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A CurtainUp Review
13 Things About Ed Carpolotti
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Penny Fuller
(Photo credit: Carol Rosegg) |
Penny Fuller stars as Virginia Carpolotti, a widow who discovers that her husband has left her in the hands of various creditors: shady bankers, mobsters and embezzlers. Fuller tells the story with the help of pianist Paul Greenwood (who is also the musical director). And she does it with an inner grace that combines humor, irony and innocence.
The The 13 Things About Ed Carpolotti was originally the last of three monologues in a three-part play by Jeffrey Hatcher called Three Viewings.. The show now has a book, music and lyrics by Barry Kleinbort, who also directs. Often a play suffers when one of its principals wears too many hats. But Kleinhort seems to prove the opposite. He provides the show with a unity of purpose and straightforward direction that serves it well.
Kleinbort’s music crosses several genres. He has calypso meet rock and roll. His lyrics are chatty and clever, and sometimes quite moving. The songs are so well integrated into the play they seem almost like musical musings. Fuller is not a belter, but she has a voice mellowed with age that's gentle, lyrical and thoughtful — perfect for a bemused but brave widow.
Sitting in an armchair placed beside a small table that support a lamp emitting cozy light, Virginia talks about her daughter, Debbie, who lives in Appleton with husband number 2 and is writing a play about a woman who lives in Appleton with her second husband. She reminisces about her life with Ed, where they met, how she snuck out of the house to see him once and what their house, which they called Bray Barton, looked like.
Most of all Virginia relates the disturbing meetings with their lawyer, Bob O’Klock, who used to deliver their milk, threatening phone calls from a shady character named Dino DiSperbio and unsettling conversations with Ed’s avaricious brother Frank. Virginia’s dilemma is solved through the unexpected prescience of Ed, who, it turns out, knew his wife far better than she knew herself.
If problems are not usually so easily and unexpectedly resolved, and life doesn’t often work out so efficiently, that doesn’t mean we enjoy the fantasy of 13 Things About Ed Carpolotti any the less.
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13 Things About Ed Carpolotti Book, music, lyrics and direction by Barry Kleinbort Based on the play by Jeffry Hatcher Performed by Penny Fuller Music Direction and piano: Paul Greenwood Lighting Design: Matt Berman Sound Design: Brad Berridge Set Design: Alexander Woodward Production Stage Manager: Kimothy Cruse Running Time: 60 minutes 59E59 Theaters, 59 East 59 Street, 59e59.org From 12/4/12; opening 12/11/12; closing 12/30/12 Tuesday - Thursday at 7:30pm. Friday & Saturday at 8:30pm, Sunday at 3:30pm, with additional performances 12/23 and 12/30 at 7:30pm, no performance 12/25 Tickets: $25 (212) 279-4200 Reviewed by Paulanne Simmons Dec. 9, 2012 Song List The Holidays Where Did We Meet? Part 1 At the Liberty Theater Where Did We Meet? Part 2 We;re Gonna Be Fine You Are My Happiness The House on Bray Barton 13 Things about Ed Carpolotti Sins One More Spring Finale |
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