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Reviews - oct. 2020

Clue! On Stage - Melon Patch Players

10/2/2020

4 Comments

 
  The last several times I visited Melon Patch, the bar was raised, and raised again. So it was with high hopes that I attended the opening night of Clue! On Stage, a production based on a screenplay based on a board game.

  I'm afraid the run of the bar being raised has been broken.

  The set was very good; The costumes were spot-on; The cast knew their lines and marks for opening night. For some groups, this would be an unabashed 'Win'. 

   And every opening night has the occasional flub. Or even two or three. For instance, the guests are arriving for dinner and the door bell rings while the door is wide open. Those things happen. Tonight, they happened; AND the pacing was all over the place; AND the script rehashes a LOT of old vaudeville jokes; AND the characters are very fuzzily drawn; AND the biggest role (The Butler, of course) is being portrayed as an homage to the original character of the movie, played by Tim Curry. I haven't seen the movie in 30 years, but the actor (unnamed; more in a moment) does a passable vocal impression of Curry's verbal tics. The problem is I'm not sure he *knows* they're verbal tics and not actually part of the onstage character.

  I'd call out the Butler by name not just as a poor man's Tim Curry but also for his excellent recap of the entire show thus far at the end of the production, but I don't know his name.
  
 Neither does anyone in the audience who's not acquainted with him or related to him.

  Melon Patch, in apparently an abundance of COVID caution, decided not to provide programs. There's not a cast list on the website, or social media either - so if you don't directly know someone on stage, good luck congratulating them! Or the set builders. Or the costumers. I can't agree with this idea at all - there's already little recognition for these people, throw them a bone and print a darn program: run them under a UV lamp and hand them out with gloves if contamination is a worry, but don't take this away!

 On the matter of COVID awareness, the theater IS requiring the audience to wear masks while in the building. The actors and all the staff I saw wore masks as well (and well done! on these points!).

  BUT (and you knew this was coming) they aren't cloth masks, or the up-to-your-scalp-and down-to-your-neck face shields. These were plastic frames from ear to chin to ear, with a 2 inch plastic shield that came up to about the bottom of your nose. In theory, it'd directly stop an actor from frothily spitting their lines on a cast mate; as COVID transmits, by all accounts, as an exhaled vapor droplet these shields are useless. 
 
  And to kick the play when it's down: Pet peeve time. All the glasses are empty. The soup serving tureen is empty. The soup ladle pouring soup in to the actor's bowls? Empty. And the actors, bless them, are spooning up imaginary soup to their masks and making slurping noises. I understand suspending disbelief, but I can't go there with you on this one, Melon Patch.

   Look, a so-so play on a Friday night this year is always better than 6 months of no 'Play-ing around' at all, period. But I've come to expect more from this venue.

   Grade: C - I'd say kids down to 9-10 would be fine seeing the show. But play a game of Clue first. 

  - CI
4 Comments
Laney Clark
10/4/2020 10:37:10 pm

Good evening I am the president of the Melon Patch and I would like to address some of your criticisms. First of all, the programs. There were no programs because our printer went down an unfortunate situation but an unavoidable one that was corrected the next night. The butler’s name was Giancarlo Osorio and the entire cast was listed on our Facebook page as well. I apologize because you are correct community actors get little enough acknowledgment. Secondly, the masks. Many of the other theaters in the area are not even requiring their actors to wear them or they are giving them the option. We chose these masks because they allow the audience to see the actors expressions. And they do in fact go above the nose. Are they as protective as a surgical mask? Absolutely not but they do protector actors from any spray. And our actors did the best they could to work with them in what we consider our new normal in theater for the time being. Thank you again for coming and seeing our shows, and reviewing them...we are not above learning from critiques. We are sincerely happy live theater is back on the entertainment menu.

Reply
Cypher Incognito
10/4/2020 11:35:52 pm

Hello Ms. Clark,

Thank you for the comments. In order:

The Programs: The printer going down happens, I completely understand. However, you may want to communicate that to your theater ushers and seating staff, who assured me it was 'COVID' thing.

The cast list: I do stand corrected. The cast list IS mentioned on the Melon Patch FB page, as long as I go back to August 13th to find it. While I was incorrect in stating it wasn't available, I definitely feel the general theater public isn't going to go back 2 months to find breakdown - although with programs now available, it's something of a moot point.

The masks: Having watched another production with 2/3's of the cast in surgical-type masks (and my review commented on that fact, and the actor's lack of facial expressions), from an ACTING perspective these are a better choice, I agree. From a Protective view, I'd expect them to be slightly better than no mask at all. Frankly, this is an area of discussion with lots of opinions, some factual data and no 'right' answer.

I too am happy that theater entertainment is on the menu again, and as I stated at the top of the review, Melon Patch has only put on better and better productions since I began reviews, and sincerely hope this trend will continue in the future. Thank you for your comments, and may you have a good Presidential run! - CI

Reply
Cat Reel
10/5/2020 06:03:14 am

In the lobby is a Cast and Crew board with headshots and names identifying actors and their roles as well as tech crew. It is directly across from front door and between doors to auditorium. They are also listed on the Facebook page as Ms. Clark points out. The actors masks cover mouth And nose but allow for the audience to see facial expression and hear the lines without the muffling of cloth masks. True glasses and bowls were empty but with COVID precautions , a factor no theater or actor has had to deal with in the past, some concessions are being made for the first time .

Reply
Cypher Incognito
10/5/2020 08:19:29 am

Hello Ms Reel,

Thank you for your comment! Some of this I addressed with Mrs. Clark's comments, so I'll only rebutt the additional issues you bring up:

Internal Communication: The Melon Patch ushers opening night compounded the problem (no cast list) by advising the audience that in the interest of COVID, you weren't supposed to hang around in the lobby (defeating the point of the cast breakdown shown there)!

The Masks: I reviewed a production two weeks ago (Spamalot at Wayne Densch PAC) that gave actors the option to wear masks, as Mrs Clark noted, and the ones wearing surgical coverage needed to emote more broadly since most of their facial expressions weren't visible, and I did/do/will find them distracting. The masks used at Melon Patch DO allow facial expressions to be seen, but again except for protecting direct spittle/spray they protect little better than nothing at all. Unlike WDPAC, Melon Patch's audience remained masked for the show, as far as I saw, which was a big improvement. There's no good choice here, and no "right" answer for masks, but...

Liquid onstage: there IS a right answer here. Ms Reel, I have to disagree with you on this. NO ONE ONSTAGE IS GOING TO DRINK ANYTHING WITH A MASK ON! Having liquid in a glass or soup in the tureen provides a little verisimilitude. COVID will and has changed theater for the foreseeable future, but it has nothing to do with liquids onstage.

Thank you again for your comments! - CI

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