Theater critic dreams of what could be

August 5, 2010 at 12:00a.m.

By MILAN PAURICH

It’s that time of year when community theaters release their schedules for the upcoming season.

As a theater critic, those ritual announcements traditionally leave me with conflicting emotions.

Though there are always plenty of shows that I’m dying to see (who wouldn’t be excited about David Jendre’s upcoming Youngstown Playhouse production of “Chicago” or local premieres of “Side Show,” “I am My Own Wife” and “Fat Pig” at the Oakland Center for the Arts?), I can never stop myself from fantasizing about the plays and musicals that didn’t make the cut.

Some are works I’ve seen out of town and for which I have fond memories. Others I know only by reputation.

In the spirit of daydreaming, I’ve compiled a wish list of shows I’d love to see performed on local stages. (In some instances, I’ve even made casting/director suggestions, drawing from our amazing pool of local talent.) With luck, maybe a few will turn up on somebody’s schedule next year when it’s time to announce the 2011-12 season.

Acclaimed American playwright Richard Greenberg has won the Tony (2003’s “Take Me Out”), and was even a Pulitzer finalist (1998’s “Three Days of Rain” which was revived on Broadway four years ago with Julia Roberts). But sadly, he’s still virtually unknown in these parts. I’d love to see either of those Greenberg gems produced locally by a theater company with a vested interest in contemporary drama.

“The Drowsy Chaperone,” an affectionate homage to Jazz Age musicals, won the 2006 Tony for Best Score and Best Book, but nobody around here has touched it yet. Considering the success the YP had with the equally meta “Curtains” last season, maybe the time is ripe for someone to finally tackle “Chaperone.”

I don’t know about you, but I never get tired of (Stephen) Sondheim. “A Little Night Music” (Connie Cassidy would make an ethereal Desiree), “Passion” and the “Sunday in the Park With George” all deserve a first — or second — look by play selection committees. And while “Assassins” and perennial audience favorite “Into the Woods” are more familiar thanks to fairly recent productions (at NCP, TNT and Salem respectively), you can never have enough Sondheim in your theatergoing diet. His witty, elegant compositions seem to elevate everyone’s game just by virtue of their sheer and utter genius.

Since the YP has been on a Kander and Ebb kick lately (“Curtains” and next month’s “Chicago”), why not revive K&B’s greatest hit, “Cabaret”? The wonderful young actress/singer Molly Makselan was born to play Sally Bowles, and with Robert Dennick Joki (or perhaps Jendre) directing, the production could become the stuff of local legend. (And be sure to include “Maybe This Time” from the 1972 Bob Fosse movie which was added to the stage version in the most recent “Cabaret” revivals.)

Certain roles seem predestined for certain performers. Besides the aforementioned Makselan/Bowles pairing, how about a revival of “Dreamgirls” starring the incomparable Nikita Jones? Her Effie could be transcendent. And Joshua Lewis (so amazing in the YP “Curtains”) is a natural for the lead in either “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying” or “Promises, Promises.”

Four nonmusical films that became hit Broadway musicals all seem ripe for (area) plucking: “Spamalot,” based on “Monty Python and the Holy Grail;” “Legally Blonde” (not a “great” musical per se, but perfect summertime fare a la this season’s terrific YP production of “The Wedding Singer”); “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels;” and “The Producers” (Lewis and Jeff Carey would be fantastic in the roles originated by Matthew Broderick and Nathan Lane).

Joki directed a terrific production of “Rent Jr.” with area high school students last fall. I’m betting that a more age-appropriate Joki version of the show would be spectacular. And that’s coming from a notorious non-“Rent”head.

Even better might be a Joki-helmed “Spring Awakening.” That’s a brilliant show which has never been done locally.

And since we’re on the subject of youth-centric musicals, what about “Hair”? It’s the grandaddy of all rock-and-roll musicals, and still the leader of the pack.

I can’t remember the last time Carson McCullers’ lovely, infinitely moving “The Member of the Wedding” was performed locally. Consider: Lissandra Stebner in the role immortalized by Julie Harris; Joyce Jones in the Ethel Waters role; and Donny Wolford bringing his precocious young talent to Brandon deWilde’s role. With that dream trifecta, it wouldn’t matter if the supporting roles were played by cardboard cutouts.

Another playwright that I’m a huge fan of is Britain’s Tom Stoppard, who’s rarely performed on area stages. 1993’s brain-twisting “Arcadia” (a kind of theatrical equivalent to Chris Nolan’s recent blockbuster movie “Inception”) could be his masterwork, but Stoppard’s more accessible “The Real Thing” (1982) might be an easier sell to local audiences.

Because “old-fashioned” doesn’t have to be pejorative, I’d like to propose two Old School musicals that truly deserve the “classic” appellation. “The Sound of Music” and “My Fair Lady” are really only worth doing if you can find the perfect Maria and Baron von Trapp (or Eliza Doolittle and Henry Higgins). Although both David El’Hatton and Stephanie Ottey have been largely MIA recently, they’d make a nonpareil teaming in either (or both) shows. Two other possible casting choices for Maria and Eliza: New Castle Playhouse’s resident ingenue, Mary Ann Mangini, and Canfield High School senior Amanda Myhal, who made such a smashing musical theater debut last month in YP’s “Wedding Singer.”

Speaking of El’Hatton — who’s been sidelined due to health reasons this past year — two other shows he might want to consider taking a crack at someday are James Goldman’s “The Lion in Winter” (I can already picture El’Hatton as King Henry opposite Molly Galano’s Eleanor of Aquitaine) and Christopher Hampton’s “Dangerous Liaisons” (only El’Hatton could do justice to the slithery Valmont — with either Galano or Cassidy as Valmont sparring partner, the Marquise de Merteuil). If the 18th-century period costumes are too pricey on a community theater budget, why not consider a modern dress version like the 1959 film adaptation of Pierre Choderlos de Lacios’ source novel?