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| Poseidon! An Upside Down Musical |
| Level Ground
Arts' musical spoof 'Poseidon!' By Lawson Taitte/ Excerpted from The Dallas Morning News 6/7/2010©2010 Level Ground Arts opened the regional premiere of the spoof by David Cerda on Friday at Dallas Hub Theater. The production, co-directed by Bill Fountain and Andi Allen, squeezes nearly 30 actors onto the tiny stage. Sure enough, it's fun to see such a large cast, and there are a lot of talented folks up there. The whole extravaganza seems to have been inspired by the Theater of the Ridiculous – which of course means oodles of cross-dressing and (mostly gay) double entendres. Some of the guys in skirts fortunately turn out to be great – especially Lon D. Barrera in the Shelley Winters role. But the best moments come from several of the musical numbers. Allen, as the slutty policeman's wife, leads a chorus of men in a catchy ditty about panties. Alexandra K. Buchen is hilarious as the dazed entertainer who can't believe her brother is dead (and manipulates his lifeless body so it appears to sing along with her). Some touches of genuine emotion surprisingly break through towards the end, especially when Emily Shaw as Lara, one of the fans, tells how the old movie came to mean so much to her. Rock the Boat: Level Ground Arts' tribute to The Poseidon Adventure is too long, but you'll still be laughing on the morning after. By Mark Lowry/ Excerpted from TheaterJones.com 6/8/2010©2010 Level Ground, now in its second season, has done its best work with dead-on spoofs of movies, notably The Evil Dead and Plan 9 From Outer Space. The LGA cast and crew know how to stroke this kind of material. Bill Fountain and Andi Allen co-direct the musical, and Allen also plays Linda Rogo, the Stella Stevens character, who has a penchant for disrobing and berating her husband, Lt. Mike Rogo (the Ernest Borgnine role, played by Charles E. Moore). Multi-tasker Allen also handles wigs (nicely done) and is co-designer of costumes (with Jocelyn Everett) and the simple set (with Fountain) of platforms that ape the ship's steel beams. All of the movie's main characters are here: Belle Rosen/Shelley Winters (Lon D. Barrera, in too-funny drag), her husband Manny Rosen (Francis "Hank" Henry), sister and little brother Susan and Robin Shelby (Alexis Nabors and Jason Robert Villareal), bachelor James Martin/Red Buttons (Rick Starkweather), lounge singer Nonnie Parrie (Alexandra K. Buchen), Acres/Roddy McDowall (Jonathan McMurry) and, of course, the Gene Hackman role, Reverend Scott (Shane Strawbridge). Jon Morehouse plays Brian, who comes to the viewing party dressed as the "Indian Lady" from the movie. Both sets of characters, and the musical numbers, are bridged together, in part, with the help of Water Nymphs (Melody Jones as a mermaid and Ande Bewley as a crab, à la Sebastian from The Little Mermaid), and Jordan Podkladnik as the Greek god Poseidon. Music director Scott Eckert knows the territory, and leads the excellent band of Erin McGrew (keyboards), Patrick Herring (drums) and Rick Norman (Bass). Vocals range from good to very good throughout, with some fine chorus work to go with appropriately ditzy choreography (by Brittany Levraea and, again, Allen) that nods to Busby Berkeley, Bob Fosse and Jerome Robbins, among others. But the real point of this musical is to spoof the movie, and to that end, the show and this production are deft. Starkweather, Villareal, Morehouse and Barrera deliver numerous chuckles. Strawbridge, despite looking nothing like Hackman, mimics that role with humor and finesse. Buchen, with her blank expressions, steals the show as the vacant lounge singer, and has the show's funniest number when she uses her dead brother (played by Eckert) as a prop and sings about his music. Some of the humor is crude and juvenile, but all of it is kill-'em-dead funny, courtesy of a mostly in-sync cast and the finely tuned comic sensibilities of the directors. 'Poseidon! An Upside Down Musical' By Clyde Berry/ Excerpted from Pegasus News and John Garcia's The Column 6/16/2010©2010 As a whole, the ensemble works very well, even the band gets involved. There's a great energy that is set and maintained the whole show, whether someone is a dead body, watching the "movie" on the side of the stage, or in their scene. Greg Hullett nails his monologue about his Poseidon dolls. Mathew Butler drags out every emotion he can for his cranky and oft offended party host. Directors Andi Allen and Bill Fountain have reigned everyone in just enough for madcap but not mayhem. Fountain and Allen have created a series of platforms that serves as the multiple locations on the ship. Costumes are appropriate and capture the spirit of the design from the film. Brittany Levraea, Andi Allen and Darius-Anthony Robinson's choreography is fun. The cast pokes fun at the ticks the movie cast have, mock the stereotype of their character, and still create their own personae. Not easy, but lots of fun. Shane Strawbridge is appropriately gruff and "preachery" as the chip-on-his-shoulder Reverend Scott. Charles Moore's Mike Rogo captures the exasperation and determination of the police lieutenant. The nasty Linda Rogo is thoroughly lampooned by Andi Allen with every look, gesture, and bit of panty waving she's got. Belle and Manny Rosen are the Jewish couple played by Lon D. Barrera and Francis "Hank" Henry. If there is any moment of sincere emotion, it comes from this couple's last scene. A nice contrast to the farce, and expertly handled by all involved. Obnoxious disaster movie siblings Robin and Susan Shelby are both uber-hormonally played by Jason Robert Villarreal and Alexis Nabors. Rick Starkweather gives a great turn as the bachelor, James Martin. Alexandra K. Buchen has many scene stealing moments as the mentally vacant Nonnie Parrie. Jonathan McCurry will never look at condiments the same way again after his time serving as Acres the waiter. If you are looking for something wacky, fun, and different, then Level Ground has just the show for you. LGA''s Goofy Poseidon Will Float Your Boat! By Christopher Soden/ Excerpted from The Dallas GLBT Arts Examiner and Pegasus News 6/17/2010©2010 There's something beyond magical occurring when the creative minds residing at Level Ground Arts set to work on a project. It's the dedication and nearly courageous spirit of playfulness, the gusto they bring to a show, that makes the whimsy and eccentricity so contagious. Between the pubescent Robin Shelby (the inspired Jason Robert Villarreal) and his hi-jinks with "Third Engineer Charlie" and avid drag performances of Lon D. Barrera, Jon Morehouse and Matthew Butler, straight males would seem to be all but marginalized. Not that anyone in this cheerfully preposterous extravaganza is spared. One way or another they're all just embracing facetiousness on this ship of fools. If you've never been to a show at Level Ground Arts, Poseidon! An Upsidedown Musical is a grand experience. Marvel at the pranks of Water Nymph Crab (Ande Bewley) Water Nymph Mermaid (Melody Jones) and Water Nymph Poseidon (Jordan Podkladnik). Cheer as these hapless wayfarers bear up under the weight of catastrophe and the cajoling, hyper-masculine, Reverend Scott (Shane Strawbridge) . Plotz as Belle Rosen (Lon D. Barrera) yenta from hell, gloriously noshes on the scenery. Gasp as Nonnie (Alexandra K. Buchen) brings every blonde joke you ever heard to stupefying life. Howl as Linda Rogo (Andi Allen) does a musical tribute to her scanties. Take a break from the oppressive Texas heat and high-tail it to Poseidon!. Critical Rant and Rave: A Surfeit of Song By Alexandra Bonifield/ Excerpted from Critical Rant and Rave 6/22/2010©2010 Lively, clear, focused direction by Andi Allen and Bill Fountain plus a multi-talented, high energy cast made this an extremely fun show to attend. I found it very funny and believable in an improvised, imagination-rich way and an utterly charming entertainment. Most memorable performances: Shane Strawbridge in ever-melodious, commanding voice as Reverend Scott; Lon D. Barrera in hausfrau drag as sympathetic audience favorite Belle Rosen; Greg Hullett as Jim/Purser, delivering an excruciatingly realistic personal monologue in Act II; Jason Robert Villarreal as precocious, obnoxious Robin Shelby; and Andi Allen as Linda Rogo, singing a show-stopping number about ladies' panties with naughty, delicious verve. Props to the entire creative team for being so inventive in conveying the sense of climbing up and out of a capsized ocean cruise ship. The main choreography by Brittany Levraea and Andi Allen and additional choreography by Dance Captain and cast member Darius-Anthony Robinson deserves special mention, as it was remarkably effective given the cast size and the limitations of the performance space. Poseidon! An Upside Down Musical By Danielle Georgiou /Excerpted from Art and Seek 6/7/2010©2010 Framed as an annual viewing party amongst a misfit group of friends, this spoof of the 1972 cult classical The Poseidon Adventure, by David Cerda, attempts to mix the 1970s mentality of sexual freedom and exploration with modern allusions and, who can forget, songs! Yet, when they got it right, they got it right. Overcoming a slow start, it was full steam ahead when the boat capsized and everything got flipped upside down. Co-Director Andi Allen's turn as the slutty wife of a policeman is ridiculously hilarious, and she nails it with her ode to panties. Alexandra K. Buchen stole the show with her vapid but lovable Nonnie Parrie. Mathew Butler's Too-Tanned Lady was spot-on; Lon D. Barrera worked it in a skirt in Shelley Winters' infamous role (Belle Rosen); and Jon Morehouse's Indian Lady was a vision in yellow. Jason Robert Villarreal embodied that little brother you just love to hate as Robin Shelby and Gregory Hullett's Jim/Purser was endearing. His monologue during the second act clearly states the purpose of the play. The film was more than just a movie to these characters; it allowed them to form real friendships and get through the everyday trials of life. |