A Hatful of Rain presented by Barnum's Acting Studio
Well this was my first ever experience reviewing a virtual play. This is a very interesting concept because of the times we are currently in. The play was done through Zoom with each actor in a separate location/city/state. Overall the production was great, the only thing really missing is of course the set and some of the physical interaction you would see on stage.
The story is about a young married man hiding a morphine addiction from his wife and father. The whole play takes place in their New York apartment. There were some familiar faces in the cast and a few I had not seen before. Two of the roles were double cast, so it was fun seeing different takes on the same character throughout. This production was directed by Miles Barnum and Assistant Directed by Kevin Kennedy.
Johnny Pope was played by both Kevin Logie and Miles Barnum. They each brought their own flavor to the character and made the part their own. Both also had some great interactions with other cast members. I really enjoyed Kevin's scenes with Celia and Johnny Sr and he also had a good scene with Mother, Apples and Chuch. Miles really stood out in his scenes with Polo and also Celia.
Celia Pope was portrayed by Allie Juve and Liz Williams Borud. Again we get to see two great takes on the same character. Allie had an amazing scene with Pope and I really enjoyed Liz in her scene with Johnny.
Garry Troxell as Johnny Sr (Pops) did a great job and showed some great range. I really loved him in the final scene when he was confronted by Polo and also Johnny.
Ben Salazar was absolutely amazing as Polo and I would expect no less from him. He really shined on his late night scene with Celia and was so good in the final scene with Pops.
Kevin Kennedy as Mother was great. This was my first time seeing him on stage after knowing him a few years. He had a nice mixture of comedy and being serious while playing the tough guy.
Jarod Eckert as Apples is another person I don't think I had seen before, but who also did a great job. He also had great comedic timing and I would have loved to see him on stage for this.
Another great performance by Alex Kleven as he portrayed Chuch. Alex always does an amazing job and this was no different. I really enjoyed his scene with Johnny.
Last but not least we have Alyssa Blodgett as Putski. Alyssa was in only one scene but she made it count. I really enjoyed her performance and I hope to see her in more productions in the future.
Also a shout out to Sandy Thiel for the costumes!
Congrats to the whole cast and crew on pulling together and creating some beautiful art during this crazy time. After a while I really did forget that the cast was not together, which says so much about the abilities of all involved.
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