Kith and Kin – an intuitive perspective

May 12, 2025

Kith & Kin Theatre Collective: A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder! Lyric Storytelling In A Grand Style!

A Gentleman’s Guide To Love And Murder! could also be called the Land of a Thousand costumes. This boisterous comedic musical runs across Turn of The 20th Century England landscape and cultural environs. And with four named characters who appear in any number of situations and an ensemble who play multiple roles and at times act as a Greek Chorus, costumes abound. And that doesn’t even include the D’Ysquith Family! More on them later. But my sincerest thanks to Costume Designer: Cas Mayhall for pulling this off.

This is a highly effective send up of rom-coms, murder mysteries, musicals, English operettas, colonialism, and the British aristocracy. Not even the Earl of Highhurst can maintain his stiff upper lip. And for those of you of a certain age you might detect a tip of the hat or two to Monty Python gags.

The chorus. Photo by Adam Laberge. Photo courtesy of Kith & Kin Theatre Collective

But first we meet our Greek Chorus, warning us of the mayhem and the gore that is to follow and the squeamish may want to leave now…and then a warning is sent to the first two rows…that they may be splattered with blood and such and that they may want to move back. Ignore them! This is a small intimate theater with general admission seating. Get there early to secure the front rows! I promise you, you won’t be disappointed.

left to right: Emily Mertens, Jonathan Riker, and Shannon Messplay. Photo by Adam Laberge. Photo courtesy of Kith & Kin Theatre Collective

And now to the real story. We find Monty Navarro sitting in a jail cell waiting for the jury to decide if he is innocent or guilty of murder. Concerned that no one will understand how he came here, he is writing his ‘true’ memoir. That is the major conceit of the musical, Monty narrates a bit and then the cast plays out the story for our ears and eyes. Jonathan Riker gives us a determined but unconcerned Monty. Telling his story seems more important than his potential fate. But once we get the story underway, Riker is the main boisterous voice and is the center of attention from here on out…but Riker still plays it cool as he learns he is eighth in line to be Earl of Highhurst…a discovery brought to him by his mother’s best friend after her funeral. She had married for love and was disowned and cast out from the family. His disbelief turns to acceptance and he begins the journey of ‘joining’ the family while improving his chances to be Earl…with a bit of cleverness and steadiness that Riker playfully brings to the stage.

Jonathan Riker and Emily Mertens. Photo by Adam Laberge. Photo courtesy of Kith & Kin Theatre Collective

Oh and the guide to love? Monty is in love with Sibella Hallward, a charming young lady who also happens to be in love with Monty. Emily Mertens is very effective as the sexy and flirtatious Sibella and she seems quite attached to Monty. But his low class position doesn’t suit her ambitions and she marries another gentleman with a motor car. But that doesn’t mean she and Monty are through…not by a long shot.

Shannon Messplay and Jonathan Riker. Photo by Adam Laberge. Photo courtesy of Kith & Kin Theatre Collective

Shannon Messplay is the shy, coy, and cool as a cucumber Phoebe D’Ysquith. She is completely taken with Monty’s mother’s story…able to marry for love! And is equally attracted to Monty himself. And not being in line ahead of Monty for the Earldom, he too is taken with her and wholeheartedly accepts her proposal to wed. Messplay is a delight as Phoebe.

Ezra Quinn. Photo by Adam Laberge. Photo courtesy of Kith & Kin Theatre Collective

And then there is The D’Ysquith Family! Every single one of them played in joyous over the top performances by Ezra Quinn! From the pastor, sister, cousin, son, father, janitor, and Earl, Quinn leaves nothing behind…having far too much fun I would hope! And Quinn is one of the reasons you want to be down in front…Quinn gets to act out one grisly death scene after another and produces some of the best laughs in the play. You don’t want to miss a single overwrought death throe!

And my congratulations to Director Kimberly Laberge for convincing this gang of talented people to play this treasure trove of misfit characters and making it all work so smoothly and without any missed bits or false steps.

A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder was written by Robert L. Freedman, Book and Lyrics, and Steven Lutvak, Music and Lyrics, and based on a novel by Roy Herniman. (still feeling a bit silly after attending yesterday’s matinee, I wanted to write: based on a novel by a man named Lear so so bad…if you don’t know…you can Google it)

left to right, Shannon Messplay, Jonathan Riker, and Emily Mertens. Photo by Adam Laberge. Photo courtesy of Kith & Kin Theatre Collective

Kith & Kin Theatre Collective will continue to present A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder at Inspiration Studios (1500 S. 73rd St, West Allis) through May 18, 2025.

More information here and ticket information here.

And Extra Credit Reading: The Playbill

November 3, 2024November 3, 2024

Bull In A China Shop Draws Parallels Between The Early 20th Century And Our Current Era.

Bryna Turner’s Bull In A China shop is another little gem of a play perfectly suited for Milwaukee’s Kith & Kin Theatre Collective. How Artistic Director Kimberly Laberge finds these plays and then matches them with just the right director makes for another exciting theater experience from this independent group.

Sophie Keppler and Kristina Hinako. Photo courtesy of Kith & Kin, photographer Adam Laberge.

Despite Turner basing the story on personal letters from the early 20th Century between Mount Holyoke President Mary Woolley and her life companion Jeannette Marks, the play is blazingly contemporary. Woolley is a feminist and a suffragette and declares that she is starting a revolution as she takes the reins at Mount Holyoke College. Almost immediately in the text she labels herself as the Bull In The China Shop. She is determined to move it from a ‘seminary’ turning out perfect wife material into a dynamic women’s college that graduates accomplished and fully rounded women scholars. In some ways the play illustrates how far we have come but the contemporary parallels show us how much we have to lose and that we might actually suffer that loss. Director Marie Helser addressed that in her notes in the program. But that’s only part of the story.

Kristina Hinako and Sophie Keppler. Photo courtesy of Kith & Kin, photographer Adam Laberge.

Woolley also wants to maintain her relationship with her lover, Marks. And there are a number of issues surrounding that. Obviously it’s the early 20th Century, so the relationship is somewhat taboo to start with. And although not ‘out’, Woolley and Marks aren’t exactly hiding their feelings either. And that causes some tongue wagging. And Marks isn’t always in line with Woolley, including the move to Holyoke…but she ends up playing the dutiful partner here. So there is a bit of romance and some romantic conflict to examine. And on top of the gender roles of women in American society, we also confront very solid anti-gay biases in the China shop.

There are just five characters in Bull In The China Shop. Just a perfect number for the small black box theater at Inspiration Studios. And Director Marie Helser has assembled a cast to suit each character.

Katie Aldred and Sophie Keppler. Photo courtesy of Kith & Kin, photographer Adam Laberge.

Sophie Keppler is Woolley. To a T! A very determined and self-assured educator and activist who lets nothing stand in her way, even in the face of faculty rumblings, board displeasure, and the loss of funding…she manages to find a way to push the Holyoke community forward. And she also displays the loving and affectionate partner in her private moments with Marks.

And Jeannette Marks is played by Kristina Hinako…giving us a nuanced performance of another very self assured woman who is also passionate with her partner. But someone who is willing to surrender a bit of her own desires to support those of Woolley. But she only bends so far…and Hinako clearly gives us the loving but conflicted Marks as the story progresses.

Kristina Hinaka, Patti Meadors, and Grace Ritcher. Photo courtesy of Kith & Kin, photographer Adam Laberge.

And Katie Aldred is outstanding as Dean Welsh. A very pragmatic and direct dean, Aldred never seems to waiver in her attention to detail and duty as she reports to Woolley. Aldred is perfect in this role.

Grace Ritcher is Pearl. A student of Marks and an admirer of both Marks and Woolley…and someone who knows too much having seen some of their letters. But here Ritcher is asked to be the coy to shy student shifting to the potential partner as she comes on to Marks…and then later dramatically providing us with an angry spurned lover. Ritcher clearly feels all of the various roles she has to play as Pearl.

Grace Ritcher. Photo courtesy of Kith & Kin, photographer Adam Laberge.

And, oh my goodness, Patti Meadors as Felicity is a lot of fun. As a roommate of Marks, she is often caught in the middle of issues between Marks and Woolley. And Meadors plays the role to the hilt with all of the outrageous hysteria to the sudden turn on a dime for a serious ‘translation’ of the situation. Although there is a great deal of humor throughout the play, Meadors actions bring a great deal of it into action!

Bryna Turner has provided a play of great depth and great language with clearly defined characters that tell a well shaped story from America’s past. But her use of contemporary language makes it easily accessible to our ears and clearly draws out the parallels to our era. Bull In A China Shop was first presented in 2017.

Other than the great text, Turner didn’t do any favors for Helser, Stage Manager Beck Menk, or Set Designer Corey Helser. Instead of a traditional Act/Scene format, Turner has written a long and quick series of vignettes to tell this story. Director Helser should consider it an accomplishment to have kept the flow and story moving as freely as in this presentation.

Kristina Hinako and Grace Ritcher. Photo courtesy of Kith & Kin, photographer Adam Laberge.

Bull In A China Shop runs through November 10th, 2024 at Inspiration Studios in West Allis WI. Additional Info and Tickets Can Be Found Here!!

April 21, 2024

Kith & Kin Theatre Collective Presents A World Premiere of HYPOTHETICALS!

Hmm…spell check doesn’t like Hypotheticals. I’ll have to fix that. The Kith & Kin Theatre Collective closed their inaugural season with a World Premiere presentation of Rebecca Anne Nguyen’s play, Hypotheticals.

Let’s start with a short synopsis…this play works a genre while working beyond it as well. A woman is on her way to an appointment with a therapist and happens upon a gentleman who is running late and waiting for an elevator. Once on the elevator she, Blaise McKay, impulsively stops the car and refers to her companion as, I believe, oppressively handsome and bares a bit of her soul to this stranger, Dr. Jamie Brooks. She demands reciprocity and he complies and they engage in a very passionate kiss…and then proceed on their respective ways. UNTIL, the young lady arrives at her appointment to find her chance meeting stranger is the therapist she is scheduled to meet.

Shayne Patrick and Selena Milewski. Photo by Adam Harrison and courtesy of Kith & Kin Theatre Collective.

So, we have all of the vital elements necessary for a sensational rom-com. And playwright Nguyen plays off that riff to the hilt. Nguyen has nailed every element of what makes a rom-com work, emotional attraction, silly dialogues, misunderstandings, great humor, and of course conflicts that put the budding relationship at risk. Just this story line alone would make this play a great evening of theater.

But without giving more of the action away, let me just continue with this. There are some very serious elements to the story that make this a drama as well. Of course from my synopsis it is apparent that one conflict is the therapist client relationship and the boundaries that ethics mandate. It is explored in depth and is played out in a number of surprising ways.

And in a twist quite unexpected, Blaise has been sent to the therapist by her employer for a bit of inappropriate behavior in the workplace. She is under a fair amount of stress at this point, being at risk of losing her job and as the sole support of her mother, who is in a home for people with dementia. So a number of sub-topics appear, care for dementia patients, cultural norms, and what are acceptable actions when you don’t feel you fit into the prevailing norms.

And Jamie, he prefers Jamie to Dr. Brooks, uses a great number of metaphors and hypotheticals in his almost daily sessions with Blaise. But the underlying diagnosis seems to point to Autism and being on the spectrum and what that means to your personal identity as well as your feelings about your place in society.

Rom-com yes, Drama yes, social issues…yes. And they all fuse together seamlessly as Nguyen masters the language needed to tell this story.

Selena Milewski is a very convincing Blaise McKay. Milewski presents a perfect flirty and impulsive Blaise in the opening elevator scene and initial therapy sessions. And then grows into the person ready to connect with life and relationships as she grows through the play. And Jamie Brooks is played by Shayne Patrick, a tall imposing figure who initially is very sure of himself and his position, if just a bit stuffy and maybe a bit anal, until he is forced to review his life and role in the world through his attraction to Blaise and the constraints in their relationship. And he has a secret or two of his own.

Selena Milewski and Sarah Mankowski-Lathrum. Photo by Adam Harrison and courtesy of Kith & Kin Theatre Collective.

Susan Kelly plays Dr. Gwen. I don’t want to go too far into her role here because it involves a substantial plot twist. But she is certainly a more fluid individual than Jamie and maybe a bit representative of 21st C rule making/bending. Sarah Mankowske-Lathrum has dual roles, the major one as Betty McKay, Blaise’s mother, and she smoothly moves from dementia to clarity…it is hard to discern that change at first. Marzieh Karami also has two roles, but the major one is as Arlo, another patient of Dr. Brooks, whose session always follows Blaise. Without going to far into that role, she is a very expressive actor and then it’s a miracle! And she pulls it off so smoothly that we don’t even notice until she declares it so!

Marzieh Karami, Selena Milewski, and Shayne Patrick. Photo by Adam Harrison and courtesy of Kith & Kin Theatre Collective.

And on Friday night, we were lucky enough to hear Rebecca Anne Nguyen talk about the development of the play and its path to Kith & Kin. It was featured in a number of readings around the country and tweaked as a result of the feedback before receiving a full presentation here in Milwaukee. Hopefully it will soon find other venues…it deserves it!

Shayne Patrick. Photo by Adam Harrison and courtesy of Kith & Kin Theatre Collective.

Hypotheticals is the last play in Kith & Kin’s 2023/2024 season. It closes today, April 21, 2024 with a sold out house. Kith & Kin Theatre Collective was founded by my friend, Artistic Director Kimberly Laberge. I would like to thank her for bringing some very challenging theater to Milwaukee. If you want to learn more about Kith & Kin, click here! I am looking forward to the sophomore season.

Any Questions??