The Lady with All the Answers

In transforming the Tipping Point stage into Ann Landers's living room, set designer Michelle LeRoy held back, using a few key furniture pieces, an extravagant square of hardwood floor, and a wall in just one corner of the black-box space. But what an understatement it is: the wall is the first thing one sees from the theater lobby (like peering into a dollhouse window), giving the initial impression of a full interior without overwhelming the senses during the performance. Moreover, the in-the-round setup means the wall necessarily appears behind the audience, literally enveloping viewers into the setting, as does the furniture that skirts the line between seats and stage. The overall effect of this innovation serves as fair warning for what an intimate production is in store, and this staging of The Lady with All the Answers could not have been as successful without it.

The lady in question is Eppie Lederer, known to most as Ann Landers, as portrayed with gusto by Julia Glander. This one-woman show spans a late evening in 1975, as the world-famous advice columnist sorts through old letters for publication in a book, reminisces about her career and relationships, and slowly composes a column whose subject threatens to cancel out all her past advice about marriage: the one announcing her impending divorce. The lyrical script by David Rambo (with the cooperation of Lederer's daughter, Margo Howard) makes plenty of discoveries while skating toward its conclusion; a few scarce moments that rattled like a recited biography only stuck out in contrast to the exquisite character study that prevails.

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Every Christmas Story Ever Told (And Then Some!)

The Tipping Point Theatre outdid itself for its first production truly in the round. Daniel C. Walker's set design gave the impression of dozens of entrances, including some on raised platforms visible from every seat. (Overheard from the audience: "I hope that's sturdy.") This ingenuity, and the creative staging on and around it, helped keep the action lively in Every Christmas Story Ever Told (And Then Some!).

The plot is right there in the title: Three actors (Dave Davies, Michael Brian Ogden, and Jeff Thomakos), dissatisfied with doing A Christmas Carol for the umpteenth year, instead attempt to bring the entire Christmas experience to the stage in ninety minutes. The result is a whirlwind of word play and sight gags, infused with a few solemn moments. This is the first production of Every Christmas Story I have seen, so I can't distinguish old from new (as implied by the added "and then some"), but I can say that the play was at its most enjoyable when hitting close to home. Whereas interpretations of the Grinch and Rudolph stories were essentially truncated — but faithful — restagings of beloved holiday classics, the exquisite parody of Detroit's annual Thanksgiving day parade was both innovative and side-splitting. A few points of lull were smoothed over by the sense of speed: hold on, you'll like the next part.

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