A Christmas Story

The day before I went to see A Christmas Story at Boise Little Theater, I mentioned my plans to a couple of my friends at our favorite pub. They told me they'd never seen the movie. Dumbfounded, I turned to the people on my left and said, "Would you believe these two have never seen A Christmas Story?" They replied that they hadn't, either. I was thunderstruck. After all, this is the movie that TNT plays as a 24-hour marathon every year at Christmas. There are pilgrimages to the house where the movie was filmed. I personally consider it as much of a Christmas tradition as baking gingersnaps or unwrapping all of the presents on Christmas Eve.

Boise Little Theater's production does a great job of playing upon that tradition. The script for the live-action version contains some new material that expands on the movie version nicely. There are more opportunities for Ralphie's imagination to enact scenarios where he beats the bad guys with his official Red Ryder carbine-action 200-shot range model air rifle with a compass in the stock, and this thing which tells time. And there's a sweet love story added between Ralphie, played admirably by Klive Hume, and one of his classmates, Esther Jane Alberry, played with great charm by Leah March.

All of the kids in the show do a remarkable job: Jaxson Thornton as Schwartz; Sean Hermansen as the unfortunate Flick, who gets his tongue stuck to a flagpole; Katherine McDonagh as the brilliant and tough Helen Weathers, Eilish McDonagh as Roxane, Conner Schow as the bully Scut Farkas; Grover Dill as Scut's toady; and Drye Gyllenskog as Ralphie's annoying, oddball, difficult-to-live-with little brother Randy.

The adults in the show do a great job of playing out both Ralphie's day-to-day life and his vivid imagination. Erin Van Engelen gets an A++++++ as Ralphie's teacher Miss Shields, who winds through his imagination as a Southern belle swept away by the power of his essay, and rapidly transforms to a witch who's in on a plot with his mother to deny him a BB gun. Mike Cronen plays the Old Man, and he does a wonderful job of switching abruptly to his normal behavior of swearing at the Bumpus hounds and the furnace and begging his wife to go shopping for Christmas turkeys to -- in Ralphie's imagination -- cowering beneath a table in fear of Black Bart and cheering with joy when Ralphie the Kid drops in to save the day. Likewise, Helene Myers, who plays Ralphie's mother, goes through her day convincing Randy to eat like a good little piggy and trying her best to keep the gaudy leg lamp out of the front window, until she's called upon by Ralphie's imagination to play an evil winged monkey or a damsel in distress.

The only thing I found disappointing in the show was how difficult it was sometimes to hear Mike Mullens, who played the adult Ralph, over some of the scene changes. Mullens had some entertaining monologues, but they sometimes got a bit drowned out by major set pieces being dragged around at the same time.

The show runs its last two days tonight and tomorrow night. Don't be like my friends from the pub. Seeing A Christmas Story is a tradition worth participating in -- and seeing it live is like finding that extra package behind the couch on Christmas morning.

Jacob Marley's Christmas Carol

You might expect that seeing "A Christmas Carol" told from the perspective of Ebenezer Scrooge's deceased partner Jacob Marley would be the most nontraditional aspect of this play.

You'd be wrong.

The show is strangely structured and strangely told. The actors break the fourth wall, looking at and talking to the audience. They wander around a mostly empty stage and describe the imagined scenery around them. They even narrate their own actions, then switch abruptly to dialogue with the other characters.

The show is sort of experimental and avant-garde, and that isn't for everyone. But if you decide to sit this one out, you'll be missing out on some excellent performances. Despite the minimal set and effects, the actors succeed in creating an intense atmosphere, making the nightmarish hellscape Marley is forced to wander and the larger-than-life spirits he encounters come to life with their words.

Curtis Ransom is excellent as Marley, bringing forth the man's sour disposition, fears, and madness, and transforming his character nicely as his character redeems himself and as he played the part of Scrooge's sometimes jovial, sometimes frightening visiting spirits. Bradley Campbell is equally bitter as Scrooge, but like Curtis Ransom, he does fine work depicting his character's transformation and has some fantastic reactions to the spirits. Courtney Ransom was impish as the Bogle, Marley's guide in the afterlife, and Lee Vander Boegh did a nice job as the endlessly amused recordkeeper.

The cast does a great job of getting past the strange aspects of the play and telling the story -- and it's a great version of the story. It's fascinating to watch Marley face his own demons and redeem himself.

Overall, the actors and director Jennifer Dunn keep the show grounded, giving it an emotional punch and keeping it entertaining. They made the story relatable and intriguing -- a difficult feat for a script that could have made for a very pretentious evening of theater. Instead, it's a wonderful show for the Christmas season, and that's all due to them. My Santa hat is off to them.

Roundup

December

• Dec. 3: Music Theatre of Idaho presents Annie, the musical about a Depression-era orphan who, with the help of the rich Oliver Warbucks and President Franklin D. Roosevelt, searches for her parents and foils a plot to claim her for reward money. The show runs at 7:30 Dec. 3-5 and 10-12 and 1:30 Dec. 5 and 12 at the Nampa Civic Center.
  
• Dec. 4: Knock 'Em Dead Dinner Theater presents A Season of Hope, the theater's annual selection of Christmas skits, readings and music. The show runs Dec. 4-5, 10-12 and 17-19 at 7:00 Thursdays and 8:00 Fridays and Saturdays at the theater on Ninth Street between Front and Myrtle. Dinner is served at 7:00 Fridays and Saturdays.
• Dec. 4-5: The Encore! Players present The Best Christmas Pageant Ever at 10:30 a.m. Dec. 4 and 7:00 Dec. 5 at the Morrison Center at Boise State University.
  
• Now through Dec. 5: The Boise State University Theatre Majors Association presents subUrbia, a dark comedy about aimless 20-somethings who meet a high school classmate who is now a famous musician at a gas station. The show runs at 7:30 Dec. 2-5 at the Danny Peterson Theatre in the Morrison Center on the BSU campus.
  
• Dec. 5-6: Opera Idaho presents Amahl and the Night Visitors, the story of a crippled boy who is healed during a visit with the Magi on their way to see Jesus. The show runs at 7:30 Dec. 5 and 2:30 Dec. 5 and 6 at the Egyptian Theater on Capitol and Main in Boise.
  
• Dec. 5: The Boise Art Museum opens Lasting Legacy, an exhibit of works from the museum's permanent collection.
• Dec. 6 and 13: Boise Contemporary Theater presents A Christmas Carol as part of its Family Reading Series at 2:00 at the Fulton Street Theater on Fulton and Ninth.
  
• Dec. 9: Alley Repertory Theater presents SEX a.k.a. Wieners and Boobs, about the new sheriff of a corrupt town run by a crime boss who operates brothels. The show runs Dec. 9-12 and 16-19 at 8:00 at the Visual Arts Collective on Osage behind the Woman of Steel Gallery on Chinden in Garden City.
• Dec. 11-13: Ballet Idaho and the Boise Philharmonic presents their annual production of The Nutcracker at 8:00 Dec. 11-12 and 2:00 Dec. 12-13 at the Morrison Center at Boise State University.
• Dec. 16: Company of Fools presents A Year with Frog and Toad, a musical based on the popular childrens' books by Arnold Lobel in which Frog and Toad learn life lessons and the value of friendship. The show runs at 7:00 Dec. 16-19, 22-23, 26, 29-30, and Jan. 2, at 3:00 Dec. 20, 24, 27, 31 and Jan. 3, and at 11:00 a.m. Dec. 26 and Jan. 2 at the Liberty Theater on Main Street in Hailey. The show also runs for two days in Twin Falls at 7:00 Jan. 8-9 and 11 a.m. Jan. 9 at the College of Southern Idaho Fine Arts Theatre.
  
• Dec. 18 and 20: Boise Master Chorale performs Handel's Messiah at 8:00 Dec. 18 at Valley Shepherd Church of the Nazarene on 150 Maestra St. off Meridian Road in Meridian and at 2:00 Dec. 20 at First United Methodist Church Cathedral of the Rockies at 717 N. 11th St. in Boise.
• Now through Dec. 19: Boise Contemporary Theater presents Animals out of Paper, a show about an origami artist, a calculus teacher and a talented student who are brought together by their love of origami. The show runs at 8:00 Dec. 2-5, 9-12 and 16-19 and 2:00 Dec. 5, 12 and 19 at the Fulton Street Theater at Ninth and Fulton in Boise.
• Now through Dec. 19: Boise Little Theater presents A Christmas Story, a comedy about a boy who wants a Red Ryder BB gun for Christmas. The show runs at 8:00 Dec. 4-5, 11-12 and 18, at 7:30 Dec. 3 and 10, and at 2:00 Dec. 6, 12 and 19 at the theater on Fort Street near Broadway.
• Now through Dec. 12: Stage Coach Theatre presents Jacob Marley's Christmas Carol, the story of Ebenezer Scrooge as told by his former partner Jacob Marley, who must redeem Scrooge in order to redeem himself. The show runs Dec. 3-6 and 10-12 at 7:30 Thursdays, 8:00 Fridays and Saturdays and 2:00 Sundays at the theater in the Hillcrest Shopping Center at Orchard and Overland.
• Now through Dec. 27: Prairie Dog Productions presents The Xmas Files! or Miracle at Area 51! at 7:15 Dec. 4-5, 11-12, 18-19 and 25-26 and 2:00 Dec. 13, 20 and 27 at 3820 Cassia in Boise.
• Now through Jan. 9: Starlight Mountain Theatre presents Irving Berlin's White Christmas, a musical about two friends in show business who find love while putting on a show at an inn in Vermont. The show runs Dec. 4-5, 11-12, 18-19 and 26, and Jan. 1-2 and 8-9 at 7:30 at 1851 Century Way in Boise.
  
• Now through Jan. 17: Boise Art Museum presents A Survey of Gee's Bend Quilts, a collection of abstract quilts created by women in the African-American community of Gee's Bend, Alabama.
  
• Now through March 14: Boise Art Museum presents Patchwork, a collection of quilts from the early 1800s through the mid-20th century.
• Now through April 18: Boise Art Museum presents Idea as Art: Contemporary Works on Paper, a selection of abstract drawings by such artists as Sol Lewitt and Mel Bochner.

Three Tall Women

Pulitzer Prize-winning script, excellent dramatic tension, fine performances, yadda yadda yadda ... What you need to know about this show is that, despite the fact that it's a drama, it's hilarious.

In less skilled hands, with less polished timing and delivery, the play could have been a lot of rambling monologues about riding horses. But Mikenzie Ames, Patti O'Hara and especially Nancy Suiter bring humor to almost every aspect of the play.

Just watching Suiter's maudlin sobbing was enough to make the audience hysterical, let alone when she tells naughty stories and uses racial slurs. I really think her repetitive monologues about riding could have been dull delivered by most actresses, but she makes even them entertaining.

O'Hara shows a nice range, portraying the consummate, patient caretaker -- even laughing off Suiter's accusations that she's been stealing from her, and excusing the old woman's myriad faults -- all through the first act, then suddenly turning to fury and outrage when her son comes back in her life.

It would be hard to keep up with these two, but Ames did a great job, telling her sex stories with relish and approaching the two other women with a sort of superior, righteous indignation that occasionally relaxes into warmth before she remembers why she can't stand them.

The Alley Repertory show closes this weekend at the Visual Arts Collective behind the Woman of Steel Gallery on Chinden. It starts at 8:00 Friday and Saturday (not at 7:00 as I mistakenly posted earlier in my roundup).

Roundup

November

• Now through Nov. 7: Boise Contemporary Theater presents The Pavilion, a show about a man and his high school sweetheart who split up years ago and are meeting again at their 20th reunion. The show runs Nov. 4-7 at 8:00 Wednesday through Saturday and 2:00 Saturdays at the theater on Fulton Street.
• Now through Nov. 8: Company of Fools presents The Syringa Tree, a one-woman show about the love between two families, one black and one white, who share a house and whose children grow up together under apartheid in 1960s South Africa. The show runs Nov. 4-5 at 7:00, Nov. 6-7 at 8:00, and Nov. 8 at 3:00 at The Liberty Theatre on Main Street in Hailey.
• Now through Nov. 8: Boise Art Museum exhibits sculpture by Ann Weber called Corrugated. The pieces are made from cardboard, are woven into giant gourd-like spires, and are up to 16 feet tall.
• Now through Nov. 14: Starlight Mountain Theatre presents Little Shop of Horrors, a musical about a carnivorous plant named Audrey II, at 7:30 Nov. 7 and 13-14 and at midnight Nov. 6 at The Star Theatre at 1851 Century Way.
• Now through Nov. 14: Knock 'Em Dead Dinner Theatre presents the Rodgers and Hammerstein classic The Sound of Music about a would-be nun who becomes governess to seven children around the time of the Nazi invasion of Austria. The show runs Nov. 5-7 and 12-14 at 7:00 Thursdays and 8:00 Fridays and Saturdays at the theater on Ninth Street between Front and Myrtle. Dinner is served at 7:00 Fridays and Saturdays.
• Nov. 15: As part of its Family Reading Series, Boise Contemporary Theater presents Robin Hood at 2 p.m. at the Fulton Street Theater at Ninth and Fulton in Boise.
  
• Nov. 15: The Boise Baroque Orchestra presents a concert of selections by Corelli, Vivaldi, Handel and Rameau at 2:00 at the First United Methodist Church/Cathedral of the Rockies on 11th Street in Boise.
  
• Now through Nov. 15: Boise Art Museum presents Kid Stuff, an exhibit of art geared toward children by artists Deborah Barrett, Alexander Calder, Michael Corney, Benjamin Jones, Marianne Kolb, Marilyn Lanfear, David Gillhooley, Marilyn Lysohir, Renda Palmer and others.
• Nov. 20-21: The Boise Philharmonic presents a concert of Tchaikovsky music at 8:00 Nov. 20 in the Swayne Auditorium at Northwest Nazarene University in Nampa, and at 8:00 Nov. 21 at the Morrison Center at Boise State University. The Philharmonic will also present a shortened version of the concert at 11:00 a.m. at the Morrison Center Nov. 21.
  
• Now through Nov. 21: Alley Repertory Theater presents Edward Albee's Three Tall Women, about a young lawyer, a middle-aged caregiver and a rich, bitter elderly matron who are uniquely intertwined. The show runs Nov. 13-14 and 19-21 at 8:00 at the Visual Arts Collective behind the Woman of Steel Gallery on Chinden in Garden City.
• Now through Nov. 21: The College of Idaho Theatre Department presents Season's Greetings, a story about a tense household on Christmas Eve and a newcomer who arrives with a bag of surprises. The show runs Nov. 12-14 and 19-21 at 7:30 and Nov. 22 at 2:00 at the Langroise Studio Theatre at C of I in Caldwell.
  
• Nov. 22: The Boise Philharmonic Youth Orchestra performs works by composers including Mozart and Dvorak at 7:00 at Borah High School on Cassia and Curtis Road.
• Now through Nov. 22: Boise State University's Theatre Arts Department presents Shakespeare's As You Like It, a comedy about the daughter of a duke who flees to the Forest of Arden and dresses up as a boy when her uncle usurps the duchy and exiles her father. The show runs at 7:30 Nov. 13-15 and 18-22 at the Danny Peterson Theatre in the Morrison Center.
  
• Nov. 24: Boise Contemporary Theater presents Animals out of Paper, a show about an origami artist, a calculus teacher and a talented student who are brought together by their love of origami. The show runs at 8:00 Nov. 24-25, 27-28 and Dec. 2-5, 9-12 and 16-19 and 2:00 Dec. 5, 12 and 19 at the Fulton Street Theater at Ninth and Fulton in Boise.
• Nov. 27: Boise Little Theater presents A Christmas Story, a comedy about a boy who wants a Red Ryder BB gun for Christmas. The show runs at 8:00 Nov. 27-28 and Dec. 4-5, 11-12 and 18, at 7:30 Dec. 3 and 10, and at 2:00 Dec. 6, 12 and 19 at the theater on Fort Street near Broadway.
• Nov. 27: Stage Coach Theatre presents Jacob Marley's Christmas Carol, the story of Ebenezer Scrooge as told by his former partner Jacob Marley, who must redeem Scrooge in order to redeem himself. The show runs Nov. 27-28 and Dec. 3-6 and 10-12 at 7:30 Thursdays, 8:00 Fridays and Saturdays and 2:00 Sundays at the theater in the Hillcrest Shopping Center at Orchard and Overland.
• Nov. 27: Prairie Dog Productions presents The Xmas Files! or Miracle at Area 51! at 7:15 Nov. 27-28 and Dec. 4-5, 11-12, 18-19 and 25-26 and 2:00 Dec. 13, 20 and 27 at 3820 Cassia in Boise.
• Nov. 27: Starlight Mountain Theatre presents Irving Berlin's White Christmas, a musical about two friends in show business who find love while putting on a show at an inn in Vermont. The show runs Nov. 27-28, Dec. 4-5, 11-12, 18-19 and 26, and Jan. 1-2 and 8-9 at 7:30 at 1851 Century Way in Boise.
  
• Now through Jan. 17: Boise Art Museum presents A Survey of Gee's Bend Quilts, a collection of abstract quilts created by women in the African-American community of Gee's Bend, Alabama.
  
• Now through March 14: Boise Art Museum presents Patchwork, a collection of quilts from the early 1800s through the mid-20th century.
• Now through April 18: Boise Art Museum presents Idea as Art: Contemporary Works on Paper, a selection of abstract drawings by such artists as Sol Lewitt and Mel Bochner.
  

Art of Murder

Stage Coach Theatre's Art of Murder is a tight, tense, intriguing little thriller.

Because it's such a brisk-paced show, the actors presented a dramatic reading of Edgar Allen Poe's Tell-Tale Heart before the first act began. The actors did a really nice recitation, holding the audience's attention with what was essentially four long monologues.

The show itself has a lot of twists and turns. I was already familiar with the script, so I missed out on some of the suspense for that reason. But in particular, the scenes where that take place in pitch black, with screams and shots and unidentifiable noises, still gave me chills.

Anthony Polidori plays Jack Brooks, a famous hotshot artist who has lost his touch. His dealer can't seem to sell his newest work, Study in Red 4, and Jack is busy making horrible collages of shoes. Jennifer Bertino-Polidori plays Annie Brooks, his wife and an artist in her own right. The play starts off tense when Jack displays his domineering side, trying to force himself on the couple's maid and insisting on seeing Annie's latest work, then criticizing it and telling her to destroy it. Watching Jack's callousness and Annie's seemingly broken spirit in this moment creates a brutish, nasty little scene that sets the tone for the rest of the play.

The other two actors -- the maid, Kate, played by Amanda Jacob, and Jack's art dealer Vincent Cummings, played by Frederic Webb, do a good job. Webb is a little over-the-top at times, but does well depicting growing anxiety as the evening progresses and pulls off his final scene with a nice amount of wounded pride. The Jacob pulls off her part well, including the Irish accent.

The show is in its last weekend. If you're looking to take in a little live theater, Art of Murder is a picture-perfect thriller for the Halloween season.

Roundup

October

• Oct. 21: Company of Fools presents The Syringa Tree, a one-woman show about the love between two families, one black and one white, who share a house and whose children grow up together under apartheid in 1960s South Africa. The show runs Oct. 21-22, 28-29, and Nov. 4-5 at 7:00, Oct. 23-24, 30-31 and Nov. 6-7 at 8:00, and Oct. 25, and Nov. 1 and 8 at The Liberty Theatre on Main Street in Hailey.
• Oct. 23 and 24: The Boise Philharmonic and guest pianist Kevin Cole present a concert of several selections by George Gershwin and Leroy Anderson at 8:00 Oct. 23 at the Swayne Auditorium at Northwest Nazarene University and at 8:00 Oct. 24 at the Morrison Center at Boise State University.
• Oct. 23: Starlight Mountain Theatre presents Little Shop of Horrors, a musical about a carnivorous plant named Audrey II, at 7:30 Oct. 23-24 and 30-31 and Nov. 7 and 13-14 and at midnight Oct. 30 and Nov. 6 at The Star Theatre at 1851 Century Way.
• Now through Oct. 24: Stage Coach Theatre presents Art of Murder, a thriller about an eccentric painter, his accomplished wife, and his plans to do away his art dealer. The show runs Oct. 17-18 and 22-24 at 7:30 Thursday, 8:15 Friday and Saturday, and 2:00 Sunday at the theater at Orchard and Overland in the Hillcrest Shopping Center.
• Oct. 30 and Nov. 1: Opera Idaho presents Gounod's Faust, the tale of a man who makes a deal with the devil, at 7:30 Oct. 30 and 2:30 Nov. 1 at the South Junior High auditorium.
• Oct. 31: Humorist David Sedaris will give a reading of his works at 7:30 at the Morrison Center at Boise State University.
  
• Now through Oct. 31: Boise Little Theater presents The Mousetrap, an Agatha Christie tale of a group of strangers staying at a remote, snowed-in cabin, when a murder takes place and the guests have to determine who the murderer is. The show runs Oct. 17, 22-24 and 29-31 at 7:30 Thursdays and 8:00 Fridays and Saturdays, and at 2:00 Oct. 25 and 31 at the theater on Fort Street just off Broadway Ave.
• Now through Oct. 31: Music Theatre of Idaho presents the musical Disney's Beauty and the Beast at 7:30 Oct. 23-24 and 29-31 and 1:30 Oct. 24 and 31 at the Nampa Civic Center.
  
• Now through Oct. 31: Prairie Dog Productions presents Tales from the DorkSide 17-18, 23-25 and 30-31 at 7:15 Fridays and Saturdays and 2:00 Sundays at 3820 Cassia St.
  
• Now through Nov. 8: Boise Art Museum exhibits sculpture by Ann Weber called Corrugated. The pieces are made from cardboard, are woven into giant gourd-like spires, and are up to 16 feet tall.
• Now through Nov. 7: Boise Contemporary Theater presents The Pavilion, a show about a man and his high school sweetheart who split up years ago and are meeting again at their 20th reunion. The show runs Oct. 21-24, 28-31 and Nov. 4-7 at 8:00 Wednesday through Saturday and 2:00 Saturdays at the theater on Fulton Street.
• Now through Nov. 14: Knock 'Em Dead Dinner Theatre presents the Rodgers and Hammerstein classic The Sound of Music about a would-be nun who becomes governess to seven children around the time of the Nazi invasion of Austria. The show runs Oct. 22-24, 29-31 and Nov. 5-7 and 12-14 at 7:00 Thursdays and 8:00 Fridays and Saturdays at the theater on Ninth Street between Front and Myrtle. Dinner is served at 7:00 Fridays and Saturdays.
  
• Now through Nov. 15: Boise Art Museum presents Kid Stuff, an exhibit of art geared toward children by artists Deborah Barrett, Alexander Calder, Michael Corney, Benjamin Jones, Marianne Kolb, Marilyn Lanfear, David Gillhooley, Marilyn Lysohir, Renda Palmer and others.
• Now through March 14: Boise Art Museum presents Patchwork, a collection of quilts from the early 1800s through the mid-20th century.