TREASURE ISLAND
by Guest Reviewer T.E. Klunzinger
 
It was nearly 70 years ago that a young boy sat transfixed in the State Theater in East Lansing, watching (by himself) the grand adventure that is Treasure Island, the classic Disney version featuring superb English character actors, with Bobby Driscoll as Jim Hawkins and above all Robert Newton as Long John Silver, the archetypical pirate for the latter 20th Century and beyond.
 
Director/Fight Choreographer John Lennox has crafted a similarly rousing version for Lansing Community College’s Summer Under the Stars, albeit without benefit of a ship or an island. While there are a few anachronistic details such as women onboard the Hispaniola (I did miss Squire Trelawney) and one pirate wearing glasses, the dialogue and action move things right along, including the frequent and vigorous hand-to-hand combat with swords and knives.
 
Brett Allen Eckhart makes a wonderful, wily Long John Silver, a true survivor in the dog-eat-dog pirate world. (Alas, we hear but don’t see his parrot.) Edward Heldt is the steadfast Dr. Livesey, providing intelligent counsel and even a little medical advice throughout the adventure. And Daryth Lennox (OK, the director’s son) is perfect as Jim Hawkins, all earnest innocence as the story begins, learning skills he didn’t know he had, ultimately returning as a confident seaman.
 
The true delight is Connor Kelly, showing up late as the marooned Ben Gunn – in the film, he was the scariest character because he was so spooky. Kelly is equally spooky, maybe crazy but also crafty as he proves to be the treasure hunters’ secret weapon: when he’s onstage, you can’t take your eyes off him.
 
Since the set is necessarily sparse, the splendid costumes by Chelle Peterson enhance the tale-telling tremendously. Each pirate is colorfully distinct and the patricians are the very model of understated elegance, in particular Madame Trelawney.
 
A word about acoustics: the cast maintains good English accents throughout, but in the past, otherwise-good accents could cause problems in an outdoor setting. When I saw this particular performance, rain had forced it inside Dart Auditorium and I understood everything just fine.
 
“Treasure Island” continues Saturday and Sunday at 7:00 pm in LCC’s Outdoor Amphitheatre, behind Dart Auditorium – and it’s free!

SIGNIFICANT OTHER
by Guest Reviewer T.E. Klunzinger
  
Nearly fifty years ago, the musical “Company” focused on the unattached Bobby and his many married friends. There has always been the lingering question that Bobby might, in fact, be gay.
 
“Significant Other” by Josh Harmon, the third and final main show of MSU’s Summer Circle, is remarkably similar in setting and tone to “Company,” but without the music and with the fact that you know right off the bat that our hero Jordan (Max Sanders) is quite definitely gay. It’s now the 21st Century in New York City, with laptops, cellphones and all the other trappings of 20-something professionals.
 
Jordan’s three Best Friends are all women (Kathryn Stahl, Kristy Allen, Karen Vance) who over the course of the first act successively find Mr. Right (Curran Jacobs, Greg Hunter) and get married: wedding bells are indeed breaking up that old gang of his.
 
While the girlfriends provide continuing faux-romantic advice on Jordan’s hot guy of the moment, his only continuing counsel comes from his increasingly feeble Grandma Helene (Zussman), who ultimately observes, “Life is a long book, and you’re in a difficult chapter.”
 
While Director Tony Caselli, stepping out from Williamston Theatre, keeps the action moving right along in the episodic first act, the script tends to play like a (cable) TV sitcom, albeit with a decidedly gay slant. It’s only in the second act when things become more serious as Jordan approaches desperation, what with his girlfriends all married and nobody else in his life.
 
The ever-versatile Sanders delivers a tour-de-force monologue to this point in the second act, complemented by Stahl who matches him in intensity. The others actors, all but one having just graduated with Master’s Degrees in Acting, are uniformly excellent in their varied roles. (Zussman has long since earned her Master’s in Life.)
 
“Significant Other” has three more shows, at 8:00 pm Thursday through Saturday, while the adult comedy “Smudge” repeats at 10:00 on Friday and Saturday. The Summer Circle Kids’ Camp performance is Friday at 6:30, with a Wedding Dance Party onstage at 7:30 on both Friday and Saturday.
 

More info at 
http://theatre.msu.edu/productions/summer-circle-theatre

A review of The Full Monty
Owosso Community Players, June 16, 2018
by Guest Reviewer Patti Roost

It is an undertaking that would daunt a lesser theatre company, but Owosso Community Players is not a group to be daunted. As with Calendar Girls a couple years ago, OCP again tackles “clothing optional situations” with a gleefulness that is impossible not to embrace. The Full Monty is another fun story of an in-your-face response to economic hardship in a small blue-collar town.

Addressing issues of family, relationship, insecurity, The Full Monty is sometimes funny, sometimes poignant and touching, and it stretches the skills as well as the courage of a theatre company. I don’t think I’m giving anything away when I say that dancing in one’s underwear is not necessarily a skill that comes naturally, and doing so on stage is a courageous act. Kudos to a cast that makes this scenario seem likely and likeable, and to a crew and company that gives them the support they need to tell the story. It is particularly endearing to see this musical performed in a small town, by friends and neighbors . . . just as the steelworkers did, whose stories are being told. We understand the courage needed.
That said, this show could not have happened without a cast that is both talented and willing to put it out there. Director Garrett Bradley gathered a tremendous cast of performers, and their collaboration is a joy to watch.

The music is not familiar, but is quite wonderful; it is varied and furthers the story. Clever lyrics – like the show itself – are sometime funny/hilarious and sometimes poignant and touching. Throughout the show, we find ourselves nodding in agreement and feeling empathy with the singer(s). A particular favorite is a song called “Big Ass Rock” . . . check it out. 
The orchestra was well-rehearsed; they sounded absolutely terrific. They must be careful at the top of the show:  an enthusiastic and talented orchestra should not overwhelm the words being sung or spoken on stage. This happened, as I said, at the top, and then the orchestra settled into the supporting role it needs to play. Truly lovely job, musicians.
The set design is perfection. The opening scene (after the ‘prologue,’ which is a stunner in and of itself) is interesting in its levels and its mood. Time and place are clear, backdrops are beautiful and function perfectly, scenes are changed smoothly – and it all makes for great pictures throughout the show. Kudos to the set crew! Costumes are spot on, look great, and ‘reveal’ a lot of time and effort put in by the costume crew; really admirable work!

Playing one more weekend – 
Fri, June 22 – 8pm
Sat, June 23 – 8pm
Sun, June 24 – 3pm
http://www.owossoplayers.com
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