*REVIEWS*
(note - these reviews contain some spoilers)
Southtowns Citizen Best of WNY The Buffalo News
Southtowns Citizen
Local Playwright Eric Endres comes up with a hit show
by Lindsey Rae Opie
6/14/03
With his
debut musical A Week In The Life having just wrapped up this past weekend,
Orchard
Park native Eric Endres has begun to make quite a name for himself.
During his
first interview with The Citizen last month, Endres admitted to be slightly
anxious
in regard to the musical's debut. If he had even the slightest idea of the
exceptional turnout and wonderful reactions his play would reward him with,
he
would have realized he had nothing to worry about.
A Week In The Life was
loosely based on Orchard Park stationed company Azerty Inc.
The Citizen
attended the May 24 performance of the musical as part of a nearly
sold-out
audience at the Alleyway Theatre in Buffalo.
Endres, having written the book,
lyrics and music for the show, delivered a genuine
and sincere performance as
Ginter, the story's central character.
Rather than focus on the positives in his
life, Ginter, a customer service
representative with a company named KSN, keeps a
running track record of
all the negatives and stresses in his life, completely
overlooking the wonderful
opportunities both his present situation and future hold
for him.
Meanwhile, Ginter's life lesson is played out over the course of the 2
1/2 hour musical,
set against the backdrop of all the quirks that come with working
in customer service.
Oddly enough, Endres wasn't slated to appear in his
musical at all, let alone as
the lead character, until just weeks before the show
was to debut when
complications arose with the role. Fate works in strange ways,
and it's hard
to imagine that anyone could pull off the role as well as Endres.
His sweet and lovable performance obviously won the hearts of his audience,
as
every sigh, laugh and sarcastic remark he made drew a response from the crowd.
Accompanying Endres was a wonderful ensemble, consisting of a plethora of talent.
Karen Szalach and her vibrantly beautiful voice brought life and depth to the
character of Daisy, the cleaning lady at KSN who has a crush on Ginter.
Susana
Breese (Nancy Lou) and Melissa Cumming (Donna) also delivered
noteworthy
performances with their humorous takes on seasoned customer service reps.
As far as
quirky characters go, Endres created two standout characters played
by Natalie Sabo
(Holly) and Matthew Mooney (Gene). While the entire cast of
A Week In The Life
delivered random acts of humor throughout the show,
nearly everything that came out
of the mouths of Sabo and Mooney incited
a roar of laughter from audience members.
Adding to the in sync ensemble performance was Kevin Smith as Randy,
the head
of the customer service department; and Jennifer Caruana as Lanie,
the office temp.
All in all, it was obvious that the entire cast wanted to see
the musical succeed,
as each and every member, from the lead roles to the smaller
roles, put their
hearts into their performances and ensured Endres his first success
as a playwright
who has mastered the art of character development through story.
To add charm
to the already spectacular venture, Endres' songs tied the
musical together with
their catchy tunes and often funny lyrics.
Szalach sung from her heart on "The Hero
Of Your Dreams" and captivated
the audience with her touching performance.
On
the lighter side of things, "S.O.L." and "Cover Your Butt" took the common
workplace cliches and transformed them into hysterical songs that anyone
who has
ever had a job in the customer service field can relate to.
On one final note,
Endres' tying together of the lead character's fascination
with The Beatles and
UFO's comes full circle by the conclusion of the show,
paving the way for an
unforgettable ending.
A Week In The Life drew in impressive crowds with each
performance, included
among these dates was the June 6 show, which was completely
sold out.
It can only be hoped that Endres continues along his path as a
playwright, as he
has much to offer not only the Buffalo area, but to theatres all
over the world.
Best of WNY
A Week In The Life
Alleyway Theatre, May
16-June 7
Theater Review- by Bob Silvestri
Do you consider your workplace a
hilarious comedy sketch? Local artist Eric Endres does
and he mines the depth of
his workplace for his musical comedy A Week In The Life now
playing weekends
thru June 7th in the cozy confines of The Alleyway Theater in
downtown Buffalo.
The musical is set in the Human Resources (note- should be 'Customer Service')
Department of the fictional KSN Inc. and centers around the loveable lug Ginter
(played
by Endres), a classic good guy everyone loves but with a laundry list of
life’s woes.
His car, his kids, his ex, his current love life, its all a mess. The
large cast made of
newcomers and seasoned performers of the local theater circuit
include Susana Breese
as the adorable Nancy Lou, Melissa Cumming as the complainer
and saboteur Donna,
Matthew Mooney as the very funny “I don’t know” guy Gene, the
office trollop Holly
deliciously played by Natalie Sabo, Kevin Smith as office boss
Randy and Karen
Szalach as the lovable cleaning lady Daisy who pines for Ginter’s
affections.
The supporting cast includes David Wrazion, Brittany Ziarnowski, Cathie
Puelo,
Delores LaFlace, Steven Dawson, Richard Fitzgerald, Marilyn Sue Hudson,
Jennifer
Caruana and Kevin Cheney. While some characters are based on real
individuals
most are broad portrayals of many persons but are dead on in their
quirks and office
politics. Pay raises, back stabbing, buck-passing, the faux
motivational and
family atmosphere are all tackled with candor and wit.
The
story begins with everyone arriving for work Monday morning with Ginter late
as
usual as his car broke down again. As the “normal” work day progresses we see
Internet surfing, catalog phone shopping, wastepaper basketball and lots of phone
answering and paper shuffling. Forced to stay late because of his car problems,
Ginter talks to Daisy who reminds him that sometimes what you are looking for is
right in front of you. As the week progresses Ginter has a date with the new office
temp go sour, has Daisy profess her love for him and reject her and encounters more
car trouble when he tries to go home after an office gathering. Banging his head with
a hubcap in frustration, Ginter goes into a dream sequence in which he is confronted
by a vision of John Lennon. Lennon offers the advice Ginter needs to turn his life
around. When he awakes he is enlightened and finds a new mechanic.
All this is
enough to turn his life around. The next day at work he finds the
girl of his
dreams in another new office temp.
This delightful story carries some equally
delightful music. Some of the outstanding
songs are “The Fifth Beatle” which deals
with Ginter’s (Endres’?) fascination
with the Beatles (note the Lennon apparition,
his dream girl’s common traits and
the title’s play on the Fab Four song “A Day In
The Life”), the hilarious “S.O.L.”
a side splitting song about how customer service
centers bounce you from one
operator to the other with no resolution for you, the
flamenco inspired “Cover
Your Butt” with staplers as castanets was a rousing
performance, “I Don’t Know”
was a crowd pleaser and “Let’s Not Talk About Work” a
funny take on what
everyone says not to do at after hours work parties but always
do.
Others helping with the production of “A Week In The Life” are Elaine Roberts
(director), Karah Osland (choreography), Amy D’Alba (stage manager) and
Roseann
Endres (set design and tech director).
A couple of personal observations. I
was impressed with the depth and range
of the work. The writing, acting, and music
were top notch although the production
was quite long. At almost three hours with
intermission perhaps some editing is
needed. I was also glad that Ginter did not
wind up with Daisy. Having the two
of them fall in love was the cliché line to
follow and Endres thankfully did not
take that route. Two very funny lines of
dialogue from the production caught
my attention. A knock on Ozzy Osbourne by the
Lennon character was dead
on and the un-PC line by Ginter about baby seals was
hilarious! “YAHOO!!!”
For more information about the very funny “A Week In The
Life” by Eric Endres go to
http://www.endresnet.com/life.html and for more on Eric and his music CD’s go to
http://www.endresnet.com/ericendres.html
THEATER
Just another day at the office - with dancing, singing
By JIM SANTELLA
News Contributing Reviewer
5/20/2003
With the profusion of reality television shows, one might
almost have predicted that
the reality stage musical was just a character song
away. Writing gurus constantly
advise: "Write what you know." Eric Endres'
ambitious musical "A Week in the Life"
has the allure of biography without the
self-indulgence. It's good - not perfect, but good.
True, Endres drew
inspiration and characters from his real life day job to shape the book,
lyrics and
music but the realistic office banter and politics add credibility to a plot that
has all the earmarks of a juicy farce. The cast is strong and sings in tune.
Set in the Customer Service department of KSN, a large computer accessories store,
we spend five days in the life of Ginter (played by Endres), an Everyman, and his
unappreciated associates.
There's the tart-tongued Donna (Melissa Cumming) and
her partner in gossip and
rumors, Nancy Lou (Susana Breese). Kevin Smith plays
Randy, the hot-to-trot
office manager whose name describes his character. Every
office needs a work
shirker and Holly (Natalie Sabo), despite her mantra of "I'll
take care of it,"
has a pile of backed-up work folders on her desk that is treetop
tall.
Karen Szalach is Daisy, the attractive cleaning lady who has a crush on
Ginter;
Matthew Mooney is Gene, the snappy patter guy, and Jennifer Caruana plays
Lanie, the temp who just might break Ginter's heart.
If the title conjures up
memories of The Beatles' "A Day In The Life," you
should know that Ginter's two
passions are the Fab Four and UFOs. The resolution
even relies upon the combination
a deus ex machina and a dead Beatle.
The stagecraft might be MIA (missing in
action), a term KSN's Customer Service
people are fond of using, but the ideas,
emotions and commitment of Endres
and his cast are impressive.
"Just
Customer Service," sung by Donna, Gene and Nancy Lou, sets up one
side of the
two-pronged plot: "We're just customer service and its always the same-
when
things go right someone else takes the credit when they go wrong, we take the blame."
Ginter follows with "A Dollar a Day," a litany of complaints about
being an underpaid,
overworked 40-year-old divorced father of two.
In the
course of the evening, we hear about Ginter's childhood dream to be
"The Fifth
Beatle," his date and dream of love with Lanie, the temp ("All That I
Can Give
You") and his ultimate decision to not "write off" his life.
Notable moments
include "S.O.L.," Nancy Lou's hilarious phone conversation with a
displeased
customer; "Cover Your Butt," a Latin number that evokes the rooftop
dance from
"West Side Story," and Daisy's pretty lullaby, "The Hero of Your Dreams."
Listening to the songs on a complimentary CD, it is clear that the words and music
are very catchy. At their best, they evoke the genuineness of Randy Newman
and John
Lennon.
I was charmed and impressed with many parts of "A Week in the Life."
However,
to quote Gabby's advice to Stine the writer in "City of Angels": "It needs
work."
The book gets too morally heavy by the final curtain. A love story with
Daisy is
hinted at but not delivered. The audience wants and deserves a happy
ending,
not a catechism.
At two hours and 45 minutes, it's too long and the
pacing is too slow. Also, too
often, gag lines are substituted for character
development. The characters
are believable; let us hear them talk not just deliver
gags.
"A Week in the Life," as it stands, is entertaining. With judicious
cuts, tightening
up and some minor restructuring, it holds the promise of a
creative career.
Also in the cast, directed by Elaine Roberts, were Kevin
Cheney, Steven Dawson,
Richard Fitzgerald, Marilyn Sue Hudson, Delores LaFalce,
Cathie Puleo,
David Wrazien and Brittany Ziarnowski.