Ambition!

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Who Knew?

In almost every respect, Belize was a surprise to us; we caught the last performance of this unorthodox musical at La MaMa ETC and found it a revelation. Most revelatory was the subject matter itself. Here is a true story of an Irish-born colonel in the British Army who became a radical not out of political conviction but, rather, out of a sense of moral duty.

Evocatively written by Paul Zimet, who directed his own production with an enchanting creative flair, Belize is set in the Caribbean. Colonel Edward Despard (John Keating) assumes the administration of the Bay of Honduras, which will later become Belize. Here, he marries a woman of color and begins redistributing the land to the country’s dispossessed population, much to the displeasure of the British colonists who otherwise controlled the country’s wealth. Well, you know what’s going to happen to Colonel Despard…

Retold with a combination of folk tales, Gilbert and Sullivan-style patter songs (with music by Ellen Maddow), and straight-on musical theater techniques, the story unfolded in an engaging, unpretentious manner. The production was highlighted by Keating’s sincere, winning performance as Despard and by Eisa Davis’s commanding presence as his wife, Catherine. The strong supporting cast included David Greenspan in an amusing turn.

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Like Clockwork

If you’ve seen Stanley Kubrick’s groundbreaking movie of the same title, you’ll be astonished by the sheer audacity of the Godlight Theatre Company’s tiny but intense take on A Clockwork Orange.

Wisely, the company has gone back to the original source material: Anthony Burgess’s novella. Still, the book is not a natural for theatrical adaptation, and that’s especially true when the entire play is performed on the bare stage of a small Off-Off-Broadway theater — in the round, no less. Luckily, Godlight is presenting the show in one of 59E59’s state-of-the-art venues. This offers lighting designer Maruti Evans the opportunity to create a kaleidoscope of moods that match the on-stage mayhem.

Under the dynamic direction of Joe Tantalo, a dozen performers enact this violent, postmodern tale. Check your memories of the movie at the door, enter the theater with an open mind, and prepare yourself for a visceral experience. There are times when you’ll want to reach out and try to save the characters from the brutality that takes place right in front of you; this wildly physical production unfolds with astonishing intimacy. And that’s a genuine asset of this small theater where, as in a boxing ring, the audience surrounds the thespian combatants.

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Thoroughly Modern Lily

In the most fundamental ways, dance and theater are combined in Rip Time’s production of Innocents. The show, based on Edith Wharton’s The House of Mirth, takes full advantage of the open, expansive playing space at the Ohio Theatre to create a work that ranges from painfully self-aware to elegantly beautiful.

Not to mislead: Innocents isn’t a dance piece but, rather, a play with carefully choreographed movement. Conceived, adapted, and directed by Rachel Dickstein, it tells the story of a woman torn between her conscience and her desires. Caught on the cusp of two eras, our heroine Lily (Paula McGonagle) wants to marry into money but quite can’t bring herself to do so; you might say that the story is a more sober version of Thoroughly Modern Millie. The cast is uneven but one comes away admiring the gumption of the show’s creators.

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Darling Devil Divine

Speaking of gumption, Kate Pazakis has an eye-opening cabaret act at The Duplex, titled The Sexless Years. A rambunctious, modern day Mae West, at least insofar as her attitude toward sex is concerned, Pazakis winningly reveals herself in song and story. Some of the material is vulgar and some of it is poignant, but she sells the whole package with her boisterous, self-possessed personality.

Pazakis is a natural, gifted entertainer. She’s also got a great set of pipes. The music is mostly pop, yet all of the songs are in service to her serio-comic autobiographical tale. This may be a rough-hewn debut act, but that’s part of its charm.

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[To contact the Siegels directly, e-mail them at siegels@theatermania.com.]