(At right, from left) Spencer Templeton, Kara Kemp, Tyler Tsoumbus, Jolie Bell and Jerry Bailey put on a hilarious and energetic year-end production at MLT.
Theatre in 2010 ended on a seasonal note, with comedy and good music.
Murfreesboro Little Theatre left its “12 Days of Christmas” theme and instead put on a wild hoot of a performance with Christopher Durang’s “Mrs. Bob Cratchit’s Wild Christmas Binge” the first two weekends of December. And some binge it was.
Loosely based on Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, and I mean loosely, the first act did indeed follow the storyline of Bob Crachit and Ebenezer Scrooge (to a point), along with the Ghosts of Christmas and Jacob Marley. At home, however, Mrs. Crachit was hitting the bottle pretty hard, and it was not long before the audience was getting a
good buzz off the potent alcohol the wife of the spineless wimp of a husband was putting away.
The second act suddenly started going in different directions, just like the life Mrs. Gerald Ford and Mrs. Michael Dukakis presented to us years ago. Intertwined and wrapped around Mrs. Crachit and her wonderful life was the Wizard of Oz, Oliver, Touched By an Angel, Harry Potter and others, including “Best Little Whorehouse in Texas.” There was even reference to hotel mogul and evil wife Harry and Leona Helmsley.
The whirlwind of anecdotes were even more mesmerizing as the briefs were portrayed by the actors on stage, many of whom had been in previous productions on Murfreesboro stages (Gary Davis in “Oliver,” Shane Lowery in “Best Little Whorehouse,” etc.) The obvious spins of so many other stage plays, movies, and TV shows wrapped into this one “binge” kept the audience in stitches throughout the entire event, and indeed was riveting, attention grabbing, hilarious, fun and just downright nuts.
I was inspired by the strength and characterization of each actor. Even the kids involved stayed focused, even in multiple roles. My hat is off to Jolie Bell who, as the Christmas Ghost, had a few rounds of Kathy Bates in her; Jerry Bailey continues to wow audiences, and as Scrooge was impeccable. Kara Kemp played Mrs. Crachit, and no one could have done better; her raw energy on stage exhausted the audience. Tyler Tsoumbus was at his best as Bob Crachit. Well done.
My hat is off to Craig Core as Clarence and Jacob Marley. The MLT stage never smelled better than when Marley was on stage, surrounded by a fog of baby powder. I was never sure whether Gary Davis was playing Fezziwig or Fuzzywig, but either was insane and great. The list continues, each actor bringing forth to the stage exactly what was needed and the casting was spot on. The lighting, tech, sound, all were right on cue. The stage set and props were sparse, but nothing more was needed; the focus was on the players. A low bow to Todd Robinson, who directed this holiday madcap.
Perhaps this will become a yearly event for MLT.
The OutFront crew had to pull together “For Whom the Southern Belle Tolls” quickly; clockwise from top left: Director Buddy Jones, Kelly Lapcznsky, Bob Fish, Erin Green, Executive Director George Manus Jr. and Chris Carnett.
A Last-Minute Save by OutFront
Down the pike, OutFront on Main unfortunantly lost the rights to “God Of Carnage” at the last minute due to a movie of the play in the works. However, the four actors Chris Carnett, Bob Fish, Erin Green and Kelly Lapcznsky would not let that keep them from the stage. They did a wonderful job at the last minute putting on a hilarious 40 minute sketch, “For Whom the Southern Belle Tolls,” directed by George W. Manus Jr. A parody based on Tennessee Williams’ “The Glass Menagerie,” the audience was in tears from constant laughter. The performers are to be commended for being able to change directions so quickly and for doing a fantastic job.
Gwinn Puts Together Great Band
I also had the pleasure of watching Brandon James Gwinn back on stage at OutFront on Main, putting on his holiday show “A Little Christmas Ain’t Gonna Kill Ya.” Although fun and energetic, I have to admit I was somewhat let down as the show only lasted one hour as compared to almost two for his summer show. It seemed to be thrown together (unlike the last very professional presentation), and although he is extremely talented and funny, he seemed to let his co-star Courtney Cowart take center stage and go with the show. If this was his intention, then he was successful in putting on a great show. Courtney is a show person in her own right and deserves a spot on “Saturday Night Live” (think Kristen Wiig) but I came to see Brandon, and he just did not seem up to par. The man is capable of more, even having his own variety show, and I had to settle for an extremely talented band on this go-around.
With Josh Dunlap on sax, Ian Hunt on drums, Spencer Blake on cello and Justin Bourdet on the keyboard, the Fantastic Four were much better than the band Brandon put together in August. My hat is off to these wonderful, talented men.
Looking Ahead
Coming up this month on the Murfreesboro stages, “Hairspray” opens the curtains at Center for the Arts on Jan. 14 for a three-weekend run directed by Justin Mangrum.
“Talking With” is presented at OutFront on Main, beginning Jan. 13 also for a three-weekend run directed by George W.
Manus Jr.
The children’s show “Robin Hood” plays for two weekends beginning Jan. 7 at Murfreesboro Little Theatre, directed by Jamie Storvik.
Auditions are being held Jan. 23–24 from 6–8 p.m. for “Love and Human Remains,” directed by George W. Manus Jr., for a March stage run at OutFront on Main.
Final Notes
My apologies to the Center for the Arts as last month’s theater article mistakenly said Jerry Bailey was playing Scrooge there; Mr. Bailey actually played Scrooge at MLT.
Finally, my heart goes to the family of one of my dearest friends and theatrical performer, director and producer Ms. Fran Priest from Nashville and Jasper, Tenn., who passed away Dec. 29. She will be sorely missed. Break a leg in Heaven, my friend.
See ya at the show.
