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That’s Why The Lyricist is a …

Written By: cahwyguy - Sun May 19, 2013 @ 6:32 pm PDT
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Falling For Make Believe (Colony)userpic=colonyRichard Rodgers. When one thinks of the composer, one thinks of his lyricists: Lorenz Hart, Oscar Hammerstein II (yes, there were others, and he did some work on his own, but none were as memorable or successful as the first two). People are very familiar with the work of Rodgers and Hammerstein, but the works of Rodgers and Hart are less familiar. In some ways, this is sad, as at one point the works of Rodgers and Hart filled not only the stages of Broadway, but the American popular song catalog.

Seeing this, the Colony Theatre in Burbank decided to mount a musical centered around the works of Lorenz Hart. Working with playwright Mark Saltzman, the resulting piece — titled Falling for Make Believe: Lorenz Hart,His Life, His Love, His Songs — premiered on April 27, 2013. We just saw the musical today, at what was supposed to be the last performance (it has been extended — more on that later). As for what I thought about it — that is, was it good or not — is hard to put into a single word or two because there are so many different ways to judge it.

Jukebox musicals have a problem. They can go the easy route and be a simple revue of songs. This is what shows such as Smokey Joe’s Cafe does. That creates an enjoyable evening, but it is ultimately not satisfying. They can create a fake plot around the songs in the existing catalog that weren’t designed for a plot — this can sometimes work (e.g., Mamma Mia), but usually doesn’t. They can also take the hard route and select songs and build a story that tells the story of the person at the heart of the catalog. This is what Ain’t Misbehavin’ did so successfully — each song actually provided insight into the characters and the times.

Falling for Make Believe took this latter approach. It created an artificial character — Fletcher Mecklin — and used him (combined with eulogies at the funeral of Lorenz Hart) to tell the story of Hart. This story was primarily centered around Hart’s drinking and Hart’s homosexuality — how it drove his work, and how it ultimately led to his destruction. Most of the reviews of this show center on this story and its impact — and how it was never really told during the life of Hart. Certainly, the world well knew of Hart’s drinking (in fact, it eventually led Rodgers to dump him as a lyricist for Hammerstein). They didn’t know the other side of his life, as contrasted to other other famous Broadway homosexuals, such as Cole Porter or Noel Coward. In general, this aspect of the story worked. Mecklin served as a good vehicle to discuss how homosexuality was viewed during the time period, and how it affected Porter’s life. It provided a good way to show how Hart’s agent, Doc Bender, enabled the behavior, and how the others in Hart’s circles — Rodgers and his wife, Vivian Ross (their regular leading lady) — reacted to it all.

So where was the problem? First, the songs that were chosen from the catalog did not always amplify the chosen story. Often, the songs were chosen (seemingly) because they were popular and well known, not because they might be construed as making any statement. Further, although the show attempted to present the songs in chronological order, it skipped back and forth and back and forth (a good example of this is Blue Moon, which is seemingly referenced before it was written). It also only highlighted a number of shows.

Right now, this show is only about 90 minutes with no intermission. For the show to move to the next level, I believe it needs to figure out how to present the songs and shows in a chronological order. It needs to figure out how to make the selected songs show how Hart was changing over the years, and perhaps discovering both his homosexuality and his love for alcohol. This may require introducing additional characters, especially to cover the early years. In particular, was his homosexuality affected by the number of years he spent in Hollywood working on film songs. In other words: we need to see Hart’s lyrics present a deeper picture of Hart, not the superficial picture we get with the show.

Note that the above is not meant to imply the show is bad — rather, it is more my thoughts on how to improve the book. As it is now, it is still a very enjoyable one-act with great performances and wonderful Rodgers and Hart music.  The direction by Jim Fall and the Choreography by Lisa Hopkins work well to keep the stage alive and engaging, and to bring out realistic performances from the ensemble. This does take some creativity given the stage constraints of the flyspace-less Colony facility — I can imagine a completely different staging were there set pieces that could fly in and out (such as at the Pasadena Playhouse).

Of course, it doesn’t hurt that the performances were excellent. In the lead positions were Tyler Milliron as Fletcher Mecklin, Brett Ryback as Richard Rodgers, and Ben. D. Goldberg as Lorenz Hart. Milliron had a lovely tenor voice that was just great to listen to. Character-wise… he was a chorus member. In other words, his character served more to move the story along than to have any depth or substance of his own. The main character in the story — Hart — was portrayed by Goldberg. He also had a pleasing voice and captured the drunk Hart well. I’m not sure how well he captured the homosexual Hart, for it is hard to know homosexual behavior that isn’t just a caricature or a stereotype. More problematic is that there wasn’t a strong demonstration of the behavior — other than chronic lateness or drunkenness — that would lead Rodgers to say what he actually said about working with Hart. Hart was more of a nice gay drunk, and I’m not sure that’s how he really was. More problematic was that he had a very similar look to the actor portraying Rodgers, and this occasionally led to some confusion for me. Ryback’s Rodgers was quite enjoyable — nice voice, nice movement, and nice acting.

The second tier of characters consisted of Megan Moran as Peggy/Dorothy Rodgers/Police Woman, Jeffrey Landman as Doc Bender, and Rebecca Ann Johnson as Vivian Blaine. Here I was smitten by the look and performance of Moran — she was a very strong singer and performer. We haven’t seen her before, but I do hope to see more of her. Johnson was also very strong as Blaine with a great singing voice and very good performance skills — especially in her interactions with Goldberg’s Hart. We saw much less of Landman’s character; he only had one song.

The scenic design by Jeff McLaughlin was relatively simple — a number of levels with a piano and a small bar area. Properties and set dressing were by the resident prop-people, MacAndMe. The lighting by Sohail e. Najafi worked well, although there were at times the attempts to focus the lighting through aluminum foil structures created some odd reflections. The sound design by Drew Dalzell provided good sound. The costumes by Dianne K. Graebner were for the most part good, although I was unsure about the first costume for Vivian Ross (I would have expected something a little more risque for a performance in a speakeasy when the actor wanted to show they could do something more daring — especially in the 1920s).

Musical direction was by Keith Harrison, and the 4 piece orchestra (two keyboards, bass, and percussion) was conducted by Kathryn Lounsbery. The production stage manager was Leesa Freed, and the assistant stage manager was Brian Cordoba.

Falling for Make Believe was scheduled to close today, but an extension has been announced. After a two week hiatus, the show will return on June 6 and continue until June 30 (and there was a hint it could continue after that, if demand is sufficient). Tickets are available through the Colony box office, as well as through the usual discount places. As for the next season at the Colony, the official word from Barbara Beckley, Artistic Director, is that they are working on it. Unofficial word is of a more binary nature — it is likely there will be a season, but when it will start, how many shows there will be,  and what those shows are is all unknown. Likely, it all depends on how long this last show extends and the state of the Colony budget. My guess is that the next season, if there is one, will be a recovery season with shows selected to draw in the audience and new subscribers, with sufficient spacing to extend the shows if demand warrants. So we’re still in a “wait and see”, but I’m not going to give up quite yet.

Upcoming Theatre and Concerts:   The last weekend of May brings “To Kill a Mockingbird” at REP East and The Scottsboro Boys” at the Ahmanson Theatre. June brings “Priscilla – Queen of the Desert” at the Pantages, and (tentative) Sweet Charity“ at DOMA (although DOMA may be replacing it with “Nine“). June will also bring a Maria Muldaur concert at McCabes.  I’m also considering Rent at the Hudson Theatres or A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum at the Hillcrest Center for the Arts in Thousand Oaks. July is currently more open, with “9 to 5 – The Musical” at REP East in the middle of the month, and “Legally Blonde – The Musical” at Cabrillo at the end of the month. August is currently completely open due to vacation planning. I’m also keeping my eyes open as the various theatres start making their 2013 season announcements. Lastly, what few dates we do have open may be filled by productions I see on Goldstar, LA Stage Tix, Plays411, or discussed in the various LA Stage Blogs I read (I particularly recommend Musicals in LA and LA Stage Times).

 

 

--- *** ---

Two is the Beginning of the End

Written By: cahwyguy - Sat May 18, 2013 @ 8:29 am PDT
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peter-panuserpic=dramamasks“All children, except one, grow up. They soon know that they will grow up, and the way Wendy knew was this. One day when she was two years old she was playing in a garden, and she plucked another flower and ran with it to her mother. I suppose she must have looked rather delightful, for Mrs. Darling put her hand to her heart and cried, “Oh, why can’t you remain like this for ever!” This was all that passed between them on the subject, but henceforth Wendy knew that she must grow up. You always know after you are two. Two is the beginning of the end.” — The Adventures of Peter Pan, J. M Barrie.

Growing up is on my mind in many ways. First, my daughter has just completed her first year at UC Berkeley, and is no longer the little girl. My wife is up in Berkeley picking her up and bringing her home. This led directly to the second thing that put growing up on my mind: while they were out I took the chance to go to Hollywood and see the Ovation-recommended play “Peter Pan: The Boy Who Hated Mothers” at the Blank Theatre in Hollywood.

Most people are familiar, yet not familiar, with J. M Barrie‘s Peter Pan. First and foremost, forget the Disney adaptation. I’ve actually never seen it, but I’m pretty sure it was Disney-fied and lost some elements of the story. My familiarity with Pan comes from the 1954 musical with book by J. M. Barrie, and music by Jule Styne, Moose Charlap and lyrics by Carolyn Leigh, Betty Comden, and Adolph Green. The story in Peter Pan: The Boy Who Hated Mothers hewed very close to the story in the 1954 musical (no surprise, as both used Barrie’s book as the basis) — in face, there were points where Michael Lluberes‘s script almost seemed word for word with the older musical (this was especially true in the opening nursery scenes). But there were also some significant differences — the major one being the catalyst in the story. In both the Disney version and the 1954 musical, there were three children who go off with Peter: Wendy, Michael, and John. In this version, there is only Wendy and John; Michael had died some unspecified time earlier at an ambigous age (the script makes you think 5-6, the props make you think it was while he was an infant). Michael’s death is the reason for discussing Peter Pan: Does Peter take the souls of children who die too early? Is he a real boy?  Is he a boy lost in childhood? It is never made clear.

This Peter Pan, unlike many of the other versions (and I’m intentionally ignoring the prequel Peter and the Starcatchers and the sequel Hook), is a drama and is not played either for laughs or for the children. That’s not to say there isn’t humor in the piece; rather, it means level of the story is not simplified for children. Peter is petty and mean; he is an immature little boy thinking only of himself. Whereas the musical and the Disney version leave one with the message that one grows up only if one wants to, and that you need to embrace the child in you… this play leaves a very different message indeed. This is where the subtitle of the play comes in.

This play is titled Peter Pan: The Boy who Hated Mothers. The subtitle is important. One might ask: why, if Peter hated mothers, did he go to the effort to bring Wendy back as a mother for himself and the lost boys? Why does the period in Neverland revolve around the presence of Wendy as the mother… even to the point of where Capt. Hook (who is the reflection of the grown Peter) talks about the importance of the mother and as the mother as Peter’s weakness? The answer is that Peter’s relationship with mothers was that of wanting one, but of making choices that always seemed centered around himself and hurting mothers. This becomes especially poignant at the end of the play. We all remember how the musical ends: Peter comes back annually to Wendy to bring her back to Neverland for a week in the Spring; as Wendy grows up he does the same thing with Wendy’s daughter, Jane. In fact, the play ends exactly as the book ends:

“As you look at Wendy, you may see her hair becoming white, and her figure little again, for all this happened long ago. Jane is now a common grown-up, with a daughter called Margaret; and every spring cleaning time, except when he forgets, Peter comes for Margaret and takes her to the Neverland, where she tells him stories about himself, to which he listens eagerly. When Margaret grows up she will have a daughter, who is to be Peter’s mother in turn; and thus it will go on, so long as children are gay and innocent and heartless.”

The last line of the play mentions how this is heartless — and just think about this: Having someone come in and take your daughter away — every year, unthinkingly — is the act  of someone who doesn’t feel the pain of a mother, and essentially hates them. Peter also takes away from Jane Darling and the children the last physical reminder of Michael — and I’m sure there are some aspects of hatred in that action as well.

The play also has a number of commentaries about growing up. Peter refuses to grow up, even though he is clearly a man in a physical sense (although with a baby’s skin and teeth). I saw this as saying that although Peter may grow up someone physically, he remained mentally and emotionally immature — and there are far too many men today who are the same. All the other “lost boys” eventually found their way to maturity (and Lluberes script actually describes how they matured)… but not Peter. Whereas other versions portray remaining a child as a good thing, this play gives the impression that it is somehow wrong — that remaining immature can hurt the others around you, and in your immaturity you won’t see the pain it causes (for when you are immature, you think only of yourself … in fact, a sign of maturity is starting to think and care about others around you). Wendy, although a little girl, is mature before her age. John is maturing with the help of Wendy. Peter never grows up. It’s not something to crow about.

The play does retain the one thing that always made me uncomfortable: the involvement of the audience in the saving of Tinkerbell after she drinks the poison. This time, it is having the audience shout out their belief in fairies with the lights out, but it is a hook that is also present in the musical version. Perhaps I don’t like it because I’ve never had the imagination to truly believe in fairies (which is why I’ve always been in the role of fan-at-a-distance, not the fanboy fanaticism many get. I’d love to be able to believe in fairies again; alas, I think I’m too grown up.

This version of Peter Pan works especially well because of the excellent direction of Michael Matthews and the excellent performance of the cast. Matthews kept the cast small, forcing most of the background players (the lost boys) to double as pirates and other characters. When combined with the limitations of the black box theatre, this plays up the emphasis of the Neverland side of the piece as being a large effort in Make Believe — pretending many things that are not real are fully real. One comes out asking the question: Was Peter real? A true question for the ages. LA Stage Week has a nice writeup on the genesis of this version.

The cast does an excellent job at making this all become real. In the lead positions are Daniel Shawn Miller as Peter Pan and Liza Burns as Wendy Darling. Miller’s Peter is childish and angry, strong and unthinking, and decidedly not mature. He doesn’t play Pan with the spritish-nature that most of the actresses has given (Peter is traditionally played by a woman); he is that mean little boy who only thought about himself. Still, Miller’s Peter does have his tender side, especially when playing father to the Lost Boys. Burns’ Wendy is much more mature. In fact, you can sense that she wants to do more with Peter and have a deeper (perhaps adult) relationship with him, but he never understands what she is hinting in. A typically clueless man-boy! Wendy’s pretend mother highlights the disciplinary aspects of being a mother, but you can see that underlying love and concern for the Lost Boys. Burns’ portray of Wendy does a great job of bringing out both the mature and the childish, often turning from one to the other on a time (as children growing up will do). At one moment she is playing; at the next, she’s remembering her mother and thinking about the pain she is causing. Contrast this with Peter: he never thinks about the pain he causes — he happily takes actions that hurt adults.

Miller and Burns are supported by an excellent ensemble. As John Darling, Benjamin Campbell mostly blends in with the Lost Boys,but especially in the closing scenes he shines as you can see his maturity beginning. Trisha LaFache doubles as both Mrs. Darling and Capt. Hook. This casting creates a different impression than the traditional approach (which has Wendy’s father doubling for Hook): the notion of a female captain lusting after little boys is very disturbing, especially with some of the implications the script creates. LaFache is versatile as both characters, bringing out both the mother and the devious Captain. The remaining ensemble members double as both Boys and Pirates, as well as other Neverland characters. Amy Lawhorn plays the lost boy Nibbs, the pirate Bill Jukes, as well as Tiger Lily and (essentially). Tinker Bell. Each comes off with a clearly different persona, and you get the sense that Amy is having fun with all the different characters. You see the same thing with Jackson Evans (Tootles/Smee) and David Hemphill (Slightly/Starkey). Evans’ Smee is particularly fun — you can see that he has a very different attitude towards Hook than does any of the crew. All of the actors were just remarkable, and appeared to truly be having fun with their roles. They are also very creative and versatile, switching from character to character with ease.

Technically the production is a very clever hoot. The set design by Mary Hamrick was remarkably clever, making great use of the Blanks’ black box space. She created a raised floor with compartments underneath, simple bedroom furniture that with imagination easily became places on the island or the ship, and wonderful use of flowing silk for water or blood. Her creative approaches to the crocodile were also fun. She was aided in this with the property design of Michael O’Hara. Kellsy Mackilligan‘s costume design was equally clever, creating the run-down clothing of children lost on an island, yet still retaining the echo of Victorian bedclothes. Rebecca Kessin‘s sound design was particularly noteworthy — usually sound design focuses on amplification, but I really noticed Kessin’s design in the sound effects and ambient noise. This was particularly emphasized during the ship scenes where the stereophonic effects and the creaking made my mind think we were actually on a ship. The lighting design by Tim Swiss and Zack Lapinski was also strong — both in the use of overhead lights to create the mood and establish scenes, but even more in the use of floor and prop lighting to create the magic, and the use of lighting to create Tinkerbell in a way I haven’t seen before. Dialect coaching was by Coco Kleppinger and was mostly good, creating the British flavor of the story. However, at one of two points the heavy accent combined with fast narration made it hard to follow the words. Sondra Mayer provided the fight choreography, and it is always fun to see swordplay on stage. The production was stage managed by Rebecca Eisenberg (who also served as assistant director), assisted by Jillian Mayo. It was produced by Noah Wyle, Sarah A. Bauer, Stephen Moffatt, and Matthew Graber; Dawn Davis, Emily Mae Heller (who we know from Temple Beth Torah); Even Martin, and Noelle Toland were associate producers. Daniel Henning is the founding Artistic Director of the blank; Ed Murphy is the Managing Director, and Noah Wyle is the Artistic Producer.

Peter Pan: The Boy Who Hated Mothers runs through June 2 at The Blank Theatre and is well worth seeing. Tickets are available through the Blank Box office, and may be available through Goldstar.

Seeing this production reminded me of how impressed I am with the productions at the Blank. If the Colony subscription dies (we still don’t know), the Blank is on my short list of places that might replace that subscription (other places include the Falcon Theatre in Burbank or the Odyssey in West LA). However, none of these has the mid-size feel we got with the Colony or its predecessor, the Pasadena Playhouse. I’ve considered the Playhouse if Colony dies, but their season just doesn’t excite me. I am open to suggestions.

Dining Notes: Dining out before the show was at Eat This Cafe, which is across the street from The Blank and part of the building that houses the Hudson Theatre.  It is a simple place, but very good and very nice. If I’m attending theatre at the Hudson (they are soon doing Rent, which is a possibility), the Blank, or any of the theatres nearby on Santa Monica, I will be back to Eat This.

Upcoming Theatre and Concerts:   Sunday brings “Falling for Make Believe” at The Colony Theatre. The last weekend of May brings “To Kill a Mockingbird” at REP East and The Scottsboro Boys” at the Ahmanson Theatre. June brings “Priscilla – Queen of the Desert” at the Pantages, and (tentative) Sweet Charity“ at DOMA (although DOMA may be replacing it with “Nine“). June will also bring a Maria Muldaur concert at McCabes.  I’m also considering Rent at the Hudson Theatres or A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum at the Hillcrest Center for the Arts in Thousand Oaks. July is currently more open, with “9 to 5 – The Musical” at REP East in the middle of the month, and “Legally Blonde – The Musical” at Cabrillo at the end of the month. August is currently completely open due to vacation planning. I’m also keeping my eyes open as the various theatres start making their 2013 season announcements. Lastly, what few dates we do have open may be filled by productions I see on Goldstar, LA Stage Tix, Plays411, or discussed in the various LA Stage Blogs I read (I particularly recommend Musicals in LA and LA Stage Times).

--- *** ---

Wanting To Live Forever

Written By: cahwyguy - Sun May 12, 2013 @ 7:19 am PDT
Posted in reviews, theatre , , , | No Comments »

fame-ncmsuserpic=theatre_ticketsBack in 1980, I saw this wonderful movie Fame, and fell in love with the music. It was subsequently made into a TV series (which I also watched regularly). In the 1990s, the original producer, David De Silva, of the movie conceived of bringing Fame to the live theatre stage. For some reason (I can’t seem to find out why), he chose to have the story rewritten. The new book by Jose Fernandez, with music by Steve Margoshes and lyrics by Jacques Levy, rewrote the story along similar lines to the movie, but changed character names and a few plot elements. I had acquired the American cast album a while back, and so I was curious about seeing this version. Further, the version was being done by one of my favorite groups, the Nobel Charter Middle School Theatre Arts Department, so I just had to go see it.

Before I go on about the show (which we saw Saturday night), a few words about Los Angeles Unified and some special teachers. In any school and school district, there are teachers that change lives for the good. One of those is Cliff Ker, who runs the LAUSD’s Academic Decathalon program. Two others are Fanny Araña and Jean Martellaro, who run the theatre arts program at Nobel. Our daughter was involved with this program its first two years (2006-2007, 2007-2008), and it changed her life; the program has continued to change the lives of children for the good. It was demonstrated this year when a student at Nobel (Aria Doherty) died due to huffing. She was in the Theatre Arts program, and these two teachers brought the students together as family to help them move through and past the tragedy. We need some way to celebrate teachers such as these; we need more teachers like these two remarkable women.

Back to Fame: after years of doing more traditional musicals (Annie, Wizard of Oz, Grease), Nobel decided to tackle something much more complex: a musical about students at the high school of performing arts in New York … with music that was decidedly unknown to the students. They licensed the Fame Jr. version, which cut out some of the more problematic aspects of the story (the heavy sex references and the drug references), and had to further adapt the story when they lost one of the lead actresses (the aforementioned Aria had been cast as Mabel). They edited the story slightly, keeping the main plot and interpolating two numbers from the original movie. In general, the story worked well, although the larger cast did make it difficult to always figure out the characters and their personalities.

For those unfamilar with the musical version, you can find the synopsis of the Jr. version on the MTI page. Nobel further adapted the story by interpolating some additional songs, such as “Hot Lunch” from the movie, or a wonderful acapella version of “It Don’t Mean a Thing”.  The loss of the Mabel Washington character also meant the lost of “Mabel’s Prayer”; this resulted in a need to interpolate “Out Here On My Own” from the movie. Note that the Jr. version is decidedly tamer than the adult version; you can find the synopsis of the adult version in Wikipedia.

How did Nobel do with this? Well, one measure of the quality of the show is the audience. Usually at middle and high school shows, the audience is screaming and yelling when their family members come on stage. This audience was quiet. They were caught up in the performances and were treating this like fully professional theatre. I’ve only seen that at one other high school performance — when Van Nuys HS did Evita. The audience was believing these characters, and that says something about the performance.

That said, this was a middle school production. One doesn’t expect full Broadway quality — middle school kids (and especially middle school kids at a general education school) are not perfect. Voices will be off at times, dances will be off, and they are not experts at the acting craft. These aren’t professional actors, but students giving their all. Taking that into account, this was a very good performance. I’m not going to attempt to name every student in the extremely large cast and crew. But I would like to highlight a few.

First, I was just blown away by the performance and singing voice of Gianna Lowe as Ms. Bell, the dance teacher. She was just great. Also strong were the leads — Miaya May (Carmen Diaz), Andrew Lewis (Schlomo Metzenbaum), Berna Amet (Serena Katz), Jason Foster (Nick Piazza). All performed great, and for the most part, sang very strong. Also strong were the dance leads — Leanne Langston (Iris Kelly), Jeremiah Coleman (Tyrone Jackson). Another small role that I particularly noted (and I’m not sure who was doing this) was the drummer during the “Hot Lunch” number — he was particularly good. This was either Devon Delgado or Ben Goldman (they didn’t name which character it was). (As I side note, I did appreciate seeing the names of the movie characters as minor roles in this production). I’ll also note that the entire company was wonderful in the full choral numbers — I particularly liked the finale version of “Bring On Tomorrow”, which was just beautiful.

Technically, this production represented the continual evolution of the technical side of Nobel. There was strong lighting and reasonably good sound. The sets worked quite well, and the costumes seemed appropriately period.

Although there are too many students to name, some of the adult helpers are worth mentioning. The production was directed by Fanny and Jean. Choreography was by Carolyn Doherty (Aria’s mother). Sara Greenberg was the music director. Brian Bengler consulted on the technical aspects of the production. Set design was by Dennis Kull, and lighting design was by Rebecca Bonebrake.

Lastly, I’ll note that the production was dedicated to Aria Doherty, who as I mentioned, died while the show was in rehearsals. There was a very touching write-up in the program, and the students gave a very touching speech about her at the end of the production.

Alas, we saw the last performance of Fame, although you can order a DVD of the show.

Upcoming Theatre and Concerts:   Next weekend brings “Falling for Make Believe” at The Colony Theatre. The last weekend of May brings “To Kill a Mockingbird” at REP East and The Scottsboro Boys” at the Ahmanson Theatre. June brings “Priscilla – Queen of the Desert” at the Pantages, and (tentative) Sweet Charity“ at DOMA (although DOMA may be replacing it with “Nine“). June will also bring a Maria Muldaur concert at McCabes.  July is currently more open, with “9 to 5 – The Musical” at REP East in the middle of the month, and “Legally Blonde – The Musical” at Cabrillo at the end of the month. August is currently completely open due to vacation planning. I’m also keeping my eyes open as the various theatres start making their 2013 season announcements. Lastly, what few dates we do have open may be filled by productions I see on Goldstar, LA Stage Tix, Plays411, or discussed in the various LA Stage Blogs I read (I particularly recommend Musicals in LA and LA Stage Times).

--- *** ---

Saturday Night’s Alright, Alright When You’re With Elton John

Written By: cahwyguy - Sun May 05, 2013 @ 9:38 am PDT
Posted in reviews , , , , | No Comments »

Elton John - Million Dollar Pianouserpic=las-vegasI’ve never been the rock concert type. In fact, I can only recall one rock concert that I’ve been too — in the early 1980s (perhaps 1982), a girlfriend took me to see Dan Fogelberg. Other than that, it has either been concerts at McCabes, the Greek, the Hollywood Bowl, the Universal Amphitheatre, VPAC, or similar venues…  and with artists that are decidedly not rock stars — PP&M, Tom Paxton, Judy Collins, BBVD, or various theatre artists. But when our daughter found out we were going to Las Vegas, she insisted that (a) we get tickets to Elton John at Caesars, and (b) we fly her out to join us for the concert.  As she has me wrapped around her finger, guess where we were last night? Yup. We were watching Elton John and his Million Dollar Piano last night at Caesars… and it was worth every penny!

I’ve always enjoyed Elton’s music. After all, I was in high school in the 1970s when his music was growing in popularity, and my college years were the height of the “Elton John in glasses” persona. I remember the stories of the flamboyant man, his glasses, and his costumes. But at the time, I only had one of his albums (“Blue Moves“). As I’ve gotten older, I’ve grown to like his music a lot more. I’m not a fan at the level my daughter is (but then again, I’ve never been the type to go fan-boy for anything, so it may just be me), but I do now have a sizable collection of Elton’s music, and I enjoy it all — both the older and the newer stuff. I think he is one of the best artists of my generation, and is a truly talented musician. All of this was demonstrated last night — the man and his music were just great. This wasn’t the flamboyant Elton of old; this was a man comfortable with where he is in life and truly enjoying entertaining his audience. It created a level of comfort and family in the concert hall, and led to a perfect evening.

Elton John's PianoLet’s set the stage, at the center of which is Elton and his $1,000,000 piano. This piano is fully visual; it can show live or recorded video, animations and colors that follow the music being played using 68 LED video panels.  It is named “Blossom” after the late jazz singer, pianist and cabaret performer Blossom Dearie. Behind the piano on risers is the rest of Elton’s supporting band and his backup singers. The front of the risers are covered with more LED video panels, and the backdrop for the stage consists of even more LED panels. These all light up during the songs to reinforce the songs thematically, and sometimes all the panels were coordinated to provide stunning visual effects.

Unlike the early days of Elton, the man himself was not a visual effect. By that I mean that Elton did not have a flamboyant costume (just a suit with sequined shoulders, although he entered in a gold cape), nor did he wear outlandish glasses. He has moved beyond the need for such things — his music and lyrics more than make up for the lack of sequins.

The music he chose was primarily a rehash of his hits from the early days. I don’t believe he did any songs from the more recent side of his catalog. This made the audience happy as many of their favorites was there; still it would have been nice for him to introduce the audience to what he is working on these days. My supposition is that this is due to the venue — a concert stage in Vegas leads to a 90-minute intermission-less show designed to please the audience. Vegas — at least in Strip venues — is not conducive to a 3-hour two-act show that provides an in-depth review of the artists catalog, along with new unfamiliar songs. So what songs did Elton sing? Here’s the set list, along with my comments:

# Song Comments
1. The Bitch Is Back The graphics behind this number were an abstract walk down a castle corridor, with never ending curlicues and such. I’m not sure they added to the song.
2. Benny and the Jets  
3. Rocket Man (I Think It’s Going to Be a Long, Long Time) This song had spectacular space graphics.
4. Levon Elton noted that this song was gospel-inspired.
5. Tiny Dancer The background graphics for this song were of a ballerina.
6. Your Song  
7. Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters This was done as a tribute to 9/11, and the background had all sorts of images of people (presumably reacting or survivors).
8. Better Off Dead  
9. Indian Sunset This is a song I like quite a bit; it was covered by Mary Travers on her 1971 album “Mary”. The percussion for this song (by Ray Cooper) was just incredible.
10. Empty Garden (Hey Hey Johnny) This was one of the songs I hadn’t heard before. It is evidently rarely done in concert. It was done as a tribute to John Lennon and the projections included images of Lennon and the times he played with Elton.
11. Goodbye, Yellow Brick Road This song featured a fantastic back project that summarized Elton’s career (and included hat tips to his Broadway and movie scores). In doing so, it created the sense for me that the point he wanted to make was constrasting his life today with his life on the “Yellow Brick Road” of the flamboyant lifestyle and the drug life. He has put that behind him, and has moved to a new portion of his life.
12. I Guess That’s Why They Call It The Blues This was one of those songs that had abstract growing background graphics that I just couldn’t understand.
13. Don’t Let The Sun Go Down on Me
14. Philadelphia Freedom This song had spectacular graphics of Philadelphia, it’s people, and animated vinyl records. A very 1970s disco feel.
15. I’m Still Standing This song also had great graphic, providing a good video retrospective of Elton in concert over the years.
16. Crocodile Rock This included audience participation on the refrain, and people dancing in the aisles. The video on the backscreen included live video of the performers and the audience.
17. Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting During this song, Elton invited the first few rows of the orchestra to join him on stage.
18. Circle of Life Stunning graphics (looking like CGI) of elephants in Africa.

Elton was backed by an excellent backing band and singers. The band consisted of Stjepan Hauser and Luka Sulic (who are the group 2Cellos) on cello; John Mahon on percussion; Kim Bullard on keyboard; Matt Bissonnet on bass; Ray Cooper on percussion; Nigel Olsson on drums; and Davey Johnstone on mandolin and guitar. The backup singers were Rose Stone, Tata Vega, Jean Witherspoon and Lisa Stone.

Technically, a lot of well deserved kudos go to the lighting designer, Patrick Woodroffe, and the screen content producer, Sam Pattinson. This is on top of all the technical work that brought the tour together. The linked article provides a detailed description of the set design, its meaning, and how all the elements came together for this particular show.

Elton John The Million Dollar Piano plays for one more weekend at Caesars, and then returns in September and October for more shows. Tickets are available through the Caesars box office.

Lastly, one note on observed theatre etiquette. We come from a background of attending live theatre — musicals, plays, opera, and such. As such, we have one behavior we know in the theatre — we watch and focus on the performance, we applaud appropriately, etc. The concert-goer etiquette appears to be different — there is a lot more screaming at the stage, and (despite the warnings from the ushers) there was loads of flash photography and video recording. As usual, the culture clash can be a bit jarring.

Upcoming Theatre and Concerts:   Currently, the rest of May is relatively quiet. Mother’s Day weekend has nothing scheduled. The following weekend brings “Falling for Make Believe” at The Colony Theatre. The last weekend of May brings “To Kill a Mockingbird” at REP East and The Scottsboro Boys” at the Ahmanson Theatre. June brings “Priscilla – Queen of the Desert” at the Pantages, and (tentative) Sweet Charity“ at DOMA. July is currently more open, with “9 to 5 – The Musical” at REP East in the middle of the month, and “Legally Blonde – The Musical” at Cabrillo at the end of the month. August is currently completely open due to vacation planning. I’m also keeping my eyes open as the various theatres start making their 2013 season announcements. Lastly, what few dates we do have open may be filled by productions I see on Goldstar, LA Stage Tix, Plays411, or discussed in the various LA Stage Blogs I read (I particularly recommend Musicals in LA and LA Stage Times).

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A Circus of Sex

Written By: cahwyguy - Fri May 03, 2013 @ 11:36 pm PDT
Posted in reviews, theatre, travel , , , , | 2 Comments »

zumanityuserpic=las-vegasTonight we did the “Vegas Thing”, and went to see a show. Specifically, we saw Zumanity at New York New York, one of seven Cirque shows currently running in Vegas. How would I describe the show? Modern Dance, Athleticism, a touch of comedy, audience participation, combined with lots of sex. It was a beautiful show — I don’t know how typical it was of Cirque shows — and one that I enjoyed. But it wasn’t a show in the theatre sense — there was no plot or through line. I was about to write that it was like Bob Fosse’s Dancin’ (in other words, no plot, just dancing), but then I realized that although there wasn’t a through line, there was a point — to embrace your sensuality, to enjoy love and sex, and to experiment. So let’s look at each of the characteristics of Zumanity in turn.

First, the dance. Almost all of the numbers in Zumanity were dances of some form of another, or dances combined with gymnastics and aerobatics. All were excellent. I particularly enjoyed the waterbowl, where a number of female dancers, topless, used a large waterbowl to express movement and feeling (Ulziibayar Chimed, Bolormaa Zorigtkhuyag/FB, Estefania Laurino and Gyulnara Karaeva). Also great was the Roue Cyr, where a male actor (Jonas Woolverton) was in a large hoop, and would spin and rotate around.

Most of the numbers had remarkable athleticism. Numbers of particular note were the hand balancing number, where a male performer essentially did a pole dance holding himself perpendicular to the pole (Dima Shine (FB)). Also great was the hoops number, where a female actor (Julia Kolosova) was using hoops and aerobatics to do remarkable moves. My wife was very impressed with the tissues number, where remarkable arobatics were performed using just a hanging ribbon (Alan Jones Silva, Anna O’Keefe).

The comedy numbers were performed by a different set of actors from the main troupe. All were good, and most involved audience participation. The main perpetrators were Dick and Izzy (Shannan Calcutt (FB), Nicky Dewhurst (FB)) who were great with audience repartee, although Edie the Mistress of Sensuality (Christopher Kenney/FB, Edie/FB) did a pretty good job in the Orgy number. Our show was particularly funny because they brought up an elementary school teacher from Oregon, who was so out of her element that her reactions were priceless.

Now for the sex part. I should note that the sex is geared towards the Las Vegas audience. In other words, what might shock a midwesterner (“look, Gladys, bare breasts!”) would hardly phase an Angeleno. The cast does a great job of trying to get a rise out of the audience, and tries to be extremely playful and risque. That’s why it is over 18 only, folks! If any number truly captured sex, however, it was the straps number (Jill Crook (FB)), which went to the edge of voyeristic auto-asphyxiation. I should note that it was nice that the show did not give in to the tendency to have artificially enhanced actresses. It is important to embrace the natural beauty in all.

What problems did I have with the show? Well, other than the audience (which had no idea how to dress for a show, but that’s Vegas!), I only had two. First, there were two large actresses in the cast (Licemar and Luciene Medeiros) — large, buxom, and beautiful. They were used only for comedy numbers, and the one quasi-sexy comedy number that they had, they did in body-suits.  If the show truly wants to reach today’s American audience, then show that these large actresses can be sexy. Show that large women (and large men) can be beautiful, act, and be athletic. Don’t give in to the stereotype that large is only the butt of a joke.

My second complaint has to do with the program they handed out. It had one page for each different Cirque show. What it didn’t do was tell me about the cast and the crew. You can get that information only if you pay for a full size program. Even the Las Vegas Sun review didn’t list all the actors. It isn’t even on the website. The cast members I’ve listed here were developed by looking through numerous websites. This show had talented actors, talented musicians, and a talented technical team. Tell me about them — their experience and their talent and training. This not only informs the audience, but is important for your actors and their careers. Don’t shortchange them; they are too good.

[ETA] After doing some research, I was able to uncover the actors listed above. Other actors in the show (at least the ones I could find) included: Ekaterina Bazarova/FB (“hand-to-hand”), Ed Bohlen (“midnight bath”), Felix Cane (“dance on TV”), Vanessa Convery (“midnight bath”), Gabriel Corbin (“two men”), Wassa Coulibaly (“wassa”), Arslan Gusengadzhiev (“dislocation”), William Hulett/FB (“rose boy”), LJ Jellison (“two men”), Candi Kirtz (dancer), Marcela de la Vega Luna (“wind”), Renee Pugh (dancer), Paris Red (singer),  Agnes Roux (dancer), Valeriy Simonenko (FB) (“hand-to-hand”), and Corinne Zarzou (FB) (singer).

[ETA] Zumanity was written and directed by Dominic Champagne and René Richard Cyr. Costumes were by Thierry Mugler. Set design was by Stéphane Roy. Music by Simon Carpentier. Choreography was by Debra Brown and Marguerite Derricks. Lighting design by Luc Lafortune. Sound design by Jonathan Deans. Clown act creator: Cahal McCrystal. Projection designer: Natacha Merritt. Makeup designer: Nathalie Gagné. Acrobatic equipment and rigging designer: Jacque Paquin. Prop designer: Normand Blais. Artistic guide: Guy Laliberté.

Upcoming Theatre and Concerts:   Tomorrow night brings a different sort of Vegas show — Elton John in concert at Caesers Palace. May also brings “Falling for Make Believe” at The Colony Theatre and “To Kill a Mockingbird” at REP East. Lastly, continuing the look ahead, June will bring (tenative) “The Scottsboro Boys” at the Ahmanson Theatre, “Priscilla – Queen of the Desert” at the Pantages, and (tentative) Sweet Charity“ at DOMA. July is currently more open, with “9 to 5 – The Musical” at REP East in the middle of the month, and “Legally Blonde – The Musical” at Cabrillo at the end of the month. August is currently completely open due to vacation planning and the potential Nottingham Faire. I’m also keeping my eyes open as the various theatres start making their 2013 season announcements. Lastly, what few dates we do have open may be filled by productions I see on Goldstar, LA Stage Tix, Plays411, or discussed in the various LA Stage Blogs I read (I particularly recommend Musicals in LA and LA Stage Times).

Music: Zumanity (Cirque Du Soleil): “Wind”

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Is The Word… Is The Word… Is The Word…

Written By: cahwyguy - Sun Apr 21, 2013 @ 10:39 am PDT
Posted in reviews, theatre , , , | No Comments »

Grease (Cabrillo)Cabrillo UserpicMost people are familiar with the musical “Grease“. You’ve seen the movie or you’ve heard the music; perhaps you’ve even seen a production. I know that I am — I’ve seen the movie, have three different versions of the cast album on my iPod (1972, 1994, 2007) … plus the movie, and have seen increasingly professional productions over the years (including the excellent Nobel MS production and the less excellent Van Nuys HS production). Last night we added to our roster the strong regional production at Cabrillo Music Theatre. This production was very good, but it also illuminated some things about Grease that I hadn’t noticed before. Let me elaborate.

One problem with being so familiar with the property is that they all start to blur in one’s head. This isn’t helped by the various versions out there blurring things. The production at Nobel MS, for example, combined a number of scenes and songs from the movie with cuts and edits from the school version. Stage productions over the years have rearranged songs or added movie songs (notably the 2007 revival). Add to this that many people are overly familiar with the movie version, and expect that to be the stage version (I heard that from people sitting around me). Cabrillo’s version was the official licensed version, which is the original 1972 production without any of the revival changes. There are a number of things that worked well in Cabrillo’s production — and a few that didn’t. So let’s look at the production in four areas: book, direction, performance, and technical.

As I alluded too above, most people believe they are familiar with Grease, but that familiarity is with a blurred version in one’s head. Wikipedia provides a good synopsis of the original story, which concerns two groups of quasi-gangs in a 1950s-era Chicago high school. One, the “Pink Ladies”, consists of Betty Rizzo, Frenchy, Jan, and Marty (Beauty); the other, the Burger Palace Boys, consists of Danny Zuko, Kenicke, Doody, Sonny, and Roger. The story concerns the relationship between Zuko and Sandy Dumbroski, a girl Danny met over the summer at the beach. Sandy shows up unexpectedly at Rydell High, and Danny must balance being cool with his friends and the “good girl” he wants. Sandy, meanwhile, is integrating into the Pink Ladies, and dealing with the clash of lifestyles and morals. Other characters in the story include Patty Simcox, the cheerleeder; Eugene, the nerd; and Miss Lynch, the English teacher. I should note that the book, music, and lyrics for Grease are by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey; Jacobs was in the audience last night.

When Grease premiered on Broadway, it was not received well by the critics, but was loved by audiences. Last night while watching the show, I could see why critics at the time didn’t like it. The music in Grease is an amalgam between traditional musical music that moves the story along and illustrates the inner thoughts and motivations of the characters, and more novelty numbers that serve as a backdrop for something else. Critics hate those backdrop numbers, and last night they screamed out at me as well. For example, if one was to drop “Magic Changes” from the story, not a whit of meaning is lost. Similarly, “Freddie My Love” introduces an aspect of Marty’s character that is never mentioned again, and one could replace “Hand Jive” with a generic 1950s song without the loss of story. On the other hand, some numbers (such as “Sandra Dee” or “Summer Nights” are critical to the plot. One thing that all the music has, however, is fun. The score is something that is just fun to listen to (and Cabrillo’s production is strong in this regard, as they always have an excellent orchestra). However, the book is beyond our ability to change — and I know that many of the changes that have been done to integrate movie material haven’t significantly improved the book.

Normally, one is not aware of the direction of a show. The skills of the actors combine with the skills of the directors to make the portrayals realistic; just like the sound design, the direction blends into the background and the show becomes a harmonious whole. Occasionally characters will burst out into song, but this is part of the suspension of disbelief one sees in the musical theater (and something directors fight when turning a musical into a movie). This production of Grease was directed by Barry Pearl and choreographed by Kelly Ward. For the most part the direction and dance worked well, but there were some puzzling choices. The first — and the most jarring for me — was the decision for many of the musical numbers to have the actors grab large wired microphones for the musical numbers. These were unnecessary for either sound design or the story, and their use served only to distract. It would be much better — and more realistic — if the use of such microphones would have been only where they would be used in real life. The second jarring decision was the casting for Cha Cha. Not the actress — who was great — but the decision to make the character (described in the script simply as “homely “) be fat and slovely. I don’t recall this choice from any version I have seen — usually Cha Cha is more homely in spirit and behavior and not particularly overweight. When this choice for Cha Cha is combined with the script’s behavior for Jan and Roger, there is a bit more size-ism in the production than I feel is necessary.

Other than those choices, the direction and movement worked reasonably well. I particularly liked how the various couples were highlighted during the “Hand Jive” (although I wish Cabrillo had augmented this number with more dancers — I’m sure they had teen kids that would love to be on stage, and it would have made it more of a real high school dance). I also enjoyed the enthusiasm brought out in the cast during “We Go Together”, and the emotion brought out during both “Alone at a Drive-In Movie” and “There Are Worse Things I Could Do”.  The staging of “Beauty School Dropout” (the Teen Angel number) was cute, although not all of the irony of the words of the songs came out in the angel’s performance.

As usual, the cast was very very good. In the lead positions were Michael Cusimano (FB) and Natalie MacDonald/FB as Danny Zuko and Sandy Dumbrowski. Both were great performers and had strong singing voices, and this made a wonderful Cabrillo debut for both. The remainder of the “Burger Palace Boys” consisted of Harley Jay* (FB) (Kenickie), Nick Tubbs/FB (Doody), Ryan Quick/FB (Roger) and Nick Bernardi/FB (Sonny). All were good; there were standout performances by both Jay and Quick. I particularly enjoyed Jay’s voice, and the personality of Quick in his interaction with Jan. Speaking of Jan, the “Pink Ladies” consisted of Katherine Malak* (FB) (Betty Rizzo), Tessa Grady (Frenchy), Claire Bermingham (FB) (Marty), and Kimmy Zolozabal (FB) (Jan). Malak’s Rizzo was very strong in all her numbers, and was particularly touching in “There Are Worse Things I Could Do”. Grady’s Frenchy was also very good; Grady is always fun to watch on the Cabrillo and she did her best to bring some fun to Frenchy. Particularly fun to watch was Zolozabal’s Jan — she brought a lot of fun and enthusiasm to the role, and one’s eye was just drawn to her.

Notables in the remainder of the cast were Veronica Dunne as Patty Simcox, who brought an extreme amount of enthusiasm to the role (including doing cartwheels during the final bows) and Francesca Barletta/FB as Cha-Cha DiGregorio, who projected a memorable personality in what is a small role.  Also notable was Adrian Zmed* (FB) as Teen Angel. Admittedly a cameo role, Zmed had fun with the camp aspects of the song and role, although I wish he had paused a little more for emphasis after some of the musical phrases. Rounding out the cast were Michele Selin (Miss Lynch), Adam von Almen/FB (Eugene Florczyk), Travis Dixon (Vince Fontaine), and Jon Robert Hall (FB) (Johnny Casino).
[* indicates members of Actors Equity]

The music was under the direction of David O, who conducted the 7 piece on-stage band. As always, the band was excellent. The band consisted of David O (Keyboard, Conductor); Gary Rautenberg (Tenor Sax 1, woodwinds), Matt Germaine (Tenor Sax 2, woodwinds), Brian Lafontaine (Electric Guitar), Steve Bethers (Electric Guitar II), Shane Harry (Electric Bass, Double String Bass), and Dave Lotfi (Set-drums).

Lastly, let’s look at the technical aspects of the program. The set was designed by Valley Youth Theatre in Phoenix, AZ, with additional scenic design by Hana Kim. The set left me a little baffled — I couldn’t understand why there was an odd keyboard platform near the top of the stairs, nor why a high school in 1959 would have a big picture of James Dean. The sound design was by Jonathan Burke and (aside from the previously mentioned hand-mic problem) was reasonably good, although there were a few problems during the “Mooning” number with the actor’s mics. Lighting was by Design Partners Inc and Kim Killingsworth, and was for the most part OK. There were some odd transitions, particularly during the opening number when the spot would move from one side to the other (note: the problem wasn’t the switching of the spot; it was the effect during the transition). Christine Gibson was wardrobe supervisor, using costumes from the FCLO Music Theatre. Cassie Russek provided the hair and makeup design. Gary Wissmann was technical director, and the everpresent Allie Roy was the production stage manager (assisted by Morgan Zupanski).

A few notes about the audience at this show. First, the balcony was about half full — this is the best I’ve seen at a Cabrillo show in a long time and was a great thing to see. Alas, much of the audience was addicted to their smart phones. The minute intermission started — boom — out came the phones and there were these little squares of light everywhere. Also, Cabrillo appears to have changed their policy and was allowing food and drink in the balcony. I don’t mind this for the occasional candy bar or cookie or water bottle, but these were bags of chips (crinkling during the 2nd act) and open cups of beer (worries about spillage). I’m not sure this is a wise policy, and I hope last night was an aberration.

The last performance of “Grease” at Cabrillo is this afternoon. Tickets are available online or at the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza Box Office.  Cabrillo has also announced their 2013-2014 season: Kiss Me Kate (October 18-27, 2013); Forever Plaid (January 31-February 9, 2014); In The Heights (March 28-April 6, 2014); and Bye Bye Birdie (July 18-27, 2014). Prices run from $229 for Orchestra to $100 for balcony, with special kids rates. Contact Cabrillo for more information.

Upcoming Theatre and Concerts:   April concludes with a winetasting at Temple Ahavat Shalom. May is busy in a different sense, with two concerts — Elton John in Las Vegas on May 4, and (tentative) Michael Feinstein at VPAC on May 11. May also brings “Falling for Make Believe” at The Colony Theatre and “To Kill a Mockingbird” at REP East. Lastly, continuing the look ahead, June will bring (tenative) “The Scottsboro Boys” at the Ahmanson Theatre, “Priscilla – Queen of the Desert” at the Pantages, and (tentative) Sweet Charity“ at DOMA. July is currently more open, with “9 to 5 – The Musical” at REP East in the middle of the month, and “Legally Blonde – The Musical” at Cabrillo at the end of the month. August is currently completely open due to vacation planning and the potential Nottingham Faire. I’m also keeping my eyes open as the various theatres start making their 2013 season announcements. Lastly, what few dates we do have open may be filled by productions I see on Goldstar, LA Stage Tix, Plays411, or discussed in the various LA Stage Blogs I read (I particularly recommend Musicals in LA and LA Stage Times).

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A Life Out of Control

Written By: cahwyguy - Sun Mar 31, 2013 @ 10:25 am PDT
Posted in reviews, theatre , , , | No Comments »

End of the Rainbow (Ahmanson)userpic=ahmansonWhenever I think of Judy Garland, I think of my mother. Both were brilliant and talented, and knew how to manipulate people around them through charm and style. Both also saw their lives destroyed — far too young — by the pressures of the job, by pills, and by booze. Luckily, my mother did much better than Judy in the husband department :-) . I mention this because last night we saw Judy Garland — or a reasonable facsimile thereof — at the Ahmanson Theatre when we saw “End of the Rainbow“.

“End of the Rainbow” (EotR) is one of two shows currently playing in Los Angeles about singing superstars whose lives were destroyed by pills and booze (the other is “One Night with Janis Joplin” at the Pasadena Playhouse). The focus of EotR is the end of Judy’s life: the final concerts in London in 1968, and her final marriage with Micky Deans. The show presents a remarkable portrayal of a woman who is no longer at the top of her game; a woman for whom the craving for pills and booze have led to self-destructive behavior. It also shows how Judy’s poor choice in men contributed to her downfall — men often more in love with the image of Judy and the power of that image than for the little Francis Gumm inside the icon.

The show also seems to play up her relationship with her gay piano player Anthony; this seems an intentional homage to Judy’s status in the gay community. At the performance we were at, it seemed to be working. Just like when we were at the Pasadena Playhouse and the African-American community suddenly appeared for the African-American themed shows, the Ahmanson audience seemed tilted with gays and with older people that remembered Judy. It clearly highlighted one problem live theatre has in America: it is one form of live entertainment that is not attracting young people and growing. How to address that problem has been often discussed. It is certainly not being well addressed by the larger theatres in Los Angeles, for we’ve noticed the greying of the audience not only at the Ahmanson, but the Colony, Cabrillo, Pasadena Playhouse, Pantages, and other larger venues. Certain audiences can be brought out for particular shows (such as the gay audience here, or youth for shows like Wicked, American Idiot, or Fela!), but converting that audience into regular theatre-goers is difficult.

The center of this remarkable show is Tracie Bennett. She portrays the manic Judy at the end of her life. As such, her singing is no longer perfect, and she has become a caricature of the actress Judy. She also captures the drive and energy of Judy, and when she is performing, you can see how Judy wowed the audiences in concerts. You can also see how she influenced her daughter, Liza — both were more singing actresses who found the story and the connection to the song, as opposed to being a mere chanteuse.  The energy and passion she brings to her performance must be exhausting. A simply fascinating character study to watch.

You might notice I didn’t say that Bennett was the heart of the show. That’s because she isn’t. The heart of the show is Michael Cumpsty as Anthony. Anthony is a fictional Scottish accompanist hired for the London shows; he supposedly worked for Judy for the disasterous Melbourne Australia shows. He is also explicitly homosexual (and Scottish, if that makes any difference). Cumpsty’s Anthony is the calming presence. Anthony is always there with the sympathizing voice or the satiric barb; he is the voice of the playwright. He also is the voice of the gay community saying to Judy: come live with us — with us you’ll be accepted and loved for who you are. In this way, his character is a little offensive as it serves to play off the homosexual stereotype for humor. Some of the reviews I read indicated that he also expresses the voice of the playwright, Peter Quilter.

The obstacle in the show is Judy’s soon-to-be last husband and manager, Mickey Deans, portrayed by Erik Heger. The show fudges a bit here, portraying them as engaged even though it is still only 1968. Still, Deans gives the impression of an enabler. Initially, he hides the drugs (Ritalin) and the booze, but keeps heaping on the pressure that drives Judy to them. Later, he gives into to her needs for the  pills and booze, and in doing so hastens her demise. Heger’s performance is clearly that of a user of people.

Rounding out the cast is Miles Anderson in multiple small roles (BBC interviewer, porter, asst. stage manager).

The production was directed by Terry Johnson, who does a great job of bringing these characters to life through his actors. The set and costume design was by William Dudley. The set was primarily Judy’s London hotel room, with periodic foreys to the “Talk of the Town” performance stage created by removing the back wall of the hotel room to reveal the orchestra and lowering a “Talk of the Town” sign. Costumes seemed appropriately period. Lighting was by Christopher Akerlind, and sound was by Gareth Owen.

“End of the Rainbow” is not a musical — it is a play with music (i.e., the music does not serve to move the story). The orchestrations of the Judy Garland songs was by Chris Egan. Jeffrey Saver served as Music Director, and Seymour Red Press was Music Coordinator. Gareth Valentine did the musical arrangements.  The onstage band consisted of Michael Cumpsty on piano (although not explicitly credited), Jeff Driskill on woodwinds, Daniel Fornero on trumpet, Robert Payne on trombone, Ken Wild on bass, and Ray Brinker on drums.

Mark Dobrow was the Production Stage Manager, and Rachel Zack was the stage manager.

“End of the Rainbow” continues at the Ahmanson through April 21. Tickets are available through the Ahmanson website.

Transportation Notes: As there were three shows at the Music Center, we decided to avoid the parking mess last night by taking Metro from North Hollywood. Worked like a charm. The walk through the new Grand Park was very pleasant, and will be something we’ll do again.

Upcoming Theatre and Concerts:   April has less theatre — so far, only one show is scheduled. The first weekend of April is open. The next weekend brings with the Southern California Renaissance Faire.  Following that is “Grease” at Cabrillo Music Theatre, and April concludes with a winetasting at Temple Ahavat Shalom. May is busy in a different sense, with two concerts — Elton John in Las Vegas on May 4, and (tentative) Michael Feinstein at VPAC on May 11. May also brings “Falling for Make Believe” at The Colony Theatre and “To Kill a Mockingbird” at REP East. Lastly, continuing the look ahead, June will bring (tenative) “The Scottsboro Boys” at the Ahmanson Theatre, “Priscilla – Queen of the Desert” at the Pantages, and (tentative) Sweet Charity“ at DOMA. July is currently more open, with “9 to 5 – The Musical” at REP East in the middle of the month, and “Legally Blonde – The Musical” at Cabrillo at the end of the month. August is currently completely open due to vacation planning and the potential Nottingham Faire. I’m also keeping my eyes open as the various theatres start making their 2013 season announcements. Lastly, what few dates we do have open may be filled by productions I see on Goldstar, LA Stage Tix, Plays411, or discussed in the various LA Stage Blogs I read (I particularly recommend Musicals in LA and LA Stage Times).

Music: In The Digital Mood (Glenn Miller Orchestra): “Pennsylvania 6-5000″

 

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The Complications of Airline Timetables

Written By: cahwyguy - Sun Mar 24, 2013 @ 12:05 pm PDT
Posted in reviews, theatre , , , | No Comments »

Boeing Boeing at REP EastListen, children, and gather around while I tell you a story of the past. No, not the exodus from Egypt. That’s Monday night. Today’s story concerns a different type of transportation. You see, once upon a time there were these things called “timetables”. They covered all forms of transportation: buses, railroads, and airplanes. In fact, there was a special book published called the Official Airline Guide, that had the timetables for every flight by a commercial airline. In the days before personal computers, this is how you determined what flights were where. Schedules were very static, and tended not to change all that much unless new aircraft were introduced. In fact, one could build a life around the schedules.

Last night, at Repertory East Playhouse (FB), we saw the 1965 French farce “Boeing Boeing“, written by Marc Camoletti, revised by Francis Evans, and translated by Beverley Cross . “Boeing Boeing” is the story of a man who has built his life around timetables — in this case, airline timetables. This man — Bernard — is living and working in Paris, and is engaged to three women, all flight attendants. Fiancee #1 is Janet, a Pan-Am stewardess flying across the Atlantic regularly. Fiancee #2 is Jaqueline, an Air France stewardess regularly flying to the Middle East. Fiancee #3 is Judith, a Luftansa stewardess. Helping Bernard manage all of this is his long suffering maid, Bertha. For a number of years, Bernard successfully manages this juggling act. However, the balls all start to get confused just as Bernard’s long time friend, Robert, comes to visit and stay for a few days. Why? Pan Am has moved to a faster variant of the Boeing 707, one that produces almost 3,000 lbs more thrust… and is moving Janet to the route.  Air France is also upgrading aircraft, and is moving Jacqueline to the new Caravelle jet. The net effect of all of this is that Bernard’s timetables are ruined. After seeing Janet off to New York, and while having lunch with Jacqueline, Judith shows up to Bernard’s apartment early — and has a changed assignment where she can stay three days. This is the first in a series of timetable changes that leaves all three girls going in and out of the apartment, where juggling occurs only thanks to the help of Bertha and Robert. I won’t spoil the details of the farce, but suffice it to say it is very fast and funny.

My first thought upon seeing this was synchronicity with other recent shows. Just last week we saw “Catch Me If You Can“, a story with a large emphasis on tall, leggy, Pan-Am stewardesses. Two weeks ago we saw “Company“, a story about a man named Robert who is juggling three girlfriends and who wants to get married, if he can ever figure out why he wants to get married. There are themes in both of these plays common with our main character: someone who is pretending to be something he is not, someone who wants to find love, but doesn’t have the strength to settle for just one until life decides to get involve and force him to consider the choices he has made. However, this is probably too much analysis. After all, the original story was clearly defined as farce, not something this is intended to have deep meaning or to resonate in various ways.

From what I understand (as I haven’t seen them), the original play (and subsequent movie) treated Bernard and Robert straight. Both were more sophisticated characters (in the movie, Bernard and Robert were Tony Curtis and the suave, not comic, Jerry Lewis, respectively), letting the farce and the situation provide the humor. At REP, the director, Christopher Chase (FB), took the story in a more physical direction — much of the humor came from physical comedy and physical reactions of the two primary male leads (Macleish Day* (FB) as Bernard and Nick Ruth/FB as Robert) and the long-suffering Bertha (Nikki Jacobs (FB)). I was initially unsure about Day’s Bernard — I didn’t think he had the looks to be the playboy type (but often that seems to be the case in farces). However, Day won me over with his physical comedy, which was spectacular. His long-limbed rubbery body reminded me of Jim Carry in the early days, and worked very well with the direction that Chris Chase took this comedy. Ruth’s Robert was more a reactive partner-in-crime: facilitating the subterfuge, thinking quick and reacting as the situation rapidly goes south. A third comic gem as Jacob’s Bertha, who reminded me of a sardonic Nancy Walker (in writing this up, I discovered that the role of Bertha in the past has been played by Rhea Perelman and Christine Baranski). Jacob’s comic timing and experience served her well in this role, and also permitted her to find the funny as various things happened due to the nature of live theatre.

Serving as both the beauties of the story, as well as catalysts for the action in the story, are the three flight attendants. The first one we meet is Melanie Wahla* (FB) as the American, Janet (Wahla also helped with costumes and the set development).  I was initially unsure about Wahla, simply because she didn’t have the Pan-Am stewardess look I saw the previous week in “Catch Me If You Can“. However, Wahla won me over and shone in the second act with great comic timing and agressiveness. On the other hand, I instantly fell in love with the look of the Air France attendant, Jacqueline, played by Alana Marie Cheuvront (Etsy) (FB); I could easily see why Bernard would want to marry her. Cheuvront was also strong both comically and emotionally, and had a wonderful French je ne sais quoi. Lastly, as our Luftansa attendant, Judith, was portrayed by Carole Catanzaro (FB). Catanzaro had the stewardess look: long, leggy, powerful. But Catanzaro’s Judith didn’t just project beauty; she also projected the strong Germanic power needed for a German attendant — that “you will do what I say… or else” attitude that proved a great instigator for the comic side of the story.

In short, the REP nailed it on casting yet again. (* indicates members of Actors Equity).

Production-wise, “Boeing-Boeing” had the usual excellent job by the REP regular team. The scenic painting and design were by Ovington Michael Owston/FB, Mikee Schwinn/FB, Melanie Wahla* (FB), and Christopher Chase (FB). Lighting was by Tim Christianson/FB, and Steven “Nanook” Burkholder/FB handled the sound with his usual expertise. Costumes were by Melanie Wahla* (FB), and Christopher Chase (FB), with additional costumes from Tonya Nelson of NSA Costumes. According to the program, Christina Aguilar/FB was the production stage manager and Levanna Atkinson-Williams (FB) was the stage manger; however, at the production we were at, Mikee Schwinn/FB and his brother Johnny/FB were ably holding down the fort.

“Boeing Boeing” continues at REP East Playhouse until April 13. If you friend REP East on Facebook, you can often learn of discount tickets (and how to get discount drinks from the Hydeaway Lounge).  Tickets are available through the REP Online Box Office or through Goldstar.

Upcoming Theatre and Concerts:   March ends with “End of the Rainbow” at the Ahmanson on March 30. April has less theatre — so far, only one show is scheduled. The first weekend of April is open. The next weekend brings with the Southern California Renaissance Faire.  Following that is “Grease” at Cabrillo Music Theatre, and April concludes with a winetasting at Temple Ahavat Shalom. May is busy in a different sense, with two concerts — Elton John in Las Vegas on May 4, and (tentative) Michael Feinstein at VPAC on May 11. May also brings “Falling for Make Believe” at The Colony Theatre and “To Kill a Mockingbird” at REP East. Lastly, continuing the look ahead, June will bring (tenative) “The Scottsboro Boys” at the Ahmanson Theatre, “Priscilla – Queen of the Desert” at the Pantages, and (tentative) Sweet Charity“ at DOMA. July is currently more open, with “9 to 5 – The Musical” at REP East in the middle of the month, and “Legally Blonde – The Musical” at Cabrillo at the end of the month. August is currently completely open due to vacation planning and the potential Nottingham Faire. I’m also keeping my eyes open as the various theatres start making their 2013 season announcements. Lastly, what few dates we do have open may be filled by productions I see on Goldstar, LA Stage Tix, Plays411, or discussed in the various LA Stage Blogs I read (I particularly recommend Musicals in LA and LA Stage Times).

Music: The Captain & The Kid (Elton John): “Old 67″

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