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From the Fringe ‐ Review of "Inexperienced Love"

Inexperienced Love

I had my first taste of the 16th annual New York International Fringe

Festival last evening. I saw two shows, and have already committed to

return to see two more shows next weekend. If you are not familiar

with the Fringe, it may surprise you to learn that previous Fringefestivals have helped to launch shows like Avenue Q  and Urinetown

onto Broadway. The first show I saw last night was a show that had its

embryonic beginnings in Pittsburgh in the Carnegie Mellon University

School of Drama. "Inexperienced Love" has the fingerprints of the very

talented Jacob Tischler all over it; he serves as composer, lyricist,

book writer and lead actor for the musical.

"The show is an original musical focused on uncovering the true

definition of love. Despite it’s familiar theme, each of the three story 

lines is unique. The music stays true to the voice of each narrative,

leap‐frogging from sweeping duets to spitfire comedy to sex‐driven

 gospel. Two lovers confront each other, two introverted high school

students lose themselves to their hormones, and one audience member 

becomes a prospective fiance.

This show is backed by team almost completely comprised of Carnegie

Mellon University School of Drama students. The piece was conceived 

in 2010 during an annual event called Playground, a festival of created 

work fostered by the CMU Drama Program. Since then, it has been

 produced as a fundraiser event in Vermont, and returned to CMU by 

 popular demand." 

 

White Rhino Partners

Dr. Al Chase, White Rhino Partners 1

Broadway, 14th floor Kendall Sq.,

Cambridge, MA 02142

achase@whiterhinopartners.com

office: (617) 401‐2113

About Me

The White Rhino

Cambridge, Massachusetts, United

States

As the Founder of White Rhino

Partners, I work as an executive

recruiter. Client companies and

executive level candidates look to

me ‐ not just as a recruiter ‐ but

as a trusted advisor. I specialize

in placing senior executives who

are "Renaissance Men and

Women," and who are

entrepreneurial leaders ‐ many of 

whom have had a distinguished

military career and/or are Service

Academy graduates and hold MBA's

from top‐tier business schools.

(View my Profile in the LinkedIn

Network at:

http://www.linkedin.com/in/ach

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The White Rhino Report ‐ “A Marketplace WhereMany Diverse Ideas Meet for Coffee!”In this blog, I endeavor to share thoughts about issues that I find timely and compelling ‐ leadership, faith,

business issues, recruiting trends, Renaissance Men and Women in the world, Service Academies and theirgraduates, helping military leaders transition to leadership roles in the business world, international travel,literature, theater, films, the arts and The 2013 World Champion Boston Red Sox!

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So, the question is: As an audience member seeing this show for the

first time, what did I experience? In short,, "I experienced love."  I

love this show! How do I love this show? Let me count the ways:

1. I love the concept of three disparate young couples wrestling

with a bouillabaisse of emotions, conflicts, insecurities, hopes,

dashed dreams, awkward moments, raging hormones and ham‐

fisted gropings for connection ‐ for love and for self‐awareness.

2. I love the energy and vulnerability of the cast. It is a strongensemble, and their solos, duets, trios and full cast numbers

advance the telling of the individual and collective stories.

 Each actor is worthy of mention.

1. Tischler as Jake is the heart of the show. Jake opens the

book of the show by literally opening the dictionary to

define "love."   And we are off and running. His look, his

affect, his singing and speaking voice, his physical

presence all are perfect for this character who is in

search of himself and of the chance to regain his lost

Penny.

2. Casey Layne Anderson as Penny is a revelation. Herover‐the‐top portrayal of a penny that has been taken

out of circulation reminded me very much of one of the

pretzel‐wielding German bar maids in the iconic number

"Springtime for Hitler and Germany" in "The Producers."

3. Jon Jorgenson as Frank is too focused on his career

ambitions to give Emma the kind of attention she craves.

 Jorgenson has a beautiful singing voice and a tall and

imposing physical presence. My one quibble with him is

that on a couple of occasions during the show, the actor

seemed to be standing in a set pose downstage left as if 

he were concertizing in a recital as Jon rather than

telling a story of a real situation as Frank.

4. Olive Harris as Emma establishes a strong sense of 

character who is often frustrated at Frank's placing her

needs second or third to his duty to take care of Jake,

who is reeling from Penny's rejection of him, or to

Frank's propensity to give into the impulse: "It seemed 

like the right thing to do"!

5. Emily Koch as Ruthie is the nerdy fish out of water who

eventually takes the bull by the horns and tracks down

Jameson when he is too shy and scared to show up for a

first date they had set. A highlight of her performance is

the trio "I Want a Man," with Penny and Emma in whichshe reveals that Jameson's sexual hang‐ups have

prompted her to try out lesbianism for size.

6. Trevor McQueen as Jameson is wonderful. This former

childhood Broadway actor ‐ "Annie Get Your Gun"  with

Bernadette Peters ‐ almost steals the show as Jameson.

He soliloquizes about his cornucopia of phobias and self‐

doubts. His hair alone ‐ and Ruthie's blunt response to

its absurdity ‐ is worth the price of admission. Their

duet, "Not Pretty,"  is heart‐rending.

3. I love the promise of Tischler as a Broadway composer and

ase)

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Inexperienced Love

lyricist. I see the seeds of a young Sondheim ‐ in the music,

the lyrics ‐ especially in the patter songs ‐ and in the slightly

cynical view of relationships that has become a hallmark of 

Sondheim shows. Yet Tischler, perhaps because of youth and

still smoldering optimism, spreads his schmear  of cynicism on

this bagel of a show with a light touch and with a wink and a

smile, instead of the sneer that we often get from later stage

Sondheim with his litany of dark and dysfunctional relationships

in shows like "Company," "Marry Me a Little," "Sweeney Todd," 

"Merrily We Roll Along,"  and "Sunday in the Park with George." 

4. I love the simple and minimalist set of dozens of heart‐shaped

mylar balloons and a few movable chairs. The balloons are

emblematic of the over‐inflated expectations of the six

characters that love would somehow be easy to find and to

sustain. The fact that these static objects are eventually

employed as weapons in a lover's tiff is brilliant staging. The

way in which the balloons subtly swayed back and forth as the

ambient air circulated unpredictably through the performance

space serves as a nice reminder of the way in which the six

characters' hearts are often tugged by invisible currents of 

unpredictable emotions and irrational actions.5. I love Tischler's use of foreshadowing. His opening reading from

the dictionary seems effective, but a bit pedantic in the

moment, but takes on a whole new level of meaning when the

audience learns what Penny said to him in their moment of 

break‐up when he admitted: "I don't know what love is!" ‐a

distinctly anti‐Forrest Gump moment.

6. I love the author's deep understanding of adolescent angst and

endemic "emotional acne." Each character seems drawn from

life, and each gesture, movement, argument, quip, retort and

aside adds to the sense of believability of them as real people.

7. I love the moments when I, along with many other audiencemembers, erupted in belly laughs at the silliness or poignancy of 

the characters' actions and inner thoughts.

You have two more opportunities to see this show at the Fringe ‐

Saturday, 8/18 and Wednesday, 8/22. Go on‐line now and get your

tickets.

You may see a future Broadway actor or composer or producer on stage

at the Players' Theatre in the East Village.  I do not make that

prediction lightly. I saw the show last night in the company of the

talented Cott brothers ‐ Casey and Corey.  Casey is a current Carnegie

Mellon School of Drama student, and Corey is a recent grad. Coreyhad been cast in "Inexperienced Love,"  but had to back out when he

was recently cast to replace Jeremy Jordan as the lead in the run‐

away Broadway hit "Newsies" !

INFO ABOUT Inexperienced Love

Take this fast-paced plunge into the

mystery of love. Following three

dynamic story lines, the musical

explores the romance, discoveries, and pitfalls of this

puzzling emotion. Hearts shatter, candy is eaten, and you

might even become betrothed.

Dre...

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Venue: Players Theatre, 115 MacDougal Street

Prices: $15.00 - $18.00

Performance Dates: August 12, 2012 - August 22, 2012

Box Office/Info: 866-468-7619

Producer:  iLove Productions

Author:  Jacob Tischler

Director:  Benjamin Viertel

Get Tickets at FringeNYC

Show Website

 SAT 8/18 @ 7:30‐8:40PM

WED 8/22 @ 10:00‐11:10PM

 

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