Sarasota's Tanner takes 'Amish Project' Off-Broadway

Tanner in "The Amish Project" 

   Sarasota actor Katherine Michelle Tanner is heading to New York with seven of her favorite roles ever.
   Tanner portrays all the characters in "The Amish Project," Jessica Dickey's startling fact-based drama about the massacre of Amish children in a Pennsylvania schoolhouse. 
   She first performed the show at American Stage in St. Petersburg a few years back, then brought the same production, directed by Todd Olson, to a theater in Oklahoma and a performing arts festival in Maryland, before she landed back home with a lauded and popular staging for Banyan Theater in July.
   On Tuesday, Tanner announced that in early October she'll be performing "The Amish Project" at the Sheen Center for Thought and Culture, a new performance complex in Greenwich Village.
  Tanner's play will be part of the center's grand-opening festival, which also includes appearances by comedian Jim Gaffigan, the New York premiere of a film that stars David Oyewolo and performances by concert pianist Elaine Kwon, among others
   The Sheen Center is funded by the Catholic Church and named for Bishop Fulton J. Sheen. It was at the center of a controversy earlier this year when it canceled an event that was to benefit the National Coalition Against Censorship. The center canceled the event because one of the four new plays that would have been featured was a Neil LaBute work that had a title that center officials perceived as disrespectful to Islam.
   But aside from that incident, which nobody got overly worked up about, the center's been causing some excitement in the downtown New York performing arts world. It has two theaters and an art gallery and a mission to showcase "the true, the good and the beautiful as they have been expressed throughout the ages."
   Tanner will perform "The Amish Project" at 8 p.m. Oct. 1 and 2. Tickets are $10-$35. There's more information at sheencenter.org.

Artistic director Todd Olson leaves American Stage

   Todd Olson is leaving American Stage after 11 years as artistic director.

Todd Olson

   The theater announced Thursday that Olson has accepted a new position as executive director of the Columbia Festival of the Arts in Maryland.
    There’s only been one person, company co-founder Victoria Holloway, who had been artistic director of the 37-year-old company for longer than Olson.
    He’s directed more than 30 plays during his tenure, including last year’s “The Amish Project,” which featured Sarasota actor Katherine Tanner playing an assortment of characters involved with a mass murder in an Amish school house.
    “He’s always been so committed,” Tanner said. “I always so enjoyed coming to work with him. I brought in a lot of ideas and he always let me explore and find new things.”

   Olson’s departure doesn’t change plans for him and Tanner to take “The Amish Project” on the road to a theater in Oklahoma City in April.

   American Stage will conduct a national search for a new artistic director. There may be an interim artistic director taking over during the search an American Stage official said.

    American Stage is currently staging “Steel Magnolias.”

"The Birds," "Fiddler" on St. Petersburg stages

   St. Peterburg's two major theater companies are both offering plays based on classic stories that were turned into iconic movies.

"Fiddler" at freeFall

   That's the end of the similarities, though. American Stage's "The Birds" is a bleak mood-piece, loosely based on the Daphne DuMaurier book on which Alfred Hitchcock loosely based a film. It's a rare misfire from Conor McPherson, one of the best contemporary playwrights.
   Meanwhile, freeFall's "Fiddler on the Roof," the iconic musical based on a story by Sholem Aleichem, is a delight, with a revelatory performance by David Mann as Tevye.
   "The Birds" starts off promising something special. Before curtain, the audience sits immersed in Jeffrey W. Dean's ominous set, the interior of house under attack by birds gone wild. Sound designer Todd Olson, who also directed, enhances the mood with distant birds sounds. It's a chilling pre-show. But then...
   Just as show time approaches, the bird sounds silence, and the audience, almost literally captive, is subjected to three long curtain speeches -- two live, once recorded -- that total 15 boring, repetitive minutes of people mostly begging for donations.
   The mood never recovers from those inexcusable infomercials. McPherson's play is alright, but not anywhere near as good as his best works ("Shining City" and "The Seafarer") and it couldn't dig itself out of the hole the curtain speeches dug for it.
   It's the story of disparate people trapped in a house under attack, and doesn't seem to know what it wants to say. Fine performances by Roxanne Fay and Joseph Parra, that phenomenal set and great lighting by Joseph P. Oshry made the evening passable, but nothing more.
   But freeFall's "Fiddler" is a treat. The staging by Eric Davis, the music direction by the great Michael Raabe and, especially, the performance by Mann make the overly familiar 50-year-old musical a treat.  
   Mann takes the role defined by Zero Mostel and Chaim Topol and re-invents it. Tevye's always been a lovable character, but he's usually portrayed as somewhat blubbering, even buffoonish. Mann makes him smart and lets the audience feel a profound level of sympathy for him.   
   The whole production is strong, and it's staged in the round so it the experience is more intimate than what we're accustomed to from musicals.
   "The Birds" runs through Oct. 27 at American Stage, 163 Third St. N., St. Petersburg. 8 p.m. Wednesday-Friday, 3 and 8 p.m. Saturday, 3 p.m. Sunday. $39-$49. 727-893-7529, www.americanstage.org.
   "Fiddler on the Roof" runs through Nov. 3 at freeFall Theatre, 6099 Central Ave., St. Petersburg. 7 p.m. Thursday, 8 p.m. Friday, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday. $29-$39. 727-498-5205, www.freefalltheatre.com.

Sarasota's Tanner wins TTB's Outstanding Actress award

   Sarasota's Katherine Michelle Tanner took home the award for Outstanding Lead Actress, Play at the 2013 Theatre Tampa Bay Awards Monday evening.

Tanner

   Tanner, whose last role around here was in "Time Stands Still" for Banyan Theater, won for her performance in "The Amish Project" at American Stage, in which she played all the characters -- men, women, and children -- in a terse drama based on the real-life slaughter of Amish schoolchildren. "The Amish Project" also won the award for Outstanding Production, Play. Anyone who saw "The Amish Project" would have to agree that Tanner's performance was a huge reason the play excelled. Todd Olson won awards for his direction and sound design for that play also.
   The Theatre Tampa Bay Awards are for professional theaters in Hillsborough and Pinellas counties. This year. St. Petersburg theaters dominated. Out of 19 awards, freeFall Theatre shows and artists won 9 and American Stage won 6. A Simple Theatre and St. Petersburg Opera won one each.
   The awards ceremony was held at the Palladium in St. Petersburg.

American Stage's "Mammoths" disappoints in St. Petersburg

   Despite an intriguing title and direction by the supremely talented Karla Hartley, the current show at American Stage is a mess. Even worse, it's a bore.
   "7 Homeless Mammoths Wander New England" is billed as "an academic sex comedy," but it's painfully unfunny. It's also at least an hour too long and three of its six characters are extraneous.
   The basic story has to do with a lesbian couple, a middle-aged college dean and a student -- who invite the dean's former lover to live with them while she deals with cancer.
   That part's not too bad, but it's interrupted by long stupid monologues from two cave people in a diorama, and puzzling, endless segments in which a man reads aloud wedding announcements and city council minutes out of a newspaper.
   The titular mammoths are fossils on display at a museum at the college. They're obviously a metaphor for something, but for what is never made clear.
   It runs through June 30 at American Stage, 163 Third St. N., St. Petersburg. 8 p.m. Wednesday-Friday, 3 and 8 p.m. Saturday, 3 p.m. Sunday. $29-$49. (727) 823-7529, www.americanstage.org.

"Amish Project," Shepard play in St. Petersburg

   This is your last weekend to see "When the World Was Green (A Chef's Fable) at American Stage. The play, by Sam Shepard and Joseph Chaikin, has been getting absolutely phenomenal reviews.

Katherine Michelle Tanner

   It's among Shepard's lesser-known and lesser-produced plays. It's a two-hander about a jailed killer who's a former chef and a young woman who's interviewing him about his crime and his life in food.
   Remaining shows are at 8  p.m. April 18 and 19, 3 p.m. April 20 and 5 p.m. April 21.
   It's running in repertory with "The Amish Project," a devastating but inspiring fictional work based on the 2006 massacre of Amish school children. Katherine Michelle Tanner plays all seven roles, including two of the young victims, the killer, his wife and some of the non-Amish people from the area.
   It's a short play, only 70 minutes, but its emotional impact stays with you for a very long time. In fact, you may never forget Jessica Dickey's script and Tanner's performance.
   Todd Olson, the producing artistic director for American Stage, directed both shows.
   "The Amish Project" runs through May 12.
   Tickets are $39 for weekday evenings and weekend matinees, $49 for Friday and Saturday evenings. Evening shows are at 8 p.m.; Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday matinees at 3 p.m. There's a "twilight show" at 5 p.m. April 21.
   American Stage is at 163 3rd St. North, St. Petersburg. (727) 823-7529 or www.americanstage.org.

"The Amish Project" opens Friday in St. Petersburg

   Among the most roundly acclaimed plays in the past few years is Jessica Dickey's "The Amish Project," a work based on the 2006 massacre of a group of children in an Amish school. The play has one actor portraying several characters involved with the shooting, including the gunman, two of the victims, a local college professor and a grocery store clerk.
   Parallels to "The Laramie Project" are obvious, but in Dickey's work the characters and the dialogue are fictional.
   It's next up at American Stage in St. Petersburg. Previews are Wednesday and Thursday, April 10 and 11, and opening night is Friday, April 12. It runs until May 12.

Katherine Michelle Tanner

   The play promises great things, and the production should be just as edifying. Sarasotan Katherine Michelle Tanner is the actor, and she never turns in a performance that's anything but stellar. She's directed by Todd Olson, American Stage's producing artistic director.
   It's $29 for previews and Wednesday matinees, $39 for weekday evenings and weekend matinees, $49 for Friday and Saturday evenings, and $59 for opening night. Evening shows are at 8 p.m.; Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday matinees at 3 p.m. "Twilight shows" are at 5 p.m. April 14 and 21.
   American Stage is at 163 3rd St. North, St. Petersburg. (727) 823-7529 or www.americanstage.org.

"Spelling Bee" plays park in St. Petersburg

   One of the funnest theater events in west central Florida every year is the American Stage in the Park Festival in downtown St. Peterburg.
   This year's show is "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee," an odd but often very funny musical that won a couple of Tony Awards in 2005.
   It's based around a spelling bee in a fictional location, with some quirky kids participating and some quirky adults running the proceedings. The twist in the show is that several audience members are pulled up on stage to take part in the spelling bee. So if you want to see it but don't want to have to be part of the show, start now to practice looking inconspicuous.
   It all happens at Demens Landing, at First Ave. North and Bayshore Bloulevard Southeast, St. Petersburg. Previews are April 24 and 25, the "Gala Under the Stars" fundraiser is set for opening night, April 26, and then the show runs through May 26. There are no shows on Mondays or Tuesday.
   There are all sorts of ticket prices, starting at $13 for blanket seating in advance on weeknights, to $29 for reserved chair seating. The preview performances are "pay what you can" nights (with no concessions available) and pets are allowed April 28, May 5 and May 12.
   The gates open at 6 p.m. -- a lot of people bring picnics and have dinner before the show -- and curtain is at 8 p.m.
   Call 727-823-7529 or go to www.americanstage.org for information and tickets.

American Stage announces 2013-2014 season

   The recently announced American Stage season for 2013-14 looks to be a healthy mix of sure-fire crowd-pleasers and more substantial fare to please theater connoisseurs.
   It opens Oct. 2 with Conor McPherson’s “The Birds,” which is based on the same novel as the Hitchcock film. McPherson's best-known plays, "The Seafarer" and "Shining City," are phenomenal, so his take on the eerie thriller promises great things.
   In November, there’s “A Marvelous Party! The Noel Coward Celebration,” which culls songs and conversation from the great wit’s works.
   The seventh installment of American Stage’s August Wilson cycle is “2 Trains Running,” which opens Jan. 24.
   A non-musical version of “Around the World in 80 Days,” with five actors playing 39 characters, starts March 21. “Steel Magnolias” opens May 23 and Yasmina Reza’s wildly acclaimed comedy “God of Carnage,” which won the 2009 Tony for Best Play, finishes the mainstage season in July and August.
   The American Stage in the Park Festival show for this year is “The Wiz," April 11-May 11. That'll be at Demens Landing, on the corner of First Avenue Northeast and Bayshore Boulevard Southeast.
   All the others shows are at American Stage, at 163 Third St. S., St. Petersburg.
   Information and tickets: 727-893-7527 or americanstage.org.

Trombone Shorty, Taste of Manatee and plenty of plays make for awesome, cool weekend

Trombone Shorty at Tropical Heatwave 2009/Wade Tatangelo

Sunny with a few clouds.

Breezy.

Highs in the upper 60s.

Time to grab that favorite light jacket or hoodie and embrace this first cool weekend of the year.

I highly recommend spending Saturday at the Sarasota Blues Festival where New Orleans native Trombone Shorty, who plays here before heading on tour with the Dave Matthews Band, should blow you away with his "supafunkrock." Click for my interview with Troy "Trombone Shorty" Andrews.

Before heading to the Blues Fest, and probably Sunday, too, I'll hit up Taste of Manatee and stuff my face with local cuisine.

And starting this week I'll be attending plays at Florida Studio Theatre in Sarasota and American Stage in St. Pete — if only so I can wear my favorite sportcoat! 

Trombone Shorty at Tropical Heatwave 2009 in Ybor City.