items tagged with Jean Melillo

Based on the reputation of the Tuna plays and remembering how heartily I laughed during a recent production of A Tuna Christmas, I expected the original piece in the series, Greater Tuna, to be, well, funnier. That’s not to say that the Richmond Hill Barn Theatre’s production of this comedy isn’t without laughs – they’re just not side-splitting ones. Still, thanks to the two actors who impressively handle 20 roles between them, director James Fairchild’s staging of authors' Jaston Williams’, Joe Sears’, and Ed Howard’s play is adequately diverting, and good for an evening’s entertainment.

About two minutes into Thursday night’s performance of The Importance of Being Earnest, I panicked, knowing there were still two more hours of what had so far been – and seemed likely to continue to be – a flat, humorless presentation of playwright Oscar Wilde’s work. Fortunately, though, my fears were mostly unfounded, as the Richmond Hill Barn Theatre’s production improved as it progressed, and greatly improved with the arrival of the play’s female characters.

One of Joe DePauw's smartest directorial choices for the Richmond Hill Barn Theatre's A Turn for the Nurse was to avoid camp. His cast doesn't play the crime farce for laughs and, as a result, may get more of them than they otherwise might've; to be sure, Saturday's audience was offering up laughter aplenty throughout the performance.
Read More About Will And Grace Notes: “A Turn For The Nurse,” At The Richmond Hill Barn Theatre Through July 18...

Saturday night's performance of Marvin's Room marks the first time I'd seen a Richmond Hill Players production. When previously invited to see one of their shows, I cited reasons not to attend, mostly balking at the seemingly long drive out to Geneseo. I spent much of Saturday's intermission chastising myself for not making the shorter-than-expected trip sooner.

Five Extraordinary Ensembles

An actor friend of mine says he always wants to be the worst performer in everything he's in, because if the rest of the cast is doing stronger work than he is, that means the show is in really, really good shape. With that in mind, any actor worth his or her salt would be thrilled to be the worst performer among these five ensembles.