Midtown International Theatre Festival 2009

[Ed. Note: This is a review roundup of shows in the 10th annual Midtown International Theatre Festival.]

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Jon Crefeld and Kyle Baxter’s I Hate Love, performing at the Abingdon Theatre Arts Complex, is an often clever adaptation of Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing, set in the present-day American South. But while the script is consistently engaging, the production occasionally drags due to an uneven acting ensemble under the direction of Mark Duncan.

The playwrights keep fairly close to Shakespeare’s plot, and even occasionally utilize select portions of his language. In the work, Captain Ingrid Peterson (Elizabeth Pickett) has brought her Navy squadron to the Louisiana estate of retired admiral Robert Lawrence (John Felidi). Hot shot pilot Cruz (Andrew Stephen Johnson) proposes marriage to Lawrence’s daughter Kira (Sarah Barry), but Peterson’s brother Sean (Dan Belmont) is out to ruin the nuptials. Meanwhile, Cruz’s best man Bennett (Blaine Pennington) and Kira’s cousin Tom (DR Mann Hanson) bicker and flirt as they come to grips with their growing love for one another.

This gay twist on Shakespeare’s original has a significant effect on the plot due to the U.S. military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy. For example, it adds tension to the friendship between Bennett and Cruz, as the latter is not so comfortable with finding out that his buddy is gay, and at one point implicitly threatens to turn him in.

Several of the cast members employ Southern accents with mixed results. (Felidi’s is particularly bad.) Most of the actors also tend to indicate their emotions and intentions in too broad a fashion. Conversely, Johnson seems a little too low-key as Cruz and is not very convincing when called upon to express his outrage and anger. Still, Pennington and Hanson have a nice chemistry together that gives a spark to their onstage romance, while Roi King delivers a scene-stealing performance as Father Frank.

Duncan’s staging often appears sloppy, partially because several scenes call for a large number of characters to fit onto a very tiny stage. But the quality of the play itself — which has plenty of humor and charm — still shines through.

Broadway veterans Derek Keeling and Heather Laws lend a bit of star power to the new musical two-hander Connect/Disconnect, performing at the June Havoc Theatre. Unfortunately, they’re not ideally suited to the material, which also has flaws of its own.

The piece is divided into two separate mini-musicals, with music by Jan-Erik Saaf, book and lyrics by Owen Robertson, and direction by Rick Jacobs. In the first act, set in contemporary London, Peter (Keeling) and Karen (Laws) are two lonelyhearts who are frustrated by the singles bar scene. Their first attempt at Internet dating leads to an initial meeting, followed by a rather predictable boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl formula. It’s a sweet story, and the music has some lovely melodies and catchy pop hooks. A highlight is the song, “Give Me a Real Girl,” which Keeling sings while accompanying himself on guitar.

Unfortunately, the actor is not very convincing as a working-class fish monger, and plays his part too stiffly. In fact, Keeling seems most comfortable when simply facing front, and singing. Conversely, Laws is at her best in the scenes where she interacts with her partner, and adrift when she delivers monologues alone onstage. Both have fine voices, but occasionally run into pitch problems, most notably in a couple of high notes where the singers don’t quite harmonize.

The first act was based on Saaf’s collaboration with Ola Horling, who wrote the original Swedish version of the show. The book and lyrics for the second act are all Robertson’s — for better and worse. The opening number, “The Office of Gerald Burnham, Esq,” is quite promising, setting a somber tone appropriate for a couple on the cusp of divorce. Unfortunately, the musical takes a nosedive with a rather sensationalistic revelation that changes the piece’s tone so drastically that it never quite recovers. Moreover, the flashback scenes are trite and superficial, while the ending seems forced.

At once earnest and overly sentimental, Jeff Seabaugh’s How to Make an American Family, performing at the Jewel Box Theatre, tracks one gay man’s journey as he deals with various family ties — some of which he was born into, others which he creates.

The autobiographically-inspired solo show consists of three overlapping storylines: Seabaugh’s attempt, with partner Randy, to adopt children; the illness of his mother; and the caretaking of his developmentally disabled aunt, whom he “inherits” following his mother’s death. Seabaugh plays numerous characters in the show, most of which are drawn in broad strokes that verge on caricature. He adds more dimension to several of the recurring roles, such as his Aunt Peggy, and is most natural in narrator mode, speaking to the audience in his own voice.

Seabaugh is an engaging storyteller, but he doesn’t always provide enough information for his tale to be fully effective. For instance, he introduces a conflict between himself and his mother’s much younger lover, but doesn’t resolve it in a meaningful way. The playwright also reveals very little about Randy, which seems odd considering that he must be a rather important part of both Seabaugh’s life and the story he’s relating.

While the subject matter is obviously near and dear to the playwright/performer’s heart, there is a curious lack of self-examination within the piece. Seabaugh occasionally offers a glimpse into his more vulnerable side, such as when he fails to be able to handle all of his aunt’s needs. But these moments are few and far between, and not dealt with in a complex manner.