Compliment: War Bonds

"Your Marlene Dietrich was better than the original!"

Patron,

Freedom Hall,

Forest Park, IL

"War Bonds: The Songs and Letters of World War II will leave your audience with smiles and tears. It's  well crafted work by two of the best artists in the business.  Our audiences left the show smiling and asking when would EbzB return!"  

Jane Lonon

Presenter

Ashe Arts Council, NC

"Serena Ebhardt's rendition of Marlene Dietrich singing Lili Marlene brought the house down... this husband and wife team re-created those times with consummate skill.... the program moved at a rapid clip, keeping the audience well-entertained.  Thank you for a wonderful, inspiring, and timely performance."

John Caroll Gambrell, for the Anderson (SC) Independent-Mail

"In a word, the show was spectacular!  War Bonds was the perfect blend of music, headline news, and nostalgic World War II stories.  Sitting in front of us was a WWII veteran and his wife.  Both were very moved by your performance that clearly brought back to them many WWII memories.  Thanks again for such a memorable and enjoyable evening."

John and Cindy Micavich, Westford, Mass.

Patrons,  Deertrees Theatre

Harrison, Maine

"Still getting feedback from your show, 'Spectacular!' being the latest.  It's a pleasure just to watch you both, and your material's top rate, too.  Do you ever tire of compliments?  It was such a fun evening."

Susan Opasik

Blake Library Performance Series

Martin Co. Libraries, Stuart, FL

"Dear David and Serena- Thank you so much for such a wonderful performance. In carpool line I heard many of the kids talking about the performance and about World War II.  I think you really got many of them thinking. I personally, really loved the music. It was wonderful. I was also very moved by many of the stories. The letters really make it so personal...Again, thank you so much for bringing a new appreciation of that time to our students and staff.  If you ever need a reference I would be glad to to talk to anyone about how professional, educational and entertaining you were."

Elizabeth Iaquinta

St Raphael's School

Raleigh, NC

Dear David, Serena and Julie,

Thank you so much for the two fabulous shows.  The high school students have been raving about it--even some students who were forced to leave a carpentry project to come.  The Coordinator of Community Schools asked me what kind of program we had because those boys who moaned and groaned about having to come to the assembly yesterday went back to class all excited and talking about the show.  They must have been very enthusiastic. The music, the songs, the scripting, the acting all fit together so beautifully and all was so exceptionally well done.  Very memorable! We're already looking forward to the shows next December.  My assistant, Steve Clobridge, sends his regards, too.  In addition to the complements on your shows that he delivered in person, he commented to me what nice people you are.  I agree wholeheartedly.  Thanks again. 

Jenny Johnson

Swain County Center for the Arts

Bryson City, NC

Compliment - Life Is So Good

"If you go to the theater to have your soul uplifted, experience the magic that great productions create or watch first-rate talent on stage and off, you'll get it all in Life is So Good." 

-Roy C. Dicks
Raleigh News and Observer.

Review/Compliment - Life Is So Good. Raleigh News & Observer

'Life is So Good' entertains
By Roy C. Dicks - Correspondent
Raleigh News & Observer
Published: Thu, Oct. 16, 2008
 
HOLLY SPRINGS -- If you go to the theater to have your soul uplifted, experience the magic that great productions create or watch first-rate talent on stage and off, you'll get it all in "Life is So Good."

EbzB Productions, collaborating with actor/playwright Mike Wiley, adapted its show from the book of the same title about George Dawson, a descendant of slaves who lived through the 20th century.

His experience of turmoil and prejudice was magnified because he was illiterate. Despite harsh treatment and poverty, he enjoyed life and rose above institutional racism in his Texas town.

When Richard Glaubman read an article about Dawson's learning to read at 98, he befriended Dawson, interviewed him about his life, then published the book when Dawson was 101. The book also covers Glaubman's journey gaining Dawson's trust and overcoming rejection from publishers.

With Wiley in the cast, it's a given that entertainment and thematic values will be equally high. As in his riveting performance in EbzB's "Dar He: The Story of Emmett Till," Wiley not only plays Dawson at all stages of his life, with appropriate vocal quality and body language, but a range of characters: black, white, young, old, male, female. Wiley can take your breath away with spot-on changes in accent. He can make you see a white man or a pea-shelling black grandmother with a tilt of the head and a change in pitch.

Wiley is given fine support by David zum Brunnen, who plays Glaubman and a similar range of characters. Zum Brunnen's range is more restricted, but he's convincing as a ladies' man riding the rails or as an aristocratic woman.

Director Serena Ebhardt endows the production with humor and emotion; the pace is tight yet never rushed. She makes clever use of five sawhorses that turn into chairs, doors, horse corrals, train compartments or lynching platforms. Eric Ketchum's lighting helps deftly divide the past from the present, while Kevin Leonard's detailed, affecting sound design adds defining ambience to every scene.

A tendency to snap back and forth between scenes can be confusing, verging on showy effect, and scenes are often short, preventing a strong narrative thrust. But such quibbles don't lessen the overall impact. See it for Wiley's estimable gifts and its object lesson in engaging presentation.