Do you remember when rock was young?

If you came of age on late 50's, early 60's rock, then the "Doo Wop" concert was aimed at you. Producer Todd Baptista, a New Bedford native, has put on a series of concerts bringing back the legends of yesteryear, some of whom still "have it," while others do not. The concert held March 28 featured three old-timers, and in a novel twist, a 20 year old touted as "the future of Doo Wop." Kid Kyle began singing in public at 8 and is now 20. Backed up by a trio who could have been his grandfathers, he demonstrated a great voice and stage presence. He did some new material and some oldies, and was worth seeing. Next up were the El Dorados, best remembered for a late 50's #1 hit Crazy Little Mama At My Front Door. The group on stage included two survivors of the original group and some new members. One of the originals noted that they had not performed a full set since 1957, and unfortunately it showed. The group was personable and cute, but often singing in different keys. Other than the remeniscence, not worth presenting on stage. After intermission we had to suffer through Jimmy Clanton, whose best known hit was Venus in Blue Jeans. Jimmy has long since lost his voice but not his ego. He kept name-dropping and ended his set calling up loyal female fans who were presented with handkerchiefs. We would have walked out were there not a final act we wanted to see. Last up were The Crystals, three women including one orinal group member, De Dee Kenniebrew. The Crystals turned out hit after hit (Da Doo Ron Ron, Then He Kissed Me, He's a Rebel) and brought the house down. All three did solo leads and their harmony was perfect. There was no way to tell which was an original without being told. A great ending to a show that was a mixed bag.

Catharsis for the artist

Alice Manning wrote and performs the one-woman show "Stronger than the Wind" now playing in the New Rep's Black Box Theatre, one of three small plays celebrating women playwrights. The play is based on her own experience: giving birth to twin boys, who were kept in the neonatal intensive care unit becuase of low birth weight. One does fine but the other contracts a serious infection which involves the brain and results in multiple neurosurgeries that leave him with partial paralysis and seizures. The actress gives a biting performance portraying arrogant doctors, unfeeling nurses and later heartless welfare workers and school officials. She makes it easy for us to visualize Doctor Condescending and friends. Despite the underlying pathos, there is plenty of humor sprinkled throughout. The few moments of helping humanity do not take up nearly as much (or enough) space - perhaps she did not consider them dramatic enough. While I am sure writing this play was cathartic for the playwright, it is less clear that the audience enjoys the experience. Ms Manning's acting talents do carry the play.

Two theatrical Afro-American experiences

We saw back-to-back two very well-done productions focusing on African-American experiences of years past. At The Lyric Stage, is Intimate Apparel, a moving play by Lynn Nottage set in the beginning of the 20th Century in New York. The heroine is Esther, beautifully played by Lindsey McWhorter, a very plain "spinster" of 35 who has come North to make a career for herself. She learned to sew and has become a successful seamstress of lingerie, with patrons fom all walks of life. What she really wants is to open a hair salon for Black women, and she has been saving diligently for this for many years. She resists the insistence of her landlady that she lower her standards to find a husband. When a surprise letter from a West Indian laborer on the Panama Canal arrives, she begins a correspondence through a wealthy but lonely patron, as Esther cannot read or write. The pen pals form a distant romance, and she agrees to marry George if he makes it to New York. Her other male contact is Mr. Marks, a religious Jew who sells her fabric. The two have a suppressed, since taboo, attraction to each other. George proves to be a manipulative cad. He romances Esther's friend Mayme, a prostitute unaware George is Esther's husband. George leaves Esther penniless, and she must begin again. All of the cast are superb and credible in their roles. Our only issues are that at over 2 hours,the play ran a bit long, and that the accents adopted made some of the dialog hard to follow. Go see it. Recounting events from some 50 years earlier was a dramatic reading of Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, by Harriet Jacobs. Beautifully played at the Zeiterion by Cherita Armstrong, Harriet gave us a moving experience of what life was like for a slave in the American South in the mid 1800's. Her first mistress, a caring woman who taught Harriet to read and write, left her unprepared for the depradations of her next owner. She described her life hiding in a tiny garret space for many years before she could finaly escape to the free North. Tying Harriet's story together with the broader history of the times and the links to New Bedford were represenatives from the NB Historical Society and The American Place Theatre, who sponsored the program.

Acting Tour de Force at New Rep

The current performance in the New Rep's Black Box small theatre is The Amish Project, a one-woman play exploring the horrific events at Nickel Mines, PA, where 5 Amish school girls were shot by the local postman after he ordered the teachers and the male students out, and then shot himself. Danielle Kellerman plays seven different characters, using facial expressions, mannerisms and voice to morph from an innocent schoolgirl to a pregnant Hispanic teenager to the wife of the shooter with barely a pause. That she was able to mostly succeed in this is a testimony to a wonderful actress. Unfortunately, the play itself is less than stellar. While the material is powerful and emotional, the flow is often confusing, and many audience members left wondering what they had seen. While the pregnant 16 year old was fully fleshed in, and perhaps the most distinct character in the play, it was not at all clear why she was even in it. The author used a visiting male academic as a sort of narrator, appearing as a student of and friend to the Amish who could explain their way of life. The motivation of the shooter was less than clear. The distraught wife of the shooter had the largest part and brought the most raw emotion to the play. Ms kellermannn deserves better material to showcase her talent.

Whistle blowers, nude and clothed

A few weeks ago we had an interesting juxtaposition of artistic views about whistle blowers and the public's right to know. We saw Laura Poitras' Academy-award wuinning documentary Citizen4 at the West Newton Cinema, followed by the New Rep's production of Muckrakers. Laura Poitras clearly distrusts the US government and everything it does. Her portrait of Edward Snow allows him to express his viewpoint with no counter, and she regards him as a hero. There is no appreciation of the irony in his stated "I knew what I was doing and was prepared to take the consequences" and his hasty flight from Singapore to escape American justice, and his asylum in Putin's "democratic" Russia. The cinema verité style gets a bit boring, but the subject matter is fascinating, albeit one-sided. Muckrakers is anything but boring. Esme Allen plays Mira, a New York activist who believes there should be no secrets, who is hosting Lewis Wheeler playing Stephen, a British "muckraker" who has published secret US files about the Iraq war. The fast-paced play (75 minutes with no intermission) has the two of them discussing how Stephen came by the files - and there is a more nuanced viuew of Stephen than Poitras gave us of Snow -Did Stephen mislead the lonely homosexual army clerk to get him to pass on the files? Stephen, too, is not a hero, but his protection is not flight. Instead, he uses a host of encrypted unreleased files that he threatens to have released should he be arrested. A scene in which Ms Allen is fully nude on stage adds shock value but does not really add much to the plot or character development. The ending does have a major twist which I will not reveal if you have not seen the play.

Handle & Haydn excel

As part of their bicentennial season, H&H are finishing with three of the greatest oratorios in the canon. This past weekend was Medelssohn's Elijah. This lenthy (over 2 hours plus intermission) piece requires a strong Elijah, and in Andrew Foster-Williams they found a winner. His strong and melodious bass-baritone voice was supplemented by enough acting talent to let his face express the feelings of the prophet. Equally strong was sopranno Sarah Coburn, beautiful in her gold lame gown and with a voice that carried through Symphony Hall. The other principals, including 7th grader Gabreil Haddad, while not as magnificent were more than adequate for their lesser roles. And what can one say about the H+H chorus? Most of the chorus members are accomplished singers in their own right, and under returning guest conductor Grant Llewellyn they provided music that varied from plaintive to soaring. The orchestra obviously plays a subsidiary role to the voices but was wonderful in its own, and the use of the organ added the right biblical feel. Still coming up are Bach's St Matthew Passion and Hayd's The Creation. I urge you not to miss them!