Theater Review: Theatre on the Square (TOTS): Enter Love

Theatre on the Square (TOTS) opens its 2015-2016 season with "Enter Love: the Airport Musical," a musical directed and choreographed by Kenny Shepard.

Although the story is set in an international airport, it bears no other likeness to the 1963 film "The V.I.P.s." Starring Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, the classic film had passengers interacting in an airport 's exclusive lounge amid personal crises brought about due to the plane's delay.
Enter Love is a musical, with music and lyrics by Lynn Lupold and Kenny Shepard, centering on everyday people struggling to find answers to life's romantic questions.
Josiah McCruiston brings the audience to laughter portraying Harold, Fern (Harold's wife) and Joe Bob for varying levels of humour. McCruiston surprises you when he sashays across the stage wearing a dress and wig, only to appear moments later in his husband-ish attire. The student at Marian University is quite the quick change artist as well as vocal and comedic talent.

Danny Kingston is delicious in any role he plays, and Austin, Chip and Wayne are no exceptions. Taking on three characters, the Beef and Boards Dinner Theatre regular performer transforms himself into each seamlessly. Whether a flight attendant greeting and helping you find a seat, tucked between two other rednecks, or wondering about his significant other and young son, Kingston shines.

As the various trials and tribulations are worked out to some degree, the characters share their more vulnerable side to the audience and each other. Some laughs, some tears and some reality checks brings this story into the "truth be told" category. Be prepared as this production runs long, with an intermission. 

Bottom Line: Enter Love: the Airport Musical shares life, laughter and love in personal relationships of all types.

Images provided by TOTS

Elizabeth J. Musgrave writes two magazine food and wine columns: Destination Dining and White Linen & Corks,and is a travel, features, food and wine writer, travel and food photographer, and performing arts and restaurant critic. Follow her on Twitter @GottaGo, LinkedIn and Facebook.

Theater Review: Beef and Boards Dixie Swim Club

I like British farces. I really do. I look forward to Beef and Boards' tradition of opening every season with one. Now the powers that be have decided to switch things out and run a "regular" comedy for the opening show of the 39th season. Curious, I attended wondering if the changing of the guards was a wise choice.

Dixie Swim Club brings together, annually, the members of a college girls' swim team for a long weekend with "no men, no kids and no work." Martinis are definitely allowed, however, as are laughter, tears and bickering. Toss in loyalty, friendship and strength and you will have mixed up a potion of unconditional love as tasty as one of the cocktails consumed continually by Dinah, portrayed superbly by Rita Thomas.
Spanning a period of 33 years, the five southern women share their lives, trials and triumphs with sass and spunk. Through marriages, divorces, career changes, health issues and death, their team spirit makes their reliance on each other grow stronger with each passing year.
Destination Actor Sarah Hund portrays an Eyeore-esque character named Vernadette, whose life is full of one mishap and woe after another. The plucky lady greets her jinxed life with a wisecrack and smile.

Thomas portrays the career-driven attorney without a love life but plenty of mixed drinks and financial success.
Jill Kelly portrays Lexie, the over-the-top divorcee (again and again) who still believes the world revolves around her.
Sheree, played by Angela R. Plank, runs her life, and the lives of her friends, with the precision from her days as the swim team captain.
Sweet, naive Jeri Neal, performed by Laurie Walton, has just left her old existence behind and is on an exciting journey of all the firsts in life.

Reminiscent of every great chick flick and great for-females television program, DSC brings together the lives of women in an endearing, funny and poignant manner. The well written script (Nicholas Hope, Jessie Jones, Jamie Wooten) covers all the facets of a woman's life without harping on any one period more than others. Trimming down on specifics, such as wrinkles, and committing heavier coverage to the major events lends the play to more universal topics: Life. Love. Death.

Creating characters most people can relate to (or resemble themselves) gives credibility to the flow and blending of the women's lives. Challenges produce change and the ladies push each other, sometimes unwillingly, to reach inside themselves to be stronger, softer or kinder as the need arises.

Time will tell whether the British farce or southern comedy will win more of the audience affection. If I had to make a bet, however, I would not count out the ladies.

Bottom Line: If you are a fan of Menopause: The Musical, Church Basement Ladies or Steel Magnolias then you will howl with laughter and well with tears at Beef and Boards' Dixie Swim Club.

For shows, tickets and complete details, visit BeefandBoards.com
Images: JulieCurryPhotography.com
Elizabeth J. Musgrave is a syndicated columnist, travel writer, performing arts and restaurant critic. Catch her as Indy’s Arts & Entertainment Adviser on 93 WIBC, and follow her on Twitter @GottaGO and Facebook. Gotta Go is published in the following newspapers: South Sider Voice, Indiana Weekender, New Palestine Reporter, Pendleton Times Reporter and Fortville-McCordsville Reporter.