Noises Off - UMD Theatre

All About the Sardines in UMD's Hilarious Noises Off

Sheryl Jensen

Duluth News Tribune

November 3, 2017

In Michael Frayn's farce Noises Off, the play within a play is aptly named Nothing On. Lloyd, the hapless director, just wants to get through the play once before they open the next evening. In a rehearsal where nothing goes right, props are lost, and a drunken actor is missing, he searches for some words of wisdom for his mostly clueless cast.

He tells them that all they need to know is "Getting the sardines on, getting the sardines off. That's farce. That's theater. That's life."

Indeed, UMD Theatre's rollicking production is filled with the running gag of countless plates of sardines that are invariably in the wrong place at the wrong time.

The show depicts a company of third rate actors performing in a tour of a naughty British sex farce. The action is set in a beautiful country manor, brilliantly designed by UMD student Joe Johnson.

Johnson had to not only have the set look gorgeous, he also had to design it to turn completely around for the second act when we see the shenanigans happening backstage, and then have it turn back again to the interior of the manor for the third act.

Do stay in the theater to watch one of the two intermissions. It's theatrical magic "exposed" as part of the evening's fun.

While the pacing is slow in act one, it is necessary to set up the exposition for acts two and three when the wheels really come off the comic wagon and pandemonium reigns supreme onstage and off.

Playing dual and sometimes triple roles, the actors have an acting mountain to climb. Add to that the physical challenges of the show, and the cast is really put to the test. UMD brought in professional stunt coordinator and UMD alumni, Mathias Anderson, to help the company successfully nail the physical "schtick."

Reese Britts (Frederick) channels Dick Van Dyke in his prime, all rubbery legged and loose limbed. Britts' falls, fainting spells and hilarious tackling of a big staircase with his pants around his ankles jumping two steps at a time, are some of the evening's best comic moments.

Amelia Barr, as his onstage wife, Belinda, is all stiff upper lip and British reserve, the lady of the manor. Barr delivers a mature and elegant performance, with every facial expression, comedic physicality and line delivery top notch.

Less convincing is Haley Methner who underplays the sexy blonde bombshell role. Sarah Dickson as the housekeeper Dotty, keeper of the sardines, starts off slowly, but builds to a wonderfully comic and physical peak in the insane goings on of the third act.

Theater folks who have done shows that have bordered on the unintentionally chaotic both onstage and off will commiserate with the beleaguered cast and crew. And the uninitiated who may wonder what life backstage looks like, get a behind-the-curtain view.

Director Kate Ufema and her talented troupe successfully mine the comic potential in the script, providing audiences with a hot farce on a cold early winter night.

[title of show] - Stage 2

Antigone - UMD Theatre

Honorable Heroine Battles Narcissistic Tyrant in UMD's Antigone

Sheryl Jensen

Duluth News Tribune 

September 29, 2017 

Oh, those clever ancient Greeks and their timeless wisdom...

With his profound understanding of the human condition, prescient playwright Sophocles was able to speak through the ages, "knowing" that the moral clashes between the powers of the state and the rights of the individual would still be front and center in a far-off land in the year 2017.

Directed by Jenna Soleo-Shanks, the University of Minnesota Duluth theater department's production of Antigone, hits hard with enduring images of a lone, powerful woman standing her ground with a domineering man in a power suit towering above her.

King Creon's niece Antigone (Tolu Ekisola) begs for the right to bury the body of her traitor brother. Creon (Ryan Richardson) steadfastly refuses and sentences her to death when she defiantly takes the law into her own hands and buries her brother herself.

Ekisola elegantly portrays the nobility, integrity and determination of this iconic freedom fighter. Her passionate final confrontation with Creon before going off to her death is shattering, as she says she will die "unjustly, for upholding justice and the humanity of humankind."

Richardson is convincing as the charismatic leader who refuses to believe that his rigidity will set the world around him on such a savage path. He is most powerful in the final scene when Creon laments the deaths of those closest to him and is finally brought to his knees by the devastating impact of what his tyrannical actions have wrought.

Playing the tragic Ismene, sister of the doomed Antigone, Lauren Hugh vividly portrays the crushing effect on the innocent when events roll mercilessly over her as she watches the doomed path of her beloved sister.

The supporting cast of Chorus members is strong, with a few standout performances. Amanda Hennen, as Teiresias, the blind prophet and truth teller, commands the stage entirely as she ominously warns of the Furies to come for Creon and the country when the inevitable retribution will befall them. Her lamentation, "Are there any wise men left? Anywhere?" is one of the evening's strongest thematic moments.

As the soldier who serves as a messenger, Luke Harger provides both the brief comic relief and the crushing impact of the tragic events he reports to Creon and the senators in some of the production's strongest scenes.

Leah Benson-Devine's simple set, with two opposing platforms, stylized pillars, a single chair and a few wooden blocks, gives the actors the space to let the story swirl around the audience.

Music composed by UMD senior William Brueggemann — used during the pre-show, intermission and as underscore — enhances the dark tone of scenes in subtle but effective ways.

Dan Fitzpatrick's projected film images, using powerful war and burial scenes, and Laura Piotrowski's modern dress costumes help connect the play's timeless themes with the audience.

The play's reverberating message of the real Creons still in our midst serves as a cautionary tale from commentators who can only report and warn of the inevitable tragedies to come but are powerless to change them.

UMD Theatre - Disney's The Little Mermaid

UMD's The Little Mermaid Makes a Fun Splash

Sheryl Jensen

Duluth News Tribune 

April 14, 2017 

Expectations were high from the little Ariels in the audience at the University of Minnesota Duluth's The Little Mermaid, all anticipating the magical undersea world yet to come.

At the center of the tidepool is Ariel (Amelia Barr), who must win our hearts as the film princess that we loved and as the feistier young woman she becomes in the stage version. Oh, and she needs to be drop-dead gorgeous and sing like an angel.

Bubbly Barr splashes it out of the pond on all counts.

Her nuanced performance shows that Ariel's quest is more than just going after the hot guy (although that's a given) but is also a transcendent longing for a world where she can find more.

Barr also brings a natural comic sensibility to the role. She can do a pratfall with ease, when she sheds the tail and tries to walk for the first time.

The Prince is, well . . . charming. Ryan Haff wins the heart of every woman in the place from preschoolers to great-grandmothers with his princely good looks and powerful voice. His standout solo pieces in "Her Voice" and "One Step Closer" are among the musical's highlights.

Fun character work comes in all shapes and sizes including Sebastian, the screamingly red Caribbean crab (Brendan Finn); the adorable Flounder (Brian Saice); the ditzy seagull, Scuttle (Luke Harger), and the undulating eels, Flotsam (Reese Britts) and Jetsam (Kevin Dustrude).

Kayla Peters, as Adella, one of Ariel's mersisters; and Simon VanVactor-Lee, as the maniacally funny French chef, in his show-stopping song, "Les Poissons," both have great comic turns.

The show's most powerful vocals come in the hauntingly beautiful "If Only" in which Ariel, Prince Eric, Sebastian and King Triton lament "what might have been."

Disney villainesses require a dramatically heightened nastiness, with Ursula, the Sea Witch, a prime example. While Shannon Blomgren does powerhouse belting, particularly later in the show, she is not always entirely convincing in the queen of evil department.

Audiences expecting a bigger-than-life, "fill-the-stage" presence, will find this Ursula a bit too pretty and too slight. Blomgren would have been helped by a more expansive costume and more extreme hair and makeup.

Curtis Phillips' customary over-the-top set designs are less magical for this "under the sea" undertaking. Some of the set pieces seem too small for the vast expanse of stage, such as a solitary rock for Triton's throne.

Phillips' video projections, however, create some Disney-style fantasy with bubbles and swimming fish in the seascapes and some beautiful castle interiors.

Most of the production-side dazzle comes from the delightful costumes, courtesy of the Chanhassen Dinner Theatres (Rich Hamson). The eye-popping color palette and witty designs fill the stage, creating much of the visual splash.

Matthew Wagner's choreography is fresh and whimsical, particularly in the show's signature number, "Under the Sea," and in "Positoovity" with its hilarious tap dancing seagulls.

Director Kate Ufema keeps her school of characters in synchronicity for a magical evening, both for the pint-sized Ariels and for the adults along for the swim.

Marvin's Room - UMD Theatre

Laughter Through Tears at UMD's Marvin's Room

Sheryl Jensen

Duluth News Tribune

March 3, 2017

Finding laughter in a play about death, disease and dependency seems like a stretch. Yet, that is exactly what happened with the audience at UMD Theatre's opening night of Scott McPherson's Marvin's Room.

At the heart of the story is Bessie (Alyson Enderle), a big-hearted soul, who, for 20 years, has taken care of her dying father Marvin (Bud Gibson), and her aging Aunt Ruth (Maggie Thompson) who suffers from debilitating back pain.

To add to Bessie's overwhelming burdens, she is diagnosed with leukemia and needs to turn to her estranged sister Lee (LJ Klassen) and two troubled nephews, Hank (Paul Icenogle) and Charlie (Austin Becker), as possible bone marrow donors.

Enderle gives a lovely performance in a role that could come off as too saint-like without the deeper humanity and understated sense of humor she brings to the part. Klassen's flashier Lee is also well-played, showing how two very different sisters took markedly divergent paths.

The role of Hank has the potential to be a stereotypical one, a young man consumed with anger and teenage angst. Instead, Icenogle imbues the character with an innate dignity and sensitivity that adds to the richness of his portrayal.

As the younger nerdy brother Charlie, Becker creates some delightfully humorous moments, whether "trapped" in his sleeping bag or sporting a Goofy hat at Disney World.

At the comical core of the play is zany Aunt Ruth, whose back ailment is treated with an electronic anesthetizer. Humorously, when she turns up the dial of the device in the kitchen, the automatic garage door goes up.

Thompson convincingly plays well beyond her years and elicits many of the laughs, as Ruth is confused about the minutiae of daily life, but can remember every detail of what is happening on her soap opera.

At two and a half hours, (with intermission), the show feels long. Slow pacing makes things drag at times, particularly in Act I.

Standing set pieces from scenic designer Suzannah Weiss are stone monoliths that do not seem to enhance the themes of the show in any meaningful way. Except for one rock piece that is used effectively for the outdoor locale, the other Flintstones-like indoor pieces are incongruous and jarring.

However, Curtis Phillips' projections, in a series of framed screens, provide an intentionally distorted, and at the same time artistic backdrop, effectively setting the ambiance for each scene. Marvin's room (and the only way we see the title character) is the center screen lit in silhouette.

One of Marvin's few pleasures is when light is refracted from a compact mirror and his lamp to create fairy-like patterns on the walls and ceiling. It is in the dying man's room that we experience the magic of what love and compassion can do to connect souls.

How a family who bonds together can begin to heal each other emotionally, if not physically, is at the heart and soul of Marvin's Room. Director William Payne and his talented ensemble mine the depths of this show for both its laughter and tears, getting to the core of McPherson's lyrical script.

The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) - UMD Theatre

High-Speed Shakespeare Delivers Fun, Laughs


Mark Nicklawske
The Duluth News Tribune
February 2, 2017

Anyone who has a passing interest in live theater has been bonked over the
head with a heavy Shakespeare quote at one time or another.

The 16th century British playwright is a cornerstone of all modern drama from "Purple Rain" to the Super Bowl pregame show.



But his work is not for everyone: Too many "Wherefore art thous" and puffy shirts.



That's where the University of Minnesota Duluth School of Fine Arts' staging of the uproarious and irreverent The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) can help. It's fair to say all of the 200-or-so opening night audience members left the Marshall Performing Arts Center on Thursday with a good laugh or two and new understanding of the Hamlet death scene.

First performed in 1987 at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the play is one wacky Saturday Night Live skit after another, skewering Shakespeare's best work with foam swords and burying it in Silly String. Using just three actors and some spontaneous help from the audience, all 37 of Shakespeare's plays are jammed into a 100-minute roller coaster ride.


Director Jenna Soleo-Shanks uses a set that resembles a ramshackle river raft draped in mismatched red curtains to establish the off-kilter and daring theater delivered in the comedy. The play is fast-paced, fun and current — as the ghost of rock star Prince and a Twitter-obsessed president make delightful cameos.



Using the freewheeling style of the original play, Soleo-Shanks even finds a place to bring a little bit of Duluth into Stratford-upon-Avon: Two actors find themselves "bridged" and late for the second act.

And if the actors are late, they can be excused: All three are talented, strong and deliver a nice variety of personal flair to the performance.



Reese Britts, who confessed to feeling under the weather, showed no signs of slowing down. Wearing a T-shirt featuring Shakespeare in Blues Brothers sunglasses, he demonstrated a remarkable gift for physical comedy, bending and flopping around the stage like Gumby. The man can wrestle a ladder and make it funny.

Brendan Finn, who resembles late-night funnyman James Corden both in size and volume, flaunted an array of bad wigs, ill-fitting dresses, golf clubs and pool toys with style. His serious reading of a Hamlet speech earned an unexpected round of applause

 .

Tolu Ekisola tied the trio together with a performance that combined the intelligence of a college professor with the grace of a Pro Bowl running back. In one of the funniest scenes in the play, Ekisola steals the Tweed Museum of Art's copy of Shakespeare's First Folio only to see it ripped in half by Britts and Finn.



True to the original staging, audience members get dragged on stage and the theater crowd sings/yells a "round" during the Othello performance. But that's how we all get know Shakespeare better: by screaming along with Ophelia after someone hits a gong.