese as Giles Ralston set the scene and helped the audience put their clocks back to the 1950s. The cold and snow were not a difficult sell after the past week’s storms. C. David Russell’s set was just right and the sound of the radio was audible, radio-like and spot-on with the absolutely essential cues and set-ups (compliments to Eileen Smitheimer and crew for the sound design and execution).

Mrs. Boyle

Jeffrey C. Hawkins animated the stage as Christopher Wren – putting a manic tension into the mix and letting us enjoy Agatha Christie’s wit and social sarcasm, but it took the entrance of the spinsterish and unpleasable Mrs. Boyle (Kathleen Pirkl Tague) and Major Metcalf (Stephen Pelinski) to get us all the way back to Christie-land. From then on, the audience was completely convinced and in the time and mood.

The names of the cast were, of course, quite familiar to those who attend plays at the REP, but I did not even recognize a whit of any previous roles by Deena Burke as she embodied the prickly Miss Casewell. Her manliness and moodiness brought back a time when we just judged people for what they presented and not what we imagined. By the time the ebullient Mr. Paravicini burst in, I was transported to the days when sitting by the snowy window with tea and a book by Agatha Christie was a winter dream come true. The play runs until February 9 with a post-show cast talk on Thursday, January 30. Sold out on February 1.

See www.rep.udel.edu. Photos courtesy of UD REP's Facebook page.

Bootless Brings Monty Python's "Not the Messiah" Oratorio to Town for a Praise-worthy Fundraiser

Some companies put on The Messiah for Christmas. Bootless Stageworks, always marching to its own drummer, is putting on Not the Messiah (He’s A Very Naughty Boy), an Oratorio by Eric Idle and John DuPrez, based on Monty Python's Life of Brian, in late January. We had the opportunity to sit in on an early rehearsal for the show, conducted by Bootless Music Director James W. Fuerst and featuring two dozen singers from Bootless, NewArk Chorale and other area theater companies as well as 20 orchestra musicians from Bootless, Wilmington Community Orchestra, Newark Symphony, Diamond State Concert Band, First State Symphonic, Chesapeake Brass Band and University of Delaware Orchestra. Everyone involved in this fundraising production is doing it on a volunteer basis, and the enthusiasm for the piece shows through. You may remember soloists Geoff Bruen, Kimberly Christie, Cynthia Ballentine, and Michael Popovsky from Bootless' 2012 production of Jerry Springer: The Opera (among other area Opera Productions), and Justin Walsh from the always-popular Evil Dead: The Musical. That so many talented folks have come out to donate their time is a testament to both the appeal of Not the Messiah and the small theater company that has not been without its struggles in the past couple of years.

About a year ago, it looked like Bootless, a nomadic "pop up" theater company, had found a permanent home in Newport, Delaware. The location had one major problem: it lacked a parking lot, and the company couldn't get the go-ahead to build one. Homeless again, Bootless struck a deal with OperaDelaware to utilize its Black Box theater, but scheduling conflicts with that space's longtime resident, City Theater Company, have prevented it from becoming its permanent home (though Bootless' next show, Venus in Furs, will be performed there in March).

For Not the Messiah, the company is utilizing one of Wilmington's best kept secrets: the Down's Cultural Arts Center at Ingleside Retirement Apartments, located at 1005 North Franklin Street."It's a great deal for non-profit organizations," says Bootless Executive and Artistic Director, Rosanne DellAversano. "It's free to use for non-profits. They're working to bring programs to the venue, where a percentage of tickets go to the residents." In addition to enriching the lives of the residents, the venue is open to the public.

Not the Messiah will have just two shows, on Friday January 31, and Saturday February 1. Both shows will be at 7:30 pm. Tickets for are $25 General Admission, $20 for Seniors and Military, and $18 for Students, and include complimentary refreshments at intermission. All proceeds will benefit Bootless Artworks. To purchase tickets, and for more information about Bootless, go to bootless.org.

Our Bloggers' Best Of 2013

Last year was an amazing one for the Arts in Delaware. We had so many great experiences, and we’d like to share some of them with you. Below are each of our blogger’s picks for Delaware Arts Info Blog’s Best Of 2013 (in random order). We hope you’ll check out these organizations in 2014!

Blogger Charles “Ebbie" Alfree, III
My Best of 2013 were Wilmington Drama League’s Avenue Q; Delaware Theatre Company’s Love, Loss, and What I Wore; City Theater Company’s On the Air and First State Ballet Theatre’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
 
The Wilmington Drama League did an amazing job producing Avenue Q. The actors, sets, and puppets were superb — it was a perfect production! The wonderful female cast of Delaware Theater Company’s Love, Loss and What I Wore made me laugh and tear up. It’s impossible to not like this wonderful piece of theater about the trials/tribulations and the FUN/happiness of being a woman. It was so refreshing to see a new musical—On the Air—produced by City Theater Company. Joe Trainor and Kevin Regan wrote a witty musical that boasted a fantastic cast. A Midsummer Night’s Dream produced by First State Ballet Theatre was sumptuous. I was enthralled by the stunning dancers who gave enchanting performances while wearing ethereal costumes!

Blogger Margaret Darby
My Best of 2013 were the Delaware Chamber Music Festival, the second University of Delaware Master Series Kavafian Concert and City Theater Company’s production of Gypsy. 

Of the four incredibly excellent concerts of the Delaware Chamber Music Festival, my favorite piece was the Elegiac Trio by Sergei Rachmaninov. The beginning of the piece was a subtle cello bowing so soft, I thought Clancy Newman was simply tuning, until Music Director and violinist Barbara Govatos joined in with a second soft rumble. The University of Delaware Master Players hosted Ani and Ida Kavafian and their excellent pianist, Jonathan Feldman for a concert so good, it kept me in goosebumps for the next three days. As to Gypsy, the cast of City Theater Company gave a small-scale production that had all the pizzazz of Broadway — giving a masterful portrayal of ambition and love with the Company’s signature humor and intensity.
 
Blogger Michelle Kramer-Fitzgerald
My Best of 2013 had to be the Delaware Art Museum’s American Moderns exhibit; City Theater Company’s Jesus Christ Superstar In Concert; Umberto Crenca’s Wilmington visit; and the WSTW Homey Awards at World Cafe Live.

The American Moderns exhibit (which closed on 1/5/14) was a rich, colorful trip through treasured American visual masters, including my all-time inspiration and favorite, Georgia O’Keeffe (seeing her originals, lent from the Brooklyn Museum, nearly took my breath away). The kickoff of City Theater Company’s 20th anniversary season with a blowout performance of Jesus Christ Superstar In Concert was awe-inspiring. Music Director (and role of Judas) Joe Trainor gave us a memorable and standing ovation-worthy celebration of one of Wilmington’s ‘little gems.’ Meeting artist/visionary Umberto Crenca — founder of AS220, an arts non-profit organization in Downtown Providence, Rhode Island — was such a treat. Crenca visited for Wilmington Renaissance Corporation’s Big Ideas Meeting, lending his insights and expertise on ways we can move Wilmo to the next level of a thriving Arts-centric city. In March, the WSTW Homey Awards at World Cafe Live was a power-packed Who’s Who of Awesome Local Music — psyched to see so many of my faves came home with honors. I’ve never felt prouder to be a Delawarean in the Arts in 2013! Now, how can we top it in 2014?!
 
Blogger Holly Quinn
My Best of 2013 included City Theater Company’s Jesus Christ Superstar in Concert; Delaware Theatre Company’s Love, Loss and What I Wore; OperaDelaware’s L’elisir d’Amore (The Elixir of Love); Wilmington Drama League’s Butterflies Are Free; New Candlelight Theater’s A Chorus Line; and Hot Breakfast’s new CD, 39 Summers.

What do YOU want us to cover in 2014? Email Arts in Media with your suggestions!