[PLAY REVIEWS]
MOTHERS’ DAYS {BY MICHELLE PILECKI} WELCOME TO the comfy, cozy kitchen of
THE PINK UNICORN Thu., May 18-Sun., May 21. Off the Wall Productions at Carnegie Stage, 25 W. Main St., Carnegie. $25-40. 724-873-3576 or www.insideoffthewall.com
Unicorn explores many issues, most satisfyingly the differing mother-daughter relationships. Trish reflexively seeks to understand and protect her child, while dodging her own mother’s incessant put-downs. There’s a lot here about family and families, as Trish reconciles with her long-estranged brother and with the differing beliefs of her late husband.
{PHOTO COURTESY OF OFF THE WALL THEATER}
Amy Landis in The Pink Unicorn at Off the Wall
Bonus: Rarely have I seen the ACLU depicted so accurately. (Disclaimer: I’m on the Pittsburgh chapter’s board, and I remember real cases of school districts banning all extracurricular groups rather than allow a Gay-Straight Alliance on campus.) There’s nothing off the wall about the truthfulness and humanity of The Pink Unicorn. And free cookies at intermission, too.
PETER AND THE STARCATCHER continues through Sun., May 21. Stage 62 at the Andrew Carnegie Free Library Music Hall, 300 Beechwood Ave., Carnegie. $15-20. 412-429-6262 or www.stage62.com
I N F O@ P G HC I T Y PA P E R. C OM
I N F O @PGH C IT YPAPE R . C O M
CATCHING ON
ONCE YOU’VE SEEN IT IT, YOU’LL FIND IT HARD TO SETTLE FOR LESS EVER AGAIN” AGAIN.” —The Wall Street Journal
{BY MICHELLE PILECKI} IT’S EASY to see the appeal of Peter and
the Starcatcher to a community theater like Stage 62 production: large, stretchable cast propelled by stagecraft — not fancy (read: expensive) — sets and costumes. Credibility is not an issue. Laughs are. Stage 62 delivers. Mostly. The provenance of this Peter ranges from J.M. Barrie (the creator of Peter Pan in various books and plays starting in 1902) to Dave Barry, the Pulitzer-winning humorist who gets top billing with coauthor Ridley Pearson in a continuing series of young-adult-book “prequels” to the Pan saga. The first, Peter and the Starcatchers (2004), inspired Rick Elice to adapt it into a play, with music by Wayne Barker. It opened in 2009 and took Broadway by storm in 2012. AN AMERICAN IN PARIS MUSIC AND LYRICS BY
GEORGE GERSHWIN AND IRA GERSHWIN
[CORRECTION]
BOOK BY
CRAIG LUCAS
The May 10 review of Perks of Being a Wallflower, at Prime Stage Theatre, incorrectly identified the show’s director, Jeffrey Cordell.
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DIRECTED AND CHOREOGRAPHED BY
CHRISTOPHER WHEELDON
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Illustration: Don Oehl; Logo: Esther Wu
a woman whose world is imploding, in Off the Wall Theater’s production of The Pink Unicorn. Elise Forier Edie’s 2013 one-woman drama has many comic moments and a few tough truths, as a conservative Christian widow grapples with revelations of the gender identity of her only child. Directed by Ingrid Sonnichsen, Unicorn immediately pulls us into the home and mind of Trish and her tale of bewilderment, concern, anger and, mostly, love. Off the Wall is staging Unicorn over three separate single-weekend runs throughout the year; as seen in the February staging, Amy Landis channeled Trish’s strengths and fragilities, seamlessly blending with the character as she copes and grows with her fast-changing place in a society she thought she knew. As a storyteller, Trish enlivens (though does not actually portray) a lively set of offstage characters covering a surprising gamut of the populace of a small Texas town. There’s the pompous principal, the once-revered pastor and the town’s outcasts, who turn out to be surprisingly supportive. It’s not just Trish’s religious beliefs that are being challenged, but her very being. The design/tech team is as faultless as the cast: Adrienne Fischer’s meticulously detailed set; Kara Sinclair’s careful costumes; Antonio Colaruotolo’s subtle lighting. It’s all held together by resident stage manager Heidi Nagle in the intimate theater space.
There is a plot, with not much sense to it, but the fun is mostly in watching cast members create cabins, waves and more, with strategic bits of rope, well-placed ladders, umbrellas en masse and other unlikely props. And let us not forget that British mainstay: drag. The manlier the man, the funnier the gag. And even if you know in advance that there will be a full-cast chorus line of mermaids a la Rockettes, you’ll still be knocked over. There’s also quite a bit of wordplay, much of it getting mashed up between the cavernous theater space and the intense sound effects, not to mention tangling with mangled accents. But enough jokes make it through. Director Spencer Whale juggles a jolly multicasted 11 men and one lone actual female, Casey Duffy, as the plucky young heroine. Brett Goodnack wins the scenerychewing competition as the malapropic Black Stache, the evil but dashing pirate villain. The hirsute Cody Sweet excels as nanny Mrs. Bumbrake and the sexy mermaid Teacher, with Andrew Wolf as the former’s swain. Nate Willey is charming in the title role. The stars might not hold our destinies, but Peter and the Starcatcher holds an assortment of chuckles, giggles and guffaws.
MAY 30-JUNE 11
BENEDUM CENTER
CULTURALDISTRICT.ORG/PARIS
412-456-6666 • BOX OFFICE AT THEATER SQUARE
PRESENTED IN COOPERATION WITH
GROUPS 10+ TICKETS 844-PGH-SHOW (844-744-7469)
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