Reviews & Comments
Over the years, I have had gracious feedback from audience members and critics in both spoken and written form. Below is a collection of comments and reviews of my various projects. You can either scroll down to browse through or click the links below to view a specific item.
A performance announcement
https://www.mauinews.com/life/backstage/2015/10/reprising-history/
The Maui News - Reprising history - BACKSTAGE - OCT 22, 2015
I first met Maui actor Rick Scheideman three years ago as he was preparing to present “Sam Clemens and the Real Mark Twain” at the Historic Iao Theater. At the time, I suggested that it was possible that Twain stayed a few blocks away in Wailuku in 1866 when he visited Maui. In 2012, I had no idea that Twain was a guest in a home owned by the Baldwin family, now the offices of Maui Architectural Group Inc. on Main Street.
Over the past three years, Scheideman, who I describe as Lon Chaney-esque, has portrayed Twain, C.S. Lewis, Albert Einstein and Sitting Bull. In each performance, he is able to transform himself into a new historical figure, unrecognizable from previous roles or his real self. Since then, Scheideman has adapted his one-man show to incorporate a few stories about Maui, including Twain’s nude surfing. When asked by Scheideman and his producing partner, Joel Agnew, last spring as to where to pursue an ongoing “Evening with Mark Twain,” I suggested the Pioneer Inn in Lahaina, both steeped in history and convenient for Maui visitors. On Friday, Scheideman will reprise Twain in a new ongoing run at the Pioneer Inn, which continues weekly through December.
“Sam Clemens and the Real Mark Twain” was created by actor and writer Cliff Jewell, who was inspired by seeing Hal Holbrook’s portrayal of Twain. What separates this work from Holbrook’s is that it focuses on events from Clemens’ personal life, rarely discussed in his public appearance tours during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Scheideman presents Twain’s childhood on the Mississippi, his courtship and marriage to Olivia Langdon and the deaths that shaped his later life. Jewell began researching Twain while still a teenager and gradually began to focus on deeply personal moments.
“Some of them were accounts of tragedies in Clemens’ life,” Jewell said in 2013. “Others dealt with many of his views on religion, politics and the ‘damned human race’ in general.”
Jewell toured all over the United States for more than 20 years as Twain. Scheideman saw his performance in Colorado “about 20 years ago,” he said. “I was mesmerized by Cliff’s performance. We became friends and I got his permission to do the show myself. He’s a great guy and a great friend.”
Scheideman has now been playing Twain for 18 years.
Some of the personal moments presented in Scheideman “An Evening with Mark Twain” revolve around a period of depression Twain suffered through late in life while living in Connecticut. In 1896, his oldest daughter, Susy, died of meningitis at the age of 26. His wife, Olivia, died eight years later at the age of 59, and his youngest daughter, Jean, died on Christmas Eve in 1909. Twain also survived all of his six siblings, many of whom were younger than he, three of whom died in childhood.
As noted in “An Evening with Mark Twain,” Twain in 1909 said, “I came in with Halley’s Comet in 1835. It is coming again next year, and I expect to go out with it. It will be the greatest disappointment of my life if I don’t go out with Halley’s Comet. The Almighty has said, no doubt, ‘Now here are these two unaccountable freaks – they came in together, they must go out together.’ “
The real Mark Twain died of a heart attack on April 21, 1910, one day after the comet’s closest approach to Earth.
https://www.mauinews.com/life/backstage/2016/05/acting-theoretics/
The Maui News - Acting theoretics - BACKSTAGE - MAY 12, 2016
In island life, we like to believe that our art and music scene, the culinary world and our theater is an adjunct of metropolitan art or Broadway. It isn’t, but Broadway shows such as the multi-Tony Award-nominated phenomenon “Hamilton” evolve from off-Broadway venues before achieving greatness.
For some on Maui, it is the other way around, leaving Mainland successes in theater or dance for the simplicity of contributing to and developing Maui’s emerging art scene.
“I love variety and I love to try new things,” said Rick Scheideman, who continues his one-man shows at the Pioneer Inn in Lahaina this month before returning to perform on the Mainland in June.
“In community theater, you get, what, nine performances to perfect that performance?” he said.
Scheideman has been playing Mark Twain all over the United States for more than 20 years and Albert Einstein for 17. “One-person shows allow for a certain amount of freedom; it’s just you, and when it all works, I feel as if I can fly sometimes.”
What makes “An Evening with Albert Einstein” “fly sometimes” is Rick’s ability to adjust to venue, audience and even the elements seamlessly. When it began to sprinkle on the night that I attended, Scheideman, as Einstein, asked the audience if they would like to move onto the gazebo in the Pioneer Inn courtyard. We did and he continued his performance without missing an actor’s beat. When not performing, Scheideman directs and teaches what Americans call “the method.”
“Method acting relies on the actor’s inner life and past experiences to find the inner life and actions of a character. Today, ‘the method’ is combined with many other approaches to acting, but then this will change again as culture changes, as art unfolds,” he said.
Local entertainment journalist and director Barry Wurst II studied under Scheideman at Colorado Christian University.
“He put us through the gamut,” said Wurst. “The course was about progressing as an actor – feeling comfortable in your body. There is a joy in wearing another person like a suit. The sooner you know who you are, the quicker you can become someone else on the stage.”
In addition to directing the Maui OnStage production of “The Miracle Worker” in 2014, Scheideman recently served as assistant director and drama coach on “Inherit the Wind.” I asked him to compare teaching and directing other actors to the freedom of a one-person show.
“Supporting actors in developing dramatic reality fundamentally requires their trust,” he shared. “That requires a mix of both insight and experiment. When a measure of trust occurs, the challenge requires exploring what facilitates the actor’s unfolding a fictitious character who speaks, moves, gestures, interacts, emotes, listens, thinks with the authenticity the script calls forth. Trust and process lead to encouraging risk. Actors in rehearsal must be free. They can only be free if the director creates a continual rehearsal atmosphere of trust, support and a high regard for each artist’s dignity and gift. As an actor, these are the fundamentals I need to unfold a character. As a director, it is the way I desire to work rehearsal by rehearsal.”
Whereas his “An Evening with Mark Twain” is a collection of vignettes and independent stories, “Einstein” is a delicious exploration into the mind and thoughts of the theoretical physicist and a study of science versus politics not unlike “Inherit the Wind.” On his boyhood, Einstein says, “I used to wonder what it would be like to travel on a beam of light,” later explaining the theory that time would stand still, an idea he first had while observing a clock tower as a young man. “If man could travel at the speed of light to the Milky Way, it might take five or six years, but on Earth, it would be 50 or 60 years.”
There are many clever and humorous moments as the great professor attempts to explain relativity to the audience by using an example of two passing trains and two lightning bolts. Sensing confusion he says, “Do not worry about your problems with mathematics, I assure you mine are far greater.”
War, politics and anti-Semitism shape much of the second act. “If my theory is proven correct,” says Einstein, “Germany will say I’m a German and France will declare I am a citizen of the world. If proven untrue, France will say I am a German and Germany will declare I am a Jew.”
I asked Scheideman about Einstein’s life during the rise of Adolph Hitler.
“He only became conscious of being Jewish when he was persecuted,” the actor said. “He wanted to stay in Germany and tried to come back several times; the last time, he just barely got out with his life.”
In the play, a symposium is held by German scientists lauding their book, “100 Professors Against Relativity.” “If I were wrong, one professor would have been enough,” jokes Einstein.
Immediately following every performance, Scheideman hosts a talk-back session as the character and the actor. An audience member asked about Einstein being diagnosed as developmentally delayed as a child, which is referenced in the play.
“He struggled with speech,” said Scheideman. “Many kids do not fit in at school. That was his only difficulty. Within a traditional school system, one size does not fit all, and many of the people we revere the most did not fit in at school. Did you?” he asked the audience. The reaction was a collective “No.”
Scheideman returns to Colorado in June, where he has performed at Creekside Cellars in Evergreen every summer for the past 15 years. But he plans to be back at the Pioneer Inn in October, potentially adding to his rotating repertoire Ernest Hemingway’s “The Old Man and the Sea” and a brand new one-man show based on the Sherlock Holmes mysteries as told by Dr. Watson.
https://www.mauinews.com/opinion/letters-to-the-editor/2017/05/a-few-good-men-is-a-tour-de-force/
‘A Few Good Men’ is a tour de force - LETTERS TO THE EDITOR - MAY 7, 2017
If you’re like me and tend to doze off in front of the TV at night or even at movies sometimes, then Maui OnStage’s current performance of “A Few Good Men” will provide the perfect antidote. Musicals, comedies and farce often lend themselves to live theater better than drama, but this tour de force production is the exception.
Like a good cardio workout, it was important to keep “the pedal to the metal” with this courtroom drama, building tension with every scene, cascading to a stunning finale. Director Rick Scheideman accomplished this with excellent pacing and a cast well-suited to their individual roles.
Facing dual challenges — one of keeping the story moving with a very minimalist stage setting, plus the need to simultaneously create flashback scenes — Scheideman had the entire cast seated on stage and silhouetted in the background throughout the performance, thereby avoiding the lost momentum that set and cast changes would have created. Players moved in and out of center stage without sacrificing pace.
The entire cast excelled. Rickey Jones’ portrayal of the military attorney defending the accused was outstanding. Robert Wills was charged with the task of re-creating Jack Nicholson’s iconic role in the 1992 motion picture and was more than up to the challenge. Wills’ powerful portrayal of Col. Jessep left nothing on the table — no chance to doze off here!
All in all, at a cost of about $8 an hour, I doubt that there’s a better entertainment value on Maui.
Michael Blaz, Kihei
https://www.mauinews.com/life/backstage/2019/09/heres-to-you-mrs-robinson/
‘Here’s to you, Mrs. Robinson …’ Adapted film classic, ‘The Graduate,’ opens at Historic Iao Theater - BACKSTAGE - SEP 26, 2019
MICHAEL PULLIAM - For The Maui News - mauibackstage@gmail.com
Elisha Cullins (left) and Marsi Smith star in Maui OnStage’s Hawaii premier of “The Graduate,” opening tomorrow night at Historic Iao Theater in Wailuku. BRETT WULFSON photo
Some stories hang around because, no matter how many years have passed, they still seem real and relevant. On many occasions the original authors of novels like “The Catcher in the Rye” and “To Kill A Mockingbird” based aspects of the stories on their own lives. Maui OnStage opens their 2019-20 season this weekend with one of those tales, Charles Webb’s “The Graduate” at the Historic Iao Theater in Wailuku.
Twenty years ago, Dustin Hoffman, the original Benjamin Braddock, was approached by a journalist who suggested that “Fight Club” was to the young men of 1999 what “The Graduate” was to young men in 1967. The analogy is a stretch, but both films addressed the idea of feeling lost and facing an ominous future unless zealous determination is put in motion posthaste.
If you don’t know “The Graduate,” Benjamin, a recent college graduate, is adrift and disillusioned by the plastic and privileged Southern California world of his family and their friends. At first he is seduced into a mindless affair by Mrs. Robinson, the wife of his father’s business partner, but his viewpoint is transformed after he falls in love with Mrs. Robinson’s optimistic, no-nonsense daughter, Elaine.
In Rob Reiner’s 2005 film, “Rumor Has It,” a long-lived suggestion was dramatized that Webb’s novel is based on a Pasadena, Calif. rumor. Webb’s real Mrs. Robinson was patterned on the wife of his father’s business partner, Mrs. Jane Ericson, but Webb, who grew up in Pasadena, asserts that the rest of “The Graduate” is fictional.
In 1998 the American Film Institute listed “The Graduate” as number 7 on their 100 Greatest Comedies list. “The Graduate” is not a laugh-out-loud comedy, but perhaps the reason we still find it darkly funny 52 years later is because it might have been true.
Jefferson Davis (left) and Geronimo Son contemplate the ultimate sin — murder — in “Strangers on a Train,” concluding its run this weekend at ProArts Playhouse in Kihei. Call 463-6550 or visit www.proartsmaui.com for tickets. PETER SWANZY photo
After the film rights were secured from Webb for $20,000 (The film would go on to gross over $100 million), Tony Award-winner Mike Nichols, fresh off of “The Odd Couple,” was chosen to direct. The lengthy casting difficulties of “The Graduate” could warrant its own film, as Nichols considered dozens of actors over many months.
Doris Day, Ava Gardner, Lauren Bacall, Rita Hayworth and Judy Garland, in addition to many other legendary Hollywood actresses, were almost Mrs. Robinson until Nichols decided on Anne Bancroft. Robert Redford and Warren Beatty were both offered the role of Benjamin but passed, and even then Governor Ronald Reagan was approached to play his father, Mr. Braddock.
The stage adaptation debuted on Broadway in 2002 with Jason Biggs as Benjamin, Kathleen Turner as Mrs. Robinson and Alicia Silverstone as Elaine.
The Maui OnStage production, directed by Rick Scheideman (“The Miracle Worker,” “A Few Good Men”), stars Elisha Cullins, Marsi Smith and Julia Schwentor in this lover’s triangle.
Scheideman is no stranger to directing iconic works that are perhaps best known as films. I asked what the pluses and minuses are directing the well-known.
“The plus is you’re not trying to convince the audience that the material is good. They come because they’re looking forward to seeing a story that they already enjoy,” he replied. “The challenge is the balancing act of giving them what they want and giving them something new, something they don’t know that they want yet.”
Scheideman chose to direct “The Graduate” because he saw it as a challenge.
“I like the challenge of the familiar but with a twist,” he said. “I wanted to discover how can I make this different and be faithful to the story at the same time.”
Scheideman shared that he first saw “The Graduate” while in college.
“It was a very personal film to me,” he recalled. “It really isn’t just about Ben and Mrs. Robinson. It’s about all of the characters, and they’re all flawed. Nobody comes out smelling like a rose in this one — there are no winners.”
As director, he is emphasizing that idea with the local cast.
“There’s poignancy here in every character, and they all deserve our sympathies. They’re not cartoons. I want it to be funny, but I want people to see real human beings that aren’t trying to be funny; they’re not standups. It would be easy to play this as cardboard characters and play up the laughs,” he expressed. “I would like audiences to see themselves and say, ‘That’s just like me,’ or ‘That’s just like you.’ This show is great fun, but the humor reveals a greater side that’s in all of us.”
It’s because of the authenticity of the characters in “The Graduate” that it remains so popular.
When the entire Robison family becomes aware of the torrid affair, we’re sympathetic to Elaine’s anger, Mrs. Robinson’s sadness and Mr. Robinson’s downfall. Yet we root for Benjamin’s half-baked, and slightly insane plan to win Elaine back — drive hundreds of miles to stalk her, stop one marriage at the altar, marry her himself and then run off together. Somehow, in spite of all the dysfunction and lack of rational thinking, “The Graduate” is not only funny, but it has grown to be thought of as an inspiring love story.
“Good comedy allows us to laugh at things that if we didn’t laugh at we’d cry,” explained Scheideman.
I asked him how Ben and Elaine would have turned out 52 years later.
“I asked the actors that same question, and they all had different ideas,” he said. “I think we all wonder what happened to Ben and Elaine. I honestly don’t know. It’s certainly a set up for a horrible relationship, but maybe they made it work. Maybe they both had enough moxie to make it through.”
Maui OnStage presents the Hawaii premier of “The Graduate” adapted by Terry Johnson, based on the novel by Charles Webb and the screenplay by Calder Willingham and Buck Henry, directed by Rick Scheideman. Performances are at 7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, 3 p.m. Sundays through Oct. 13 at the Historic Iao Theater. Tickets range from $20 to $40. “The Graduate” contains adult themes that may not be appropriate for all audiences. To purchase tickets for any Iao Theater event call 242-6969 or order online at www.mauionstage.com.
https://www.mauinews.com/life/backstage/2019/10/the-graduate-offers-unique-interpretations-of-familiar-characters/
‘The Graduate’ offers unique interpretations of familiar characters
Stage Review - BACKSTAGE - OCT 3, 2019 - MICHAEL PULLIAM - For The Maui News - mauibackstage@gmail.com
Marsi Smith (from left), Lou Young, Elisha Cullins and Julia Schwentor are shown in a scene from the current Maui OnStage production of “The Graduate” at the HIstoric Iao Theater in Wailuku. ORA SCOTT photo
Terry Johnson’s adaptation of “The Graduate” ventures beyond the well-known 1967 film, allowing the current Maui OnStage production at Iao Theater in Wailuku to be surprisingly rich in nostalgia and supplementary insight on these classic characters.
In the lead, Elisha Cullins dominates the play as Benjamin Braddock. Cullins infrequently leaves the stage throughout the two-hour production and is rarely silent. His Ben bears little resemblance to Dustin Hoffman’s, which is both a challenge and achievement by the young actor. Cullins’ Ben is more frenetic and prone to hasty mood shifts as opposed to sullen introspection. Equally unique is the performance of Marsi Smith as his mature paramour, Mrs. Robinson. Smith’s Robinson, also in contrast to the film, is considerably softer, displaying a more refined, nonchalant manner in her act one scenes.
Every performance in the Rick Scheideman-directed “The Graduate” features unique interpretations. One of particular note is that of David Negaard as Mr. Braddock, Ben’s father. Negaard presents a frequently perplexed but accommodating and patient Braddock, more prone to listen with bewilderment before yielding to his son’s erratic forays. Kimberly Dobson portrays Mrs. Braddock with 1960’s modern sensibility, open and aware to the changing world around her as well as the “disillusionment” of the baby boom generation, which she read about in “Readers Digest.” In contrast Lou Young’s Mr. Robinson, though initially jovial, is the most tormented and discombobulated by the taboo circumstances of “The Graduate,” especially as his character arcs considerably in act two.
Audiences should be forewarned, that though suggested tastefully, “The Graduate” contains what is best described as almost nudity and the illusion of sexual intimacy. As Ben succumbs to the temptation of his “parents’ most attractive friend,” their near nightly trysts at the Taft Hotel plays out right in front of our eyes. A love-making montage of sorts is interrupted by offstage dialogue, establishing that Ben has wasted his graduation summer away.
This stage version is at its best with the entrance of Elaine (Julia Schwentor), Mrs. Robinson’s oft talked about daughter, whom she has forbidden Ben to see, despite the insistence of Mr. Braddock and Mr. Robinson. Elaine unknowingly enters into a seedy strip club to embark on Ben’s prepared date from hell. He does so in order to insure there will be no second date. The production ensemble fills this noteworthy scene with appropriate ambiance. They include Natassja Porcella as the tassel-twirling stripper, Bradmundo Breitbach as the bartender, and Joel Agnew, Laura Kinne, Shariana Visaya and Magdalena Walaszek (who also doubles as an amusing hotel desk clerk) as the barflies. Throughout the play each actor returns in different roles, an essential in recreating this multi-setting tale laden with short-lived extras.
Schwentor quickly lifts the energy of the show with her rapid-fire delivery, quirky personality and mood shifts which range from disgust to sorrow, anger and a bubbliness by scene’s end. However in the scene that follows, now aware of her mother’s and Ben’s secret, we see a heartbroken and appalled Elaine that hopes to never see Ben again. As act one nears its end, unfazed, Ben sets off to literally stalk Elaine at UC-Berkeley, hell-bent on winning her hand in marriage.
Act two’s higher stakes allow for “The Graduate” to be much more compelling with lengthier, intimate scenes. Cullins and Schwentor display entertaining stage chemistry in their love-hate relationship, especially in the opening scene of act two which is the play’s most engaging. We learn much more about who Ben and Elaine really are than the film ever provided, and just as in the film version we begin to root for Ben and Elaine, again a credit to the performances of Cullins and Schwentor as well as Scheideman’s direction.
This insightful scene is followed by a high-octane encounter with Mr. Robinson. Young exhibits a vengeful layer to previously good-natured character. We also see another side of Negaard’s Mr. Braddock, a father who still loves his son, but is deeply enraged and humiliated by Ben’s reckless behavior. At the risk of revealing “The Graduate’s” surprising ending to those that have never seen the film, I will not divulge the final scenes. However, it must be said that Smith’s offerings in the tempestuous conclusion is her best work in the show. A veil is lowered, unmasking a no longer restrained Mrs. Robinson.
A great deal of the production’s charm is due to a fantastic set by Caro Walker. Beds, a hotel counter, the bar and a phone booth all appear with ease out of walls that imply a giant Piet Mondrian painting, aided by the ever-busy actor’s ensemble. Peppering the scene changes are sentimental Simon and Garfunkel musical excerpts, well chosen by Scheideman and sound designer Kealoha Harper. Lighting design by Amy Lord enhances this straightforward homage to 1960’s modern art as Mark Rothko-like paintings emerge with colored light, backlit through three large muslin screens. Vicki Nelson’s colorful costumes also compliment the flawless artistic design. Scheideman and this talented team deliver a new look “The Graduate,” teeming with artistic beauty, amusement, passion of spirit and an engrossing examination of flawed humans.
* Maui OnStage continues “The Graduate” adapted by Terry Johnson, based on the novel by Charles Webb and the screenplay by Calder Willingham and Buck Henry, directed by Rick Scheideman. Performances are at 7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, 3 p.m. Sundays through Oct. 13 at the Historic Iao Theater. Tickets range from $20 to $40. “The Graduate” contains adult themes that may not be appropriate for all audiences. To purchase tickets for any Iao Theater event call 242-6969 or order online at www.mauionstage.com.
https://www.mauinews.com/life/backstage/2019/09/heres-to-you-mrs-robinson/
"Scheideman is a man of many talents with two albums of mellow acoustic music, several personally crafted guitars, and acting credits as Mark Twain and Hemingway's 'Old Man and the Sea.'"
-Brian Muir, Staff Writer, The Canyon Courier
"I want you to know how much we enjoy your CD. I have it in my office and it helps create a beautiful atmosphere-very soulful. Thank you for your thoughtfulness. It is indeed a special weekend when we can eat at the winery and listen to your music."
-Andrea Cohen
His appearance at Creekside is not new—he’s been performing there for nearly 14 years, lulling lunch-going audiences into a pleasant mood with his low-key, beautiful sounds. His songs range from pop, folk, blues, calypso, ballads, bossa nova, show tunes, and even some flamenco.
-Corey Colombin from a feature story in Colorado Serenity Online. Click here for the full article.