‘The Cure’ wins Dayton Playhouse FutureFest of new works

Co-directed as a staged reading by the father-daughter duo of Saul and Sarah Caplan, the play’s cast consisted of Libby Scancarello as Joan, Tim Welsh as Matt, Jenna Gomes as Amanda, Tracie Puckett-Knight as Dagney, Mandy Shannon as Nancy, Kerry Simpson as Annette, and David Shough providing narration.

“I loved what the Playhouse did with the reading of my play,” Dremann said. “I was thrilled. I guess it made it so much easier for the audience to digest due to the simplicity of the staging and the lighting. The directing and actors were really good. I always liked the idea of one actor playing all the recipients and the mother seeing her son in each one, and it really worked with Tim playing all those parts. He did a phenomenal job.”

“The Cure” received the highest scores among five finalists based on ranked judging criteria that included story/dramatic concept, characters/language, plot, page to stage, and the next stage. This year’s professional adjudicators were Ron Orbach of Los Angeles, Alexander Robertson of New York City, longtime judge Helen Sneed of Austin, Texas, and Dayton’s own Emily N. Wells of the Human Race Theatre Company.

Dremann anticipates revising his script soon based on encouraging insights from the adjudication.

“Winning the festival definitely validates the script,” he said. “It feels great. There are still parts of the script I’m unsure about so to hear the things that really worked onstage and the things didn’t work as much was fascinating because it wasn’t exactly as I predicted. As Joan’s (journey) escalates as she learns something new from each organ donor, I want to make sure the transplant recipients are in the right order and the clues that get revealed to her are in the right order.”

The Playhouse will present “The Cure” fully staged March 14-23, 2025. Dremann looks forward to attending and seeing the play heightened with costumes and sets. Most importantly, he’s excited to fine-tune the script.

“It will be a revised version,” he said. “It will be a cleaner and tighter script.”

The Playhouse received 473 scripts from across the country that were narrowed to five, which were all performed as staged readings. The remaining finalists were: “Unabashedly” by Mike Teverbaugh of Los Angeles, directed by Lynn Vanderpool; “The Chrysalis” by Joe Ricco of New York City, directed by Aaron Eechaute-Lopez; “The Four” by Catherine Butterfield of Santa Monica, Calif., directed by Debra Kent; and “The Totality of All Things” by Erik Gernand, a professor at Northwestern University, directed by Matt Meier.

“The festival was a lot of fun and intense,” Dremann said. “All five plays were strong and I really enjoyed meeting so many new people including the playwrights.”

The 34th annual FutureFest will take place July 18-20, 2025. For more information, visit daytonplayhouse.com.

‘King and I’ shines in Troy

Director Brian Sharp’s radiant, impressively purist presentation of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “The King and I,” the classic 1951 musical about culture clash and forbidden love in 19th century Siam, benefitted from terrific performances and splendid musicality July 19-21 courtesy of the Miami Valley Symphony Orchestra and Troy’s Arbogast Performing Arts Center.

The production, conducted by James Johnston with music direction by Kimberly Warrick and attractive period costumes by Anne Fonde Potter, outstandingly starred Sarah Viola as British schoolteacher Anna Leonowens and Adonis Lemke as the titular ruler. Viola, a gorgeous soprano based in Germany, was a strong, empowering and loving Anna, filling “Getting to Know You” with abundant warmth and bringing colorful anger to “Shall I Tell You What I Think of You?” In a refreshing departure from musical comedy, Lemke, notably fueling the romantic seduction of “Shall We Dance?,” maintained his authoritative prowess with charming wonder and a particularly compelling fury toward the end of Act 2.

In excellent featured roles: Kylene Terhune and Anthony Sollenberger as doomed lovebirds Tuptim and Lun Tha (Terhune rendered a very impressive “My Lord and Master” and the duo’s “I Have Dreamed” beautifully soared); Paula Dunn Powell as devoted head wife Lady Thiang (“Something Wonderful” was indeed wonderful); Robert Rhodes as the engaging Sir Edward Ramsey; Aaron J. Meece as the loyal Kralahome; Jeff Powell as amiable Captain Orton; Violet Ervin as inquisitive Louis Leonowens, and Ethan Stickle who fully grasped the adolescent complexities within Prince Chulalongkorn and delivered a breakthrough performance in the process that brought this show to an emotionally superb finish.

In addition, choreographer Justin “Judd” Gibbs created an expressive interpretation of “The Small House of Uncle Thomas,” and concertmaster John Root and percussionists Lucas Hung and Carter Hall greatly aided the musical aesthetic. Also, upon reflection, due to the Asian intent and influence inherent in this work casting Asian performers should be a priority. Nonetheless, the vocal caliber of this presentation in particular was absolutely fulfilling.