Vera Locke Whiteway

3 Cheers For A Fresh Start That Follows The Pa Circus

By MARY THERESE BIEBEL mbiebel@leader.net
 Friday, January 14, 2005 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 3 





There's a scene in Neil Simon's ``Plaza Suite'' where a bride-to-be locks
herself in a bathroom. Her father, anxious that she go through with the `I
do,' provides one of the play's funniest moments. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 ``He ... ends up crawling out a window so he can climb in through the
bathroom window,'' Bracken Theatre spokeswoman Kelly Clisham said. ``That
doesn't go as well as he hoped.'' &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Now, rather than speculate about whether dear old dad succeeds in
convincing dear young daughter, let's just imagine him out on the ledge,
facing the elements. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 It was never quite that bad for Bracken Theatre, a gypsy troupe without a
permanent home. They weren't exactly outside crying in the rain. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Still, they're delighted and grateful to have a home base for the next few
months - at the Waterfront Banquet Facility in Plains Township, where owner
Ross Spengler has invited them to present a dinner-theater production every
month through April. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The first offering debuts tonight, and it happens to be ``Plaza Suite.'' &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 ``It's almost like three one-acts,'' said Clisham, who appears in the
second act with her real-life husband, Paul. They play a Hollywood director
and the suburban housewife who once was his high school sweetheart. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 In the first act, Rob and Karen Padden portray a husband and wife
celebrating their anniversary at a rocky point in their marriage. In the third
act, Louise Nork Stuart and Warren Rosengrant play the couple, whose daughter
is reluctant to end up like them. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 All three segments take place in the same hotel suite - at different times,
of course. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 ``This is something brand new for us,'' Clisham said. ``We build the set
off site and put it together here. It's all got to be very portable ... We're
excited and a little nervous.'' &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Helping to make things run smoothly is director John Sherrick, a founding
member of Bracken Theatre back in 1977. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Curtain time for ``Plaza Suite'' is 8 tonight and tomorrow night. Dinner
will be served at 6:30 p.m., with a choice of prime rib or chicken Athena.
Tickets are $30. Call 270-5862. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Babe shot her husband and is facing a trial. She makes herself feel better
by making lemonade. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Her older sister, Meg, is still dealing with the aftermath of finding their
mother's body after she committed suicide by hanging herself - along with the
family cat - in the basement. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 As for Lenny, the oldest sister, ``She's basically the mother hen. She's
always had the responsibility of taking care of their grandfather,'' explained
Paul Winarski, who directs the tortured trio in ``Crimes of the Heart,'' which
opens tonight at Applause Theatre in Duryea. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 ``There's a lot of Gothic Southern humor here,'' Winarski said. ``It tends
to be very black and deal with death. There's a morbid sensibility.'' &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 At one point in the play, Winarski said, Babe and Lenny tell Meg their
grandfather had a stroke. After that, whenever anybody mentions `stroke' they
collapse into laughter. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Critics have said playwright Beth Henley, who won a Pulitzer Prize in 1981
for ``Crimes of the Heart,'' has a knack for blending the bizarre with the
mundane and for showing the strength of the sisterly bond, despite all kinds
of rivalry and rages. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Winarski agrees and says audiences will appreciate Henley's
``introspective, character-driven style.'' &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Applause Theatre will present ``Crimes of the Heart'' tonight through Jan.
23 at 409-411 Main St., Duryea. Show times are 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays
and 3 p.m. Sundays. Tickets are $12. Call 457-4115. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Tonight, the Celtic fusion duo of Greg and Sara, more formally known as
Greg Anderson and Sara Milonovich, will bring to the Chicory House ``tunes
from other countries and planets ...'' &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Hmmm. Will there be a song from Neptune perhaps? Or Jupiter? &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Anderson's laugh crackles over the phone line. ``We don't like to release
too much information because NASA will be breathing down our throats.'' &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Then he explains just how that tidbit got into a press release. ``It
springs from not taking oneself too seriously.'' &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Yet Greg and Sara are serious about their music, blending various
traditions to create their own eclectic sound. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 ``For one piece, we threw together some traditional fiddle tunes - an
American Cajun tune paired with a tune from Central France paired with a tune
from Northern Italy, and all played in a style that accentuates their
similarities.'' &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Sara will play the fiddle for that number, and Greg expects to play another
stringed instrument - a guitar or bouzouki or mandolin. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 ``We line up all the instruments behind us and grab whatever's in reach,''
he said, chuckling again. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Seriously now, concertgoers can expect to hear Greg and Sara play some
pieces from their debut CD, ``Forward in All Directions,'' which they recorded
on a farm owned by Sara's family in upstate New York. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 ``Her father is building a house, and we took a big, unfinished room and
set up all our gear. It was wonderfully relaxing, and the acoustics were
great.'' &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Sara and Greg's local performance begins at 8 tonight in the community room
of St. Stephen's Episcopal Church, 35 S. Franklin St., Wilkes-Barre. Doors
open at 7:30 p.m. Admission is $12 per person or $9 for supporting members of
the concert series. Call 825-8772 or visit www.ChicoryHouse.org. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 MDRV STACEY, PLEASE USE ALL 3 PHOTOS. Thanks. MTB &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 TIMES LEADER STAFF PHOTO/DON CAREY &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Louise Nork Stuart and Warren Rosengrant play a couple trying to talk their
daughter out of the bathroom on her wedding day in `Plaza Suite.' Bracken
Theatre will give a dinner-theater presentation of the Neil Simon comedy
tonight and tomorrow at the Waterfront Banquet Facility. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 TIMES LEADER STAFF PHOTO/PETE G. WILCOX &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Dawn Winarski plays one of three Southern sisters in `Crimes of the Heart'
at Applause Theatre, and Joe Palumbo portrays a lawyer who aims to keep the
youngest sibling out of prison. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 PHOTO COURTESY CHICORY HOUSE &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Celtic fusion artists Greg and Sara will bring their eclectic blend of
traditional and contemporary music to the Chicory House tonight. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

'suite' Experience For Bracken