Extended Renegade recap

The annual Renegade Theatre Festival in Old Town provided a showcase for several new works. City Pulse critics were on-hand to cover last weekend's readings and performances.

"And the Creek Don't Rise": Rob, a 45-year-old former Detroit automotive engineer makes an uneasy transition to life in a small Southern town in Joseph Zettelmaier's new comedy, presented by Williamston Theatre as a staged reading. The three-character script moves briskly and breezily, like vintage Neil Simon; Zettelmaier also has an excellent ear for strong one-liners and a gentle touch when it comes to sentimentality.  

The plot involves Rob and his much younger wife, Maddie, relocating to a hamlet in Georgia, where she has taken over a veterinary practice. He, on the other hand, is out of work and increasingly anxious, with far too much time and energy to spend on his slow-boiling rivalry with kindly but cagey neighbor Benjamin Wilford Boggs, a retired doctor with a penchant for elaborate Civil War re-enactments. Dragged into a mock battle by Boggs, Rob freaks out at the sound of rifle fire. "Why are you getting so agitated?" Boggs asks. "You're from Detroit: Isn't that like living in a warzone?"

Maddie blends into the community effortlessly, while Rob stumbles into one humiliating circumstance after another. "This isn't a town," he gripes. "It's where culture goes to die."

A full production of "Creek" is scheduled for next July — don't be surprised if this endearing show becomes a sizable hit. — James Sanford

“An Artist’s Nightmare”: Written and directed by Mark Ruhala of the Ruhala Center. One could easilyrename this production as “An Artist’s Publicity Nightmare,” whichincluded an apologetic 20-minute introduction, a 30-minute autobiographical“playlet” with no actual characters or story, and a seemingly endless talkbackafter the Friday night performance that can be concisely described as both heated and very illuminating.

Requesting that his audience view his piece through “two lenses,” Ruhala’s pleafor coverage and awards induced sympathy during some moments but ultimatelynegated itself by verbally abusing nearly everyone in the entire Lansingcommunity. An undiscovered genius perhaps, but hardly humble and this publicairing of grievances only left a toxic residue that will not be forgotten. — Paul Wozniak

“Dark Play, or Stories for Boys”: Peppermint Creek Theatre's contribution to the festival was set in a warehouse, complete with polished performances andlighting cues. “Dark Play, or Stories for Boys” by Carlos Murillo, directedby Lela Ivey, was a 90-minute freefall through a very dark, sick,funny and sad world, perfectly performed by Dana Brazil, Hazen Cuyler, AngelaMishler, Joe Quick, and Brian De Vries. Internet chat rooms are clearly not theplace to find love but they do make for “dangerous” theater, and this was edgytheater at its finest. At times hard to swallow, “Stories” was nevertheless atantalizing thriller that leaves permanent memories. (The show will be repeated at 9 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday at The Warehouse, located at the corner of Turner and Beaver Streets. Admission is free.)  — Paul Wozniak

“Happy Holy Days”: “Days” is the story ofthe evolution of one woman’s spiritual belief system, told through non-linearvignettes which all take place on various holidays throughout her life.

The original work,written and directed by Michigan State University’s Head of Acting andDirecting Rob Roznowski, will be presented in January as one of the Departmentof Theatre’s Second Stage productions. It will be interesting to see how itdevelops between now and then, and to see which of the Renegade cast make itinto that production.

One keeper is leadactress Leslie Hull, who changed her voice and mannerisms effortlessly toportray lead character Sherrie at ages 6 through 68. She plays every stage oflife — confused child, drunken college freshman, middle-aged cancer survivor,sentimental widow — with sincerity, humor, and gravitas.

The play breaks nonew ground in the individual investigation of spirituality and the acceptanceof the beliefs of others. Still, it is a warm rendering of that theme, savedfrom triteness by its humor. It may be one of the few times that it iscompletely appropriate to laugh at a line like “You are so lucky to bedate-raped by Brandon!” (ThinkHalloween Hell House.) — Mary C. Cusack

“A Holiday Romance”: A hand-puppet show, written anddirected by Fred Engelgau. Anabsurdist character comedy in the style of “The Love Boat” and “An Affair toRemember,” “Romance” was pure escapist camp and a smashing good time. The showstarred the likes of Emily Brett, J’esse Deardorff-Green, Brian DeVries, JamesMiner, Sam Mills, Abby Murphy, Jeffry Wilson, and City Pulse’s own JamesSanford. Murphy and DeVries stole the show, of course, with their melodramaticaffair as the captain and his long-lost love, Catherine, but they were ablysupported by the rest of the crew, which helped this ship sail. — Paul Wozniak

“Murder at Locker069”: A production that surelyhit home with the local audience, “Murder” is an original work by Rich Helderand Jane Falion based on the true story of a school shooting at Everett HighSchool. Based on the investigativework done by Susan Taylor Martin from the St. Petersburg Times, the work was presented like a reading with aGreek chorus.

In 1978, Everettstudent Roger Needham shot two fellow students in the hallway of Everett. One victim died, but the true tragedylies with the survivor, who continued to be a victim until he succumbed todiabetes. Needham was successfullyrehabilitated, becoming a respected computer scientist before disappearing fromthe public eye.

From the opening — achilling piano version of the Boomtown Rats’ “I Don’t like Mondays” — to theend, the work proves itself to be compelling enough to be developed further.Helder and Falion could take the work in one of several directions. Byincreasing the use of selected re-enactments of key events, the work couldbecome an intense black box theatre experience. Among those moments would be arecreation of the image of down feathers falling like snow in the hallway,resting on the lifeless body of Bill Draher, which many audience membersremembered from press photos published at that time.

Helder and Falioncould also continue presenting the work as is at schools and among communitygroups, following up with a talkback, as they did at Renegade. Laden with hot-button issues, the workprovides a dialogue about parental and institutional responsibility that willhit home with any audience. — Mary C. Cusack

“Unlocking Desire”: There is no one single key to what makes a successful theater festival, but, selecting a rich complex, literary play by an established playwright is a good start. Barbara Neri’s “Unlocking Desire” captures the soothing lyric southern style of Tennessee Williams completely as she reconstructs and rehabilitates the tragic victim Blanche Du Bois.

Readers of great fiction are always dismayed when they find themselves near the end of a good story. Neri’s “Unlocking Desire” delights us with what appears to be an entirely new chapter in the “Streetcar Named Desire” story -- Blanche in the mental ward of a New Orleans hospital -- showing how an acutely sensitive psychotherapist coupled with a ward of caring mentally ill people can heal even a most troubled soul, and then, with a head fake worthy of Magic Johnson, Neri suddenly transforms Blanche to everywoman ever traumatized and abused.

The writer’s carefully plotted intentions, coupled with clear southern diction and effective projection in the echo chamber of the new Red Cedar Friends meeting hall overcame the limitations of the setting. A fully staged production by a local theater company would be entirely welcome. — Tom Helma