By Dottie Ashley

Post and Courier Reviewer

‘Anderson Illusions - A World Beyond Reality,’ a blend of magic, music and audience participation, seemed to be just what the large audience that nearly filled the Footlight Players’ 240 seats, wanted on Sunday afternoon. Families came to savor the talents of Russell Anderson, singer and illusionist, who made a very nervous bunny suddenly appear in an empty cage, and made you laugh at his frequent ad libs in this Piccolo Spoleto production.

Anderson, who lives in Elloree, about 70 miles up the road from Charleston, attracted friends and neighbors and family. At intermission they told of how the show’s star had made their town proud when he started singing as a child.

Although the largely down-home production failed to match the advance publicity promising ‘Las Vegas illusions,’ Anderson did succeed in executing several pretty astonishing magic tricks, especially when he made Allison West, one of his assistants, levitate and then disappear into a puff of smoke.

Inspired by the great master magician Houdini, he also placed another assistant Morgan Fanning, 16, in a box and made her disappear and re-appear. However, it would be best if the young magician cut back on the rope tricks, which were far too complex.

Striking a sort of Christian-oriented Vegas-style tone, Anderson filled the theater with his well-trained singing voice. He jump-started the show with a rendition of Jerry Lee Lewis’ ‘Great Balls of Fire,’ which included audience participation.

Finally, he left the audience with some sound advice: ‘There is magic all around you every day, if only you open your eyes to see it.’

The show will be repeated on Saturday.

Written by Jason Fox Berger

The women of CatNip! devouring a male colleague

For many years the comedy troupe CatNip! has been a “No Boys Allowed” club; An all-female group known as much for its exclusivity as for its hilarious improvised antics. But Friday night, at Theatre 99, the thick walls of segregation that have long surrounded this clan came tumbling down.

Wielding the sledgehammers of equality were Frank Caeti, one half of the improv duo Frankenmatt, and Joe Canele, of Chicago’s Second City. These modern day Rosa Parks’ heroically went where no men had gone before: Onstage with CatNip!, sharing the spotlight with these very funny women and adding a large dose of X chromosomes to what had previously been a Y’s-only affair.

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Another delightful back-to-back comedy feast at Theatre 99. This is the last one for THIS 2009 17-day arts festival.

The good news: Charleston  improv comedy continues all year long.

Greg Tavares welcomed the sold out crowd Saturday night and proudly proclaimed his group The Have Nots has been active now for 14 years and the insanity will continue. Hooray!

(My blog  http://chuckography.blogspot.com has several pictures of this fun evening but, as usual, I have not conquered how to post photos HERE.)

The first 90-minute show was Upright Citizens Brigade. They announced they were the touring company as opposed to the real people I guess you would see if you caught the show up in Boston.

A sweet volunteer came onstage and they rifled her purse, wallet, her several id badges as well as her Weight Watchers diary to gather fodder for the first half of their show. They ran with it and a great exaggerated image emerged.

Shouted actions and places came from the audience for the comedy flashpoints the rest of the evening.

The next show - the finale - was almost three hours of hilarity. Many of the performers from the last two weeks came back for the reprise and all the stops were pulled out. Rude words were heard. Lewd actions were pantomimed. In short, a good time was had by all and only one couple seemed to have disappeared.

The troupe Cupid Has A Heart On waved a farewll to the standing, applauding audience.

My stint as an ersatz Spoleto reporter has ended for another year. I hope I’m invited to play again next year.

If you’re in the mood for scandal and risqué tales of decadence, College of Charleston’s Piccolo Spoleto Stelle di Domani production of ‘Quills’ will definitely fit the bill. Also, if you’re looking for great, young talent that serves the subject well and makes you forget that they’re still in college, you’re in luck.

After leaving the Theatre 220 show, a few things came to mind. First, make sure that you familiarize yourself with who the Marquis de Sade is. I had imagined that the majority of the patrons would have been familiar with the story of the French aristocrat who sought the ultimate pleasure at all times and whose novels of sadism and other controversial subjects enraged readers during the French Revolution era. Judging by the gasps that I heard when stories were acted out, it seems that this was not the case. To depict the obscene stories that the Marquis was obsessed with, actors stood behind a white sheet and served as Shadow Puppets for the acts, which were very sensational and creatively mastered.

Second, as you’re watching the Marquis de Sade describe these stories as they’re acted out, you realize that they’re not all that far-fetched from some of the horrors that we hear about in the present day. For a man that was considered so depraved that he spent almost half of his life in insane asylums, you start to feel bad for the guy. Was he just ahead of his time or was he really the monster that they made him out to be? Also, the fact that the full frontal nudity lasts for over an hour is quite an undertaking in itself.

A talented cast and an exciting story, ‘Quills’ is an excellent choice for those looking for a thrill.

By Loretta Haskell
Post and Courier Reviewer

The life of Jackson Pollock, as well as his contribution to twentieth century abstract expressionist art, is rich in material for anyone interested into delving into the creative mind and lifestyle. The Contemporary Theatre Lab premiered Richard Rashke’s ‘Season to Season’ last night at the Footlight Players Theatre and offered us yet another perspective of the famous painter’s life and work.

Actors Kristen Kos as Lee Krasner, JC Conway as Jackson Pollock, Linda Eisen as Peggy Guggenheim, David Abrams as Harold and Jacqualine Helmer as Stella Pollock, performed ‘Season to Season’ in a strong opening performance.

Making art is never easy and ‘Season to Season’ addresses the various personalities and interpersonal dynamics that are a part of the process. Condensing the lives of five very complicated people is not an easy task and Rashke has taken a very strong point of view in his writing of this play. The responsibility for the ensemble to do it justice in the two-hour running time is an even greater responsibility.

The Contemporary Theatre Lab is a new local company and just beginning to experiment locally as an ensemble with repertoire. With more time working together, a dedicated rehearsal and performance space, and the opportunity to workshop different repertoire, it promises to be a relevant new theatre lab in Charleston.

‘Season to Season’ will be performed again today at 9 p.m., on Friday at 5 p.m., and on Saturday at 6 p.m. Note that this performance contains adult language.

Wow, Spoleto-Piccolo just keeps coming at you. And I’m only barely involved.

Two nights of great Blues at DoughRe-Mi in Mt. Pleasant followed by two nights of Gypsy Jazz and Gypsy Swing at Charleston Music Hall and upstairs at Mistral.

The next night was smooth jazz and the next was  two back-to-back LOL comedy acts at Theatre 99.

Oh boy..a fantastic Punk Rock musical (I always carry my own ear plugs) and then my calendar noted “time out.”

Skip to the next evening, ukulele at The Cistern got me fired up again, followed by Miss Tess at Tin Roof, Little Feat at the Music Farm and, last night, back to festival fare: The Matt Walsh Blues Trio (two Matts and a Roger) at The Mill.

They had played an early set downtown at Mad River and were “relaxing” with another two sets near Park Circle.

Tonight I’ll see Tab Benoit at the Pour House.

Am I the only one who actually schedules a “time out” on their calendar during Spoleto?

I know, I know … alliteration sucks. But it so totally fits when you’re talking about the ’80s. And I am. More specifically, Charlie Ross’ ’80s Blank Tape show at Theatre 99 tonight.

First, he’s only doing this one more time this year. Tomorrow, May 27th, at 7 p.m. Go see it if you missed it tonight. Trust me.

Now, on to the review!

While I heard some theater-goers say they would have appreciated an explanation of the show before he got into his act, I was actually pretty OK with the fact that Ross jumped right in. It jolted me into to paying attention. Trying to figure out what was going on.

Basically, as Ross himself put it, it’s a performance piece about a battle of the sexes between him and his sisters that played out on a blank tape from the ’80s. He came across the tape in his parents’ things and it contained bits and pieces of all sorts of  ’80s gems: “The Karate Kid,” “Dirty Dancing,” SNL, Barbie commercials (including Dead Beat Barbie and Dream … Barbie — let’s just say that one comes with Pimp Ken), and that monthly required French-Canadian music  programming (Ross is Canadian).

If you’ve seen his One Man Star Wars show, you know the kind of night you’re in for. Ross appears on stage donning a simple black jumpsuit and head mic, focusing all his energy into the performance. And I mean all his energy. Ross was dripping with sweat by the end of the show because he gets so into it.

’80s Blank Tape is great in many ways. The disjointed nature of the show adds to the realism of the blank tape scenario. Ross switches rather seemlessly between the Young and the Restless and Close Encounters. The jumps are crazy and sometimes hard to follow, but I think I’m just crazy enough to love that kind of stuff.

Just had to add a post (beyond a “thumbs up” comment) to the post Laura made for
“The Complete History of Charleston for Morons”
“A funny history lesson”

I loved how they brought the audience in, starting with “man on the street” recorded interviews to conclude,
“We need clueless individuals for our tourism economy.”
Within five minutes the audience was cheering themselves,
chanting “MO-rons, MO-rons, MO-rons, MO-rons!”

This is a bit hard to explain outside of the magic of the theater,
but stay with me here:
There’s a scene from a Pig-Pickin’ …
spoken in Shakespearean prose …
that leads to a memorable argument
regarding barbecue sauces…
“What’s in a sauce? Would a sauce by any other name taste just as..”
“… Don’t make me bow up on you!”
Eternal predicaments of the human situation
for us MO-rons to ponder.

all together now, “MO-rons, MO-rons, MO-rons!”

Theater 99 and The Have Nots
280 Meeting St # B Charleston, SC 29401
(843) 853-6687
thehavenots2000@aol.com

Theatre 99 is located at 280 Meeting Street above the Bicycle Shoppe. Walk to the back of the building and you will see the stairs to the entrance. Click for map and more info.

The entrance is up the stairs at the back of the building. Parking is available in metered spaces on Meeting Street and the garages on George and Wentworth Streets.
They have a bar serving beer, wine and soft drinks. Non-smoking venue.

Four women play dumb but think so fast they cause eyes to bug-out at their improv and role playing skills.
How can they keep it up for 60 minutes?
Using audience suggestions they jumped into a cascade of stereotyped personas: Polish, Chicagoan, Japanese, vampires, goth teenagers, pathetic parents, and (my favorites) jumped genders and became male By-Gawd Texans, dudes, rednecks, threatened to kick hunger’s *ss, and mocked-up a mini-battle between North and South Carolina.
GO! to their show. They love to show off.
“Mary Kay Has a Posse” is legendary in Charleston.
Improv can be an unsettling high-wire act but the gifted performances from these femmes leaves you nurtured, noticed, cared-for.
If you’re lucky you’ll get picked on. . .
I didn’t but I’m going back again.
I’m crushing on all four of the Mary Kay Posse women.

~ hidden camera image from Theater 99 ~

Theater 99 and The Have Nots
280 Meeting St # B Charleston, SC 29401
(843) 853-6687
thehavenots2000@aol.com

Theatre 99 is located at 280 Meeting Street above the Bicycle Shoppe. Walk to the back of the building and you will see the stairs to the entrance. Click for map and more info.

The entrance is up the stairs at the back of the building. Parking is available in metered spaces on Meeting Street and the garages on George and Wentworth Streets.
They have a bar serving beer, wine and soft drinks. Non-smoking venue.