Provincetown opens rep schedule with Dorothy Parker deep dive; In Cotuit, bipolar, nukes

The Provincetown Theater opened its “4-Star Solo Show Festival” with “That Dorothy Parker,” written and performed by Carol Lempert and directed by Janice Goldberg. It was a great start for the festival, which offers a new play every week through June 30.

Visit www.provincetowntheater.org for reservations and see below for a full list of what is coming.

Dorothy Parker, well-known early 20^th century writer and original member of the Algonquin Round Table comes back to life through actress and playwright Lempert.  In this one-woman memory play, Mrs. Parker tells select stories about her life centered on relationships with her contemporaries including Alexander Woollcott, George S. Kaufman, Robert Benchley, Ernest Hemingway and her second and third husband Alan Campbell.

Not only  does "That Dorothy Parker" make you feel the salty writer is back from the dead, it also offered insight into her illustrious colleagues and fellow members of the well-known Algonquin Table.

By Shannon Goheen, Contributing writer

'That Dorothy Parker'

Written and performed by: Carol Lempert from the words and works of Dorothy Parker

What it’s about: Dorothy Parker, or Mrs. Parker as she calls herself, lives alone in a Manhattan Hotel with her dog where she fixates on “words, words, words.”  On the day her long-time friend Alexander Woollcott dies, she leaves her room to fetch dog treats and encounters a crowd in the lobby (the audience).  She addresses them with wit and stories, launching into a memory play about her life, her literary associates and her lovers.  The play is bookended with the death of Woollcott and the device neatly corrals her stories into a cohesive whole.  After watching this play, there’s no misunderstanding about who Parker was and how her coming of age in the Roaring 20s shaped her life and writing.

Highlight of the show:  There isn’t a single moment in this 90-minute presentation that isn’t totally engrossing and fascinating.  Lempert’s Mrs. Parker is spellbinding, witty, fast-talking and bitingly observant with few if any social filters.  Lempert’s perfect timing and flawless delivery of her lines and stage movements reflects on her skill as an actress and the oversight of director Janice Goldberg. Lempert infuses her portrayal of Parker with an underlying gentleness and loving respect for the woman who brought us such gems as “You can lead a horticulture but you can’t make her think,” and “the department of redundancy department.”

Fun fact: Dorothy Parker (1893-1967) was a famous theater critic, author, book reviewer, poet, movie writer and one of the original Algonquin Round Table members.  She was fired early on from her role as theater critic at Vanity Fair for making a crack about a magazine advertiser’s wife, and later sold her first bestseller “Enough Rope” that propelled her into success. She attempted suicide more than once but managed to outlive all of her Round Table friends as well as her husband. She is described as a “wit” about which she said “Wit has truth in it. Wisecracking is simply calisthenics with words.” She was a master of both.

See it or not:  The theater is a great place to learn about personalities from our collective past.  Lempert as Parker makes an excellent teacher, bringing Parker to life, transcending the years between then and now as if she’s still there in her hotel, cuddling with her little dog, and constantly dreaming up “words, words, words.”

Worth noting: Lempert and Goldberg are a powerful combination. Lempert, an award-winning actress, playwright and teacher has created three solo shows. “That Dorothy Parker” was nominated for a Canadian Comedy Award and she has a comedy troupe called “Comedy On Wry” in her home state of New Jersey.  Goldberg specializes in directing new plays and won The Kennedy Center Gold Medallion Award for doing so. She is also a playwright and educator.  Between the two of them, Lempert and Goldberg know how to put a show together which “That Dorothy Parker” so clearly demonstrates.

One more thing: “That Dorothy Parker” is not only a history lesson about this influential American but also includes fascinating gems about her contemporaries such as the once most powerful theater critic in New York, Alexander Woollcott - whom Parker called “Mother”- and George S. Kaufman who collaborated on more than 40 Broadway productions such as “You Can’t Take It With You.”  Parker’s close friend Robert Benchley, drama critic and writer for “Life” and “The New Yorker” magazines, was particularly dear to her.

If you go: James Jackson Jr. in “On Broadway…& More” June 14-16, Sam Hamashima in “Banana” June 21-23 and Jody Christopherson in “St. Kilda” June 28 – 30, all at 7 p.m. at The Provincetown Theater, 238 Bradford St., Provincetown. Tickets $35. 508-487-7487 or www.provincetowntheater.org.

Jason Mellin is worried; now you will be too

By Shannon Goheen, Contributing writer

Jason Mellin performs a one-man monologue in “These Are the Bonus Years” at Cotuit Center for the Arts Morton and Vivian Sigel Black Box Theater.  It’s an improvised, soul-bearing session about his bipolar disease and the likening of his illness to the nuclear arms race. He explains how the danger of the worldwide nuclear weapons stockpile has been, historically, nearly catastrophic and that we continue to dance on the edge of peril. It’s sheer dumb luck that keeps us alive, he posits, not unlike how he’s managed to stay alive despite the fact that his bipolar condition occasionally tries to kill him.

'These Are the Bonus Years,'

What it’s about: Mellin describes himself as mentally ill.  His brother struggles with the same diagnosis and the two of them, as younger men, imagined they wouldn’t live past their 20s. But here they are, in their 30s, experiencing “bonus years.” Mellin likens stories about our collective good fortune in avoiding mass death due to nuclear weapons to his personal struggle and luck, in that he has stayed alive when his bipolar has tried to kill him. The juxtaposition is surprising, stunningly alarming and brutally real. There’s no crawling away from Mellin’s truth, no blocking your ears to what may be challenging to hear and no closing your eyes to the storyteller who bares his soul to a group of strangers.

Highlight of the show: Mellin tells it like it is. There is no entering and leaving in the dark, no taking on of characters, no memorized lines. If it weren’t for 40-plus other bodies in the room, you could be sitting across from Mellin, munching absently on lunch while the rest of you is completely absorbed in his stories. You would also notice that he wears red fingernail polish on the right hand and blue on the left.  Red is for mania, he says, while blue represents depression. He has come to know these two conditions well since he was diagnosed with bipolar 12 years ago. This is live memoir, told from the heart with research on the nuclear arms race that is neither expected nor welcomed, but there it is. And during the listening, while contemplating the commonalities of Mellin’s illness with nuclear weapons, it becomes apparent that we all are ridiculously lucky to be alive.

Worth noting: A child of the U.S. nuclear weapons program, Mellin has an interest in nuclear weaponry, the Cold War, apocalypse and the like.  He has done extensive research to understand how the planet and its inhabitants have avoided catastrophe since the Cold War. He sits among mounds of plastic drug bottles that he has consciously saved since 2015 because he knew that someday he would be telling his story. Curiously, most of the drugs were a form of lithium, used to produce tritium in nuclear weapons.

People ask Mellin how he soldiers on amidst his challenges. He tells them he has faith because he’s still here. And amazingly, we’re all still here.

See It or not:  Live memoir doesn’t come along every day.  Mellin’s frank discussion about being bipolar is not to be missed. Those who are new to the illness will be educated and those who have it will find a kindred spirit. Hearing his perspective on how we all dance daily on the knife-edge of disaster is daunting, but it’s uncomfortable food for thought. There is no fake news here and nowhere to hide. The performance is approximately an hour long, with no intermission and a talkback at the conclusion.

One more thing: “These Are the Bonus Years” does not shy away from stories about mental health gone awry, failed suicide attempts, nuclear warfare and the potential end of us and the world as we know it.  Mature language flows freely and children have no place in this audience. If you go: 7:30 p.m. Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays and Sundays at 4 p.m. June 10 – 25 at the Vivian and Morton Sigel Black Box Theater at Cotuit Center for the Arts, 4404 Falmouth Road (Route 28).  All shows in the Black Box will be a part of the new Pick Your Price program. You decide what your ticket costs, from $10-$50. 508-428-0669, ext. 0 or visit artsonthecape.org.

'Ain't Misbehavin': The Fats Waller Musical Show' is stellar outing

By Jay Pateakos, Contributing writer

The Cape Playhouse kicked off its 97th season with the Fats Waller Revue "Ain't Misbehavin,'" which rocked the house on opening night with a wonderful mix of jazz and stellar singing and dancing by a perfectly cast five-person ensemble cast. Get ready to carry tunes like "Fat and Greasy," "Your Feet's Too Big" and "Black and Blue" with you for days after!

The show:

"Ain’t Misbehavin': The Fats Waller Musical Show," conceived by Richard Maltby, Jr. and Murray Horwitz, created and originally directed by Maltby, Jr., with original choreography and staging by Arthur Faria.

What it is about:

The show, which won a Tony for Best Musical in 1978, is a musical revue and tribute to Fats Waller, a turn-of-the-last-century jazz pianist, composer and singer best known for the title theme “Ain’t Misbehavin’” and “Honeysuckle Rose.” The show features five incredible talents performing sultry, raunchy and humorous songs that will make you want to get up and dance all night long.

See it or not:

See it NOW! As a big fan of jazz, this show was a must-see for me and a show I was surprised I had never seen before, to my great loss. The songs and performances are all incredible and you leave the two-hour show with one intermission singing a handful of them on the ride home.

Highlight of the show:

It’s hard to single out one highlight to this talented five-person cast. Ciara Alyse Harris (who played Alana Beck in the U.S. tour of "Dear Evan Hanson), plays Charlaine (Look out for “Keepin’ Out of Mischief Now”), Ashanti J’Aria ("FBI: Most Wanted" (2020), "Katy Keene" (2020) and "Maya and Her Lover" (2021) plays Amelia (“When the Nylons Bloom Again”), Tarra Conner Jones known for Sangria Lift (2015), Joyland (2021) and Harlem of the South (2023) plays Nell (“Cash for your Trash”). Anthony Wayne who portrays Andre (look for his “The Viper’s Drag” song) and Juson Williams who plays Ken (“Your Feet’s Too Big”) were all phenomenal talents who excelled in their individual as well as group performances.

Fun fact:

Director/Choreographer Lacy Darryl Phillips paid tribute to his friend and fellow performer/mentor Ken Page, who created the role of "Ken" in the original Broadway production of "Ain't Misbehavin'." Phillips said Page graciously passed the torch to him, both sharing a rich history dating back five decades, watching each other’s careers take off.

Worth noting:

Phillips was grateful to share the experience with his sister, Marishka Shanice Phillips, who was assistant director and dramaturg for this production. She also has her own business, Marishka Phillips Theatrical Preparatory, in New York City.

One more thing: OK, two things.

Tarra Conner Jones as Nell, a role made famous by Nell Carter in the 1980s, was a favorite of ours, especially my wife who played her songs all the way home. Secondly, there are a few songs that just stay with you including Wayne and Williams’ “Fat and Greasy,” Jones and J’Aria’s “Find Out What They Like” and the ensemble’s song “Black and Blue.” Just a few that you’ll remember for some time.

If you go:

Runs through June 17, 7:30 p.m. Wednesdays through Saturdays (no Sunday, June 11 show) and 2 p.m. shows Saturday, June 10, and Wednesday-Thursday, June 14-15, at Cape Playhouse, 820 Main St., Dennis.  Tickets, $54.50 to $104.50 including fees, at www.capeplayhouse.com or call 508-385-3911.

This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Reviews: Summer arrives with weekly changes in Provincetown