Youth is Wasted on the Young

Youth is Wasted on the Young . . . George Bernard Shaw

The prolific playwright, critic, novelist and essayist, George Bernard Shaw is featured with the current production of the Pittsburgh Public Theater’s British Invasion.  Candida, one of Shaw’s earlier works and part of the trilogy penned under Plays Pleasant,  is a study in human relationship’s: husband/wife, employer/employee, poet/enabling wannabe (to the poet) paramour, father –in-law/son-in-law.  Shaw weaves the playful rhythm, tone and wit of language bred from his native Ireland.  Humor is frequent and the audience appreciates the well-phrased and delivered commentary of the then-current societal mores.  While some elements of the conversations appear dated (the use of cant, for example, was last heard in a long ago class on literature) , the majority of the dialogue transcends time, as appropriate in Victorian England as it is in the 21^st Century Pittsburgh.

In Candida, the audience is treated to a preview of the characters that will be arguably Shaw’s most recognizable players from Pygmalion/My Fair Lady.  The dissolute Eugene Marchbanks (Jared McGuire)  is a precursor (at least to this viewer) of Freddie Aynsford-Hill;  Candida’s father,  Mr. Burgess (John O’Creagh) is reminiscent of Alfred P. Doolittle, the common dustman with his broad cockney accent juxtaposed with the costume finery of a gentleman after he is thrust directly into middle class morality by Henry Higgins’ recommendation, getting to the church on time.  The audience is reminded that in Shaw, one finds a Nobel Prize winner and an Oscar winner, an unlikely and unique combination of tributes held solely by him.

Gretchen Egolf as Candida and David Whalen as Vicar Morell (Photo Credit: Pittsburgh Public Theater)

Candida (Gretchen Egolf), the namesake of the work, is a beautiful woman who is coveted by both her husband, The Reverend James Mavor Morell (David Whalen) and Eugene, the young poet who is clearly enamored with her.  Candida appears to be initially oblivious of being the object of Marchbanks’ attentions, almost like a cat playing with a mouse.  Later, we realize she is much more self and situationally aware. 

Gretchen Egolf as Candida and Jared McGuire as Eugene Marchbanks (Photo Credit:  Pittsburgh Public Theater)

Her husband, also initially oblivious, is astounded when his wife demonstrates an insight on his relationship with his trusted assistant and the reason for his popularity as a much sought after orator.  The cast is rounded out by Meghan Mae O’Neill playing the long suffering Miss Proserpine (Prossie) Garnett and Matthew Minor as The Reverend Alexander Mill, assistant to Vicar Morrell.

The play is set in Victoria Park on the outskirts of London at the turn of the 20^th century spanning a single day in the study and sitting room of St. Dominic’s Vicarage.

Candida is directed by the venerable Ted Pappas and continues at the O’Reilly Theater through May 18^th.

This  review of Candida was written by Joyce Kane on behalf of Positively Pittsburgh Live Magazine and Roving Pittsburgher.  Joyce is the owner of Cybertary Pittsburgh, a Virtual Assistant service company providing on demand business support services for entrepreneurs, solopreneurs and anyone else needing help.  We help businesses work on their business rather than in their business.  www.cybertary.com/Pittsburgh

Roving Pittsburgher Report - Ogre Love Conquers All A Review of Shrek the Musical, Feb. 6th 2014 Performance

Ogre Love Conquers All
A Review of Shrek the Musical, Feb. 6th 2014 Performance
From: Roving Pittsburgher and PositivePittsburghLiveMagazine.com
Written By: Stephanie Curtice | Feb. 07, 2014

We all grew up with those classic fairy tales of damsels in distress saved by a handsome prince, where love triumphs over the wicked, and everyone was perfect, pretty, and happy. Well Shrek the Musical, which opened February 6th at Pittsburgh’s Byham Theater, was a perfect toe-tapping love story just like that – well mostly.

Shrek the Musical
(photo courtesy: Pittsburgh Cultural Trust)

The dashing hero Shrek (Billy Mason) is not quite prince charming, because you know it ain’t easy being green. The shunned ogre was content to live in the quiet of his swamp. That was until it was invaded by misfit fairy tale characters, banished from the kingdom of Duloc by the droll Lord Farquaad (Tim Hartman). The pint-sized ruler offers a challenge for Shrek to regain his stinky swamp. All he needed to do was rescue Farquaad’s bride-to-be from a dragon protected tower.

With the help of his charmingly witty and relentless noble steed, Donkey, Shrek rescues the beautiful maiden Fiona (Emily Lynne Miller) narrowly escaping the pink dragon, a singing diva. At first unimpressed with the efforts of the outcast ogre, Fiona warms up to Shrek and a few commonalities break wind for an unexpected romance. But, Fiona bearing her own curse and is not who she seems. Now in love with Fiona, Shrek tries to break up her wedding to Farquaad. Meanwhile, the renegade fairy tale characters storm the castle in their own revolt against the mini monarch. Happy ever after comes for all as they fly their "Freak Flag" with pride and Fiona's true identity is revealed by power of true love’s kiss.

Shrek the Musical
(photo courtesy: Pittsburgh Cultural Trust)

Now even before the show I was wondering what differences there would be from the movie. Shrek the Musical was adapted from the popular 2001 animated film by DreamWorks and the children’s book by William Steig. It was directed by Colleen Petrucci, with a score by Jeanine Tesori and a book and lyrics by the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright David Lindsay-Abaire. Like the movie it was laden with numerous pop culture jokes and fairy tale spoofs. But it additionally had spoof references to other musicals like Les Miserables, Gypsy, The Lion King, Wicked, and Chorus Line including one classic style tap dancing number, “I Think I Got You Beat.”

The show featured a Pittsburgh native too. Tim Hartman, who played the vertically challenged Lord Farquaad, hilariously hammed it up for the hometown, all while scooting around on his knees the whole show. Shrek the Musical was full of fun, upbeat music, comical spoofs, witty jokes, a great message of acceptance, and incredible costumes, like Pinocchio’s trademark growing nose. The singing was outstanding and the acting superb. I know its still cold out, but don’t just pop in the DVD. Go out, take the kids to see Shrek the Musical live, you won’t be sorry. The family friendly show is one you and your kids won’t want to miss!

Special shout out to my 7th grade neighbor Ishmael, who joined me at the show.  His favorites were Donkey for the laughs, great singing and accent by Shrek, and special effects like Pinocchio's growing nose.  He gave the show two thumbs up too!

Additional Performances:

Feb 7th and 8th  |   7:30 PM
Feb 9th  |   2:00 PM
Feb 14th and 15th  |   7:30 PM
Feb 16th  |   2:00 PM

By: Stephanie Curtice

Good News and Cultural Reporter

PositivelyPittsburghLiveMagazine.com

RovingPittsburgher.blogspot.com

TheNewGirlintheBurgh.blogspot.com

(c) PositivelyPittsburghLiveMagazine.com 2014

Roving Pittsburgher Report - Hip Hop Dance Mashup is Smashup A Review Compagnie Kafig’s Feb. 1st 2014 Performance

Hip Hop Dance Mashup is Smashup
A Review Compagnie Kafig’s Feb. 1st 2014 Performance
From: Roving Pittsburgher and PositivePittsburghLiveMagazine.com
Written By: Stephanie Curtice | Feb. 02, 2014

(photo courtesy: Pittsburgh Cultural Trust)

What do you get when you mix MMA moves and dancing? Or more specifically a dance mashup of Capoeira, Brazilian martial arts, with contemporary and hip hop dancing? An exhilarating and physical dance show by Compagnie Kafig. Choreographed by Mourad Merzouki of France, the 11 member male dance troupe had the packed house of the Byham Theater in aw all night, Feb. 1st.

Compagnie Kafig
(photo courtesy: Pittsburgh Cultural Trust)

The first half of the show was called “Correira,” Portuguese for running. It was a fun exploration of movement about running here, there and every where. Alone, together. Fast and slow. In circles and in place. The show opened with three sets of feet running in the air and as the lights opened more join, others begin circling around fast. The chaos of groups coming and going grew into an amazing display of breaking, popping, locking, waacking, hip-hop, house, Capoeira, and acrobatics, all while running in some way.

The second half was called Agwa, and was a fun piece with tribal-like flare about the fluidity of water. It opened with two dancers navigating around 20 towers of clear plastic cups stacked 3 to 5 feet high, only one fell over. Then with the dashing of the other dancers across the stage they were all scattered. With the spot light on an amazing display of pop and lock dancing by one, the rest of the troupe crawled in the dark setting up the disheveled cups into 15 rows of 20 cups partially filled with water.

Compagnie Kafig
(photo courtesy: Pittsburgh Cultural Trust)

The lights came up and the piece picked up the pace with a dancer doing flips and back handsprings across the stage never hitting a single glass. As the whole group joined in, not a single drop was spilled as they danced, flipped, and crawled around the stage. The glasses were gathered and water combined as part of the dance. Then after the humorous taunting of one dancer, they all appear in clear raincoats almost as if they were the cups. Continuing we saw yet another use of the cups with each dancer reappearing with a stack of 50 - 100 cups, manipulating it like a snake. As the intensity came to a head, literally with a guy breakdance spinning on his head, the glasses all flew into the air and showered down.

With a roaring crowd the troupe, reappeared with an encore of dance solos among the scattered cups. Critics waffle between how to label the dancing of Compagnie Kafig’s as contemporary dance or just street hip-hop. Here’s what I know…. I know I couldn’t do any of the moves they did and practically worked up a sweat just watching them. This show was the most captivating, high-intensity, and fun dance performance I have ever seen. It was a smash!

Upcoming Cultural Shows presented by the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust:
Shen Yun Chinese Dancing | February 19th and 20th | Benedum Center
Soweto Gospel Choir | February 27th | Byham Theater
Celtic Nights | March 6 | Byham Theater

By: Stephanie Curtice
Good News and Cultural Reporter
PositivelyPittsburghLiveMagazine.com
RovingPittsburgher.blogspot.com
TheNewGirlintheBurgh.blogspot.com
(c) PositivelyPittsburghLiveMagazine.com 2014

I Have Seen The Enemy and It is Us

Review by Joyce Kane

The REP’s current offering, Soldier’s Heart, is a gritty and intense view into the gender differences in the military.  The play opens with a seemingly realistic, well-adjusted single mother preparing for her first deployment to Iraq.  Casey Johnson, a sergeant in the Marine Corps, has her son Sean’s athletic and academic schedule for the ensuing 9 months calendared and cross referenced by month, along with medical records and pre-recorded stories and letters.  In the interchange with her mother, we become aware that perhaps Casey has something to prove.  Her father, an embittered veteran who spent time in Vietnam, came home a changed man.  Both of Casey’s parents used alcohol to assuage the pain of the downward spiral of their relationship.  Her father left Casey his house upon his death 6 months earlier, to her mother’s apparent resentment.  Casey is estranged from Sean’s father, but he shares custody and childcare with Casey and now with her mother.

Marie Elena O'Brien, Jenna Cole

In a rapidly unfolding barrage of videos, we get a glimpse into the horrors of war in Iraq.  There are two women in the company; rather than bonding with each other, Casey and Lance Corporal Hernandez appear to spar, verbally and culturally.  The plight of a female deployed in a foreign country is presented with a raw, matter of fact style.  Personal hygiene and the status of women in Iraq reveal underlying tensions that belie the status of woman in the US.

Michael Fuller, Marie Elena O'Brien

Casey’s return stateside reveals a shattered woman.  She refuses to see her son; she refuses to engage in life.  Her heart has turned from open and accepting to hard and unyielding.  She finds her father’s stash of tequila and liberally partakes to numb her memories of the horrors that she experienced.  She contemplates suicide and disengages from any interpersonal contact.  She can no longer bear to be touched, preferring the isolation of video games and television in which to immerse herself.

Marie Elena O'Brien, Joshua Elijah Reese

Humor relieves some of the dark content.  Kevin, Casey’s ex and "Mr. Analogy", is a spark of reason, appealing to the Casey of old to try to bridge the actions of the mother of his child with this stranger. The secrets of what transpired over the nine months continue to be unraveled and erode our sense of respect and honor for our perceived heroes.

Tammy Ryan

The Studio Theatre of the Pittsburgh Playhouse is the venue for the world premiere of the play, written by Pittsburgher Tammy Ryan and directed by John Amplas.  The staging and lighting are stark and gray, befitting the mood of the work itself and the audience’s reaction.  The use of the same set for both stateside and Iraq was enhanced by the videos projected on the back wall; the videos also served as a flashback mechanism, a graphic demonstration of what Casey encountered in Iraq.

Justin Lonesome, Marie Elena O'Brien

Marie Elena O’Brien is remarkable as Casey Johnson.  The range of emotions that she displays throughout the performance is heart-wrenching.  Joshua Elijah Reese as Kevin is likable; you root for him to be successful in breaking through the shell, helping and supporting Casey in her return to life.  Margie, Casey’s mother, ably portrayed by Jenna Cole, is everywoman, while not perfect, loves her daughter and grandson and tries her best.  Michael Fuller (Captain Baines, Casey’s Commanding Officer), Justin Lonesome (Staff Sergeant Williams), Jaime Slavinsky (Lance Corporal Hernandez), and Sundiata Rice (Sean) round out the small but emotionally powerful cast.  Kudo’s to Rice in his debut as Sean, Casey’s son, who idolizes her and cannot understand their estrangement.  When Casey does not respond to his heartfelt, innocent appeals, we are left to imagine that no one will be able to break through to her.

Casey has seen the enemy…and it is us.

Soldier’s Heart runs through October 13th at the Pittsburgh Playhouse.

Photo Credit for Cast of Soldier's Heart:  Jeff Swensen

Reviewed  on behalf of PositivelyPittsburghLive! Magazine.  Joyce Kane is the owner of Cybertary Pittsburgh, a Virtual Administrative support company, providing virtual office support, personal and executive assistance, creative design services and light bookkeeping.  Cybertary works with businesses and busy individuals to help them work 'on' their business rather than 'in' their business.  www.Cybertary.com/Pittsburgh

CLO's The Phantom Entertains

The Phantom

The Pittsburgh CLO’s production of Kopit & Yeston’s Phantom combines enough of the drama of the more well-known Andrew Lloyd Webber version of the love story to be reminiscent yet is unique enough in its handling of the story to stand apart.

Based on the Gaston Leroux novel “Le Fantome de L’Opera”, Arthur Kopit’s book and the theater version provides more of a character study into the back story of the why of The Phantom.  In the K&Y version, The Phantom is more humanized and has a name, Erik.  While he skulks backstage, on the catwalk and in the underbelly of the famed Paris Opera House, his character is portrayed with more sensitivity, evoking empathy rather than horror.  His story, revealed in the second act, provides insight into a much more likeable, even playful character.  The K & Y version is essentially more accessible to the audience.

I did take issue with one aspect of the second act revelation of Erik’s story – not the story itself, but on relying on the ballet convention a la “An American in Paris” or “Oklahoma”; it felt a tad trite for my taste, a less than novel treatment to expose how the legend of The Phantom came to be.

Carlotta

Another departure from the more popular ALW version is a broader cast, with effective use of the ensemble, and without the need for the more dramatic special effects that characterize the better known variation.  I found that I preferred it.  The music and lyrics by Maury Yeston, while less recognizable, were still effective to weave the story of the young ingénue, Christine Daee.  Initially relegated to the wardrobe department, she rises to the position of lead under the tutelage of Erik, unbeknownst to the conniving and controlling La Carlotta, the quintessential diva.  Despite her lack of talent, Carlotta (Donna Lynne Champlin) is the feted queen of the Opera House, due solely to her husband’s wealth and the currying of well chosen benefactors who continue to support the opera despite repeated failures of the productions.  This production has a fair bit of humor mixed in the dialogue, giving the audience even more entertainment and causing me to comment at intermission that I preferred it over the noir version that I had seen numerous times.

Christine and The Phantom

The lovely soprano of Erin Mackey as Christina melodiously blends with Ron Bohmer’s (The Phantom) tenor.  Veteran Jaime Ross as Gerard Carriere, the former Opera House manager, is credible as Erik’s mother’s married lover and subsequent protector of Erik.  You feel his emotional tug of war as he at last reveals his parentage and performs the ultimate paternal act in the final scene.

Christine and Philippe

The character of Philippe de Chandon (Bryant Martin) first discovers the talents of Christine and urges her to develop her voice with vocal training.  He becomes smitten with his discovery, leading to a jealous reaction on Erik’s part.  Thus spins the love story between two unlikely characters, the beautiful Christine and the disfigured Erik.

On opening night, the audience responded well to the production, delivering a standing ovation to the cast.  If you get the chance to see this alternate production of the Phantom, do take advantage of the opportunity while it is in town.  The show runs through June 30, 2013 at the Benedum.

Photo Credit:  Matt Polk

Reviewed on behalf of Positively Pittsburgh Live! Magazine by Joyce Kane.  Joyce  is the owner of Cybertary Pittsburgh, a Virtual Administrative support company, providing virtual office support, personal and executive assistance, creative design services and light bookkeeping.  Cybertary works with businesses and busy individuals to help them work 'on' their business rather than 'in' their business.  www.Cybertary.com/Pittsburgh

Aloha Meenakshi

Aloha Meenakshi

NAWBO Greater Pittsburgh Chapter honored their President, Meenakshi Kapoor, at an “Aloha Meenakshi” luncheon at the Grand Concourse, Station Square.  In Barbara Walters’ style, Joanne Quinn Smith interviewed Meenakshi on her fascinating story of her journey from a casual visitor stateside to a multi-million dollar entrepreneur.  Meenakshi first visited the states for a 6 month vacation, time that had been earned from a position in New Delhi where she had not taken a vacation in six years.  This was our initial glimpse into the dedication, selflessness and focus that would awe and inspire the attendees.

Meenakshi decided to stay after she was hired for a position in New Jersey, pursuing a career in HR.  Fast forward to several relocations and disappointments, and Meenakshi landed in Pittsburgh where she knew no one.  When she faced yet another relocation request to Charlotte, she decided that she had enough of the nomadic life.  With a $250 investment, Meenakshi and a partner decided to launch Symphony Enterprises, LLC.

Symphony Enterprises, LLC is an IT staffing firm, leveraging Meenakshi’s background in HR to source, recruit and place outsourced technical talent for firms.  From its humble beginnings, Symphony has exceeded $2 Million in topline revenue and is on track to continue the upward trajectory.  Meenakshi shared how she used cold calling and other low costs marketing practices to grow her business.

Meenakshi credits the members of NAWBO Greater Pittsburgh for offering friendship, support and important resources to buoy her forward.  In 2010, she earned her citizenship; as a result, she sought and received several key certifications, including WBENC and 8 (a).

Aloha is Hawaiian meaning both ‘hello’ and ‘goodbye’.  Meenakshi married in November of 2012 and the reason for the Aloha luncheon is she is returning to Mumbai for the next chapter of her life.  We know she will continue to succeed and look forward to her return visits to keep her NAWBO sisters in the loop.
Aloha Meenakshi – we will all miss you.

The interview can be seen on the NAWBO Channel of Positively Pittsburgh Live! Magazine.  Each attendee had the opportunity for a videotaped 30-second commercial which will also be posted to the NAWBO channel.  Tune in for the entire interview as well as the commercials.

Written and posted on behalf of RovingPittsburgher and Dreamweaver Marketing Associates.  Joyce Kane is the owner of Cybertary Pittsburgh, a Virtual Administrative support company, providing virtual office support, personal and executive assistance, creative design services and light bookkeeping.  Cybertary works with businesses and busy individuals to help them work 'on' their business rather than 'in' their business.  www.Cybertary.com/Pittsburgh