HCC Actor’s Guild has once again delivered a performance that seems well above the expectations for student theatre. In Dog Sees God, there is an ensemble of well-crafted performances delivered on a creative and clean set through interesting and appropriate blocking choices. If you have not yet paid a visit to their intimate black box, now is the time.

Dog Sees God takes the characters from “Peanuts” and reimagines them as teenagers, teenagers who deal with bullying, homosexuality, drugs, alcohol, sex, death, suicide, and a host of other real-world problems. It is a dark and tormented world that they navigate, and these young performers convey that pain and confusion with touching realism.

The male members of this cast are especially talented and really make a huge impression. As CB, Tim Torre comes out blazing and gives a very raw and intense performance. As Beethoven, Devin Michael gives a complex and nuanced performance that is intensely believable and extremely controlled. Also demonstrating amazing restraint is Connor Shea as Matt. Even though Shea’s character has a huge personality and wild fits of rage, Shea shows incredibly mature restraint in never pushing too far. Josh Marshall as Van is far less restrained and it works with his loud, goofy, comic-relief character.

While the females are a little overshadowed by their male counterparts, they are able to hold their own. Tricia Ragan has some especially strong moments as CB’s sister, and Lizzie Detar creates a very consistent character for Marcie. Andie Cappelletti’s Tricia is a little forced, but it works with her character who is a mask-wearing mean girl. As Van’s Sister, Laura Andon-Campos struggles to find the right balance between intensity and realism. As a result, she flounders in creating a clear character, but demonstrates potential for the future.

Overall, this is a definite showcase of strong acting performances in a very intense script. It is important to note that this script is filled with adult language and adult situations, so audience discretion on the topics of the script is advised. However, for fans of this kind of intense theatre, this is an excellent production.

Cast

• CB: Tim Torre
• Beethoven: Devin Michael
• Van: Josh Marshall
• Matt: Connor Shea
• Marcie: Lizzie Detar
• Tricia: Andie Cappelletti
• CB’s Sister: Tricia Ragan
• Van’s Sister: Laura Andon-Campos

Production Staff

• Director: Miranda Litchford
• Producer: Ben Fisler
• Stage Manager: Sarah Tweed
• Technical Director/Scenic and Props Designer: Robbie Elliot
• Lighting Designer: Ryan Johnson
• Costume Designer: Linda Bratcher
• Booth Operator: Leanna Wheatley

Disclaimer: HCC Actor’s Guild provided a complimentary media ticket to ShowBizRadio for this review.

It’s the trial of the century in Fairy Tale land, and the audience in the jury. Hear the testimonies, see the evidence, and decide for yourself in two trials. This is the simple premise in Fairy Tale Courtroom, and the result is an enjoyable romp through bad — yet somehow funny — puns, silly pop culture references, and a mash-up of Brothers Grimm classics.

First, the audience meets the District Attorney, a certain Peter Pan, played with youthful exuberance by Tim Torre. As the Emcee for the evening, he spends time prior to each case, charming the audience young and old with interactive improvisation. This time may actually be what secured him two guilty verdicts on this particular evening. Aiding in the improvisation is Hans (Julian Archer), who is able to hold his own and speak volumes — even though he is literally just a pair of hands.

From there, we move into the first trial and meet B.B. Wolf, defending himself. It is hard to understand how anyone found him guilty after such an incredibly nuanced performance by Dave Panzer. Panzer creates such complete characters that it was almost impossible to realize that he appeared again as a totally different Defense Attorney in the second trial, where he represents the Wicked Witch.

Throughout there are tons of great comedic character bits as different characters take the stand. Some of the standouts include Connor Shea, as both Pig #1 and the Scarecrow, Lizzie Detar as Dorothy, Tawney Hallock-Sweet, as The Badger and Gretel, and Danielle Liggens as The Flying Monkey. The cast also remained in costume after the show to talk with the younger audience members and were very patient in answering their questions.

The real star of the show, however, was Jordan Wyandt. The costumes and especially the make-up design was absolute professional caliber. The set was also very nice, and the special effects used in making the Magic Mirror were outstanding.

Overall, the show was well-designed, well-directed, and full of entertaining performances. The only concern was that there were a few moments in the show that were questionable for the young, target audience.

Cast

• Hans: Julian Archer
• Toto: Bear
• Sleeping Beauty: Andie Cappelletti
• Dorothy: Lizzie Detar
• Boy Who Cried Wolf, The Magic Mirror: Madeleine Favazza
• Snow White: Taylor Feiss
• Bailiff: Brian Fields
• Judge: Joshua Fletcher
• The Badger, Gretel: Tawney Hallock-Sweet
• Lil’ Red Riding Hood, The Flying Monkey: Danielle Liggens
• Pig #3, Prince Charming: Devin Metz
• The Witch: Aimee O’Neill
• Defense Attorney: Dave Panzer
• Pig #1, Scarecrow: Connor Shea
• Pig #2, Hansel: Jon Spivey
• District Attorney: Tim Torre

Production Staff

• Director: Leif McCurry
• Producer: Ben Fisler
• Stage Manager: Sarah Tweed
• Technical Director/Scenic Director: Robbie Elliot
• Assistant SM/Props Mistress: Leanna Whitley
• Lighting Designer: Ryan Johnson
• Costume Designer: Cortney Sudeck
• Makeup/Hair Designer: Jordan Wyandt
• Lightboard Operator: Joanna Adams
• Backstage Crew: Joshua Kradz

Disclaimer: The Actors Guild of Harford Community College provided two complimentary media tickets to ShowBizRadio for this review.

Making movies from books and novels is nothing new; it has been done for almost a century. Many great and beloved stories have been taken and hollywoodised. Everything from the Bible to graphic novels has been put on screen. So is that a good thing? Well it can be! It also can be a dangerous detrimental failure!

If you were born in the seventies, then when you were a blushing, impressionable teenager between 13 and 18 you can easily guess, understand, and feel me on this, when I say one of the most beloved stories/films of all-time hit the screen! The iconic “The Princes Bride.” Back in 1987 every teenage boy wanted to be the dashing Wesley or the courageous Inigo and every girl wanted to be swept away like Buttercup. The film has become one of the biggest influences of pop culture and still holds strong to this very day.

Harford Community College and the students of theatre workshop I, II, and III daringly have done the unthinkable! They have adapted this symbolic novel by William Gordon and the film directed by Rob Reiner into a full-blown full stage theatrical production, INCONCEIVABLE! And they have done it virtuously!

Under the strong, vivid and imaginitive direction of Brandon McCoy the book and film comes to life. Now I won’t insult our society by going through the plot line or the story, so if you are the only person in the existence of the universe who has not read it or seen the movie, stop reading this now! Run and go watch “The Princess Bride” or read the book, or better yet do both.

Adapted by Brandon McCoy, Rebecca Davis and the Cast after the novel and film by William Goldman. At the beginning of the show we are greeted by a stern cat lady type narrator, effectively and skillfully played by Jordan Wyandt, who enjoys a sip or a full snifter of brandy who settles in comfortably in to her lazy boy, and thus begins to read the very oversized “The Princes Bride” when she is suddenly interrupted by a young audience member 1 (Lizzie Detar) and then suddenly another audience member 2 (Jean Perrie) with an array of comments and questions. As she sternly, and quite skillfully and humorously puts them in their place the stage comes to life. And for the next two hours we are transformed and enchanted back into our childhood, back into our beloved fairy tale. Fully equipped with the beloved one liners, STELLAR!!!!!!!!! Swash-buckling fight choreography, and sound, light, video and audio special effects that make this production an Inconceivable success!

McCoy’s vision shine clearly and he executes it without fail. Creating two audience members as part of the cast was a very wise and artistic move, breaking the fourth wall allowed the audience to feel that they were really a part of the story and the show. That the narrator was talking directly to them, and that the characters on stage came right out of our imaginations.

This 14 member cast works quite well together and it is clear to see the effect this story has on all of them and the love they posses for it. Joshua Kradz with his suave and sharp vocal range and chiseled cheek bones does quite well as the (Man In Black). His interpretation of the role is a combination of the dazzling Cary Elwes and his own creative take on our dashing but at times bumbling hero. As the show advertises on the front cover this production is “An Homage” and it does deliver that, so most of the performances are a loving and respectful parody and impersonation of the actors from the film. Joanna Adams (Buttercup) was one of the few that did not base her character on Robin Wright’s performance; she made it her very own. And it shined beautify. Adams underplays her character’s dramatic moments with honesty and calmness, which gives her great strength and vulnerability. Adams is also a phenomenal Physical Performer (SURPRISE!!!) her moments of silence and intensive listening, or miming her swimming with the eels, were some of the strongest moments of the production.

Dave Panzer (Fezzik) is definitely the heart of the show. You fell in love with him from the moment he gigantically walked on stage. His honesty in the character stands out next to none. And yes he practically brought down the house with; “ANY BODY WANNA PEANUT?” Nathanial Donahue (Vizzini) is physically perfect for the low-life mastermind, his attempt to emulate Wallace Shawn mostly is successful, although at times Donahue’s lines were delivered extremely quickly, making it hard to understand, and it also lost some moments of humor.

Connor Shay (Humperdinck) is so over dramatic and so over the top that it works like a charm. Not sure how but it just does. Shay has combined Chris Sarandon with Lord Farquaad and delivered an entertaining performance. Hunter Lakota Baker (Count Rugen), is Shay’s sidekick (oh and SPOILER ALERT!!!!), he is the six-fingered man. He balances the tension and comedy well.

The rest of the actors play multiple roles do a great job and love every moment. So this brings me to Tim Torre (Inigo) who completely transforms himself into the drunken, courageous, sharp-tongued Spaniard, haunted by his father’s death and obsessively overtaken by revenge. And yes Torre emulates Mandy Patinkin but he does it superbly, and by the second act he brings so much of his own emotion and honesty and vulnerability that you just can’t take your eyes of him. Another quite impressive performance by the upcoming master of the craft.

The show closes this weekend, so do yourself a favor forget about reality for two hours and do something inconceivable, and that word does not mean what you think it means, and go experience The Princess Bride Live!

Cast

• Man in Black: Joshua Kradz
• Buttercup: Joanna Adams
• Inigo: Tim Torre
• Vizzini: Nathaniel Donahue
• Fezzik: Dave Panzer
• Humperdinck: Connor Shea
• Count Rugen: Hunter Lakota Baker
• King and Miracle Max: Brandon Molle
• Queen and Valerie: Madeline Favazza
• Narrator: Jordan Wyandt
• Buttercup’s Father, Assistant Brute, Clergyman: Byron Davis
• Audience Member 1: Lizzie Detar
• Audience Member 2: Jean Perrie
• Buttercup’s Mother, Albino, Yellin: Andie Cappelletti

Production Staff

• Producer: Ben Fisher
• Director: Brandon McCoy
• Assistant Director: Miranda Litchford
• Stage Manager: Sarah Tweed
• Literary Manager: Rebecca Davis
• Technical Director/Scenic and Props Designer: Robbie Elliot
• Lighting Designer: Baron Pugh
• Costume Designer: Kerri Younkin
• Costume Assistants: Debi Gable, Susan Yip, Sheila Siebert
• Run Crew: Johanna Brown, Aimee O’Neill, Cami Ortiz-Mesa
• Projections/Animations: Brad Davis, Students in Theatre Workshop I, II, and III and Stagecraft I

Disclaimer: HCC Actor’s Guild provided two complimentary media tickets to ShowBizRadio for this review.

In a future or alternate reality, in some totalitarian dictatorship, a once-published storywriter has been taken into custody for questioning by two officers with little that they can’t do to get to the truth. To reveal anything more about the plot would ruin an awesome script full of twists and turns. The Pillowman teeters the line between black comedy and just blackness, and, if you don’t normally like that kind of uncomfortable darkness, you are still likely to be awed and amazed by this production.

From the moment, you enter the room, the piece really begins. There is incredibly simple and clean set that immediately places you in the interrogation room, and Katurian (Connor Shea) is already there, blindfolded, waiting for the return of the officers. The set continues to work well with some simple transitions to other locations.

Above all else, though, it is the performances that are incredibly stellar. Shea gives an excellent performance that covers a wide-range of emotions and forces him to reveal both what it is in the script and what is between the lines. He slowly shows more of his hand as the show goes on. As Tupolski, Josh Kradz is an equal match for Shea. He creates a really interesting character, who listens and reacts as intricately as he acts. There is a subtle absurdity to the role that he brings forth with careful choices in voice inflection.

Even beyond those two is the practical perfection of Tim Torre in the role of Michal. He portrays a character with a mental handicap. It is the kind of role that could easily lend itself to overacting, but Torre never crosses that line. Every moment, every nuance is completely natural. Torre has a gift that is bound to take him far, and his performance needs to be seen by anyone who can make one of the remaining performances.

While Miranda Litchford as Ariel is not quite as strong as the men she is working with, she is not bad in making the role work. She has a few strong moments and a lot of potential.

This is the show to see. Period. Find a way to get to Harford Community College and see this production.

Cast

• Katurian: Connor Shea
• Ariel: Miranda Litchford
• Tupolski: Josh Kradz
• Michal: Tim Torre
• Hunter Lakota Baker, Tawney Hallock Sweet, Dominique McKenzie, and Jon Spivey

Production Staff

• Director: Josh Fletcher
• Producer/Set Design/Fight Choreography: Ben Fisler
• Stage Manager: Sarah Tweed
• Technical Director/Lighting/Props Design: Robbie Elliot
• Costume Design: Linda Bratcher
• Assistant Stage Manager: Josh Kradz
• Sound/Projection Operations: Leanna Wheatley
• Lightboard Programming: Ryan Johnson
• Lightboard Operations: Dani Nicole
• Props Master: Brian Fields
• Production Crew: Entire Company and students in Winter “Introduction to Theatre”

Disclaimer: HCC Actor’s Guild provided two complimentary media tickets to ShowBizRadio for this review.

Silver Scream has a great concept. Two young boys, Toby (Josh Kradz) and George (Vince Kalwa), along with Toby’s sister Shelly (Nicolette LeFaye) and the theatre manager Friedkin (Ben Fisler) are sucked into the movie screen and travel through B-Horror Movies of the distant and recent past. They go from silent film to Technicolor. They encounter Nosferatu, Kong, Mr. Hyde, the Wolfman, Norman Bates and his “mom,” and Leatherface to name a few. Each movie is represented by a catchy and creative song. The Antagonist is “The Count,” and amalgamation of Dracula and his portrayer, Bela Lugosi (JimmyO Burril). This particular production brings success to many of the aspects needed to make the concept work: stunning sets, lighting, and costumes and excellent staging and choreography. However, there are a few major pitfalls that prevent it from being as good as it could be. With just a few changes, this is the type of original work that could be widely, successfully produced and develop a national cult following.

One major positive of this production was most of the technical elements. The costumes were all in black-and-white prior to the move to Technicolor. The set was black-and-white, and the performers were painted black-and-white. The effect was excellent. The costumes were also unique and àpropos for each film that they represented. The set was visually stunning and intricate and worked well as a flexible setting for all the various films. The lighting was excellent and created a strong transition to Technicolor. The only technical problem was the sound. There were many issues throughout the night with microphones not working well or at all. The background music was very loud, so even though some performers really seemed to be projecting, it still did not create enough sound to understand the words to some of the songs.

Another major positive was Vince Kalwa. His George was one of the real highlights of the show. He brought a lot of genuine comedy and heart to his role. In general, the ensemble was also strong. They brought high-energy and precision to the numbers. Since the staging and choreography was interesting and strong, there was a general aesthetic to the entire visual of the show.

However, aesthetic is not everything. The perfect example of that lies in the largest downfall of the show: Nicolette LeFaye. Despite looking perfect for the role and dancing exceptionally, especially when elegantly on pointe in “Pure Evil,” she did not have the acting or vocal strength to play the role that is really the lynchpin of the performance. She seemed inauthentic in her reactions, and she was often flat and just generally had an uninteresting tone quality.

Many of the other leads were inconsistent as well. Josh Kradz was sometimes an ok straight man, but he was other times too flat or hard to understand. Ben Fisler had a nice voice and his acting was extremely over-the-top. At moments, like as Norman Bates’ mother, this worked and had a humorous B-movie effect, but most of the time, it was annoying and just too much. Fisler, Kradz, and Lefaye combined consisted of such a large portion of the story of the show that it lacked heart. It was impossible to invest in these characters or their experiences, regardless of how vocally catchy and visually beautiful the rest of the show was.

JimmyO Burril’s Count was problematic. The antagonist of the show and also the source of most of the dialogue and humor, this is a truly pivotal role. Burril has charisma and likeability, and there were moments where he really it the mark: the dialogue was witty, the moment was cute, and the delivery showed good timing. The problems, I believe, were a result of the progressive changes that have been made to the script.

I was in two productions of the show in the late 1990s and have seen it performed one other time between now and then, so I have seen that the script has been a fluid and changing progression. Originally, the show was much more family friendly and the PG-rating that it still claims to carry was more accurate. When The Count says a curse word once, it is funny, because it is out-of-place. In general, there was a lot more humor, heart, and character development in earlier incarnations of The Count. Now, with a constant stream of language and sexual innuendos, much of the wit seems lost in a constant push of the envelope. Most of the remaining, really funny moments are the clean ones.

This a visually stunning show with great songs and a great concept. It is more than worth seeing more of this show; however, it would be nice to see the script return more to its roots and to see a stronger cast of actors in the pivotal, lead roles of Shelly, Friedkin, and Toby.

Photo Gallery

Photos provided by Forbidden Pictures

Cast

• Nicolette LeFaye, JimmyO Burril, April Burril, Vince Kalwa, Josh Kradz, James Watkins, Sean Silence, Jess Langley, Farren Arendse, Andie Cappelletti, Sierra Laken, Kristin (Gaga) Dipeso, Casey Simmons, Katoe Gordon, Madeleine Favazza, Danielle Liggens, Jess Hutchinson, Lukcy Charms, Carrie Dorman, Jonathan Spivey, Josh Flemming, Kelleigh Pangratz, Ben Hill, Will Martin, Jason Edwards, Ashley Crowl, Stephanie Januskwitz, Danice Fernandez, Jackie Cast, Joanna DiPaola, Willow Burril, Lilli Burril, Nate Gordon

Production Staff

• Written by JimmyO Burril
• Original Music by James M. Taylor
• Director: JimmyO Burril
• Musical Direction and Choreography: Katie Gordon
• Producer: Ben Fisler
• Stage Management/Props/Technical Direction: Trevor Winter
• Additional Stage Management: Sarah Tweed
• Additional Direction: Sam Wiitala
• Carpentry: Christopher Townsend
• Lighting Design: Bill Price
• Light Board: Brad Mascari
• Followspot: Ryan Kicklighter and Devin Metz
• Wash Assistance: Nick Elliot
• Projection Operators: Josh Hutchinson
• Costume Design: Gaylynn Price and April Burril
• Additional Costume Design: Linda Bratcher
• Sound: Joey Russo
• Backstage Management: Lilli Burril
• Backstage Assistance: Kelsey Yurek and Pat Posadas
• Makeup: Rio Lacour, Victor Accord, Jordan Wyandt, and John Terebetsky
• Production Assistance by Students in Theatre Workshop I, II, and III

Disclaimer: Forbidden Pictures/HCC Actor’s Guild provided two complimentary media tickets to ShowBizRadio for this review.