items tagged with Matt Mercer

On Thursday, the District Theatre debuted a most admirable, impressive production of Martin McDonagh’s The Pillowman, a play boasting numerous surprises both major and minor. Yet if the reactions of a few of the evening’s audience members are to be trusted, it might be necessary to spoil a few right off the bat.

When the cast for the Harrison Hilltop Theatre’s Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street was revealed several weeks ago, I’ll admit I was concerned. While I’d previously admired the work of most of the actors, I wasn’t sure they were up to the tasks of the roles they’d been awarded – chiefly Tom Walljasper, cast as the titular barber. While Walljasper excels at comedic roles, I worried that, with his smirking, tongue-in-cheek style of delivery, he wouldn’t be able to carry the dramatic weight of Stephen Sondheim’s killer character. But after seeing Thursday’s opening-night performance, I’m pleased to admit that I was wrong. Very wrong; Walljasper’s ability to handle the role was apparent with the first lyric he sang, which carried with it a dark, sinister, intense appeal.

I fall for Adam Overberg’s onstage charm with every new performance. He has a demeanor, a presence, that captivates me, and he proves his diversity as an actor over and over again. With the Harrison Hilltop Theatre’s I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change, though, he adds singing to the long list of talents he possesses, and while his voice may lack polish, Overberg’s vocals remain enthralling through his interpretations and comedic delivery.

As we’ve come to annually expect, there was practically no end to the highlights from this past year in area theatre.

With its themes of loneliness, reality, death, the meaning (and absurdity) of life, and the search for self, playwright Samuel Beckett’s tragicomedy Waiting for Godot is considered, by some, to be the most significant English-language play of the 20th Century. Frankly, though, I didn’t search for meaning in the script during Thursday night’s Godot performance at the Harrison Hilltop Theatre, as I was too busy being entertained, to the point of loud laughter, by the captivating oddity of the dialogue and performances.