Noises Off is nearly naked in Troy

Noises Off is nearly naked in Troy

Unless you are in politics, an eight door farce is hard to produce. This Friday, the Troy Civic Theatre opens “Noises Off” at the Barn in The Park Theatre opposite Hobart Arena. A sexy, fast paced 18-leg comedy with everyone coming or going or going crazy.

The play, about a theatrical troupe embarking on a whirlwind cross-country touring performance of a popular play is a slap-stick funny evening of entertainment.

If you like to see well healed old-money gentry, crass upper-class pretenders, overbearing theatrical directors (and every theatre seems to have a few), combined with lithe, nubile, scantily dressed consorts and lovers; along with the usual array of closet drunks, stupid thieves, and a tired, snippy crotchety housekeeper. This play has something for you.

If you giggle at lousy food jokes over canned fish; you are beyond help, but a perfect foil for the preserved snack of choice throughout the play.

If you surreptitiously lust after the models and their attire in the Victoria’s Secret catalogues; this is definitely a play to see, albeit, like the printed catalog, a racy feeling but still a PG-13 rated version.

If you always wondered about the relationships created, nurtured and ruptured when a cast works, plays and lives together for an extended journey to stardom amongst the cornfields of the mid west- seek no further, come see the play.

If you love to shout at the TV when you see who went where behind which closed door, leaving a befuddled actor less than bemused; you can shout out here- live and up close with a thrust stage that practically puts the actresses (see skimpy attire blurb above) in your lap; then, my friends, Noises Off is the one production to see this Winter.

If you keep threatening to take your date out to someplace with more class and atmosphere than a Ronald McDonald playhouse, and want to watch 4 other couples cope and cogitate over their relationships, without listening to screaming kids at the same time, fork up the measly $9.00 and buy a ticket.

If you always wanted to see how a theatrical production is performed, from both the audience’s and the stage crew’s perspective; and get a feeling for the critical timing, dozens of props, hundreds of quick and constant maneuvering lines and thousands of steps that must mesh together perfectly – without the saving grace of multiple movie ‘takes’ and the schoolyard favorite, the ‘do-over’; then you will want to rave over this one.

If you have lived in Troy for years (or decades) and never thought you would enjoy a play, think again. Famed Local Strawberry couple Steve and Patti Emmel did. She confided “We had never attended a performance, my husband and I don't like movies, so we never even tried going to a play. But we went to the (Fall) "Sorry Wrong Chimney" show- and we both loved it. There was lots of room, comfy seats, easy access, and a terrific performance; we were so close to the action! We brought friends who had never gone before either- and here we have lived in Troy practically our whole lives! We will be regular members from now on!”

So there you have it, even a person who dresses up like the 1960’s is a new fan of plays performed in this century at the Barn in the Park.

If you don’t even know how to order tickets, I’ll let you in on a secret, call 339-7700 or go to www.troycivictheatre.com The show runs for 3 Friday and Saturday nights, with a Sunday matinee on March 6th, but hurry, even with new expanded seating, the show is expected to sell out for most performances!

The play premiered in London 23 years ago, and a movie version opened ten years later, audiences have been laughing ever since. I saw the play in Minnesota last summer, and laughed so hard my stomach hurt and tears were streaming down my face. I hope you have a similar experience!

Leib Lurie

Leib Lurie is a Troy resident, Optimist Club member and Serial Software Entrepreneur. You can reach him at Leib@Lurie.net

Politics is not a quadrennial spectator sport

Abraham Lincoln was venerated by many and vehemently hated by others for his beliefs and decisions. He died at the hands of one of America's best known actors who took Lincolns' life for destroying Booth's beloved confederacy and the economy of the South. Last week we celebrated his birthday (with good reason).
There are those who write letters on this page venerating our current President, while others see his policies and positions as rending the social fabric and economy of today.
Writers above this column have stated 'get over it', "stop whining", "you lost, we won", They seem to believe that politics is like a spectator sport. Buy a ticket, bet some money, order a few beers, fork up $25.00 for a program and a 'we're number one' foam flying fickle finger of fate. But politics, and our country are more important than that. Political values, beliefs and concerns are more critical than a single election or single politician.
We live in a representative constitutional democracy, one of the few to stand the test of time. Most countries that have tried to emulate our separation of powers constitution have seen their government fail after a few decades. Ours has stood the test of centuries, wars, civil strife, and it will withstand the current turmoil, significant deficits, sanctimonious crisis alerts, and unwarranted wars.
It will withstand fictitious budgetary accounting (Over the past 90 years, this is the first President to say, during an active troop deployment and war that the cost of that fight couldn't be part of the budget, or estimated, or anticipated, or even guessed at. The past 8 war President's however got the actual spending within 10% of the January budget. Often on wars of a much larger scale. Amazing.
Yet our Republic shall withstand these attacks from within and without. For the simple and sound reason that "politics" are NOT a sport, not a game, not a one shot event.
Government of the people, by the people and for the people, is based on an ongoing give and take between the branches of government, the parties in those branches, the selection, appointments and elections of the representatives within them, and most importantly, the attitudes and convictions of the people that obey their laws and follow their regulations.
Politics is not about getting 'over it', it is about ongoing debates, continuous improvement, and steady changes toward a more balanced society and better standards of living. Politics means looking at new bills, suggested legislation, policy wonk white papers and tax code changes that encourage or discourage different behaviours.
Politics is not about 'whining' or lack thereof. It is about watching and monitoring the work our elected representatives do on our behalf. Every week, at every level.
Politics is not a nasty or dirty word, it is what allows Americans to seek ways to petition for redress of grievances. Politics is what guides our government and the myriad of ways that our government intrudes on or assists with (your perspective) our right to pursuit happiness.
Everyone who comments on these pages, whether columnists here, letter writers above, editorials by the TDN team, analysis pieces from around the globe, or political cartoons that seemingly spoof anything that moves have a single purpose. To express an opinion.
It is those opinions that generate thought, instigate dialogue, trigger angry letter writers to snipe and blow steam at those generating thought in the first place. That ability to critique, comment, and disagree on these local pages may not change the outcome on a global scale by themselves, but though provoking commentary gets repeated and spread to the point where we can frame the issue in ways the majority can grasp and opinions coalesce to please most parties.
It is these opinions that make a difference in what laws we get and the policies that emerge.
No, we cannot all like everything that emerges from the well of the Senate, but life in a political society is one of give-and-take.
Those who believe otherwise, and those who write on these pages with a fervent belief that a quadrennial vote is the quintessential end result deserve to face a literacy test before the next election. But I guess they'll say I'm just whining and need to get over it.
Leib Lurie
Leib Lurie is a Troy resident, Optimist and Troy Civic Theatre member and CEO of OneCallNow. You can reach him at Leib@Lurie.net

Lurie column feb 9th-Valentines- is love the answer?

TITLE: Valentines- is Love the answer?
True love can be bought this week at Meyer in bulk. 42 silver valentines for $1.77. What a deal. Most schools practice the ancient pagan ritual of sending Valentines in emulation of selecting a saint to emulate.
In many schools the practice is to create a valentine for every student and exchange them Monday. Amazing. In Miami County boys will share Valentines with boys and girls with girls. Don't ask, don't tell- even in the elementary schools! Tsk tsk.
The reality of innocent pastimes and games of learning and socialization is much more complex. It's shameful that senior administration officials believe that cartoons depicting same sex partners will forever damage the psyche of our children. Personally I think that too many kids are emulating the Coyote and Tom & Jerry; slamming, hitting, slashing and burning depicted as wholesome 'G' rated fun. What a sham.
A few years ago Reverend Falwell attacked the creators of a purple plush cartoon character for allowing one of them to carry a handbag. Omigod, our children are at risk of exposure to freedom of expression and seeing characters show respect and love for one another. For shame. Kids should watch the good old stuff we watched. Like the three stooges, angry guys going through life belittling each other physically and mentally; or let's celebrate the domestic bliss of Laurel and Hardy with nine wives between them.
February 14 is Valentine's Day. Although it is celebrated as a lovers' holiday today, with the giving of candy, flowers, or other gifts between couples in love, it originated in 5th Century Rome as a tribute to St. Valentine, a Catholic bishop.
For eight hundred years prior to the establishment of Valentine's Day, the Romans had practiced a pagan celebration in mid-February commemorating young men's rite of passage to the god Lupercus. Maybe being the Saint of sheep and goats has something to do with the denigrating stories of redneck teenagers in the wild.
The original pagan celebration featured a lottery in which young men would draw the names of teenage girls from a box. The girl assigned to each young man in that manner would be his sexual companion during the remaining year.
In an effort to do away with the pagan festival, Pope Gelasius ordered a slight change in the lottery. Instead of the names of young women, the box would contain the names of saints. Both men and women were allowed to draw from the box, and the game was to emulate the ways of the saint they drew during the rest of the year. What a way to spoil a perfectly good holiday celebration!
Instead of the pagan god Lupercus, the Church looked for a suitable patron saint of love to take his place. They found an appropriate choice in Valentine, who, in AD 270 had been beheaded by Emperor Claudius.
Unlike today's Army of One, Claudius believed that married men made poor soldiers. So he banned marriage from his empire. Imagine, no more mother in-law jokes!
But Valentine would secretly marry young men that came to him. When Claudius found out about Valentine, he first tried to convert him to paganism. But Valentine reversed the strategy, trying instead to convert Claudius. When Valentine failed, Claudius had him jailed, and later stoned and beheaded.
During the days that Valentine was imprisoned, he fell in love with the blind daughter of his jailer. His love for her, and his great faith, managed to miraculously heal her from her blindness before his death. Before he was taken to his death, he signed a farewell message to her, "From your Valentine." The phrase has been used on his day ever since.
Although the lottery for women had been banned by the church, the mid-February holiday in commemoration of St. Valentine was still used by Roman men to seek the affection of women. It became a tradition for the men to give the ones they admired handwritten messages of affection, containing Valentine's name.
So celebrate the holiday Monday by selecting a Saint, or choosing a girl, or sharing your thoughts of love and concern with forty two classmates for just $1.77 Or wait a few days, accept the ignoble label of a procrastinator, and buy them at 50% off Tuesday. Because love means never having to say you're sorry, or having to pay retail.
Leib Lurie
Leib Lurie is a Troy resident, Optimist Club and Troy Civic Theatre member and CEO of OneCallNow. You can reach him at Leib@Lurie.net