Tag: reviews

The Roles We Play

At: Richmond Triangle Players at the Robert B. Moss Theatre, 1300 Altamont Avenue,  RVA 23220

Performances: April 23 – May 17, 2025

Ticket Prices: $50

Info: (804) 346-8113 or rtriangle.org

A Theater Reflection by Julinda D. Lewis

Ana Nogueira’s Which Way to the Stage is one of the funniest plays I’ve seen this season ever seen. It is also one of the most authentic plays I’ve ever seen about the theater, relationships either the theater or relationships. Which Way to the Stage is complex and layered. It’s filled with inside jokes – I’m sure that I probably only caught a quarter of them – that could be used as a test to weed out the true musical theater afficionados from the amateurs. I do know a few people – I won’t call them friends – who don’t like musical theater; this show is not for them.

Judy (Amanda Spellman) and Jeff (Matt Shofner) are best friends and theater buddies. Judy carries around a binder filled with playbills – including one from the original cast production of Rent. She and Jeff enjoy discussing things like who was the best Mama Rose in Gypsy (Bernadette Peters? Patti LuPone?) as if their very lives depend on the correct response.

“Like a caricature of a caricature of a performance by my mother in the Temple Beth Israel talent show.” – Judy

During the course of Which Way to the Stage, the two meet most nights outside the stage door of the Richard Rodgers Theatre, waiting for Idina Menzel* to appear, hoping to get her to sign their programs. She didn’t come out the night they saw the show she’s starring in, If/Then, and they are racing against time as the show is schedule to close soon.

The main part of the set for Which Way to the Stage is outside the stage door of the Richard Rodgers Theatre, located at 226 West 46^th Street in New York City’s theater district. The scene was immediately familiar to my daughter, who was my theater date on opening night. When we lived in NY, she attended New York’s High School of Graphic Communication Arts on West 49^th Street, a short distance from the theater. Kudos to Daniel Allen, the scenic designer, for the authenticity. The theater marquee and the hallway where the actors wait for their auditions are perfection!

On stage at Richmond Triangle Players (RTP) Spellman and Shofner start off with high spirited theater-nerd banter that – incredibly – just keeps getting better and better as the show goes on. Personal chemistry? Great acting? Let’s say it’s a balanced blending of both. The two usually enter the stage from the audience, starting their loud banter as they walk to the theater – and nearly every time they have a near miss with the NYC traffic.

“I want to be Rent poor!” – Judy

Both Judy and Jeff are actors. Judy is returning to theater after taking time to develop a career in real estate – in New Jersey. She’s talented but lacks confidence. Jeff can’t get the roles he really wants because they’re for cis gender white men – or women. He works as a drag queen and specializes in portraying Streisand as Yentl (there’s some more musical theater history for you!).

Things start to get real when Judy crosses a line. You know how it’s taboo for the white friend to use the word “nigger” around their Black friends? Well, Judy, in an act of solidarity with Jeff, whose ex-boyfriend managed to get Menzel’s autograph on the one night Jeff and Judy could not be there, calls the ex a “faggot.” The atmosphere changes, the mood shifts, and Jeff, as gently as possible, explains that, even thought they have been friends since high school and even though Judy is what we might call an  “ally” these days, she can’t say that word.

At an audition, in which Judy does quite well, but doesn’t quite get the job, she meets and later starts a tenuous relationship with Mark (Calvin Malone). Mark seems to have a leg up on getting parts. He’s tall, white, handsome, and straight – or is he??? This throws a new cog in the wheel of Jeff and Judy’s relationship. There is now sexual tension, rivalry, jealousy, and an unnamed emotion that wells up in Judy when her femininity is not so much questioned as criticized. She is advised to take lessons in being more womanly – from a drag queen.

Spellman manages this brilliantly, starting subtly with a zipper that keeps sliding down, and building up to – well, If I told you, that would be too much of a spoiler. I’ll just say, it builds up, fueled in part by Judy’s own stagnation, Jeff’s insightful but cutting observations, and the Mark triangle.

Speaking of drag queens, Shofner completely slayed in his second act drag scene. First of all, let’s acknowledge the magic of Tariq Kariem (costume designer and wardrobe supervisor) and Like Newsome (who designed the hair and makeup). Shofner’s make-up and wig were applied in record time. At one point, I believe Shofner exited a door in one outfit and reappeared less than a minute later through another door in a completely different outfit! Onstage, after his over the top drag act, ending with a hearty lip-synced rendition of “Defying Gravity,” complete with a black cape, step-ladder and…mop, yes, a mop, not a broom (sigh)…as I was saying, after this number, Shofner, as Jeff, sits at his dressing room table and completes the process of removing every trace of the makeup – and act that is both professional and symbolically profound. As he strips off his character, he reveals more of himself.

There are a lot of symbolic and metaphoric words and actions in Which Way to the Stage. How do we define femininity? Who determines which roles are suitable for a gay actor? (I mean, after all, it’s…acting.) Is bisexuality a valid choice – or is refusing to accept labels just a lack of commitment? How does friendship survive or thrive when career, life, or perhaps being unevenly yoked all sink their hooks into every breath you take, and make it impossible to breathe?

Like most good humor, in my experience, Which Way to the Stage is based on real life: people, situations, circumstances, including identity and belonging – and in this case, all of the above. Shofner and Spellman really shine as the two besties, and Malone is suitably over-confident in a way that makes it seem natural that both Jeff and Judy would be attracted to his character. There is a fourth character, a nameless and over the top entity played by Sydnee Graves.

Graves fills the shoes of an actress at the casting call, a bachelorette at the drag show, and the casting director. I didn’t much like Actress at first. She was bougie, aloof, confrontational. And then she explained to Judy how she had to learn to navigate the world, and she became less of a stereotype and more of a real person. Actress was not written as a fully rounded character, but the tags on her dress, so she can return it after the audition, and her story of sexual harassment are very much true-to-life and provide a much-needed anchor for Judy on her journey. Casting Director is a very minor character, but Bachelorette, a drunken member of a bridal party whooping it up at the drag club where Jeff performs, seems to be included strictly for laughs and seems to have no redeeming qualities other than to provide a vehicle to divert attention from the stresses of the main characters. The three roles serve hilarity to the audience and establish Graves as a versatile comedic actor.

Actress has come to terms with her life, striking an uneasy truce with theater. Jeff has adopted a realistic look at the world of make-believe, and grasps at any straws of hope and love that come his way. Mark, well, he’s the straw. And since he can pass as a straight white male, he has access to privilege. It’s Judy who is floundering, and her way of coming up for air results in one of the most brilliant scenes of the show. (Shofner’s drag show holds two of the top three places.)

Which Way to the Stage is challenging. It unwraps the carefully concealed, seamy side of theater. It’s sort of like a theatrical version of revealing the magician’s secrets. And it’s all brilliantly adorned in witty conversation, complicated friendships, and the “dainties” of life that we usually try so hard to conceal. All out there in the open. With dazzling lights, caterpillar lashes, and the sort of drama that follows you home when you leave the theater.

Directed by RTP’s Artistic Director, Lucian Restivo, who also designed the sound and projections, Which Way to the Stage isn’t a musical, but rather a play centered around a love of musical theater. There is so much familiar music in the pre-show and sound design, and so much talk of musicals, that you almost forget this isn’t actually a musical. Nogueira aptly captures the struggles that artists face in reconciling their personal aspirations with society’s expectations of and for them. Using sharp wit and unusually accurate emotional depth, Which Way to the Stage invites the audience into the inner sanctum, where we can reflect on our own journeys, and perhaps most importantly, it celebrates resilience and offers guidance on how to find and maintain connection in the midst of the chaos of the world. Yeah, you should go see it.

*Idina Menzel, the Queen of Broadway, known for her breakout performance in Rent, her award-winning performance as Elphaba in Wicked, and several award for If/Then. With a voice that spans three octaves, she has been compared to Barbra Streisand – and like her has developed a large gay following. She sand “The Star-Spangled Banner” at Super Bowl LXIX and is known for powerful and empowering songs like “Let It Go” (Disney’s Frozen) and “Defying Gravity” (Wicked).

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Julinda D. Lewis is a dancer, minister of dance, teacher, and writer who was born in Brooklyn, NY and currently resides in Eastern Henrico County. When not writing about theater, she teaches dance history at VCU and low impact dance fitness classes to seasoned movers like herself and occasionally performs.

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WHICH WAY TO THE STAGE

Written by Ana Nogueira

Directed by Lucian Restivo

Cast

Sydnee Graves        —–     Actress/Bachelorette/Casting Director

Calvin Malone          —–     Mark

Matt Shofner            —–     Jeff

Amanda Spellman  —–     Judy

Wayne Parker           —–     u/s for Mar & Jeff

Shannon Schilstra   —–     u/s for Judy & Actress/Bachelorette/Casting Director

Creative Team

Daniel Allen              —–     Scenic Design

Paul Vaillancourt     —–     Lighting Design

Tariq Karriem           —–     Costume Design & Wardrobe Supervisor

Lucian Restivo          —–     Sound & Projection Design

Tim Moehring          —–     Props Design

Luke Newsome        —–     Hair & Makeup Design

Lauren Langston      —–     Production Stage Manager

Performance Schedule

Wednesday, April 23          8:00PM, Preview

Thursday, April 24               8:00PM, Preview

Friday, April 25                    8:00PM, Opening Night

Saturday, April 26                8:00PM

Sunday, April 27                  4:00PM

Thursday, May 1                  8:00PM

Friday, May 2                        8:00PM

Saturday, May 3                   8:00PM

Sunday, May 4                      4:00PM

Thursday, May 8                  8:00PM

Friday, May 9                        8:00PM

Saturday, May 10                 8:00PM

Sunday, May 11                   4:00PM

Wednesday, May 14           8:00PM

Thursday, May 15                8:00PM

Friday, May 16                     8:00PM

Saturday, May 17                 8:00PM

Tickets

Ticket Prices: $50

Run Time

About 2 hours; one intermission

Setting

2015. The stage door of If/Then at the Richard Rodgers Theatre, an audition waiting room, and a drag club

Which Way to the Stage had its WorldPremiere at the MCC Theater in 2022.

Photos from the RTP Facebook page