Opening Night of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”

directed by Jayce Tromsness and presented by The Warehouse Theatre

As Reviewed by Pamela M. Hoyt

Last night was one of those evenings that leaves a Mom smiling!  Allow me to explain… John, myself, and our daughter, Megan, were very excited about attending the opening night of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” at The Warehouse Theatre.  My son, Brett, had other plans which fell through at the last minute, and I was able to get him a ticket Friday morning so he could be with us as well.  Hence, as every Mom loves, our family was together for a night out and what a great entertaining night it was!

I was dumbfounded by the great lengths that The Warehouse Theatre actors went to set the stage and introduce this production into the Greenville community weeks before the opening.  They used Social Media – which I Loved – with a facebook fan page and created such intrigue with the troupe of actors that were coming from afar to present this production.  A few weeks ago I remember a strange person “friend requesting” me on facebook which got my attention.  I researched the origin of the information, and knowing the storyline of Midsummer, I chuckled in amazement!   They continued this media hit by posting Youtube videos by the great Russell Tripp that exemplified their travels across the U.S. to get to Greenville and followed with an interview by Kimberly Kelly.  The communities excitement was building over the international theatrical troupe that The Warehouse Theatre hired to perform this Shakespeare work… and WE had tickets!

We arrived early so that the four of us could sit together in our usual claimed seats on the back row. Brett, the 15 year old son, was interested when four very attractive young ladies chose to sit in front of us!  I watched as all of them chatted curiously over Paul Savas and Shannon Robert’s display of slight panic as to the whereabouts of the cast!  “Do you think the play will start on time?”  one girl asked.  After a period, I leaned over and informed my son that this was all a part of the setting for the play.  “Oh!” he commented and his face lit up like he knew something that the rest of the room had no clue about.  He actually stopped texting and put his phone away for the entire production!  Ironically, Megan and Brett’s high school drama department is also performing the same play and Megan attended their opening the night before. I knew she was curious to see how the play compared to her friend’s production.

The Warehouse Theatre did not let us down once again!  It is believed that “Midsummer Night’s Dream” was first performed between 1595 and 1596.  Amazing to see a Romantic Comedy from an era so long ago can keep an audience laughing with such light humor and yet on edge waiting on the next scene even today.  To read a description of the play is more confusing than enjoying Midsummer as the dreams unfold.  Basically, the play is based around three couples and the complexities that love evokes as three separate dreams intertwine.  The cast does a marvelous job of engaging the audience and carrying them through this twisted script that young and old can follow along with intrigue whether you are well versed on Shakespeare’s writing or did not pay much attention at all when you had to read this in school.

The troupe of seven actors appeared to constantly have fun with this play and they carried this through from the minute we stepped foot through the door at the Warehouse.  Their fun and light heartedness  was contagious throughout the audience yet they displayed such professional acting that we all wanted to be a part of.  Hint:  Stay away from the front rows if you do not want to have a speaking part! Even the young child, Mae Evelene Tromsness, that played the Changeling Child seemed to enjoy her role throughout the evening.  Each character of Shakespeare’s drama was portrayed with a modern edge and flavor that we all could relate and empathize.  The lighting and setting was kept very simple yet engaging for the audiences enjoyment.

Of course I was anxious to hear my children’s reaction to Midsummer over pizza after the play.  Brett stated that he “Really enjoyed it!”  And Megan just laughed when I asked her how it compared to Thursday nights’ performance at her school.  “My friends are not quite as professional!”  I must throw in that Megan made sure to state that this was her favorite Warehouse Production… second only to Rocky Horror!  Thank you Paul Savas and the Warehouse staff for bringing this fantastic troupe of actors together.  Bravo to the Teatro Moltoimpassionata  for making their journey to Greenville so we might fall in love with the cast of such a top notch production of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.”

To buy tickets or for more information about Greenville’s Warehouse Theatre, visit www.WarehouseTheatre.com – The opening night was sold out, so you may want to hurry and get your tickets so you don’t miss this great performance.

Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

Unable to make the opening night of “Who’s Afraid of Virgina Woolf?” due to our daughter Megan & son Brett being involved with a choral event on Friday night, we relegated ourselves to catching the 3:00 PM Sunday matinee showing at The Warehouse Theatre in Greenville, SC.

One of the most apparent things was that my daughter was the youngest person in attendance, and my wife and I were not too far behind. Yes, the crowd was a bit older than we were. Not that age has anything to do with theatre, it was simply something that stuck in my head.

As we were waiting for the show to begin, I was able to take in the set, which is quite elaborately constructed. The detail was beautiful, and as the play began it was not too difficult to feel as if you were in the home of the couple who had lived there for 20+ years. There were other touches that added to the ambiance, such as the gobos and gels that made it seem as if light were coming through the window panes in the home.

Most of you know that I am audiophile of sorts, having run FOH sound for churches & bands and I am also a professional musician, so the quality of audio is of great importance to me. Spoken word being the primary medium used in a play to convey the message to the audience means that if the dialog is not clear, then there is really no need to be there, right? Well, The Warehouse Theatre did not let me down in this production. The cast was superbly enunciated and projected well and the audio engineer and technicians did their parts well too.

“Who’s Afraid of Virgina Woolf?” was written by Edward Albee and was made into a movie starring Elizabeth Taylor after a time on Broadway. You can find more about that on Wikipedia like I just did. Living the sheltered life I have (sheltered from culture apparently), I had never seen the movie or the play before and I didn’t do my homework and study up before going  just as with other productions at The Warehouse Theatre, so I had no idea of what to expect.

The storyline is available for you to read elsewhere so I will tell you a little bit about the characters and actors who portrayed them.

There are four characters you will get to know in play. Martha & George are an older couple (presumably mid to late 40s) who are nothing short of professionals in the art of attacking each other with words sharper than swords. Think Al and Peggy in the sitcom “Married with Children” and turn it up to “11″, then double it. The actors playing these parts, Mimi Wyche and Chip Egan are so good at this that you might think they were married to each other!

Two other characters show up at the home of Martha & George and are brought into the madness whether they like it or not. Honey & Nick (played by Debra Capps and Brock Koonce) have not been married very long and the exposure to Martha & George manages to bring out the worst in them as well. Both Debra and Brock do an admirable job with their parts. The interaction between the two couples is very much as one might expect it to be under the circumstances.

Our 18 year old daughter was curious as to why the younger couple did not just get up and leave, but I don’t believe she can grasp the fact that a young man, who wants to leave his mark on the world, may endure anything in order to make that climb up the ladder. After all, Martha is the daughter of the founder of the university that George and Nick are employed by, and the simple act of leaving could seal his fate. In thinking about it, someone who has not been married may not understand much about this play

A word of warning – there is foul language and intense moments. People with impressionable children and those who are easily offended may wish to avoid this ride.

It is easy to understand why the opening weekend is sold out for this show. I wouldn’t be surprised if the rest of the show doesn’t sell out too. Warehouse Theatre really IS Intense, Intimate and Unexpected…

The Clean House - Sarah Ruhl

Let me preface this post with the fact that I had never heard of The Warehouse Theatre until my family participated in the “Google on Main” event earlier this year. After that event, there was a follow-up which took place at The Warehouse and that was the first time I set foot in the facility.

Since then, we have been seeing lots of discussions on various social media sources about plays and events at that venue and decided we just had to check it out, so I purchased tickets on the phone last week for “The Clean House”… To make this even more interesting, I scored a “Social Media Press Pass” which let me in for free…  What on earth was The Warehouse Theatre thinking when they gave MEa press pass? haha  I think it must be because I quickly jumped on the band wagon when Aaron Von Frank (@AaronVonFrank) said he and Paul would dress up as French Maids and clean the home of one lucky attendee if all the shows sold out!  

All that aside, I took my wife Pamela, 17 year old daughter Megan and 15 year old son Brett this afternoon’s performance of “The Clean House”.

Having little exposure to community theatre, I must admit that when I walked in the doors today I was not exactly sure what to expect. I’ve been to many plays and musical productions, paying lots of money for great seats in world reknown theatres, and to be honest, I had braced myself for disappointment. I assumed that I would be watching a production similar to a high school play, with lousy lighting, poor audio, a spartan set and worse, actors straight out of the high school drama department.

Boy was I wrong! The audio was perfect, excellent sound quality, not a missed cue. The lighting was outstanding, including a video backdrop with colored background and text/graphics that were perfectly synchronized with the actors – if there was a mistake made, I sure didn’t witness it!

The set itself was a work of art and fit perfectly with the lifestyle of Lane (Stark white, sterile, with modern furnishings), however, the biggest thing I was wrong about was the quality of these actors!

I am not familiar with the work of the playwright, Sarah Ruhl, but these actors managed to portray characters that I believe we all can relate to and managed to capture our hearts in doing so. Many Broadway productions I’ve seen could have benefited from the expertise of this cast! I saw nothing but true seasoned professionals!

Without giving away too much, this play is funny…  And the timing of the cast was impeccable.  The lead character, Matilda (played by Lynne Junker) is a hired on by Lane (Debra Capps) as a house keeper, but she hates cleaning… Matilda has us laughing from the start. Virginia (played by Elizabeth Finley) the OCD sister of Lane feels moved to help the “depressed” Matilda by cleaning for her.

While cleaning, Virginia discovers the undergarments of someone other than Lane and that leads to the assumption that Lane’s husband Charles is having an affair. As it turns out, it is more than an affair, and we are taken on an interesting ride through what could be considered unbelievable if you have never been involved in something so ludacris in real life. My wife says she can totally relate with every character as the twist and turns unfold.

The play takes you full circle through relationships and the drama that goes with them sometimes. As I mentioned, it is very lighthearted, so do go prepared to laugh at the tragic story. (It is really a love story, but I’ll let you discover this for yourself)…

I feel I must appologize to these wonderful actors and The Warehouse Theatre for being so cynical about what Greenville had to offer in The Arts. I have been missing out on a lot and I am glad to have discovered this source of entertainment and enlightenment for our family.  For a fraction of the cost of an evening at The Peace Center, you can rest assured we will be visiting this venue frequently! 

The next show at The Warehouse Theatre is “The Rocky Horror Show”, a personal favorite that is coming up in October!!!! Hope to see you there!