Ronni Thomas, a filmmaker and oddity enthusiast, has created a new web series documenting the darkness, eccentricity and mystery of the uncharted and unimaginable happenings of New York City.

Fittingly named The Midnight Archive, these videos boast an eclectic class of characters such as Sue Jeiven, a tattoo artist at East River Tattoo, and Madame Cagliastro of Brooklyn. Jeiven, who is featured in episode three, specializes in anthropomorphic taxidermy, creating lifelike tableaux from dead animals that she guts, stuffs and lovingly clothes in vintage human attire. Madame Cagliastro also deals with animals, performing mummification for pets weighing 20 pounds or less—she mummifies a dead toad in the first episode.

Episode eight, the latest on the Midnight Archive website, is entitled “Wax.” Sigrid Sarda, an artist who started making hauntingly human wax sculptures after the death of her father, hosts with her spooky collection of wax figures that line every inch of her house.

Other members of the odd ensemble who work on the series include Mitch Horowitz, author of Occult New York; Jere Ryder, conservator for the Guiness Automata collection at the Morris Museum in New Jersey; and professor Paul Koudounaris, who traveled the world photographing ossuaries and charnel houses, places constructed of human bones.
In his IKA Collective office at 15 E. 32rd St. in Midtown, Thomas sits among a giant Grim Reaper, scary child dolls and other spine-chilling items as he edits a new episode of the show.

The episode features Thomas himself discussing his collection of stereoviews, a late 19th century entertainment consisting of 3-D images projected through a stereoscope—a much older and intricate ancestor of 3-D View-Masters.

“The lecture was on my collection of macabre stereoviews, in particular my set of diableries, which are French stereo tissues from the 1860s that depict Satan’s daily life in hell. I always kind of sat on these macabre demented things, these private fetishes. When I saw the variety of people who showed up for my lecture, from Harvard professors to gutter punks to people I didn’t even know from my old high school, I decided, let’s make a film out of this stuff.”

Many of the eclectics filmed for The Midnight Archive are lecturers at the Brooklyn Observatory, an event space at 543 Union St. in Brooklyn that serves as a multipurpose room for artists. That’s where Thomas met Joanna Ebenstein, the curator of Morbid Anatomy at the Observatory and now the producer of the series.

Thomas said that after the first episode, TV networks were offering to air the show, but it would have meant less creative control for Thomas and the guys at IKA Collective, whom he says have “fostered a very artistic environment” for him to pursue his work. Television might also “exploit these people or make them look stupid,” and even though the money would be good, Thomas remains speculative about selling out his perverse brainchild.

“I want people to see these everyday people doing extraordinary things, and I wanted to give them a view from an insider, myself, who has had a lifelong fascination and respect for these things. There is a dark underside to all things, and I want to open up that side to those who are outwardly interested and to those who live two lives,” he said.

To watch, visit themidnightarchive.com.

By Mark Peikert

Porgy and Bess has been something like this season’s highbrow Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark. Both shows came to Broadway trailing a wake of scandal and op-eds—except Porgy and Bess had Stephen Sondheim and the New York Times weighing in, while Spider-Man had the Post. And in both cases, what finally showed up on stage was…underwhelming.
What else could this revision of Porgy and Bess be? Director Diane Paulus and bookwriter/reviser Suzan-Lori Parks have streamlined the original four-hour work into a matinee-crowd-friendly two and a half hours, during which time most of the characters act incomprehensibly.

Audra McDonald and Norm Lewis in The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess

Set in Charleston’s Catfish Row—designed by Riccardo Hernandez to look like a dank alleyway—Porgy and Bess is the story of the limping Porgy (Norm Lewis), the Bad Woman Bess (Audra McDonald) and the ways in which he causes her to vacillate between being good and snorting cocaine and otherwise being bad with drug dealer Sporting Life (David Alan Grier, who thinks his pimp walk is funnier than it is) and her lover Crown (Phillip Boykin, lacking the sex appeal that would convince us that he has Bess in an erotic thrall).

As she did in Hair, Paulus reveals a weakness for grouping her actors on the stage and then leaving them there. With an array of Catfish Row denizens to work with, she often lumps the men and women into separate groups for their songs, a choice that strips the work of the feeling of community. This isn’t a tight-knit group of neighbors; this is a collection of people who happen to live near one another, which lessens the dramatic tension considerably.

On the credit side, Paulus and team do have Lewis and McDonald, two actor-singers who try valiantly to make their characters something more than archetypes. They have an easy chemistry together that makes Bess and Porgy’s relationship seem organic, a haven for Bess after the turmoil of Crown. But not even these two can surmount the revue-like structure Parks has left the book. All that trimming leaves the songs intact but the recitatives (and supporting characters) mangled. Joshua Henry is mostly wasted as Jake, the ill-fated young father, while the other characters feel like plot-propelling scenery, there to alert the audience as to which Bess is on stage: bad Bess or good Bess.

Still, there is always that lush score—“Summertime,” “I Got Plenty of Nothing”—from George and Ira Gershwin to prop up the faltering, giving McDonald and Lewis the chance to remind audiences how much they’ve both been missed by fans of pure, character-driven singing. When they duet, every misfire in the production slips away, leaving two stars centerstage, giving powerhouse performances that almost transcend the misdirection and wrongheaded ideas that suffuse the rest of this Porgy and Bess.

The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess
Through June 24, Richard Rodgers Theatre, 226 W. 46th St. (betw. Broadway & 8th Ave.), www.porgyandbessonbroadway.com; $75–$150.

By Doug Strassler

Certain universal questions arise in every generation: What is the meaning of life? What lies in the Great Beyond? And perhaps most important of all: Are you gonna take me home tonight?

James Kautz, Anthony Rapp and Dee Roscioli in Dedalus Lounge

That last question might be the most pertinent of the three to the denizens of Dedalus Lounge, Gary Duggan’s new music-infused play embarking on a run at Midtown West’s Interart Theater Annex, at 500 W. 52nd St., through Jan. 30. This trio of lost souls—Danny, Daragh and Delphine—connects at the titular Dublin drink joint during the holiday season, a time that would be happy if only these people weren’t so at sea. Delphine is dealing with a sick grandparent and a complicated love affair; Danny, meanwhile, is a devoted Freddie Mercury fan who struggles to mount a successful new Queen tribute band.

According to the playwright, his inspiration comes not so much from what he knows but who he knows. “A lot of Irish theater has traditionally dealt with families and parent/child relationships,” Duggan explained.

Not that Dedalus—making its American bow after a run at Ireland’s Pageant Wagon Theatre Company—is an outright drama. Amid the debauchery and despondence, there is also plenty of humor, which proved to be a winning tone in last year’s acclaimed Trans-Euro Express, also performed at Interart. This production also features new music and choreography not found in the Dublin iteration.

Dedalus reunites Duggan with Trans-Euro director Chris Henry. The Dublin-based writer first met Henry over Skype, where, he avowed, “We developed a quick and easy rapport during the rehearsal period. I was very pleased with Chris’ inventive production, and after that we decided pretty quickly that we’d like to collaborate again. The themes and characters of Dedalus and Trans-Euro have a fair bit in common so I thought that would be a natural follow-up.”

According to Henry, the affection is mutual. “I am drawn to a script with heart and edge, a script where I can give an audience a visceral experience,” she said. In fact, the director and writer are so simpatico by now that the only topic on which they seem to disagree is their favorite Queen song.

Henry was also attracted to the musical elements of Dedalus. She said that while she and the rest of the production were initially disappointed they were not able to acquire the rights to any Queen songs, that turned out to be a blessing in disguise. The “Queen-inspired songs” penned by co-stars Anthony Rapp and Daniel A. Weiss, she said, “are lively, fun, campy and wild to watch.”

The re-teaming of the creative forces may have been a no-brainer, but Dedalus has also attracted a top-notch cast that includes original Rent star Rapp, Wicked alum Dee Roscioli and James Kautz, best known as a founding member of the estimable downtown theater company The Amoralists. That’s an impressive roster for Interart, given that the Off-Off venue has very limited seating. Why the actorly vote of confidence in Dedalus?

“The play is quite a crazy mash-up of tones, themes and emotions,” Duggan said. “I think that’s appealing to great performers—they get to play with a dynamic range of colors in one piece.” The playwright added, “I think good people like to work intensively with other good people, and there’s a lot of opportunity to do that in this. Plus, the way Chris directs is very dynamic and imaginative, which makes it a very satisfying show to be a part of.”

It’s shows like this that make the rockin’ world go round.

For information, please visit www.royalfamilyproductions.org.

By Doug Strassler

Jacques Brel is no longer alive or in Paris, but that hasn’t stopped him from making a comeback. Again.

In the last decade, Jacques Brel Is Alive and Well and Living in Paris, a remounting of the storied 1960s production celebrating the renowned chanteur, enjoyed quite a bit of success in an Off-Broadway run at the Zipper Theater. The man and his music have returned in Jacques Brel Returns: The Music of Brel, Blau, Shuman and Jouannest, a more intimate version of Alive and Well currently celebrating a one-year run at the Upper West Side’s The Triad, at 158 W. 72nd St.

Robert Cuccioli in Jacques Brel Returns. Photo by Sam Morris

Performed several times a month, this adaptation features a revolving cast of performers bringing the reflective, sometimes mournful music of Brel to life. Some of them even appeared in the 2006 run of the show, including Tony nominee Robert Cuccioli (Jekyll & Hyde). Upcoming performances will take place Dec. 30 and Jan. 28.

The venue’s smaller space makes it a perfect fit for Brel’s music, said Dan Whitten, the show’s producer and co-creator with Mark Beigelman). “Jacques Brel sang songs about being alone, about being in love; he voiced feelings on war,” Whitten explained. “He was a really wonderful observer of the human condition.”

Cuccioli agrees about the music, which can be emotionally astute and lyrically complex. “These are story songs, and they are great actor pieces. It is heartfelt and powerful, though some of it is also very funny. They’re challenging, as well,” he said. “They are not easy to sing, and there is a bit of a darkness to his music. I like that. I really connected to his work.”

Cuccioli isn’t alone. Brel, the third most successful Belgian artist of all time (trailing only Salvatore Adamo and Frédéric François), enjoyed a passionate fan base that continues despite his 1978 passing at the young age of 49. Jacques Brel Returns features such favorites as “Carousel,” “If We Only Have Love,” Amsterdam,” “My Childhood” and “Ne Me Quitte Pas.”

“People who saw the show in the ’60s and ’70s are now in their sixties and seventies,” Whitten said. “Our audience is full of multiple generations. People who remember the show at the Village Gate [where it ran for over four years] come back and bring their children and their grandchildren. This is the kind of show you can enjoy with your grandmother, mother, big sister or little brother.”

But even for those well-versed in Brel, the current version is more than a mere carbon copy of either Paris production. In addition to making the evening more intimate, Beigelman and Witten have altered the landscape of the revue to make it fresher. The male singers in the show will sometimes sing women’s songs, and some traditional songs have been blended together.

Whatever they are doing, Jacques Brel Returns certainly hasn’t been for want of talent. Recent performers who have appeared in the show include Helen Hayes Award winner Natascia Diaz, Jim Stanek, Ereni Sevasti and Rick Hip-Flores. Hip-Flores, an alum of Broadway musicals like Billy Elliot and The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, is also the show’s music director. “These are very talented performers. It is a delight to work with all of them,” Cuccioli said.

“Brel’s music is timeless and our aim is to keep it going at The Triad,” Whitten said. “I am keeping the man’s work alive right now. And in 50 years, another producer is going to do exactly the same thing.”

For tickets and more information, visit www.triadnyc.com.

By Mark Peikert

Even with the addition of 3-D technology, the Radio City Christmas Spectacular can only hold your attention for so many holiday seasons. Likewise The Nutcracker and its derivations. This year, break out of your Christmas routine with one of these shows, ranging from new takes on A Christmas Carol to revivals of holiday-themed plays.

Jimmy Kiefer stars as Charles Dickens in A Christmas Carol, As Told By Charles Dickens (Himself) at Canal Park Playhouse.

When it comes to the Charles Dickens Christmas classic A Christmas Carol, it’s all about the approach. Some people like the story straight up, others with a twist. This year, there’s a little of each, with A Christmas Carol, As Told by Charles Dickens (Himself) (through Dec. 24) and 3 Ghosts (Dec. 8–23). In the former, the ghost of Charles Dickens—who passed through the Downtown neighborhood of Canal Park Playhouse, where the show is being produced—recounts his evergreen story for audiences. And the latter, at Theatre Row in Midtown, is an original steampunk musical adaptation by Liz Muller and Collin Simon of Scrooge’s long night’s journey into redemption. Plus, there’s Scrooge & Gilbert & Sullivan, Dec. 9–11 at Michael Schimmel Center for the Arts, Pace University, which finds Gilbert and Sullivan songs adapted to tell the story of everyone’s favorite Christmas hater.

Other Christmas musicals include Phoenix Theatre Ensemble’s The Toymaker’s Apprentice (Dec. 10–17), a holiday spoof of Donald Trump and his reality show performed at The Wild Project, and Bells of St. Mary’s and The Exorcist mash-up The Asphalt Christmas (tagline: “The power of Christmas compels you”), running Dec. 8–18 at Theatre Row.

At Dixon Place, musical comedy sister duo Vickie & Nickie give Saturday Night Live’s the Sweeney Sisters a run for their money with Vickie & Nickie’s Holiday Sleigh Ride Dec. 3–10, while Jackie Hoffman brings her new solo show A Chanukah Charol to New World Stages Dec. 11–Jan. 2, 2012, in which the comedian is visited by the Ghosts of Chanukah Past, Present and Future—and Yiddish theater star Molly Picon—as Hoffman discovers that she’s a “dark, desperate diva.” Must be all that time in Broadway’s The Addams Family.

If you like your holiday season dark and adult, try Naked Holidays, running Dec. 8–30 at Times Square Arts Center. The evening of short plays includes a conspiracy among Santa’s reindeer to assassinate Rudolph; a Jewish-themed spoof of It’s a Wonderful Life; and a new take on 1984 with Santa as Big Brother. And the inclusive Holiday Stucco (Dec. 15–17), a 90-minute evening of one-acts from members of The Public Theater’s Emerging Writers Group, promises that any winter holiday is up for grabs.

For those who just like to dabble in seasonal entertainment without taking the full plunge, a revival of The Man Who Came to Dinner, set during the holidays, is just the ticket. The classic comedy, starring Jim Brochu and Tony winner Cady Huffman, will have audiences laughing through Dec. 18 at Midtown’s Theatre at St. Clement’s.

The play’s the thing, or so claims the old adage from William Shakespeare’s Hamlet. And yet, after centuries, there are still many who feel trepidation at the thought of experiencing one of the esteemed playwright’s many canonical works. In the mid-1990s, one group of actors decided to perform Shakespeare’s works in a way that both involved their audiences and still made the work accessible.

Erick Gonzalez, Eric DySart, Vivien Landau and Amy Frances Quint in The Two Gentlemen of Verona. Photo by: Jim Baldassare

Frog & Peach Theatre Company emerged from a mutual frustration shared by married couple Lynnea Benson and Ted Zurkowski, both Actors Studio members, about the way Shakespeare’s productions were—and more to the point, were not—being performed.

“We had some very definite ideas about what Shakespeare had to offer a modern audience, but we weren’t seeing it on stage,” said Benson.

Since 1995, Frog & Peach has mounted more than two dozen productions, usually one in the fall and one in the spring. Their current production, The Two Gentlemen of Verona, runs until mid-November at the West End Theatre on 86th Street.

“Ted and I had been lucky to find Shakespeare at a young age, and we were determined to pass that love on to our community,” Benson explained. The company uses First Folio versions of Shakespeare’s original scripts, which lack any changes or improvements that modern editors might have added to the works. The Folio editions find the actors breaking the fourth wall, directly addressing and even making eye contact with the audience.

“It’s a tender, complicit, sometimes scary relationship,” Benson acknowledged. “But the audience response has been phenomenal, especially among young people and working families in our neighborhood.”

Zurkowski, who composed the musical numbers for Verona, concurs. “Our shows are about clarity, simplicity and entertainment value,” he stressed. “We are about entertaining instead of educating—if people are entertained, that’s when their minds open and they take things away from the show.”

Both Benson and Zurkowski agree that a fundamental requirement to enjoying any of Shakespeare’s works is to break down perceived boundaries about them and realize how universal his characters and stories are. “He’s not an elitist playwright at all,” Benson maintained. “The problems facing his characters are very modern, from bullying to difficult stepfamilies to emotionally scarred war veterans.

“We stay true to the plays,” she added. “The tragedies are filled with comic moments and the comedies have scenes of real heartbreak.”

Plenty of local performers agree. The Frog & Peach staff numbers around 50, and the company has attracted such big theatrical names as Karen Lynn Gorney, Earl Hyman, Catalina Sandino Moreno and Austin Pendleton. An Oct. 4 benefit reading of Julius Caesar at The Players Club featured Shirley Knight, Tom Noonan, Estelle Parsons and Rip Torn.

And even a popular musical talent helped write songs for the Caesar fundraiser and Verona with Zurkowski: Ian McDonald, founding member of the bands King Crimson and Foreigner. “I’d never been involved in theater before,” the musician admitted, “but we became good friends and I’d like to work with them again.”

Clearly, Frog & Peach has made good on its goal. “It’s unfortunate that so many people buy into the idea that Shakespeare’s plays are inscrutable or just for Big Smarties,” Benson said. “Frog & Peach is putting an end to that notion, one production at a time.”

For more information and a performance schedule, www.frogandpeachtheatre.org.

By Doug Strassler

At a time when best-selling children’s books are as dark as Twilight and The Hunger Games, both of which burned up the bestseller lists and landed high-profile movie deals, a beloved childhood favorite has managed to carve a place for itself in the busy New York theater scene with a family-friendly show that offers pure fun—and a few lessons.

The Berenstain Bears LIVE! in Family Matters, the Musical, a stage adaptation of The Berenstain Bears, the nearly 50-year-old series of children’s books created by Stan and Jan Berenstain, continues what was to be a limited summer run of performances with a move to the Upper West Side’s Marjorie S. Deane Little Theater.

Scene from The Berenstain Bears LIVE! Photo by Aaron Epstein

This move comes after an initial Off-Broadway production at the Manhattan Movie and Arts Center (MMAC) that exceeded all expectations. “We thought we would have a nice summer run and then that would be it,” explained producer Matt Murphy. “We had no idea how popular this show would prove to be. We are finding audiences from all over—Manhattan, Brooklyn, Long Island, New Jersey—it is even starting to attract a tourist audience now!” Murphy credits positive critical reviews for much of the show’s attention.

With a book by Michael Borton and Michael Slade, music and lyrics by Borton and direction and choreography from Devanand Janki, Berenstain melds three books—The Berenstain Bears and Too Much Junk Food, The Berenstain Bears’ Trouble at School and The Berenstain Bears Learn About Strangers—to create a live-action version of Bear Country.

“The Berenstain Bears are superstars,” Janki said. “After all these years, they truly have become part of the American culture. They have great stories with lessons that everyone can relate to.”

“It can be a tricky thing to adapt something as sacred and well-known as The Berenstain Bears,” Janki said, “but we had a lot of material to go on. We were very careful not to stray too much from the book, but we did have fun adding modern twists to help tell our story.” The company will make very few alterations to the show in the Marjorie S. Deane space, and will keep the grassy knoll seating section in front at the foot of the Bear Country stage.

Janki says that while there is much for the younger members of the Berenstain audience to learn, the show has something for everyone. “I am very proud of what we have created in the live show. Kids of all ages get to see these iconic characters come to life right in front of their eyes. We have even thrown in some humor for the adults, so everyone can enjoy the show.”

Berenstain offers entertainment beyond the show itself—children also get to have their faces painted and take photographs with the bears following the show. “It makes their memory of the show that much sweeter,” according to Murphy.

Just why does the Berenstain team think their characters have proven so enduring? “A number of reasons,” Murphy said. “First of all, Stan and Jan Berenstain deserve a lot of credit for creating a loving family of characters that people from all walks of life can relate to. Second, the message in the show about living a healthy lifestyle by exercising and eating healthy foods has really resonated with the New York community.

“Last,” he added, “the upbeat music and colorful choreography make for a great musical theater experience for young boys and girls. Parents love our show because it keeps kids’ attention for the whole hour-long story. With kids these days, that’s not an easy thing to do!”

For more information and a performance schedule, visit www.berenstainbearslive.com.

The play’s the thing, or so claims the old adage from William Shakespeare’s Hamlet. And yet, after centuries, there are still many who feel trepidation at the thought of experiencing one of the esteemed playwright’s many canonical works. In the mid-1990s, one group of actors decided to perform Shakespeare’s works in a way that both involved their audiences and still made the work accessible.

Erick Gonzalez, Eric DySart, Vivien Landau and Amy Frances Quint in The Two Gentlemen of Verona. Photo by: Jim Baldassare

Frog & Peach Theatre Company emerged from a mutual frustration shared by married couple Lynnea Benson and Ted Zurkowski, both Actors Studio members, about the way Shakespeare’s productions were—and more to the point, were not—being performed.

“We had some very definite ideas about what Shakespeare had to offer a modern audience, but we weren’t seeing it on stage,” said Benson.

Since 1995, Frog & Peach has mounted more than two dozen productions, usually one in the fall and one in the spring. Their current production, The Two Gentlemen of Verona, runs until mid-November at the West End Theatre on 86th Street.

“Ted and I had been lucky to find Shakespeare at a young age, and we were determined to pass that love on to our community,” Benson explained. The company uses First Folio versions of Shakespeare’s original scripts, which lack any changes or improvements that modern editors might have added to the works. The Folio editions find the actors breaking the fourth wall, directly addressing and even making eye contact with the audience.

“It’s a tender, complicit, sometimes scary relationship,” Benson acknowledged. “But the audience response has been phenomenal, especially among young people and working families in our neighborhood.”

Zurkowski, who composed the musical numbers for Verona, concurs. “Our shows are about clarity, simplicity and entertainment value,” he stressed. “We are about entertaining instead of educating—if people are entertained, that’s when their minds open and they take things away from the show.”

Both Benson and Zurkowski agree that a fundamental requirement to enjoying any of Shakespeare’s works is to break down perceived boundaries about them and realize how universal his characters and stories are. “He’s not an elitist playwright at all,” Benson maintained. “The problems facing his characters are very modern, from bullying to difficult stepfamilies to emotionally scarred war veterans.

“We stay true to the plays,” she added. “The tragedies are filled with comic moments and the comedies have scenes of real heartbreak.”

Plenty of local performers agree. The Frog & Peach staff numbers around 50, and the company has attracted such big theatrical names as Karen Lynn Gorney, Earl Hyman, Catalina Sandino Moreno and Austin Pendleton. An Oct. 4 benefit reading of Julius Caesar at The Players Club featured Shirley Knight, Tom Noonan, Estelle Parsons and Rip Torn.

And even a popular musical talent helped write songs for the Caesar fundraiser and Verona with Zurkowski: Ian McDonald, founding member of the bands King Crimson and Foreigner. “I’d never been involved in theater before,” the musician admitted, “but we became good friends and I’d like to work with them again.”

Clearly, Frog & Peach has made good on its goal. “It’s unfortunate that so many people buy into the idea that Shakespeare’s plays are inscrutable or just for Big Smarties,” Benson said. “Frog & Peach is putting an end to that notion, one production at a time.”

For more information and a performance schedule, www.frogandpeachtheatre.org.

By Doug Strassler

At a time when best-selling children’s books are as dark as Twilight and The Hunger Games, both of which burned up the bestseller lists and landed high-profile movie deals, a beloved childhood favorite has managed to carve a place for itself in the busy New York theater scene with a family-friendly show that offers pure fun—and a few lessons.

The Berenstain Bears LIVE! in Family Matters, the Musical, a stage adaptation of The Berenstain Bears, the nearly 50-year-old series of children’s books created by Stan and Jan Berenstain, continues what was to be a limited summer run of performances with a move to the Upper West Side’s Marjorie S. Deane Little Theater.

Scene from The Berenstain Bears LIVE! Photo by Aaron Epstein

This move comes after an initial Off-Broadway production at the Manhattan Movie and Arts Center (MMAC) that exceeded all expectations. “We thought we would have a nice summer run and then that would be it,” explained producer Matt Murphy. “We had no idea how popular this show would prove to be. We are finding audiences from all over—Manhattan, Brooklyn, Long Island, New Jersey—it is even starting to attract a tourist audience now!” Murphy credits positive critical reviews for much of the show’s attention.

With a book by Michael Borton and Michael Slade, music and lyrics by Borton and direction and choreography from Devanand Janki, Berenstain melds three books—The Berenstain Bears and Too Much Junk Food, The Berenstain Bears’ Trouble at School and The Berenstain Bears Learn About Strangers—to create a live-action version of Bear Country.

“The Berenstain Bears are superstars,” Janki said. “After all these years, they truly have become part of the American culture. They have great stories with lessons that everyone can relate to.”

“It can be a tricky thing to adapt something as sacred and well-known as The Berenstain Bears,” Janki said, “but we had a lot of material to go on. We were very careful not to stray too much from the book, but we did have fun adding modern twists to help tell our story.” The company will make very few alterations to the show in the Marjorie S. Deane space, and will keep the grassy knoll seating section in front at the foot of the Bear Country stage.

Janki says that while there is much for the younger members of the Berenstain audience to learn, the show has something for everyone. “I am very proud of what we have created in the live show. Kids of all ages get to see these iconic characters come to life right in front of their eyes. We have even thrown in some humor for the adults, so everyone can enjoy the show.”

Berenstain offers entertainment beyond the show itself—children also get to have their faces painted and take photographs with the bears following the show. “It makes their memory of the show that much sweeter,” according to Murphy.

Just why does the Berenstain team think their characters have proven so enduring? “A number of reasons,” Murphy said. “First of all, Stan and Jan Berenstain deserve a lot of credit for creating a loving family of characters that people from all walks of life can relate to. Second, the message in the show about living a healthy lifestyle by exercising and eating healthy foods has really resonated with the New York community.

“Last,” he added, “the upbeat music and colorful choreography make for a great musical theater experience for young boys and girls. Parents love our show because it keeps kids’ attention for the whole hour-long story. With kids these days, that’s not an easy thing to do!”

For more information and a performance schedule, visit www.berenstainbearslive.com.

By Doug Strassler

You’ve got to pity poor Ned Frangipani (Anthony Manna), the protagonist—if not quite hero—of Ken Ferrigni’s quirky new philoso-comedy Mangella, playing at the Drilling Company Theater. Antisocial and saddled with the responsibility of caring for a father suffering from dementia, Ned pretty much hates the world at large. In fact, the only thing he does care for is the tool he uses to escape from it all: his computer.

It’s a figure that means so much to him he even has a name for it: Gabriella. And because she’s as vital to this promising—but eventually labored—story as any of the living characters, she even has an actress playing her (Ali Perlwitz).

When Mangella does work, it works because of its quirks. For instance, Ned’s father (Bob Austin McDonald) fell victim to a stroke and has ever since believed himself to be ’40s blues musician Mangella St. James. So what form of TLC does his son employ? Ned binds the man to a chair and orders a prostitute for his father. But while his father wants a large, African-American woman, Ned orders something else entirely, ending up with Lily (Hannah Wilson), a thin, white prostitute who comes armed with a knife, a syringe and an agenda.

Ali Perlwitz & Anthony Manna in Mangella. Lee Wexler

All of which makes for a diverting first act. The show is a gamer’s paradise, thanks to the technical team corralled by director Joe Jung of Project: Theater. J.J. Bernard and Francois Portier cleverly construct a man-child haven for Ned that makes him king of his hermetically sealed world, and Nick Borisjuk’s computer sound effects and Jessi Blue Gormezano’s costumes add enough humor to remind us that we should always be laughing.

But that’s the problem. As the second act centers itself around a confrontation between Ned and Lily, Mangella’s idiosyncrasies flatten out into a rote, talky affair. Ferrigni provides so much exposition to explain what is occurring that the show experiences a system overload. And since some of what is described never materializes onstage, it begins to feel gratuitous. What’s missing is a sense of movement.

Perhaps making the character of Ned less reactive could alter that. This is, after all, a guy who uses Gabriela to infect XXX sites and harass the owners for money. (Maybe you don’t have to pity poor Ned after all.) He should be able to drive the action more than Ferrigni has drawn him to do.

Nonetheless, Jung elicits spot-on performances from his talented quartet of actors. Manna does yeoman’s work to ground Ned amidst the absurdity that ensues around him; he perfectly captures the pulse of the show. Perlwitz and Wilson both embrace their characters’ more madcap moments with aplomb and McDonald believably conveys what it is to be a man whose own mind has revolted against him, striking the right balance of pathos and humor.

Ferrigni’s definitely on the right path in Mangella. Maybe a simple upgrade will be all that is needed to ratchet up the fun factor from occasionally infectious to truly viral.

Mangella

Through Oct. 29, The Drilling Company, 236 W. 78th St., www.projecttheater.org; $18.