Two critics pull 'ripcord' on Tipping Point review

It's become a running joke in certain corners of the industry that fellow-critic Jenn McKee and I are dating, since we seem to be at the same shows together more often than not. We've had a lot of fun with it - especially online. But then Jenn suggested we take our "dates" to the next level and co-author a review together. I loved the idea; a similar project with Lansing-based critic Bridgette Redman a handful of years ago with multiple productions of "Doubt" was quite popular. So here's our first team-up, with the intro written by Jenn. If our readers' reactions are positive, who knows - we may turn this into a regular "thing!"


Early in David Lindsay-Abaire’s comedy “Ripcord,” now on stage at Northville’s Tipping Point Theatre (running time, just under two hours), an aging-but-perpetually-cheerful woman announces that she never gets angry. “It always leads to an ugly place, and I don’t care for ugly places,” Marilyn (Susan Craves) says.

This ends up being an ironic declaration, since it leads Marilyn and her grumpy assisted living facility roommate, Abby (Ruth Crawford), to make a bet that puts the ladies on the express train to ugly. For Abby, a snarky misanthrope, longs to have her own room again, while chatty, hyper-social Marilyn covets Abby’s bed by the window, which has a lovely view of a nearby park. So the two make a wager: if Abby can make Marilyn lose her temper, Marilyn will request a room change; if Marilyn can scare Abby – something Abby believes is no longer possible – they’ll switch beds.

And although the women launch into this venture with obnoxious-but-harmless pranks – such as putting their phone number on Craig’s List, with a claim that Marilyn was giving away a houseful of items and a car, and calling in a fake message from Marilyn’s daughter (Vanessa Sawson), claiming she’d be coming to take her mother out to lunch – things ramp up fast. Marilyn drugs Abby to dope her up for an involuntary skydiving excursion (courtesy of Marilyn’s family’s business), and Abby posts painful records of Marilyn’s past life all over the building. As their bemused caretaker Scotty (Dez Walker) observes in one scene, these very different women may be more suited to each other than they even realize.

To discuss the play, fellow critic Don Calamia and I (Jenn McKee) thought we’d try something new, since we both attended Tipping Point’s opening night performance of “Ripcord”: a joint review – the first of what I’d love to call Platonic Theater Date Reviews, since Don and I have attended many shows together lately – that’s ultimately a conversation between two local critics about the show.

DC: I hate to sound like a broken record, Jenn, but this is the type of show Tipping Point does best: a well-cast comedy, slickly produced.

JM: I really, really enjoyed myself at “Ripcord.” Little niggling questions arose for me about the script later on, but as I mentioned to you that night, I’m naturally stingy with laughs, yet I found myself laughing often, and quite loudly, during this show. I thought both Ruth and Susan were just terrific in their roles.

DC: I agree.  I’m very familiar with Ruth’s work, but not Susan’s, and so I was quite interested in seeing how the two would interact with each other. They were a great match.

JM: They were previously on stage together for “Morning’s at Seven” at the Purple Rose – a very different show, but one that’s also focused on people in the later stages of life. Which is one of the things I like about “Ripcord” – it’s not just saying, “Getting old is hard!” It’s about these two women who have a lot of life and mischief still running strong in their veins.

DC: I agree. It shows that old age and a competitive nature aren’t mutually exclusive. And these women were sure competitive!

JM: Definitely. And I think it’s tricky, particularly in Ruth’s case, to play a curmudgeon who does these cruel, nasty things, and somehow avoid being completely written off by the audience. Crawford was very deft, I thought, at being a cold fish, but still noticeably vulnerable in subtle ways.

DC: It’s a tough role because she still has to be likable – or at least someone you can identify with, to a certain extent. Her facial expressions, I think, had a lot to do with how successful she was at pulling it off. You could always tell what she was thinking, and her vulnerability often came through with just the slightest change in her expression.

JM: Susan’s challenge, meanwhile, involves grounding the bright-eyed-and-bushy-tailed person who tends, in real life, to drive many of us nuts. Marilyn’s fiercely competitive streak helps to round her out, but also, Craves is very good at riding the line between annoying and sunny, so that we like Marilyn, but we also completely understand why Abby’s so set on getting her out.

DC: Either one would drive me nuts as a roommate.

JM: Which is why it’s so fun. “Golden Girls” meets “The Odd Couple.” Did anything in the script give you pause, or take you out of the story?

DC: Just the ending. I don’t want to give anything away, but that wasn’t what I was expecting.

JM: For me, some of the characters’ attempts to win the bet strained credulity: a staged crime in the park seemed so exaggeratedly ridiculous that I couldn’t imagine it not drawing the attention of every person in the vicinity; and while the scene that gives the play its name is fun, and creatively staged (tip of the hat to set and projection designer Monika Essen), it’s still a bit of a “could this really happen?” stretch. And finally, when Scotty gets the two women to buy tickets to his haunted house, I questioned whether Abby would actually go. Yes, her purchase makes sense, since she’s looking to bribe him, but there’s no reason she has to actually cash it in. Small things, but those are the kind of narrative hiccups that can intermittently pull you out of a story.

DC: I actually didn’t have a problem with these, mostly because I simply accepted that the plot would have to move towards the type of extreme challenges it did, otherwise there wouldn’t be anything to keep us wondering just how far they would go. And I thought playwright David Lindsay-Abaire set up the title-related challenge quite well early on when Marilyn talked about the family business.

JM: Yes – he wisely laid the expositional groundwork for this to make some kind of real-world sense. If it hadn’t been the family’s business, in no way would it ever be allowed to happen.

DC: Exactly.

JM: Again, it’s a little surprising that no one in the family raises an ethical issue about what’s happening. But we often have at least a toe dipped in the realm of absurdity when Lindsay-Abaire’s involved.

DC: Yep. The only one who DID raise some concerns was Marilyn’s son-in-law, Derek (Jason Bowen), but he still went along with all the craziness.

JM: Let’s talk tech. What elements stood out for you?

DC: Monika’s projections, for starters. Tipping Point received a grant to upgrade its lighting system and it included projectors – and she made great use of them. And I appreciated that the scene changes were well choreographed, always in step with what was going on in the show. You?

JM: I agree. There are wildly different locales in this play – the assisted living facility room, a haunted house attraction in a warehouse, the park – and the lights (designed by Rachael Nardecchia) and Monika’s projections and versatile set allowed for the changes to be quick and clear. Shelby Newport’s costumes were also effective, conveying personality – Marilyn’s flowy, looser vibe, contrasted with Abby’s buttoned up, walled-off persona – and making things like the skydiving scene more convincing.

DC: Yes, the wildly different locations would have been far more difficult to pull off without the projections. And that would likely have meant longer scene changes, which can kill a show’s momentum. Tipping Point’s designers did their usual excellent job in helping create the show’s characters. Even the room had its own character. I could understand why Marilyn wanted the bed closer to the window. The rest of the room was kind of bland. It made sense.

JM: And I must mention that in my experience, when I have a great time at a show, and only later start thinking of little things that didn’t quite add up in the script, it’s often a credit to not just the actors, but the director guiding the ship – in this case, James Kuhl.

DC: Yes, I agree. James – in my humble opinion – is one of the top directors we have in the community, partly because of how insightful he is at pulling all the various strings together to make a cohesive whole.  Plus, every actor who works there all rave about the working conditions there. They love working at Tipping Point because of its positive, creative atmosphere.

JM: You can palpably feel his affection for these characters, as well as the material itself. He cast it perfectly, and he’s made it so fun and sweet. Any highlights for you in the supporting cast?

DC: Patrick Loos has always been a favorite, and you couldn’t help but feel sorry for him as Abbey’s estranged son, Ben, trying to reach out to his mother, only to be swatted away. And I couldn’t keep my eyes off Vanessa Sawson, whose energy reminded me of a an athlete pacing back and forth anxiously waiting to jump into the game. Again, James’ eye for casting couldn’t have been better. Oh – and Dez Walker. He’s such a natural actor. He came across as if he WAS working in an assisted living facility and having to deal with these crazy ladies.

JM: You mentioned being surprised by the end. Without giving away the nature of that conclusion, were you disappointed? Or surprised in a good way?

DC: Conflicted is more like it. I’m just not sure (the character would) do what she did. Especially so quickly. But then again, I’ve never been in her situation. And darn it – I can’t explain why without giving anything away!

JM: That’s my struggle, too. Without getting specific, I guess I’d say that it aims for something quietly, deeply meaningful, but for me, it didn’t succeed in achieving it. Not because of the actors or staging, but for the reasons you mention. I wasn’t fully convinced that the character would arrive at that level of emotional capacity so swiftly.

DC: Even the friend that was with me on our “date” had a problem with the ending. He didn’t buy it whatsoever. He wanted a different ending.

JM: I did wonder how on earth the whole thing would and should be wrapped up. I think our qualms indicate that Lindsay-Abaire never quite figured that out, either.

DC: Maybe he flipped a coin.

JM: Or made a bet.

DC: That would certainly fit the theme, wouldn’t it?

JM: So, final word: Tipping Point’s “Ripcord” is a fun, dark comedy, in the sense that it goes to some painful places while making us laugh. And while Lindsay-Abaire’s script isn’t perfect – some of those dark places are glossed over a bit too easily for my taste – Tipping Point’s production is pretty irresistible.

DC: I mostly agree. For me, the bottom line is this: Tipping Point knows its audience well, and so they’ve served a comedy with some bite to it, with all the right ingredients cooked properly to result in a very enjoyable night at the theater. I’ve now seen three of its first four shows this season, and I’m pumped to see the rest!

For complete show details, CLICK HERE!

What lured to me to the Ant: Bickers, Jacokes and Bailey (with a dab of Brown)

Not long ago I received a press release from Hamtramck's Planet Ant Theatre, and it served to remind me that I hadn't been there in quite some time. The Ant has long been a favorite of mine, having  reviewed 59 shows there over a 14-year period (more than at any other theater), and so I figured it was time to make a return visit to see what they've been up to in recent months.

What always appealed to me about the Ant was the wide variety of shows it offered. Not only did I critique classics such as Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf (the first show I ever reviewed there, way back in 2002), I was also treated to an amazing array of new works by local playwrights such as Joe Zettelmaier, Linda Ramsay-Detherage and Margaret Edwartowski (among others).

But what I particularly looked forward to were its slate of original comedies created by local improvisers. These were often the result of an improv troupe winning a highly competitive battle held once or twice a year at the Ant, with the winner earning a slot in the Ant's schedule supervised by an established pro at the helm as director. This offered the winning artists an opportunity to spread their wings and challenge themselves to create from the ground up an original one or two-act play.

As you can imagine, some shows were better than others. Several, however, remain memorable to this day.

Either way, it was always great fun to watch artists of various levels of training and experience sharpen and grow their skills - both as writers and as performers.

So when I received the press release for Who Run The World, an original comedy that runs through April 7, I saw its pedigree and immediately began to salivate. The show is directed and co-authored by one of the most creative artists I've had the pleasure to observe over the years, Lauren Bickers (an 11-time Wilde Awards nominee and three-time winner), and it features Detroit's Queen of Comedy, Suzan Jacokes (with 8 nominations and 2 wins) and teams her with another, more-recent favorite, Dyan Bailey (with 4 nominations and 1 win). That alone sold me on the show.

But it also stars three additional women and one man, whose writing and performance skills I was unfamiliar with - and that made me curious to check out how well they'd step up when working alongside two such well-known powerhouses.

I found out this past Saturday night.

Who Run The World envisions an America only a few decades from now when women run the country - and men have fled into their underground man caves. When an asteroid is discovered heading directly for Earth, will it destroy the world? Or will women find a way to save us all?

Ripping its plot from recent headlines, Bickers and her cast have come up with a unique take on the historic battle of the sexes while also poking fun at male and female stereotypes. (Yeah, mandatory dance breaks throughout the day wouldn't thrill me.) It's a mostly fun script, with plenty of sharp commentary to help move the story along. But a weaker-than-expected second-act opening had me worried that the steam had run out. I shouldn't have worried, however, as another twist soon came our way that wrapped the story up in a thoroughly satisfactory manner.

Just like the script varies, so too do the performances.

As expected, Jacokes (as Cabinet member Letitia McAllister, director of science) and Bailey (as Cabinet member Kameela Toriana, department of appearance and diplomacy) dominate the stage. Both are masters of comedy, and each puts her considerable skills to great use. Bailey is especially effective as the smiley-faced, double-crossing president whose number one goal is self preservation. (The two had the audience in stitches when a "bit" went awry and their finely tuned improv skills kicked in.)

Unfortunately, with the exception of strong and consistent performances by Scott Sanford (the story's sole male performer) and Caitlyn Shea as Jacokes' twin sister Tracee (director of unpacking), the other performers fade somewhat into the background when surrounded by scenery-chomping Jacokes and Bailey.

Even director Bickers gets into the act, with strong appearances on screen as a TV newswoman with creative ideas on how to spend her remaining hours on earth - which brings me to yet another reason why I've been a fan of the Ant's work: the integration of video into many of its shows.

And the video work by Bailey (with stage manager Mikey Brown, whose past video work I've raved about) is excellent, as are the costumes by Vince Kelley.

The Bottom Line: So how would I rank Who Run The World in comparison to past original comedies? How about "pretty much in middle of the pack." And louder than most. But I went home with a smile on my face, pleased that my return to the Ant turned into an entertaining visit with old friends, new acquaintances and filled with plenty of laughs.

For complete show details, CLICK HERE.

A Night at the Races

In Moliere's 17th-century comedy Tartuffe, Orgon promises his daughter Mariane's hand in marriage to Tartuffe, a seemingly pious gentleman who has wormed his way into the father's good graces. Apparently he doesn't care that she's in love with young Valere.

In the version now on stage at Ferndale's Slipstream Theatre Initiative, however, the story has been moved ahead a century or so and across an ocean to the up-and-coming town of Detroit, where it's Joseph Campau (likely Michigan's first millionaire and its largest landowner) who has been taken in by Tartuffe, and his daughter Catherine's hand that's been promised in marriage. And so the question the folks at Slipstream seem to be asking is this: How different would the Motor City be today had some of its most famous early citizens fallen for a trap set for them by a sweet-talking con man?

It's an intriguing question - and one given a madcap response by first-time director Mandy Logsdon that had my head spinning this past Friday night. (More on that later.)

As I've likely mentioned in previous posts, one of the reasons I keep going back to Slipstream is to watch how each show builds upon the lessons learned from past productions, and how the creativity of its artists stretches and grows with each new project. Sometimes they improve by leaps and bounds; other times not so much. But each is an earnest attempt at making an old show relate-able to modern-day audiences while also being respectful towards the intentions of its author.

That certainly is the case with Tartuffe. Initially produced in 1664 as a three-act comedy, subsequent revisions (due to criticisms from church and state alike) resulted in a five-act version that's commonly produced today. But don't worry: Slipstream's is a streamlined 80-minute romp that hits all the story's necessary plot points and provides a thoroughly satisfactory conclusion. (I probably don't need spoiler warnings for this, but the city's future is safe at the end of the show.)

It also presents actress Luna Alexander with an opportunity to push a character to the extremes, which is exactly what happens when she tackles the role of Adelaide DeQuindre, the wife of Joseph Campau and step-mother of Catherine. Adelaide isn't falling for the nonsense spouted by the overly religious Tartuffe - mostly because he's in hot (but secret) pursuit of her. And so she schemes to prove he's not the saint her husband (played by Dan Johnson) believes him to be. (Johnson seems to be everywhere these days!)

The result is one of Alexander's best comedic performances I've seen so far - and she's damn good in pretty much every show she's in. I won't spoil it for you, but watching her avoid the clutches of Jay Jolliffe's Tartuffe reminded a couple of us of the physical comedy Lucille Ball was known for throughout her television career. Her facial expressions are especially priceless! (Johnson has some fun moments as well, secretly watching the escapades while stuffed tightly underneath an antique sofa table.)

Much fun and revelry are added into the mix by the entire cast, but personal favorites include Slipstream newcomers Rachel Biber as the all-knowing, always-floor-sweeping family housekeeper, and Nancy Dawdry Penvose who plays multiple characters and keeps them all unique and separate. And artistic director Bailey Boudreau as John R. Williams adds some sanity to the doings (if threatening to hatchet his step-mother's pursuer can be considered sane in such a situation).

Unfortunately, an old Slipstream quirk (curse, maybe?) resurfaced with this production: A handful of actors rushed through blocks of their dialogue so fast that it seemed as though they were racing to get to a much more important engagement after the performance, which meant they were not speaking clearly and distinctly enough for everyone in the audience to understand them and follow the plot. It became so problematic at one point that I missed some important details and had a tough time catching up. I love enthusiastic actors, but diction matters, people!

All of the show's technical elements serve the show well. Especially impressive are the costumes by Tiaja Sabrie.

The Bottom Line: Tartuffe is yet another creative endeavor by the fearless and much-talented folks at Slipstream Theatre Initiative. The performance I saw wasn't perfect, but it was a whole lot of fun!

I was once again accompanied by my date Jenn McKee. Would you like to read what she thought of the production? If so, CLICK HERE!

For complete show details, CLICK HERE!

A Tale of Two Critics (or, Don Introduces Jenn to Open Book Theatre - but will they agree on what they saw?)

Some of my readers may not remember this, but not long ago most daily newspapers in the state had a staff theater critic. So did several of the weeklies, or at the very least a freelancer or two. I loved the fact that we had multiple voices discussing the work produced by our theaters, but what was especially fun was the collegiality among the critics. So much so, in fact, that many times after an opening night performance a gaggle of critics could be found socializing and discussing the latest industry gossip at a nearby local pub. (We were also the first to pick through the buffet table some theaters had on opening night, but that's a different story.)

The one thing we didn't talk about, though, was the show we had all just seen. It was a rule we stuck to no matter what, as it could be very easy for one critic to unintentionally influence the opinion of another. (As an aside, this actually happened to me once at one of those gatherings; the husband of a critic made a comment about something that occurred during the performance, and as I was writing my review the next day I kept discovering that what I wrote sounded more like him than me. So I removed the reference from the review altogether.)

I miss those days, when Jenn McKee (then of The Ann Arbor News), Judith Cookis Rubens (then of The Oakland Press), Marty Kohn (then of the Detroit Free Press), Carolyn Hayes (the former Rogue Critic) and I (then of Between The Lines) would mix and mingle after a show. Friendships were forged that continue to exist to this day.

I was reminded of this just this past Friday evening when Jenn accompanied me to Open Book Theatre to see its production of Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike. She had never been there before, but based on past discussions we'd had - and what she'd heard and read elsewhere - it was decided that she'd join me at that evening's performance. We even rode together.

And even though neither of us has a current gig in the media as a working theater critic, we still held to the same policy as before: Thou shalt not talk about the play until the reviews have been published or posted.

Except that each of us briefly violated it at some point during the evening. In the lobby at intermission I asked her, "See what I mean about the work they do here?"

And on the ride home, she said," Sorry, I know I shouldn't, but I can't wait." She then proceeded to make a brief point about one particular aspect of the show, to which I pretty much agreed.

The total time spent violating our Golden Rule? About 45 seconds. That's it.

And so I can't wait to see what Jenn writes about the show. Will she agree with me that director Angie Kane Ferrante had a particularly keen eye for casting the right people in the right roles? That Lindel Salow and the always-delightful Connie Cowper were simply wonderful as aging siblings who never left the family nest? Or that Wendy Katz Hiller lit up the stage as their famous sister who'd supported them and their now-deceased parents all those years? And will she agree that the very limber Alexis Barrera brought much laughter and physicality to the stage as the somewhat-odd sooth-saying cleaning woman? I do know we agree that the adorable Kyle Kelley - who struts the stage for much of the show in nothing but tight underpants - likely hasn't eaten a cookie or piece of pie in many years and is perfectly cast as Spike, the play's young, hunky stud muffin. But what will she say about his acting chops? (In my opinion, at times his line delivery seemed a bit wooden, but I wasn't sure if he was directed that way to indicate that his character's status as eye candy trumped everything else, including his personality.)

Overall, I suspect she'll be as impressed with the show as I was. And I also think she's discovered what I did about this company a handful of years ago: that the work they do is of very high quality. And I also bet Open Book will become a regular part of her reviewing schedule.

Just like it has mine.

The Bottom Line: Open Book Theatre Company is a class act from start to finish, and the shows they produce are of the highest quality. As I've said before, of all the young theaters we're blessed to have in Southeast Michigan, I suspect Open Book will be among the few that will survive long in to the future.

Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike runs through March 18. For complete show information, CLICK HERE.

UPDATED March 9: To see what Jenn thought of the performance, CLICK HERE.