THEATRE ROW: The Lion Theatre, Inc. New York; Presents BILL BOWERS in ALL OVER THE MAP: Written by Bill Bowers and directed by MARTHA BANTA

                                             THE LION THEATRE COMPANY PRESENTS...
                                                         410 West 42nd street 9th Avenue
                                                               New York City, New York

                                                    BILL BOWERS'

Bill Bowers is a VETERAN ACTOR who has appeared in numerous FIRST CLASS PRODUCTIONS which include; Zazu in The Lion King, and Leggett in The Scarlet Pimpernel (including his own written works which he has performed in off-Broadway venues).

                                                                       (Bill Bowers)
I have to tell you; to do a ONE MAN SHOW is quite a feat. I always admire those actors who can PULL IT OFF! It is not an easy venture to do. You have to be a particular type of PERSONALITY and POSSESS a tough and CONSUMING EGO! Not in the sense of NARCISSISM, but in the sense of KNOWING WHO YOU ARE as an individual at CORE LEVELS.

The PSYCHOLOGICAL FORTITUDE has to be well INTACT so as to not allow a FRACTURE of the EGO, which could lead to a DISSOLUTION OF SELF (which can lead to a "host" of problems down the road...)

Bill Bowers is a MIME ACTOR (a skill in and of itself!), who performs ALL OVER THE WORLD, and throughout the UNITED STATES.

Mr. Bowers, whether he REALIZES it  or NOT, is doing the COLLECTIVE a huge favor by revealing to us the differences and nuances of HUMAN NATURE throughout his TRAVELS, and "living" (if only for a moment in "time and place") all secular aspects of the HUMAN EXPERIENCE.

He performs for the the RICH, the POOR, the DISADVANTAGED: races, cultures and ALL IN BETWEEN, bestowing the GIFT of himself, as well as RECEIVING "gifts" from those he comes into contact (no doubt ENRICHING HIS SPIRIT).

This is why he can SMILE or LAUGH (in the picture above) and you can see the "DIVINE CHILD" within...(the "seat" of his creativity)

A PERSONALITY OF THIS TYPE is capable of GREAT HEALING (for all who come into contact with this individual).

                                 (not reflective of this performance: no authentic pictures available)

THE PERFORMANCE at the LION THEATRE was a composite of all his travels and the STRANGE and UNUSUAL experiences he has encountered throughout his travels both abroad and within the United States.

He shows us various "sketches" and "simulations" of the experiences he has encountered; acting them out and truly giving us an entertaining account, not only of his "own take" on the experience, but also how it has impacted that environment (if only for a moment in time). No doubt, the stories were authentically "real" (supposing that we "buy into" the enthusiasm of the "moment").

Most ONE MAN (or woman) SHOWS are carefully CONTRIVED and FORMULATED (after all, you don't want to lose your shirt!).

Thanks, no doubt, to the DIRECTOR. Mrs, Banta certainly provided the SCAFFOLDING in which Mr. Bowers was able to "build the story".

The SET comprised of only SIX CHAIRS-that's it! And this brilliant actor managed to keep us ENTERTAINED and FOCUSED on the PREMISE of these "experiences"through the SIMULATION of props and scenery through the agency of these six chairs.

                 (not the actual chair used for this production; no authentic pictures were available)

The AUDIENCE could not get ENOUGH from this fantastic performer. His energy was CONSTANT, not missing a BEAT (in performance nor in stamina). Everybody laughed and cheered and applauded with such endearment and familiarity that he felt like he was your uncle or brother.

Besides the actual PERFORMANCE, we did get a sense from the actor (because, after all, these "encounters" and travels fostered real, human experiences which, no doubt, have a UNIVERSAL APPEAL), that he was  "affected" and "impacted" by these experiences. There was much sentiment and "reflective humor", which comes from having gone through the "hard knots" of life (whether real or imagined). At the very least, you got a sense of "empathy" and a "rising compassion" of what this actor experienced.

      (these pictures of Mr. Bowers does not reflect this performance; no authentic pictures available)

I LOVE performances in which there's LEANING (to me,this is the PURPOSE of theatre; to bring us, as a humanity, CLOSER TO GOD;by exalting the WORKS of MAN).

Special thanks to Ed McCarthy, for his GENIUS in the LIGHTING DESIGN.

This ONE MAN SHOW gets 3 1/2 STARS!

THEATRE ROW: Wellington Road, LLC: Presents "IN THE SECRET SEA" written by CATE RYAN and directed by MARTIN CHARNIN

                                                       IN THE SECRET 
                                     SEA
                                A new American Play
                                                                             by
                                                                    CATE RYAN
                                                                   and directed by
                                                              MARTIN CHARNIN

                               Kenny (Adam Petherbridge) the son of the Osborne
                               
The story unfolds quite systemically with Gil (Paul Carlin) and his wife, Joyce (Glynnis O'conor) coming home after church in a rather humorous mood concerning Joyce's "fondness" for the Priest at their local parish. And, according to Gil, she wants to "get with him", teasing her, of course. And in turn, Joyce is just having fun, and being a woman.

Just because one is married doesn't mean one cannot enjoy the "sight" of another "candy" (being man or woman) once in a while...

But this type of "FAMILIARITY" speaks on a deeper level than what's apparent "on the surface". It suggests STRENGTH and deep TRUST. Not only is this couple a "marriage", they are "friends" to each other; although we get the "impression" right away, that Joyce, Gil's wife, is in her own bubble of REALITY, super imposed by an even larger BUBBLE-that of SOCIETY (and its inherent "expectations").

                                           Joyce (Glynnis O'connor) and Gil (Paul Carlin)

   Keeping up the APPEARANCE OF PERFECTION can be "exhausting" (this is an Irish Family, and thank GOD for that alcohol! And in this play, trust me, it was needed!)

I NEEDED A DRINK!!!

The appearance of perfection and order, through RIGHTFUL ACTION(even if it means playing a simulated ROLE), becomes the PURPOSE FOR LIVING among couples which choose to live in an INSULATED REALITY (or commonly referred to as a "bubble").

We get the impression that Gil, past his fifties, is still searching for "something" (not to mention,that even in his late fifties, he is still quite sexually "potent" and in constant "need").

                                             Gil (Paul Carlin) and Joyce (Glynnis O'Connor)
         

Gil doesn't feel a connection to his wife because she is EVASIVE and ELUSIVE and cannot be PINNED DOWN to an HONEST opinion on anything. An  "irritation" which is constantly expressed throughout the production. You feel "empathy' for him; since Joyce has DECIDED to interact with her husband. as well as SOCIETY as a TWO DIMENSIONAL HUMAN BEING.

Unfortunately, we don't get a clear PREMISE from the playwright as to why she is so socially "inept". Growing up in upper class Connecticut does lend some "truth" to the fact that people insulated by wealth lose "proximity" to their lives  in quite insidious ways (which, later, creeps up without warning-on the children!).

Gil complaints, banters, and carries on like a child without a lollipop. But then again, Joyce is so passive-aggressive and uses much semantics in her language, that it's impossible to get a straight answer from her,

The heart of Gil's "malcontent" is the feeling of estrangement from a wife who doesn't offer sex to an Irish man in his late sixties who is very much still "virile and capable", sexually. Number one; then, there's the issue of why they didn't have another baby; number two (and what brought that on was that fact that being with his wife, alone, after their son grew up and left the house, didn't offer, apparently, much solace or comfort to carry him towards his twilight years). Number three, of course, not being HEARD or UNDERSTOOD, and his needs going IGNORED.

Fear, seems to be motivating Mr. Osborne to "cling" on to something that may have never been there in the first place (the love is not "felt", but "simulated").

If children was one's INVESTMENT in a marriage, once that "investment" walks out that door, as an adult, and never to return, how does one re-invent one's SELF? The marriage? The "intimacy"?

                                           Audrey (Shelly Burch) Jack (Malachy Cleary)

 Wealth is a wonderful thing, and in the 80's, Fairfield County, Connecticut (really beginning from the 40's to the height of the 80's, to be exact) was considered to be one of, if not THE WEALTHIEST county (besides Alpine California, and 50 townships in New Jersey; such as Franklin Lakes, Montville and so on) in all of the United States ("circumstances" have changed, since then).

To be wealthy and live in Connecticut, (especially as a "new wealthy individual") was the cornerstone of SOCIAL SUCCESS (on every level of the social strata). The state did not have an INCOME TAX, or PROPERTY TAX, which allowed the NEW WEALTHY to keep most of their money and assets. This is no longer the case in that state. However, this play SPEAKS TO THAT ERA in which such an antithetical living, especially during the Reagan Years, encouraged living in this IVORY TOWER  "existence" in which people were encouraged to live in their own "reality" or "bubble".

Hey, there's nothing wrong with that, until TRAGEDY strikes...

Audrey(Shelly Burch) and Jack's (Paul Carlin) daughter has married Kenny (Adam Petherbridge); the son of the Osbornes.  It's Easter Sunday and the Osbornes envited Kenny's wife's parents.

Kenny and his new wife are expecting a baby, but there's a HORRIFYING SECRET which eventually, after plenty of drinks, the secret's out.

Everyone "knows" that there's something horribly and terribly WRONG with the baby...

Or is it a baby....?

This second couple has lost a son of their own before; will the nightmare repeat itself...?

     Audrey (Shelly Burch) Jack (Malachy Cleary) Gil (Paul Carlin) Joyce (Glynnis O'connor)

It has been "postulated" by social scientists that those born into wealth or acquire it later, in either case, are not quite "equipped" in handling mundane matters-let alone a crisis (at the magnitude these poor folks are facing)

And yet this is exactly what these two couples are experiencing-a test...

The acting was EXPLOSIVE, DRAMATIC (but not melodramatic). You were kept at the edge of your seat!

Although the INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY was weak in originality and "substance", the director, Martin Charnin, managed to keep us interested and invested in the characters by formulating an ensemble of actors that really "brought it home" through a most POWERFUL PERFORMANCE.


The audience LOVED IT! When the performance was over I went out to dinner with my guest, and we met several audience participants who sat with us and (a total of eight!) discussed the play in depth. We all concluded, that the ACTING, the DIRECTING, and the SET DESIGN, was what made this production (75.00 per ticket!), WORTH the PRICE!

Special thanks to Deborah Brown for casting such a talented group of actors for this performance.

Beowulf Borrit, and Alexis Distler did a FABULOUS job with the SET DESIGN (giving it a real Connecticut, New England "feel". It felt like you were in the town of Darien-nice!).

This PRODUCTION receives 2 1/2 stars...