Sunset creates magic with its captivating ‘Pippin’

By Marilyn Jozwik

Following a marvelous “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” this summer, Sunset again hits the mark with its current show “Pippin.”

A raucous Friday night crowd was in the palm of this cast’s collective hand as they reeled off one fabulous number after another. Even Bob Fosse’s iconic choreography with its striking tableaus, interesting angles and hands – lots of hands – didn’t faze this troupe.

Like “Joseph,” this show is fun and quirky. Its Middle Ages fictional characters – loosely based on Charlemagne and his son – may spout an expletive, or a 10-year-old character might tell an adult performer, “bite me.” This is sharp, clever material of creators Roger O. Hirson and Stephen Schwartz (music and lyrics) that keeps a clear focus and a lively, entertaining pace, all brilliantly executed by this cast and crew. Claire Margaret Vock directs.

“Pippin” is a play within a play. It begins with the Leading Player (Sarah Cunningham) introducing the show about Pippin (Sean P. Lambie) the cast is about to present as they sing “Magic to Do” with its “kings and things to take by storm.”

Pippin (Sean P. Lambie) and Catherine (Katie Renee Schafer) celebrate the simple life in a scene from Sunset Playhouse’s “Pippin.”

In their presentation Pippin is restless. “I wanted to be dedicated to something,” he says, mulling the extraordinary life that is expected of him. He goes off to war, dabbles in the arts, samples a hedonistic lifestyle. He even tries to lead a revolution against his tyrannical father – and succeeds, but finds he cannot be the kind of leader he hoped he could be. So, he continues his search, wondering: “Why can’t I find something completely fulfilling?”

The players – especially the Leading Player – are more than happy to lead Pippin romping through his meaningless life. Until he finds meaning in a simple, pastoral life with a simple, hard-working, kind and dutiful mother, the widowed Catherine (Katie Renee Schafer) and her son Theo (Logan Jocham). And the show being presented by the Leading Lady and her troupe goes completely off the rails.

The cast of Sunset Playhouse’s “Pippin.”

I can’t imagine a better Pippin than the one Lambie portrays. He seems so lost and sincere, yearning for that which is always just beyond his grasp. His mop of hair and lean, lanky stature give his youthful character the right look while his understated delivery is just what is needed. When he collapses in despair, the audience chuckles at his wet noodle prat fall. He lends a soft, tenor voice, perfect for tunes like “Corner of the Sky,” which he delivers with longing and conviction.

Every character is so spot-on here that it’s hard to know where to look. So many stand-out performances, so much fun and energy and visually stunning scenes one wished the show would go on.

Of particular note is Cunningham, who takes complete charge of her Leading Lady character, filling the stage with her engaging song and dance from the very beginning.

As King Charles, Clinton Dodds also has a commanding presence, his character summarily dismissing any peasant request and justifying any bloody conflict, at one point saying, “The Pope and I have dedicated ourselves to spreading Christianity throughout the entire world… even if we have to kill every non-Christian to do it.” His “War is a Science,” with its primitive map and tricky lyrics, is wonderfully done.

There were really nice performances from Leah Lewandowski as Fastrada, King Charles’ conniving wife, and Schafer’s sweet Catherine, who pairs with Lambie in some lovely duets.

Surrounded by lots of youthful talent, former Milwaukee newscaster Joyce Garbaciak still manages to steal the show with her delightfully hammy portrayal of Pippin’s grandmother Berthe. Looking spectacular in a sparkly Vegas-style outfit and heels, Garbaciak shows she is just as comfortable on a stage as she is before a newsroom camera, engaging nicely with Lambie’s Pippin and delivering a sparkling “Spread a Little Sunshine,” getting the audience happily singing along with her encouragement. This is just one of many instances performers break the fourth wall, much to the audience’s delight.

But oh, the dancing! Choreographer Vivian Romano once again fields an amazing array of dancers who don’t miss a step of Bob Fosse’s creative movements, with all sorts of interesting body angles and poses. Headed by dance captain and featured dancer Brycen Witt, who adds beautiful balletic shapes to the scenes, the cast members keep the story at a hasty clip through dance. With flips and other gymnastics, lighted “swords” and other props, every number is full of fun and surprises.

Music director Mark Mrozek leads the eight-piece orchestra, creating all the wonderful moods in “Pippin.”

This is a challenging production for sets, lighting, costumes and sound, with all aspects of the entire show running on all cylinders. Sunset has magic to do – and indeed they do it!

If you go

Who: Sunset Playhouse

What: “Pippin”

When: Through Nov. 2

Where: 700 Wall St., Elm Grove

Info/Tickets: SunsetPlayhouse.com/262-782-4430   

Forte’s ‘South Pacific’ an enchanted evening of musical theater

By Marilyn Jozwik

I have always been a Rodgers and Hammerstein fan. Perhaps the most recognizable of their musicals’ tunes have come from “Oklahoma,” “The Sound of Music” and “South Pacific.”

While I have seen a number of R&H musicals on community theater stages, I’d never seen “South Pacific.” The last stage version I’d seen was in 1973 at the Melody Top Theater, a summer venue on Milwaukee’s north side from 1963 to 1986.

Forte Theatre Company has taken on this ambitious project with impressive results. Perhaps more than any other musical, “South Pacific’s” music is recognizable and the audience can immerse themselves in its familiarity. And Forte certainly executed the music beautifully, making this a treat with eyes closed. But the broad scenes of tropical beaches made this a feast for the eyes as well. Randall Dodge directs.

The World War II story is set on a small island in the South Pacific where a group of sailors is waiting for orders to take on the Japanese. Nurse Nellie Forbush (Megan Rose Miller) has fallen in love with the mysterious, older and wealthy plantation owner Emile DeBecque (Randall Dodge), who hastily left his native France as a young man to start a new life on this remote and beautiful island.

Also after Nellie’s heart is Seabee Luther Billis (Matthew Umstot), whose boredom sets him on adventures that often get him in trouble.

Luther Billis (Matthew Umstot) leads his fellow Seabees in the rousing “There is Nothing Like a Dame” in a scene from Forte Theatre Company’s “South Pacific.”

When the handsome lieutenant Joseph Cable (Josh Pope) arrives on the island, De Becque is asked to accompany him on a dangerous mission. Cable is lured to the mystical island of Bali Ha’i after a local entrepreneur, a native woman nicknamed Bloody Mary (Sheila Gimenez), sings of its allure. There he meets and falls in love with Bloody Mary’s daughter, Liat. (Heather David).

Running through the show is the prevalence of prejudice that the dark-skinned natives face. From Little Rock, Arkansas Nellie is shocked to learn De Becque once had a relationship with a local woman and has two dark-skinned children from the relationship. She cannot understand her own feelings of prejudice, but knows they are what she learned growing up. Cable too wrestles with his own feelings and realizes they stem from his upbringing as he sings “You’ve Got to Be Carefully Taught.”

This is a great cast with wonderful performances throughout. Director Dodge does double duty as the French expatriate De Becque. His rich, full bass voice lends itself beautifully to the familiar “Some Enchanted Evening” and “This Nearly Was Mine.”

Bloody Mary (Sheila Gimenez) celebrates the relationship of her daughter Liat (Heather David) and Lt. Joseph Cable (Josh Pope).

Miller is full of spunk and down-home charm accentuated by a convincing Arkansas accent, as the love-struck Navy nurse. She offers top-notch versions of tunes made famous by Mary Martin (the original Nellie on Broadway) such as “A Cockeyed Optimist,” “I’m Gonna Wash That Man Right Outa My Hair” and “I’m in Love With a Wonderful Guy.”

Perhaps the most elegant moments come from Pope as Lt. Joseph Cable. His “Younger Than Springtime” is lighter than air and allow his falsetto to rest effortlessly on the gorgeous high notes.

Gimenez provides much of the show’s comedy with her portrayal of Bloody Mary. Her heavily accented English offers lots of opportunities for laughs while her peddler character engages in flirtatious and sarcastic banter with the Seabees.

As Captain George Brackett, William Molitor is sufficiently gruff, while Dan Kerkman as Commander William Harbison is equally well cast. Kerkman uses an antique cane in the show that was donated to Forte Theater for its first production in 2019.

Ensign Nellie Forbush (Megan Rose Miller) decides to end her relationship with Emile De Becque and leads her fellow nurses in “I’m Gonna Wash That Man Right Outa My Hair” in a scene from Forte Theatre Company’s “South Pacific”

Umstot heads the rowdy bunch of Seabees. The group of seven provides a rousing, robust “There Is Nothing Like a Dame” as their bored characters pace restlessly, dramatizing their women-less lot. The Navy men and women were not allowed to mingle.

The nurses do their share of frolicking as well and are especially fun to watch in the Thanksgiving Follies “Honey Bun” number where assistant director Karl Miller’s snappy choreography is featured.

Music director/conductor Jim Van Deusen leads a seven-piece orchestra that filled out the memorable R&H tunes nicely and kept a good balance with the vocals. Included in the orchestra is Julie Fraleigh, whose harp lent a lovely, ethereal quality to tunes like the haunting “Bali Ha’i.”

On opening night, sound was somewhat of an issue with brief portions unmiked or with mikes being activated a word or two late. Not a big distraction, but something that should be cleaned up in subsequent performances.

The show is on the long side – 2 hours and 45 minutes – and did seem to lag at times. Nonetheless, this version is a fitting representation of one of Broadway’s longest running shows.

As a side note: Several members of the cast honored relatives who had served in the military in their biographical notes. Also, after the show, donations were collected to support military veterans through Honor Flights.

If you go:

Who: Forte Theatre Company

What: “South Pacific”

When: Through Oct. 19

Where: Saber Center for the Performing Arts, 8222 S. 51st St., Franklin

Info/Tickets: ForteTheatreCompany.org/414-366-3634

WCT’s ‘Dad’s Season Tickets’ scores points for comedy

By Marilyn Jozwik

I saw the musical “Dad’s Season Tickets” a few years back and remembered the laughs as a widowed dad grapples with two daughter who are vying to be recipients of his season Packer tickets when he dies. Matt Zembroski, a Dominican High School graduate, created the show.

What I had forgotten [MJ1] is what a tender, sweet story it is of a dad who is finally getting out from under the cloud of his wife’s death, only to be confronted by a family determined to rain on his parade. Waukesha Civic Theatre’s version provided this story with lots to chuckle about, but also gave us characters who we genuinely care about thanks to some nicely drawn portraits. Justin Spanbauer directs.

The story centers around Frank (Bob Zimmermann), who tenderly speaks to the photo of his wife as he is determined to bring a spirit of joy and togetherness to the upcoming holiday season which coincides with the Green Bay Packers’ successful 1996-97 football season. The family gathers every Sunday to pay homage to their hometown team with traditions and lots of hooting and hollering.

Frank’s daughters Rhonda (Jenavieve Plutz), from left, Cordy (Mariah Kiefer) and Gabby (Sierra Rottier) gather in Packer gear for a game in a scene from Waukesha Civic Theatre’s “Dad’s Season Tickets.”

Middle daughter Gabby (Sierra Rottier), who along with husband Edgar (John Rottier) is expecting their first child and Frank’s first grandchild, is a Packer fanatic. Rhonda (Jenavieve Plutz) – the oldest -- has taken up the mantle of her mother, preparing the family’s favorite snacks oblivious to the game. Youngest daughter Cordy (Mariah Kiefer), a high school senior, plans to go to journalism school and has gotten several scholarships.

But rivalries bubble up as Dad sets out to make out a will that will include his Packer tickets. Gabby is certain they will be hers as her deep interest goes back to when Dad took her to her first Packer game at age 8. Rhonda doesn’t know beans about football, but her husband Ralph (Mark Thompson), a Packer diehard, convinces her to learn the game and show her Dad that she’s worthy of the tickets.

Rhonda and Gabby have been at odds for years, and the competition for the tickets only makes matters worse. With her reporting skills and notebook in hand, Cordy, a fan but one not at all interested in joining their fight, sets out to discover why her once-close sisters have grown a football field apart. Meanwhile, Dad is exasperated with the bickering. Will the family come together with Packer season tickets on the line?

Edgar (John Rottier) and Ralph (Mark Thompson) share a moment in Waukesha Civic Theatre’s “Dad’s Season Tickets.”

Zimmermann plays his part with all the right fatherly emotions: he is tender at times, tough at others; he gets soft and he gets angry. Plus, Zimmermann adds a pleasing voice to Zembrowski’s catchy tunes.

I loved Frank’s three daughters, who jell wonderfully and provide some lovely Andrews Sisters-like harmonies as well as spot-on vocals befitting their distinctive characters.

As Ralph, Rhonda’s husband, Thompson gets into his green-and-gold, dyed-in-the-wool character with genuine enthusiasm, rendering a touching and fun “I Love You More Than Football” to his skeptical wife.

John Rottier’s Edgar, Gabby’s professor husband, breaks the Packer spell, dropping literary pearls among the raucous gameday cheers. His bespectacled, articulate character – and also a closet fan of a rival team -- provides a humorous contrast to the shenanigans.

Zembrowski has gifted the show with some great tunes that resonate with football fans, such as the Act 2 opener “What Do You Do With a Bye Week?” showing the family’s malaise on Sundays when the Packers don’t play.

Music director Heather David and orchestra director Phil Smith keep the tunes at a lively pace with well-articulated lyrics.

Football fans will find lots to cheer about, while non-fans will be rooting for this All-American family come together as a team.

If you go:

Who: Waukesha Civic Theatre

What: “Dad’s Season Tickets”

When: Through Sept. 28

Where: 264 W. Main St., Waukesha

Info/Tickets: www.waukeshacivictheatre.org; 262-247-0708 [MJ1]

Immigrant teens find safe haven in each other in Next Act’s ‘Sanctuary City'

By Marilyn Jozwik

The issue of Immigration has been in the news for a number of years. It has been a political football and a source of much debate on both sides of the aisle.

But those discussions rarely put a face on the people so deeply affected by how this country treats those who have immigrated here.

In “Sanctuary City,” Next Act Theatre gives audiences a front row seat to two young people deeply affected by how the political winds on immigration blow. It is poignant and powerful with performances that totally captivate. Jake Penner directs.

The story takes place post-9/11 in 2001 Newark, New Jersey, following the lives of two high school students brought to America when they were quite young. The boy’s mother, afraid of her immigration status being uncovered, decides to return to her native country. The boy decides to stay and finish high school. He agrees to let a classmate – a girl he has known for years and the daughter of an immigrant – stay with him after she is injured by her abusive stepfather.

Ironically, the show’s creator, Martyna Majok, chose not to give names to the two teens; they are identified as “G” (girl) and “B” (boy). While generic in name, their characters are well developed.

King Hang and Ashley Oviedo in Next Act Theatre’s “Sanctuary City.”

The first part of the play features the boy and girl on an empty stage. Conversations are brief and often repetitious points that magnify the angst and difficulty the two find themselves in as undocumented immigrants. Time periods are marked by a soft ring sound, and the characters quickly scramble to new postures to show a different day and time and situation. It is a clever way to show the passage of time, but also shows how each day is a challenge.

During their difficult senior year of high school, the pair form a tight bond as they struggle with their uncertainty. While the two are staying together, the girl learns that her mother has obtained her citizenship and eventually moves out from her abusive husband. Finally rid of her stepfather, the girl returns home.

It becomes apparent that the only way the boy can become legal is if he marries a citizen, so he proposes to the girl, but she has gotten a scholarship which takes her away from home.

The pair rehearse the details of their lives that they will be asked by authorities if they decide to marry and the roadblock comes with questions of intimacy. And that’s where Henry comes in.

In the second part of the play, the boy is in his own apartment and has waited for the girl to return and then get married. But in those years of waiting, Henry, a law school student, has entered the picture.

While Henry has options, the boy has few. “Why do you want to stay in a country that doesn’t want me in it?” he tearfully asks Henry.

The boy finds himself in an impossible situation – marry the girl and deny who he is, but be safe from immigration authorities? Or stay with Henry and always be looking over his shoulder for authorities?

I loved the contrast between the boy and Henry, played by Joe Lino. Lino’s Henry is brash and confident – his life is full of options and possibilities. His lover, the boy – who represents the many who find that the person they are has no place in the country in which they live – has no good options.

As the boy, King Hang displays his kind and tender nature. During the time of his life that should present a smorgasbord of possibilities he finds only scraps. He could join his mother and leave the country he came to as a small child behind, his education just months from completion. Or, stay and marry a citizen. But the citizen he truly loves he’s not able to marry. Hang is a bundle of emotions as he helps the girl navigate her difficult life, then must decide which path to take for himself. His adopted country has left him out in the cold.

Ashley Oviedo plays the girl and matches Hang’s intensity. There are light moments when the two can simply relax and be fun-loving teenagers, like when they go to the senior prom and for a few brief moments their dilemmas are behind them. Yet, those moments are rare, replaced by the fear of deportation, abuse, loneliness for most of their years.

Through their months together, the girl notices the relationship is more that of a brother and sister. But because of the bond they share, she is willing to accept those limitations in their relationship, maybe hoping intimacy could develop with time.

While “Sanctuary City” offers no solutions for immigrants, it shines a bright light on how lives are affected by the rules they must live by.

If you go:

Who: Next Act Theatre

What: “Sanctuary City”

When: Through Oct. 5

Where: 255 S. Water St., Milwaukee

Tickets/Info: 414-278-0765; info@nextact.org

Sunset welcomes guests with hilarity for “Murder at the Howard Johnson”

By Marilyn Jozwik

I had totally forgotten about the iconic orange roofs and 28 flavors of ice cream at the once popular Howard Johnson restaurants and motor lodges– until I saw Sunset Playhouse’s “Murder at the Howard Johnson.”

Set within the orange and blue walls of a Howard Johnson room with the signage for the place glowing outside its windows and a pink rotary phone on the nightstand, the play clearly puts the audience in the ’70s for a rollicking comedy.

At the heart of the mischief are Arlene (Angela Bolmes), a spoiled, selfish young woman who has grown tired of her devoted, adoring husband, Paul (Jim Mallmann), and has taken a lover, the family dentist Mitchell (Peter Brian Kelly). All three, at some point, feel they have a good reason to commit murder, and elaborate plans are hatched on three different holidays to carry out the deed in a Howard Johnson room. Who will come out alive is the big question.

Mitchell (Peter Brian Kelly), right, tells his mistress’s husband, Paul (Jim Mallmann), about the murder plan he intends to carry out in a scene from Sunset Playhouse’s “Murder at the Howard Johnson.”

The play, by Bob Bobrick and Ron Clark, pokes fun at the ’70s era of self-awareness, especially in the character of Arlene, who can’t see beyond her own self-interests and will stop at nothing to get what she wants. Bolmes captures the drama queen to perfection. In her quest for freedom and fulfillment, Arlene toggles between the two men who love her, but is always distracted by the next shiny object. “Which one do I love, which one do I destroy?” she muses. At one point Paul and Mitchell fight on a narrow ledge outside the hotel room, in danger of plunging to their deaths onto the pavement several stories below. At first, she is delighted by their interest in her and concerned for their welfare, but when Independence Day fireworks appear outside her window, she turns her attention to that spectacle.

As the smarmy dentist Mitchell, Kelly too is well cast. His character finds himself in the middle of several dicey situations, from re-enacting a complicated murder attempt to running for his life in his very colorful underwear and maneuvering on a ledge outside his hotel room. Kelly bobs and weaves his way through the hilarity, as he uncovers a myriad of excuses for his unseemly behavior.

In contrast to Mitchell’s colorful – literally – character is the bland Paul, who prefers greys on the color wheel. I love Mallmann’s deadpan take on Arlene’s husband Paul, a used car salesman who works long hours to provide his wife with everything her heart desires. Mallmann’s Paul revels in the “kick me” sign he metaphorically has on his back, while he frequently complains about being “shafted” – like when he gets only wings in his bucket of fried chicken when he asked for breasts. We get a glimpse of his chauvinistic tendencies when he declares, ruefully, “Women are starting to think now.” There is something so delightfully pathetic about Paul that Mallmann captures nicely.

Jim Mallmann, Angela Bolmes and Peter Brian Kelly are featured in Sunset Playhouse’s “Murder at the Howard Johnson.”

Michael Pocaro directs the trio with a deft hand for all the nuances of this clever comedy. The three performers are a perfect fit for their distinct characters. They mesh beautifully and maintain the pace and physicality to keep the comedy rolling.

While there are lots of funny gags here, they tend to repeat in different forms in each of the scenes. Nonetheless, there is something fresh and a little Woody Allen-esque about the humor.

The scenes – especially with views to the outside – are especially well done, capturing a snowy Christmas and the tops of skyscrapers. Plus, the clever revolving windows work perfectly for the hilarious and precarious tussle between Paul and Mitchell.

If you go:

Who: Sunset Playhouse

What: “Murder at the Howard Johnson”

When: Through Sept. 21

Where: 700 Wall St., Elm Grove

Tickets/Info: 262-782-4430; SunsetPlayhouse.com