Nevermore: The Imaginary Life and Mysterious Death of Edgar Allan Poe @ New World Stages, Stage 1

As a disclaimer, I am not a professed Edgar Allan Poe fanatic. I enjoy his work very much but I cannot claim to be an enthusiast.

Nevermore, written, composed and directed by Jonathan Christenson was a look into the imaginary life and mysterious death of Edgar Allan Poe. Christenson sought to bring the audience into a world where the macabre gears within Poe’s mind churned. Production designer Bretta Gerecke took Christenson’s vision and set a simple stage: six panels and strategic lighting.

Sound designer Wade Staples accentuated the actor’s portrayal of Poe’s compatriots while flaunting very Poe-vian costumes. Eerie ravens, horse heads, large and decrepit hats all came together like a scene out of a Tim Burton film. To me, it was the right amount of eerie and weird.

The play began with Edgar Allan Poe (Scott Shpeley), lost and alone until he is met with strangers who claim to have known his mother. Edgar is confused by their knowledge and asks them to remind him of his past. With this, the audience is taken into an intimate narration of Edgar’s earliest years in Boston and onto his last breath in Baltimore.

Shpeley portrays Edgar as a pessimist trying to battle against his “tender heart and gentle disposition.” Edgar is a tormented man, not just by his own inner visions but from the difficult life that continuously beats him. The musical is a narration of his life.

The audience was left to imagine Edgar’s feelings through each setback, and it reminded me of the emotions that we experience when reading his work. Delving into someone’s mind via art is a imaginary process, I enjoyed that the musical followed that vein.

The performance covered many facets of Edgar’s complicated life. Important female figures such as Edgar’s mother, Eliza Poe (Lindsie VanWinkle), his foster mother Fanny Allan (Beth Graham), his high school sweetheart Elmira Royster (Shannon Blanchet), his cousin-bride Sissy Clemm (Beth Graham), sister Rosalie Poe (Beth Graham), and aunt Muddy Clemm (Lindsie VanWinkle) culminated into the many but sparse lights that at times brought Poe out of his own darkness. Each actress had the right amount of humor attached to the strangeness of their performances that, again, can be described as Poe-vian.

Edgar’s male counterparts included his father, David Poe (Garett Ross), his foster father Jock Allan (Garett Ross), his ever-optimistic brother Henry Poe (Garelan Beatty) and the infamous Rufus Griswold (Ryan Parker). Aside from Henry, the men that influenced Edgar’s development were inclined toward evil, drinking or defamation. Each actor delved into his character and pushed Edgar further toward his odd obsessions.

In addition to their many roles, each actor also participated in the ensemble. Narrating Edgar’s life, the audience was left to look through their own glass to understand Edgar’s deadly inclinations. The musical was an avenue of understanding of Edgar Allan Poe’s life, in a way that was visually appealing and I hummed the music for a few hours after leaving.

I am unsure if an Edgar Allan Poe fanatic would approve of the tribute but I left feeling as if I understood some of Edgar’s torment. The play was strange, odd and a bit long but it held laughter, pity, and eerie decadence very well.

Review By: Alexandra Lipari
Photos By: Joan Marcus

Heathers: The Musical @ New World Stages Stage 1

Hold onto your hats 80’s cult movie fans! A new musical adaptation of your favorite 80’s movie Heathers has been turned into a stage musical and is the must see Off-Broadway production of the 2014 season! Filled with memorable songs, a hilarious script and ridiculously talented cast, Heathers: The Musical restores your faith in the theatre world’s ability to take a known movie title and transfer it into a success stage production.

Heathers: The Musical, which features a book, music and lyrics by Kevin Murphy and Laurence O’Keefe, is essentially your Mean Girls of the 1980s. Its September 1989 at Westerberg High School and the entire school is being terrorized by the “Heathers”. These girls manage to get away with just about anything until newcomer J.D. Dean comes along and decides to put them in their place. With the help of Veronica Sawyer, together J.D. and Veronica help destroy the high school society’s they know only to learn even more things they wish they never knew in this hilarious new musical loving ripped off of the screenplay of the same title by Daniel Waters. There is major credit that needs to be given to Murphy and O’Keefe who have just landed an A plus across the board when it comes to the score and script with this production. The focus is clear. The piece moves very well and you never find yourself waiting for another musical number. Oh, about the musical numbers. They deliver memorable song after memorable song with a score of A plus tunes. You can tell O’Keefe has put his classic charming touch onto the songs with it being about something ridiculous only to come across with a lyric that smacks you right in the face. “You are the only right thing about this broken world” sticks out in my mind.

Barrett Wilbert Weed stars as Veronica Sawyer and gives a stand out performance with strong acting choices and solid vocals throughout the entire piece. She is a knockout and clear force of talent. Weed wins you over from the very beginning as she narrates her journey from average girl to Heather sidekick to God or Gods unwilling assistant as her and J.D. takes matters into their own hands over time. Speaking of, J.D. Dean played by Ryan McCartan is a strong force to be reckoned with as the productions leading man. He makes bold acting choices throughout the pieces and also enjoys some really beautiful moments throughout the score. Weed and McCartan share a beautiful chemistry on stage you can’t help but love.

The Heathers, played by Jessica Keenan Wynn (Heather Chandler), Elle McLemore (Heather McNamara) and Alice Lee (Heather Duke) are over the top ridiculous in all the ways you want them to be. From their first entrance to songs like “Candy Store”, they are your quintessential plastics of high school. They’re so evil in what they do; you can’t help but love them. Evan Todd who stars as Kurt and Jon Eidson who stars as Ram deliver hilarious performances as your typical high school jocks. They’re over the top choices and ridiculous antics show just how far we’ve come since the 1980’s but the nonsense we can still manage to get away with in high school.

The ensemble is filled with all of your typical high school stereotypes (Nerds, Goth, Cheerleaders) that also double as adult roles throughout the piece. The ensemble is consistently present but not in the way where they become bothersome or distracting. They only add to the story with their vocals and help bring to life some of the largest and most vibrant numbers of the entire production.

Heathers: The Musical not only scores when it comes to the production’s talent but also it’s technical elements. Timothy R. Mackabee provides a simple and yet adequate scenic design that allows for characters to move freely about and doesn’t leave us crammed for when it comes to the bigger production numbers. Amy Clark gives us a beautiful costume design and Jonny Massena’s sound design is spot on when it comes to not only mixing in the band with the vocals but for the special cues as well. The be all to end all of the technical elements is the ridiculous lighting design provided by Jason Lyons. His lighting designs shines (No pun intended) as bright as the stars themselves or even brighter as he hits you with cue after cue of rolling effects, beautiful mixes and fantastic marks.

Do yourself a favor and make sure to get to experience Heathers: The Musical now in performances at New World Stages. It will restore your faith in musical theatre film adaptations but more importantly, it will restore your faith in theatre. Heathers not only brings to life a hilarious cult movie on the stage but an important topic in society with youngsters and how we define ourselves. While I’ll let them be sure to teach you everything you need to know, all you need to know from me is that like the anthem of this production, it is Beautiful.

Review By: Chris Luner
Photos By: Chad Batka

RENT @ New World Stages - Stage 1

After only three short years, the mega-hit, rock opera RENT has returned to New York – this time with a whole new attitude.  New World Stages, one of Off-Broadway’s leading companies, has assembled a team of fresh young actors, an imaginative design team, and RENT’s original director – Michael Greif – to give this classic show a whole new look, feel, and vibe.  With talent beyond measure and edgy technical elements, the newly imagined RENT is fun, moving, and all around better than ever before.  Skip the Hollywood version and forget about the Broadway version, simply go check out the kick ass new production currently playing at New World Stages!

For those not familiar with the story of RENT (a.k.a. those living under a rock), it is a rock opera that tells the story of seven individuals whose lives all come together through art, love, and disease – taking a ground breaking look into the world of AIDS.  Mark Cohen, a filmmaker, and Roger Davis, a musician, live in a run-down apparent in New York’s Lower East Side.  Over the course of one year, Mark helps former girlfriend Maureen Johnson (now dating Joanne Jefferson) pull of a performance protest; Roger falls for the dancer next door, Mimi Marquez; and both friends reunite with former roommate Tom Collins (now dating the loving cross dresser Angel Dumott Schunard).  As friendships are made and broken, these friends all learn the importance of life and love.

Bringing the world of RENT to life is an ensemble of fourteen incredibly talented performers – led by Adam Chanler-Berat as Mark and Matt Shingledecker as Roger.  Chanler-Berat (Broadway’s Next to Normal) gives Mark a soft side making him easily relatable.  The audience is always fighting for his character to prevail – whether it be in the world of television or simply in his friendships, one cannot help but see a piece of this character in oneself.  Shingledecker (Broadway’s West Side Story), with his strong rock voice, finds the humor in Roger making him a much more down to earth character.  Shingledecker gives depth to Roger so that he not tough and edgy as usually portrayed; his depiction of this character is much lighter and refreshing than audiences might be expecting.  Bringing in some girl power is Arianda Fernandez (RENT National Tour) as the sexy yet sweet Mimi.  Fernandez brings in the triple threat – great vocals, acting and dancing.  Fernandez also reins as champion when it comes to the cheesy RENT ending with her character coming back to life; making it realistic and not over the top and fake.  RENT features two powerhouse couples that time and time again please audiences.  Pair number one is that of Collins (played by Nicholas Christopher – In the Heights National Tour) and Angel (played by MJ Rodriguez).  These two men had wonderful chemistry together and truly made the parts their own.  Christopher gave the audience chills with his performance of I’ll Cover You (reprise); and, Rodriguez made Angle everything that character is supposed to be – smart, funny as hell, sexy, and all around passionate.  The other lovers are Joanne (played by Corbin Reid – Broadway’s Sister Act) and Maureen (Annaleigh Ashford – Broadway’s Legally Blonde).  Reid spun a new twist on the character of Joanne making her less aggressive and angry – making her smart and powerful, yet fiery – a risk that totally paid off.  Ashford delivers the performance of a life time, taking a part that has been done by some of Broadway’s best and making it her own – probably even doing it better.  Her song Over the Moon is the scene stealer of the show – fresh, quirky, hysterical, and deeply touching are all new emotions that this song takes on.  Ashford delivers an all around brilliant performance.

One might think that it is hard to re-imagine the original when the original director is the one behind it all; however, this could not be further from the truth.  Director Michael Greif (Broadway’s RENT and Next to Normal) once again tackles Jonathan Larson’s rich book, music, and lyrics with a new eye.  Fused with a innovative creative team, Greif is able to not only recreate his original masterpiece, he is able to exceed it.  Leading the design team is scenic designer Mark Wendland (Broadway’s Next to Normal) who creates a New York jungle-jim out of metal pipes, stairs, moving platforms, dozens of candles, and a few hundred string lights (including a light up reindeer).  Adding to this work is the advanced imagery created by projection designer Peter Nigrini (Broadway’s 9 to 5).  Mixing live video feed and simple yet effective images, Nigrini brings RENT into the new dawn of theatre projection.  Lighting all of the energy boosted cast and twists of the set is designer Kevin Adams (three-time Tony Award winner).  Bringing arena concert lighting to the Broadway stage, Adams does a stunning job of making the crazy world of New York’s Lower East Side shine.  Rounding out this team is costume designer Angela Wendt (Broadway’s RENT).  Mixing that classic RENT look with new elements, Wendt helps delivers an overall visual feast for the eyes.

RENT is back and better than ever!  This retooling is smart, real, and all around brilliant!  With a hip new cast and stunning visual elements, this production proves that not only can a revival surpass its original, but also that Off-Broadway is a force to be reckoned with.  There is "no day but today" to see the new and improved RENT!

Review By: James Russo