Nickel and Dimed 5/1 @ Gordon Square Theatre Rarely does theater deliver a performance that makes us laugh as well as provide us with the inspiration to make a difference. If the more than 200 people who came together for this Cleveland Public Theatre and Great Lakes Theatre Festival joint effort didn’t feel the jolt of witnessing something unique early in the show, if they didn’t leave with more than a few thoughts rolling around their heads and didn’t wake up with some of the same, I would challenge if they were indeed at the same production. The seats surrounding the square stage are nearly full when one of the crew casually places a folding tray stand and a plastic dish bin filled with plates, cups and saucers just off center stage. The house lights go down replaced by a single soft spot over the props. An uneasy anticipation drifts across the theater as we sense the oncoming confrontation with a secret life we hope will never be our misfortune to fully understand. “Bring It On!” says the CPT – and with this phenomenal cast and production they bring a combination of rolling laughter and a special “dare-you-to-look-away” emotion. With Nickel and Dimed, consider “It” brought. The Ohio premier is directed by Melissa Kievman and is based on the best selling book Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America by author, social critic and journalist Barbara Ehrenreich. Jill Levin plays Barbara, a divorced woman with grown children who embarks on an undercover journey as a minimum wage worker. Ms. Levin leads an enormously talented cast by portraying the competent but quickly overwhelmed Ehrenreich. Overwhelmed by her new life with its new and unusual set of rules and language, but definitely not overmatched when confronted by any human injustice. And there are many. Ms. Levin excels as the street smart New Yorker who finds herself playing a whole new game. She begins work in a restaurant intent on experiencing first hand the struggles of the working poor. As might be expected, she learns much more than how to wait tables, clean homes or stock shelves when she asks us “What makes human beings devour their own kind?” The cast (Nina Domingue, Tracee Patterson, Sheffia Randall, George Roth and Nan Wray) each play multiple characters with brilliant comic turns and deft human touches, earning far more than a paycheck for their performances. “How deep is the corrosive effect of humiliation?” is a question Barbara asks us. Each character has already faced this cruel reality struggling each moment of every day to find whatever defense mechanism they can to deflect these effects. The book is well written and helps the reader to quietly and personally contemplate the staggering human conditions more than 31 million Americans are helpless to avoid making $6 – 7.00 per hour. The stage production, marvelously adapted by Joan Holden, expects more from the audience and easily gives more. The set changes are fluid and quick, with the cast and crew working together to achieve the necessary result. Tables and chairs roll across the stage, costume changes are tossed to crew waiting in the wings. This unique staging, designed by Todd Krispinsky, enhances the experience and underscores the rolled up sleeves working theme. Even the intermission is announced with a tongue-in-cheek brusqueness when Barbara tells us we have a “ten minute break”. It is this eye for detail that helps entertain us (we are after all at the theater) but also creates awareness of those who must live this way, every day, in order to “get by”.

Please call 631-2727 for ticket information or visit the CPT web site http://www.cptonline.org. Also, visit the web site for more information about the community event series Not Getting By: Views on Working in America. from Cool Cleveland contributor Tom Perrino (:divend:)