schedule
Sandbox Theatre
June of Arc
Sat., Aug. 1 @ 2:30 p.m.
Sun., Aug. 2 @ 10:00 p.m.
Mon., Aug. 3 @ 8:30 p.m.
Wed., Aug. 5 @ 8:30 p.m.
Sat., Aug. 8 @ 10:00 p.m.
Venue U of M Rarig Center Xperimental
For ages 13+
Created by Sandbox Theatre
Web site www.aboutthisplay.com
genres Comedy, Satire
subjects Family, Relationships
features World premiere, Regional premiere (Minneapolis-St. Paul), Original script/choreography, First-time Minnesota Fringe Festival producer
Overall rating
User reviews
Sucking the Life out of Everyone
by Liz Floyd Follow this reviewer
Rating 5 kitties
I’m really glad at the end of this show that the guy next to me asked: Was she sucking the life out of them? I’m like no. Like she said once in the performance she was living the only life that it seemed she could at the time. That life was sucking the life out of them all. I was transfixed this entire show and not really understanding what was going on. Some people were laughing and I was thinking what’s so funny? This is not funny. From reading the other reviews I guess I probably got the same things they did too. It’s an amazing production even 10 minutes before it started. All of the actors really showed a lot of stuff. How they changed clothes and persona’s so fast was neat to see how much was going on just in that 1 hour show. A little snippet into the fact that there is a lot that even goes into the production of ½ of leave it to Beaver way back when. This was a great show because it really made me think. I was confused and transfixed and really glad that guy asked me his question at the end of the show. I think some people behind me were glad too. I think I heard some ohs….
Whew!
by Heather Smith Follow this reviewer
Rating 3 kitties
Heather Stone gave quite a performance, start to finish. She is truly amazing. In addition, the commercial breaks were very entertaining, with all 3 actors keeping the energy level high. However, the overall story wasn't really my cup of tea.
vinegar in the crust to cut the sweet.
by Amber Bjork Follow this reviewer
Rating 5 kitties
that's it. i'm convinced. there's nothing that heather stone can't do. if you missed this piece of quirky heaven, i do feel for you. heck. i almost missed it and i was feeling badly for myself.
and i have to say something about matt glover with his beard all playing beaver AND rocking a dress. and that something is: COMEDY GOLD.
but, as many laughs were had, i found myself wanting to reach out and hold june. her story was so sad, so repressed, so bound. that sandbox managed to teeter sucessfully between raucous humor and lonely sorrow is an achievment that will keep me coming back for more.
Star Trek or Twilight Zone
by Larry Meuwissen Follow this reviewer
Rating 5 kitties
Sure, we've seen the story before. The woman just sucks the soul out of the men in her life. Of course she's got issues. She had dreams, but the ERA (how in the hell did that amendment slip away) was against her! Heather Stone deserves a best actress award for this performance.
June of Arc
by Danielle Siver Follow this reviewer
Rating 5 kitties
As tonight was the final performance, this review is more to say "Congratulations" to the cast and crew for a wonderful production. Detailed, specific, well-researched, and fully realized all around. The script offered up a rich and interesting thematic study with great moments of lightness woven throughout. Solid direction. Fantastic prop design. Beautiful costuming. All of this lent to the success of this production, but it is surely Heather Stone who brought it to the next level. Her performance was stunning and spot-on. Such a beautiful, well-considered, layered portrayal. Brilliant.
Congratulations, Sandbox! Hope to see you in Fringe 2010!
June Was a Martyr All Right...
by Micah Bruce Follow this reviewer
Rating 4 kitties
Heather Stone eerily channeled Barabara Billingsley's June Cleaver in a way that made you think deeply about how inacccurately women were perceived/portrayed thanks to 1950s TV. Her entire performance was an increasingly layered cry for help as she slowly slipped into insanity.
I could go on and on about the depth of her character, and how Ward and the boys represented the death of her dreams...but I won't. It was simply an amazing performance.
The commercials added a light touch...but at the same time, added to the perception that the 50s were not exactly the halcyon days that older folks remember so fondly.
Kudos to all!
Chilling
by Eric Meininger Follow this reviewer
Rating 5 kitties
Wow. I Walked out of that one with a chill running up my spine. At it's simplest interpretation, it's a play evocative of subjugated wants and desires interupted by comedic interludes of actual 1950s commercials. I left the theater with more questions than answers. Just what did we experience?
Top quality acting by Heather Stone is complemented by he grunting responses of the men in June Cleaver's life. I went back and looked at the intro and the other reviews before I submitted this, and I sti don't think I grasp the true depth of this performance which reminded me of patients drugged in an asylum in an odd sort of way.
This show certainly deserves an encore. If they get it - see this show by all means. You'll be thinking of it for some time to come. This is the first production I have seen by this company, and I intend to see if their future productions live up to the expectations they have set with June of Arc. Wow.
WOW
by Waylon Werner Follow this reviewer
Rating 5 kitties
I was FINALLY able to get into see this show tonight and was blown away. This is what fringe is about. VERY polished and well put together piece of work.
June Cleaver As Seen By EA Poe
by ronald palosaari Follow this reviewer
Rating 5 kitties
Heather Stone created a character I will remember. I did not see her character as a parody but an portrayal of what can lurk under the surface of a happy housewife. Her repeated downward stroking of her apron showed the need to control some of the urges that she was trying to hide. Her rage and sensual desires were both being repressed but we can sense them.
This was the familiar TV housewife as Edgar Allen Poe might have created her. There is a possible horror story threatening to come to the surface.
While admiring heather Stone's fine work, the The City Pages reviewer had only insults about the TV ads saying there was no comedy in that worn out approach, but the test of comedy is simple: does it get laughs rather than silence or even worse shouts of derision. The performance I saw had a happy audience with loud laughter unlike the few chuckles I heard while seeing other comic shows. The contrast of the silly ads coming after the tension of the horror was one even Shakespeare used. When laughter comes, comedy is successful. When I get chills up my back, the drama is successful
Best of Fringe
by Christopher Kidder Follow this reviewer
Rating 5 kitties
This is the best show I've seen so far. I loved what Sandbox did with the character of June Cleaver, and I loved the adverts.
For more in-depth thoughts: Fringe By Numbers
Too short, but perfect!
by David Norris Follow this reviewer
Rating 5 kitties
This show is incredibly short for how much emotional and psychological material is crammed in, and while I wish it could have been a full hour, I honestly couldn't imagine it any other way.
This is one of my favourite approaches to storytelling, taking something beloved and sacred and looking at it through the backdoor, sort of like Ingmar Bergman's "The Magic Flute" or "Noises Off"—you never look at it the same way again. Here Ryan has deconstructed June Cleaver's classic homemaker persona into a moving story about deferred dreams and gender roles that is entertaining as well as compelling and thought-provoking. Once I figured out what was going on, the final sequence was just chilling. Brilliant use of repetition, both in speech and in blocking.
Everyone else is saying it, but Heather Stone was utterly mesmerising; every hand-wringing and apron-molesting minute of it. It was so subtle and nuanced that you hardly notice how ingenious she is. For the first ten minutes I worried that the rest of the cast would be overshadowed by her portrayal of America's matriarch, but the commercial bits provided perfect moments for each of the guys to shine and establish a firm stage presence. Ryan Hill captured the stiff, smiley wholesomeness of Ward Cleaver, and Matthew Glover's boyish charm worked perfectly as Beaver. Derek Miller was engaging and a lot of fun, and perfectly understated. As themselves they took on an almost Greek chorus presence which took me by surprise, but it was fascinating and tragic.
Terrific ensemble, superb writing, and outstanding handling of the technical elements. Nothing fell flat in this show—even the cardboard cutouts they held!
CloseToHome
by Erin Olson Follow this reviewer
Rating 4 kitties
Many women of that generation had to lead their lives with sunshine and smiles when others were watching, but were left sad and troubled when no one was around. I imagine that this tale parallels many of our mother's and grandmother's journeys (which is why it hits close to home for me - I imagine my grandmother felt like June)... the writer and cast did a wonderful job depicting what life was probably like for many with some comedic relift along the way with the fun commercials!
The Long Run
by Sam Landman Follow this reviewer
Rating 5 kitties
I'm kind of glad that some of the reviewers were "befuddled" at Sandbox's first Fringe show. If they were honestly slap-happy enough to think that this would be a LEAVE IT TO BEAVER episode, maybe they deserved to be. God knows what these folks would've thought of Sandbox's mainstage shows like NEWTS or KOOGOOMANOOKI (the latter being my favorite show of theirs. Sorry, Heather, I'll stop bringing that up). But if this is your first Sandbox experience, go into it knowing that sometimes things simply are what they are. It doesn't have to be neatly sealed and wrapped. It doesn't necessarily need a hidden meaning. It might not be a metaphor or and ironic take on something. And most importantly, you might not be given any answers. Maybe it just is what it is. As Frank Zappa once said about his music, "You might not be able to appreciate this at first, but listening to it will be better for you in the long run." That's what ALL of Sandbox's material is for me. It's an education. I'm learning what theatre CAN be rather than what people think it HAS to be. And JUNE OF ARC is proof positive of that. It challenges you NOT to look away. The entire cast is fantastic and perfectly suited to Ryan's script. Not a dull moment in this show. Heather is once again absolutely stunning. She absolutely amazes me in everything I see her in. It's funny, thought-provoking and wall-to-wall chilling at times. See this if you want a Fringe experience like no other. If you have to get a little insight into what this show is, here's all I can offer. David Lynch meets Leave It To Beaver. More Lynch, though. Less Beaver.
Fantastic!!!
by jeffry lusiak Follow this reviewer
Rating 5 kitties
This is one of my favorite I\'ve seen all year! Brilliant concept, writing, and acting! Heather Stone is mesmerizing!
Goosebumpy Brilliant and Moving
by Florence Brammer Follow this reviewer
Rating 5 kitties
My gosh, what a show Sandbox has created. So gut-wrenchingly moving under its veneer of parody. While many in the audience appeared to enjoy the parody for its own sake, I felt that the power of the humor was primarily as a hook -- to get us to take the bait, and then: POW! This is an incredibly poignant, yet unsentimental, reflection on unfulfilled dreams, suppressed passion and misdirected goals. It will haunt me for a long time. Heather Stone is jaw-droppingly brilliant. She expresses more with a stiff flick of her wrists against her neatly pressed apron than most actresses can convey with five pages of text. As someone whose mother offered herself to our family as our "special dessert," this really resonated. I wish I could see it again. You should probably make a reservation for this one; the Xperimental venue is small and a lot of people didn't get in on Monday night.
The best part is the commercials
by Sharon Kahn Follow this reviewer
Rating 3 kitties
June Cleaver (Beaver's mom) weaves a wistful tale of unrealized possibilities as she recalls her hopes and dreams from before she married Ward, waves her arms around mechanically, rationalizes her present empty existence, and fails to notice that the men in her family are doing nothing in each scene but grunting like zombies and falling over. Every few minutes there is a commercial break. The 3 male performers hold up black-and-white 2-dimensional versions of the products they are touting and do a verbatim reconstruction of vintage 1950's commercials.
I'm not sure quite what the point of this show was. I think it was supposed to be incisive irony of some sort. But for me it was just a trip down memory lane. The actress who played June was perfect - she had the same little string of pearls, wide brittle smile and that finishing school accent that all actors used to affect when they weren't playing criminals or low-class women (in which case they used broad Brooklyn accents). Yet, she somehow managed to bring some emotional resonance to the role and was really rather touching, provided one overlooked the incongruous zombie grunting in the background and the peculiar bits of physical business where she tried to sit down on the stove and kept sliding onto the floor. But the star of the show was the commercials, every one of which I recognized. If you had asked me to describe a Salem cigarette commercial from 1956 I wouldn't have been able to, but when the jingle started, I found myself singing along ("For smoother taste smoke Sa-lem cig-a-rettes.") I'm not sure what the younger generation is getting out of its current fascination with the 50's, but I'm getting a nostalgic kick out of it all. I can't in all good conscience rate this show higher than 3 stars, but I got at least 4 stars of enjoyment out of it
Genius
by Jesse Field Follow this reviewer
Rating 5 kitties
Sandbox is professional theater: tight moves, good solid design work, and artistic, evocative acting.
The 1950s live-action commercials show the group working as a team, with really effective positioning and dead-on accurate voices of consumerist coaches of the past.
The rest of the show belongs to Heather Stone, who seriously puts out one of the best dramatic performances I can remember, anywhere. Her hand movements. The material of her dress. The wobbly legs. And those soliloquoys! At many points I thought she was actually channeling my grandmother, who was born in 1933 and still wears her hair in just the way Stone's June does. My grandma still to this day says stuff like, "Of course we didn't want to make demands on the boys. They could do whatever they wanted. It didn't matter if they weren't the smartest..." and
"Of course I was just a girl, but I was smart..." and
"The girls these days just don't know the basics!"
emotional
by Karen Pollard Follow this reviewer
Rating 4 kitties
Wonderful show. Gut wrenching in between the commercials which just got creepier.
visually compelling
by William Hollerich Follow this reviewer
Rating 5 kitties
This show was very inventive, like everything I've seen by this company. Their physically expressive performances are actually fun to watch, intriguing instead of mind-numbing (a threat when I see anything vaguely reminiscent of dance). The performance of June herself was amazing, and if I left a little puzzled, it wasn't off-putting. (The '50s TV ads were spot-on, and I liked the piles of crap that accumulated from items sold.) If you want a show to discuss with your date for days afterward, see this one.
Go See? Oh, yes.
by Nick Decker Follow this reviewer
Rating 5 kitties
From the bowels of the Rarig, Sandbox Theatre presents a show equally beautiful and painful.
Heather Stone captures the transfiguration of June Cleaver's icon/cypher of 1950's maternity into a real woman, teeming with frustration, dreams deferred. It's heartbreaking to watch her veneer crack further after each commercial break, commercial breaks that only illustrate the forced fabrication of a time in American history that never existed. Her chains, pearls they may be, are no less dehumanizing.
Intelligent and beautiful
by Peter Heeringa Follow this reviewer
Rating 5 kitties
Seeing a Sandbox show you know you can expect to be dazzled visually. June of Arc is no exception. The physical control mastered by the cast was complemented by the creative props and insightful costumes. I appreciated the tension with a smile that Heather Stone brought to June throughout the extensive monologue. Her classic earrings, pearls, and apron are juxtaposed with the passionate red slip giving visual representation to the constraints placed upon her. The show was well paced through very entertaining, if not unsettling, commercials from the 50’s performed by the men. This show makes me wonder how we ever survived the 50’s. I left wondering what story we leave to be examined in 50 years.
See this show for Heather's performance
by Valerie Rigsbee Follow this reviewer
Rating 4 kitties
All 4 kitties are for Heather Stone's fantastic performance in this production. I have seen her do a lot of work, and this character is one of the best I've seen her tackle. Absolutely wonderful.
I would have given this 5 kitties had the commercials worked a bit differently. I understand what they were going for in setting up the artifice of the world she was living in, but the way they were staged didn't quite work for me, but I'm just being picky.
This show is well worth your time.
Brilliant
by Joshua Humphrey Follow this reviewer
Rating 5 kitties
I was transfixed throughout this entire show. I'd talked with Sandbox Theatre before about how they were going to approach it, and I still managed to be surprised at the concepts, the acting and the stylistic expression. This was an incredible piece of theatre and performances, striking, piercing and sharp, were infinitely compelling.
We may begin the perfect world of the Cleavers, but we thoroughly end in the midst of 1950s cultural detritus the actors chisel away relentlessly. The centerpiece here though is Heather Stone, who's every movement and expression is calculated to utmost perfection. I dug it and I think you will too.
Some of the other reviewers say they didn't "get it." Don't try to get it, but live in it, and you'll enjoy it to the hilt.
On of my favorites so far of the Fringe.
An avant garde feast of nervous laughter
by Adam Robbins Follow this reviewer
Rating 5 kitties
Best show of the day. The structure is compellingly (un)familiar, and the monologue a hoot and a silent scream.
This is unlike any other show I've seen, but this professional troupe is head-and-shoulders above those we've yet seen.
Dark and Funny and Compelling
by Mark Mikula Follow this reviewer
Rating 5 kitties
A very thoughtful, inspired piece. Heather Stone's performance is mesmerizing and the performances of the three men during the commercial breaks is well choreographed and dynamic. Smooth delivery from all of the performers even when needing to change costume or play with physicality. This show really tells a wonderfully dark and challenging story, and I want to give special attention to the writer's very careful and compelling choices of words in crafting the monologue. I'm curious to know whether the commercials were constructed by the author or lifted from actual spots. They were so authentic and varied and fun. I'm a bit of a pushover for writing like this, having a fascination with advertising copywriting of this era. I will be surprised if I see a better show during the Fringe, and now I'm excited to see the shows that these members of the Sandbox Theatre have recommended. I am new to the Minneapolis scene and am excited to be a new fan of the Sandbox.
Great premise
by J Emily Peabody Follow this reviewer
Rating 4 kitties
I believe this show was created as a commentary about television and the american ideals that many of us grew up with based on ideals that propel consummerism. Unfortunately this show left me with more questions then it answered and perhaps confused the debate. I hope the creators choose to work with this theme some more and find clearer ways to communicate their ideas.
I heart the Sandbox Theatre
by Stephanie Long Follow this reviewer
Rating 5 kitties
Sandbox is one of my favorite companies in town.
Heather Stone gives a stellar performance!
If you haven't seen Sandbox before then this show is a great way to get your feet wet.
A new view of the Cleavers!
by Peggy Bandit Follow this reviewer
Rating 5 kitties
This was a powerful performace that took us back and forth between fun commercials from memory lane and the facade of the person who gives up herself to become part of something else. Though targeted at our childhood memories of the perfect family one may ask how often this happens today in a variety of ways. Hmmmmm foot tapping and thought provoking all in one performance.
One more thought about those commercials that were brought to life beautifully---we really belived those messages---cigarettes made from fresh air?---what lies are we swallowing today?
Risk Pays Off
by Kay Jackson Follow this reviewer
Rating 4 kitties
Kudos to the Sandbox team for not taking the easy way to a Fringe crowd pleaser. The commercials demonstrated that they could have simply parodied 50's TV for 45 minutes of non-stop laughs. Instead they chose the more risky approach of using the zany commercial breaks to offset the darker side of the era. This is what Fringe is all about. Well done!
Pseudo-feminism doesn't work
by Dave Romm Follow this reviewer
Rating 2 kitties
An attempt to bring June Cleaver to life by exploring her days before marrying Ward and having her tv family. The recreation of 50s tv commercials were the best part, but there was little attempt to connect the whitebread facade of the era with the dark inner workings of a repressed housewife. June is complicit in her sitcom life, and no stressor is presented to break her. Some good ideas aren't fully realized in the 35 minute show. A Shockwave Radio Theater Review.
Longer reviews with pictures at Baron Dave's LiveJournal and snarky comments on Facebook.
Well Worth Seeing
by Johanna Lewis Follow this reviewer
Rating 3 kitties
I was expecting flat-out funny parody; what I saw was a fairly dark treatment of carefully hidden heartbreak, disappointments, and resentment. Ms. Stone's physical performance is excellent, especially her brittle movements that keep sticking in mid-motion and threatening to shatter at the slightest touch. The chirpy commercial breaks lightened the mood, while simultaneously contributing to a sinister atmosphere. But "if everything was sweet, you'd get tired of it." A Shockwave Radio Theater Review.
Liked it, didn't get it
by Kathy Douglass Follow this reviewer
Rating 3 kitties
I am not even going to pretend I understood this, but the acting was so exqusite it's worth the befuddlement. I would listen to this cast read the phone book. Such lovely voices. One of those projects where the acting talent far outweighed the writing and directing.
The Inner Workings of an Icon
by Emma Gochberg Follow this reviewer
Rating 4 kitties
Heather Stone's exceptional work as June shines in this performance. It's fascinating to watch her character's emotions simmer and bubble just beneath the surface and Heather walks that line very well. The three men have a great time performing the commercial pieces.
Well done!
Exactly What Fringe Is Supposed to Be!
by Julie Stone Follow this reviewer
Rating 5 kitties
A peek behind the calm facade of one of America's favorite homemakers ... Who knew all that lurked beneath the surface?! Complete with snappy commercial breaks! LOL
Better Than Betty
by Lynn Cross Follow this reviewer
Rating 5 kitties
A much more compelling treatment of the topic than, say, Betty Friedan’s, in my opinion. Gorgeous acting from Heather Stone. June’s tragically disappointing husband and sons don’t require much more chops from the actors than, say, a sack of potatoes—although they do that quite well. The actors get a better chance to shine with their admirable commercial-break portrayals of some of the 1950s perfect-world fantasies that have seduced Joan onto her life path – a perfect world that has so cruelly evaded her grasp. This was my first exposure to the work of Sandbox Theatre (my bad).
Inner monlogue with ads
by CT Toll Follow this reviewer
Rating 4 kitties
I liked this, and that's particularly awesome as I didn't really get it. I think the message was that June has always seemed sort of distant and zombie-like, but as this is her show, now everyone else is! Very good performance by Heather Stone.
Other shows like this
© 2009 Minnesota Fringe Festival. All rights reserved.
