Getting out of your comfort zone. This is something I’ve been discussing with my daughter of late, as she (a History major) has been taking an Astronomy class. This is also something most of us do in life when we get into a relationship and take a leap of faith when we commit to a lifetime relationship when we get married. Getting our of his comfort zone is the question ultimately faced by the lead character, Robert, in that classic Stephen Sondheim / George Furth musical-comedy “Company“, which we saw last night at the Crown City Theatre in North Hollywood. In short, this is an excellent production of the musical, and is well worth going to.

Before I go on, I’d like to note that this is a write-up, it is not a review. I am not a trained theatre critic, and I pay to attend every show I go to, just like most other audience members. I share my opinions on the shows I see with my friends, because I believe the best way to grow live theatre is to spread the word. This is in response to an editorial by Peter Finlayson on Footlights that was in our program, lambasting the “hacks” (untrained critics) who post their opinions about shows in blogs. I’ll have a separate post on that later, but that editorial served to insult this “hack”.

Luckily, the show more than made up for that insult. For those not familiar with it, “Company” is one of those seminal musicals (Sondheim has a lot of those). When it premiered in 1970, it was a flop. Critics and audiences at the time did not appreciate or connect with its music and found its books confusing. The music was Sondheim at his best: a mix of dissonance, clever patter numbers, tender numbers, and exceedingly complex numbers that served to illuminate the characters, as opposed to being an integral part of the plot or moving story forward. George Furth’s book was not necessarily linear, presenting a series of vignettes about marriage and relationships. It also made a point that did not necessarily sit well.

Given this structure for the story, describing it is difficult. “Company” is really the story of Robert (Bobby). Bobby is turning 35, and all of his married friends want him to get married. These friends — Joanne and Larry, Peter and Susan, Harry and Sarah, David and Jenny, and Paul and Amy — all believe that being married is the desirable state, and that by 35 one should be married. As for Bobby… well, he wants to get married, but not really, well he’s unsure. Through a series of scenes we see how Bobby views the marriages of his friends, as well as Bobby’s relationships with the single girls in his life. All of these propel Bobby into a deeper understanding of why he might want to get married, and what marriage really is. Sondheim has indicated this is one of those musicals where he had trouble getting just the right song for the ending, and the one he chose, “Being Alive”, worked well to capture the final point being made.

The director, Albert Alarr (FB), updated the story slightly, incorporating modern communication devices and modern dances. These updates worked very well, especially during the opening where Bobby is simultaneously playing a video game while dealing with email, messages, phone calls, texts, and chats from his married friends. Alarr also did an excellent job in bringing out the characters from the actors — one of the things I was impressed with in this production is how well performed it was. That’s a sign of a director in synergy with his acting ensemble. This was just a well well performed performance.

It was also great to see this musical up-close in a small venue. I’ve begun to realize that many “Broadway” musicals shine when given the small treatment — when the creative energy is used to make the big show up close and personal. I’ve seen this in the under-99 seat version of Gypsy, and it truly shows in this small theatre production of Company. The performances amplify — you get a close-up sense of the people and the couples, and the small space makes the show even more New-York-ish than a large gigantic stage would do.

Let’s now look at the cast and the couples, and in doing so, I’ll highlight two of my favorite performances; the rest I’ll hit as I go through the cast. [* indicates members of Actors Equity or one of the other 4A unions for actors]

In the lead position was Ben Rovner* (FB) as Robert. Rovner’s Robert was comfortable and accessible, and just seemed like the type of person you would like to be around — a good friend always there when you need him. You could see why these couples liked him and wanted him to be what they perceived as happy. Rovner’s signing voice was delightful, shining in numerous numbers such as “Marry Me a Little” and “Being Alive”, and he danced wonderfully.

Moving from the lead to one of the smaller roles, equally impressive was Julia Black*’s Marta. Marta is one of the girlfriends of Bobby, and is the lead singer for  “Another Hundred People”. Black impressed me in two ways. First, she had a wonderfully powerful singing voice that you could hear in the background of a number of songs, and which shone in “Another Hundred People”. Further, she had a wonderfully expressive face that reacted to the story going on around her — again, this was seen in “Another Hundred People”, as well as in the interplay with Peter and Susan, the married couple who divorced but are still living together for the children. She was also a standout in “You Could Drive a Person Crazy”.

In the Broadway original, one of the standouts was Elaine Stritch as Joanne. In the production, Joanne was played by Sonja Alarr* (FB), playing off of her stage husband Larry (Mike Hagiwara* (FB)). Both were excellent. Alarr’s Joanne wasn’t quite as hard and cynical as the original, but came across as a lovely older lady with a sardonic view of life and an incredible capacity for alcohol. Her two main numbers — “The Little Things You Do Together” and the “Ladies Who Lunch” were just great. Hagiwara was one of the best male performers on the stage, with a great voice and wonderful movement.

During Joanne’s first number, we meet the couple of Harry (James Calvert* (FB)) and Sarah (Libby Baker* (FB)). The two worked well together, and Baker had a very lovely singing voice.

The couple of Amy and Paul were portrayed by Amy Albert* (FB) and Christopher Davis Carlisle* (FB). Albert’s Amy was spectacular, and I was blown away by her comic timing, expressions, and vocal capacity during “Not Getting Married”. Carlisle shown less in the singing and more in the reactions during the same number.

Peter (Zeffin Quinn Hollis* (FB)) and Susan (Lena Gwendolyn Hill* (FB)) were mentioned earlier — they are a married couple who decided the best way to preserve their relationship was divorce.  I was unsure about Hill’s Southern portrayal at the beginning, but it ended up working quite well and both performers were fun to watch.

The last couple is David (Jon Hand* (FB)) and Jenny (Beatrice Crosbie* (FB)). Both were a delight to watch, especially in the pot scene where seeing Jenny high was a treat.

Rounding out the cast were Robert’s other two girlfriends — and the remaining parts of the trio for “You Could Drive a Person Crazy”. April, the flight attendant, was played by Emma Degerstedt* (FB). She was spectacular in “Barcelona” and “Drive a Person Crazy”, with a delightful look and wonderful comic timing. The other remaining girlfriend was Kathy (Katy O’Donnell* (FB)).

As I indicated at the beginning, the entire cast was fun to watch, and the large number of people conveyed the New York feel quite well. Also working well was the set design by Jack Forrestel (FB), which integrated well with the props from Joanne McGee (FB) and the projections by Zeffin Quinn Hollis*(FB) to turn the long black-box Crown City space into an effective New York apartment. It is this creativity that shows small theatre at its best — these things are easy to do when you have lots of fly and wing space, but when you are limited and you make it work it is just remarkable. The lighting design by Anna Cecelia Martin worked well to convey the mood, and the sound design by Mark Duggar/FB worked well to provide that ambient noise of New York well. The costumes by Tanya Apuya (FB) worked very well, especially the lovely outfits for all the female characters.  Serving as music director (and on the piano) was William A. Reilly/FB, and the delightful choreography was by John Todd/FB. Gary Lamb/FB was the Technical Director, and Kimberly Bullock/FB was the production stage manager.

“Company” continues at Crown City Theatre at least through the end of March. Tickets are available through Brown Paper Tickets, and note that shows seem to be selling out.

Upcoming Theatre and Concerts:   Next weekend takes us to the Pantages and Hollywood for  “Catch Me If You Can”on March 16. The fourth week of March brings “Boeing Boeing” at REP East on March 23, and 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. We were originally planning on the Western Corps Connection at the end of the month, but their collection of corps this year is poor. 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: NEO: New, Emerging…Outstanding! (Concert Cast) (Darius De Haas): “Field Flowers (Based On Text By Thomas Campbell)”

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It’s hard to be middle-aged. It’s even harder if you’re middle-aged and female and looking for love. Well, at least that’s the premise of Kathryn Graf‘s new play, “The Snake Can“, which we saw last night at The Odyssey Theatre Ensemble in West Los Angeles.

“The Snake Can” tells the story of three women, all in their early 50s: Nina, an artist, who recently separated from her husband Paul; Meg, who is twice divorced; and Harriet, a writer, widowed 7 years ago after a number of years of a loving marriage. All are navigating the rocky relationship waters, attempting to find both themselves and relationships in the modern world. The play concerns this questions. Each of the women’s story is somewhat separate, except where the women get together to talk to each other about their relationship problems. Harriet, a homemaker and stay-at-home mom from the suburbs, has finally decided to go after new relationships, and is doing it through a website called matchmaking.luv (ummm, yes… it seems authors don’t always understand the domain naming system). She has met a man named Stephen, and has to overcome both his past and his reluctance to commit. This past, mind you, includes a number of bisexual years that included a man named Brad. Nina is less navigating dating than navigating separating from her long-time actor husband, Paul. She’s had her bootie calls, but is flinging herself into her art (literally) more than dating. Meg, who is perhaps the smartest of them all, has had a series of relationships but nothing seems to work. All three seem to love to drown their sorrows with copious amounts of wine (hmmm, they would fit really great into Cougartown). By the time the play ends, all have learned something about themselves, and have found some sense of closure in their relationships.

The direction by Steven Robman is smart, and the situations presented by the women draw you into the story well. As for being realistic — well that I’m unsure of, but then again, I haven’t dealt with the dating scene since the 1980s! If anything, they gave me the sense of being a little too earnest, and the resulting story had a bit of a sitcom feel to it. That could also be the side effect of having to squeeze all the character growth and driving situations into 120 minutes. The types of women portrayed did feel right, and I’ve certainly seen men like that before. One got the sense that these were people who wanted the relationship for the comfort of the relationship, not particularly for anything physical. The play also resonated well with the older middle-aged audience found in the theatre today. All in all, it was an enjoyable evening.

Much of this came from the performances of the acting team. In the lead positions were Diane Cary* as Nina, Jane Kaczmarek* as Harriet, and Sharon Sharth* was Meg. All came off as realistic, and I particularly enjoyed the performances of Sharth and Kaczmarek. Sharth, as Meg, as beautiful and accessible, and exuded a wonderful air of confidence. Kaczmarek, as Harriet, gave off the suburban wife vibe well, although drinking a bit much (I hope that was stage alcohol, or those actresses might need a driver at the end of an evening). Cary was a little bit colder as Nina, but I also enjoyed her character.

In the two main male roles were Paul Lieber as Paul and James Lancaster* as Stephen. Lieber’s Paul struck me as a bit of a looser Malcolm McDowell, but that could be a look thing. You could tell from Lieber’s performance that this was a man having trouble navigating the relationship waters as well. He wanted to be with his wife, who no longer wanted him, and really didn’t want to date. He just wanted the comfort of what he had. Lancaster’s Stephen was different — a character who wanted a relationship with a women and who had been bisexual in the past, who could never seem to make relationships of either type work in the long run. He was scared of having relationships work, and portrayed this quite well.  Rounding out the male cast was Joel Polis* as the boyfriend Jake and Stephen’s former lover, Brad.
[*: Member of Actors Equity]

Turning to the technical: The set, which was designed by Jeffery P. Eisenmann, worked reasonably well. The apartment side of the set worked well, although the textures on the wall interfered with the excellent projections of Hana S. Kim. The props by Lorely Trinidad worked well. The set was well lit by Adam Blumenthal, and the sound design and sound effects of Cricket S. Myers were (umm) effective. The costumes of Miguel Montalvo were appropriate to my eye and conveyed the period well. Liana Dillaway was the Production Stage Manager, assisted by Priscilla Miranda. “The Snake Can” was produced by Racquel Lehrman.

“The Snake Can” continues at The Odyssey Theatre until March 2. Tickets are available through the Odyssey; discount tickets may be available through LA Stage Tix. It is worth seeing. Upcoming productions at The Odyssey include “Rank” by Robert Massey (3/23 – 5/12) and “Annapurna” (by Sharr White). Other productions listed that intrigue me include “Ionescopade: A Musical Vaudeville“, built around th eplays, playlets, and poetry of Eugene Ionesco (6/8 – 7/28/2013); an all-female casting of “Hamlet” featuring Charlayne Woodard as Gertrude (8/17 – 10/13/13), and a “Waiting for Godot”-esque play called “Old Clown Wanted” about three out-of-work circus clowns marking time in a deserted office.

Dining Notes: As we were on the Westside and had just hit Record Surplus (where we scored with loads of music, including a French-cast-album of Hair), we decided to explore nearby restaurants. We ended up at an excellent Oaxacan Mexican restaurant on Santa Monica called Monte Alban. Yummy and different. We’ll be back.

Upcoming Theatre and Concerts:   March starts with “I’ll Be Back Before Midnight” at the Colony. The following weekend sees us in North Hollywood for “Company” at the Crown City Theatre. The third week of March takes us to the Pantages and Hollywood for  “Catch Me If You Can”on March 16. The fourth week of March brings “Boeing Boeing” at REP East on March 23, and 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, (tentative) Sweet Charity“ at DOMA, and the Western Corps Connection at the end of the month. 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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My first introduction to the unique theatrical form that is farce — at least that I recognized as farce — was in 1982 in New York, when I saw the Michael Frayn play “Noises Off” in its first run on Broadway. Since then I’ve seen farce off and on — a revival of “Noises Off” at the Pasadena Playhouse in 2003, “Don’t Dress for Dinner” at REP in 2006, “Is He Dead?” at ICT in 2009, “The 39 Steps” at the Ahmanson in 2010, various Oscar Wilde and Noel Coward farces, and numerous others — but I haven’t sought them out. I’ve typically seen them as part of a season, with a few exceptions. Yesterday afternoon was one of those exceptions, as some good friends invited us to join them for the Canyon Theatre Guild (FB) production of Ray Cooney‘s “Run for your Wife” in Newhall.

“Run for your Wife” is a 1983 farce that was extremely popular in the UK, and is a favorite of regional and small theatre companies, as it works well and tends to be popular with audiences. It doesn’t appear to be as popular on the big screen: a theatrical version opened this week, and appears to be getting very poor reviews (UK Independent: “Biggest Turkey Ever Filmed“; UK Guardian: “woefully dated“). In general, theatrical farce doesn’t work on the screen, because all the timing risks are gone.

In general, timing is at the heart of farce. Usually, farce depends on split second timing, word play, sexual humor, quick entries and exits, and reactions. Combine this with a British accent, and you’re off and running. Run for your Wife is no exception. At the heart of Run for your Wife is a timing problem. John Smith is a taxi driver who has a balancing problem. He has one wife, Mary, in Wimbledon who he sees after his afternoon shift… and another wife, Barbara, in Streatham (4½ minutes away), who he sees after his morning shift. John is very precise in his schedule. So when John fails to materialize at the expected time, each wife rings the local police to report him missing. When John surfaces at Mary’s flat, it is after being in hospital with a head injury received fending off muggers. This not only gets him in the news, but confused him enough that he gave both addresses to the hospital. And this sets everything in action. Soon the mix is joined with detective sergeants from both the Wimbleton and Streatham police stations attempting to find out what happened to John. Of course, John isn’t helped by his upstairs neighbor in Wimbleton, Stanley Gardner, to whom he confides his secret. That’s the basic setup, so you can now imagine how the confusion grows as Stanley and John attempt to protect their secret by building lies upon fake identities and running back and forth between flats. There’s one last fly in the ointment: Bobby Franklin, a flaming gay interior designer who lives with his boyfriend in the flat above Mary Smith, and who has spilled some cans of red paint that are dripping into the bathroom. Lastly, I should note that Run for your Wife  typically is staged in a single room that represents both flats, split in half with one flat predominately in one side in one color, and the other flat on the other side. Ready. Set. Go. Laugh.

For the most part this works well, but the book is a little dated. Especially in the second act, the play tends to take the typical British 1980s stereotypical view of homosexuals. Formally setting the play in the 1980s helps a little to excuse this, but it is still grating to today’s sensibilities. This is something a director needs to be sensitive about — it is a problem many plays and musicals face when they get revived (look at the controversies over the revival of Showboat in 1993). It didn’t seem to affect that CTG audience at our performance, but that is likely because the humor is so broad and slapstick it was just ignored. Another reason could very well be that in the theatre, for farce, one tends to write off any plot specifics anyway. Farce plots are convoluted and far-fetched to begin with. This sets up the humor, and enables it to continue at the frantic pace that farce requires. If you insist that a theatrical farce have a realistic plot — or even one whose twists can be easily described — then you are just wasting your time. [I'll note that this is often not true for cinema unless you are dealing with animation; if you film it realistically, the audience expects the story to be realistic.]

Run for your Wife depends on accurate timing, on lots of dialogue said correctly, and on great reactions from the actors as the farce builds. Luckily, the director of Run for your Wife, Mike Davies/FB, assisted by Heidi Meiseles/FB, did a very good job of getting this out of his team. Their timing was, for the most part, spot on. Their lines were, for the most part, delivered well and with good accents. The reaction shots were very funny, and they seemed to be enjoying their characters and going with the flow. This is a good thing; when actors have fun with what they are doing, that fun is communicated to the audience and everything builds.

The ensemble for Run for your Wife was also very strong. In the lead positions were Tom Lund (FB) as John Smith and Wade Bradford (FB) as Stanley Gardner (pictured to the right — image snarfed from Facebook). Lund (who we’ve seen before in the REP productions of Journey’s End and Laramie Project) played the harried taxi driver very well, and very strong in his reaction shots. He had a casual easygoing nature, but seemed quick on his feet. Still, it was difficult to see what both of his beautiful “wives” saw in him, but that seems to be a common problem with productions of this show . Bradford also did very well, comfortably switching between accents and voices, and playing the different personas he had to project very well. My only problem with Bradford’s character was his makeup — the facial hair just seemed off and odd to me. But that’s a minor complaint — he had great timing, great reactions, and was just having fun.

Also having fun were the two wives. As the Wimbleton wife, Mary Smith, Kamber Grace Moen/FB was a joy to watch, and not just because she’s very pretty. As with the rest of the ensemble, she had great timing and comic reactions, and interacted well with the other characters. The Streadham wife, Barbara Smith, was played by Bea Schreiber/FB. Schreiber had a very different look than Moen — both beautiful, but with a different build and different facial reactions. Again, as with the rest of the ensemble, Schreiber had great timing and comic reaction. According to the write-ups of this play that I have seen, Mary was supposed to be more straight-laced, and Barbara more sexually charged. Looking at the actresses, I wonder how the humor would have changed had the actresses been swapped in the two roles, raising the question of how looks might influence our perceptions of characters. Ah, well, this is farce. I shouldn’t try to think too much, should I?

Rounding out the cast were the two detective sergeants, Troughton from Wimbleton (Davie Wisehart/FB) and Porterhouse from Streadham (Michael Keane/FB). Both were very good. Lastly, D.J. Hersch/FB played the flaming Streadham upstairs neighbor, Bobby Franklin.  Again, good timing and reactions.

The set for Run for your Wife was designed by Brian Maly and Doug Holiday/FB. The set worked well enough, although it could have used a stronger differentiating colour scheme between the two flats. The sound design by William Davies/FB worked well with good sound effects. The lighting by Brian Maly was also reasonably good. Caroline Morgan/FB was the stage manager.

As I noted early on, this production was at the Canyon Theatre Guild (FB Group) in Newhall… so I’d like to say few words about the Canyon Theatre Guild itself, as this was our first time there. CTG is at the other end of the block from one of our favorite theatres, REP East Playhouse. The two are different in a number of ways. REP productions use predominately Equity, SAG, and other actors who work in theatre, and take place in an 81-seat “black box”. CTG is formally more at the “community theatre” level — they draw from skilled amateurs combined with aspiring professionals, with a house that is significantly larger (I’d guess 3 times larger). Luckily, CTG has been doing theatre in Santa Clarita for a long time (42 years, in fact), and has a great pool of talent from which to draw (in fact, many actors perform at both REP and CTG). Although the basic CTG facility is very nice, the seating at CTG looks to be former movie theater seating, including the drink holders in the armrests and the plastic seatbacks, and the rake of the seating flattened out near the roof (reducing sight lines). Canyon Theatre Guild does an interesting mix of shows — primarily popular musicals and plays. I’ll keep an eye on them, and we may be back for a future production.

There is one more weekend for Run For Your Wife and its co-production, Suessical – The Musical. Tickets are available from the CTG box office at (661) 799-2702. Run has two performances left: Friday 2/22 and Saturday 2/23 at 8pm; Suessical has one performance left on Saturday 2/23 at 2pm. CTG often puts their shows up on Goldstar, although I don’t believe there are offers active for these shows currently. Upcoming at CTG is the musical “Hairspray”, running Mar 23rd 2013 to Apr 27th 2013, the comedy “The Fox on the Fairway” running May 24 – June 22, 2013, and a new version of “The Little Mermaid” running May 25-June 23, 2013. CTG will also be producing the regional premiere of Les Miserables at the Santa Clarita Performing Arts Center running July 20, 2013 – August 11, 2013. CTG also has an extensive education program.

Upcoming Theatre and Concerts:   Next weekend brings  “The Snake Can” at the Odyssey Theatre (based on an ad that caught Karen’s eye in the latest Footlights). Karen (but not me) will be seeing “When You’re In Love The Whole World is Jewish” at the Greenway Court Theatre on Feburary 21. March starts with “I’ll Be Back Before Midnight” at the Colony. The following weekend sees us in North Hollywood for “Company” at the Crown City Theatre. The third week of March takes us to the Pantages and Hollywood for  “Catch Me If You Can”on March 16. The fourth week of March brings “Boeing Boeing” at REP East on March 23. March may also bring “End of the Rainbow” at the Ahmanson, most likely on March 30. April will bring the Southern California Renaissance Faire , “Grease” at Cabrillo Music Theatre, and a winetasting at Temple Ahavat Shalom. May is also busy, with two concerts — Elton John in Las Vegas on May 4, and (tentative) Michael Feinstein at VPAC on May 11. May may also bring “Falling for Make Believe” at The Colony Theatre, “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, (tentative) Sweet Charity“ at DOMA, and the Western Corps Connection at the end of the month. 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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I’m always on the lookout for new and offbeat musicals. Many years ago, this led me to the hills of Anaheim (~64 miles away) to the Chance Theatre for their production of “Brain from Planet X“, a delightfully-kooky science fiction musical. Since then, there have been a number of productions that have intrigued me at the Chance (Jerry Springer-The Opera, Rooms: A Rock Romance, Anne of Green Gables), but either timing or the distance has led me to miss them. So when I read last November that Chance was bringing out “Triassic Parq: The Musical“, I started monitoring Goldstar Events for discount tickets. Luckily, some performances did show up, and even luckier, the first preview performances were the weekend after my birthday. So it was off to the Hills of Anaheim… and I must say, it was well worth the drive!

“Triassic Parq: The Musical” falls into the category of quasi-parody musical. It isn’t a true parody musical like “Silence!” or “Toxic Avenger: The Musical” that follow the original storyline closely, exaggerating the humor. But it also isn’t a serious musical as one sees on the Broadway stage, with a deep storyline and earnest seriousness behind it.  It is a musical that uses the theatrical Jurassic Park as a starting point (similar to the way Brain from Planet X used Plan 9 from Outer Space) to have a good time and perhaps make a point or two along the way. Luckily, Triassic Parq has grown since its first outing at the NY Fringe Festival; it has moved from a collection of sketches to a reasonable storyline with good character growth. In fact, one might say that unexpected growth is a main point of the story.

Triassic Parq (book by Marshall Pailet (FB), Bryce Norbitz (FB), and Steve Wargo (FB); music by Marshall Pailet) tells (roughly) the story of Jurassic Park… from the point of view of the dinosaurs. After a singing and dancing rollcall opening, the background exposition is provided by Morgan Freeman, who relates the story of the island of the dinosaurs, how the dinosaurs were created from prehistoric DNA of an insect mixed with a little DNA of a frog, and how the population is kept under control by being all female. Freeman also notes that the frog used for the splicing has the capability to change genders when necessary to keep the community alive, but indicates that fact isn’t important. Freeman’s character is quickly dispatched afterwards, and we’re left with our primary characters — T-Rex 1 (Kaitlyn), T-Rex 2, the Velociraptor of Innocence, and the Mime-a-saurus — all female. The two T-Rexes are best friends, and Innocence (the lead protagonist) is, well, innocent and curious.  When the lab provides the food for the day (a cute baby goat, wonderfully portrayed through puppetry), the Velociraptor of Faith has a prayer service to give thanks to the great Lab for their food. This celebration is interrupted by changes happening to T-Rex 2. She is having these funny feelings, and there is this strange growth in her body. Faith, recognizing it for what it is, expels her to beyond the electric fence, just like the previously expelled Velociraptor of Science. This provokes Innocence into action: she decides to go beyond the fence to find Science, and learn the true story of what is happening. Innocence goes on her quest, together with her cuddly cow companion, and eventually finds Science. Science knows well what is happening to T-Rex 2, and gives Innocence a book on Human Anatomy. This is where Innocence learns about the Dinosaur-Stick that T-Rex 2 is growing. Later, when T-Rex 2 comes across Innocence in the forest, she learns what is used for. Unfortunately, T-Rex 1 discovers them, and goes mad. This leads to the inevitable conclusion.

This story has hints of the original Jurassic Park story: you can see it in how the Dinos were created, through occasional touch points in the story, and how they go crazy at the end. During the discussion after the show, one of the authors pointed out that the closest parallel is Wicked — using the basic characters as a framework to tell a slightly different backstory from a different point of view. For Triassic Parq, when you strip away all the stereotypical jokes about men and their behavior, what you have is a story about family, the importance of survival, and how families will do what is needed to survive. We see this in the growth of Innocence, who moves from a young girlsaur to being a leader, as well as in the growth of the other dinos, who learn to accept their sexuality. What the story lacks (and perhaps what keeps it in the quasi-parody camp, although it doesn’t hurt the fun) is a depth of character: we see the lead characters as more broad archetypes as opposed to deeply realistic characters with which we identify.  This may improve as the show continues — we saw the 2nd preview and changes were still being made… on top of the large number of changes since the recent off-Broadway staging and the extensive changes from the original version. Translation: it keeps getting better and better. [ETA: Note that this also means that the Triassic Parq cast album may not agree with the show; the authors should consider doing a Kickstarter for an updated cast album, as they did with Now. Here. This.]

The staging of the show is very creative. The dinosaur aspects are conveyed through hints of costuming (as can be seen in these photos). Puppets are used to good effect, and the dancing uses the stage space well. I also liked the creative use of the electric fence. The score was a rock score and was enjoyable; I would need a few more listens to determine how well it holds up. Another creative aspect was the gender bending — all of the male characters were portrayed by females, and the female characters were mostly played by men. This allowed the audience to not bring in external stereotypes to their interpretation of the characters. However, there was another bending problem in the show: my mind couldn’t grok the species-bending aspects of T-Rexes mating with Velociraptors. Oh well, I guess all dinosaurs look alike in the sack.

Under the direction of the author, Marshall Pailet (assisted by Christopher Renfro/FB), the performances were great. In the lead position was Keaton Williams (FB) as the Velociraptor of Innocence. Williams brought a delightful (shall I say girlish ) energy to the ensemble: he danced well and sang wonderfully. Playing off of Williams were the two T-Rexes: 1 and 2. T-Rex 1 (Kaitlyn) was played by Micaela Martinez (resumé, FB) , and T-Rex 2 was played by Kellie Spill (resumé, FB). Both were strong singers and dancers, and Spill had some wonderful gender-bending scenes. The two also had a lovely duet.

Leading the dinosaur group was the Velociraptor of Faith, Jackson Tobiska (FB).  Tobiska had a bit more of a malevolent presence, for some reason — you weren’t quite sure of his motivations or why, but there was something he was hiding in his actions (note: I’m never sure what pronouns to use here, for you had male actors playing female characters). This was the mark of a good performance. Rounding out the cast were Alex Bueno (resumé, FB) as Mime-a-saurus and Camryn Zelinger (FB) as Morgan Freeman, the Velociraptor of Science, and various unnamed dinosaurs.  Bueno performed well, although (a) I couldn’t figure out why there was a particular dinosaur that was a mime, and (b) I couldn’t always figure out what she was miming. Other than that (which was more of a book flaw), Bueno was fun to watch on stage, especially in her final scenes. Zelinger was also fun. This was especially true in her Freeman introductory exposition, as well as her wonderful rap number with Innocence.

Movement and music-wise, the production was excellent. The production was choreographed by Kelly Todd (FB), who designed  creative dances that used the stage — including the fences and the poles — to good effect. Musical direction was by Taylor Stephenson (FB), who also led (as Pianosaurus) the three-piece band consisting of Stephenson on keyboard, Ryan Navales (FB) (Guitarodactyl) on guitar, and Jorge Zuniga (FB) (Percussodon) on percussion. The band provided great sound (I’ve always liked the live music at the Chance), and I particularly enjoyed the interactions between Pianosaurus and the remainder of the cast.

Turning to the technical (and I’ll note there were a few glitches I’ve written off to it being a preview performance): The scenic design by Joe Holbrook (FB) [assisted by Karrah Marie Spitznagel/FB] was relatively simple: a cave-like structure, some electrified fencing, with the musicians at the top of the structure. It worked well, although I couldn’t figure out the purpose of the ropes at various places. Lighting was by Matt Schleicher (FB) was very effective — it made good use of what I think were scrollers, as well as a number of LED lights and conventional lights. The sound design by Ryan Brokdin (FB) worked well, modulo the preview glitches. I particularly liked the deep-bass dinosaur roars. I’ll also note that Ryan worked on one of my recent faves, A Mulholland Christmas Carol, although he didn’t list it in his bio.  The costumes, which I’ve previously mentioned (and you can see here), were designed by Anthony Tran.  We’ve seen Tran’s work previously at the Colony for Year Zero. He did a great job here, with costumes that provided the suggestion of saur-i-ness without being overly limiting. Stage (or should I say Satge) Management was by Christopher Ramirez (FB), assisted by Jules Fugett/FB. The Executive Producer of Triassic Parq – The Musicalwas Mary Kay Fyda-Mar (FB).

“Triassic Parq-The Musical” continues at The Chance Theatre through February 24. It is well worth seeing, whereever you live in Southern California.  Tickets are available through Ovation-Tix, and may be available through Goldstar and LA Stage Tix. Chance has an interesting season this year with good pricing (as low as $45 for all 4 mainstage shows); alas,  they are a bit far away for us to subscribe). Their 2013 season consists of Triassic Parq (1/25-2/24), The Laramie Project/The Laramie Project: 10 Years Later (4/18-5/19), Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson (7/5/8/4)*, and Time Stands Still (9/27-10/20). The Holiday series is The Secret Garden-The Musical (11/15-12/29) and The Eight: Reindeer Monologues (11/25-12/23). [*: Note: BBAJ was just announced the 2013 season of DOMA, running 10/18-11/24, if you don't want to drive]. As for us…

Upcoming Theatre and Concerts:   Next week sees us back at REP East for the “25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee“.  February 9 is “Backbeat” at the Ahmanson. February 16 brings “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown” at Cabrillo Music Theatre, and the last weekend of February is “The Snake Can” at the Odyssey Theatre (based on an ad that caught Karen’s eye in the latest Footlights). March starts with “I’ll Be Back Before Midnight” at the Colony. After a break for Fogcon (although I may do something here), theatre picks up with “Catch Me If You Can” at Broadway LA/Pantages on March 16 and “Boeing Boeing” at REP East on March 23. March may also bring “End of the Rainbow” at the Ahmanson, most likely on March 30. April will bring the Southern California Renaissance Faire (huzzah for the $15 Holidazzle sale), “Grease” at Cabrillo Music Theatre, and a winetasting at Temple Ahavat Shalom. May is also busy, with two concerts — Elton John in Las Vegas on May 4, and (tentative) Michael Feinstein at VPAC on May 11. May may also bring “Falling for Make Believe” at The Colony Theatre, “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, (tentative), Sweet Charity“ at DOMA, and the Western Corps Connection at the end of the month. 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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Over 10 years ago, Bill Robens had an inspired idea to create a musical that combined the well-known Dickens’ story “A Christmas Carol” (I particularly like this musicalized version) with the story of William Mulholland. The result, “A Mulholland Christmas Carol“, was introduced to Los Angeles in 2002, and has played annually at various theatres (including Sacred Fools and Theatre of Note (FB)). Last night, we caught the penultimate performance of the 2012 edition at Theatre of Note (FB), and were thoroughly delighted. Of course, we were lucky to not sit in the splash zone, for everyone knows that all dams leak.

Everyone is likely to be familiar with the story of “A Christmas Carol”. Scrooge, Bob Cratchit, visits from the ghosts of Christmas past, present, and future, all with the goal of bringing the joy of Christmas to the hard-hearted, parsimonious Ebenezer Scrooge. If for some reason you’ve been living under a rock, get the album of the concert version I linked earlier, see one of the various movie versions, or one of the innumerable stage productions that come out of the woodwork this time of year.

If you are not from Los Angeles, you are likely less familiar with the story of William Mulholland. Mulholland was an Irish immigrant with no formal engineering training. Coming to Los Angeles in 1878, Mulholland got a job cleaning out the Zanje Madre, the mother ditch that diverted water from the Los Angeles River to the growing city. Within 8 years, he had become superintendent of the Los Angeles Water Company, and retained that position after the city took over the water system when it created the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP). As the city grew, it needed more water than the river could provide. A corrupt former mayor, Fred Eaton, convinced the city to look northward to Inyo County and the communities of the Owens Valley near Bishop. Eaton, working the Bureau of Reclamation, bought up all the land in the area, selling it to the city to provide the land for the Owens Aqueduct. Other cities leaders, such as Harrison Grey Otis of the LA Times, Moses Sherman of the Pacific Electric, knew of the scheme and bought up land in the San Fernando Valley while promoting the aqueduct. Mulholland oversaw the the construction of the aqueduct (entirely gravity fed), which basically turned productive cropland in the Owens Valley into a dustbowl, providing water for LA at the expense of the eastern Sierra. Eaton also bought up land in Long Valley for a “cattle ranch”, and then offered to sell it to the city for $1 million when they needed it for a reservoir. Mulholland instead opted to build the reservoir at San Francisquito Canyon near Newhall. What he didn’t know was that the soil was unstable and he had built on an earthquake fault. When the dam collapsed in 1928, over 500 lives were lost, and William Mulholland was destroyed — both in terms of his career and mentally. [The city later went on to build a second aqueduct and decimate the Owens Valley more; it wasn't until the last couple of years that the city agreed to restore limited water flow to the area. Los Angeles has similarly siphoned water from the Colorado River and from Northern California through the California Water Project. Water wars shape the west.]

“A Mulholland Christmas Carol” combines these two stories into one: Mulholland becomes Scrooge, and the family of Harvey Van Norman (an Owens Valley engineer who was helping Mulholland) stands in for Cratchit’s family. Mulholland isn’t parsimonious with money; it is with water: refusing to give water to the parched Owens Valley for Christmas by opening the Alabama Gates, or even a cup for the beggar in the street. Even Tiny Tim is present, in the form of Van Norman’s adopted son, Poquito Pablito. The three ghosts are present as well: the first, John Wesley Powell (who is famous for discovering the Grand Canyon and Colorado River) gets the greatest part of the story: illustrating Mulholland’s history, his start as a ditch digger, his stint at the private Los Angeles Water Company where he informs them of the limitations of the water system with its wooden pipes and leaky dams (this is when the company owners sing “All Dams Leak”), the land grab for the aqueduct by Fred Eaton and others, the love of Mulholland for his wife, and the construction of the aqueduct. The ghost of Christmas Present is Teddy Roosevelt, showing Mulholland what life is like for the Van Norman family in the Owens Valley. He also introduces the two children, Urban Sprawl and Urban Decay, while echoing Mulholland’s words — “So you can’t live in the Owens Valley; don’t they accept immigrants in Barstow?”  The ghost of Christmas Future is an unnamed spectre as in the original; he shows Mulholland the collapse of the San Francisquito dam and Mulholland’s eventual destruction. As with the original story, Mulholland is eventually redeemed and doesn’t fill the San Francisquto. He opens the gates and restores the Owens Valley, leaving Los Angeles to remain the sleepy pueblo town it should always be. (if you hadn’t figured it out by now, the story is a little biased).

This combination works surprisingly well (and actually gets much of Mulholland’s story correct, except (of course) for the ending). It really does provide a great education regarding the water wars, and is a unique production among the many Christmas shows in Los Angeles this winter. Surprisingly, it has even played up in Inyo County and the Owens Valley where the LA DWP is still hated, and where until recently the Owens River was still dry. I’ll note the theatre plays up the story as well: not only do they sell a CD of the show ($10 at the theatre), but they sell bottles of “pure Owens Valley water” and dirty “LA Water”, Christmas ornaments, and all sorts of other stuff. Christmas a bullshit indeed!

Augmenting the story are music and lyrics by Bill Robens, with musical arrangements and direction by Bill Newlin (FB). The music has a bluegrass feel to it, and is performed by an onstage band using guitars, mandolins, banjos, a washtub bass, wooden boxes and other percussion instruments. For the most part, it is quite enjoyable. A few songs could use a little fine tuning and stronger singers.

With a count of seventeen (17), the cast for the show is extremely large, especially when you consider that it is performed in under-99 seat venues (the Theatre of Note space was set for 43).   I’ll also note that this production didn’t strive for intense realism in their performances; as with the case of A Christmas Carol, there is a melodramatic aspect to the story and performances were intentionally overplayed at times. In the lead positions were Christopher Neiman‡ (FB) as Old Mulholland and Trevor H. Olsen†‡ as Young Mulholland. Neiman’s Old Mulholland was well performed and played, although his singing voice didn’t quite have the strength or range of some of the other singers. This wasn’t that much of a detriment, as most of the songs were performed by the entire ensemble. Olsen’s Young Mulholland was quite strong in both the singing and performance department. He captured Mulholland’s youthful exuberance well, and had a pleasant singing voice.

All of the other performers played multiple characters throughout the performance. Some were more notable than others, although all were quite a treat to watch. The ensemble, as a whole, demonstrated something that I like to see in a cast: they thoroughly enjoyed doing this show, and that joy translated in the performance and out to an audience. They were not just going “through the moves”. They are all to be commended for doing this, and the director, Alina Phelen† (FB), deserves credit for bringing this out in her cast.

Anyway, now to highlight some ensemble members: Steven Biggs† (FB) (John Wesley Powell, Reporter #1, Rub) was a delight as John Wesley Powell (the ghost of Christmas Past), playfully bringing out Mulholland’s history. Similarly, Patrick McGowan (FB) (Teddy, Head Detective, Gov. George Pardee) gave a bully performance as Teddy Roosevelt (the ghost of Christmas Present), nailing his song that opened the second act. Stephen Simon†‡ (FB) (Fred Eaton, Peter Van Norman) was a delight as Fred Eaton, the Jacob Marley of the story who warned Mulholland of the ghosts and orchestrated the land grabs in the Owens and San Fernando valleys. Dan Wingard†‡ (FB) (Harvey Van Norman, Wilfred Watterson, Newsie 3) was notable for his comic timing, both as Harvey Van Norman (the Bob Cratchit of the story), as well as Wilfred Watterson, the owner of the Inyo County Bank. His behavior when he was arrested for embezzlement was delightful, channeling Jimmy Stewart in It’s a Wonderful Life. Also demonstrating strong comic timing were Genemichael Barrera (Harrison Gray Otis, Poquito Pablito, Newsie 2) and Kirsten Vangsness†‡ (FB) (Jenkins, Ellen Beech Yaw, Mary Van Norman). Although Barrera’s Otis could have been stronger, he was a comic joy as Poquito Pablito, including a wonderful Señor Wences voice. Vangness was mostly in the background as an unnamed female character, but she was notable for her comic performance as Yaw in the “Hail the Water” number, as well as her background mannerisms as Mary Van Norman.

Rounding out the ensemble were Christine Breihan‡ (FB) (Woman in Rags, Childs, Cockney Boy, Rae), Lauren Dobbins Webb (FB) (Boy, Charity Gal, Mary Austin, Martha Van Norman), Linda Graves†‡ (FB) (Well Woman, Aguilar, Nurse Jones), Lucy Griffin-Nemeth‡ (FB) (Melinda Van Norman, Lois, Newsie 1), David Guerra (Stafford Austin, Bob, Reporter 2), Brad C. Light†‡ (FB) (George K. Porter, Guard, Other Detective, Mayor Rose), Scott McKinley†‡ (FB) (Charity Guy, J. B. Lippincott, St. Francis), Lynn Odell†‡ (FB) (Mrs. Rube, Salesman, Mrs. Van Norman), Rebecca Sigl‡ (FB) (Lillie, Moses Sherman, Boy).
(† denotes members of Actors Equity; ‡ denotes members of SAG/AFTRA)

Also on stage were the musicians, playing a wide variety of instruments. On guitar were Chad Ellis (FB) (banjo as well), David Guerra (who was also one of the actors), and Bill Robens (FB). Percussion on a variety of instruments (including a wooden box) was provided by Gino Gamboa (FB). Richard McElroy/FB played the washtub bass.

Turning to the artistic staff. The production was directed by Alina Phelen†(FB), who did a great job of bringing out the enthusiasm and joy in her actors, and making the performances somewhat realistic (as much as anything in A Christmas Carol variant can be). Choreography was by Lindsay Martin (FB), who found wonderful ways to make movement and dance occur in the small Theatre of NOTE space. Musical direction and orchestrations were by Bill Newlin (FB) and worked well. Gwenmarie White (FB) was the assistant director.

Now to the technical. Theatre of NOTE has a small rectangular space. William Moore Jr.’s set design used the space well, with tiered benches along two sides for the actors. This was augmented by Misty Carlisle‘s (FB) props, David Chitwood/FB‘s graphics and Bryan Maier/FB‘s projections. Maier’s projections were particularly notable, providing reference graphics as well as pictures of the dam and aqueduct. Ryan Brodkin‘s (FB) sound design was also notable, providing appropriate water and background sounds to set the locale for the actions. Matt Richter‘s (FB) lighting was also effective, in particular the lights under the benches and throughout the audience.  Kelly Egan (FB) was the stage manager. “A Mulholland Christmas Carol” was produced by John Money/FB and Jenna Banko/FB.

Today is the last performance of “A Mulholland Christmas Carol” at Theatre of NOTE. Alas, it is old out. Hopefully, it will be back next year.

Upcoming Theatre and Concerts:  Our 2012 theatre year ends next week with Other Desert Cities at the Taper on December 29. (I”ll also note we’ll likely see the Les Miz movie on Christmas, followed (of course) by Chinese food). Turning to 2013… January starts with “Anything Goes” at the Ahmanson on January 6. January 12 is currently held for the MoTAS Shabbat, although I may book something in the evening. January 19 is currently open, as Erin returns to Berkeley the next day; supposedly, there may be an event at REP of interest that evening. January 26 is being held for the just announced production of Triassic Parq–The Musical at the Chance Theatre in Orange County. February will start with the first play of the REP season, “Putnam County Spelling Bee“.  February 9 is being held for “Backbeat” at the Ahmanson. February 16 brings “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown” at Cabrillo Music Theatre, and the last weekend of February is currently open. March starts with “I’ll Be Back Before Midnight” at the Colony. After a break for Fogcon (although I may do something here), theatre picks up with “Catch Me If You Can” at Broadway LA/Pantages on March 16 and “Boeing Boeing” at REP East on March 23. March may also bring “End of the Rainbow” at the Ahmanson, most likely on March 30. April will bring the Southern California Renaissance Faire (huzzah for the $15 Holidazzle sale), “Grease” at Cabrillo Music Theatre, and “To Kill a Mockingbird” at REP East. 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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Back in 1960 (shortly after I was born), a musical premiered off-Broadway. It ran, and continued running, for 42 years. It was then revived, and is still running today. However, although the show is long-running in New York, it hasn’t gotten that many Los Angeles productions. Last night, we were able to catch the penultimate performance of this show, “The Fantasticks“, at Theatre West in Hollywood.

The Fantasticks (book and lyrics by Tom Jones, music by Harvey Schmidt) is framed by one of the most beautiful exposition songs ever:

Try to remember the kind of September
When life was slow and oh, so mellow.
Try to remember the kind of September
When grass was green and grain was yellow.
Try to remember the kind of September
When you were a tender and callow fellow.
Try to remember, and if you remember,
Then follow.

Try to remember when life was so tender
That no one wept except the willow.
Try to remember when life was so tender
That dreams were kept beside your pillow.
Try to remember when life was so tender
That love was an ember about to billow.
Try to remember, and if you remember,
Then follow.

These two verses set you up for the story, which is a timeless story of love supposedly being told by a traveling group of actors. The story concerns two families: Bellomy and his 16 year old daughter Luisa, and Hucklebee and his 20 year old son, Matt. The fathers would like their children to fall in love and marry, but children never do what their parents tell them to do. So they concoct a feud between the families, and build a wall between their houses to drive the children together. To seal the deal, they hire a gallant young actor, El Gallo, to abduct the daughter (in the original version, this was referred to in the traditional sense as “rape”, but that word is no longer P/C) and permit the son to rescue her. This he does in the light of the moon, with the help of two actors, Henry and Mortimer. By the end of Act I, the lovers are together, and the fathers are happy. A perfect picture.

But what seems perfect in the moonlight often looks different in the bright sun. Act II brings the sun. El Gallo presents his bill, and the children learn of the deception. They decide they no longer are in love, and each goes their separate ways. Matt goes out into the world, where he learns the realities. Luisa has a fantasy romance with El Gallo, where they preview a series of romantic adventures through a mask of unreality, while in the background Matt is being abused and beaten by Henry and Mortimer portraying a series of unpleasant employers. Meanwhile, the parents bemoan that children are unlike gardens: with gardens, you “plant a radish, get a radish”, but with children, you never know what you are going to get. Matt eventually returns, and falls back in love with Luisa, this time for real.

Deep in December, it’s nice to remember,
Although you know the snow will follow.
Deep in December, it’s nice to remember,
Without a hurt the heart is hollow.
Deep in December, it’s nice to remember,
The fire of September that made us mellow.
Deep in December, our hearts should remember
And follow.

The last verse of “Try to Remember” makes the point of the story: “without a hurt, the heart is hollow”. The pure love of children is unrealistic and does not last. It is our experiences and hurts that deepen the love and affection. It is perhaps this point the clarifies why The Fantasticks is such a timeless musical.

The traditional staging ofThe Fantasticks is very simple. Actors trunks from which all props emerge. Simple stages. A mute who oversees everything and comments on the proceedings with her eyes and movements, nothing more. A piano and drum for music. It is an easy show for a theatre to stage — its success depends on the believability of the performances.

I’m pleased to say that Theatre West (FB, FB-Entity) mostly got it right. The director, Charlie Mount* (FB), assisted by Eliott Schwartz/FB, kept the focus on the simplicity of the story, and orchestrated the movement to emphasize that simplicity. He did a great job of helping the actors to develop the right expressions, which truly aided the story. As it should be, the director’s work faded into the background, so you became unaware of what was direction and what was the actor’s performance.

Serving as the narrator/El Gallo, Lukas Bailey* (FB) did a remarkable acting performance. I truly enjoyed watching his face, his movement, and his playfullness. His singing was pleasant, but not as powerful as my mind told me it should be (but then again, my mind is spoiled by the voice of the original El Gallo, Jerry Orbach).

As the fathers, Roger Kent Cruz* (FB) (Bellomy) and Steve Nevil* (FB) (Huckabee) were a perfect matched set. They had great comic moves (a number of other reviews compared the pair to Laurel and Hardy, and I think the comparison is apt, especially in terms of looks and movement). They could also sing quite well, as demonstrated in two of my favorite songs, “Never Say No” and “Plant a Radish”. They were just fun to watch.

The lovers were portrayed by Joey Jennings (Matt) and Molly Reynolds* (FB) (Luisa). Jennings had an easygoing charm that was infectuous. Reynolds was more graceful, but her playfulness came out in the number “This Plum is Too Ripe”. Both had beautiful singing voices.

Rounding out the cast were Lee Meriwether* as the Mute, Don Moss* (FB) as Henry, and Yancey Dunham (FB) at Mortimer. You would think a mute, whose primary role was to hand out props and hold up the wall, would be a minor role. But Meriwether actually made the show perfect. Her expressions, her movement, her wisdom that she conveyed were just perfect and served as a wonderful commentary. Lee Meriwether (who was once Catwoman — there, I said it) demonstrated that you don’t need words to do a superb acting job. Moss and Dunham portrayed the actors who helped the abduction, and then later waylaid Matt in the outside world. Moss did a wonderful portrayal of a Shakespearian actor in the decline of his career, and Dunham died beautifully. All were great.
[*: Member of Actors Equity]

The onstage musicians were not credited in the program (tsk, tsk), but the program does indicate that musical direction was by Graham Jackson. As is everything inThe Fantasticks, the music itself was simply presented: a piano and drummer on stage. It worked perfectly for the show.

Turning to the technical: The set design by Jeff G. Rack was appropriately simple: some trunks, some simple structures to serve as stages, and fabric. The lighting, by Yancey Dunham (FB), was very good. This was particularly notable in the “Round and Round” number with its effective use of red leikos. No credits are provided for sound design, props, costumes, or makeup. There likely was no sound design: I don’t recall any particular sound effects, and none of the actors required amplification. The props were well done and appeared magically. The costumes and makeup were appropriate. Eliott Schwartz/FB was the stage manager.

The last performance of “The Fantasticks” is today at 2pm. Ticketing information is available from the Theatre West website.

Upcoming Theatre and Concerts:  October brings some traveling for family with the bat-mitzvah of a cousin in Fresno, and Karen will be travelling for the Pacific International Quilt Festival in Santa Clara. Still, what’s a month without theatre, so… our next theatre in October is “American Fiesta” at the Colony Theatre on 10/13. This will be followed by “The Book of Mormon” at Broadway LA/The Pantages on 10/27, and “1776” at Cabrillo Music Theatre on 10/28. Continuing the look ahead: November will bring “Moonlight and Magnolias” at REP East, which is booked for the end of the month. It may also bring “Seminar” at The Ahmanson Theatre (still undecided on ticketing; another possibility is “Ruddigore” at the Sierra Madre Playhouse) and may bring a concert performance of Raul Esparza at VPAC, especially if Erin flies in for it (he’s singing on her birthday). Non-theatrically, it will also bring “Day Out with Thomas” at OERM (certainly on some or all of Veterans Day weekend – November 10-11). Lastly, to close out the year, December has nothing formally scheduled (other than ACSAC), but will likely bring “Anything Goes” at the Ahmanson, and may bring “Judy Collins” at VPAC. Starting the look into 2013. Currently nothing is scheduled for January, but that’s sure to change as REP announces its dates for the 2013 season. February brings “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown” at Cabrillo Music Theatre and “I’ll Be Back Before Midnight” at the Colony. It may also bring “Backbeat” at the Ahmanson. March will likely bring “Catch Me If You Can” at Broadway LA/Pantages. 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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People think of Hollywood as this liberal community, but is it really? There is often this image of Hollywood as accepting and full of gay actors, but is it really? Does the public accept gay actors in major action adventure roles? What would happen if a major action adventure actor (think an Arnold Schwarzenegger,  Tom Cruise or Bruce Willis type) were to be revealed as gay–what would happen to their career (for a clue, look at the recent kerfluffle over John Travolta)? These are the questions asked by a new musical, “Justin Love“ (FB), we saw yesterday afternoon at The Celebration Theatre in West Hollywood. Short summary: Interesting questions, and an interesting exploration of the subject that generally worked well. You can see some pictures from the production in this article from LA Stage Times.

“Justin Love” (book by Patricia Cotter (FB) and David Elzer (FB), story by David Elzer and Bret Calder) tells the story of Justin Rush (Adam Huss (FB)*), one of Hollywood’s most popular action-adventure actors. Justin is married to Amanda Bell (Carrie St. Louis (FB)+), a beautiful actress; and their 5 year marriage is constantly in the public eye. It also tells the story of Chris Andrews (Tyler Ledon (FB)), a young man newly arrived in Hollywood from Michigan; Chris came out as gay to his parents in High School, and has come to Hollywood to be a writer. In short order, Chris finds an apartment with a roommate/boyfriend, Donovan (Terrance Spencer (FB)*) and a temp job working for a publicist. In fact, he isn’t working for any publicist but for Justin’s publicist, Buck Ralston (Alet Taylor (FB)*), a demanding woman who chews through staff assistants. Having just fired the latest crop of assistants, Buck promotes Chris from Temp to Assistant.  Adding to the stress is the fact that Donovan has a new boyfriend, Syd (Grant Jordan (FB)*), and is not only having trysts in the apartment, but has convinced Chris to let both Donovan and Syd stay in the apartment.

Trouble begins when Justin arrives early for an appointment with Buck, and while reading lines, begins to be attracted to Chris. The feeling is mutual, and the two begin to date. Meanwhile, Amanda has bumped into one of the paparazzi, Mitch Matthews (Ciarán McCarthy (FB)*), who turns out to have (a) been attracted to her and (b) attended the same high school. The two relationships continue to grow and mature, until one night when the two couples bump into each other at Justin’s mansion. After some awkward moments, they separate, but not before Mitch takes a picture of Justin and Chris. Justin and Chris return to Chris’ apartment, where they bump into Donovan and Syd… who also take a picture, and just send it to one friend. Of course, the picture goes viral, and the rumor mill starts. Buck attempts to damp down the rumors, which destroys two real relationships while preserving the image of Justin and Amanda that the world demands. But does it? Will true love triumph in the end? Will the pubic accept it? [You probably know the answer, given that this is a musical, after all]

Looking at the story alone, I found it very compelling. It was well-written, and quickly drew the audience into caring about the characters and the relationships. I found myself thinking that this story would be effective even without the music, which is the sign of a well-written book. The story exhibited good character growth for all the major characters, each having their own distinct obstacles and arc to deal with. The story also included many highly topical and recent references, which highlighted the fact that the story is one that could be playing out today. Although those references added to the entertainment, keeping them up to date may prove difficult as the production solidifies over its lifetime. Also entertaining was the over-the-top portrayal of the publicist, Buck. Actually, I’m not sure whether it is over-the-top or realistic, given that one of the authors of Justin Love, David Elzer, is a major publicist in the Los Angeles theatre scene. Quite likely, he knows of which he writes — which makes the publicist’s portrayal even scarier as it is realistic! I’ll also note that Elzer’s experiences as a gay member of the Hollywood community provide significant coloration and experience to the story, providing the underlying truth that makes this story so effective.

If there was any weakness in the production, it was in the musicalization. I haven’t quite put my finger on the exact problem, but I do know that part of it was technical (which is discussed below). Setting that aside, I think that a minor problem with the music (by Lori Scarlett (FB)) and the lyrics (by Lori Scarlett (FB) and David Manning) was a perceived lack of variety. I say perceived because I think the problem was more the orchestration (by John Ballinger (FB)) than the actual music and lyrics. The small number of instruments and the lack of any brass made all the songs sound similar, even though a closer listen showed that not to be the case. This was a bit more of a problem in Act I due to the technical problem. There were a number of songs that were quite good: I was particularly taken with “The Light I See In You” and “Don’t Shit Where You Eat” in Act II, the closing “Hollywood Ending” number, and “Chasing the Story” and “Downey High” in Act I. Also hilarious was the Act II opening number, “When Your Love is New”, which had more fairy wings than a day at the Ren Faire, except that these were appropriate.

The performances in “Justin Love” were top-notch. The director, Michael Matthews (FB)**, did a great job of working with the actors to bring all the characters to life. The only directoral flaw was an artifact of the performance venue, where the audiences is seated on the sides as well as in front of the actors. For those on the side, much of the action (and a fair bit of the dialogue) was lost. The production would have been superb on a proscenium stage, so some minor directorial adjustments need to be made for Celebration’s thrust-stage layout.

However, as I said, the acting was great. In the leading tier of actors were Adam Huss (FB)* as Justin Rush, Tyler Ledon (FB)  as Chris Andrews, and Alet Taylor (FB)* as Buck Ralson. This was our first time seeing Huss — he gave a wonderfully effective portrayal of Justin, making Justin believable as a normal guy in an artificial world, discovering who he wants to be, what he wants out of life, and how he wants to get there. He could sing and dance well, and was fun to watch. We’d seen Ledon before in “The Robber Bridegroom“, and he was very effective here as well. You could see that he enjoyed this role. He did a great job of bringing Chris to life — a midwestern boy new to love and the Hollywood rat race and artificiality. Again, he was a strong singer and dancer as well. We particularly get to see the strong singing of these two men in the number “The Light I See In You”. Taylor is a regular on the LA Theatre scene — we’ve seen her at ICT, NoHo Arts, and Cabrillo, and she is great in everything she is in. Her character here is very strong willed and bitchy, and she pulls that off quite well. Her singing and dancing are great, and are best seen in the “Don’t Shit Where You Eat” number.

In the supporting tier of actors were Carrie St. Louis (FB)+ as Amanda Bell, Ciarán McCarthy (FB)* as Mitch Matthews, Terrance Spencer (FB)* as Donovan (and others), and Grant Jordan (FB)* as Syd (and others).  I was particularly smitten by St. Louis’ Amanda: she was lovely and personable, and just seemed to be a normal person trapped in a world that exploded around her far too fast. She played well off of McCarthy’s Mitch, making the two a believable couple. Furthermore, you could tell these two actors were just having fun with their roles — this is something I like to see and something that the audience feeds off of. They sang well, particularly in the “Downey High” number. We haven’t seen St. Louis or McCarthy before, but I do hope to see them again on LA stages. Spencer and Jordan seemed to be more of a comic relief duo (in particular Jordan). This runs the risk of being overdone, but these two did it perfectly (at points, in fact, seeming making the other actors chuckle). A cute playful couple, especially in Jordan’s use of stereotypical and colorful phrases. We have seen Spencer before in Twist at the Pasadena Playhouse, and he put his great dancing skills to good use in this performance as well. Jordan was very good with the comedy timing.

Rounding out the cast in smaller roles and ensemble positions were Afton Quast (FB)* as Sue (and others), Gina Torrecilla (FB)* as Mary Price (and others), Travis Leland (FB)+ as Lou (and others), Sabrina Miller (FB)* (Ensemble), and Adam Joseph Reich (FB)* (Ensemble). All were strong and seemed to be enjoying being in this production. Quast and Torrecilla especially seemed to be having fun as the “hosts” of ET-type programs. As I’ve been noting who we’ve seen before, we can add Miller (who we saw in Cabrillo’s Guys and Dolls), Reich (Cabaret at REP East), and Leland (Adding Machine at Odyssey).
(*: Member of Actor’s Equity; +: Member of Actor’s Equity Membership Candidate Program; **: Member of Stage Directors and Choreographers Society; ***: Member of United Scenic Artists)

The choreography by Janet Roston (FB) (assisted by Jackie Hinton (FB)) used the small space quite well, and was very effective in numbers such as “Chasing the Story” and “Don’t Shit Where You Eat”. The onstage (but behind scenery) band was under the musical direction of Gregory Nabours (FB). The band consisted of Nabours on keyboard, J. J. Brown on bass, Brian Cannady/FB on drums, and David Lee on guitar. The size of the band was obviously constrained by the production limitations, but this production would be improved by a greater variety of instrumentation (in particular, brass and winds) and more variety in the orchestration. Additionally, for those seated on the side (as we were, seemingly in front of the keyboard), the volume of the band often made it difficult to hear the lyrics. This was likely a sound-balance problem and may improve over the run. Ryan Bergmann (FB) and June Carryl (FB) served as assistant directors.

As mentioned before, the sound balance needs to be improved. I’m sure that, for those sitting in front of the actors, the sound design by Cricket S. Myers (FB)*** was great. On the sides, it was often difficult to hear the actors, especially over the music. Hopefully this will be corrected by adjusting the amplification and micing during the run. Other than the balance problem, the sound design and effects worked well. The lighting by Tim Swiss (FB) (assisted by Zack Lapinski (FB)) was effective and established the mood well. Also effective were the projection designs by Jason H. Thompson (FB)*** (assisted by Kaitlyn Pietras (FB)): these did a wonderful job of establishing the mood, and I loved how they weren’t static but incorporated movement of the actors. The scenic design by Stephen Gifford (FB)*** was effective and simply, conveying the locations without being overdone (which worked well on the small stage); this was supported by the properties design of Michael O’Hara. The costumes (designed by Naila Aladdin Sanders (FB)) worked particularly well, especially those for Amanda, Justin, and Chris. The technical direction by Matthew Brian Denman (FB) held it all together, as did the stage management of Marcedes Clanton (FB), assisted by Rebecca Eisenberg (FB).

“Justin Love“ continues at The Celebration Theatre through at least November 18. Tickets are available through the Celebration Box Office (Vendini) or by calling (393) 957-1884, and may be available through Goldstar Events, LA Stage Alliance, and Plays411 (join to get discount codes). The production is well worth seeing and I hope it has a long life.

Upcoming Theatre and Concerts:  For the last weekend in September, we’ve decided to avoid Carmageddon II by going north to Saugus to see “Sherlock Holmes: The Final Adventure” at REP East on September 29. October brings some traveling for family with the bat-mitzvah of a cousin in Fresno, and Karen will be travelling for the Pacific International Quilt Festival in Santa Clara. Still, what’s a month without theatre, so… October will start out with “The Fantasticks“ at Theatre West on 10/6. That will be followed by “American Fiesta” at the Colony Theatre on 10/13, “The Book of Mormon” at Broadway LA/The Pantages on 10/27, and “1776” at Cabrillo Music Theatre on 10/28. Continuing the look ahead: November will bring “Moonlight and Magnolias” at REP East, which is booked for the end of the month. It may also bring “Seminar” at The Ahmanson Theatre (still undecided on ticketing; another possibility is “Ruddigore” at the Sierra Madre Playhouse) and may bring a concert performance of Raul Esparza at VPAC, especially if Erin flies in for it (he’s singing on her birthday). Non-theatrically, it will also bring “Day Out with Thomas” at OERM (certainly on some or all of Veterans Day weekend – November 10-11). Lastly, to close out the year, December has nothing formally scheduled (other than ACSAC), but will likely bring “Anything Goes” at the Ahmanson, and may bring “Judy Collins” at VPAC. 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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