Vivian DeGain Better at 50 Blog
Columnist and arts writerArchive for November, 2013
Live and Worth Seeing: MBT Christmas Carol
Thomas D. Mahard brings a snarly Ebenezer Scrooge to life on the MBT stage.
Meadow Brook Theatre stages ‘A Christmas Carol’ with all the beauty of Dickens
By VIVIAN DeGAIN
The Oakland Press Nov. 25, 2013
Tinkling lights for decorating the outdoor gardens, fragrant evergreens for trimming the rooms inside, succulent recipes and seasonal preparations are underway.
’Tis the season for kindness and generosity, of feeding the poor and honoring our human family, and perhaps no one can write a story about saving a wretched soul like Charles Dickens.
Dickens wrote “A Christmas Carol” in 1843.
Meadow Brook Theatre has performed the Dickens’ classic Christmas favorite for three decades and in that span of time and generations, actors who were once children on the stage or in the audience are now bringing their children and grandchildren to see the haunting story about the miser who loves money above all else.
Thomas D. Mahard brings a snarly Ebenezer Scrooge to life on the MBT stage.
Mahard, a joy to watch, has played Scrooge for the past five years but has appeared in more than 1,000 MBT performances of “A Christmas Carol” in one role or another over the 30 years that MBT has presented the holiday feast.
Mahard said, “I’ve played Marley’s Ghost, Bob Cratchit, Old Joe, Fezziwig, villagers and others.” He made it a family affair some 20 years ago carrying his baby daughter on stage, both in character. His daughter Kathryn Mahard, 22 today, appeared on stage with him for nine years in various children’s roles in the Cratchit family. This year she is the kiddie manager, no easy role preparing dozens of children to appear on stage in costume and on time.
Mr. Mahard has starred in a very long MBT repertoire since his first role in 1979, “The School for Scandal.” His notable leads include “Killing Time,” “Devour the Snow,” and many other characters. He’s also appeared in the Clint Eastwood movie “Gran Torino” drinking scene, is working in a new film, and is an Oakland University acting teacher.
The actor said he is delighted to be playing Scrooge at MB theater where every detail is carefully staged and meticulously produced from candles on the staircase, to the smoke and flash of apparitions, to buttons on the jackets.
“It’s a very unusual pleasure to get to study a role for 29 years,” Mahard said. “Of course I was there with the great Booth Coleman, and several Scrooges since. I borrow the best mannerisms and create my own. How fun is this show? It is amazing. It’s a daily catharsis to begin as nasty and mean and transform into goodness.”
Mahard said the voice and body require weeks of conditioning for the demanding role which is physical, emotional and spiritual.
“We use the rehearsal process to build stamina,” he said.
Meadow Brook Theatre’s “A Christmas Carol” is adapted and originally staged by Charles Nolte in a picturesque and festive performance, featuring a Dickensian village, elaborate Victorian costumes, and harmonious choral caroling. The two-hour play incorporates favorite characters, scenes and dialogue.
From start to finish, the production aptly holds the attentions of children (under five not admitted) to those with hearing-assisted devices, to all ages in between. It appeals to the ear, eye and heart.
The production which truly helps to finance the theater’s budget all year is the work of Artistic Director Travis W. Walter, Managing Director Cheryl Marshall, and an astounding multitude of talented and dedicated people in the cast, crew, business office and box office.
MBT Associate Director Terry W. Carpenter directs “A Christmas Carol.” He’s also been of this show for decades.
Carpenter said each member of his 584 seat-audience will recall the scenes, identify with one or more character, and relive Dickens’ cleansing story: “Perhaps you see yourself as a caroler, a romantic, a struggling worker or a hungry child.”
Mark Rademacher plays the Ghost of Jacob Marley, Sara Catheryn Wolf is Spirit of Christmas Past, Paul Hopper is Spirit of Christmas Present, Matt Siadak is Spirit of Christmas Future, Tobin Hissong is Bob Cratchit, Jean Lyle Lepard is Mrs. Cratchit, Phil Powers is Old Joe, Judy Dery is Mrs. Fezziwig, and Robyn Lipnicki Mewha is Belle.
The role of Tiny Tim is shared by two local children, Andrew Guest of Rochester Hills and Jack Sanitate of Washington.
The design crew includes Assistant Stage Manager Sarah Warren, Choral Director Jim Territo, Choral Arranger Caitlin Burke, Dance Mistress Ann O’Brien, Original Choreographer Jan Puffer, Dialect Coach Nancy Lipschultz, Set Design Peter W. Hicks, Lighting Designer Reid G. Johnson, Costume Designer Mary Pettinato and Sound Designer Mike Duncan.
The cast also includes James Busam, Ian Douthitt, Joseph Feldmann, Zachary Jackson Garrett, Andrew Guest, Lucas Guest, Nicole Hollinsky, Jaclyn Holmes, Bella Ignagni, Rachel Jones, Collin Kilpatrick, Maxine Koos, Nathan Koss, Georgia Mies, Madison Mies, Michele Peters, Blake Reno, Lizzie Rainville, Dave Roy, Ashley Rozanski, Jack Sanitate, Grace Seyferth, Maxwell Schein, Kayla Sharp, Matt Siadak, Graham Simpson, Diana Turner, Patrick Wehner and Caroline Wroblewski.
“A Christmas Carol” at Meadow Brook Theatre is a journey in time, in spirit, and echoes Tiny Tim’s blessing in our ear, “God bless us, every one.”
Meadow Brook Theatre presents ‘A Christmas Carol’ through Dec. 22. Performances at 8 p.m. Wednesdays-Fridays; 2 and 6:30 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays; and 2 p.m. Dec. 4 and 8 p.m. Dec. 17. Tickets: $18-$41. Tickets at the MBT box office 248- 377-3300 or http://www.ticketmaster.com. Group discounts for eight or more, 248-370-3316. For more information, www.mbtheatre.com.
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Detroit Arts Live and Worth Seeing: JET’s 4000 Miles
Wonderful acting and a delicate story make ‘4000 Miles’ at the JET a winner. Henrietta Hermelin (Vera) and Joseph Seibert (Leo) confront a long-absent relationship — their own.
JET’s “4000 Miles” bridges the distance between generations
By VIVIAN DeGAIN
The Oakland Press Nov. 15, 2013
The Jewish Ensemble Theatre is staging a contemporary drama, created by a gifted 38-year-old writer and performed by a truly talented cast, “4000 Miles” by Amy Herzog. Herzog’s play was a finalist for the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and won the 2012 Obie Award for Best New American Play.
Herzog writes about her story, “After suffering a major loss while he was on a cross-country bike trip, 21-year-old Leo seeks solace from his feisty 91-year-old grandmother Vera in her West Village apartment. Over the course of a month, these unlikely roommates infuriate, bewilder, and ultimately reach each other. ‘4000 Miles’ looks at how two outsiders find their way in today’s world.”
Directed by Christopher Bremer, JET’s managing director, “4000 Miles” stars Joseph Seibert as Leo and Henrietta Hermelin as Vera.
Each character struggles with loss and denial, and the audience witnesses how frustration and compassion are both sides of the same coin.
Bremer said, “What struck me about this wonderful play is that we all know the cliché you come into this world and you go out alone, but the truth is that we all spend a great deal of time alone even though we are surrounded by other individuals.”
The fine actors do it with movement and distance.
Hermelin’s Vera maneuvers her way around the apartment in an aging body. Her steps become all the more delicate, her need to hang on pronounced, and her everyday items misplaced. She seems to age before our eyes. Yet she remains a dogged force for her survival and leftist ideas.
Seibert’s Leo says he will only be staying for one night, but the tension in his face and posture belie his capacity to decide anything. He can’t sit still and he can’t move on.
The acting is true and the dialogue is wonderful.
In “4000 Miles” the distance between the Pacific and the Atlantic becomes a passage of something else entirely for this self-described hippie and his grandmother.
Other actors in the play include Lydia Hiller as Bec, Leo’s Ex-girlfriend and another lost soul in search of the intangible — and Arianne Villareal as Amanda, Leo’s would-be one-night stand who makes us laugh in absurd platform shoes and leaves too soon.
Hiller is skittish and drawn-up into herself. Villareal is sultry, suggestive and teasing. In both cases, Leo is left frustrated. Leo’s miles add up to losses exponential: his best friend’s death, his romantic breakups, his physical weight from the cycling.
Yet, there are turns of events that cross the distance.
In a very poignant scene, Vera finds her way in the night to Leo alone on the couch. She sits in silence and he speaks about his tragedy at last. The staging is just right. The lights are dim. The actors are within intimate distance of themselves and the audience, and Vera and Leo and the audience embrace the darkness.
In a talk-back after the performance, Seibert said, “All four characters are loners, dealing with their loneliness in varying degrees of success.”
JET Artistic Director David Magidson said “4000 Miles” is a drama with moments of comedy. Yes despite the issues of grief, loss and life – there is comedy.
Hermelin said the play is delicate and written just right.
In addition, the JET cast includes Jessica Womack as a voice of Lily (Leo’s sister) and credits include Harold Jurkiewicz as stage manager, Jennifer Maiseloff as scene designer, Matt Lira as sound designer, Diane Ulseth for set and properties, Neil Koivu for lighting, and Christa Koerner for costumes.
The Jewish Ensemble Theatre presents ‘4000 Miles’ through Dec. 1 at the Aaron DeRoy Theatre on the campus of the Jewish Community Center, 6600 West Maple Road in West Bloomfield. Tickets are $41-$48, discounts for seniors and students. Performances at 7:30 p.m. Thursdays; 5 and 8:30 p.m. Saturdays; 2 and 7 p.m. Sundays; plus 2 p.m. Wednesday Nov. 20 and 7:30 p.m. Nov. 27. Call 248-788-2900 or visit www.jettheatre.org.
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