The Milwaukee Post

'Women of Manhattan' offers intimate setting at Carroll By JULIE MCHALE Post Theater Critic WAUKESHA — John Patrick Shanley is best known for his award-winning play and film "Doubt" and his script for the movie "Moonstruck" with Cher and Nicolas Cage, but he is quite prolific. "Women of Manhattan," one of his lesser- known works, is being offered in the studio theater with the rock musical "Rent" on the main stage in Otteson this week- end at Carroll with performanc- es at 7 p.m. today and Saturday. It is a delightful pairing, both well- suited to the chosen venues. Though this play was written almost 20 years ago, it deals with a universal issue — relation- ships; in this case, those of three young women who all live in Manhattan. It has its share of humor, but also some suggestion of the pain and confusion of try- ing to find a good match. Billie, an explosive, histrionic blonde, is married to a very suc- cessful architect, but is restless and not satisfied with being so sumptuously cared for. She pro- vides much of the humor. Carly Sauer is well-cast in this role. A sharp contrast is provided by Rhonda Louise, a sophisticated woman who has recently been dumped. His sneakers still occu- py a spot in the dining room as a reminder of how fresh her loss is. At the moment, she's content to grieve and get in touch with herself. Alexis Furseth captures Rhonda's ladylike qualities. Judy, well rendered by Ami Majeskie, is rather bitter. She claims to attract men who are struggling with their sexual identity; she feels like she is serving as a test case. She's also quite funny in an acerbic way. When Billie sets her up on a blind date with Duke (Damarko Gordy-Dean), a lot of surprises emerge. I enjoyed his take on the role. We also meet Tom, Billie's husband of three years, in one short scene when he waxes philosophical over a couple of hamburgers. The play is divided into four short scenes and runs without an intermission for 90 minutes. It is a perfect choice for a small, intimate space, which is well- designed for several changes of venue with a star-studded view of New York City in the back- ground (Bryan LaPaz). All in all, a charming piece of writing, well-acted and ably directed by professor Jennifer Dobby. Admission is free for this one and $10 for "Rent." 14 • Milwaukee County Post • June 26, 2015 By TOM JOZWIK Post Film Critic First, a clarification. "Max," from "Remember the Titans" director Boaz Yakin, is not to be confused with another new movie, "Mad Max: Fury Road." "Mad Max: Fury Road" has been applauded by critics. "Max," although not without positives, is ultimately a mid- dling effort. "Max" stars a big dog that does a fine job of barking, displaying affection and apprehension, snarling, sniffing out enemies and even grieving. After his Marine handler (Robbie Amell) is killed in Afghanistan, Max emerges as the chief funeral mourn- er, improbably entering the church in a noisy burst of drama that stops a choir cold in mid-hymn. The Belgian shepherd is like Lassie on steroids — "'able to leap tall buildings in a single bound,'" an appar- ent "Superman" TV show fan remarked after the pre- view screening I attended. Even less believable are Thomas Haden Church's character Ray Wincott's abil- ity to beat up, while hand- cuffed, a corrupt ogre of a deputy sheriff twice his size and half his age; Ray's son Justin's (Josh Wiggins) speedy transformation from callous, smart-mouthed video games addict to dash- ing dog trainer with energy and guts enough for a small army; Ray's wife's (Lauren Graham) telling off a sheep- ish small-town Texas police force — in a Ferguson era film — and the fact the film- makers couldn't have crafted a meatier part for this mag- netic star of television's "Gilmore Girls" and "Parenthood." Minus some digressions, the "Max" plot has the eponymous animal back in the states following his mili- tary working dog days and the aforementioned Afghan tragedy. Traumatized and out of control, Max is to be "put down." The Wincotts forestall an execution, how- ever, reasoning that Max is "family" since it was their son Kyle who'd been the dog's beloved military han- dler. Max takes a shine to Kyle's kid brother — as does tough but very pretty teenager Carmen (Mia Xitlali), who conveniently shows up to spend the summer with the family of Justin's friend (Dejon LaQuake) and is, coincidentally, a skilled dog whisperer. Max also blows the whistle, insofar as a Belgian shepherd is capable, on the movie's biggest bad guy (Luke Kleintank), sup- posedly Kyle's best Marine buddy. Revenge results, along with gunplay and battles between mellowing Max and a couple of slobbering pit bulls. If the foregoing makes "Max" sound ridiculous, there's another side to the coin. A patron at the preview was heard to, correctly enough, pronounce the film "heartwarming." To be sure, it's PG-rated, about as fami- ly-friendly an assessment as live-action movies get these days. "Max's" human heroes, realistically, have feet of clay. Comic relief and cute-dog scenes offset occa- sionally implausible dia- logue. Trevor Rabin's musi- cal score is rather majestic, if a little intense. And factual information about special- ized search dogs like Max is provided for viewers' edifica- tion. 'Max' dog story has positives Carroll University offers up 'Rent' By JULIE MCHALE Post Theater Critic WAUKESHA — The Carroll University Players in conjunction with Outskirts Theatre Company opened a vigor- ous production of Jonathan Larson's "Rent," a rock musical loosely based on Puccini's opera "La Boheme." In a strange twist of fate, Larson suddenly died of an aortic aneurysm at the age of 36 the day his seven-years-in-the-making opus was to hit the Broadway stage in 1996. His death mirrors the kind of luck most of the characters in this musical are experi- encing. The focus in the story is on a group of struggling artists in a colony south of Greenwich Village in New York. Their lives involve dreams and hopes as well as a heavy dose of poverty, angst, drugs and AIDS. It is a play that exudes chaos, and the sweet strains of Puccini's music are replaced with pounding, driving, dissonant rock rhythms, reflecting the '80s and the passion, frustration and despair suffered by the characters. The main players include a photographer, a guitarist, a dancer, a cross-dresser, a landlord, a college profes- sor and a pair of lesbians involved in show biz. Mark, the maker of documen- taries, is also the narrator of the story. He tries to knit together the various strands of the narrative with his camera and his lyrics. Jack Sherman meets the challenge of the role. His roomie, Roger, a doleful guitarist who has just suf- fered the loss of his girl- friend to suicide, longs to write one successful ballad as his legacy before he him- self succumbs to AIDS. Sam Ellis Sherman is the epitome of angst. A very colorful, intense pair of characters include Maureen (Kim Magsig) and Joanne (Tonya Palmer). Those two lit up the stage in every appearance. Joanne and Mark did a memorable tango as they bemoaned Maureen's promiscuous dalliances. They both had relationships with Maureen. Mimi, in many ways well played by Francesca Steitz, did not look the part of a dancer, but she did elicit our sympathies in her heart-rending delivery of "Without You," one of the softer ballads in the show. Benny, the landlord with financial ambition but a connection with Mimi, played by Danny Polaski, did not sufficiently capture the ambivalent struggles of this character. His emotion- al output was flat. The most compelling per- formances were those of Ryan Albrechtson and Dyllan Brown as Collins and Angel. We loved them both. Their rendering of the duet "I'll Cover You" was poignant and sincere. Despite the bleakness sur- rounding them, this unlike- ly pair provided some hope ENTERTAINMENT At a glance "Rent" The show runs at 7 p.m. Friday and 2 p.m. Saturday in the Otteson Theatre at Carroll University in Waukesha. Admission is $10. At a glance "Women of Manhattan" The show runs at 7 p.m. today and Saturday in the Otteson Theatre at Carroll University in Waukesha. At a glance "Max" ★★1/2 Starring: Thomas Haden Church, Josh Wiggins, Lauren Graham, Mia Xitlali, Dejon LaQuake, Luke Kleintank, Robbie Amell Director: Boaz Yakin MPAA rating: PG Running time: 111 minutes Release date: Friday Showings: www.marcusthe- atres.com See RENT on Page 15 Submitted photo Ami Majeskie, left, Alexis Furseth, middle, and Carly Sauer perform in Carroll University's Summer Repertory Series production of "Women of Manhattan."

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