Review: 'King o' the Moon'
Times change, not family love at BoarsHead
In last season's smash hit, "Over the Tavern," BoarsHead Theatre patrons were introduced to the Pazinski family, a fairly typical blue-collar Catholic family of the late 1950s. It was an era of unquestioned loyalty – to both your country and your church. But the winds of change were foreshadowed through the character of 12-year-old Rudy, the family comedian who tormented Sister Clarissa with his challenges to long-held church teachings.
Lansing area theatergoers loved the Pazinskis – so much so that the production was brought back for an unprecedented encore at the end of the season. More recently, it was honored with the 2005 Wilde Award as Favorite Comedy.
It came as no surprise, then, that former Artistic Director Geoffrey Sherman chose to open the 2005/06 season with its sequel, "King o' the Moon." And while it probably won't be as wildly successful as its predecessor – a major ingredient, Sister Clarissa (or rather, Carmen Decker), is missing – the larger-than-usual opening night crowd and the positive buzz afterwards bode well for this very entertaining production!
It's now 10 years later, and the Pazinski family is preparing for its annual dinner to commemorate the death of the family patriarch. All of the kids are home (although a few never left). But the problems facing the Pazinskis are grown-up problems now: Annie's marriage is about to be derailed; Eddie's new wife is pregnant, but he's off to Vietnam in a few days; Mother Ellen is keeping a secret from her kids; and Rudy is back from the seminary – smelling like tear gas after participating in an anti-war protest!
Yes, the times they are a-changing!
For those of us who grew up Catholic in the 50s and 60s, this second of Tom Dudzick's Pazinski trilogy certainly rings true. Divorce, the war, church authority and religion itself were all hot topics back then. (Okay, so maybe times haven't changed all that much!) And his characters are very human and spout realistic dialogue. Yet it's the love they share – even at their most heated moments – that is most striking.
In fact, that's what especially stands out in director Nancy Rominger's warm and nicely-paced production. For despite their quarrels and differences, the Pazinskis are a loving family first and foremost – and Rominger never lets us forget it!
Dana Munshaw Brazil, the only returning cast member, brings the same strength and exasperation to Ellen as she did in "Over the Tavern."
Emily Sutton-Smith has great fun as daughter-in-law Maureen, an Irish Catholic girl who has seen more action than her husband will face overseas.
But it's Aral B. Gribble II who stands out in this production. It's never easy playing a mentally challenged person on stage, but Gribble infuses Georgie with an innocence, brightness and dignity that few other actors could achieve so well.
"King 'o the Moon" plays Wed.-Sun. through Sept. 25 at the BoarsHead Theatre, 325 S. Grand in downtown Lansing. $25-$33. 517-484-7805. http://www.boarshead.org.
The Bottom Line: With two successful and entertaining chapters behind them, can the third be far behind?
Review: 'Altar Boyz'
It's simply divine: Crush-worthy guys light up City Theatre
Do you know who's in the house at Detroit's City Theatre these days?
If you answered "God," then the freshly scrubbed cherubs starring in "Altar Boyz" successfully worked their magic on you. The real answer, however, is this: a hell of a lot of very satisfied theatergoers!
It was only a few weeks ago that attendees of the 2005 Wilde Awards were treated to a musical number that revealed the secret to managing a successful theater in Michigan: Do Catholic shows, do Jewish shows and do gay-themed shows. Now comes a rousing musical comedy that successfully combines all three, and it couldn't be more entertaining!
It's that sort of divine inspiration that results in a box office smash – and if the smile on Nederlander Company executive Alan Lichtenstein's face after the opening night performance is any indication, I suspect the Boyz will be spreading the word amongst us for a while to come!
In "Altar Boyz," a God-centered boy band is in Detroit on the final stop of its Raise the Praise tour. Its five cute and talented performers – four Catholics and one Jew who isn't quite sure what he's doing there – have been hip-hopping their way across America spreading their brand of the gospel, but now they are on the verge of stardom. Before that happens, however, they must accomplish something no local politician has yet achieved: They must save Detroit from everlasting damnation – one soul (and song) at a time!
If the premise sounds like something you'd experience at a suburban evangelical Christian super-church, that's understandable – but wrong! Nor does the musical comedy exist to poke fun at religion – particularly Catholicism – or the boy band phenomenon. Instead, "Altar Boyz" is a heavenly sweet and ecumenically silly evening of theater that can bring even an agnostic to his feet at the end of the show.
After all, how seriously can you take a musical with clever lines like "Jesus called me on my cell phone"? Or catchy tunes that eerily sound like the play list from every Backstreet Boys or 'N Synch CD ever recorded?
But it's the energetic performances of Corey Boardman (Matthew), Zach Hanna (Mark), Andrew C. Call (Luke), Chad Michael (Juan) and Eric Schneider (Abraham) that really sell the show. Together, they sound angelic; individually, they each have a special moment to shine.
Especially notable is Hanna's Mark who is hiding – screaming, actually – a secret that's totally obvious to the audience, but not to Matthew and the other Boyz. It's a sweet, joyful portrayal, and "Epiphany" – his big solo number – is a showstopper.
"Altar Boyz" runs Tuesday through Sunday at the City Theatre, 2301 Woodward Ave., Detroit (inside the Hockeytown Cafe), through Dec. 18. Tickets: $22.50-$45. For information, call 313-872-1000 or log on to http://www.nederlanderdetroit.com.
The Bottom Line: An uplifting, silly, laugh-out-loud and thoroughly enjoyable evening of theater that will warm the hearts of young and old alike!
