By Michael Block

Charlie Chaplin is a staple of the lexicon of Hollywood. Possibly the most well known and influential icons of the silent movie era, Charlie Chaplin was a complex persona. In Don Nigro's mesmerizing The Chaplin Plays, not only does Charlie speak but Nigro asks life's toughest questions to ponder.
In hopes of not spoiling the excitement of The Chaplin Plays, Don Nigro's piece is billed as a double feature. The first half of the evening is Charlie alone on stage joking his way through his life and career, calling attention to the little things we may not have known. By the second piece, Charlie is joined on stage by Anastasia. Is she a psychologist or is she actually the Siberian Monkey Goddess? The second half of the play is a crisis of identity as the person we've grown to know may not actually be who he says he is. Talking in the riddles of life, The Chaplin Plays forces the audience into their own perception of self-reflection. The Chaplin Plays is not what it seems on the surface and that keeps the excitement brewing. Though the second part went on a bit too long through repetition, what Nigro does bring to the stage encapsulates the enjoyment and potential of simplistic theater. And that's also thanks to the sublime direction of Lori Kee. Kee took the necessary steps to honor the person while making The Chaplin Plays stand on its own. The big twist doesn't feel forced and Kee and her players earn every beat.

photo by Al Foote III

If The Chaplin Plays will be remembered for anything it's an impeccable performance. Hips out, back arched, feet spread, shoes on the wrong feet. Ivette Dumeng did her homework to create a seamless characterization of Charlie Chaplin. Opposite Dumeng was Tatyana Kot as the precocious Anastasia. Kot’s performance was rooted into the psychological mind games. In a sense it was a bit uncertain, but the uncertainty is what made Dumeng's Charlie unravel.
The barebones style of the performance allowed the individual beats to shine. With the theatrical nature of Kee's text, lighting designer Gilbert Lucky Pearto played with color and it was just right. It allowed for variety in the best of ways. It permitted for Kee's theatrically in staging have its own personality. With just a little projection, the video by Peter Mychalcewycz of Dumeng doing Chaplin was a loving touch that paid homage to the era. Combined with the intricacies of Andy Evan Cohen’s thorough sound design. Cohen pulled the exact sounds from cinematic to the thematic.
The Chaplin Plays is one of those theatrical events that will leave you beyond satisfied. This was a team effort but Dumeng deserves a little bit of extra love. It’s a performance that’s bound to be discussed.

Abandonment is a natural fear. Being left by someone close can stunt the psyche. Abandonment and companionship are some of the central themes in the twisted fantasy Comes a Faery by James McLindon presented by Nylon Fusion Theatre Company.
Eight-year-old Siobhan is left with her Aunt Katie when her mother is deployed. Siobhan develops an intimate relationship with a book about fairies and leprechauns her mother gave her and thusly projects a leprechaun friend named Seaneen. Using the mythology of the faery world, Seaneen becomes her closest ally and darkest nightmare. He guides Siobhan on a journey of self-destruction in hopes of bringing her mother home from war. McLindon's script lives in dark fantastical world where imagination and reality intertwine to tell a story of fear and longing for connection. Seaneen watches over Siobhan controlling her every thought, defying the wishes of her Aunt Katie, Katie’s new male companion Raphael, and the pediatric doctor Dr. Neery. As Seaneen guides Siobhan down a dangerous path to achieve her one goal, Katie begins to lose hope in her ability to take care of her niece, causing Siobhan to lash out and ultimately run away, conceding to the desires of the malicious leprechaun. But like many fairy tales, there is a modern moral attached. McLindon’s play lives in a world of magical realism, offering a pretty solid set of rules. There is consistency in the text that doesn’t quite translate in the vision of director Shaun Peknic’s staging. But regardless, McLindon starts off with a bang, immediately introducing the audience to the connection of child and her imaginary friend. With such important material thrown at you immediately, it can be a bit troublesome to take it all in. While it’s not always the best device to utilize, Comes a Faery could certainly benefit from some sort of prologue or introduction to ease in. It could even tie into the magical world that McLindon prescribes. The characters are quite basic. They are limited in their wants and needs. But there are some interesting personal connections that offer hints of dimensionality. Raphael is more than just a new person in Siobhan’s life. And the connection Siobhan develops with him is very important. McLindon brushes the surface of this relationship and could expand it further. This would add a very interesting dynamic for Seaneen and his hatred to the person impeding his domain. The parallels and connections between Raphael and Seaneen is one of the most interesting elements of the script. When it comes to Raphael and Katie, McLindon develops their relationship beyond the point of need. Finding ways to trim out the excess could make room for the more dynamic relationships.
With the characters as written, it caused some one-dimensional performances. Meghan St. Thomas as Siobhan had to play youthful yet believable. St. Thomas captured the curious bundle of energy but rarely did it change. Michaela Reggio’s Katie seemed to always play upon the character’s self-absorbed hysterics. Though it may not have been her intent, Reggio made Katie feel as if Siobhan was merely just a burden. Josh Marcantel had the ability to play entirely in the fantasy world and it paid off. Marcantel was persuasive and endearing, yet still had a sinister side.
The overall vision brought forth by director Shaun Peknic could have been a little tighter. Peknic’s approach was very cinematic. The way he guided his company was quite small and intimate. There was honesty in this approach but did not translate on the stage. Utilizing Kyu Shin’s set meant relegating certain sections of the stage for each locale. Shin’s giant book added to the fantasy world, creating Siobhan’s safe space but without a Peknic prescribing a specified the fourth wall between this room and the living room, each actor utilized the space inconsistently. Written by The Roly Polys, comprised of Janet Bentley and Andy Evan Cohen, the soundtrack of Comes a Faery was a lovely addition to the ambiance of the world. The whimsical score though could have been brought up a little louder to have a more of an important presence.
When all is said and done, there is something familiar about Comes a Faery. There is accessibility in the themes. But there seems that there is more to explore in these characters.

Sometimes we want what we shouldn't have. Those things that are attainable but cause an avalanche of consequences if acquired. But why do we want them? Maybe because we're unhappy in a current situation. But when you're heart and mind are set upon achieving the thing you shouldn't have, not even your best friend or spouse can stand in your way. Such is the case in John Jiler's Half Moon Bay, presented in rep by Nylon Fusion Theatre Company at The New Ohio Theater
In Jiler's drama about human connection and desire to fulfill the unfulfilled, Richie develops a fascination for a young woman that may not be all quite there. As his obsession grows deeper, Richie pushes away his pregnant wife for a stranger he strives to save. Told through a narration lens by cynical and confident best friend Tom, Half Moon Bay features an unsavory situation that drives the play into madness. The plot is unsettling mostly because the reality of possibility. What Jiler writes about is not uncommon. Sadly, it happens more often than not. So from a story standpoint, Jiler has crafted something that is bound to allow the audience to feel something. But when you dissect the text, there’s something off about Half Moon Bay. And it may be due to the character of Alicia, the troubled young woman Richie strives for. As we learn the truths about Alicia, it’s hard to understand why Richie does what he does. What is it about this stranger that ignites his passion? The way we view Richie is that he is impulsive and irrational with an obsessive fascination with an unstable woman. And the more we learn, the less we sympathize for his situation. You long for Pam, Richie’s wife, after she’s abandoned. You end up liking Tom, the overly confident best friend, even if some of his comments are brazen. But with the focus on the relationship between Richie and Alicia, there feels as if there is some repetition in the ninety-minute play. The way Jiler has crafted his play is sharp, allowing the action to move. But he seems to give away the mysteries early on. Which may have been the point. When Richie is finally rejected, he comes groveling back to Pam. And we see what happens as a result. We see his punishment. There’s something about ambiguity that may have been desired in this final moment.
The star of the show was Brennan Taylor as Tom. Taylor had the unique task of being a supporting character that drives the narrative. Taylor is suave and cynical yet completely endearing. The way he was able to rock the shiny silver suit proved his worth has a character. As Richie, Ben Gougeon looked out of place. It was a bit hard to imagine him as the sarcastic lawyer’s best friend with the girl of his dreams. But when you have it all, you have to prove why you’re willing to give it all away. Gougeon didn’t quite do that. Gougeon seemed to follow the formula as prescribed by the playwright without straying or making any bold choices. Like the character, he was just missing something. As Pam, Jean Goto was overly affected in many of her acting choices. It wasn’t until she stood strong that Goto’s confidence resonated. Ivette Dumeng as Alicia had an incredibly difficult character to portray. Dumeng had to control the character’s unraveling without revealing the her instability too soon. Partly due to the text, it was hard to see the connection between Alicia and Tom. Additionally, while it may have been a character choice, Dumeng was soft spoken causing some audibility issues even in the second row.
Director Margarett Perry took Jiler’s fluid script and made it translate onto the stage. Timing was everything with Perry’s vision. Perry did not utilize any props or scenic elements to allow for the scenes to quickly ride into one another. The transitional vocabulary was a bit mixed, either having characters linger on stage or rush right off stage, but there was consistency in cohesiveness between the lights and sounds by Wilburn Bonnell and Andy Evan Cohen respectively. Bonnell used sharp shifts that may not have caught Brennan Taylor in his light every time, but the intent was present. The simplicity of the percussion from Cohen was a wonderful touch to the world of the play. The set by Kyu Shin was primarily featured by the monochromatic blue floor that looked like a topographical map.
Half Moon Bay is quite an interesting text. There’s something enticing about having an emotional connection, whether good, bad, or indifferent. But there is a spark missing that can set this play apart.