Murphey, Benzinger, French, Levison; Photo: Offhand

Anything else, good?

A few jolts of humor, some basic humanitarian points: we should all be equal no matter our creed, sexual orientation, religion or color.

Sorry to say, nothing else here folks.

On stage, there is rarely a true connection between Luke and Adam. Their candle-maker boss, Holly (Jennifer Levison),says lines but fails to connect with anyone.

Whether it’s the fault of the play or the director, something does not gel. Although the play is no masterpiece, by itself it probably isn’t bad. But when you watch it with actors who fail to connect to one another and actually come to life on stage rather than just say lines, it’s hard to tell whether the play could be good.

When Luke (Joe Sykes) winds up in the hospital after a traffic accident, his parents (Arlene and Butch), friends and live-in lover, Adam (Mitchell Anderson), and former lover Brandon (John Benzinger) meet up in the hospital. Scenes flash forward and back from the couple’s first encounter to Luke’s final demise.

I’ve seen staged readings with more life than this production.

“Next Fall” by Geoffrey Nauffts, directed by Kate Warner, runs through Feb. 11 at Actor’s Express.

In March Actor’s Express presents the Atlanta premiere of “The Motherf**ker With the Hat, named “Top Ten of 2011” by the New York Times.

In “Feet First in the Water with a Baby in My Teeth,” Gogerty paints a clear picture of her life as a new mom. Her arm becomes a baby, her baby a butterball turkey, and a step stool becomes a whining toddler who refuses to put on his pants. I see it before my very eyes.

Her writing rings true to life, and she has worked out the moments of the script so that she hits the mark each time. The problem is the mark is off base.

Gogerty tends to emote and push her acting. It’s over the top and not true to life. It appears as if she has mapped out each moment in her script to be carefully acted. She knows how she wants her acting to appear. She pretends to be excited. She pretends to be angry. She pretends to be scared. She asks a question to the audience and pretends not to hear the one person who answers quite loudly.

Gogerty may have lived the script in real life. She doesn’t live it on stage. She acts it on stage. If she could actually scold her child rather than pretend to get mad him, she’d have us with her. You want to be with her, in her world, because her script is novel, funny and interesting.

From the name of her play to the moniker of her son “Turk”—the butterball turkey baby who weighed 10 pounds at birth—Gogerty is a writer through and through.

Naysayers will no doubt write me and defend Gogerty. They’ll say it’s hard to capture an audience in a one-woman show and that her acting is meant to be lively. But truth is truth. That is what makes her script so good. She writes with the kind of deep truth we experience that people pretend not to see–the truth about the pains of raising a baby and not going as far as we would have liked to in our careers.

I believe the stories Gogerty tells no matter how far out they seem. I believe her story about her great-grandmother who worked in the kitchen of a steamboat on the Mississippi River. When a fire struck the boat, even though she was a 16-year-old mother who couldn’t swim, she grabbed her baby, jumped feet first into the water, and dog-paddled a half mile to shore, clutching her baby in her teeth by the diaper. Whether Gogerty’s stories are true, I believe in them because her writing is so descriptive and lively.

Great scripts for one-woman shows are hard to find. And when a great, comedic actress finds this one, it’s going to be one hell of a show.

Synchronicity Theatre presents “Feet First in the Water with a Baby in My Teeth,” written and performed by Megan Gogerty and directed by Alexis Chamow, through Dec. 18 at the Balzer Theater at Herren’s.

Like the wacky comic magicians Penn & Teller, the Amazing Jonathan is like no other and has been dubbed one of the funniest comic performers in Las Vegas.

With more than 25 years as a grotesque and gruesome comic magician, Jonathan has performed on “Late Night With David Letterman,” “The Wayne Brady Show,” “The World’s Wildest Magicians” and dozens of other TV shows.

A Las Vegas headliner, the Amazing Jonathan describes himself as the Freddy Krueger of comedy. I couldn’t have said it any better.

The Amazing Jonathan plays The Punchline in Sandy Springs Thursday-Sunday. Tickets are $20 Thursday and $30 Friday-Sunday.

Forget Santa Claus. “Billy Elliot” is coming to town!

Tickets go on sale Sunday for the Tony Award-winning musical that knocked me to my feet and toes dancing when the cast performed at The Tony Awards.

The show won not two, not three, no not even six Tony Awards. It took home ten Tony Awards!

Billy Elliot the Musical is the celebration of one boy’s journey to make his dreams come true. Set in a small town, the story follows Billy as he stumbles out of the boxing ring and into ballet class, discovering a surprising talent that inspires his family and his whole community, and changes his life forever.

The music is by Sir Elton John and book and lyrics are by Lee Hall. The production features original direction by Stephen Daldry, choreography by Peter Darling, scenic design by Ian MacNeil, associate direction by Julian Webber, costume design by Nicky Gillibrand, lighting design by Rick Fisher and sound design by Paul Arditti. Musical supervision and orchestrations are by Martin Koch.  Touring production direction by Justin Martin and choreography Kathryn Dunn. The show was originally produced by Universal Pictures Stage Productions, Working Title Films and Old Vic Productions.

The production has been awarded 81 national and international awards including ten Tony Awards, Best Musical by the New York Drama Critics Circle, Drama Desk, Drama League and Outer Critics Circle.

The performance schedule for Billy Elliot the Musical at The Fox Theatre is:

Tuesday, March 13                       8 p.m.

Wednesday, March 14                  8 p.m.

Thursday, March 15                      8 p.m.

Friday, March 16                          8 p.m.

Saturday, March 17                      2 p.m., 8 p.m.

Sunday, March 18                        1 pm., 6:30 p.m.

The production has been awarded 81 national and international awards including ten Tony Awards, Best Musical by the New York Drama Critics Circle, Drama Desk, Drama League and Outer Critics Circle.

Prices start at $28. Tickets can be purchased through authorized ticket sellers at the Fox Theatre Box Office, Ticketmaster outlets, online atwww.broadwayinatlanta.com or by phone at 1-800-982-2787.  Orders for groups of 15 or more may be placed by calling 404-881-2000.

Additional information about Billy Elliot the Musical is available at www.BillyElliotTour.com.

Travis Smith and Bethany Anne Lind; Photo: Bill DeLoach

Georgia Shakespeare keeps getting better and better. Not that it wasn’t good, but the past two shows I’ve seen there have been outstanding, and “The Glass Menagerie “ is no exception. Thanks, greatly, to two outstanding actors Mary Lynn Ownen, who plays Amanda Wingfield, and Joe Knezevich, who plays her son, Tom.

Knezevich, is fast becoming my factor actor in this town. I’ve seen him in a number of shows in the past couple of years, and he is always a standout. He’s different from one show to the next. He steps out of his own shoes and becomes someone totally different. And while you might think that’s what acting is—you’d be totally right—far too many actors in this town don’t do it. Not only does he change from role to role, he changes within the role he’s playing. One moment he’s a lout, the next moment he’s charming, the next, a raving maniac. Not at all unlike Owen. While I don’t remember seeing her in other shows, she is a consummate actress. She does the unexpected—charming her son one moment and raging at him the next. In one standout screaming match between the two of them, it was so real I wanted to stop it.

Now I’m going to be picky here and tell you about a few of the flaws.

Laura Wingfiled (Bethany Anne Lind), Tom’s “crippled” sister, holds the story together as the poor, lost, sweet soul who can’t do anything all day but play the gramophone and play with her miniature glass animals. Lind’s acting is believable as Laura but predictable and one dimensional. Laura has worn  a leg brace since she was a child. Although Laura is more crippled in mind than body, Lind forgets that she is supposed to have some difficulty walking. Lind misses the mark sometimes. For example, when her “gentleman caller” Jim O’Connor (Travis Smith), accidentally breaks the unicorn she adores most in her collection of horses, she is barely saddened.

There is one flaw that I hope Georgia Shakespeare fixes: On opening night when Jim picked up a newspaper, there were only large sheets of flimsy paper with no print on it. The rest of the scene was so real that the surprise of seeing no print took me and my companion right out of the scene and put us inside a theater wondering why there was no print on the newspaper.

Here is why you have to see this show: Mary Lynn Owen and Joe Knezevich. Every time I see Knezevich in anything he is outstanding. I’ve seen Jessica Tandy play Amanda on Broadway. Ms. Owen, your performance was no less than hers.

Kat Conley has created a simple set that reeks of shattered dreams against a backdrop of shattered shards of glass.

“The Glass Menagerie” runs through Oct. 30 at Georgia Shakespeare.

Sunday Brunch at the Ritz in Buckhead

From the moment you drive up to The Ritz-Carlton, Buckhead, on a Sunday morning you’re treated like royalty, even if you’re driving a six-year old Scion among the Mercedes Benzes and Audis. The valets open the car door, the hotel doors, and everyone smiles making me forget the troubled car I came in and feel like I’m Audrey Hepburn in “Breakfast at Tiffany’s.” In the lobby lounge outside the dining room, people sit in oversized chairs drinking juices and nibbling on snacks while a piano player plays standards and sweet melodies.

The Ritz-Carlton Sunday Brunch includes 50 items, including crab claws, crab cakes, grilled vegetables, salads, fresh fruits, pastries, sushi, smoked fish, a meat carving station, and the traditional Eggs Benedict, Belgian Waffles, salads, an assortment of cheese and bread, and desserts. Oh, yes, and sparkling white wine.

Executive Chef Peter “Peter Z” Zampaglione oversees Sunday Brunch, while Chef Todd Richards, chef of The Café, supplies one or two of his dinner menu items. Sommelier Linda Torres organizes the sparkling wines.

Before joining The Ritz-Carlton, Buckhead, Peter Z led culinary teams at luxury hotels and resorts in Spain and Ireland and served on The Ritz-Carlton Culinary Advisory Board with responsibilities for the company’s hotels in Santiago, Moscow, Berlin, Wolfsburg and Powerscourt.

Brunch is available from 11 a.m.-2:30 p.m. on Sundays and cost $59 per person.

One Ring Zero releases “The Recipe Project,” featuring essays, interviews, and recipes from David Chang, Chris Cosentino, Mario Batali, Isa Chandra Moskowitz, Michael Symon, Mark Kurlansky, and many more. The recipes have been set to music and sung WORD FOR WORD in the musical style suggested by the chef!

Tickets for the party are $35, and includes mint juleps (made by master mixologist and cocktail historian Dave Wondrich), beer (good beer, that is, from the Brooklyn Brewery), and samplings of many of the dishes in the book (including Mario Batali’s Spaghetti with Sweet 100 tomatoes, Tom Colicchio’s Creamless Creamed Corn, Colson Patiserrie’s Speculoos and Financiers, Andrea Reusing’s Pickled Pumpkin, and even some delicious sausages and charcuterie, courtesy of The Meat Hook. Oh yeah, there will also be a performance by One Ring Zero, with guests including Claudia Gonson (of The Magnetic Fields), Allyssa Lamb (of Las Rubias Del Norte), Mark Kurlasnky (an awesome writer of such books as Cod and Salt), Kara Zuaro (another awesome writer of such books as I Like Food, Food Taste Good), Michael Harlan Turkell (an amazing food photographer and writer and radio host), and more.

The party will be held Thursday, Nov. 3 at 7 p.m. at The Brooklyn Kitchen, 100 Frost Street, Williamsburg, Brooklyn, N.Y.
Get your tickets here.

Breaking in the Light by Peter Polites, oil on panel, 30 x 18 inches

In a solo exhibition titled “Waves: New Paintings by Peter Polites,” 20 ocean and marsh landscapes will be presented by the architect who apprenticed with John Portman & Associates and later worked with Cooper Carry before starting his own company, Polites & Associates. He has designed hundreds of homes, office buildings and interiors of luxury condos.

The exhibition opens Oct. 4 and remains on view through Nov. 5 at the Millennium Gate Museum in Midtown Atlanta, 395 17th Street in Atlantic Station.

Inspired by his Savannah roots, Polites captures fleeting moments in nature using classical painting techniques while infusing each scene with his own interpretations and emotion. His subjects include stormy dark skies, bright golden sunrises, mornings in the marshes and the beaches of Tybee Island, Ga.

Extended hours for WAVES at the Millennium Gate are Tuesday–Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Polites is offering free admission to the museum and a tour of the exhibition with him Saturday, Oct. 22 at 2 p.m.

Admission other days is $10 for adults, $8 for senior citizens 65 and older and for children ages 6-17, and free for children under 6.

In this North American tour company, staged like the Broadway version, we get to see two dynamite performances by Amanda Jane Cooper (who plays the role of Glinda) and Dee Roscioli (who plays the role of Elphaba). Glinda is a spoiled, rich girl who dresses fashionably, smiles just right and flips her blonde curls to get attention. Elphaba is concerned with treating people and animals fairly, and fumes at injustice. When she juts her arms straight out in front of her, claws her hands, and cackles, she reincarnates Margaret Hamilton’s Wicked Witch of the West. There’s not a superstar that I can think of that could have done better than these two, including the incomparable Kristien Chenowith, who originated the role of Glinda on Broadway.

Roscioli, who reprises her Broadway role as Elphaba, radiates passion in her acting and singing. She commands explosions of applause wrapped in woo-hoos and hollers from the audience when she sings “Defying Gravity,” “As Long As You’re Mine” and the hilarious “What is this Feeling (Loathing)?,” a song about two totally opposite roommates (she and Glinda) who hate each other. Her performance made me weep.

“Wicked” takes you to Oz before Dorothy enters the picture. Glinda, a popular, perky blond school girl, attends boarding school with Elphaba, a determined, green-skinned girl who is ostracized by her family and peers. The two hate each other when they meet but a close friendship forms. They travel to Emerald City to apprentice with the Wizard to learn to cast spells.

The show is spellbinding. Even my sister – who hates theater, especially musicals – loved this show. The music, set, costumes and acting bring fantasy to life. Monkeys sprout huge wings and fly, Glinda floats above Oz inside a bubble, Elphaba blasts off into space with her broom.

Wicked was nominated for 10 Tony Awards and took home three of them. The original Wicked Broadway cast recording ranked among iTunes’ Top 10 Soundtrack Albums. Composer-lyricist Stephen Schwartz won the Grammy Award for Best Musical Show Album. “Entertainment Weekly” called “Wicked” the “Best Musical of the Decade,” and the character of Elphaba ranked on the magazine’s list of the 100 Greatest Characters of the Past 20 Years.

Dee Roscioli ranks on my list of the 100 Greatest Musical Performers in the past 50 years.

Come to the Fox two hours in advance of any performance to enter the Fox lottery drawing for the chance to win orchestra seats for $25 for that day’s show. “Wicked” is based on the book “Wicked: The Life and Time of the Wicked Witch of the West” (1995)  by Gregory Maguire.

“Wicked” runs through October 9 at the Fox Theatre.

Music and Lyrics, Stephen Schwartz (“Godspell,” “Pippin”). Book, Winnie Holzman. Directed by two-time Tony Award winner Joe Mantello.

Cast: Justin Brill, Stefanie Brown, Collin Hanlon, Paul Slade Smith, Todd Anderson, Lauren Boyd, Megan Campanille, Catherine Charlebols, Antonette Cohen, Rick Desloge, Melanie Field, Luis Augusto Figueroa, Timothy A. Fitz-Gerald, Dominic Giudici, Napoleon W. Gladney, Brenda Hamilton, Kevin Jordan, Kelly Lafarga, Renée Lawless-Orsini, Philip Dean Lightstone, Marissa Lupp, Michael Mahany, Sterling Masters, Alli McGinnis, Kevin McMahon, Mark Myars, Christopher Russo, Adéa Michelle Sessoms, Carla Stickler, Brandon Tyler, Shanna VanDerwerker, Nicky Venditti, Mikey Winslow, Alma Cuervo, Mark Jacoby.

The Baker (Mark Price) and his wife (Courtney Balan) Photo: Greg Mooney

You won’t miss Broadway with the Alliance Theatre’s production of “Into the Woods.” It doesn’t get much better than this.

This production is a rare gem: a great story filled with wonderful music, an outstanding cast, and terrific scenery that brings the audience inside a fairy tale world with leaves raining down upon them and actors performing in the aisles.

“Into the Woods” is a mix of bubble, bubble, toil and trouble, the Grimm Brothers’ fairy tales and life after “and they lived happily ever after.” But it’s not child’s play. It’s a look at life, greed and those who never get enough to be satisfied. A prince who finds his perfect princess has an affair with a married woman; chubby Little Red Riding Hood (Diany Rodriguez) gorges on so many sweet breads she makes herself sick; and Beanstalk Jack steals so much gold that his greed brings down the entire village. No one is exempt from the troubles this causes them all, including the Narrator (Walter Hudson ) a droll character reminiscent of the Stage Manager in Thornton Wilder’s “Our Town.”

Don’t think this is a silly takeoff on a fairy tale. It’s a lively story with fun characters who try to solve problems in amusing ways–a mother hoping to win her daughters a prince saws off part of their feet.

The 1987 original Broadway Production of “Into the Woods” won three Tony Awards: Best Original Score, Best Book of a Musical, and Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical, and was nominated for seven others including Best Musical. In the Alliance’s production, both Courtney Balan (who plays the Baker’s Wife and created the role of Hatchet Face in “Cry Baby” on Broadway) and  Diany Rodriguez ( who plays Little Red Riding Hood) are standout performers. A magnetic Balan brings a dozen different sides to her one character.

A fantastic  orchestra is composed entirely of students.

Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
Book by James Lapine
Scenic Design by
Todd Rosenthal

Courtney Balan…………………………………………………………………………….Baker’s Wife
Courtenay Collins……………………………………………………………………….Jack’s Mother
Chandra Currelley………………………………………………………….Cinderella’s Stepmother
Jill Ginsberg…………………………………………………………….. Cinderella
Walter Hudson…………………………………………………………….Narrator/Mysterious Man
Jeanette Illidge………………………………………………………………… Florinda/Snow White
Amber Iman……………………………………………………………….. Lucinda/Sleeping Beauty
Jamie Wood Katz………………………………………………………… Rapunzel/Dance Captain
Barbara Marineau……………………………………………. Cinderella’s Mother/Granny/Giant
Jeff McKerley……………………………………………………………………… Steward
Brandon O’Dell…………………………………………………………………….Cinderella’s Father
Mark Price…………………………………………………………………………. Baker
Angela Robinson…………………………………………………………………………………..Witch
Diany Rodriguez………………………………………………………………..Little Red Ridinghood
Hayden Tee………………………………………………………………….Wolf/Cinderella’s Prince
Jeremy Wood………………………………………………………………. Jack
Corey James Wright………………………………………………………………. Rapunzel’s Prince

The Into the Woods Orchestra
Conducted by Helen Gregory

Violin
Kelly Compton
Woodward Academy
Dumarkus Davis
Homeschooled by Bridgette Davis

Viola
William Anderson
New Creation
Christian Academy
Moira Church
Kennesaw Mountain High
Richard Lee
Peachtree Ridge High
Darius Green
Lovejoy High

Cello
James Dickey
North Gwinnett High
John Tang
Johns Creek High

Bass
Kristoffer Caine
Fine Arts Magnet Program
at Mount Zion High
Geoffrey Solomon
Druid Hills High

Flute
Emily Mikan
Lakeside High
Aidan Rogers
Chamblee High
Lauren Rosenblatt
Parkview High
Emma D’Agostino
Norcross High

Clarinet
Morgan Klein
Sequoyah High
Carly Weikle
Northgate High

Keyboard
Dawn Andrews
Norcross High
Alex Claussen
Norcross High
Stephanie Tan
Starr’s Mill High

“Into the Woods” runs through Oct. 2 at the Alliance Theatre.