🚀 go-pugleaf

Just got back from _Frankie and Johnny in the Clair De Lune_ by Terrence
McNally at Caffe Lena in Saratoga Springs.  Wow, this seems like the
month for theater!  Forget what I said about "if you only see one show:"
make this the year that you see several.

This was my first time at the Caffe Lena theater, where Home Made
Theater started.  It is somewhat of a homecoming for the two actors who
played F&J, too.  Both Eva Dolan and Marty Rosencranz were in one of the
first (_the_ first?) Home Made Theater productions there (_You Can't
Take it With You).  The director of that first show, the late Jonathan
Foster, was undoubtedly there too, in spirit and in the thoughts of
whoever placed the red ribbon on Frankie's coat (probably Dolan
herself).

This is a great opportunity for seeing great theater in such an intimate
setting.  The "stage" is the floor between two sets of raked seats,
about 25 on each side.  While this setting was perfect for two actors in
Frankie's small apartment, it boggles my mind to imagine the cast of
almost a dozen performing there for _You Can't Take it With You_.  While
the (very) brief nudity didn't put me off, my companion for the evening
surprised herself by how it brought her out of the play.  As I said,
it's an "intimate setting" with F&J less than three feet away from the
first row in the vocal throes of an orgasm even before the lights come
up.  Don't worry, it settles down into more traditional dialog and
movement right away.  (Otherwise, you'd have to pay more than eight
bucks and they'd be getting a lot more publicity.)

For showtimes and tickets, see

  http://www.albany.net/~danorton/theatre/caffelena.html

Okay, this is just the start for local theater this month.  This week
I'm going to see _Witness for the Prosecution_ at NYSTI (I'm told not to
miss it).  I plan to usher at Schenectady Civic's production of _Night
Watch_ on Saturday.  And I open with _The Deal_ up in Saratoga a week
from Friday, on February 14th.  And, fellow net-surfers, please stop by
the green room afterwards and say "Hi!"

--
Daniel
danorton@chsw.com
http://www.albany.net/~danorton/theatre