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trodding the boards

by Brian Sands E-mail: [email protected]

constantly with a wire whisk. Stir in lemonjuice. Remove from heat. Yield: 2/3 cup.

FRESH BASILCORN ON THE COB

2 ears fresh corn with husks1/8 cup butter, softened¼ teaspoon grated orange rind1 tablespoon chopped fresh basilRemove heavy outer husks from corn;

pull back inner husks. Remove and dis-card silks. Pull husks back over corn, andplace on a microwave safe dish. Micro-wave on high seven minutes, turning cornafter three and a half minutes. Stir togetherbutter, orange rind, and basil. Pull backhusks, and brush the butter mixture evenlyover corn. Yield: 2 servings.

PERFECT BAKED POTATOFor each person bake one potato, so

for this menu we are going to make two.First of all scrub two large baking potatoeswith a vegetable brush; pat dry. Pierceeach potato 3 or four times with a fork, andrub with butter or olive oil for a crisper skin.Rub with salt or sea salt if desired. (Do notwrap in foil. Wrapping holds in moisture,causing a texture similar to a boiled po-tato. If you like soft skins, wrap potato in foilafter baking, and let stand ten minutes.)Bake potato directly on the oven rack, at450 degrees for one hour and ten min-utes. If baking more than four potatoes,add five minutes to the baking time foreach additional potato.

SOUR CREAM YEAST ROLLS¼ cup sour cream¼ cup butter¼ cup sugar½ teaspoon salt1 (¼ ounce) envelope active dry yeast¼ cup warm water (100-110 degrees)

1 large egg beaten2 cups all-purpose flourMelted butter to brush rolls when doneCook first four ingredients in a sauce-

pan over low heat, stirring occasionally,until butter melts. Cool mixture to 100degrees. Dissolve yeast in ¼ cup warmwater in a large bowl; let stand five min-utes. Stir in sour cream mixture and egg.Gradually add flour to yeast mixture, mix-ing well. (Dough will be wet.) Cover andchill eight hours. Punch dough down.Shape into 36 (1-inch) balls; place 3 ballsin each lightly greased muffin cup. Coverand let rise in a warm place (85 degrees),free from drafts, one hour or until doubledin bulk. Bake at 375 degrees for ten totwelve mi nutes or until golden brown.Brush with melted butter. Yield: One dozen.

FRESH STRAWBERRIES WITHHOT FUDGE SAUCE

1 pint ripe juicy fresh strawberriesWash strawberries well, discarding

any that are bruised or not red-ripe. Keeprefrigerated until ready to use.

Hot Fudge Sauce1 (12-ounce) package semisweet

chocolate morsels1 cup half and half1 tablespoon butter1 teaspoon vanilla extractCombine all ingredients in a sauce-

pan. Cook over medium heat until choco-late melts and sauce is smooth, stirringoften. Serve warm. Dip strawberries us-ing stems into sauce and serve to eachother.

Have a great Valentine’s Day Dinner,and think of your Auntie Dee as the eveningprogresses, but not for to long my dears,I really don’t want to interfere with theevenings outcome.

You may contact me [email protected].

cookin' with auntie dee...from Main-20

Broadway on Demandat Minacapelli’sDinner Playhouse

Take four of our area’s mosttalented singer/performers, adirector with a flair for cabaret,

and songs from Broadway’s juke boxstretching from the 1920s to today and theresult is Broadway on Demand, the de-lightful revue playing through February 16at Minacapelli’s in Slidell.

Broadway show tunes? “Been there,done that,” might be your understandablereaction. But Jonne Dendinger, who con-ceived and directed the show, has chosenher numbers wisely, kept the pacing brisk,and guided her cast to fresh-soundinginterpretations of these (mostly) chest-nuts. Moreover, she has sequenced thesongs so that, while no attempt is madeto tell a story, each one resonates withthose that precede and follow it.

Thus There’s No Business Like ShowBusiness (from Annie Get Your Gun),Another Opening, Another Show (Kiss

Me, Kate) and Together, Wherever We Go(Gypsy) start off the show in full gear. Theexuberance of I Wonder Why/You’re Justin Love (Call Me Madam) leads into thejoy of Almost Like Being in Love(Brigadoon), followed by the getting-to-know-you-ness of Small World (Gypsy).The giddiness of Tonight at 8 (She LovesMe) comes next before the more contem-plative A Quiet Place (Flora, the RedMenace) and What I Did For Love (AChorus Line).

If the second act is a teensy moredisjointed than the first, that’s because ateach performance the audience gets tovote for four songs (out of a list of 29) thatwill then be slotted into the line-up. Thiswas so smoothly done that unless one ofyour choices makes the cut, you might beunaware that every show is a veritableopening night. And while one might wishfor a few more choices, other than two fromJekyll & Hyde, that are less than twentyyears old, Hairspray’s delectable (You’re)Timeless To Me gets done every night.

Tony Fennelly’s minimal dialog is just

enough to provide some continuity, but thesongs stand on their own, especially whendone this well.

With her gorgeous, pitch perfect voice,it’s always a pleasure to hear BrandiCotogno Lopez, a natural actress with aphysiognomy seemingly inspired byModigliani. Hers is a range that can gowith ease from the limpid Till There wasYou (The Music Man) to the racier All ThatJazz (Chicago).

Philip Gordon is as cute and charm-ing with his clothes on as he was withthem off in Naked Boys Singing; he broughta gentle strength to Sweeney Todd’s NotWhile I’m Around, one of the audience’schoices the night I saw the show.

Last seen as a smoldering Roches-ter in NOCCA’s Jane Eyre, ChristopherWoods has a voice that’s perfect for theseclassic Broadway songs and he uses it tofine effect for I’ve Never Been in LoveBefore (Guys and Dolls, the movie) amongothers. In September, he’ll be moving toManhattan to pursue a degree in theater atMarymount College; NOLA’s loss is NYC’sgain.

Last but not least, Rikki Gee is a finecomic actress whose flubbing of the lyricsin No Time At All (Pippin) is excusablewhen one considers that the entire pro-duction was put together in less than twoweeks. She more than made up for it,however, with a blistering Everything’sComing Up Roses (Gypsy), unquestion-ably the dramatic high point of the show.

Marshall Harris’ black, grey and silverart deco skyline scenic design trans-formed the small stage into an elegantsetting. Likewise, Lindsey Price’s chore-ography was simple yet effective.

Two suggestions: (1) Ladies, a littleless eye shadow. You’re both beautifulenough so that, in such a small space, somuch make-up is unnecessary. The onlyperson who might need a little, or even alot of, extra cosmetic help is the specialguest star for the fabulous finale. (2) Doinclude a listing of the songs and theshows they’re from; it’s a bit of a challengeto remember so many wonderful mo-ments.

With or without a menu, however, it’spretty easy to remember the dinner servedby Ginger Luke. A green bean and arti-choke casserole is a delicious new addi-tion to the offerings. A peach glaze made

the Brisket Luke even more scrumptiousthan ever. And the chocolate cake with hotfudge topping? Can we say Y-U-M-M-Y!!!Which, in fact, pretty much sums up Broad-way on Demand.

Orpheus in the Underworldat Roussel PerformanceHall, Loyola University

Jacques Offenbach’s operaOrpheus in the Underworldmay be best known for giving us

the cancan, but it is also a scathing satireof things social, political and artistic circa1858. Whatever serious undertones it mayhave once had, however, are lost on today’saudiences allowing us to simply enjoy itsloony tale of gods and mortals partying,fighting, and falling in and out of love.

Using a witty, although uncreditedtranslation interspersed with a few localreferences, Loyola Opera Theatre recentlypresented this musical bonbon in a jubi-lant production.

Against Alan Rusnak’s unfussy scen-ery, David Morelock’s canny directionbrought out the work’s sometimes sillyhumor while never dumbing it down. Heelicited appropriately stylized acting fromhis young cast that well-fit this Gallic cousinto Gilbert and Sullivan shows.

David Bloom and Jayme Yarbro-Hogan portrayed Orpheus and Eurydicewho here, unlike most versions of theirtale, can’t stand each other. Yarbro-Hogandisplayed a lovely voice and fine dictionthough, in a role that calls for an authenticdiva, seemed more to be playing at it thanthe actual thing. As the violin instructor withthe roving eye, Bloom proved to be a goodcomic actor though his slightly rough voicecould’ve used a little more support.

Playing the chief god confronted byrevolting lesser ones, Brian Sanford sangthe role of Jupiter well and his mugging fitsuitably within the bounds of thisproduction’s tongue-in-cheekiness; amore authoritarian interpretation, however,might have resulted in more genuinelaughs. Still, his and Yarbro-Hogan’s sec-ond act Fly Duet was crazy fun.

Among the featured gods and god-desses of Mount Olympus, Mary PenickAkin (Venus), Maria Elena Altany (Cupid),

[continued on Main-24]

Philip Gordon, Rikki Gee, Brandi Cotogno Lopez and Christopher Woods inBroadway on Demand


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MAIN~24 of 48 • MAIN~24 of 48 • MAIN~24 of 48 • MAIN~24 of 48 • MAIN~24 of 48 • AmbushMag.COM • Feb. 12-25, 2008 • The One & Only Official Gay Mardi Gras Guide • GayMardiGras.COM• Feb. 12-25, 2008 • The One & Only Official Gay Mardi Gras Guide • GayMardiGras.COM• Feb. 12-25, 2008 • The One & Only Official Gay Mardi Gras Guide • GayMardiGras.COM• Feb. 12-25, 2008 • The One & Only Official Gay Mardi Gras Guide • GayMardiGras.COM• Feb. 12-25, 2008 • The One & Only Official Gay Mardi Gras Guide • GayMardiGras.COM

Rachel Wilson (Diana) and JenniferMitchell (Minerva and perhaps a futureJessye Norman) gave spot-on perfor-mances, both vocally and dramatically,that made one sit up and take notice. AsMercury, Daniel DeShazo earned extrapoints for singing, and singing well, onroller skates.

Portraying Eurydice’s S & M inclinedjailer in Hades, not something you’d ex-pect to find at Loyola, Michael Davidsonpulled off the tough role with panache.Orpheus’ violin students (Lauren Berman,Nehy Högg, Sarah Teague, ElizabethBogner and Wilson) amused with theirsqueaky voices.

Laura Zambrano did a very good jobof choreographing, especially the iconiccancan, and her dancers (Kelly Amstutz,Megan Adams, Colleen Murphy, MaryEsther Tucker) were excellent.

That Music Director Carol Rausch gotsuch an overall impressive level ofsongsmanship from her relatively youth-ful cast is not surprising given her consis-tently fine vocal work. Conducting an or-chestra of 30 made up of Loyola studentsand faculty members, Rausch drew forthgenerally fine playing that became crisperas the performance progressed.

By presenting a too rarely seen operain a fully entertaining production, Loyola’sopera program did just what such a uni-versity program should be doing.

Goin’ to Jacksonat Le Chat Noir

That Jamie Wax is a fine actor isbeyond doubt. As he demonstrated in, well, Doubt, a per-

formance that was honored with an AmbieAward nomination for Best Actor in a Play

and is sure to receive other such awardrecognition later this year, he can sub-merge himself in a character of anothertime and place to devastating effect.

Having recently seen Goin’ to Jack-son at Le Chat Noir, a one man show hewrote as well as starred in, however, Waxmay want to consider sticking to acting.

Goin’ to Jackson is set in the EastLouisiana State Hospital in Jackson, LA.

A doctor,seemingly incharge of theplace, tells uswe’re going tobe seeing theL o u i s i a n aState MentalHealth PosterPerson &SpokesmodelContest inwhich fourresidents ofthe hospitalwill compete.The doctor iskinda goopieand what withreferences toW i l l i a mJ e f f e r s o n ,David Vitter,B r i t n e ySpears andeven PaulaAbdul all fil-tered througha broadlycomic lens,we’re notsure what toexpect.

One byone the “con-t e s t a n t s ”come on andi n t r o d u c ethemselvesin extended

monologs. There’s an old geezer cut fromthe George Burns mold, a young gay man,a young blind man and an older black ladywith a bladder condition.

With exquisite chameleon-like skillWax embodies each of these people, butto what end? These are characters thatare not that interesting or cliches or both.We get one bad or old joke after another,sometimes the same one twice.Cleontyne, the black lady, offers gags aboutmenopause that Phyllis Diller might’vegotten yucks with 40 years ago but nowsimply feel tired. And just when you thinkWax has managed to include every con-ceivable minority in this mishigas, theblind guy turns out to be Jewish for nogood reason except so that it can serve asa punch line to another lame joke.

Though Jackson includes a few wor-thy insights, there’s shameless tuggingat the heartstrings, songs that go on toolong, and while Wax’s parody of certainLouisiana institutions and archetypes isdone lovingly, his humor seems to beplaying to the lowest common denomina-tor, e.g. the blind guy says of a former date“Her acne spelt out ‘fart’ in Braille.”

Certainly, one joke involving JackieO., though preposterous, was at leastfunny, and I didn’t see the punch linecoming for a terribly punny one whosepayoff was “Tony Orlando & Dawn”; yet,among his other offerings, shouldn’t any

trodding the boards ...from M-22

joke involving Murder, She Wrote havebeen retired a decade ago?

In its final moments, Goin’ to Jack-son has a twist that tidily explains theabsurdity that came before but it doesn’treally cut it. It’s almost as if Wax is apolo-gizing for, or at the least explaining away,the shortcomings of the preceding twohours.

Based on when the songs were copy-righted (1991), it seems that Wax wroteJackson when he was in high school orcollege judging by his youthful appear-ance. Perhaps it’s time he consideredretiring it and writing something new forhimself. In fact, I take back my commentthat he should consider sticking to acting.Rather, for his next outing, I hope he writessomething commensurate with his over-size acting talents.

Loretta Lynn at IP CasinoResort & Spa

Do want to let you know thatLoretta Lynn will be appear-ing at the IP Casino Resort &

Spa in Biloxi on Friday, February 15. As Iwrote after seeing her three years ago,“Combining one of the greatest voices ofour time with flawless interpretative skills,throughout each number Lynn makes youfeel like she’s talking right to you.”

Though I understand the concert issold out, it may be worth a trip over to Biloxito see if any last minute cancellationsmight allow you entrance to savor thisliving legend. Unlike her last appearancenear here in Gulfport where it felt like shewas playing in a barn, the IP’s new 850seat theater should allow for a more inti-mate entertainment experience. “We havea new sound and lighting system whichallows us to mount very sophisticatedshows,” says entertainment managerTessa Rogers.

In addition to Lynn, this newly remod-eled space is featuring some of thenation’s top performers including MirandaLambert, Mickey Gilley, Anthony Cools,Keith Sweat, Kelly Pickler and many more.IP recently produced a sold-out originalholiday show featuring Eugene Eash andstarring former American Idol KimberlyCaldwell.

Tickets are now on sale for countrystar Kelly Pickler and may be ordered online at IP’s website www.ipbiloxi.com.For additional information call 1.800.WINAT IP.

on the boardspher Woods, Philip Gordon and Rikki Gee.Tickets $40 (includes delicious all-you-can-eat dinner). 6:30pm Friday-Saturday.Through Feb. 16.

BRYAN BATT. Le Chat Noir, 715 St.Charles Ave., 581.5812 — New Orleans’own Broadway baby and TV star (MadMen) sings show tunes from the classicAmerican songbook. Tickets $32 (includesa $5 drink credit). 8pm Friday-Saturday,February 22 and 23.

CLASS CLOWNS. Actor’s Theatre ofNew Orleans, WTIX Building, 2nd floor,4539 N. I-10 Service Road, Metairie,456.4111 — A weekly improv show featur-ing René Piazza, Chelle Ambrose,Rebecca Taliancich, Viki Lovelace, BrianCollins, Kevin Songy and Danny Marin.Tickets $10. 10:30pm Saturday.

THE CLEAN HOUSE. Southern RepTheatre, The Shops at Canal Place, 333Canal St., 3rd floor, 522.6545 — Regionalpremiere of Sarah Ruhl’s Pulitzer-nomi-nated comedy about fighting the dirt inyour life, finding your true love at any ageand the quest for the perfect joke. AiméeHayes directs Leslie Castay, Bob Edes,Jr., Maria Helan, Tari Hohn Lagasse andPeggy Walton-Walker. Tickets $29. 8pmThursday-Saturday, 3pm Sunday. Febru-ary 20-March 16.

FLANAGAN’S WAKE. WestwegoPerforming Arts Theatre, 177 Sala Ave.,Westwego, 885.2000 — JPAS presentsan audience interactive show set in thefictional village of Grapplin, County Sligo,Ireland. Mark Czoske directs Kerry Cahill,Jerry Lee Leighton, Krista Schafer, BobScully, Michael Sullivan and others. Tick-ets $26, $23 seniors, $19 students, $12children 12-under. 7:30pm Friday-Satur-day, 2pm Sunday. February 22-March 9.

A FLEA IN HER EAR. Rivertown Rep-ertory Theatre, 325 Minor St., Kenner,468.7221 — Feydeau’s classic farce inwhich a wife’s test of her husband’s fidel-ity sets off a string of madcap mixups. GaryRucker directs Mark Burton, Butch Caire,Angie Joachim, Keith Launey, RandyMaggiore, Liz Mills, Lisa Picone, JoeSeibert and this year’s Ambie Award nomi-nees Kyle Daigrepont, Morrey McElroy &P.J. McKinnie. Tickets $25, $22 seniors(55 and up)/students, $12 children (6-12).Messina’s optional pre-performance buf-fet is available for $20. 8pm Thursday-Saturday, 2:30pm Sunday. February 22-March 9. GEM OF THE OCEAN. DillardUniversity, Samuel DuBois Cook Theatre,2601 Gentilly Blvd., 816-4857 — The firstinstallment of August Wilson’s “PittsburghCycle.” Directed by Ray Vrazel. Tickets$12, $7 students/seniors, $5 Dillard stu-dents. 8pm Friday-Saturday, 3pm Sunday.Through Feb. 24.

THE GREAT AMERICAN TRAILERPARK MUSICAL. Westwego PerformingArts Theatre, 177 Sala Ave., Westwego,885.2000 — Rip-roaring musical celebrat-ing the trailer trash in all of us. SeanPatterson directs Richard Arnold, CarrieBlack, Ford Jones Dieth, Jr., MorlaGorrondona, Meredith Long, JessieTerrebonne and Cammie West. Tickets$26, $23 seniors, $19 students, $12 chil-dren 12-under. 7:30pm Friday-Saturday,2pm Sunday. Through Mar. 9.

I TAKE YOUR HAND IN MINE. Le

THE BACHELOR IN NEW OR-LEANS. 948.4167 — A fun and kicky adap-tation of Robert Kinney’s worldly, eccentricWWII gentlemen’s guide to getting themost out of the Vieux Carre, updated topost-Katrina New Orleans. Performed byMichael Martin. 7pm Wednesdays, Pirate’sAlley Cafe, 622 Pirate’s Alley, $8 plus onedrink minimum/7pm Sundays, The Ta-rantula Arms, 209 Decatur St., one drinkminimum.

BROADWAY ON DEMAND.Minacapelli’s Dinner Playhouse, 1540Lindberg Drive, Slidell, 985.781.6565 —Delightful musical review of Broadwaytunes; in Act Two the audience chooseswhat they want to hear. Jonne Dendingerdirects Brandi Cotogno Lopez, Christo-


Orpheus in the Underworld


Chat Noir, 715 St. Charles Ave., 581.5812/453.6581 — Ro-mantic drama by Carol Rocamora tracing the passionaterelationship between the great Russian playwright AntonChekhov and actress Olga Knipper, the love of his life.Natasha Ramer directs Scott Jefferson and Lyla Hay Owen.Tickets $26 (includes $5 bar credit). 8pm Friday-Saturday.February 15 & 16.

KATRINA’S PATH. The Lab Theatre, the Performing ArtsCenter, UNO Lakefront, 280.7469 — Encore performance ofRob Florence’s outstanding retelling of Katrina survivors’stories. Directed by David Hoover. 2:30pm Sunday, February24.

LOVE LETTERS. Le Chat Noir, 715 St. Charles Ave.,581.5812 — A.R. Gurney’s epistolary comedy/drama por-trays the long-distance, generation-spanning romance be-tween two WASPs. Carl Walker directs Nell Nolan and SteveKelley. Tickets $26 (includes $5 bar credit). 8pm Wednesday& Thursday, February 13 & 14.

MY NAME IS CHAINSAW. The Lab Theatre, the Per-forming Arts Center, UNO Lakefront, 280.7469 — Encoreperformance of Jared Gore’s one-act play. 7:30pm Sunday,February 24.

THE NEW ORLEANS BINGO! SHOW. Le Chat Noir, 715St. Charles Ave., 581-5812 — Weimar cabaret filtered througha New Orleans sensibility. Like nothing else around! Tickets$20. 8pm Friday-Saturday, February 29 and March 1.

9 PARTS OF DESIRE. Lower Depths Theatre, LoyolaUniversity, 6363 St. Charles Ave., 865.2074 — Heather Raffo’sportrait of a cross-section of Iraqi women’s lives. Directed byLaura Hope. Tickets $12, $8 students, children & seniorcitizens. 8pm Thursday-Saturday, 2pm Sunday. February 22-March 1.

PRIVATE PROPERTY. Actor’s Theatre of New Orleans,WTIX Building, 2nd floor, 4539 N. I-10 Service Road, Metairie,456.4111 — Three one act plays written and directed by RenéJ. F. Piazza. Featuring Danny Marin, John Breerwood, JoshStover, Nick Jacketti and Robert Facio. Tickets $18, $16students/seniors. 7:30pm Friday-Saturday, 2:30pm Sunday.Through Feb. 24.

7 DAYS OF PARADISE. NOCCA, 2800 Chartres St., 940.2900 —A new, multidisciplinary, modern opera based on New Orleans artistJeffrey Cook’s experiences in the seven days after Katrina. Writtenand directed by Harold Sylvester with music by Jay Weigel. StarringCook and Leah Chase. Tickets $20, $18 students/seniors. 8pmFriday-Saturday. February 15 and 16.

SIX CHARACTERS IN SEARCH OF AN AUTHOR. Lupin The-ater, Tulane University, 16 Newcomb Place, 865.5105 — Luigi

Pirandello’s classic about six fictionalcharacters who arrive at a rehearsal of aplay and proceed to convince the directorto allow them to perform their true dramafor him. Buzz Podewell directs AllisonBlackwell, Andrew Farrier, Sarah Faust,Jordana Fraider, Richard Mayer, Sam

on the boards ...from Main-24


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