Double Feature at Centre Stage
by Sarah Teach
Buried within the heart of downtown Nantucket, you'll find a street littered
with greasy-haired bums, staggering winos, and young urchins wearing rags
and accosting passersby. You have wandered into Nantucket's very own Skid Row, brought to you by Theatre Workshop of Nantucket (TWN). Two retro plays
are showing concurrently at Centre Stage for the next week and a half, and in
one night you can enjoy a spectacular double feature.
Begin at 5 p.m. with Roger Corman's classic 1960 film, Little Shop of Horrors.
Charles Griffith's screenwriting enhances the hilarity of farce with a solid plot
line that is easy to follow. It's easy to see why this story quickly became a hit and
has even moved on to classic category. Since it was just a seedling of a movie
featuring a young and unsung Jack Nicholson, this show has batted way more
than a thousand. By '82, it was time to look at the story's setting in retrospect.
Doling out doo-wop names to the narrating ragamuffins, Howard Ashman
rewrote the script for the stage, and Alan Menken made it sing. Then in '86,
Frank Oz did a film remake starring Steve Martin. Little Shop of Horrors is a timeless
vignette of a buffoon in love with a beauty; the story's universal appeal has
kept it alive and healthy all these years.
It is a musical, through and through, but a small theater like Centre Stage
makes Little Shop a very interactive comedy experience. A booming voice introduces
the tale that begins with a misanthropic shopkeeper who seems to own
not just Mushnik's Skid Row Florist but also his rumpled employee, Seymour. A
painfully inept floral assistant, Seymour is tempted by fame and fortune offered
to him by a "strange and interesting plant" that he acquires in a sketchy curiosity
shop. When he discovers that the plant craves fresh human blood, he is
forced into compromising situations in order to provide for his budding friend's
growing needs.
The lead actors give the writing the emphasis it deserves, with fantastic
comedic timing and lively creative delivery. As a nerdy and loveable Seymour,
Vince Veilleux steps gingerly away from his unabashed Peter Pan roots, letting
us see the flip side of his talent. Vanessa Calantropo's adorable gummy smile
gives her the perfect look to play the high-heel wearing Audrey who just wants
to get out of the gutter that is Skid Row. James Everett Grieder plays the portly
floral shop owner, Mr. Mushnik. While Grieder is not a shining star vocalist, his
surprisingly fluid dancing elicits some of the best laughs. And of course, since
this is a musical, Mr. Mushnik is not the only one with happy feet. 
Audrey's
sadistic boyfriend, Orin Scrivello, is executed hilariously by the loose-footed
Caleb Kardell, who could pass for a charismatic Gumby if prompted. The electric
dynamic between onstage newcomer Kardell and veteran TWN actor Veilleux
hints that we may see more of Kardell onstage. As a street urchin narrator, TWN
favorite Susan McGinnis is given the opportunity to show off her powerhouse
vocal abilities. A few times, some Bostonian edge curls its way into the actors'
New York accents, but unless you're a born-and-bred New Yorker, you probably
won't be bothered by it.
Not unlike a series of matryoshka dolls, the plant puppet just keeps gettingbigger with each new scene. Upon the introduction of the largest puppet, the
play is an excited electron that jumps to a whole new energy level! Andre Sang Quakenbush is The Man Behind The Curtain - or in this case the puppeteer
beneath the curtained jaws - performing outstanding vocals along with puppet
movements that ignite life into the gigantic plant. Executive Director Gabrielle
Gould jokes about the difficulty of obtaining such a high quality puppet, "We
started on Plan A and ended up using Plan F!" But you'll know the toothed prop
was worth every letter in between as soon as you set eyes on the giant, soul
singing, insult hurling, bloodthirsty Venus flytrap-like plant. Wife and husband
team of co-directors, Linda and Chris Meredith, have both doubled up on duties
to produce a fantastically entertaining show that is truly their own. In addition
to directing, Linda invented the show's elaborate choreography, and Chris
gripped the musical helm.
Most of the few references to drugs and sexuality will go right over kids'
heads, so don't hesitate to bring your mature elementary schoolers. In fact, next
Wednesday, July 25, families with children on the autism spectrum (or with other
needs that may make attending live theatre difficult) are invited to see the show
for free as guests of TWN.
Whether kid or adult, you'll leave Little Shop of Horrors wanting to see it again! To hold grownups over until the
next show, go get a drink and an appetizer downtown.
(We highly recommend the calamari at Arno's, as well as
their Bloody Mary and their Ultimate Margarita.) When
you return to Centre Stage at 8:30 p.m., you'll feel like
you've stepped inside a comic book. Playing concurrently
at Centre Stage is Alfred Hitchcock's The 39 Steps, a show
to feed your appetite for a darker part of humor.
Scottish author John Buchan wrote the original espionage
thriller novel, The Thirty-Nine Steps, in 1915. The
story itself is overtly traditional material, with a lovely
damsel in distress and a handsome male protagonist who must save the day. Twenty years after Buchan's book made headlines across
Great Britain, Alfred Hitchcock recognized the story's timeless value and made
it into a movie. The production on Centre Stage today features the writing of
British playwright and comedian Patrick Barlow, who undertook the challenge
of adapting The 39 Steps for the stage. After being thrust into the more audiencefriendly
melodrama genre, the play made a British premiere in 2005 and has
been performed hundreds of times on Broadway since 2008.
Fittingly, TWN has gathered talent from across the pond for this play. Kate
Sheridan hails from Ireland for her third TWN show, bringing a natural gracefulness
to her performance. A dark, slender beauty with large eyes that almost
appear animated, Sheridan is a picture perfect heroine. Leading man David
Arrow makes his TWN debut an impressive one, and convincing distress drips
down Arrow's face as his character lurches between captivity and freedom. New
York based actor Turna Mete, who was recently seen in TWN's Time Stands Still,
seems to be able to pull off any role. Of course, this is a necessary talent for an
up-to-snuff performance of The 39 Steps. After all, just four actors take on far too
many roles to count, at times even playing more than one role at once. Troy
Davies masters this tactic and joins Mete in instantaneous character transitions,
creating their own blend of expression-based physical comedy. The Clown 1 and
Clown 2 duo will have you roaring with laughter on numerous occasions.
But despite its smart wordplay and tendency to poke fun at itself, The 39
Steps isn't a comedy; it's a melodrama. Sound Designer Fritz Michel and
Associate Sound Designer Tessa Young effectively convey the gravity of the story
with believable noise inserted in all the right moments. Additionally, these two
behind-the-scenes characters join the onstage ones in taking on more than one
role. Michel also directed the tricky show and Young served as the production's
Puppet Designer. Entrusting the nightly projections to John Horton, Sandra
Galley worked well alongside the sound team to conjure just the kind of hyperrealistic
lighting required of a story that began as an espionage thriller novel.
If you love spy drama and enjoy Hitchcock's signature wittiness, then The 39
Steps is your cup o' Scottish tea. If you are in need of a night of constant laughout-
loud humor, see Little Shop of Horrors. But why not get the best of both
worlds by treating yourself to a double feature night at the theater? These plays
are only running until July 28, so reserve your tickets now! Tickets are $25 for
each show and are available by calling the Box Office at 508-228-4305 or at www.TheatreWorkshop.com.
