Keegan Theatre: Gruesome Playground Injuries

 A confession, the title and the playwright intrigued me.  So I bought a ticket.  Just before going to day I say that it was just a two person play.  The only thing more tedious than a mediocre performance by actors in a two person play is a mediocre performance of an actor in a one person play!  Upon entering the lobby--I was a bit early, I joined in with a couple and another man in a conversation about plays and actors we'd seen in productions both at Keegan and at 1st Stage and Olney Theatre Center.  It was a lovely conversation, and I got some nice scoop on a couple of actors.  As much as I feel like I know some of these actors, I am completely oblivious as to what they are up to when they are not on the stage.  This gave a nice ambiance to the start of the experience. 

Then I entered the theatre after the stage doors opened and was gobsmacked by the beautifully balanced set with a slightly over-sized swing set and jungle gym set smack dab in the middle, ensconced on a giant rotating circular platform in the floor.  Another level of excitement passed over me.  And then the lights went down only to rise again revealing the actors Lena (Kayleen) played by Irene Hamiltons and Doug played by Jimmy Bartlebaugh engaged in a vigorous swinging competition as there 6-year-old selves at a parochial school in some mid-western city.  Sitting in seat 2B I wondered whether one or both of them might soon end up in my lap!  The chemistry between the two actors was immediately obvious and electric and all my silly worries disappeared in that instance.

The play is a series of vignettes between these two friends that tells the story of how that friendship came to be, and more importantly why it remains the single most important thing in their adult lives.  While the first vignette has them at 6.  The others pop up with a lighted projection on the top of the wall stage rear and bounce around in a random eruption that takes us from 22 to 32 to 13 to 26 to 38 and others in between.  The writing is fresh and unpredictable in an authentic way.  The surprises make perfect sense as we weather the storms of their lives.  The pain is palpable at times leaving visual scars, and Doug is so accident prone that it's a wonder he's still alive at the end of the play.

The actors rose to the challenge of playing such flawed and vulnerable, lost and found, devoted and disappointed faithful friends.  The standing ovation at the end was richly deserved and now I have two more actors to be on the lookout for when selecting my next round of DMV theatre adventures.  Shout out to the entire production team: Scenic Design by Josh Sticklin, Properties & Set Dressing Design by Amy Kellett, Lighting Design by Hailey LaRoe, Sound Design by Brandon Cook (just the perfect soundtrack of angst ridden music from the 2000's and fireworks and first responder's vehicles and electrical storms that shook my seat!, oh my!), Costume & Hair/Make-up/Prosthetics Design by Alison Samantha Johnson.

As they actors bounced from one age to another, they effected costume and make-up changes dashing between clothing concealed in sandboxes, steel oil drums, cardboard boxes, as the playground rotated on its axis and the lights dimmed with music appropriate to the next year they were about to entered played under it all.  It was some of the most unusual and interesting choreography I've ever seen in pursuit of such a goal.  

Top to Bottom an excellent production.

Lena and Doug, age 6, on the swings at school.

Age 8, Doug pretends he's Evel Knievel and rides his bike off of the roof of the school gashing his cheek bone just beneath his left eye...  and so it begins.

At 19, Doug loses his left eye in a fireworks accident.  At the age of 28 he is struck by lightning and ends up in a comma.  Lena's life is pure shit by then.  Abandoned by her mother at age 14, and rejected by her father who dies when she is 18--facing the loss of Doug exposes her deeper feelings about their friendship.

At 16, Lena reveals that she is having sex with a boy named Tim.  Doug does not approve, and Lena reveals that she'd hoped it would fill the void in her life created by her parents, but it doesn't.  Then Doug discovers that she's been cutting herself and demands that she cut him, too.  If there was ever a moment in a play that had me on the edge of my seat so full of emotions that I just wanted to scream...this was that moment.

Doug, ever the master of perfect timing has knocked out a tooth on the day of Lena's father's funeral.  The scene ends with him leaving to ignite some fireworks...(and we all knew how that was going to turn out.)

Olney Theatre Center: A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder

 I'm not sure what it was that I was expecting.  I really didn't past the name of the musical a damned thing about it, and what I had imagined it was about couldn't have been further off the mark.  The story starts on the day that our murderous protagonist's mother died.  Just in from the funeral a knock on the door.  One of his mother's dearest friends brings him news that he is not who he thinks he is.  He is heir, 8 times removed, from a fabulous fortune complete with an estate and titles!  A far cry from the hand to mouth existence that he and his mother had eked out over the years.  And all that stands in the way is nine untimely deaths...

Oh My God!  I can't remember when I've had such an amazing time at the theater!  It used to be...and I'm talking 10, 12 years ago...that summer meant the theatre season in the DMV was over.  Like all of France in August, everyone turned off the footlights and went on hiatus until school picked up again.  And for many companies, this is still true.  But a few have discovered that a 12 month season can be especially lucrative in the quiet summer months, and Olney Theatre Center is one of these winners.  And it's not just a knock-off to satisfy starving theaterphiles.  The production values of this show were as strong, beautiful and complicated as anything I have ever seen in the DMV  Super shout outs to John Coyne the scenic designer who gave a stage within a stage within a stage that morphed seem less and seemingly effortlessly from one unique tableau to another.  Brava! Sarah Cubbage for gorgeous costumes that transported the actors right into the heart of their story-telling as finely arrayed as if they were royalty.  And I'm going to go one further in recognizing behind the scenes folks by naming the Stage Managers and Assistant Managers who kept all the balls in the air all the time, right on time.  Well done! Ben Walsh, Rebecca Talisman, Sara Gehl, and Karen Currie.  

The cast: Again I'm just in awe of every single member.  The Chorus was absolutely delightful in both their delivery of some of the funniest numbers in the show, but also in executing the choreography.  Another shout out to Ashleigh King for her design of the movement, which never seemed to cease, but always stopped in just the right configuration.

Both Sumié Yotsukura as Sibella Hallward, the erstwhile protagonist, Monty Navarro's, adulterous lover, and Sadie Koopman as Pheobe D'Ysquith his cousin and up-right love interest were intense, committed polar-opposites who gave the murderously ambitious Monty a run for money with wit, passion and great humor.  Donna Migliaccio is a local legend with a respectable list of Broadway, touring, regional, and DMV productions to her credit.  If memory serves, I first saw her play the Nurse et. al. in a production of "Sunday in the Park with George," maybe 20-25 years ago now.  Her voice is powerful with an operatic range that playing the supporting role of Miss Shingle, the longtime friend of Monty's mother felt like a gift to the production.  Then she sings "You're a D'Ysquith" with Jacob Tischler who portrays Monty, and you realize just how much joy she took in taming this very challenging number and making the difficult seem a smooth as butter.

So this brings me to Monty, and the actor who brought him to life.  Jacob Tischler had barely completed his first sentence on stage and he had me!  He was every inch the full embodiment of Monty D'Ysquith Navarro with all of his discoveries, desires and dreams he gave us a tour de force performance.  It was physically demanding and yet his beautiful baritone voice flooded the theatre with all the warmth of well aged bourbon.  I knew he killing people!  And I couldn't wait to see how he offed the next candidate.  Like a rocket to the top of my watch list, I will look forward to seeing him perform again.

Which brings us to the roles of Asquith D'Ysquith, Jr., Lord Adalbert D'Ysquith, Reverend Lord Ezekiel D'Ysquith, Lord Asquith D'Ysquith, Sr., Henry D'Ysquith, Lady Hycinth D'Ysquith, Major Lord Bartholomew D'Ysquith, and Lady Salome D'Ysquith Pumphrey; ALL of which were played by Tom Story.  I have a rather complicated relationship with Mr. Story even though we've never met and he has no fucking idea who I am!  I first experienced Tom in a production of "Oliver!" at Arena Stage, around 2014, 2015 (?).  A delight performance.  And then I kept seeing him in other productions over the years at nearly all of the major (and some minor) DMV theatre companies.  Sometimes, he was good.  Many times he just was Tom (again in my "for whatever it's worth" opinion).  But once you see an actor's personality guiding in the same way their choices from one character to the next, you cease to see the character.  You only see the actor.  From the observer's perspective it would seem to feel like you've hit a ceiling in your craft so that technically, you've got this; but creatively...you're stuck.  It got to the point that I would avoid seeing a show if Tom was one of the principals, because I didn't expect anything new.

In all fairness, there are a couple of other actors in the DMV that I feel much the same about.

Then there was a time when I didn't see his name pop up in productions that I was interested in.  I knew he'd also been doing some directing for local productions.  In November of 2024, he was part of the creative team/cast that developed a play at Mosaic Theatre called "The Art of Caring."  Another actor, Susan Rome, was part of this, and I adore her work.  So I went.  It was a transformative experience.  The cast worked together to create an experience, one in which they wove their own journeys into a collective them.  My sense of Tom was renewed.  Based on his contribution to this production I forgave myself for my ensconced opinion and decided to stop my bias on his behalf.  I know, so self-serving, but let this be an object lesson for us all.  I share it in the spirit of transparency and with the hope that in way big and small, we can all engage in growth.  And scene!

Back to the play at hand.  Tom was magnificent!  I've never seen him better.  He embraced the range of characters with complete abandon and simultaneously gave each a plausible, distinct and engaging personality.  I'm just going to say it now:  If doesn't win "Best Actor in a Featured Roll in a Musical" this year--he will have been robbed!  To delineate the exclamation point on this, I have never seen an actor captivate an audience with their off-the-charts farcical physicality like he did in not one, but two grand dying scenes.  It was awe inspiring, once I wiped away the tears of shocked laughter.

In case it's not apparent; I LOVED this production.  Unfortunately, it closes tomorrow, Sunday, August 23rd.   

Jacob Tischler as Monty and Donna Migliaccio as Miss Shingles explaining Monty's true Family Tree...

Monty Navarro encountering on of his many D'Ysquith heirs played by Tom Story...all of whom he is committed to murder.

Tom Story portraying Lady Hycinth D'Ysquith to the sheer delight of EVERYONE!  She's so resilient that Monty has to kill her TWICE. 

Monty as Phoebe D'Ysquith (Sadie Koopman) with whom he becomes easily infatuated.

In the boudoir of Sibella Hallward (Sumié Yotsukura) is long-time lover who is also married to another man.

But even the best duplicitous life must come to an end.  In Monty's case it was down with the song, "I've Decided to Marry You."

A climactic scene at dinner with Monty as the guest and last D'Ysquith heir hosting!

We end where we began...a jail cell.

Happenstance Theatre: Adrift: A Medieval Wayward Folly

 My second Happenstance production and now I know that what you get from them is very much what you would expect to have gotten from a Medieval troop of actors and musicians traveling across England or France in some annual rotation.  Setting up shop and delighting the serfs in the town square or church hall, perhaps even an appoint at the local manor where some of the egalitarian humor would have no doubt been tamped down a bit.  The show is a folly in the truest sense, bits and pieces strung together with some regular stuff and music (instrumental and vocal) and even a little dance.  Death is present and there's always a place toward the end where death comes and cuts down the majority of the cast--a reminder of it's unrelenting power over their (our) world.  Other regular bits include a pair of oracles that come to answer questions from the audience with great humor and little profundity.  There's a doctor sketch with slapstick where the cures are always worse than the maladies--again to remind the working folk that having a doctor around isn't necessarily a good thing!  A Luna Moth arrives to take away everyone's cares, a metaphorical gift...but a gift nonetheless.

Among the music used was "Gaudete".  I LOVE GUADETE!  With new lyrics in both Latin and English, the song is secularized.  The line that goes "Christ is born" is replaced with "Celebrate everyone".  But my favorite adaptation came in the bridge where the line "Ashes to ashes" is rhymed with "So get off your ___" and we all burst into laughter without the need to fill in the obvious blank!  As before the costumes are beautiful, the actors are a true ensemble, the musical instruments are medieval and exciting.

The journey begins with our intrepid troop encircled by a barrel hoop and adrift at sea.

L-R: Sarah Olmsted Thomas, Mark Jaster, Sabrina Mandell, Gwen Grastorf and Alex Vernon

Sometimes the winds took the adventurers in directions they did not anticipate.

Frightened by the voice of God, Sarah cowers.  Then in the guise of a crow, Marc eases her fears with the succor of nature.

Of Course, the oracles have never been offered a question they cannot answer.

Gwen leads the audience is a medieval sort of "sing-a-long" accompanying herself with the harp.

The Fool finds himself stuck hopelessly to a demon!

He seeks out the help of the Doctor, who declares he has no heart!

To which he replies, "That's my foot!  My heart is up here in my chest."

"I know that," declares the Doctor.  "But you have a soul problem!"

CUE: eye roll!

Try though she might, the Doctor fails to separate them.  This is something that only the Luna Moth can accomplish.  Score one for superstition.  

Sabrina in the guise of the Luna Moth who can take the cares of the world away from the poor.

Keegan Theatre: The Play That Goes Wrong

 "The Play That Goes Wrong" is a farce.  I've seen a few and loved them!  They require larger than life performances, carefully timed word play, often sets and props that malfunction at just the right moment, and preferably to the utter surprise of the audience.  I suppose you could say that they look deceptively simple in construction, formulaic even.  But that's only if they are poorly done.  

While the actors all seemed to be pouring their little hearts into performing this show, it was as lifeless as a dead horse.  Almost from the very beginning I was bored.  Nothing was in the least bit surprising and all the gags were as stale as the 100+ air outside of the theatre.  Over the past ten years, I have come to expect good things from Keegan.  Sometimes even amazing things.  But never banal things.  Why just last August they presented a very similar play, "Noises Off;" and it was gangbusters hilarious.  I spent most of my ride home on the Metro trying to figure why the two productions had such diametrically opposed outcomes.  When it came to me it was a totally "no, duh" moment.  

This cast played to the audience.  They didn't deliver their lines to one another.  They spoke them to us often pausing prematurely for an expected reaction.  Assuming that the cast didn't think this little idea up simultaneously, I would have to assume it was the result of some poor direction.  I rarely speak of directors, because honestly it's a leap to assume anything about a process of which I have no direct knowledge, and yet, when a cast comes together in a brilliant symbiosis who gets the credit?

If nothing else, the director should have recognized what was going on and put an end to it full stop.

However, the evening wasn't entirely a complete waste.  I purchased my seat 7A on the front row--I can't imagine what possessed me, even in this lovely relatively small theater, I do not like to sit on the front row.  There are ten seats in each row, five on either side of a central aisle that is also a stairway.  7A is one from the end stage right.  When I got there a young women, slight, shoulder length dark hair dressed in a mid-calf loose skirt and summery short sleeve top, both white.  She had placed her soda on the floor under where my seat would drop once I sat down.  I said pleasantly, "I guess this is me."

"Sorry," she offered as she retrieved the can of soda.  She was scrolling through feeds on her cell phone.  I took my pic of the stage and prepared to send it out on Facebook.  There was no in the seat to right A5, and A3 was occupied by a very old woman who looked a little like she was being swallowed by it!

In a moment, a man, trim build, silver hair carefully groomed in a polo shirt, khaki pants, (my god) even penny loafers and no socks descended the middle aisle, turned in our direction and approached calling out the young woman's name in the form of a question.  She responded in kind, "Bob?"  Her voice was soft with disbelief.  

"Oh my God," said Bob.  "I thought you moved to Philadelphia."

She said, with a little squirm, "I did."

Then he sat down in A5.  Now I was sitting directly between them.  I know.  A better man would have offered to switch seats with Bob.  But I am not a better man...especially when I thought I detected a little hesitancy in the young woman's voice.

Bob leaned out physically to look around me, his long legs already created an awkward pose in the seat.  He said, "So you're back in DC?"

"Yes," said the woman without any elaboration or context.  

"Oh," Bob added trying to sound more up-beat than confused.  Then leaning out again he plodded on.  "You come here often?"

(Inside my head, I rolled my eyes.)

"No," she said.  "This is my first time."

"Me, too," said Bob with a little glee.  Was he hoping for an entry into something more substantive?

"Did you see they have their next season in the program?" Bob asked after an awkward silence.

"Yes," jumped in the woman, apparently glad to have something to break the silence, too.  "It looks interesting.  They have a play called 'An Irish Carol' that sounds good."

Having diverted his attention to the portion of the program with the new season's plays listed, Bob leaned forward again and said, "I noticed that, too.  I bet it's good."  His voice dropped on the last word in a way that seemed to say--'didn't she just say that?'

The lights dimmed, the play began, Bob sat back in his seat.  Throughout the first act, the young woman laughed at very nearly everything.  At first when she would, Bob learned forward and looked in her direction, but by 30 minutes into the play he stopped.  Around 45 minutes in his head flopped backwards and he caught himself dozing off...  I sympathized with Bob.

At intermission the young woman bolted out of her seat.  Noticing, Bob got up and stretched, then he exited the theater proper into the lobby following the same path.  I was right behind him.  In the lobby, he looked for the young woman, but she was nowhere to be seen.  The cruel me imagined her locked in a stall in the lady's room rabidly texting her girl friends about running into Bob at the theatre.   

I must admit that this side show is the only thing that kept me from feeling completely disappointed in the evening.  

L-R: Dennis who played Perkins (Rebecca Ballinger), Max who played Cecil Haversham (Jimmy Bartlebaugh), Chris who played Inspector Carter (Matthew Pauli), Robert who played Thomas Colleymoore (Jackson Saunders), Sandra who played Florence Colleymoore (Leah Packer) and the recently deceased Jonathan who played Charles Haversham (Jared H. Graham)

Jared H. Graham as the murder victim, Charles Haversham...but is he really dead?

Rebecca Ballinger as Perkins, Mr. Charles Haversham's devoted butler.

Jackson Saunders as Thomas Colleymoore, Mr. Charles Haversham's loyal, boyhood friend.

Matthew Pauli as Detective Carter called upon the solve the murder of Charles Haversham.

Martina Schabron, the play's Stage Manager who is called upon to play the role of Florence Colleymoore after the actor playing the part is knocked unconscious.

Darren Badley who played Trevor the play's tech guy.

Shakespeare Theatre Company: Othello

 I was eager to see Othello.  So much so, that I actually purchased my ticket over 6 months ago!  This gave me a slightly better price on what became utterly outrageous as the date approached.  Anchored by actors Wendell Pierce and Ben Turner, I think it's safe to say that this is STC's big production of the year.  

Other than Othello is a "Moor," and that this is a tragedy, I also didn't know that much more about the plot.  Of Course I knew the heroine was Desdemona, and the villain (thanks to Disney's Aladdin) was Iago.  So I came to learn the story and experience most especially, Wendell Pierce (of the Wire, Tremaine, and other excellent TV series) fame.  And it was apparent when he first took the stage that I was not alone in my fandom for Pierce.  However, by the time he arrived, I was already captivated by another actor, Ben Turner.  From his first line forward, Iago was the man in charge.  Pierce was wonderful, don't get me wrong.  His timing, especially when squeezing out a humorous moment, was superb.  Yet, Iago was in charge, and he played Othello for the fool with tremendous agility.  The third member of the A-team Desdemona, played by Olivia Cygan, was bright and breezy, innocent and trusting to a fault.  She created the perfect heroine for a tragic demise, and we certainly got one.  In the end, very nearly everyone dies except the person who ought to.  I guess some things never change.

While all three of the principals were excellent and well balanced, (I once saw a production of Romeo and Juliet here were the actor portraying Mercutio was SO GOOD, that every one else felt like they'd just been called up from the minor leagues) so were the B-Team players.  Most notably Lucas Iverson as Cassio and Todd Scofield as the Duke of Venice.  Lucas gave Cassio the same boyish innocents and devotion to Othello that made his downfall feel as tragic as Desdemona's demise.  And Scofield is a master of gravitas.  Grounding even as chaos fraught a scene as the final one with a sense of ... what's the word?  Hope?  

The set was expansive creating an unusually small orchestral seating area and giving all of us on the ground floor a tremendous sense of intimacy with the actors.  Of the supporting elements (sets, props, lighting, sound, graphics, costumes and choreography), it was the choreography that stood out.  With a military theme, the ensemble brought an element of the larger world without.   Between many scenes they also affected scene changes with a precision worthy of a well-honed combat brigade.  

An excellent production and a wonderful way to end this 2025-2026 theatre season for me.

Wendell Pierce as Othello.

Strategizing with the Duke of Venice, [L to R: Cassio (Lucas Iverson), ensemble (Jon Beal), ensemble (Cole Sitilides), the Duke of Venice (Todd Scofield), Othello (Wendell Pierce), and Montano (Derek Garza)]

Iago (Ben Turner)

Othello and Desdemona (Olivia Cygan) in love and carefree

Iago begins planting seeds of doubt.

Cassio (Licas Iverson)

Military Horse-play; Prepping Cassio to play his unwitting role.  [L-R: as members of the ensemble: EM Whitworth, Cole Sitilides, Vish Skula, Derek Garza, (Cassio) Lucas Iverson, and Anna Marzullo]

The die is cast, Desdemona's final slumber.

Driven mad by a circle of unraveling lies.  I thought Pierce's delivery of Othello's final soliloquy was brilliant.  He owned every word, every phrase, every pause to craft his statement, his "take" on Othello's summation of his life.  Even as he spoke, I could easily imagine how it could have a different meaning under the power of an actor who made different choices.  And his interpretation was the perfect conclusion to the Othello he portrayed...and you could have heard a pin drop from start to finish.  

Signature Theatre: Pippin

 I'm not sure what I expected.  My only sense of Pippin was from watching a version of the original with Ben Vareen that was filmed while being performed on stage.  To put it mildly, I was not impressed.  Not with the story, not with the sets, not with the choreography and most of all not with Ben Vareen who came across as a sweaty mess.  It was dated, the message was "meh," and it simply wasn't entertaining.  

Enter the recent Broadway revival where the ensemble, known as "Players" presented with a crazy, wild cirque du Soliel vibe.  Now, that's entertaining.  Signature provided an amazingly entertaining crew of Players sans the high wire tricks.  In spite of the lack of flaming hoops--I was not disappointed.  The players were also exceptionally well attired with multiple costume changes--kudos to Eric Teague for a cast full of costume magic!  

The story is set in the 8th century Frankish Kingdom of Charlemagne with a focus on his son Pippin.  After that very nearly EVERYTHING is a fiction, even ignoring the very little assumed factual information about the two.  Roger O. Hirson basically used these historic figures to write a show about the futile foci of a rich boy's pursuit of the meaning of life.  To support him, his father, Charles, is ambivalent; his half-brother and step-mother are adversarial; with only his nympho-maniacal grandmother, and she's always up for fun.  Swirling around all of this are the players with their mysterious, all-knowing leader.  The roll was originally Vareen's, and in this production it falls to Cedric Neal.  Neal comes to the roll with a wide range of experience some on Broadway, more in London's West End, and he spins it like a charming vortex, conducting not only his players, but the mortals all around.  It was a captivating performance that was supported by an unknown actor to the DMV who also had most of his youthful experience in NYC.  Brayden Bambino's effortless innocents and idealism coupled with a wonderful voice made him the perfect juxtaposition to the feline menace of Neal.  

But wait, there's more.  The 5 members of the supporting cast brought together 5 of the most experienced and talented members of the DMV acting pool, and each gave a performance that both befitted the absurdity and the sincerity of show.  Eric Hissom on the ambivalent King Charles was delightfully distract able, but never foolish.  Maria Rizzo as his gold-digging wife, Fastrada, was every voluptuous inch the conniving bombshell that she was meant to be.  Her son, Lewis, was played by Ryan Sellers with great physicality, sexy yet silly.  Awa Sal Secka was Catherine, the real woman who finally brings the meaning that Pippin is so desperately seeking into his life.  (The real Pippin died after a failed coup exiled to a monastery...) Without the archetypal under-pinning of their other supporting characters, Sal Secka's introduction in the second was like a glass of clear, cool water in a world overflowing with cheap wine.  

I've saved the best for last.  Berthe, Pippins amorous Grandmother, played with wonderful lusty exuberance by Naomi Jacobson.  She was funny, physical, commanding with a hint of menace, and once her outwear came off at the end of her song, "No Time At All", she was transformed into a sexy dominatrix!  At the male players lifted her over their heads and carried her off stage, the character Pippin exclaims, "That's my grandma!" to the rousing applause of the entire audience.

The show was done in the round, with members of the 8-player team entering into the audience space at times.  During the aforementioned song, "No Time At All" chorus song sheets were distributed to the audience and we were all invited to sing along--and we did!  At another point, a change in scene was punctuated by a flurry of falling crepe paper leaves from overhead.  The production had a very intimate sensibility from the first to the last.

Is Pippin one of the great American Musicals?  I don't really think so.  BUT, it sure as hell can be very entertaining!  Thanks to the cast a crew of this production for a wonderful experience.

FUN FACT (though not that fun):  Pippin debuted on Broadway in 1972.  Besides Ben Vareen in the role of the Lead Player, there was another rather famous actor in her swan song performance.  Irene Ryan fresh off of 9 years of playing Granny Clampitt on the wildly successful "Beverly Hillbillies" debuted the role of Berthe!  She played the role for five and half months until suffering a stroke in March of 1973.  She never recovered, and died six weeks later at her home in Santa Monica, California.

The ensemble of Players with Cedric Neal in the Center as the Leading Player

Pippin (Brayden Bambino) singing three of the male Players [L-R: Hank Con Kolnitz, Calvin L'mont Cooper, and Ben Bogen)

King Charles (Eric Hissom)

Queen Mother, Berthe (Naomi Jacobson) lamenting her old age while denying it with every twist and turn of her agile body in the company of the players with Pippin seated looking on.

Lewis (Ryan Sellers) and his mother, Fastrada (Maria Rizzo)

Pippin discovers there is no meaning in warfare

Catherine (Awa Sal Secka) and Players: [L-R: Alanna Sibrian and Georgia Monroe]

Catherine with her son, Theo (Ellison Bihm)

A parting shot of the Players!