Tag: Theater

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CLYDE’S, Sublime, I Know What That Means

“Sublime, I know what that means” may seem like an odd title and opening statement but it is a quote from one of the characters in the Milwaukee Chamber Theatre’s Clyde’s at an important pivot point in the play. What is Clyde’s? It’s a humble cafe/diner that has a growing reputation for sandwiches. Sandwiches you say? Yes, sandwiches, a key plot thread that ties our story and characters together. Who is Clyde? Well Clyde is the proprietor of Clyde’s.

left to right: Justin Huen, Nate Press, Bryant Bentley, and N’Jameh Camara. Photo courtesy of MCT, Photographer: Michael Brosilow

And what is Clyde’s the play? The setting is the kitchen of Clyde’s the diner. And although mentioned that sandwiches is a thread that creates a tie that binds, Pulitzer Prize Winner, Lynn Nottage didn’t give us a simple play about sandwiches or diners. Clyde’s discusses in detail a number of serious cultural and societal issues, including sexism and sexual harassment, racism, and because all of our characters have been incarcerated, issues around how they try to manage new lives once being released from prison. Nottage gives us great insight and great stories and compelling language here. Keep in mind that some of it is very adult language in various forms. This is also a story about love, acceptance, friendship, disappointment, and redemption as Clyde’s kitchen staff learns to work together and work for Clyde but eventually, how to take care of themselves.

When we are first introduced to Clyde’s we meet the three kitchen staffers that keep the place running: Montrellous (aka Monty), Rafael, and Letitia. Rafael is played by Justin Huen who presents us with a vibrant grill man who aspires to sous chef. Huen brings just the right bit of bravado and rhythm to the character and the kitchen…and he gives us a romantic Rafael with a big heart clearly on his sleeve. N’Jameh Camara’s Letitia is an often a distracted mother who can’t quite leave her troubles at the kitchen door. Montrellous and Rafael try to help her overcome her anxieties and she slowly falls into the flow of the kitchen and her compatriots. Camara makes Letitia’s transitions from anxious to angry to at peace a natural and very real experience. And Montrellous is described in the play as a Buddha at times. And Bryant Bentley seems to be just exactly that…working as mentor and advisor and lead sandwich maker…he keeps an even keel around the kitchen as our story unfolds.

left to right: N’Jameh Camara, Justin Huen, Bryant Brantley, and Nate Press. Photo courtesy of MCT, Photographer: Michael Brosilow

But then, a new character arrives at Clyde’s. Jason has just gotten out of prison and has a definite chip on his shoulder at this point. And Nate Press provides us the the anger and quick trigger that Jason’s backstory tells us got him in trouble in the first place. He can’t quite grasp the point of making sandwiches or working with his teammates or caring much about anything. And the others warn him about Clyde…he doesn’t necessary heed their warnings…but he does come to a realization that self-care with a bit of support is a valid goal.

Who is Clyde? Lachrisa Grandberry rules the roost here as Clyde. Working the front of the house and demanding constant work and efficiency from the kitchen staff…she is harassing and demeaning…and clearly lording it over them thinking that as felons they have no recourse than to accept her attitude. Grandberry is effective as the mean and outrageous Clyde. She comes across as very real as the villain and I don’t think anyone in the audience had any empathy for her. I do wonder if she was engaged in a bit of tough love here or as Jason shouted out, she was just mean. There are hints toward the latter but it is never resolved in my mind.

left to right: Justin Huen, Bryant Brantley, Nate Press, and N’Jameh Camara,. Photo courtesy of MCT, Photographer: Michael Brosilow

And that thread around sandwiches? When there is a moment of peace in the kitchen, our characters suggest their best sandwich recipes of the moment and at times create their best for presentation and critique. These asides are clearly the bonding moments that the characters crave but create organically in the moment.

Yes, this is a serious drama, but there is a good bit of word play and humor here…laugh out loud humor. After experiencing this, it is hard to imagine that there will be a more compelling drama the rest of this season. And Director Dimonte Henning has explored every nook and cranny of the text and extracted every bit of humor and drama to be mined here!

Clyde’s is being presented by the Milwaukee Chamber Theatre at the Broadway Theatre Center. It is extremely popular and as a result has been extended through November 30, 2024. More information and tickets here! Run time: approximately 100 minutes, no intermission​ and there is adult language.

What is your favorite sandwich?

left to right: Bryant Bradley, Lachrisa Grandberry, and Justin Huen. Photo courtesy of MCT, Photographer: Michael Brosilow
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Lumberjacks In Love: Shakespeare Meets Vaudeville At The REP!

After the rollicking fun of last season’s presentation of Men On Ice, expectations for the Rep’s next import from Wisconsin’s ‘Great White North’ was highly anticipated. And this presentation of another work from James Kaplan and Fred Alley proves it’s mettle.

Doc Heide, Ryan Cappleman, Joe Picchetti, Eva Nimmer (foreground), Molly Rhode (with string bass), and Chase Stoeger. Photo courtesy of the Milwaukee Rep, photographer is Mark Fronha.

So most of you who are familiar with Shakespeare know that one of his favorite shticks is having characters masquerade as others…and often as members of the opposite sex…often with a fair amount of Elizabethan humor ensuing…and Kaplan and Alley present a bit of that here all in good fun!

Vaudeville? Well, we have four guys at lumber camp in the deep woods. So certainly we are exposed to a slew of slap stick and physical humor with silly jokes and puns. Oh, and there might actually be a Shakespearean reference that draws it’s own share of outright laughter!

Doc Heide, Joe Picchetti, Ryan Cappleman, and Chase Stoeger. Photo courtesy of the Milwaukee Rep, photographer Mark Fronha.

Our four guys in the woods are Dirty Bob, Muskrat, Moonlight, and Minnesota Slim. With nicknames like that we already have a fun way to start out…but they open with a ensemble paean to life as a lumberjack…and the fun starts here immediately.

The lumberjack to watch is Dirty Bob played by Ryan Cappleman. Cappleman’s Dirty Bob is active, agile, and the over the top performer in nearly every scene and the butt of much of the humor…and from what I saw on Sunday night…the audience’s favorite character and actor! Camp leader is Minnesota Slim, who comes off as a very attractive and charismatic soul as played by Joe Picchetti. Doc Heide is Muskrat who celebrates his 60th birthday and is struggling a bit with the aging process…a bit concerning at first…but with a humorous result! And Moonlight is another character who is questioning what he is feeling and not sure where to go with it or how to address it…and Chase Stoeger is the sensitive Moonlight here.

Joe Picchetti, Eva Nimmer, Ryan Cappleman, Doc Heide, and Chase Stoeger. Photo courtesy of the Milwaukee Rep, photographer Mark Fronha.

And then there is a The Kid, Eva Nimmer. The Kid is an orphan who was originally brought to camp by her late father. At first a seemingly support character, The Kid later becomes the pivot point as our story shifts from the ‘joys’ as life as a lumberjack to Lumberjacks In Love. And her nemesis so to speak is Rosemary Rogers, the mail order bride who arrives to marry Minnesota Slim. And Rosemary Rogers is incredibly inhabited by Molly Rhode, who proves to be a very flexible opportunist, but not the exactly one you expect!

And then back to Shakespeare, the final scene is a reunion and personal discovery scene where all’s well that ends well.

Ryan Cappleman, Joe Picchetti, Doc Heide, Eva Nimmer, and Chase Stoeger. Photo courtesy of the Milwaukee Rep, photographer Mark Fronha.

Lumberjacks In Love is driven by exciting toe tapping music that vibrantly ties the back story together. And the cast that director Jeff Herbst has assembled here is obviously having a lot of fun and just as obviously is enjoying working together. That feeling is infectious and the audience clearly feels it too!

Extra Credit Reading: The Program is here.

Lumberjacks In Love runs for about two hours with an intermission and is playing at the Milwaukee Repertory Theater’s Stackner Cabaret. The show just opened and runs through January 12, 2025. Additional information and tickets can be found here.

Chase Stoeger, Joe Picchetti, Doc Heide and Ryan Cappleman. Photo courtesy of the Milwaukee Rep, photographer Mark Fronha.
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Pericles @UWM: Shakespeare Is Still Alive In Milwaukee.

William Shakespeare’s Pericles is a saga of adventure, love, loss, travails, despair, and reunion. It is more Homeric epic than Romeo and Juliet. And Director Bill Watson allows his large ensemble cast of enthusiastic and skilled student actors to tell the story through Shakespeare’s actual poetry. The time and place hasn’t been altered to make the play

And yes, Shakespeare’s elegant but antique English can seem a bit thick to our modern ears, particularly in a play like Pericles that has a large cast of principals and a number of exotic locations, to our mind at least. So instead of using affected British accents, Watson brings us into the text with the comfortable and familiar mid-western accent.

Photos courtesy of UWM PSOA, photographer by Mark Frohna.

This presentation is a delight. As I said, the cast is very into telling the story and bringing the characters to life. Pericles of course is the focus and the role is filled by two actors…Gabe Rodriguez in the first three acts and then Duleon Schneider in acts four and five. And they do justice to our hero…bringing him from the swaggering and bold adventurer of the early acts, through the harried but resilient wanderer of the middle action to the tragic vanquished soul of the final acts before the finale of resurrection and restoration.

Photos courtesy of UWM PSOA, photographer by Mark Frohna.

And Marina’s determination and self-awareness is forcefully demonstrated by Natalie Gustafson. ‘Knowing’ that she’s lost her mother and being saved from an assassination by being kidnapped by pirates and sold into the sex trade, Gustafson provides a demonstration of all of the mettle needed to survive and way beyond our expectations of a 14 year old. And she is amazing in the final scenes when awaking the bereft Pericles…and she and Schneider very effectively draw out the first round of reunions agonizingly to this viewer, but just as Shakespeare intended.

Photos courtesy of UWM PSOA, photographer by Mark Frohna.

And Watson’s careful and clearly planned movement of the stage furnishings is almost a ballet in itself and lets the audience digest what they have just seen and prepare for a new scene, place, and time. So kudos as well to the set team and lighting team!

Extra credit reading: The PDF program for Pericles is here.

Milwaukee has a robust and active theater culture and we are obviously seeing some of our future here at UWM. But the Peck School of the Arts Theater Dept is often overlooked and doesn’t get its due…so attend this weekend if you can, particularly if you are a Shakespeare fan. These student actors will assure you that Shakespeare is still alive in Milwaukee!

There are two performances left as of this writing, tonight and on Sunday November 10th. Tickets and additional information can be found here and tickets can be purchased at time of performance. The play is being performed on the Mainstage Theatre in the fine arts complex at UWM, 2400 E Kenwood Blvd, north of Mellencamp Hall, west of Mitchell Hall, on the northwest corner of Downer and Kenwood.

Photos courtesy of UWM PSOA, photographer by Mark Frohna.