With the summer theater season behind us, it’s time for some reflections of what went on the past couple of months.
It really is a mini look at the state of theater in general. The common comment from most companies is that attendance is getting better, but still not near pre-pandemic levels. Almost every company agrees that it is a struggle to get people into the seats.
This summer had less to offer than in the past. Theatre Barn in New Lebanon closed at the end of last season and did not reopen. The Williamstown Theatre, which not that long ago won a Tony Award for Best Regional Theatre did not produce a single production.
WTF did put their name on Barrington Stage Company’s musical “A New Brain” as co-producer, but there were no full productions at their home base. Instead, they offered a cabaret concert series and a number of play readings. They also requested the press not cover any of their events.
My overall impression of the lighter season is that it was wildly diverse as artistic directors attempted to find a formula that would include titles that would lure audiences while staying true to their artistic vision. The result was several memorable productions in the middle of a mostly “so what” season.
One of the best ways to discuss both the diversity and quality of the work offered is to look at the musicals.
For pure fun, we had “Something Rotten” a light-hearted comic romp, with a deceptively good score at Park Playhouse in Albany’s Washington Park. As a bonus the fantastically performed show was offered free for the majority of the audience.
Barrington Stage Company offered a dark look at “Cabaret.” New artistic director Alan Paul made the show a commentary on how fascism can overwhelm a complacent public. He did this without negating the wonderful Kander and Ebb score. It was like seeing the familiar show for the first time.
The Rep in Albany went for pure fun with their summer musical, “Honky Tonk Angels.” The work has a slim story filled with great songs identified with famous female country singers. It was just a pleasant few hours of summer escape.
The same could be said about Opera Saratoga’s offering of the Broadway show “Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder.” A young cast displayed great voices and tons of personality in the musical about one man attempting to murder eight people in line ahead of him to inherit a title and the fortune that goes with it. Having all the victims played by one actor added to the fun.
It was a special treat for the family-friendly national tour of “The Lion King” to spend two weeks at Proctors in Schenectady.
Adding to the summer fun was the rarely produced “A New Brain” at Barrington Stage and the impressive student-performed “Secret Garden,” another Park Playhouse production in Albany’s Washington Park.
While musicals are a special delight in the summer, we were gifted by several compelling dramas as well. Barrington Stage in Pittsfield opened the season with “The Happiest Man in the World.”
Not only was the true story a riveting 90-minutes of intense drama, it featured what was one of the best single performances of the season. Kenneth Tigar was brilliant as the Holocaust survivor Eddie Jaku. He kept us emotionally involved to this important story. The good news is the show was so popular it is returning to Barrington for two weeks September 22-October 8.
One reason I try never to use the word “best” is the equally outstanding performance by the actor who refers to himself as “ranney”.
His work in the awesome production of August Wilson’s “Fences” at Shakespeare & Company was dominating.
The actor was fearless in creating a character who never apologized for his bitter attitude about life and his treatment of his family.
He made it clear why he felt the way he did, and by so doing elevated a family drama to a social statement about why the African-American community, immigrants and other minorities have a similar attitude toward a culture that uses them and fails to offer equitable rights.
Under the category of best actor you have to consider best ensemble as well. The three actors in Barrington Stage’s production of “Faith Healer” proves a great ensemble piece is created by great individual performers.
The three actors in “Faith Healer”, Christopher Innvar, Mark H. Dold and Gretchen Egof were incredible as they delivered four separate monologues. Without ever seeing them on stage together they told three totally different versions of the same story. Instead of confusion, their skill brought clarity to the situation and defined the individual storytellers. It was a brilliant night of theater.
On the topic of ensemble acting, the Lake George Dinner Theatre brought back the improvisational comedy "Shear Madness" for a two month run. It's an interactive murder mystery comedy in which the audience is drawn into solving a crime. Indeed, half the fun comes from seeing the passion of the audience when directly questioning suspects. It first started in Lake George in 1978 and has become one of the longest running shows in many major cities throughout the country. It was nice to have it back with a superb, mostly local cast.
These are the highlights of the summer that I remember most fondly. There were also numerous productions available that were fun, entertaining and thought provoking. They deserve to be remembered as well. But these were the best of the best.
They remind us that we are not only fortunate to live in an area with so much good summer theater, we are truly fortunate that great theater is also available the other three seasons of the year.
Bob Goepfert is theater reviewer for the Troy Record.
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