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Theatre & Box Office |
Reprinted with permission of The Times of Northwest Indiana. Valparaiso's CTG offers cutting-edge productions BY CAROL MOORE According to some, community theaters are all cut from the same cloth. While that may be true somewhere else, it certainly doesn't apply here! Although actors may be moving from show to show, the people associated with a theater choose the plays -- usually reflecting the preferences of their audiences. Some theaters stay in the main stream, while others choose edgier dramas. Valparaiso-based Community Theatre Guild is one of the latter. Their production of Alan Ayckbourn's tragicomedy, "Woman in Mind," is definitely thought provoking. As the show opens, Susan (Heather Climer-McCalment) is recovering consciousness in the garden. Bill (Brian Sherwinski), her doctor, is speaking gibberish. As he goes to get her a cup of tea, her daughter Lucy ( Sarah Dooley), brother Tony (John Evans) and husband Andy (Dan Matern) all fuss over her. When Bill returns, it's obvious that he doesn't see her family; in fact, he's talking about her husband and son. Susan actually faints when she sees husband Gerald (David Pera) and sister-in-law Muriel (Mary DeBoer). Gerald, a pompous, self-centered vicar, has been writing a book about the parish forever. Muriel is purposely incompetent and jealous of Susan. Son Rick (Mike Dunbar) who hasn't spoken to his parents in two years, thinks of his mother as an embarrassment. As Susan's life unravels -- her real and imaginary families are crossing paths -- she recognizes that she's in trouble. Grace Slick's famous "White Rabbit" leads us into a surreal scene at Lucy's wedding -- the garden shed works well as an alternative to a rabbit hole -- where the two families actually interact. "Woman in Mind" relies on the strength of the story and the cast. Climer-McCalment is very convincing as Susan, the long-suffering wife, Pera's Gerald, is totally blind to Susan's disintegration. The journey into Susan's mind can be seen at the Chicago Street Theatre through June 10. Tonight is your last chance to see Grant Fitch as "The Foreigner" at L'arc en Ciel Theatre Group in Cedar Lake. Opening tonight and playing through June 11, "The Housekeeper" at Footlight Players, Michigan City. Canterbury Summer Theatre opens its 2006 summer stock season with "Talley's Folly" playing June 14 to 17 only. Mainstreet Theatre, Michigan City. The opinions expressed solely are those of the writer. Reach her at laughingcat_98@yahoo.com. |
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