Lake Country Players: The Clockmaker’s Daughter, An Original Musical Faerytale.
You might guess from the subtitle, An Original Musical Faerytale, that the scene isn’t our present day America. No, much of the story is an Ireland of about a century ago…although it does bookend in contemporary times but where better to hear a faerytale than the old sod?
So what is our faerytale? An Irish clockmaker, who lost his wife in child birth, loses his daughter as she was approaching young adulthood. In his sadness and depression he fashions a clockwork figure to take the place of his daughter in his life. And once wound up, she becomes animated and cognizant beyond his wildest dreams. But ever fearful for her well-being, he forbids her from leaving their home…but she can see the great and intriguing real world right outside their very window.
So of course, her curiosity overcomes her fealty to her ‘father’, and when he’s away she ventures out of the house into Spindlewood…where she meets the town’s people and finds many friends and many new emotions. And all goes well as no one suspects her origins until one fateful day when…everything goes awry. You will have to experience the play to get the rest of the story.
So this IS a musical…the songs and lyrics are truly amazing. They not only move the story forward but they are just beautiful to behold in their own right…and there are a number of very challenging duets and solo pieces within the ensemble pieces that are just amazing. But despite the apparent complexity, Director Sarah Jo Martens’ cast just nails it…and kudos also to Music Director Tracy Garon for bringing these songs to the fore and making every voice a joyous celebration.
And this is a faerytale, but it goes beyond that. It is a story of community, in good and bad times, there is sadness and joy, depression and elation, love and hate, hope and curiosity, a bit of jealousy, family dynamics of different bents, and rash and irrational fears that tear a community apart.
But this is also a master class in presenting a full sized musical in a jewel box theater, something the Director Sarah Jo Martens can be particularly proud of. There are twenty two characters here…and at times they are all on stage…a seemingly small stage…my guess about 25 feet wide and 15 feet deep. And for a Clockmaker’s Daughter they had to share a corner of the stage with the raised platform for the band. And the action is constant, and I mean CONSTANT. Not only the action but the setting and resetting of the set pieces and furnishings…all cleverly designed and moved throughout the performance. The set design team is Kimberly Laberge and Adam Harrison. And again my thanks to Music Director Tracy Garon for keeping the voices on cue and on tempo…but also to Choreographer Thom Cauley for creating the ensemble dance pieces and Stage Manager Danny Polaski for keeping it all straight. I never was sure where to look as the actors were again, constantly in motion, but I never suspected a moment of hesitation in the dance or song.
So, I have rambled and rambled and haven’t mentioned the actors! So let’s start with the clockmaker’s daughter, Constance, as played by Kyrajo Petit-Walla. Petit-Walla does an incredible job of portraying the initially clumsy and awkward clockwork doll and then with her growing cognition and learning, becomes a young lady of Spindlewood. Her ‘father’, the clockmaker Abraham Reed, is played by Cory Klein, who also has to portray the gamut of emotions, from grieving father, to doting father, and finally to worried parent as events transpire in Spindlewood. Ben Ardis plays the love interest for Candace, one Will Riley, a seemingly put upon son of the seamstress Ma’ Riley, with visions and hopes of a great future adult life for himself. Ma’ Rainey is something of an enigma here, a deft artisan, a stern taskmaster in her shop, and a sales lady on demand, and finally a community activist and skilled liar at the end. She is played by Danielle Katers…and oh what a voice as she has a significant song in the first act. One other stand out is Lexi Ellis who plays Amelia Kelly…soon to be Amelia Glynn in a marriage that sets the turning point in the action in the play. Ellis portrays a loving fiancee, true friend, and strong personal presence in the story.
Again, I am amazed that Lake Country Players has taken on such a demanding piece of theater…and again they have excelled in their presentation.
Two Quibbles:
First, with the authors. The constant change in venue from clockmaker’s workshop, to town’s square, to dressmaker’s workshop, to brook, to mayor’s home, and o’er and back seems a disincentive to small companies interested in staging this musical. Martens and team overcame the challenge.
Second, at times the music is too loud. Particularly during some solos…the band obscures the vocals making the lyrics difficult to hear…and of course, the lyrics are critical to the story.
Here is the link to their website with more information. Unfortunately the site indicates that the show is sold out. But click through and plan on seeing their upcoming shows…from my experience, I can’t imagine that the Lake Country Players will disappoint and the drive to Hartland is worth it!
Lake Country Players Presents Tommy Lee Johnston’s Geezers! Remarkable!!
Geezers. Just reading the title of Tommy Lee Johnston’s play brings a quick smile to the lips and the expectation of a farce around aging boomers. Now, while there are some pretty good gags and laugh out loud jokes here, this is a very human and socially relevant drama.
So what is it exactly? Well it’s a very poignant play set in a retirement home. And it is a coming of age drama. But not the usual type that just came to your mind. Instead we experience the growth of Jack, a socially inept young man of 27 as he ventures out on his own. But there is also the personal growth and awareness in middle-aged Gina who is the head nurse at the home. And finally a new openness, acceptance, and truth around their own lives comes to the residents we get to visit here.
First we meet Jack, portrayed by Danny Polaski, as he interviews for a job that he has already been given by the unseen administrator of the home. The fact that he is being interviewed for a job that he already has is very confusing to him and he reaches a near catatonic state trying to understand the situation as the head nurse, Gina, asks him questions. At first he would seem entirely unfit for the job…with no resume and no prior work experience…but then, having cared for his own mother until her recent passing he might have the right tool set to work with the home’s various residents. Here Gina is played as a very patient and seemingly in command manager by Becca Richards. That isn’t necessarily always the case. And although she wants Jack to start immediately, she allows him to delay another day. He is to replace a much loved employee who left under a cloud.
We now move on the Jack’s first day on the job and Polaski gives us a clear picture of a Jack having a difficult time coping with his new situation. But he clearly wants to do a good job. We also are introduced to the other principal characters at work here, Emily, played by Diane Kallas, who has dementia and is happy to watch television, any television, as long as it has commercials that she can sing along with. And then we meet the two resident curmudgeons, Ray, played by Paul Wier, and Neil, played by Bob Hurd. These two gentlemen play a mean and hurtful prank on Jack. Egging them on is the self-centered, retired actress, Kate, who is at first, a charming and playful character provided by Paula Nordwig.
Given his social discomfort, it is surprising that Jack returns for a second day after his hazing on day one. I am not sure whether it is the need for the job, fear of a new ostracizing from Gina and crew, a responsibility for/to Gina, or a sense of moral duty to his late mother who enjoyed her time working here.
In conversation, the residents find out that Jack is a writer and has written two plays. Kate of course is curious and demands an opportunity to read them. After convincing Jack to share them, she and Neil provide a critique and find them incredibly derivative. Then a plan is hatched for Jack to interview the various residents of the home…they all have original, unique, and personal stories to tell and can provide plenty of new material for his writing efforts. Jack is incredibly hesitant at first but as Neil and Ray explain, she won’t take no for an answer so he is essentially already committed.
And this is where we start to feel the growth in all of our characters. Polaski’s Jack develops as an individual and has a growing empathy for the residents, but he never completely loses his fear and unease. And Gina recognizes that Jack is also having a positive effect on the residents…even apparently reaching inside Emily’s fog from time to time. Jack eventually starts to revel in his role as listener and story keeper.
The play is presented as two acts, each over just an hour long. The first is setting up the characters and relationships, while the second brings us the growth and release we didn’t initially expect. But instead of traditional ‘scenes’, the action unfolds in short vignettes separated by black outs and musical interludes of 1950s and 1960s pop hits. Someone was singing/humming along during these…it wasn’t me…but I wanted to!
The audience will shed some tears here and feel a tightness in their throats as the stories are quietly told. And the story telling takes on clever plot changes…as the contemporary characters start their stories, a transition occurs, and Jack moves cross stage and interacts with a young, age appropriate for the story being told, version of the character. And here the seamless shift is effected by Mikael Hager as Young Neil, Max Levine as Young Ray, and Amy Wickland as Young Kate.
Emily’s story is something different and comes to us from the visits of Jenny, played by Angie Rodenkirch, who is trying to break through to Emily…and in some ways is able to do just that. Kallas gives us an emphatic Emily, providing rousing sing-alongs with the TV and occasionally some very lucid interjections into the conversations going on in the room.
It seems remarkable that the Lake Country Players are able to find and present edgy plays like this and make them entirely their own. Of course the perfect casting and flawless staging designed by director Nancy Hurd has a lot to with the success. And Hurd also is responsible for the spot on costuming as well…including a very jaunty beret ala a contemporary Joni Mitchell look for Emily.
The play continues through February 11th, 2024 at the Lake Country Playhouse in Hartland WI. It was sold out for the matinee that I attended this past Sunday so don’t dawdle in ordering tickets. Information and tickets are available here:
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