Month: March 2014

California Highway Headlines for March 2014

Posted onAuthorcahwyguy

userpic=roadgeekingThis has been a very busy busy month, but I’ve had a few minutes to note some headlines about the highways…

  • Motorists on the 118 Freeway notice this smile marker. Steve Apostolof had a frown on his face as he drove past Happy Face Hill. The hillside features a 150-foot-wide smiley face that was created in 1998 by a man armed with a weed-whacker and a sprayer of herbicide. Since then, it has become something of a curiosity piece that welcomes motorists on the 118 Freeway to Simi Valley. But in the January dusk, Apostolof couldn’t see Happy Face Hill, let alone its enormous grin.
  • Highway 101 widening project jumps financial hurdle. The Sonoma County Transportation Authority on Monday approved $4.5 million to buy land to widen Highway 101 to six lanes through Petaluma, but it will be at least three years, and perhaps longer, before there is a remedy to the bottleneck that has plagued commuters for years.
  • Devils Slide Trail almost ready for unveiling. The views on Highway 1 at Devils Slide were spectacular, but to admire them while driving was to blow a kiss at death. From the time the twisting coastal artery opened in 1937 until its closure last year, cars plunged with disturbing frequency into the surf several hundred feet below. So the opportunity to savor the vista is a welcome change, said Jon Zilber, one of two dozen volunteers who have gotten a sneak peek at the abandoned roadway’s reincarnation: the Devils Slide Trail.
  • How to Pull California Traffic Count Data for State Highways. I was working on a custom data request for a new business owner who was considering a particular location for a new venture. This owner wanted California traffic count data for the highway near the potential location. Here’s how I got traffic count data for this California state highway.
  • CityDig: Before the 405 Was Paved. Today a river of concrete passes through Sepulveda Canyon, one of the three main portals between the San Fernando Valley and the Los Angeles Basin. But in 1934 that mighty river—the 405 freeway—was only a modest stream, a winding, unpaved road that snaked through the Santa Monica Mountains.
  • First toll lanes in Contra Costa to be installed along I-680 in San Ramon Valley. The long slog for commuters traveling from Walnut Creek to San Ramon could get shorter — for a price. The first toll lanes in Contra Costa County are expected to open there on Interstate 680 by mid-2016, said John Goodwin, a Metropolitan Transportation Commission spokesman. The $45 million project, which is in the design stage, will create 23 miles of FasTrak express lanes that will allow solo drivers to pay to use carpool lanes — as long as its traffic is moving at least 45 mph. Construction is expected to begin at the start of 2015.
  • They Moved Mountains (And People) To Build L.A.’s Freeways. …it’s possible that all the dire warnings and clever pranks obscured a more troubling possibility: that Carmageddon had already come to pass decades ago, in the 1940s, ’50s, and ’60s, when Los Angeles scarred its landscapes, split its communities, and displaced a quarter-million people to build its 527-mile freeway system.
  • Construction Underway on I-5 in South Orange County. Drivers have started to see construction activity ramping up on the San Diego Freeway (I-5) in South Orange County as crews began work on a $249-million traffic-relief project last week. The I-5 South County Improvement Project will add a carpool lane in both directions between San Juan Capistrano and San Clemente as well as rebuild the Avenida Pico interchange in San Clemente.
  • Northwest 138 Corridor. The Northwest 138 Corridor project will expand on the previous North County combined Highway Corridor Study which was completed in 2004 to develop a multi-modal transportation plan for the northern portion of Los Angeles County to address both short and long-term needs for a variety of trip purposes and goods movement. To accommodate the potential for both population and economic growth in the future, recommendations were made to improve this portion of SR-138.
  • Devil’s Slide, once hellish, opens Thursday as heavenly trail. Until its retirement about a year ago, the treacherous stretch of Highway 1 known as Devil’s Slide was a white-knuckle ride, a dizzying drive where motorists nervously kept their eyes on the road, resisting the temptation to glance at the Pacific Ocean hundreds of feet below. But since the twin-bore Devil’s Slide Tunnel opened last March, the old bluff-top highway has been transformed into a place to relax, slow down and enjoy the spectacular view. On Thursday, the Devil’s Slide Trail, a 1.3-mile path for hikers, cyclists and horseback riders, opens to the public.
  • Autry’s ‘Route 66’ exhibition looks for its funding kicks online. The Autry National Center of the American West is hoping lots of people will get their kicks by giving money online to help fund its coming exhibition “Route 66: The Road and the Romance.” The Autry, which will open the show June 8, joins the likes of the Louvre and the Smithsonian Institution’s Asian art museums in using a “crowdfunding” site to lasso donations. The Autry can appeal to people who otherwise might not know of the L.A. museum’s existence but are fans of Route 66 and its manifestations in pop culture.
  • Caltrans to pay $12.7 million extra to put Bay Bridge demolition back on schedule. Caltrans says it will put the $300 million demolition of the old Bay Bridge east span back on schedule by paying $12.7 million for extra labor and equipment. The three- to five-year-long demolition project fell several months behind schedule out the starting gate when Caltrans reallocated labor and resources to open the $6.4 billion new east span as soon as possible. It opened Sept. 2 after years of delays and cost overruns.
  • Roundabout is latest in downtown Roseville makeover. Within a matter of weeks, work should get started on the city of Roseville’s next phase of overall downtown improvement, though this one may take drivers some getting used to. By the end of the year, a two-lane roundabout is planned to be in place where Washington Boulevard meets Oak Street, a $3.02 million construction project. (h/t Joel W.)
  • Caltrans Seeking Solution for Water-Logged Castillo Street Underpass. An estimated 20,000 vehicles a day pass through the Castillo Street interchange under and near Highway 101, an area that is consistently plagued by standing water and pavement problems. Now, the agency that owns the interchange is working on a solution, albeit a temporary one, that it hopes will help solve the road’s issues. The underpass was built in 1960, but damage from an earthquake in the area in 1971 created large cracks in the slabs of concrete that make up the roadway, said David Beard, project manager for Caltrans, which owns that section of road.
  • Risky Berkeley intersection to be fixed in roundabout way. The intersection at the west end of Gilman Street in Berkeley is daunting to even the most confident of drivers. Eight lanes of traffic lead onto and off of busy Interstate 80; four different frontage roads converge on the interchange; Gilman Street runs right through the middle of it all; and the Bay Trail, which runs just west of the intersection, leaves bicyclists and pedestrians to navigate the dangerous roadway, which is often populated with frustrated drivers and is only governed by a handful of stop signs.
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Your Are What’s On Your Phone

Posted onAuthorcahwyguy

userpic=verizonYesterday, I asked people to suggest some of their favorite apps on their phones. Although few fave answered directly on the blog, I have gotten responses on  Livejournal, Google+, and on Facebook. The responses have been telling, less in providing useful app suggestions, and more in showing how one’s phone reflects one personality and lifestyle.

There are people who use their phones as a media center. These folks suggested apps such as Kindle, Netflix, Pandora, and such.  This is much less important to me — my media center is my iPod Classic, which holds all my music. I’d rather not use precious bandwidth for streaming media.

Others use the phone as a tool. These folks were suggesting apps such as rulers, levels, calculators. They were also suggesting apps such as terminal emulators to give ssh access, or (apropos for where I work) satellite monitors.

Still others use the phone as a tool in a different sense — learning about the environment. These folks included traffic apps, apps to provide social connections, and even earthquake monitoring.

One might even wonder whether the collection of apps on one phones is a signature for an individual…

 

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Saturday Stew: Mixing it Up

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Observation StewWell, it’s Saturday, and you know what that means — a tasty news chum stew of the leftovers that couldn’t make a coherent dish during the week:

OK, so it’s a skimpy stew.

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Looking for a Few Good …

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userpic=verizon Thursday evening, I entered the modern world and got a smartphone, a Motorola Moto X. I’ve figured out a few apps I want (the Caltrans Quickmap app, Waze, a QR code reader, and apps from our credit unions). Still, I’d like some recommendations. What are your “must have” apps for the Droid ecosystem? One note: no bandwidth hogs, and I’m not interested in games. I don’t plan on streaming music — that’s why I have an iPod Classic!

Some additional security questions:

  • Do you encrypt your phone? (I see pros and cons)
  • Do you run a mobile virus scanner, such as Avast Mobile Security? Is this unnecessary given the Motorola capabilities?
  • Have you enabled the remote administration features for lost devices? According to Motorola, this allows you to find your device instantly when you’ve misplaced it. You can also lock and wipe your device remotely, and have it display a message asking for its safe return. To do this, however, you need to activate the device administrator?

 

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Problems From The Past

Posted onAuthorcahwyguy

userpic=headlinesThis has been a busy week between work, headaches, our daughter being home, and planning for a new phone (acquired yesterday). Still, a few articles caught my eye, and some of them even themed. In particular, this set of items, all dealing with things we’ve seen in the past:

 

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STEM and Cybersecurity Education – A Monday Lunchtime Rant

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userpic=cardboard-safeYesterday, my RSS feeds highlighted a provocative article: “STEM Stinks for Cybersecurity” (Forbes Magazine). In this article, the author argues that we don’t need more people with university degrees in science, technology, engineering, or mathematics — what we need is more people with Vocational Training (he calls it VoTech) who are familiar with the security tools and know how to run the security tools. I think this position misunderstands both STEM and Cybersecurity.

Let’s start with STEM. The author seems to believe that the emphasis on STEM is at the university level — that we only want STEM degrees. That’s wrong and misguided. Emphasizing STEM is important much earlier — from the first days of education to the end of high school. We need to be raising students that are unafraid — who perhaps even love — science, engineering, math, and technology. The ability to understand these disciplines is key to having adults who think critically, and who can recognize pseudo-science when they see it (and thus, believe neither the creationists nor the climate-change-denouncers). Being familiar with these disciplines is also key if you are going to exist in the modern world, where technology is everywhere (and technical terms are everywhere). They are particularly important even if you are going into VoTech — just because you are working with tools doesn’t mean you don’t apply scientific principles or use mathematics. In fact, most CNC tool programmers use mathematics regularly. Familiarity with technology is required in almost every field today — even the soft fields are making extensive use of technology.

Let’s now turn to the question of whether VoTech is sufficient for Cybersecurity. I’ll start by saying that I have no problem with encouraging vocational technology — I think it was a disaster when shop classes were removed from schools, and I’ll support vocational training. Having trained machinists and technicians and repair support is vital to the success of most operations (and it should go without saying that all need to be familiar with STEM). But with respect to Cybersecurity, my opinion differs.

Technicians trained in using tools are only as good as the tools they use. While this is fine in manufacturing, it’s not in Cybersecurity. Cybersecurity tools can only find what they are programmed to find — which are signatures of yesterday’s attack. VoTech Cybersecurity experts, as a result, can typically only find what the best of their tools find. Perhaps, as they gain lots of experience, they will be able to go outside of that box and identify additional attacks. The basic trainee won’t; our systems won’t have time to wait.

Cybersecurity requires individuals who are familiar with technology, systems, mathematics, engineering… and can think critically, and can present their thoughts and findings (which is where the arts come in, and why you see a movement from STEM to STEAM). Successful cybersecurity is much more than running vulnerability scans. It is getting in with the engineering team from day 0 — identifying the security requirements and how they trade off other engineering and mission requirements. These are skills you learn in engineering courses and software and system design courses, not vocational training. It is being able to recognize results and findings that just seem off, and having the ability to track down the root cause (and not just the symptom of the day). The ability to recognize that “this doesn’t smell right” is a critical thinking skill; I don’t believe a VoTech trainee will have that without significant experience. Successful cybersecurity is being able to assess your findings in the context of the larger system, mission, and business picture — a perspective that someone who is only familiar with tools will not have. Successful cybersecurity is looking at all aspects of the system from the low hardware up through the design layers, from operational procedures and processes to suppliers. An emphasis on tools alone does not give that ability. Lastly, cybersecurity requires individuals that can think out of the box, because that’s what the adversaries do. Stopping the script kiddies is easy; VoTech can easily catch the low-lying fruit. The real threat comes from the determined adversary, and they don’t do what you (or your tools) expect.

Don’t get me wrong — technicians are important. If that is the highest level of skill you can obtain, and you’ve had that K-12 STEM/STEAM education, go for it. Some people work best with their hands. But if you can go on and get that STEM/STEAM degree, you will be much more successful and much more useful in the field (plus, you’ll earn significantly more over your lifetime — enough, perhaps, to pay off your student loans :-)).

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And Tevye Was Only Mentioned Once

Posted onAuthorcahwyguy

Author! Author! (Santa Monica Playhouse)userpic=theatre_ticketsThis has been a weekend of Jewish-themed plays. Last night we learned about the Comedian Harmonists during the rise of the Nazis. Today we went a little earlier, learning about Sholom Aleichem, a prominent Yiddish author, playwright, and humors, with “Author! Author! An Evening With Sholom Aleichem” at the Santa Monica Playhouse.

You may know Sholom Aleichem as the author of the short stories about Tevye, the milkman, and his daughters that were the basis for the musical “Fiddler on the Roof“. But Aleichem was much more — writing in Yiddish, he wrote many plays, short stories, young adult stories, and novels. As Mark Twain pointed out, he was the Yiddish Mark Twain (to which Aleichem noted that Twain was wrong — Twain was the English Sholom Aleichem!) We picked this play because our daughter, Erin, has been studying Yiddish at UC Berkely, and it seemed to nicely dovetail with her studies.

I’ll note that Author! Author! is a perennial production at Santa Monica Playhouse. It premiered there in 1976 as part of their Jewish Heritage series, and had a 4½ year run. It was revived for the theatre’s 54th year (and the musical’s 36th), and features its original stars in the lead roles. Translation: This is a cast where the leads know the roles pat — these are clearly characters that they love to personify. That shows in many ways: with their level of comfort, with there ability to speak in character seemingly off the cuff, with their warmth and humor. Note that the pictures in the promotional material are from, shall we say, earlier in the run :-).

The storyline is simple. It starts with Sholom Aleichem starting to read his last will and testament, and quickly he flashes back to his visit to America. He tells the story of his arrival and meeting the newsman woman Hannah Green. The remainder of the play is Aleichem telling various stories to illustrate his life and philosophy. These stories range from well-known locals such as Chelm, to stories about parents and children, to stories about America. Some are touching; most are funny. There were a few that I particularly liked and particularly stand out in my memory. The first was the story of the restaurant, where Aleichem goes to eat in a restaurant that seemingly provides no service. The second was a touching love story between Aleichem and the Cantor’s daughter (more on that story in a minute). I think my favorite story, however, was the story of two Jews on a train, both attempting to be more assimilated than the other, not realizing, until the slip of a Yiddish idiom, that both were Jewish.

However, Author! Author! is more than a simple comedic telling of stories. It is a simple musical. The basic book by Eveyln Rudie (FB) and Chris DeCarlo, based on the writings and letters of Sholom Aleichem, was augmented with music by Ben Weisman and lyrics by the book author, Eveyln Rudie (FB). Most of the songs are cute and not particularly memorable (although I’m surprised a cast album has never been recorded, given the history of the show — it might be a nice fundraiser). They do, however, provide a nice energy for the show. I was particularly taken with one song — the song supporting the “It All Depends” scene that illustrated how different people have different points of view. It was touching and clever and well performed.

The show does have a bit of minor audience participation (or at least I’m guessing that’s what it is): they tend to get the names of the folks in the front row, and then mention them a few times during the show. I know this because, alas, I was sitting in the front row. If any of the folks from Author! Author! are reading this, I’m the “Daniel and his family” that you welcomed this afternoon :-).

As I noted, the lead performers are very comfortable with their roles, so the direction by Arthur R. Tompkins seems to blend into the performances seamlessly. This is especially true for Chris DeCarlo as Sholom Aleichem and Eveyln Rudie (FB) as Hannah Green. DeCarlo has aged well into his Aleichem role — he seems to fit into the older Aleichem like a well-worn comfortable shoe, and the twinkle in his demeanor erases his age when he plays his younger self or a younger character. Rudie works equally well as Green (and as various other characters) — I particularly enjoyed the visual interplay and obvious affection between the two actors (who are husband and wife in real life) during the Cantor’s daughter number.

Supporting the leaders were a number of talented Santa Monica Playhouse regulars (I say that because we haven’t seen them anywhere else :-)), including Kate Burleigh (FB) (Deborah, Mrs. Goldstein), Rachel Galper (FB) (Basha, Rebecca, Mrs. Schnippelbubbel), Alejandra Nunez (Lipschele, Dorothy), and (for our performance), Nima Ghassemian (FB) (Albert Jacob Nussbaum) [alternating with Graham Sibert/FB]. All were good singers and effective in their roles. I particularly enjoyed Galper in the aforementioned Cantor’s daughter number — she just seemed to be enjoying herself so much in the role. Ghassemian was strong in a number of scenes — particularly in the “Two Anti-Semites” scene and “The Miser and the Thief”, as well as the Chelm stories.

The choreography by Cydne Moore worked well for the limited space and the nature of the music (this isn’t a major dance show, folks). The music was orchestrated by Linn Yamaha-Hirschman, and was pre-recorded. I always miss live music, but understand the economic constraints.

The simple set by James Cooper worked well — there was a writing desk and various hats on the side, and simple cubes on the stage that suggested the various locales vaguely. Some venues go for realistic sets, and some ask the audience to use their imagination. I’m fine with either. The lighting, also by James Cooper, was simple and effective. The sound by The Attic Room was primarily some background sound effects that worked well. What didn’t work well — at least for me — were many of the costume selections by Ashley Hayes. Although they were beautiful, they didn’t (for the most part) fit my understanding of what was being worn in either turn of the century America or in the shetls that Aleichem was writing about. They struck me more as costumes out of Dickens-era London upperclass. However, they didn’t serve to detract from the show — they were just more anachronistic. George J. Vennes III served as production stage manager. I’ll note most of the actor and technical links go to the theatre staff page — this seems to be a repertory company that stays within itself — although they do television, you don’t see these folks moving a lot between other theatres (as seems to be common in the LA Theatre community).

I had one other quibble with the show: Most of the programs were mis-collated. My initial program did not have all the actor’s credits; the pages went front cover pages, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 13, 10, 11, 8, 13, 14, 14′, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, back cover. Luckily, we were able to find a correct one.

“Author! Author! An Evening with Sholom Aleichem” plays one more weekend, March 29-30. Call the Box Office at 310.394.9779 ext 1 to reserve tickets, or visit their online ticketing.

[Ob. Disclaimer: I am not a trained theatre critic; I am, however, a regular theatre audience. I’ve been attending live theatre in Los Angeles since 1972; I’ve been writing up my thoughts on theatre (and the shows I see) since 2004. I do not have theatre training (I’m a computer security specialist), but have learned a lot about theatre over my many years of attending theatre and talking to talented professionals. I pay for all my tickets unless otherwise noted. I believe in telling you about the shows I see to help you form your opinion; it is up to you to determine the weight you give my writeups.]

Upcoming Theatre and Concerts:  Next weekend is open, and will likely stay that way as we’ll be exhausted. April starts with “In The Heights” at Cabrillo Music Theatre (FB) on April 5, and should also bring “Tallest Tree” at the Mark Taper Forum on April 12. The following weekend brings a benefit at REP East (FB): “A Night at the Rock Opera“. The last weekend of April will bring Noel Paul Stookey at McCabes, as well as the Southern California Renaissance Faire. Current planning for May shows “The Lion in Winter” at The Colony Theatre (FB), and “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” at REP East (FB), as well as “Hairspray” at Nobel Middle School. I may also be scheduling “Porgy and Bess” at the Ahmanson. June is mostly open pending scheduling of an MRJ meeting, but I will try to fit in as much of the Hollywood Fringe Festival as I can. As always, I’m keeping my eyes open for interesting productions mentioned on sites such as Bitter-Lemons, and Musicals in LA, as well as productions I see on Goldstar, LA Stage Tix, Plays411.

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Willkommen! Bienvenue! Welcome!

Posted onAuthorcahwyguy

Harmony (Ahmanson)userpic=ahmansonOh, sorry, wrong Nazi musical. Perhaps I should start over…

When I first learned that the Ahamanson theatre was presenting a Barry Manilow musical, I thought to myself, “Gee, cheesy 70’s musical… I grew up with the stuff… count me in!”. I thought it would be similar to Manilow’s other musical, “Copacabana“. I got Hottix for just me, and thought that was that. Then I learned what Harmony was all about — that it was a well-done story about some important history in the Jewish community. This convinced my wife that she wanted to attend (and we were lucky enough to be able to get a second Hottix, 3 weeks later, right next to me). So last night we took Metro down to DTLA, and saw the new Barry Manilow (music) / Bruce Sussman (book and lyrics) musical “Harmony“.

First and foremost, set aside any preconceived notion that you may have regarding Barry Manilow’s music. This show does not sound like anything you have heard come out of Manilow’s popular music catalog. Have you done that? Good.

You saw my opening reference to the musical Cabaret. That was intentional, for the musical Harmony covers roughly the same period. Harmony is a musical about the rise and times of the Comedian Harmonists, a six-member close-harmony comedy group that rose to international stardom in the early 1930s, and lasted until disbanded by Adolph Hiter and a delayed application of the Nuremberg Laws that forbade Jews from having any involvement in the arts. In short, it is the story of a popular German musical group, told against the rise of Nazi Germany. As such, it has echoes of other famous Nazi-era musicals such as Cabaret (Kander-Ebb), The Sound of Music (Rodgers-Hammerstein), and The Grand Tour (Herman)… and even The Producers (Brooks). So why this story? What makes this an important musical?

The Comedian Harmonists are probably the most popular group that you never heard of. They were formed in the late 1920s by an unlikely combination: three Jews, a gentile (non-Jew) married to a Jew, and two other gentiles. The combination included a former rabbi, a former singing waiter, a former surgeon, a former opera singer, an unemployed actor, and a skilled pianist. It was a German group that included a Bulgarian, a Pole, and the son of an Italian immigrant. It reached stardom at the level of the Beatles — 13 albums, 12 movies — as Nazi Germany was coming into power, and saw that legacy destroyed by the Nazis and the group disbanded. Today, almost no one has heard of the Comedian Harmonists.

Harmony is Manilow/Sussman’s attempt at telling their story. It is moving and touching, and has some extremely beautiful music. It is well acted and sung to perfection. It is a story that must be seen by any student of Jewish history, and is another warning against the totalitarian fascism that is far to ready to rise up in poor economic times. It will also fail miserably on Broadway, but is a musical that must be produced and live on. In short, it is like the Comedian Harmonists — talented and something special, with an important story to be told.

Let me tackle that last point first. Musicals that deal with the Nazis (or dark themes) are difficult to turn into box office hits. Cabaret and The Sound of Music were able to do it because they only hinted at the horror that was coming. Each put the protagonists in peril, but ended the story with their escaping before the horrors happened. The Grand Tour, again, happened just as the Nazis were coming into power and left its protagonist safe. Harmony is much more on the line of musicals such as Parade or The Scottsboro Boys. These musicals end with unspeakable actions that dampen the mood, but are powerful — with that power amplified by the music — and should be seen and produced. However, they are rarely commercial successes; the audience does not walk out “happy” with their toes-tapping in a great mood. They walk out moved by the story and the underlying injustices caused by an unjust society that was overtaken and overpowered by hate and prejudice. From what I have already told you about the group, you can predict that the story does not end happy (and there is little the producers can do to make the ending a happy one, save changing history). You don’t walk out in a good mood — you walk out moved.

The music in Harmony is beautiful, but in some ways lacking. Many of the songs are performance pieces in the style of the Comedian Harmonists. These propel the story less and teach about the group more. Among these is the main song, “Harmony”, that is repeated in various forms throughout the show and becomes an earworm by the end. Some are wonderful comedy pieces that truly illustrate what the Harmonists must have been like, such as “How Can I Serve You, Madame?” But none of these pieces are doing what the songs in a musical should do — moving the story along and illustrating the inner thoughts and turmoils of the characters. There are only a few songs that do that. Those songs work well, and looking over those songs, they all have one thing in common: they are not telling the story of the Harmonists as much as they are telling the story of the women in their life (I’m thinking of songs such as “This is Our Time”). One song in particular, I believe, could become a standard that would outshine this show: “Where You Go” — a loving take on the book of Ruth about women and what they give up for their men. It was a spectacular song, performed spectacularly.

Harmony is directed by Tony Speciale (FB), with Christopher Bowser as associate director. Speciale and Bowser do a good job of bringing out this difficult story in a clever way, although they fail on establishing distinct characterizations for many of the members of the Harmonists. Most of them blend together, distinguished only by their voices and a few mannerisms. Still, they bring out extremely moving performances from the group, and they keep the stage busy and moving in a way that keeps the audience interest up, and belies the bad news that you know is coming.

As I indicated, the performance are top notch. At the pinnacle is Shayne Kennon (FB) as “Rabbi” Josef Roman Cykowski. “Rabbi” serves as the narrator for the story (you learn why at the end) — he takes us through his memory from the founding of the group to its ultimate end, and the main relationship focus within the story is his relationship with his wife, Mary Hegal (beautifully performed by Leigh Ann Larkin (FB)) — a non-Jew who converted to Judaism to marry “Rabbi”. Kennon’s performance was just great, and his singing voice will just blow you away. He truly melted into this role and became one with it; this show is worth seeing for his performance alone. Larkin, supporting him as his wife, also gives a strong performance and just astounds in her primary numbers “This is Our Time” and, even more spectacularly, in “Where You Go”. These are two performances that will stick with you.

The remainder of the Harmonists are less distinguishable. They stand out more for particular vocal characteristics (such as really deep voices) or particular comedic styles. This is more a flaw in the written characterizations than the performances, which were great. The other Harmonists were Matt Bailey (FB) (Harry Frommerman), Will Blum (FB) (Ari “Lesh” Leshnikoff), Chris Dwan (FB) (Erich Collin), Will Taylor (FB) (Erwin “Chopin” Bootz), and Douglas Williams (FB) (Bobby Biberti).

Of the remaining actors, the main standout was Hannah Corneau (FB) as Roth Stern, the Bolshevik Jewess who marries a non-Jewish member of the Harmonists. Her character is a composite of a number of historical women; she stands out for the same reason Mary stands out — she’s the other half of the couple-duets in “This is Our Time” and “Where You Go”.

Rounding out the performance side were Liberty Cogen (FB) (Ensemble), Greg Kamp (FB) (Ensemble, Sturmann), Chad Lindsey (FB) (Ensemble, Standartenfuhrer, Nazi Leader #1), Lindsay Moore (FB) (Ensemble), Brandon O’Dell (FB) (Ensemble, Richard Strauss, Albert Einstein, Synagogue Rabbi), Patrick O’Neill (FB) (Ensemble, Border Guard, Nazi Leader #3), Charles Osborne (FB) (Ensemble, Obsersturmfuhrer, Fritz, Nazi Leader #2), Kim Sava (FB) (Ensemble, Young Woman #1), Dave Schoonover (FB) (Ensemble, Ezra Kaplan, Cantor, Radio Announcer), Lauren Elaine Taylor (FB) (Ensemble, Marlene Dietrich, Ingrid), Kevin Brown (Swing), and Kara Haller/FB (Swing).

The performance was choreographed by JoAnn M. Hunter (FB), assisted by Mary Ann Lamb (FB) (Associate Choreographer). These two did a great job of capturing the comedic movement of the Harmonists, especially in numbers such as “Your Son is Becoming a Singer”, “How Can I Serve You, Madame”, “Hungarian Rhapsody #2”, and “Come To The Fatherland”. Outside of these numbers, there is less of the traditional “dance” on sees in a musical — there are no big production numbers, no 11pm tap-marathons to blow you away. There is movement that amplifies the music. The music, I should note, was under the music direction of John O’Neill, with orchestrations by Doug Walter. O’Neill also conducted a wonderful 9-member orchestra; gone are the days of large musical orchestras.

Turning to the technical side: Tobin Ost (FB)’s set for Harmony was well designed, consisting of trestles and bridges that raised an lowered, and a large digital background that served to provide context and locale. This background was aided by the projection design of Darrel Maloney (FB) — my only negative is that I don’t believe the electronic flip signs (think was used to be at Washington Dulles) were in use in the 1930s — they scream more 1960s to me. The sound design of John Shivers (FB) and David Patridge (FB) was clear and not overpowering, and made the sound seem to be coming from the performers. The lighting design of Jeff Croiter (FB) and Seth Jackson (FB) illuminated well and set the mood adequately, and provided some clever highlights at points. The costume design by Tobin Ost (FB), assisted by Leslie Malitz (FB) (Associate Costume Designer) seemed period-enough. Lora K. Powell (FB) was the Production Stage Manager, and RL Campbell/FB and Elle Aghabala (FB) were the stage managers.

“Harmony” continues at the Ahmanson Theatre through April 13, 2014. It is well-worth seeing — especially if you are Jewish or have interest in the history of the 1930s. Be prepared to be moved, but don’t expect to walk out happy. Discount “Hottix” may still be available for select performance (as well as performance rush tickets); I’m also seeing select performances with discount tickets on Goldstar (and the discounts may be elsewhere as well). You can also experience Harmony for only $39-$49 using code MAESTRO, according to an email I received from the Ahmanson. That offer is valid in Orchestra Rows R-W (Reg $60-$70) for performances through April 11.

[Ob. Disclaimer: I am not a trained theatre critic; I am, however, a regular theatre audience. I’ve been attending live theatre in Los Angeles since 1972; I’ve been writing up my thoughts on theatre (and the shows I see) since 2004. I do not have theatre training (I’m a computer security specialist), but have learned a lot about theatre over my many years of attending theatre and talking to talented professionals. I pay for all my tickets unless otherwise noted. I believe in telling you about the shows I see to help you form your opinion; it is up to you to determine the weight you give my writeups.]

Upcoming Theatre and Concerts:  Today brings our second show of the weekend: “Author, Author: An Evening with Sholom Aleichem” at the Santa Monica Playhouse (FB). The last weekend of March is open, and will likely stay that way as we’ll be exhausted. April starts with “In The Heights” at Cabrillo Music Theatre (FB) on April 5, and should also bring “Tallest Tree” at the Mark Taper Forum on April 12. The following weekend brings a benefit at REP East (FB): “A Night at the Rock Opera“. The last weekend of April will bring Noel Paul Stookey at McCabes, as well as the Southern California Renaissance Faire. Current planning for May shows “The Lion in Winter” at The Colony Theatre (FB), and “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” at REP East (FB), as well as “Hairspray” at Nobel Middle School. June is mostly open pending scheduling of an MRJ meeting, but I will try to fit in as much of the Hollywood Fringe Festival as I can. As always, I’m keeping my eyes open for interesting productions mentioned on sites such as Bitter-Lemons, and Musicals in LA, as well as productions I see on Goldstar, LA Stage Tix, Plays411.

 

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