Reviews
Car Talk is a hit!
". . . Lichtblau has an ear for the dialogue of average people trapped in not-so-average situations, and she carries her car metaphor with precision throughout the text."
............Carol King, DAILY GAZETTE (Read the entire review)
". . . a comedy of sorts with serious and heartfelt underpinnings. It will occasionally make you laugh out loud, but more importantly it will make you smile, warmly, all evening long."
............Charles Kondek, HUDSON-CATSKILL NEWSPAPERS (Read the entire review)
". . . the star here is Lichtblau, who, at age 72, has her first full-length play on stage."
............Michael Eck, TIMES UNION (Read the entire review)
Play’s conflict emerges in cars
By Carol King
Monday, July 27, 2009
HUDSON — No it’s not Click and Clack, the Tappet Brothers, the NPR talk show about fixing cars. Stageworks/Hudson’s current production “Car Talk” is about talking not about but in cars. Playwright Lucile Lichtblau has captured that moment when a husband and wife get into a car to begin a road trip and the wife says, “I want to talk.”
The husband gets a terrified, trapped expression on his face, and you know you’re in for a long ride. But Lichtblau’s “talk” is substantive and, like NPR’s “Car Talk,” entertaining.
In truth, Lichtblau has an ear for the dialogue of average people trapped in not-so-average situations, and she carries her car metaphor with precision throughout the text.
Ed (Larry Sharp) and Millie (Bonnie Black) have an enduring, if occasionally troubled, marriage. They have just learned that their daughter, Rosalie (Melissa Macleod Herion), is a lesbian and that she has moved in with a taxidermist named Zoe (Abby Lee). Ed and Millie begin their journey to Vermont, where the young women live, to scope out the situation. It is both a literal and a figurative journey. Their talk turns, naturally, to what they may have done to turn their only child into a lesbian. Ed thinks it could have been the hunting trips he took Rosalie on.
Next we meet Rosalie and Zoe, a thoroughly engaging couple, who are on a quest to buy a case of toilet paper, because, explains Rosalie, it will make her mother feel more secure about Zoe and Rosalie’s relationship. We also learn that the couple has planned a wedding and the news must be broken to Rosalie’s parents. Lichtblau draws subtle parallels between the two couples and juggles their conflicts with sensitivity and humor.
Sharp is on top of the game as he initially shows himself to be judgmental and controlling, but as his character’s flaws become unearthed, the actor allows a touching vulnerability to shine through. Black plays Millie with a superb combination of comic energy and soulful strength. Herion gives Rosalie the right amount of frustration over the character’s inability to commit. But it is Lee’s solid performance as the lovely Zoe, who is most obviously comfortable in her own skin that anchors and connects the other characters.
Ably directed by Laura Margolis, the technical elements of the production must be mentioned. First and foremost is Brian Massman’s video design. A huge backdrop of passing scenery follows the cars as they motor along.
Most admirable is the fact that each turn and twist of the road portrayed by the actors is replicated by Massman’s video.
Ben Heyman’s sound design is never intrusive but always indicative of the action down to the soft click of windshield wipers as the car travels in a rainstorm. Frank Den Danto III creates everything from the headlights of oncoming cars in some night scenes, to a lovely star spangled night on “the roof of the world.”
‘CAR TALK’ certainly worth taking for a drive
Stageworks/Hudson
By Charles Kondek
As part of its continuing effort to produce dynamic, high caliber theater, Stageworks/Hudson has chosen for its second production of the 15th season the world premiere of a small, quiet play, “Car Talk,.” a comedy of sorts with serious and heartfelt underpinnings. It will occasionally make you laugh out loud, but more importantly it will make you smile, warmly, all evening long.
The play is by Lucille Lichtblau and it first appeared as part of last season's “Play by Play' one-act play series. Artistic Director Laura Margolis thought enough of the small version to ask playwright Lichtblau to expand the piece into a full evening's entertainment, thus becoming Stageworks's first commissioned work.
Taking place mainly in a car during a long trip to Vermont, the play examines the relationship between Millie and Ed, a middle-aged, middle-class Jewish couple on their way to visit their daughter, Rosalie, who has just announced she is gay and very involved in a serious relationship with hints of a marriage to her taxidermist lover, Zoe.
The trip is real but it can also be seen as a metaphorical journey through the slippery, twisting turns present in most long marriages. Past infidelities are discussed and neatly tucked away; blame is meted out. As the visit continues, the two young lovers quickly begin to have doubts about their planned upcoming nuptials. The question, “What is love,” is frequently asked by everyone.
Margolis has directed a smooth seamless production. The pacing is unhurried and gentle and sincere, lacking obvious theatrics, making for a very satisfying evening, and the four participating actors are a beautifully balanced team.
The husband and wife (Ed and Millie) are played by Larry Sharp and Bonnie Black respectively. As characters they are comfortable with one another, as if to say too much water has gone over the dam for us to make any kind of fuss about anything, so why bother...
The burgeoning, determined lesbian, daughter, Rosalie, is neatly played by Melissa MacLeod Herion, and although beginning timidly, a tad unsure of herself and the situation she finds herself in, the character quickly gains strength and her scenes with her parents and Zoe take on a force of their own, becoming secure and honest and genuinely poignant.
Abby Lee … is very effective as the crusty, taxidermist (she has a stuffed wolf to give to Rosalie as a wedding present.) with a tough-as nails- attitude which doesn't really disguise the softy she really is. It is a nicely modulated performance.
Randall Parsons has designed a workable set, and a scene taking place in a rain storm is extremely well executed. Frank Den Danto III is a very capable lighting designer. Janet Sussman provided the appropriate clothes. Especially fun are the two, vastly different wedding outfits for Rosalie and Zoe, perfect for both characters.
The video design, by Brain Massman, mainly views of the scenery passing along the road north, is quite ingenious. . .
The original music is by Nicholas Chiaro and is quite good. Not only does it enhance all the scenes in which it is used, it could easily stand on its own as abstract music.
Go and feel good about yourself, see “Car Talk.” It is subtle, unassuming theater which will catch you completely off guard. For tickets call: 518-822-9667
'Car Talk' takes a long, mostly fun trip
By MICHAEL ECK, Special to the Times Union
HUDSON -- For the past 15 years, Stageworks has made a point of presenting and supporting new works and developing playwrights. The company's "Play By Play" series of short-play festivals alone has been a boon for writers, but artistic director Laura Margolis has also staged many regional and world premieres in Spencertown, Kinderhook and Hudson.
With "Car Talk," Stageworks is now offering its first full-length commission. The piece, written by Lucile Lichtblau, is actually the direct result of "Play By Play." Last season, Lichtblau's "Car Talk" was a 10-minute cameo about a middle-aged Jewish couple discovering their daughter was gay and discussing the topic while they drove to see her in Vermont.
Now it's a 90-minute show that's fleshed out with scenes that fill us in about life at home and in the Green Mountains. Lichtblau has a strong hand with dialogue and is able to paint broad pictures with brief strokes.
A scene in which daughter, Rosalie (Melissa MacLeod Herion), for example, confronts father, Ed (Larry Sharp), about past indiscretions is quick and cutting.
This ability to be concise and incisive has served Lichtblau well in "Play By Play," but it does lead to the full-length show feeling very episodic. Each scene could be the whole story in itself.
When it works, it works, and when it doesn't -- as in the penultimate scene that forces the comedy into too wide a grin -- it feels gratuitous.
Frankly, "Car Talk" would make a better 70-minute play.
Herion and Sharp are joined on stage, and in the car, by Bonnie Black as mother, Millie, and Abby Lee as taxidermist girlfriend Zoe.
There's plenty of good acting here, but Lichtblau is almost unforgiving in the range of emotions she asks for in her script. Occasionally that leaves reactions a bit muted as actors ready themselves for the next moment. Still, Sharp especially manages to create genuine tenderness and Black runs deep as a wronged wife who's lived with it for a long time.
Herion is a little over the top as Rosalie, with a Joan Cusack-like edge that is funny but borders on distracting. And Lee -- whose character is forceful and fearful -- almost overpowers her role and pushes the over-baked Texas accent too hard.
Margolis, who directs, handles the technical side of the play well, enlisting set designer Randall Parsons, lighting designer Frank Den Danto III, sound designer Ben Heyman and video designer Brian Massman to create the illusion of a family in the car.
Ultimately, though, the star here is Lichtblau, who, at age 72, has her first full-length play on stage. Caveats aside, it's worth the ride.
