reviews-2015 – Page 4 – Observations Along the Road

The Odd Man Out

Posted onSaturday, August 8, 2015Authorcahwyguy

userpic=colony When you are talking about situational humor, you can never go wrong with a situation that involves an odd man out, or as they taught on Sesame Street: “Which one of these things is not like the other?” This is the premise of the current show, The Fabulous Lipitones, at The Colony Theatre (FB), which we saw last night on a rescheduled ticket.

The Fabulous Lipitones (written by John Markus and Mark St. Germain) tells the story of a barbershop quartet in small town Ohio (London, Ohio). They had just finished qualifying for the nationals in Reno when their lead singer dropped dead of a heart attack (leading to the first joke of the show). The remaining members: Howard Dumphy (a home caretaker for his wife), Wally Smith (a pharmacist), and Phil Rizzardi (owner of an exercise and tanning studio) have to decide what to do: break up the group, or find a new lead. After some internal bickering about what direction they want to take the group now that their lead is gone, a fortunate call on speakerphone leads them to an employee of a nearby auto shop: Bob, who has a wonderful singing voice. When they ask him over to audition, they discover the truth: His full name is Baba Mati Singh, and he is a Sikh. As they say on the elevator, hilarity then ensues.

At this point, many stereotypes kick in. Bob has to explain the difference between Sikhism and Islam, while dealing with a group member who is a closet racist. The group is also dealing with the cultural differences between grey-haired pasty white men and a sikh from India. So insert all your “your a terrorist”, “it’s a ceremonial knife”, and such here.

But the thing about situation comedy — and the reason it has been so successful all these years — is that it is funny. It isn’t deep; it isn’t necessarily thought provoking. It is a pleasant way of passing a few hours with your fellow humans, laughing away at the funny situation. Don’t go looking for a classic farce; don’t go looking for a deep and sophisticated comedy. This is broad situation comedy, and it works. Who knows — as this is the California premier, maybe a TV executive will see this and decide to make a TV series out of it. It could be an improvement over many shows currently out there.

As usual with the Colony, the performances are top notch. John Racca (FB) plays Howard Dunphy. The interest aspect here is that Racca actually injured his leg after the first performance, and is walking with a cane. Although not part of the character conception, it fits the character well (even if it does mean he must exit stage left to go upstairs). Racca gives a very personable characterization of the character, including the wishy-washy nature of his decisions, and has a lovely voice. Steve Gunderson (FB) plays Wally Smith, a 60-something virginal druggist who really wants to keep the group together — giving the impression that this is his only outlet. Again, wonderful comic timing and singing voice. Dennis Holland plays Phil Rizzardi, the fitness buff of the group who really wants to walk away from Barbershop because it is so out of date. He’s also the racist of the group. Again, he has a great voice.

This brings us to the odd man out: Baba Mati Singh (Bob), played by Asante Gunewardena (FB). Asante plays the fish out of water well, and had the comic timing to hold his own against the old men. Again, a lovely singing voice — and more importantly, a singing voice that blended well with all the others to form a great Barbershop Quartet.

Additional voices credited in the program were provided by Larry Cedar (FB) and Kevin Symons (FB).

The production was directed by John Markus (FB) (one of the authors). The direction worked well — the director not only knows the story well but how to direct sitcoms — and was designed to bring out the humor in the situations. What was interesting was how the direction had to adapt to the aforementioned actors’ injury.

In addition to a number of traditional barbershop numbers, there was original music by Randy Courts, with lyrics by Mark St. Germain. Musical direction was by Sam Kriger, with Choreography by Murphy Cross (FB).

The scenic design by David Potts was different than I’ve seen before for the Colony — a curtain in front of the main scenic area, with a few scenes played out before the curtain. It was clear that this production was written with a proscenium stage in mind and was adapted for thrust. Still, the scenic design itself worked well to establish place, especially when combined with the properties design and set dressing of Colony regular John McElveney (FB), and the scenic art of newly-engaged Colony regular Orlando de la Paz. The lighting design by Bill E. Kickbush worked well to establish the place and scene, and the sound design by Drew Dalzell (FB) was what a good sound design should be: unnoticable. The costumes by Dianne K. Graebner (FB) fit the characters well, although my wife had some potential considers about the Sikh costumes. Remaining production credits: Art Brickman (Production Stage Manager); Patricia Cullen (Casting Director); David Elzer/Demand PR (Public Relations). The Colony is under the artistic direction of Barbara Beckley.

The Fabulous Lipitones continues at The Colony Theatre (FB) through August 23. Tickets are available through the Colony website. Discount tickets are available through Goldstar. Although it is isn’t anything deep, the show is an enjoyable way to spend a night out together with someone you love, laughing away.

Ob. Disclaimer: I am not a trained theatre critic; I am, however, a regular theatre audience member. 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 am not compensated by anyone for doing these writeups in any way, shape, or form. I subscribe at three theatres: REP East (FB), The Colony Theatre (FB), and Cabrillo Music Theatre (FB). Through my theatre attendance I have made friends with cast, crew, and producers, but I do strive to not let those relationships color my writing (with one exception: when writing up children’s production, I focus on the positive — one gains nothing except bad karma by raking a child over the coals). 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 Shows: The rest of this weekend is concerts: our summer Mus-ique show on Saturday, and Concerts on the Green in Warner Park (with a Neil Diamond cover band) on Sunday. The third weekend of August is calmer, but only because we moved theatre off the weekend because my wife is driving my daughter’s car back to the bay area. As for me, I might very well go back to see the revised “Jesus Christ Superstar” at REP East (FB) — they are returning to have live music and I expect that will make a significant difference. The third week of August may see us back at REP East (FB) for their “secret seventh show”, which has been revealed to be “A Company of Wayward Saints“. After that we’ll need a vacation … but then again we might squeeze in Evita at the Maui Cultural Center (FB) the last weekend of August. September starts with Tom Paxton’s last concert at McCabes (FB) on September 12, followed by right now is mostly open, with the only ticketed show being “The Diviners” at REP East (FB) and a hold-the-date for “First Date” at The La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts (FB). October will bring another Fringe Festival: the NoHo Fringe Festival (FB). October also has the following as ticketed or hold-the-dates: CSUN’s Urinetown (end of October – 10/30 or 11/1); “The Best of Enemies” at The Colony Theatre (FB) (Ticketed for Sat 10/10); and “Damn Yankees” at Cabrillo Music Theatre (FB) (Ticketed for Sat 10/17). 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.

An Old Chestnut, Made Fresh Again

Posted onMonday, August 3, 2015Tuesday, August 4, 2015Authorcahwyguy

userpic=dramamasks Green grow the lilacs, all sparkling with dew,
It’s a familiar tale that you thought you knew,
What’s Oklahoma! now was once much more true,
Green Grow the Lilacs will win over you

Last May, Cabrillo Music Theatre announced its 2014-2015 season: Memphis, Company, Mary Poppins, and Oklahoma!. None of which I was interesting in seeing — especially yet another production of Oklahoma!.† I’ve seen Oklahoma! far too many times, both on the stage and on the screen. Yes, it was a seminal musical back in 1943, but today it seems tired. Yet when Theatricum Botanicum (FB) announced their season, I was excited to see Green Grow the Lilacs as part of the repertoire. Oklahoma! you see with regularity. But Green Grow the Lilacs — the play with music upon which Oklahoma! was based — you don’t see that often (after all, it only had 64 performances on Broadway). So, after a little rain delay, and a week after Cabrillo closed their very successful production of Oklahoma!, we were back for a second show at Theatricum Botanicum (FB) — Lynn Riggs’ Green Grow the Lilacs.
[†: Luckily, Cabrillo redeemed themselves with the 2015-2016 season, and we’re back as subscribers]

If you are familiar with Oklahoma!, you’re familiar with the basic plot of Green Grow the Lilacs. The cowboy Curly McClain is interested in the farmgirl Laurey Williams, who is living with her Aunt Eller Murphy in Indian Territory (eventually Oklahoma) in 1900. She’s interested in him but doesn’t want to show it, because their farmhand, Jeeter Fry, a large and potentially violent man, is interested in her and she’s scared of what will happen if she breaks it off. She has accepted an invitation to a dance party with Jeeter, making Curly take Aunt Eller. There is a comic subplot involving Ado Annie Carnes and a Syrian peddler. At the party, Jeeter makes unwanted sexual advances towards Laurey, and she runs him off. Curly proposes, and they get married. That evening, their friends drag them to the barn for the wedding night, but Jeeter shows up and sets the barn on fire. He fights with Curly, and ends up landing on his own knife. Curly is still taken away for trial. He escapes jail to return to see Laurey, but promises to go back the next morning.

If you are familiar with Oklahoma!, you’ll see some significant similarities and differences (if not, read this and come back). Some of the language was translated almost verbatim into song and dialogue, particularly the dialogue about the surrey with the fringe. However, there are significant changes in plots and subplots. In the main plot, the biggest change is the timeline and the fact that the final verdict is never rendered. There are no other girls Curly flirts with; there’s no jealousy involved. There’s no bidding on baskets. However, there are scenes that are almost directly translated into songs in the musical. The Ado Annie subplot is completely different. She’s much more timid and unsure about sex; there’s no Will Parker onstage at all. She’s there primarily as a friend for Laurie — mirroring almost the same relationship as the one between Rosalind and Celia in As You Like It. My wife commented that the story is much less centered on Laurey and Curly, and much more centered on Aunt Eller and her strength in holding things together. I’d tend to agree.

The music, of course, is completely different. GGtL features much traditional folk music: songs like Get Along Little Doggies, Old Paint, Green Grow the Lilacs, Careless Love, Skip To My Lou, Down in the Valley, and another song to the same tune as Frozen Logger. These are accompanied by the actors on the stage, almost all of who play instruments. There were numerous guitars, a banjo, an accordion, a harmonica, and various percussion devices including a washtub bass. The rendition of Careless Love was particularly beautiful and harmonious. For someone like me who loves folk music, this was a delight. In fact, I tended to like the original folk music much much more than the material Rodgers and Hammerstein developed.

To me, knowing both shows, I actually preferred Green Grow the Lilacs. The indeterminate ending seemed to feel right, the characters had the right complications to their characters. R&H simplified things and upped the humor, but sometimes the more gentle humor works better. The dialogue had a very midwestern feel to it, with loads of folk aphorisms and sayings, and midwestern behavior. The directoral team was the same as for the previous day’s As You Like It — director Ellen Geer (FB) assisted by Jonathan Blandino/FB, and they did a wonderful job of bringing out the folksy in the characters, as well as the realism. I particularly remember watching the faces of the actors, which were mesmerizing throughout.

Green Grow The Lilacs - Publicity Stills The acting was top right — especially when you consider that the same lead actresses had leading roles in the previous day’s As You Like It, where they played Rosalind, Cellia, and Jaques. How they remember all the dialogue astounds me. Our lead couple was Willow Geer (FB) [Laurey Williams] and Jeff Wiesen (FB) [Curly McClain]. Geer had a lovely charm about her, a friendliness and folkishness that made her perfect for the character. Her performance was wonderful — she was one of the faces I couldn’t stop watching — and her singing was delightful. She also played the banjo very well (but there’s more money in acting 🙂 ). Wiesen had a lovely singing voice and created a great character as Curly — you could see why Laurey loved him.

Aunt Eller was portrayed by Melora Marshall (FB); yesterday’s Jaques. Here she changed from a grizzed war veteran to a grizzed farmer who was worldly wise from experience. Again, she gave a wonderful portray, and combined that with lovely singing and performance on a multitude of stringed instruments (I saw guitar and autoharp).

The subplot couple was portrayed by Elizabeth Tobias (FB) [Ado Annie] and Zachary Davidson (FB) as the Peddler. Tobias was wonderful comic relief — in some ways similar to her As You Like It role, and was fun to watch in the second act when she was working on sewing, or her comic walking with the garters. Davidson was similarly humorous, especially when he was hiding or jumping around trying to sell things.

The remaining major character was Steven B. Green (FB)’s Jeeter Fry. Green gave Fry the appropriate menace the character required.

Rounding out the cast in smaller named roles and ensemble parts were: Leo Knudson [Old Man Peck], John Manahan [Man], Wendy Pigott/FB [Cory Elam], and in the ensemble: Dimitri Aleman Jones, Tate Ammons (FB), Olivia Buntaine (FB) , Carina Cherbosque (FB), Caitlin Durkin, Arielle Fodor (FB), Devin Holliman (FB), Kathleen Leary/FB, Kendall Linzee (FB), Victoria Yvonne Martinez (FB), Jay Sosnicki (FB), Schyler Tillett/FB, and Alexander Wauthier/FB. Understudies were Anahi Bustillos (FB) and Colin Simon (FB). I also think I saw Cameron Rose (FB) in the cast (I recognized him from As You Like It).

Turning to the technical side: there was much more scenic design than in As You Like It. There were numerous set pieces and properties, under the direction of property master Erin Walley. As her link shows she is a set designer, I’m guessing she did that as well. The Sound Design by Ian Flanders (FB) was much more noticeable, as there were numerous sound effects. In fact, I almost thought the noise of all the crickets was a sound effect as well — they were that good. Lighting was by Zach Moore/FB, and was mostly white. The costume designer was Randy Hozian, and was quite effective and seemingly appropriate for the period. Kim Cameron/FB was the stage manager, assisted by Jackie Nicole (FB).

Green Grow The Lilacs continues in repertory with As You Like It, A Midsummers Night Dream, To Kill a Mockingbird, and August:Osage County at Theatricum Botanicum (FB) through September 26. There appears to be two shows most weekend, usually at 7:30 PM (except 8/16 at 3:30 PM). Tickets are available through the Theatricum Box Office. Discount tickets appear to be available through Goldstar. This is well worth seeing — you don’t see the real Oklahoma every day. It is also wonderful if you love folk music.

Upcoming Shows: Next weekend is busy, with “The Fabulous Lipitones” at The Colony Theatre (FB) on Friday, our summer Mus-ique show on Saturday, and Concerts on the Green in Warner Park (with a Neil Diamond cover band) on Sunday. The third weekend of August is calmer, but only because we moved theatre off the weekend because my wife is driving my daughter’s car back to the bay area. As for me, I might very well go back to see the revised “Jesus Christ Superstar” at REP East (FB) — they are returning to have live music and I expect that will make a significant difference. The third week of August may see us back at REP East (FB) for their “secret seventh show”, which has been revealed to be “A Company of Wayward Saints“. After that we’ll need a vacation … but then again we might squeeze in Evita at the Maui Cultural Center (FB) the last weekend of August. September starts with Tom Paxton’s last concert at McCabes (FB) on September 12, followed by right now is mostly open, with the only ticketed show being “The Diviners” at REP East (FB) and a hold-the-date for “First Date” at The La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts (FB). October will bring another Fringe Festival: the NoHo Fringe Festival (FB). October also has the following as ticketed or hold-the-dates: CSUN’s Urinetown (end of October – 10/30 or 11/1); “The Best of Enemies” at The Colony Theatre (FB) (Ticketed for Sat 10/10); and “Damn Yankees” at Cabrillo Music Theatre (FB) (Ticketed for Sat 10/17). 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.

This Wide and Universal Theatre

Posted onSunday, August 2, 2015Authorcahwyguy

userpic=yorick “All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players; and one man in his time plays many parts…”

These are the words of William Shakespeare (perhaps you’ve heard of him) in his play “As You Like It“. I actually hadn’t realized this play was the source, as I’m not a Shakespeare scholar. In fact, the only play I had ever walked out of was an incredibly bad production of As You Like It (titled As U Lyk It: A California Concoction) at the Pasadena Playhouse in 2006. The production of As You Like It at the Theatricum Botanicum (FB) [which I saw yesterday], on the other hand, redeemed this play for me. It is fun and delightful, well-performed and updated well by not attempting to update it. I had a few minor quibbles, but for the most part I enjoyed this production thoroughly.

If you are not familiar with the basic story of As You Like It, well… neither was I. Luckily, I was able to obtain a one page synopsis of the show and read it beforehand — this helped immensely as it is difficult for those unfamilar with iambic pentameter to pick out everything that is being said. You can find a reasonably good and understandable summary of the plot at No Sweat Shakespeare, the Cliff Notes summary is also good. For the TL;DR generation, the Shakespeare Resource Center has a short and sweet summary. This is one of Shakespeare’s comedies (like Two Gentlemen of Verona), meaning that there is lots of convolutions and humor, and everyone ends up married and happy in the end. In this case you have Rosalind and her close friend Celia disguising themselves and running off to the forest, and her love Orlando not recognizing her and pretending to woo her as if she was her. It may sound silly, but it was the convention of the time and well, umm, just go with it. If you don’t like it, you can always see the musical Omlette.

Shakespeare, unlike perhaps any other playwright, has this unique ability to have his plays translated in time (and not necessarily translated in word) to other places and times. Thus West Side Story is Romeo and Juliet translated to 1950s New York, and The Lion King is a translation of Hamlet. Translations don’t always work, as demonstrated by the 2006 translation of As You Like It to the Mojave Desert. This production does a very light translation of As You Like It to the days of the Civil War. A few words of the original are changed (primarily titles and the name of a character or two), and songs are sometimes replaced with songs from the Civil War era (I know I heard at least one Stephen Foster tune). Otherwise, times are suggested by a uniform here and there. For the most part this works, but in some areas it is quite distracting. For example, the couple of William and Audrey are presented as an interracial couple (something that would never have been permitted — at least out in public — in the South). Duke Senior is presented as the ostensible leader of a Confederate army band; again, the likelihood of mixed races there would have been low. Lastly, many of the costumes were not of the Civil War era — they were Renaissance costumes of the cotton weave and style as would be found in Elizabethan era peasantwear. I don’t think any of these were fatal flaws; at worst, they were distractions that could have been easily corrected if there was awareness (hell, if William had been black, the suspension of disbelief to have a black couple as part of Senior’s band would have been much easier). I truly like the notion of translating this to the Civil War timeframe — it is one of the reasons I wanted to see this production. I hope that future productions can figure out the way to explore the translation a bit more fully (even if that might mean doing a bit more adaption of the words).

The director, Ellen Geer (FB), assisted by Jonathan Blandino/FB, does a great job of making the production work in the specific natural space that is the Theatricum stage. It is as if the director grew up in that space (oh, right, she did) in the way she utilizes the sides, the hills, and the natural setting to strong effect. She also helped the characters, who do not have much characterization in the Shakespeare original, figure out who they are and what their personalities are like. This appeared to help the actors to truly enjoy performing this play; I have long felt that an actor that enjoys the role translates and unconsciously broadcasts that joy to the audience. The audience, in turn, amplifies the joy and returns it to the actor. This creates a feedback loop that can turn a well known story into a spectacular performance, and I believe the production at Botanicum does just that.

In the main tier positions in this production were Willow Geer (FB) as Rosalind, Elizabeth Tobias (FB) as Celia, and Colin Simon (FB) as Orlando. Geer’s Rosalind/Ganymede was playful and joyous, believable as the character and just fun to watch. Particularly memorable was her playfulness in Act III, Scene II, where Silvius is chasing Pheobe, Phebe is chasing Ganymede (Rosalind), Orlando is chasing Rosalind, and Ganymede (Rosalind) is trying to disavow Phebe without revealing herself to be Rosalind. She had a great interplay with Tobias’ Celia/Aliena, who played the cover role as sister and friend well. Tobias showed the depth of the character more in the transition from the girlish Celia to the girlish (but in a different way) Aliena. Lastly, in this tier, was Simon’s Orlando as the outcast son of the de Boys family. He had the handsomeness and the brawn to be convincing in the wrestling match with Charles, but also had the playfulness to handle the interplay with Ganymede (Rosalind) in a believable fashion.

In the second tier roles were Gerald C. Rivers (FB) as Touchstone, the jester who accompanies Rosalind and Celia in their trek to the forest; Melora Marshall (FB) as Jaques, the melancholy officer loyal to General Senior (Duke Senior), and Earnestine Phillips (FB) as Aida, the faithful servant to Orlando. River’s Touchstone was an interesting jester, who came into his own after the intermission in his interactions with Audrey. He also had some of the best commentary on lying and observations of people, and was in general quite fun to watch. Marshall’s Jaques (doing a common repertory gender-bending) got some of the more fun observational speeches; he interacted well with both General Senior as well as with Simon’s Orlando. Phillips’ Aida represented one of the more interesting character transformations in the story. Orlando’s traditional manservant, Adam, was transformed into a Mammy-ish characterization who accompanied Orlando. It wasn’t a Mammy characterization, and it wasn’t quite the expected slave portrayal due to independence and the relationship with Orlando, but it provided enough evocation through implication to work well. Whatever the intent, Phillips played it well.

In terms of the the third tier and supporting roles, there are a few worthy of special note. Cameron Rose (FB)’s Silvius and Christine Breihan (FB)’s Phebe had an interesting interplay. Rose (normally playing William) had an interesting look as Silvius and handled the apparent love for Phebe well; Phebe, in turn, had a wonderful puppy attraction to Ganymede (Rosalind) that worked well. Crystal Clark was an especially bubbly and endearing Audrey; her interplay during the opening announcements was extra funny. As I noted earlier, her relationship with William (Clint Blakely/FB at our performance) was unrealistic given the stated setting of the show; other than that, her performance was just fun to watch. Thad Geer‘s General Senior was suitably paternalistic and friendly; I didn’t even realize that it was the same actor playing the evil brother, General Frederick. That said something about how one man was able to do two distinct characters. As Orlando’s foil, Oliver, Frank Weidner (FB) gave a fine Southern portrayal, and had the look of a Southern gentleman. His turnaround at the end worked quite well. Lastly, as Le Beau, Robbie Allen (FB) (moving up from the Ensemble) laid on the French accent a bit thick, but worked well in a humorous fashion. His appearance, however, as part Senior’s band (with the tall stave) seemed out of place. Rounding out the cast in smaller and ensemble roles were: Tate Ammons (FB) [Lord 2, Ensemble]; Olivia Buntaine (FB) [Hesperia, Ensemble]; Steve Fisher (FB) [Charles, the wrestler]; Leo Knudson [Corin]; John Manahan [Sir Oliver Matext]; Jackie Nicole (FB) [Rebel Soldier, Ensemble]; Gray Schierholt/FB [Lord 1, Jaques deBoys]; Caitlin Stegemoller (FB) [Hyman]; Jason Whisman (FB) [Amiens], Clayton Cook (FB) [Ensemble], Vladimir Noel/FB [Ensemble], Michael Zachary Tunstill (FB) [Ensemble], and Michelle Wicklas/FB [Ensemble].

Period music was provided by the actors themselves, and no particular credit is in the program. I do remember that Melora Marshall (FB) was on guitar, and Gerald C. Rivers (FB) did some level of drumming (which isn’t a surprise if you look at his webpage). Additionally, I recall seeing a ukulele, harmonica, accordion/concertina, and a melodica on stage. There is no list of songs.

Turning to the technical side, well, there wasn’t that much of a technical side. The production utilized the Theatricum multilevel stage with no real set pieces, with any additional place established by props (Kristina Teves was Properties Master). Sound Design was by Ian Flanders (FB), but there were no obvious sound effects nor amplification, so I presume this was the period music. Lighting was by Zach Moore/FB, although our production had mostly natural light. The costume designer was Amy Mazzaferro; this area was my other quibble. Whereas some costumes worked well (the Generals, Jaques, Ganymede/Rosalind, Oliver, Orlando), many of the others looked more renaissance than antibellum. Elna Kordijan (FB) was the stage manager, assisted by Karen Osborne (FB).

“As You Like It” continues in repertory with four other productions (“To Kill a Mockingbird“, “A Midsummers Night Dream“, “August: Osage County“, and “Green Grow the Lilacs“) at Theatricum Botanicum (FB) throug September 27. It runs at selected Saturdays and Sundays at 3:30 PM. Tickets can be purchased through the Theatricum Website. Although Theatricum does have tickets on Goldstar, there are no current listings for As You Like It. Similarly, there are no discount tickets on LA Stage Tix.

Upcoming Shows: This weekend’s double header at Theatricum Botanicum (FB) continues this evening with the rescheduled “Green Grow The Lilacs” on Sunday. The second weekend of August is equally busy, with “The Fabulous Lipitones” at The Colony Theatre (FB) on Friday, our summer Mus-ique show on Saturday, and Concerts on the Green in Warner Park (with a Neil Diamond cover band) on Sunday. The third weekend of August is calmer, but only because we moved theatre off the weekend because my wife is driving my daughter’s car back to the bay area. As for me, I might very well go back to see the revised “Jesus Christ Superstar” at REP East (FB) — they are returning to have live music and I expect that will make a significant difference. The third week of August may see us back at REP East (FB) for their “secret seventh show”, which has been revealed to be “A Company of Wayward Saints“. After that we’ll need a vacation … but then again we might squeeze in Evita at the Maui Cultural Center (FB) the last weekend of August. September right now is mostly open, with the only ticketed show being “The Diviners” at REP East (FB) and a hold-the-date for “First Date” at The La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts (FB). October will bring another Fringe Festival: the NoHo Fringe Festival (FB). October also has the following as ticketed or hold-the-dates: CSUN’s Urinetown (end of October – 10/30 or 11/1); “The Best of Enemies” at The Colony Theatre (FB) (Ticketed for Sat 10/10); and “Damn Yankees” at Cabrillo Music Theatre (FB) (Ticketed for Sat 10/17). 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.

Exploring Relationships

Posted onMonday, July 27, 2015Saturday, October 17, 2015Authorcahwyguy

userpic=theatre_tickets Every year we go to a fascinating show that is impossible to describe. The show is the finale of the Operaworks (FB) Advanced Artist Program called “Opera Reconstructed”. Here’s why this is so fascinating:

The Advanced Artist Program is for operatic performers in graduate school or beyond, who want to work in-depth on their repertoire – dramatically, musically, and physically. It’s goal is to teach the performers the “other” side of opera beyond singing. In particular, the not only learn how to address the business and marketing side, but they learn how to act and move on stage as actors and actresses — how to relate to other characters as characters, not just stand in front of a piano and sing. The program culminates with two performance shows of improvised opera. The show consists of three acts, not necessarily related. For each act, the students pick a location and come up with one paragraph bios of their characters and their relationship to the other characters in their act. They then pick arias, from both operas and other musical theatre, for each character to relate to another character. Improvising dialogue, they now put these characters and arias into a show. Here’s an example bio:

Brynne (Pulver), 42, was tragically murdered last year at her co-owned business, the speakeasy, Sassy Sally’s. She was the songstress for over fifteen years, and was a local favorite. A beloved mother, sister, and friend, she is survived by her daughter, Alexandra, and son-in-law Scott; her sister Johanna, and from what we are told, long-time lover Evelyn. Some say they still feel her presence in the speakeasy. Will she ever rest in peace?

If there is one constant in these shows, it is sex and violence. Perhaps this is because stronger emotions are easier to portray, to express. But the plots are convoluted (as one might expect from those familiar with opera), and remembering them a day after the fact can be difficult. It is also rare in these shows for a performer to sing more than one song — not a surprise when you have 32 performers and 32 songs in 2.5 hours.

This year the tree acts were only tangentially related: some characters from Act One reappeared in Act Three — even though it was almost 80 years later. Time discontinuity aside, that was really the only connection. Let’s look at the acts and the singers from what I remember.

Act One was called “The Speakeasy”, and took place in a 1920s speakeasy called Sassy Sally’s. Sally’s is run by Noelle (Thomson); she runs the establishment and interacts with all. Joanna (Watson) is the cigarette girl and assistant manager, and loves to daydream about her ex. Jaime (Billman) is coming off a messy divorce with Shelly (who reappears in Act Three). Evelyn (Tsen) was in love with Brynne (see above), and hasn’t been able to move on. But now she has feelings for Karen (Levandoski), a cop who was investigating the case. Madelaine (M. Martinez) is the new songstress, and wants to end her days as a high-end prostitute. Maggie (Woolums) is a prep school graduate who was friends with Alexandra and Elena. Scott (Ballantine) was a guard at the state prison (which we see in the next act) and comes to the speakeasy after work. Alexandra (A. Martinez) is in a tumultuous marriage with Scott, and is also a bootlegger. Elena (Bird) has resorted to exotic dancing to support her drinking problem. Cole Perder (Douglas Sumi) was the speakeasy pianist, playing piano to fund his addiction.

Arias in this act were (in order) [🎶 title 🎼 composer 🎤 singer]:

🎶 Chacun à son goût 🎼 Die Fledermaus | Johann Strauss 🎤 Noelle Thomson (FB)
🎶 Meine Lippen, sie küssen so heiß 🎼 Guiditta | Franz Lehar 🎤 Gillian Watson (FB)
🎶 Johanna 🎼 Sweeney Todd | Stephen Sondheim 🎤 Matthew Billman (FB)
🎶 Steal Me, Sweet Thief 🎼 The Old Maid and the Thief | G. Menotti 🎤 Evelyn Tsen (FB)
🎶 Depuis le jour 🎼 Louise | Gustave Charpentier 🎤 Brynne Pulver (FB)
🎶 Sein wir wieder gut 🎼 Ariadne Auf Naxos | Richard Strauss 🎤 Madelaine Martinez (FB)
🎶 Glück, das mir verblieb 🎼 Die Tote Stadt | Erich Korngold 🎤 Karen Levandoski (FB)
🎶 Deh vieni, non tarder 🎼 Le nozze di Figaro | W. A. Mozart 🎤 Margaret Woolums (FB)
🎶 Mab, la reine de mendonges 🎼 Roméo Et Juliette | Charles Gounod 🎤 Scott Ballantine (FB)
🎶 Dearest Mama 🎼 The Ballad of Baby Doe | Douglas Moore 🎤 Alexandra Martinez (FB)

To me, the most notable performer was Ms. Thomson — she was comfortable as her character and kept interacting with others and playing throughout.

Act Two, “The Prison”, took place in a prison. It seemed to concern a racial war between white prisoners and, umm, non-white prisoners (who were either Asian or Hispanic). The prisoners and other characters were: Carmen (Metry), a former foster child who found heroin on the streets; Mengtao (Zhou), a Chinese Black Widow who murdered seven boyfriends and is now in love with the guard, Nick (Harmantzis), who was brought up in an abusive environment and has pent up frustration and anger. Azur (Valcour) was sexually brutalized, and so strangled her oppressors and drank their blood. Katherine (Bruton) is a housewife with particular values, so she poisoned the blacks that moved into her neighborhood with arsenic. Christina (Ramos) had her child taken away, and is soon to be released — she’s also the only sane person in the unit. Eva (Kastner-Puschl) is a slutty murderer who killed her boyfriend, and subordinate to the leader of the “Whities” and makes out with the guard. Margaret (Boeckman) is a lifer who killed a nun who physically abused a friend, who is also under the rule of white supremacist Katherine. Lily (Barber) drowned her infant daughter and 3-yo son. Lau (Pu) is from a prominent family who killed her fiance. Elle (Logan) is a southern girl who had a psychotic break and dismembered the torso of her ex-husband. Quite a fun bunch. Tickling the keys was Dolores Cliburn (Mark Robson), a cross-dressing former piano instructor with a penchant for arson.

Arias in this act were (in order) [🎶 title 🎼 composer 🎤 singer]:

🎶 Poor Wand’ring One 🎼 The Pirates of Penzance | Arthur Sullivan and W.S. Gilbert 🎤 Julia Metry (FB)
🎶 Porgi, amor, qualche ristoro 🎼 Le nozze di Figaro | W. A. Mozart 🎤 Mengtao Zhou (FB)
🎶 Les oiseaux dans la charmille 🎼 Les Contes d’Hoffmann | J. Offenbach 🎤 Anna Valcour (FB)
🎶 Arrière! Ie réchauffe les bons 🎼 L’enfant et les sortilèges | M. Ravel 🎤 Katherine Bruton (FB)
🎶 Morrò, ma prima in grazia 🎼 Un Ballo in Maschera | Giuseppe Verdi 🎤 Cynthia Ramos (FB)
🎶 Cruda Sorte 🎼 L’italiana in Algeri | Giacchino Rossini 🎤 Eva Kastner-Puschl (FB)
🎶 Oh Rest in the Lord 🎼 Elijah | Felix Mendelssohn 🎤 Margaret Boeckman (FB)
🎶 Willow Song 🎼 The Ballad of Baby Doe | Douglas Moore 🎤 Amy-Louise Barber (FB)
🎶 En fermant les yeux (Le Rêve) 🎼 Manon | Jules Massenet 🎤 Nicholas Harmantzis (FB)
🎶 Mein Herr Marquis 🎼 Die Fledermaus | Johann Strauss 🎤 Feiling Pu (FB)
🎶 Quando m’en vo’ 🎼 La Bohème | Giacomo Puccini 🎤 Elle Logan (FB)

I’d list memorable performances, but I was so involved with watching this one I forgot to make any notes.

Act Three, “The Family Reunion”, brought together a large disfunctional family to see Grandpa Mark (Mark Robson). The family members were as follows: Katia (Kotcherguina), a fun-loving party-going college student. Shelley (yes, the one divorced from Jaime of the first act) (Mitchell), who is still hurting from the divorce (80 years ago?). Laura (Remy), the father of the family who came out last year and is transitioning, trying to connect with her two daughters, Ekaterina/Katia and Lindsey, who is estranged from her sisters Anna and Sarah. Anna (Buck), the mother of three who just wants perfection, and who has cut ties with two of her rebellious children, Michelle and Jen. Carolyn (Forte) is married to Andrew (Metzger), the winner of a reality show. Jen (Hansen) is a feminist lesbian. Sarah (Baumgarten) is a single-mother to Andrew, and has found Jesus and judgement. Michelle (Drever) left home at 16 and is a paleontologist and does makeup. Lindsey (Fuson) is a defiant teenager feeling abandoned with her father’s transition and her sister going off to college.

Arias in this act were (in order) [🎶 title 🎼 composer 🎤 singer]:

🎶 De tempeste il legno infranto 🎼 Giulio Cesare | George Frideric Handel 🎤 Ekaterina Kotcherguina (FB)
🎶 Still Hurting 🎼 The Last 5 Years | Jason Robert Brown 🎤 Shelley Mitchell (FB)
🎶 Obéissons quand leur voix appelle 🎼 Manon | Jules Massenet 🎤 Leigh Remy (FB)
🎶 V’adoro pupille 🎼 Giulio Cesare | George Frideric Handel 🎤 Anna Buck (FB)
🎶 Quanto è bella, quanto è cara 🎼 L’Elisir D’Amore | Gaetano Donizetti 🎤 Andrew Metzger (FB)
🎶 What Good Would the Moon Be? 🎼 Street Scene | Kurt Weill 🎤 Carolyn Forte (FB)
🎶 Tornami a vagheggiar 🎼 Alcina | George Frideric Handel 🎤 Jennifer Hansen (FB)
🎶 Prendi, per me sei libero 🎼 L’Elisir D’Amore | Gaetano Donizetti 🎤 Sarah Baumgarten (FB)
🎶 Sempre liberal 🎼 La Traviata | Giuseppe Verdi 🎤 Michelle Drever (FB)
🎶 I Want Magic 🎼 A Streetcar Named Desire | André Previn 🎤 Lindsey Fuson/FB
🎶 Say It Somehow 🎼 The Light in the Piazza | Adam Guettel 🎤 Matthew Billman (FB) and Shelley Mitchell (FB)

Again, this was an act where I was so caught up following the performances that I failed to make notes.

Technical Credits: Stage Direction: Zeffin Quinn Hollis (FB). Movement Coach: Dr. Paula Thomson. Improvisation Coach: Laura Parker. Artistic Director: Ann Baltz (FB). Additional faculty and Operaworks staff is listed on the Operaworks site.

Alas, yesterday’s was the last performance. Operaworks (FB) will have a winter production on January 16, 2016, so look for it.

Upcoming Shows: August continues the theatre craziness, with a double header at Theatricum Botanicum (FB) the first weekend: “As You Like It” on Saturday, and the rescheduled “Green Grow The Lilacs” on Sunday. The second weekend of August is equally busy, with “The Fabulous Lipitones” at The Colony Theatre (FB) on Friday, our summer Mus-ique show on Saturday, and Concerts on the Green in Warner Park (with a Neil Diamond cover band) on Sunday. The third weekend of August is calmer, but only because we moved theatre off the weekend because my wife is driving my daughter’s car back to the bay area. As for me, I might very well go back to see the revised “Jesus Christ Superstar” at REP East (FB) — they are returning to have live music and I expect that will make a significant difference. The third week of August may see us back at REP East (FB) for their “secret seventh show”, which has been revealed to be “A Company of Wayward Saints“. After that we’ll need a vacation … but then again we might squeeze in Evita at the Maui Cultural Center (FB) the last weekend of August. September right now is mostly open, with the only ticketed show being “The Diviners” at REP East (FB) and a hold-the-date for “First Date” at The La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts (FB). October will bring another Fringe Festival: the NoHo Fringe Festival (FB). October also has the following as ticketed or hold-the-dates: CSUN’s Urinetown (end of October – 10/30 or 11/1); “The Best of Enemies” at The Colony Theatre (FB) (Ticketed for Sat 10/10); and “Damn Yankees” at Cabrillo Music Theatre (FB) (Ticketed for Sat 10/17). 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.

Winning is an Attitude

Posted onSunday, July 26, 2015Authorcahwyguy

userpic=99love In the fall of 2009 into the late summer of 2010, one of my favorite TV programs, Steve Allen’s Meeting of Minds, had come back to the stage. thanks to the hard working efforts of the people at Working Stage, especially Dan Lauria. Unfortunately, the run was ending: Working Stage had lost the use of the Steve Allen Theatre, and Dan Lauria was heading off to Broadway to star alongside Judith Light in some new play about a football coach. I was always curious about the play that brought an end of Meeting of Minds in Los Angeles, and last night I finally got the chance to see it at the Group Rep at the Lonny Chapman Theatre (FB): the West Coast Premiere of Lombardi by Eric Simonson.

I have to admit, going in, that I really know nothing about football. That’s the game they play on the court where they kick an orange ball and make baskets, right? Seriously, I think I’ve been to one football game in my life (in the 80s, at UCLA). But I have heard of Vince Lombardi, although I knew little about him. In other words, I was probably your typical theatre audience member seeing this play :-). That’s because sports, as a subject, is not common theatrical fodder: you can probably count on all your fingers the numbers of shows about any major league sports: football, baseball, basketball, soccer, etc. combined. This is odd because sports and theatre are oddly similar: both are intensely dramatic, both follow a back and forth story to get to the ultimate goal, and both have coaches that can have intense winning and losing streaks. Both also have their ardent fans, and both often require sacrifices on the parts of the players (even if they are well compensated).

I’m pleased to say that — as a distinct non-football fan — I enjoyed the story. The pacing was reasonably fast (the show runs a bit over 90 minutes without an intermission). It gave a great sense of the man and his approach to coaching and life (which I’m not sure could be separated). It did not require understanding the specifics of the game of football and its terminology (one could treat that like technobabble on Star Trek). Yet, I think, it remains accessible to the football lover — the man or woman who lives for Monday Night Football and the NFL, the one ardently concerned about whether LA will get a football team. I do encourage those with a sports fanatic in their life — someone who might never normally go to the theater — to bring that person to this show. It might get them hooked.

Lombardi depends on a simple storytelling hook to tell the lifestory of Vince Lombardi: A reporter from Look Magazine who has come to Green Bay to do a piece on Lombardi. This reporter, Michael McCormick, was created by the author (according to the play’s study guide), who also created a fictitious connection between the reporter’s father and Lombardi. This hook permits the reporter to interview players, family, and the coach himself to bring out the story; it also permits the use of flashbacks to illustrate points as well as the use of direct exposition to the audience by the reporter. I read some reviews where this approach was viewed as problematic; I didn’t find it a problem. I do agree with the articles that this approach tended to keep the larger swirl of the world outside away from the story of the play. Was that a problem? I tend to think that it wasn’t, because America has shown time and time again that professional football is a world unto itself; fans tend to like football precisely because it tends to keep the harsh realities of the world away.

In preparing for this writeup after the show, I read a number of online articles about Vince Lombardi, including his wikipedia page and a very interesting interview about the man held with Dan Lauria when the show was on Broadway. Based on these, I think that Simonson captured about 80% of the legendary man’s character. In particular, it provided glimpses of the man’s values with respect to civil rights — he was famously quoted that he viewed his players as neither black nor white, but Packer green. It did not show his equivalent values regarding homosexuality, which are even more notable given the time and context of the play and the fact that Lombardi came from a strong Roman Catholic background. I think the most important thing that the play captured was Lombardi’s ethic: his notion that winners thought of themselves as winners, that winning was an attitude, and that it was always possible to win with appropriate effort, perseverance, and hard hard work. More importantly, it captured the complement to the attitude: that losing was an unacceptable attitude, that even permitting the notion of losing might make one a loser. It showed, reasonably well, how this attitude not only permeated both his team life and his home life — in fact, how it lead to his death. The man was so focused on winning, he couldn’t even admit when his body was losing a battle. (I’ll note, however, that the stomach problems shown in the play would have put the production near the end of Lombardi’s Green Bay run, in 1967-1968 — not the 1965 time shown in the play).

If there was any weaknesses in the story, it was the few ancillary threads that got brought up and discarded. The whole bit with the players union seemed to be overemphasized solely to explain why one player didn’t talk to the reporter; Lombardi’s children were brought up and promptly never mentioned again. Those are more writing flaws than production flaws.

The director, Gregg T. Daniel (FB), did a good job of bringing out the realism and inner characters of the people portrayed in the story. I often write that I have difficultly separating what the actor brings from what the director adds. I’m crediting the director here more for the overall feel created — the little touches of having the football players practicing onstage during the pre-show period, of having the actors provide the football noise background during the scenery change blackouts, and such. This is something an actor would not bring, but is an attention to detail that a director would bring to the story.

Lombardi Cast Photos (provided by Nora Feldman Let’s talk a little about the actors and what they brought, and how their characters worked in the story. In the lead position was Bert Emmett (FB) as Vince Lombardi. Emmett assumed the role well; I could see nothing of the Bert Emmett I had gotten to know in other roles at GRT over the years. In fact, I could also feel Dan Lauria superimposed over Emmett in the production, for Emmett brought a Broadway-quality immersion to Lombardi. The character, as written, captured the discipline, internal strength, and anger of the man; it also captured how his wife could humanize him. Emmett brought those aspects out in his performance. In short, to this audience member who knew nothing about the real Vince Lombardi, Emmett seemed very Lombardi-like.

As the reporter/foil, Troy Whitaker (FB) — another GRT regular — gave off a youthful naivete that worked well. He seemed to have an uncanny recall of football statistics — as if there was a script in the background — but this was believable simply because there are football geeks who know statistics that well. Whether a cub writer in the early 1960s would have access to such statistics is a different question, and is a minor flaw in the writing of the story. Independent of that, Whitaker was a believable reporter and propelled the story along well. In his few scenes where he stood up to Lombardi, he had sufficient backbone to be believable.

Julia Silverman (FB) portrayed Lombardi’s wife, Marie. The characteristics I’ve read about Marie in the various sources came across well in the portrayal — the sacrifice, the heavy heavy drinking, the ability to be the only person that could get Lombardi to back down. Her overall role in the play was small, but critical in the overall arc of Lombardi’s wife.

The cast was rounded out by the three football players: Steven West (FB) as Dave Robinson, Ian Stanley as Paul Hornung, and Christopher Hawthorn as Jim Taylor. I think the most important fact is that these three were believably football players, and they were believably distinct characters. This is a good thing. Each provided useful insights into Lombardi’s character. About my only quibble was the Hawthorn seemed a bit slight to be a football player, but then what do I know about football players :-).

The production itself was relatively simple set-wise. There were a large number of chalkboards with football plays on them (don’t ask me if they were correct plays), with a projection screen on the back, and two side projection screens. There was a small office for Lombardi off to the side that was used for one scene. In general, location was established through a projection on the back screen, with either or both of the side screens used for ancillary location establishment. There were a number of set pieces (couches, benches) that were constantly being moved on and off the stage by the football players. This design (by Chris Winfield (FB)) worked given the limitations of the GRT space. THe sound design by Steve Shaw (FB) provided suitable sound effects. The lighting design by J. Kent Inasy mostly worked; there were a few moments in the beginning where there was a disconnect between blocking and lighting (i.e., people were in the dark) — presumably, that will be adjusted as the show goes on. The costumes by Angela M. Eads seemed appropriately period; I cannot speak to whether the numbers for the players reflected their actual numbers, or whether the costumes were historically correct for the Packers of that period. Trust me, there are people that will comment on that. Remaining technical and production credits: Christian Ackerman/FB [Videographer], Glenda Morgan Brown (FB) [Dialect Coach], Nora Feldman (FB) [Public Relations], Doug Haverty (FB) and Arts & Sound Design [Graphic Design], Drina Durazo (FB) [Program, Producer for GRT], Haley Miller [Director’s Assistant], Mikel Parraga/FB [Assistant Director]. The program does not contain a credit for stage manager.

Lombardi continues at the Group Rep at the Lonny Chapman Theatre (FB) until September 6th. Tickets are available through OvationTix (GRT’s online box office). Discount tickets may be available through Goldstar and LA Stage Tix. The show is well worth seeing even if you don’t like football; it is especially well worth seeing if you like football.

Upcoming Shows: Our triple header weekend continues today with the annual Operaworks show in the afternoon, followed by seeing Astro Boy again in the evening at Sacred Fools Theatre Company (FB). August continues the craziness, with a double header at Theatricum Botanicum (FB) the first weekend: “As You Like It” on Saturday, and the rescheduled “Green Grow The Lilacs” on Sunday. The second weekend of August is equally busy, with “The Fabulous Lipitones” at The Colony Theatre (FB) on Friday, our summer Mus-ique show on Saturday, and Concerts on the Green in Warner Park (with a Neil Diamond cover band) on Sunday. The third weekend of August is calmer, but only because we moved theatre off the weekend because my wife is driving my daughter’s car back to the bay area. As for me, I might very well go back to see the revised “Jesus Christ Superstar” at REP East (FB) — they are returning to have live music and I expect that will make a significant difference. The third week of August may see us back at REP East (FB) for their “secret seventh show”, which has been revealed to be “A Company of Wayward Saints“. After that we’ll need a vacation … but then again we might squeeze in Evita at the Maui Cultural Center (FB) the last weekend of August. September right now is mostly open, with the only ticketed show being “The Diviners” at REP East (FB) and a hold-the-date for “First Date” at The La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts (FB). October will bring another Fringe Festival: the NoHo Fringe Festival (FB). October also has the following as ticketed or hold-the-dates: CSUN’s Urinetown (end of October – 10/30 or 11/1); “The Best of Enemies” at The Colony Theatre (FB) (Ticketed for Sat 10/10); and “Damn Yankees” at Cabrillo Music Theatre (FB) (Ticketed for Sat 10/17). 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.

A Unique Visual Conception

Posted onMonday, July 20, 2015Sunday, April 9, 2017Authorcahwyguy

userpic=dramamasks Sometimes, things just work out. For a while, it was looking like I wasn’t going to see any theatre this weekend. First, my Sunday evening show (which I had on my calendar for Saturday), “The History Boys” at the Stella Adler Theatre (FB), cancelled on me; luckily, I was able to replace that with another show for Sunday night (based on a recommendation from a Facebook group). Then the show I thought was on Sunday, but which I now realize was Saturday, “Green Grow The Lilacs” at Theatricum Botanicum (FB), cancelled due to the rain. However, in the end, I ended up seeing one of the most inventive, creative, and entertaining shows I have ever seen. Further, after telling my wife about the show, I’m going to be seeing it again next weekend (creating a triple header)… and yes, I checked the dates.

The show, Astro Boy and the God of Comics at Sacred Fools Theatre Company (FB), is about the father of what has come to be known as Anime or Manga, and his greatest creation, Astro Boy. Now, I grew up watching some Manga when I was little — yes, I remember the afternoons of Speed Racer and Kimba: The White Lion on UHF Channel 52. But who knew it as Manga back then — it was just dubbed cartoons. I also have loads of friends into Manga, and relatives that love drawing the stuff. But that was about the extent of my knowledge of the subject. I really never got into it, although I recognized the style.

The first inclination that this production is going to be different than anything you have seen begins before the show starts. The stage is covered by a see-through scrim, upon which loads of facts and factoids about anime in general, and Osamu Tezuka in particular, are projected. Suddenly, an animated sign saying “Curtain Announcements” is projected, and you get the typical announcements. During this, you are told that the show will be presented in 13 episodes, and they will be presented in reverse chronological order. An artist walks out, assesses the setup, and opens the scrim. At that point, the title of the first episode is projected and the fun begins.

When I first heard “reverse chronological”, two shows came to mind: Sondheim’s Merrily We Roll Along and Jason Robert Brown’s The Last 5 Years. Both of these use a reverse chronological mechanism, and both are hard to initially get into because of it. This is the first show I’ve seen where the mechanism works: we start with the end of Astro Boy, and work our way back to his origins, and then move from the latter days of his creator to the very beginning.

The execution of the show itself is unique. If you go to theatre a lot, you have a certain expectations. Actors playing characters, in a somewhat naturalistic set piece. If you see talents other than acting, it might be singing and dance. This show perhaps is best described as manic energy, punctuated with touching meaning. The energy comes at the start, and comes from the actors, the projections, and the drawing.

Astro Boy Publicity Photos Yes, I said drawing and projections. Look at the two publicity photos I selected at the right. The show starts with actors in coveralls seeing various images projected on what appears to be a white screen on the back of the stage. Suddenly, they start drawing on the screen. And drawing. And tracing. And when they are done — it is a drawing of Astro Boy. Suddenly, they are running and ripping down what they have just drawn, and the episode begins.

This is how the show continues. There is interaction with projections. There is constant drawing on the back, on paper, on pages. There are clever puppets (which made me think of the recent Entropy at Theatre of Note). There is Heather Schmidt (FB) as a perfect energetic and innocent Astro Boy. There is manga style. There is manga energy. It is just a remarkable imaginative staging you really have to see to believe.

Lets get some of the credit for this out of the way: The show was written by Natsu Onoda Power, and directed by Jaime Robledo (FB). I’ll cover the production staff in detail later, including the various assistants; suffice it to say this show would not be what it is without them. This is one of the first shows where I have seen projections be more than a backdrop — they became an additional actor. It is just a remarkable concept and conception.

There are just so many scenes from this show that left remarkable impressions. There was the episode where we learn of Astro Boy’s final mission. There was the robot auction. There was the assembly of Astro Boy. There was the wonderful introduction to Osamu Tezuka and his unique personality, told by his assistants, interns, and wife — with each drawing something that ended up being a self portrait of Osamu. There was the haunting episode about Japan during the war. There were scenes that were entirely silent — evoking silent movies to a great extent — and there was a fair amount of plain silliness. It was just so memorable and creative.

The actors for this show didn’t come across as your traditional stage actors: they had a role and a script and played a character. In fact, the only two real characters were Heather Schmidt (FB) as Astro Boy and West Liang (FB) as Osamu Tezuka (and even then they occasionally joined the ensemble in other roles). Schmidt was.. was… was…. perky and cute and hyper and joyful and… embodied Astro Boy in both performance and telegraphed attitude. Liang was more serious as Tezuka, but even he got into the fun occasionally. He made you believe he was Tezuka … and that’s a great compliment.

The remainder of the ensemble became particular characters at times, but were more themselves in coveralls, portraying the story by frantic drawing, movement, pantomime, performance, and craziness. The ensemble consisted of Zach Brown (FB), Megumi Kabe (FB), Anthony Li (FB), Mandi Moss (FB), Jaime Puckett (FB), and Marz Richards (FB). You’ve heard of triple threat actors. I don’t know about their singing, but these guys are a different type of triple threat: actors, dancers (for what else would you call that closely choreographed movement on stage), and graphic artists. It is hard single any of them out for they each played great roles — I particularly remember Kabe’s portrayal of Osamu’s wife, Li as the head of the robot academy, Richards selling robots, Moss and her fuschia hair as an assistant, … well you get the idea. All are great.

Then there are the folks you only see briefly (or don’t see at all, but are there in spirit). There is a video of Osamu when he was young that I actually thought was real video … then I discovered they also shot that for the show with Scot Shamblin (FB) [Tezuka’s father], Jane Kim (FB) [Tezuka’s Mother], and Sebastian and Percival Africa [Young Tezuka]. Understudies were Erin Sanzo (FB) [Astro Boy], Scot Shamblin (FB) [Osamu Tezuka], Gregory Guy Gorden (FB) [Ensemble], Lisa Anne Nicolai (FB) [Ensemble], and Aviva Pressman (FB) [Ensemble].

I said at the beginning it was the production and technical staff that made this really special, so let’s start naming some names. It is really hard to single out one particular production aspects from another in this show — they blend together that well. The lighting (I noticed some quite effective use of movers and LEDs), the sound effects and music, the projections, the props, the puppets, the costumes, the overall set design that brought everything together. They made a seamless whole (with the possible exception of near the end, where I kept getting some odd flashes as if the projection went down for a split second and came back). The production team consisted of: Brian W. Wallis [Lead Producer / Technical Supervisor], Aviva Pressman (FB) [Live Art Director (I’m guessing this is the “Live Art” equivalent of Dance Captain 🙂 ], Rebecca Larsen [Assistant Director], Shaunessy Quinn [Associate Producer (Design/Tech)], Seamus Sullivan/FB [Associate Producer (Casting/Outreach)], Carrie Keranen (FB) [Marketing Coordinator], Heatherlynn Gonzalez (FB) [Stage Manager], Suze Campagna (FB) [Assistant Stage Manager], DeAnne Millais (FB) [Scenic Design], Matt Richter (FB) [Lighting Design], Linda Muggeridge/FB [Costume Design], Brandon Clark/FB [Prop Design], Natsu Onoda Power [Puppet Design], Jaime Robledo (FB) [Sound Design], Ryan Johnson/FB [Original Music], Mike Mahaffey [Stunt/Fight Choreography], Joe Fria [Suzuki Trainer], Anthony Backman [Production Video Design], Jim Pierce [Projection Animation Design], Danielle Heitmuller [Animation Painter], and many more.

Lucky for you, Astro Boy and the God of Comics has been extended through August 8. Go see it. I liked it so much, I’m willing to see it again with the same cast — which I rarely do. Tickets are available through Sacred Fools, and may be available through Goldstar and LA Stage Tix.

Upcoming Shows: July is a month of double-headers. Next weekend is a triple header: “Lombardi” at the Lonny Chapman Group Rep (FB) on Saturday July 25th, with the annual Operaworks show the next day in the afternoon, followed by seeing Astro Boy again in the evening at Sacred Fools Theatre Company (FB). August continues the craziness, with a double header at Theatricum Botanicum (FB) the first weekend: “As You Like It” on Saturday, and the rescheduled “Green Grow The Lilacs” on Sunday. The second weekend of August is equally busy, with “The Fabulous Lipitones” at The Colony Theatre (FB) on Friday, our summer Mus-ique show on Saturday, and Concerts on the Green in Warner Park (with a Neil Diamond cover band) on Sunday. The third weekend of August is calmer, but only because we moved theatre off the weekend because my wife is driving my daughter’s car back to the bay area. As for me, I might very well go back to see the revised “Jesus Christ Superstar” at REP East (FB) — they are returning to have live music and I expect that will make a significant difference. The third week of August may see us back at REP East (FB) for their “secret seventh show”, which has been revealed to be “A Company of Wayward Saints“. After that we’ll need a vacation … but then again we might squeeze in Evita at the Maui Cultural Center (FB) the last weekend of August. September right now is mostly open, with the only ticketed show being “The Diviners” at REP East (FB) and a hold-the-date for “First Date” at The La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts (FB). October will bring another Fringe Festival: the NoHo Fringe Festival (FB). October also has the following as ticketed or hold-the-dates: CSUN’s Urinetown (end of October – 10/30 or 11/1); “The Best of Enemies” at The Colony Theatre (FB) (Ticketed for Sat 10/10); and “Damn Yankees” at Cabrillo Music Theatre (FB) (Ticketed for Sat 10/17). 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.

Who In The Hell Do You Think You Are

Posted onSunday, July 12, 2015Friday, August 28, 2015Authorcahwyguy

userpic=repeast When I went to Jewish Summer Camp in the early 1970s, there were two “Jesus”-based musicals going around. One, Godspell, gave us a song we actually sang at camp: “Day by Day”. Out of context, it worked just fine. The other was this brown album with a stylized angel on it, and it gave us a song we sang as “Jesus Christ / Superstar / Who In The Hell Do You Think You Are”. The words aren’t too surprising for a Jewish summer camp. I mention this because that was really my knowledge of the musical Jesus Christ Superstar up to last night. I had seen Godspell a number of times and tended to like it because it wasn’t so “in your face” for a non-Christian. From what little I had heard or seen, JCS was much more in your face, heavy rock, and screamy. In recent years I had finally heard the music — and there were a few songs I liked — but still hadn’t seen the show either on stage or on screen. So when REP East Playhouse (FB) in Newhall, where we subscribe, announced the show for this season, I was looking forward to finally seeing it. Last night I finally saw it. I came away disappointed, unsure of what all the fuss was about. REP gave it a good effort, but it just didn’t strike that chord for me. As always, your mileage may vary.

Jesus Christ Superstar (JCS for short) was the first musical from the team of Andrew Lloyd Webber (FB) and Tim Rice (FB) to hit America (Joseph was written earlier, but was imported to the US after JCS became a success). It was released first as a rock concept album — that aforementioned brown album — and became a hit. This led to the album being staged on Broadway by the same director that had done Hair. On Broadway — just as with Wicked — the critics almost universally panned the show, but the audiences loved it. JCS can be said to have started the era of sung-through musical — we can blame JCS for not only Evita, Sunset Boulevard, Starlight Express, Phantom of the Opera, and Cats, but for spawning shows like Les Miserables, Miss Saigon, Tale of Two Cities, and the recent fringe show, The Count of Monte Cristo.

JCS essentially relates the well-known story of the last eight days of the man Jesus of Nazareth. Spoiler: He dies in the end (it does not show the resurrection). I’m not sure I need to relate the particulars of the story; if you need to see the plot synopsis, it is on the Wikipedia page. The story really focuses on the relationship between Jesus, Judas, and Mary. Judas, who plays the central driving figure in the story, is disappointed that Jesus seems to have veered away from the focus of his ministry. Under what he sees as the influence of Mary, Judas believes that Jesus is spending funds on oils and ointments instead of using it to help the poor and needy. He becomes increasingly disillusioned with Jesus, moving to the point (as we all know) of betraying him to the authorities, which leads to his crucifixion. As Jesus gets pilloried by the authorities, we also see how many of his disciples appear to turn away from him as well, just as today popular media can turn people away from heroes of old. Only Mary stays steadfastly by Jesus’ side. At the end, they return remembering how he affected their lives.

The love triangle presented in story, as JCS presents it, is likely what drew youth into the story. The triangle: close friend disillusioned when the new woman in his bro’s life turns him away is classic — and it is an interesting take on Jesus’ life. I don’t know the extent to which this subtext, however, is actually in the gospels.

Unlike Godspell, which teaches Jesus’ lessons and focuses less on the actual life story, JCS really doesn’t teach what Jesus said about living. Through Judas, it seems to show how he turned away from what he was teaching. It shows Jesus as bargaining with God, trying to figure out his role in all of this. Ultimately, he is convinced he has to die in order to make his message. To me, a non-Christian, the portrayal of Jesus by Rice and Webber is a negative one. Here is a nice guy, trying to minister to the poor, but his followers inflate his ministry for their own purposes and for their own immortality (listen to the words in “The Last Supper”: “Always hoped that I’d be an apostle / Knew that I would make it if I tried / Then when we retire we can write the gospels / So they’ll all talk about us when we’ve died”). Rice and Webber portray Jesus as ultimately betraying his cause and his work to make that larger message, of being a reluctant messiah — in essence, of being a fraud. Look at the main lyric of the title song: “Jesus Christ, Superstar / Do you think you’re what they say you are”. Rice and Webber portray Judas as seeing through this, and trying to return Jesus to the right path. That’s certainly not the story of Jesus that I (a non-Christian) have gleaned over the years. I think it is ultimately a negative portrayal of Jesus, with lyrics that are screaming and not always melodic.

Even worse, I think that JCS perpetuates the antisemitic nature of the Gospels. Look at “King Herod’s Song”, and particularly the “Trial Before Pilate”. What comes across is that the Jews are viewed in a negative sense, and that the Romans are really reluctant to kill Jesus — but (as the song says) it is the Jews that demand that the Romans find a reason to do so.

Suffice it to say that I’m not enthused about the presentation of the story, and I now understand why I preferred Godspell. There are some versions of Godspell that can get a bit preachy, but they do not get anti-anything. JCS does. It has a few songs that I like, particularly “I Don’t Know How To Love Him”, but the show just turns me off. My guess is that this would be the case irrespective of the venue producing the show (although I am now curious about the highly-touted DOMA version).

Let’s now turn to the REP interpretation of the show, understanding how that may have been colored based on the book itself. Alas, this too was disappointing due to a number of factors, but I’ll ultimately chock it up to directoral vision combined with technical issues. As directed by Rick Pratt (FB), the show had a minimalist set staging (there were no real set pieces at all), with loads of odd lighting and paint choices that served to distract from rather than support the story. The pre-recorded music tended to overpower the voices, which were not helped by microphones that kept cutting in and out and having a fair amount of hiss. This was not the usual REP set, sound, or lighting quality — every theater has an aberration occasionally. Due to all this, the focus ultimately was on the cast and their relationships and emotions; given the sung through nature of the show, that had to come across in the quality and clarity of the songs and how they were sung. The cast tried hard to overcome these problems, but it never quite meshed with the demands the overwrought Webber/Rice story required.

As a quick aside, I also believe this is a story that works much better with live music. Live, as opposed to pre-recorded music, gives that extra energy that a rock opera such as this requires. The director, Rick Pratt, had experience with live on-stage music before at the REP and that worked very very well, and I wish he had been able to figure out a way to make the music live.

[Edited to Add: Based on some discussions with the REP, it looks like this will be transitioning to live music by 7/24. This should improve the production and energy greatly.]

In JCS, the central character driving the story is Judas. It is he that frames the initial opening direction of the story in “Heaven on Their Minds”; it is he that is there criticizing Jesus’s relationship with Mary; it is he that interacts with the High Priests; and it is he that ultimately faces Jesus in the end. His role is quite similar to the one that Rice/Webber would use again for Che in Evita. You need a powerhouse rock singer here — one that can not only act, but sing loud and clear to get the message across. You also need an actor who can just have that unspeakable presence. Adam Duarte tries very hard, and occasionally got the tone right, but didn’t have the consistency needed. Further, his attempt to be rock-ish made it difficult to hear the words clearly — and hearing the words is vital when the songs are the only thing moving the story forward.

The second part of the main triangle in the story is Jesus, who was played by Benjamin Patrick Thomas (FB). Benjamin sang well when we saw him in Return to the Forbidden Planet (also directed by Pratt). For the most part, he did well here but had a lot of trouble with the upper end of the range on some of Jesus’ songs. He also had seemingly the wrong look, but I can’t put my finger on why — as a mid-thirties white bearded hippie, he certainly didn’t fit the conventional picture of Jesus; then again, we don’t know what Jesus looked like.

The third part of the triangle — and one of the standouts in the show — was Natasha J. Gaston (FB) as Mary Magdalene. Gaston’s Mary conveyed wonderful emotions, and had a wonderful singing voice that she put to great use in “I Don’t Know How To Love Him” and “Everything’s Alright”. The quality of this voice came through even as her microphone kept cutting in and out and over a large amount of amplification hiss. I hope that we see more of this lovely actress.

As the opposition leadership, Chris Loprete (FB) [Pontius Pilate], Paul Nieman (FB) [Caiphas], and Ally Loprete (FB) [Annas] did well. All three sang well and were able to convey their emotions through song. The costuming seemed a bit strange, especially the overly clingy and sexy number for Annas, who was supposedly a high priest, and the devilish dark red suit for Caiphas. [ETA: When I read this paragraph after seeing the show a second time, I realized that I was confusing Pilate with Sean Goodman/FB [Ensemble], who placed the third part of the Sanhedrin. Loprete’s Pilate was goot, but wasn’t part of the main opposition leadership.]

In the ensemble and playing a number of smaller roles were: Alex Bowman (FB) [Peter / Ensemble], Tara Cox/FB [Simon Zealotes / Ensemble], Michael Davies [King Herod / Ensemble], Eriel Brown (FB) [Ensemble / Dance Captain], Laura Norkin/FB [Ensemble], Marie-Clarie Erdynast/FB [Ensemble], Danielle Honeyman (FB) [Ensemble], Sean Goodman/FB [Ensemble], Bruce Robinson/FB [Ensemble], and Micahel Gilbertson/FB [Ensemble]. In the ensemble positions, all blended well, sang reasonably well, and had obvious fun portraying their characters. There are a few worthy of special comment. Tara Cox/FB was another of those actors with a voice above the rest; it came across quite strongly in the few solo numbers and portions of numbers that she had. We’ve seen Michael Davies before in Forbidden Planet. He was good in King Herod’s number (one of my favorites on the album), but didn’t quite have the right sense of the cat playing with the mouse that was required, and that feeds the righteous indignation that feeds the end of the number. The focus was the cutesy, not the message. Eriel Brown (FB) moved and danced well, and seemed (if I was picking her out right) to have a very nice singing voice. Lastly, Danielle Honeyman (FB) was fun to watch in the ensemble. Again, if I was hearing correctly, I heard a slightly operatic voice and tone.

As noted before, JCS was directed by Rick Pratt (FB) and Kimbyrly M. Valis (FB). Carla Bellefeuille (FB) was the vocal director, assisted by Justin G. Horwitz/FB. Erin Cholakian (FB) was the choreographer. I’ve commented before about the directoral vision. JCS is a hard show to get correct in a small venue, so I do applaud the directoral team for trying. Their choices didn’t work for me; it might work for others. I feel their attempt was hurt by the inability to have live music. It was also hurt by the current battle between intimate theatres and AEA that has led REP to go non-union; JCS in particular is a show that would have been helped greatly to have the additional seasoning, talent, and stage presence in the lead positions. I think the team did the best with what they had to work with. The choreography, on the other hand, worked well given the limited REP space; it is always nice to see dance on the REP stage.

[ETA: There was also an odd projection sequence during the overture music going through all sorts of historical scenes. The purpose was unclear — was it meant to say that this was done in Jesus’ name? What was the point? Further, given the uneven surface at the back of the theatre, the projections were hard to see and read.]

I’ve also noted before the various technical problems. The set design was minimal: some ramps, some raised stages, a cross that could be lowered, and some inexplicable painted lines on the floor and on the wall. This is not the style of set design that REP normally does, and it didn’t work for me (but then again, I’ve never seen JCS before — perhaps this is the concept). There were also significant problems with the sound — I don’t know if it was the design of Steven “Nanook” Burkholder/FB or problems with the wireless mics on the performers and difficulties at the sound board. In any case, it served to distract more than amplify. Although TC was listed as the resident lighting designer, lighting credit for this show was given to Jeffrey Hampton. The lighting was odd — there were odd flashes during songs that I’m guessing were meant to be rock opera-ish. There were also points where characters were singing or moving in the dark, which shouldn’t be the case. I don’t know what to say about the costume design by Chelsea Jones/FB: they attempted to update this to some unspecified era so that the costumes were some odd eclectic mix of robes, sexy shorts, spandex, hippie threads, jeans and T-shirts, and suits. My wife noted that there were numerous fitting problems. Calliope Weisman/FB was the stage manager. REP is under the artistic direction of Mikee Schwinn/FB.

Jesus Christ Superstar continues at REP East (FB) in Newhall (Santa Clarita) through August 15, 2015. Tickets are available through the REP online box office. Discount tickets are available through Goldstar. I’m not a fan of JCS, but you might be.

After JCS concludes its run, REP will be presenting a special two-weekend “81 series” production of A Company of Wayward Saints by George Herman, a commedia del arte type show. Tickets are available through the REP website.

Upcoming Shows: July is a month of double-headers. Next weekend is another double header: “The History Boys” at the Stella Adler Theatre (FB) on Saturday (Goldstar), and “Green Grow The Lilacs” at Theatricum Botanicum (FB) on Sunday. The last weekend of July brings our last double: “Lombardi” at the Lonny Chapman Group Rep (FB) on July 25th, with the annual Operaworks show the next day. August start calming down, with “As You Like It” at Theatricum Botanicum (FB) the first weekend of August, our summer Mus-ique show the second weekend of August, and “The Fabulous Lipitones” at The Colony Theatre (FB) the third weekend of August. After that we’ll need a vacation … but then again we might squeeze in Evita at the Maui Cultural Center (FB) the last weekend of August. September right now is mostly open, with the only ticketed show being “The Diviners” at REP East (FB) and a hold-the-date for “First Date” at The La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts (FB). October will bring another Fringe Festival: the NoHo Fringe Festival (FB). October also has the following as ticketed or hold-the-dates: Kelrik Production (FB)’s Urinetown at the Monroe Forum Theatre (Hold for Sat 10/3); “Mrs. A. Lincoln” at The Colony Theatre (FB) (Ticketed for Sat 10/10); and “Damn Yankees” at Cabrillo Music Theatre (FB) (Ticketed for Sat 10/17). 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.

Going Sideways

Posted onSaturday, July 11, 2015Sunday, July 12, 2015Authorcahwyguy

userpic=yorick For better (or some might say, for worse), I’ve gotten to know Colin Mitchell (FB), one of the masterminds (perhaps the evil one?) behind the Los Angeles theater website Bitter Lemons (FB). Colin recently invited me to see his new show “Madness! Murder! Mayhem!” at Zombie Joes Underground (FB). Given that I’ve grown to like ZJU’s stuff, and I had a Friday free, I decided to give it a try — thus creating the second double-header weekend of July (tonight we see Jesus Christ Superstar at REP East (FB) in Newhall (Santa Clarita).

M!M!M! is advertised as “Three Classic Grand Guignol Plays Re-Imagined”. My only familiarity with the Grand Guignol style is Sondheim’s classic “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street“. I knew the style was somewhat dark, but there was also an element of humor behind it. According to the website of Thrillpeddlers, a San Francisco based company specializing in the style, the term ‘Grand Guignol’ refers to any dramatic entertainment that deals with macabre subject matter and features “over-the-top” graphic violence. It is derived from Le Theatre du Grand Guignol, the name of the Parisian theatre that horrified audiences for over sixty years. The theatre was founded in 1897 as an extension of the naturalist movement. A typical evening at the Grand Guignol Theatre might consist of five or six short plays, ranging from suspenseful crime dramas to bawdy sex farces. But the staple of the Grand Guignol repertoire was the horror play, which inevitably featured eye-gouging, throat-slashing, acid-throwing, or some other equally grisly climax. In the case of M!M!M!, we had three short plays (running just over an hour) that fit the horror play style quite well, including the grisly. These are not plays for people squicked out by intense personal descriptions or horror. Well, unless you’ve had a little to drink. All of the plays were written by Colin Mitchell (FB)^💀.
[^💀 Note: The sub-title claims these are three classic plays re-imagined, but there is no credit to the original plays. As I write this up, I’ll endeavor to uncover the originals.]

Madness! Murder! Manhem! (Production Photos) The first playlet, At The Break of Day, tells the story of Lacazze (Ken MacFarlane (FB)) and Henri (Roland De Leon (FB)). To the best I can figure, it may be based (very loosely) on Chop-Chop! or The Guillotine (La Veuve), by Eugene Heros and Leon Abric. Lacazze has been imprisoned in a French Prison for a long time. One day, Henri, a new prisoner, joins him in the cell — scheduled for execution by the guillotine. Lacazze attempts to find out Henri’s story, discovering it was for a crime of passion when he thought his girlfriend was cheating on him. The twists of the crime are quite interesting, and I won’t spoil that part for you. Eventually, Lacazze starts taunting Henri about the guillotine and what execution by guillotine is … in gory detail. He discusses how it doesn’t work, and how sometimes the head seems to live on Eventually, Henri gets enraged and proceeds to kill Lacazze with his bare hands. He is left, at the end of the scene, with the steady chop chop chop sound of the guillotine.

This play touched a nerve with me, partially because the song “Madam Guillotine” from The Scarlett Pimpernel has always given me slight chills (“Now come let our lady possess you /In her breathtaking, hair-raising bed /She will tingle your spine /As she captures your heart and your head”). The description of the head living after the chop is just something I can’t imagine. Very good horror imagery there. My wife saw some parallels between the end and Poe’s “The Tell-Tale Heart”, which is equally chilling. I found the performances very good, particularly MacFarlen’s Lacazze, which captured just the right level of madness and reason… and revenge. In fact, if there was a notion behind this playlet, it was the destructive power of revenge — in particular, early on I wrote down the phrase “Live for Revenge”. I’ll note that this created an odd connection with our last play, Matilda, which also dealt with revenge — as did Carrie, for that matter. Perhaps revenge is one of those emotions at the heart of Grand Guignol.

The second playlet, Natasha, appears to be based on L’Horrible Passion, by André de Lorde, about a young nanny who strangled the children in her care. It tells the story of Miss Dorie Logan (Jonica Patella (FB)), a nanny in a house where three children were brutally murdered. Dr. Benjamin Wavers (Colin Mitchell (FB)), a friend of Judge Clarrow (Dale Sandlin (FB)), believes that although she didn’t see the murderer, her subconscious did. He convinces the judge to permit her to be hypnotized, and when she does — let’s just say she did more than see the murderer. The ending was particularly chilling.

In some ways here, the story here was a bit telegraphed (if you’re familiar with Sybil). However, the story was suitably gruesome, particular the description of the deaths of the children (the two boys in particular still sticks with me). The performances were also very strong: Dr. Wavers very controlled, and Clarrow portraying skepticism and then interest quite well. But the best performance here was Patella, with the contrast between the meek personality of Dorie and the aggressive personality of Natasha.

The third playlet, Orgy in the Lighthouse, appears to be adapted from Alfred Marchand’s play of the same name, which was about two brothers who entertain a pair of whores in a lighthouse on a holy day. It this version it was two cousins: the lighthouse operator Bernard (Vincent Cusimano (FB)) and his cousin Edmund (Alex Walters (FB)). Edmund surprises Bernard one stormy and foggy evening for his “birthday” by bringing over two whores — Claire (Shayne Eastin (FB)) and Penelope (Jessica Madelaine). Bernard is disinterested, being more concerned that the lighthouse works. But Edmund insists — and sometimes forces the women violently. Eventually, he pushes Claire onto Bernard, and goes into the other room to have his way forcibly with Penelope. While doing so, he disconnects the gas line. This enrages Bernard, and Edmond keeps coming up with solutions — such as setting a whore on fire and hanging her outside the lighthouse. The ending is particuarly grisly, and shall we say explosive?

The story in this play bothered me the most, simply because of the changes in society that have made strong violence against women particularly unpalatable. It is no longer acceptable to forcibly assault women against their will (I’m not sure it was ever right, but in the past it was often a part of life); this makes its portrayal on stage something very hard to watch. But I guess that’s the role of theatre — to make you uncomfortable, to make you realize what you tolerate and what you don’t. I am willing to accept that the violence was part of the original story (which makes it more gruesome now). The gore in this particular was a little less verbal and a bit more implied and offstage via sound effects, except for a chilling last scene.

The performances, however, were good. Cusimano gave off the image of reticence well, and Walters captured the violence inherent in Edmund with chilling calm. Eastin and Madelaine were appropriately whorish, if not a little overly so and potentially exaggerated; near the end, they captured the fear of the characters quite well.

The production was directed by Jana Wimer (FB), and was (in general) good. My only quibble was at times the actors seemed to be directed to overact a little bit — just a little overemphasis, just a little over the top. What I don’t know is whether this overplaying was intentional. After all, Grand Guignol is not a simple naturalistic presentation, but a stylized presentation that emphasizes both the gore and the humor. It is also a style out of the 1800s. Given that this was Grand Guignol style, the particular overlay that I recognized could very well have been part of that style. For now, I’ll assume that it was; it wasn’t a strong distraction from the show overall.

Taken together, I think these three playlets captured the Grand Guignol style well. I now have a much better understanding of the style — it is more than just Sweeney Todd — it is a style plays up the gore and grossness for a particular audience emotional impact. Not fear exactly, but horror (and there is a subtle difference). In that, these playlets worked well — they all demonstrated the horrific side of human nature. Additionally (and thus the title of this writeup), they all had an interesting sideways movement at the end, going into a direction that you weren’t expecting.

In general, the production side at Zombie Joe’s is spare and sparse. The set consists of a few wooden boxes; the lighting consists of clip-on lamps with colored bulbs (there isn’t even professional level Lekos or a clear lighting board). But it works: the sparse setting permits one to create the horror in your own mind, and to focus on the performances. The sound effects during the show worked particularly well. Technical credits: Scenic Blocks by Xandra-Marie Gabucan (FB) and David Wyn Harris (FB). Music Consultant: Elif Savas (FB). Costume Assistance: Jeri Batzdorff (FB). Assistant Director, ZJU GM, and Tech Guru: Adam Neubauer (FB). Sound design, ZJU Webmaster, and Online PR Manager: Randy “Kernel” Long. ZJU Production Advisers: Josh T. Ryan (FB) and Zombie Joe. Poster Graphics by Jana Wimer (FB) and Adam Neubauer (FB). Produced by Zombie Joe.

One note, which I seem to make every time I visit Zombie Joe’s: their website. Sigh. Their website design, which looks like an old Homestead website because it is an old Homestead website, is truly stuck in the early 1990s era of web design, with a flashy and garish background, poor organization, and what looks to be a non-responsive design. Just as I need to update my highways site, they need to update theirs. Their productions are so good, that their website shouldn’t look so amateurish. So, now-that-I-know-your-name, Mr. Randy Long. You’re their webmaster. Please make their site better — ZJU deserves it.

Madness! Murder! Mayhem! has three more performances: July 17, July 24, and July 31. Tickets are available through the ticket link on the ZJU website. The show runs just over one hour. If you’re into horror or the Grand Guignol style, this is worth seeing. If you’re into family entertainment, I’d give it a pass and go see Murder for Two instead.

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 am not compensated by anyone for doing these writeups in any way, shape, or form. I subscribe at three theatres: REP East (FB), The Colony Theatre (FB), and Cabrillo Music Theatre (FB). Through my theatre attendance I have made friends with cast, crew, and producers, but I do strive to not let those relationships color my writing (with one exception: when writing up children’s production, I focus on the positive — one gains nothing except bad karma by raking a child over the coals). 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 Shows: July is a month of double-headers. Tonight is the second half of this weekend’s double header: “Jesus Christ Superstar” at REP East (FB). Next weekend is another double header: “The History Boys” at the Stella Adler Theatre (FB) on Saturday (Goldstar), and “Green Grow The Lilacs” at Theatricum Botanicum (FB) on Sunday. The last weekend of July brings our last double: “Lombardi” at the Lonny Chapman Group Rep (FB) on July 25th, with the annual Operaworks show the next day. August start calming down, with “As You Like It” at Theatricum Botanicum (FB) the first weekend of August, our summer Mus-ique show the second weekend of August, and “The Fabulous Lipitones” at The Colony Theatre (FB) the third weekend of August. After that we’ll need a vacation … but then again we might squeeze in Evita at the Maui Cultural Center (FB) the last weekend of August. September right now is mostly open, with the only ticketed show being “The Diviners” at REP East (FB) and a hold-the-date for “First Date” at The La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts (FB). October will bring another Fringe Festival: the NoHo Fringe Festival (FB). October also has the following as ticketed or hold-the-dates: Kelrik Production (FB)’s Urinetown at the Monroe Forum Theatre (Hold for Sat 10/3); “Mrs. A. Lincoln” at The Colony Theatre (FB) (Ticketed for Sat 10/10); and “Damn Yankees” at Cabrillo Music Theatre (FB) (Ticketed for Sat 10/17). 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.