Tag: theatre-2010

Statistics and Suspension of Disbelief

Posted onAuthorcahwyguy

Cinderella has always bothered me.

I mean, I can suspend disbelief about the whole fairy godmother thing. I’m cool with the pumpkin turning into the coach, the mice into coachmen, some birds into valets, and rags into a beautiful outfit. But why, oh why, don’t the shoes change back at midnight like everything else. And to make it worse, the shoe being used as a form of unique identification? C’mon now. I only need 57 people to have a 99% probability of them having the same birthday, and there are 365 possible birthdays in a year. But shoe sizes? Going to woman’s shoes, and there are what… if I’m generous and include ½ sizes, women’s shoe sizes go from 2 to 16, there are perhaps 29 sizes. Hmmm, like a month. As for widths, there are perhaps 10: A, B, C, D, E, EE, EEE, EEEE, F, and G (like shoemakers in Cinderella’s day made all the widths). So we’re looking at around 300 permutations of shoes. If you’re birthday won’t uniquely identify you, then shoes certainly wouldn’t. Not to mention, of course, if it’s larger than your foot, you’ll just claim it fits. Thus Cinderella’s foot must have been on the tiny size, because we know the stepsister’s had to cut their feet to get them to fit. So the shoes, which didn’t transform, as a form of unique ID? No. The prince just had a foot fetish, and planted that shoe to distract his parent’s from that fact.

Then there’s the whole message thing in Cinderella. Sure, I can suspend my disbelief about the magic, but now you’re trying to convince me that it is only inner beauty that matters; that outward appearance means nothing? Sure that’s what the Fairy Godmother says, but she must be smoking something. If that was the case, then the Prince would have seen the beauty in the stepsisters. But (as Steve Martin would say) noooooo… He goes for the beautiful Cinderella. C’mon, even supermodels look good in rags. So here we now have a prince, who expressed no interest in girls until his parents held a fancy dance, who claims to find a girl he likes at the dance and that she left a shoe, who then goes around the city touching the feet of every girl until he finds a beautiful girl of the lowest social standing, and then he tells his parents he wants to marry this beard girl. He was just distracting his parents from the reality. Even the US Military would see through this one.

So why am I riffing on Cinderella? If you hadn’t guessed it by now, we went to Cabrillo Music Theatre last night to see their production of “Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella”. Cinderella is one of R&H’s later productions, coming on the heels of two of of their few flops, Me and Juliet and Pipe Dream, and just before Flower Drum Song. It is the only R&H musical done directly for TV (it was first broadcast in 1957), and was later adapted for the stage. As such, it actually has few complete new songs, but lots of reprises and musical underscoring. The songs aren’t distributed evenly across acts (the first act has 13 and the second has just 4); and many of them are evocative (or some might argue duplicative) of other R&H songs. And everything, and I mean everything, seems to be a waltz.

What Cinderella should have going for it is the family friendly aspects. It should draw whole families into the theatre and sell the tickets, getting the kiddies into the seats and introducing them to theatre. This is what the Cabrillo summer production always does: “Cats”, “Singin’ in the Rain”, “Beauty and the Beast”, “The Music Man”, “The Wizard of Oz”. That this production did, although not to the extent of past summers: we still had a mostly empty balcony, with almost daily exhortation about cheap mezzanine seats.

So let’s suspend our disbelief about the weakness of the book and of the artistic selection of the show. That’s something we can’t change. How did Cabrillo do with the show? There, the statistics are born out: even with a weak show, Cabrillo does a great job. The performances and production win you over.

Let’s start with the stunt casting first, although this appeared to be more for the parents than the kids. In this show, the name players were Marcia Wallaceæ (famous from The Bob Newhart Show and The Simpsons) and Sally Struthersæ (famous from All In The Family, Gilmore Girls, and numerous other shows). I’ll note that Struthers got a nice writeup in the LA Stage Blog. Wallace played the wicked Stepmother (are there any other kinds?), and Struthers the Fairy Godmother. Both did good with these small roles, putting their comic timing and expressions to good use. Struthers was particularly funny in the second act as Harold the Herald, but you could see her repeating some of the Gloria mannerisms. I enjoyed her bit with Portia’s creeky knee—especially the “Oklahoma” reference. Both were tolerable on the singing, but these aren’t the major singing roles.

The true leads of the show were a pair of lesser-knowns: Melissa Mitchell as Cinderella and Derek Klena as the Prince. Klena has perhaps the best claim to notariety, having been on American Idol. Both were excellent singers, and Mitchell in particular was a strong actress. Klena had moments where he broke out of the wooden straightjacket that is the prince’s role. They were fun to watch.

Of course, this being Rodgers and Hammerstein and in the traditional musical model, there had to be comic secondary couples. In this case, the first couple was Norman Largeæ as the King and Christina Saffran Ashfordæ. They had great chemistry together, which doesn’t come as a surprise as they appear to regularly tour together. Large, in particular, was quite good as the harried King, and Ashford was fun as the dominating wife. The second couple were the “ugly” stepsisters: Ann Myers as Portia and Dana Shaw as Joy. Both were great comic actresses (although admittedly I kept imagining Rain Pryor from Sisterella). Again, not large singing roles, but that’s due to the weak book.

Rounding out the cast were Chris Caron (the Herald); Justin Jones (the Chef); Ryan Ruge (the Steward), and David Gilchrist (the Minister). The ensemble consisted of Andrew Allen, Jebbel Arce, Kayla Bailey, Michael Brown, Tyler Matthew Burk, Chris Caron, Drew Foronda, Jennifer Foster, Gari Geiselman, David Gilchrist, Tessa Grady, Justin Jones, Nathan Large, Jessie Lee, Noelle Marion, Tyler Olshansky, Madison Parks, Melissa Danielle Riner, Daniel Rosales, Christanne Rowader, Ryan Ruge, Natalie Sardonia, Karen Staitman, Matthew Stewart, Kurt Tocci, and Estavan Valdes. The children’s ensemble was Alexandria Collins, Gabi Ditto, Joah Ditto, Natalie Esposito, Griffin Giboney, Max Kennedy, Lyrissa Leininger, Quinn Martin, Reno Selmser, Erin Ticktin, and Anthony Valdez.
[æ denotes members of æ Actors Equity ]

Turning to the technical side: The sets were provided by Theatre Under The Stars in Houston TX (I’m guessing the economy has Cabrillo renting as opposed to building sets) and were… and were… they did the job well. Not spectacular, but not shabby either. Lighting was by Jean-Yves Tessier and had some pretty gobos and effects, but suffered from the usual Cabrillo follow-spot problem. The sound, by resident sound designer Jonathan Burke was clear and crisp with no glitches. The wardrobe was supervised by Christine Gibson using costumes from the Musical Theatre of Wichita, with hair and makeup by Paul Hadobas. Both are Cabrillo regulars. The prop designer was Anna Grulva.

[ETA: I also must mentioned the splended technical transformation special effects of Adam J. Bezark, who used black lighting quite effectively to handle the transformation of Cinderella’s pumpkin and mice, as well as the return transformation. Quite stunning.]

The production was directed by Lewis Wilkenfeld, and choreographed by Heather Castillo. Steven Smith was Musical Director, and the orchestra was conducted by Lloyd Cooper. I should note the Orchestra was quite large—17 players. This was refreshing in these days of single-digit bands. John W. Calder III was Production Stage Manager (alas, dear youarebonfante is off working a cruise), with Allie Roy and Taylor Ruge as assistant stage managers.

“Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella” continues at Cabrillo for one more weekend, until August 1. Tickets are available through Ticketmaster or the Civic Arts Plaza Box Office. I’m sure they are also available through Goldstar or LA Stage Tix.

Dining Notes: Last night, we tried Pacific Fresh Grill at 2060 E Avenida de Los Arboles. I think we’ll do it again, although my MIL didn’t like her spinach salad. My grilled Salmon was excellent, and the other dishes looked quite good. You can see their menu at Sporq.

Upcoming Theatre and Dance. Today it is time for blood and gore with a touch of comedy, as we see “The Lieutenant of Inishmore” at the Mark Taper Forum. August starts with “Young Frankenstein” at the Pantages on August 1. The next weekend brings “[title of show]” at the Celebration Theatre on August 6. August 15 brings the August “Meeting of Minds”, and August 21 “Side Man” at REP East. Looking into September, there is “Free Man of Color” at the Colony on September 4, and “Leap of Faith” at the Ahmanson Theatre (September 5-October 17, to be ticketed), and “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” at REP East (9/17-10/16). It is unknown if there will be a September “Meeting of Minds”, and if so, when and where. October will bring “Happy Days: The Musical” at Cabrillo Music Theatre, and possibly “The Glass Menagerie” at the Mark Taper Forum.

As always: live theatre is a gift and a unique experience, unlike a movie. It is vitally important in these times that you support your local arts institutions. If you can afford to go to the movies, you can afford to go to theatre. If you need help finding ways, just drop me a note and I’ll teach you some tricks. Lastly, I’ll note that nobody paid me anything to write this review. In fact, I receive no remuneration for any reviews I write.

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Meeting of Minds #24 (Part 2 – Cromwell, O’Connell, Catherine the Great)

Posted onAuthorcahwyguy

Sunday night we went down to the Steve Allen Theatre for the penultimate “Meeting of Minds” at that location. As a reminder, for those unfamilar with Meeting of Minds, it was an innovative PBS program developed by Steve Allen that brought together four (three in the last season) historical figures for a round-table discussion on a variety of topics. Extensively researched, it is both entertaining and educational. These programs were only available for a short time on videotape, and have never been released on DVD. Late in 2009, the good folks at Working Stage productions—in particular, Dan Lauria, Bob Ladendorf and Diana Ljungaeus brought back Meeting of Minds as a staged reading. Their goal is to not only produce these programs in Hollywood, but to perform at colleges, high schools, universitites and other educational or cultural venues, with name actors. With respect to the Hollywood production, they have been on a regular schedule of the third Sunday every month at 7pm at the Steve Allen Theatre. Alas, they are losing that location after the August show; more on that later (as well as a separate post I plan to make to los_angeles)

Last night’s episode was #24 (the last episode aired on PBS), and featured:

  • Oliver Cromwell (1599-1658) [Ian Buchanan]. English soldier and political leader. Overthrew the Stuart Monarcy, and reigned as the Lord Protector of England.
  • Daniel O’Connell (1775-1847) [James Handy]. Irish political leader, campaigned for the Catholic Emancipation. Known as “The Liberator”.
  • Catherine the Great (1729-1796) [Penny Peyser]. Empress of Russia for over 30 years, responsible for the modernization and westernization of Russia.
  • Steve Allen (1921-2000) [Jack Maxwell]. Writer of more than 50 books, composer of more than 8,500 songs, TV host (invented The Tonight Show as well as Meeting of Minds), actor, comedian, author, rationalist.

As with Episode #23 back in February 2010, this was an excellent actor mix — one of the strongest. This demonstrates the quality of these particular actors, as well as the work of the director, Frank Megna. This particular episode focused heavily on the conflict between the Protestants and the Catholics over Ireland, including the punative laws imposed on the Irish by England. In other words, Cromwell and O’Connell were going for each other’s throats most of the time.

As O’Connell, Handy was typically Irish: arrogant at times, playful, proud of his heritage. He reflecting the impact of the American Revolutionaries and freethinkers, emphasizing the importance of religious freedom, while acknowledging that the church in Rome was (until relatively recently) opposed to religious freedom. He emphasized how his approach was non-violent opposition (to which Steve Allen noted the potential comparison to Ghandi). As Cromwell, Buchanan was the opposite: the stern Puritan who felt he was in the right because God directed him to do what he did. As opposed to episode #23, which explored his views on the monarchy, this episode focused more on religious tolerance. It appeared that the religious tolerance was selective: he was tolerant to the Jews, but not to the Catholics in Ireland (tolerance for Catholics appearing to be a big problem since Henry VIII). Lastly, Penny Peyser was an interesting counterpoint: she gave a spirited performance as Catherine—playful, lusty, knowledgable. This episode deemphasized the sexual escapades and focused on her relationship with Potempkin; she was shocked to learn that the villiages and improvement that Potempkin showed her were shams. She felt Cromwell as in the wrong for not revelling in his power—he should have grabbed the monarchy when it was offered to him. It was also noted that O’Connell was offered the monarchy in Belgium.

In thinking about this episode this morning, I began musing about new episodes and who might be in them. The combination that this episode triggered in my mind was: Theodor Hertzl (1860-1904), Queen Isabella I of Castile (1451-1504), King Henry VIII of England (1491-1547), and Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790). Herzl and Isabella should have interesting discussions about the Jews, Isabella and Henry should have interesting discussions about Catholicism (although they are perhaps too contemporary, and there might be a better church thinker), and Franklin would be an interesting addition to the mix due to his freethinking and more deist attitudes towards religion.

“Meeting of Minds” has been produced monthly by Bob Ladendorf and Diana Ljungaeus for Opening Minds Productions, every third Sunday of every month at 7:00pm through August at the Steve Allen Theatre in Hollywood. The specifics of the August episode (Sunday, August 15, 2010 at 7pm) have not been announced. Alas, Opening Minds loses the use of the Steve Allen Theatre after August and is currently scouting for a new location. If you are aware of a suitable location, please let me know in the comments and I’ll pass it on. The parameters are: (1) thrust stage or theatre in the round; (2) seating for at least 100; (3) ability to serve alcohol (wine); (4) availability the third Sunday of the month; and (5) affordable rental fees. The only possibility we could come up with was The Onion in North Hills.

Upcoming Theatre and Dance. Next weekend brings “Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella” at Cabrillo Music Theatre on July 24, and “The Lieutenant of Inishmore” at the Mark Taper Forum on July 25. August starts with “Young Frankenstein” at the Pantages on August 1. The next weekend brings “[title of show]” at the Celebration Theatre on August 6. August 15 brings the August “Meeting of Minds”, and August 21 “Side Man” at REP East. Looking into September, there is “Free Man of Color” at the Colony on September 4, and “Leap of Faith” at the Ahmanson Theatre (September 5-October 17, to be ticketed), and “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” at REP East (9/17-10/16). It is unknown if there will be a September “Meeting of Minds”, and if so, when and where. October will bring “Happy Days: The Musical” at Cabrillo Music Theatre, and possibly “The Glass Menagerie” at the Mark Taper Forum.

As always: live theatre is a gift and a unique experience, unlike a movie. It is vitally important in these times that you support your local arts institutions. If you can afford to go to the movies, you can afford to go to theatre. If you need help finding ways, just drop me a note and I’ll teach you some tricks. Lastly, I’ll note that nobody paid me anything to write this review. In fact, I receive no remuneration for any reviews I write.

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The Trial of the Century

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Last night, we went to Repertory East Playhouse in Newhall to see their first summer “81 series” production: “The Last Days of Judas Iscariot”. Although the acting and direction were great, the show didn’t grab me. This may have been due to my headache; it may have been due to the subject matter (I’m Jewish); or it may have been due to the length (just over 3 hours). I know that my wife and daughter enjoyed the show (in fact, Erin raved about it on her Facebook), so I’m guessing my reaction is just mine. It is important to remember that—just as with movies—sometimes the subject doesn’t reach out to everyone. This is why shows such as this are in the “81 series”: the shows are more on the edge and perhaps of less broad appeal. That doesn’t make them bad shows. Poor writing, poor acting, and poor production makes a show bad… and this show had good writing, good acting, and good production.

“The Last Days of Judas Iscariot” is a 2005 play by American playwright Stephen Adly Guirgis. It presents the trial of Judas Iscariot in a stylized TV-Judge manner, taking place in a corner of Purgatory called Hope. The court is presided over by Judge Littlefield, a Civil-War era judge who is impatient and mecurical, and his bailiff, Julius of Outer Mongolia. Representing Judas, who is comatose, is a sexy defense attorney named Fabiana Aziza Cunningham. Cunningham’s opponent is a womanizing prosecutor named Yusef El-Fayoumy, an Egyptian Christian. Throughout the proceedings we see a wide variety of historical characters ranging from Satan and Jesus, to Simon the Zealot, Sigmund Freud, the jive-talking Saint Monica, Calaphas the Elder (head of the Sanhedrin), Pontius Pilate, Mother Theresa, and others. Throughout the story, questions are raised of whether Judas was responsible for his actions and crazy; whether Jesus’s love for the least means that he would forgive Judas; whether Judas’ hatred for his own actions would permit him to accept forgiveness; and the role of the Jews of the time in the whole mess.

Although the story was interesting, I found it long. The story and the presentation could likely be tightened; however, since this is a new work, I’m not sure the REP had that luxury. There were also points in the story, in particular the testimony of Calaphas the Elder and Pontius Pilate, that seemed to be edging on the point of placing the blame on the Jews. That is a particular claim that’s been responsible for a lot of antisemitism over the ages, and so I am very sensitive to it. The question is a hard one to answer… and it would have been interesting to see an exploration of who Jesus would blame. I’ve always viewed the subject as this: My understanding is that Jesus’ death is a critical part of the belief system—if he hadn’t died for the sins of the people, the story of the resurrection wouldn’t have happened, and Christian theology wouldn’t exist. Thus, the actions of the “villains” of the story—Judas, the Sanhedrin of the time, Pilate—are the critical event that elevated Jesus from a local evangelical to the position he has today. It is an important view to understand: the importance of the bad things that happen in shaping the good in our lives, but without the bad, we wouldn’t have the good. The Bible does say it best: we are given the choice between good and bad, life and death, and we are to choose good. Satan exists to give us the ability to choose to do good. Judas exists to give us the opportunity to forgive.

I should note that the production opened with an audience warm-up by Jonathan “Doc” Farrow (the Bailiff), who did a great job of interacting with the audience and setting the mood of the evening. I’m guessing this wasn’t in the script, and I found that it worked very well.

The performances of the cast (under the direction of Jamie Callahan) were excellent, but I’ve come to expect nothing less from a REP production. Leading the charge were Daniel Lenchæ at Judge Littlefield and Jonathan “Doc” Farrow as Bailiff Julius of Outer Mongolia. Both had fun with their roles; Lench in particular appeared to take sadistic joy in interacting with the characters. As Fabiana Aziza Cunningham, MarLee Candell was the typical sexy defense attorney with a fire in her spirit. Opposing her was Carlo Pietrosanti as Yusef El-Faoumy, a sleazy lecherous slime of a prosecutor. Pietrosanti captured that essence well; so much so you wanted to check the stage for oil afterwards. Also playing a critical role in the proceedings was Toya Nashæ as Saint Monica, a jive-talking product of the hood, who brought substantial energy to the proceedings (we’ve met her son, Augustine of Hippo, before).

In terms of the individuals who testified, there were a number of standout performances, often by REP regulars. I particularly recall Brad Sergi as Satan, who took full delight in his character—I think he was channeling something inside of him; Bill Quinn as Saint Matthew/Sigmund Freud, who played the Viennese doctor as a man quite full of himself; and Michael Levine as Calaphas the Elder, who brought his own tallit and seemingly brought an Eastern-European Yiddish speaking aspect to the story. Rounding out the cast were Scott Blair (Judas Iscariot); Vitthal Mendieta (Jesus/Simon the Zealot); Gregor Manns (Pontius Pilate); Christina Ridout (Henrietta Iscariot/Mary Magdalene); Christopher Murphy (Matthias of Galilee/Sant Thomas/Saint Peter); Donna Marie Sergi (Gloria/Mother Theresa); Johnny Schwinn (Roman Centurian); Amber Van Schwinn (Sister Glenna); and Mikee Schwinn.
[æ denotes members of æ Actors Equity ]

The technical production was by the usual REP crew: “Nanook” doing sound, Tim Christianson doing lighting, and Jeff Hyde on the sets. All were excellent as usual. Although uncredited in the body of the program, I’m expecting Mikee was behind the excellent videos developed for the show. Erin Anderson was Stage Manager.

“The Last Days of Judas Iscariot” continues at the REP through July 24. Tickets are available through the REP Online Box Office, and are often available through Goldstar and LA Stage Tix.

Upcoming Theatre and Dance. Tonight brings the July “Meeting of Minds (Catherine the Great, Daniel Cromwell, and Daniel O’Connell, starring Gary Cole, Penny Peyser, Ian Buchanan and Jim Handy). Next weekend brings “Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella” at Cabrillo Music Theatre on July 24, and “The Lieutenant of Inishmore” at the Mark Taper Forum on July 25. August starts with “Young Frankenstein” at the Pantages on August 1. The next weekend brings “[title of show]” at the Celebration Theatre on August 6. August 15 brings the August “Meeting of Minds”, and August 21 “Side Man” at REP East. Looking into September, there is “Free Man of Color” at the Colony on September 4, and “Leap of Faith” at the Ahmanson Theatre (September 5-October 17, to be ticketed), and “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” at REP East (9/17-10/16). It is unknown if there will be a September “Meeting of Minds”, and if so, when and where. October will bring “Happy Days: The Musical” at Cabrillo Music Theatre, and possibly “The Glass Menagerie” at the Mark Taper Forum.

As always: live theatre is a gift and a unique experience, unlike a movie. It is vitally important in these times that you support your local arts institutions. If you can afford to go to the movies, you can afford to go to theatre. If you need help finding ways, just drop me a note and I’ll teach you some tricks. Lastly, I’ll note that nobody paid me anything to write this review. In fact, I receive no remuneration for any reviews I write.

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Don’t Mess with a Feisty Old Woman

Posted onAuthorcahwyguy

Last night, we went to the first show of our new subscription to the Colony Theatre in Burbank: “Grace & Glorie”.

“Grace & Glorie” is a two-woman play that tells the story of Grace Stiles and Gloria Whitmore. Grace is a feisty 90-year old (is there any other kind) who has just been released from the hospital to go home to her granny cottage in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia to die. Gloria is a transplanted Type-A New Yorker who is her volunteer hospice worker. Grace is strongly independent and doesn’t want any help; she has a strong faith in God (although not church-going) and an acceptance of what life has dealt her. Gloria moved to Virginia with her husband after a personal tragedy; she’s not religious and fights for everything with a strong need to be the survivor at the top. The clash of the two teach each other lessons about life, while entertaining the audience along the way.

The portrayal of these two women was perfect, owing to the work of the director (Cameron Watson), as well as the excellent actresses, Beth Grant and Melinda Page Hamilton. Grant plays Grace as a fragile old women with loads of inner strength. She captures the backwoods Virginian ways—she is the embodiement of what you would expect for Appalachia. In contrast, Hamilton, as Gloria, captures the outwardly strong and bossy New York type with inner fragility. Both came across as real people; there was no consciousness that they were putting on roles.
[Both actors are members of æ Actors Equity ]

The set designed by Jeff McLaughlin, with properties and set dressing by MacAndME, was rich, detailed, and intricate. It captures the cabin in the Virginia mountains well, with a seemingly working wood stove, real food, beautiful quilts and knitting, and the ephemeria of a life. The lighting, by Luke Moyer, created the mood well with use of oranges and blues, and nary a follow spot. The sound design by Cricket S. Myers not only blended into the background in terms of amplification, but provided the requisite atmosphere perfectly, be it the chirping crickets in the quiet time, or the directional sound of construction around the cabin. The costumes by Terri A. Lewis , reflected the personalities perfectly: Glorie in power-suits and elegant pants; Grace in aged, faded pajamas. Lara E. Nall served as the Production Stage Manager.

The full Playbill is online, if you want to read the full acting and technical credits.

“Grace and Glorie” continues a the Colony Theatre until July 18, 2010. Tickets are available through the Colony Theatre, and often via Goldstar Events and LA Stage Tix. The reviews for this show have been strong.

A word about the Colony itself: This was the first show of our Colony subscription (which is the replacement subscription for the Pasadena Playhouse). At least based on the first night, the Playhouse has a lot of work to do to win us back as subscribers. Here’s how I see some of the key differences:

    The Colony Theatre     The Pasadena Playhouse

Parking

  

Free directly in front of the theatre.

  

$8 in the lots around the theatre. You might find street parking, but it a bit more of a walk.

Pre-Show Waiting Area

  

Covered, elegant lobby.

  

Picturesque outdoor courtyard.

Shows Presented

  

West coast premieres, simple musicals, plays, dramas.

  

A mix of new works (often with ethnic themes), larger musicals (often new works), with a few classic plays or reimaginings of classic musicals thrown in.

Stage Capabilities

  

Simple stage (essentially a large black box), with no flyspace or wing space, necessitating a mostly static set.

  

Fair wing and fly space, making possible multiple scenes in significantly different locals with complicated scenery.

Greetings and Friendliness

  

The Artistic Director opens every show excitedly with some words about the program and the season. The staff are friendly and remember you.

  

Since Sheldon Epps took over as Artistic Director, I don’t believe I’ve ever seen him introduce a show. The volunteer house staff recognized the regulars, but that staff went away in the bankruptcy.

Communication with Subscribers

  

Website, a regular emailed newsletter, an active use of the Facebook page.

  

A blog that is not being updated, lack of regular communication with subscribers via email. A preference for communication through announcements in the mainstream media.

Local Dining Options

  

Lots of restaurants near by on San Fernando Road, near Ikea, or up on Glenoaks. Our favorite, Cafe Columbia, is reasonably priced.

  

A captive restaurant that has had a number of operators (the current is “Elements“), which we haven’t tried. A few restaurants in the courtyard nearby; our regular spots were Sachi Sushi or El Portal. Burger Continental isn’t far away.

Bookstores

  

There’s a Barnes and Nobel across the street from the Ikea (about 10 minutes walking).

  

There are both great independent bookstores (Vromans) as well as a great used bookstore (Cliffs).

Pricing

  

About $350 for a 5-show season, payable in two parts.

  

About $800 for a 6-7 show season (based on the initial 2010-2011 pricing; post-bankruptcy pricing unknown), payable in a single chunk.

Upcoming Theatre and Dance. Next weekend bring “The Last Days of Judas Iscariot” at REP East on July 17 and the July “Meeting of Minds (Catherine the Great, Daniel Cromwell, and Daniel O’Connell, starring Gary Cole, Penny Peyser, Ian Buchanan and Jim Handy) on July 18. The 4th weekend brings “Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella” at Cabrillo Music Theatre on July 24, and “The Lieutenant of Inishmore” at the Mark Taper Forum on July 25. August starts with “Young Frankenstein” at the Pantages on August 1. The next weekend brings “[title of show]” at the Celebration Theatre on August 6. August 15 brings the August “Meeting of Minds”, and August 21 “Side Man” at REP East. Looking into September, there is “Free Man of Color” at the Colony on September 4, and “Leap of Faith” at the Ahmanson Theatre (September 5-October 17, to be ticketed), and “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” at REP East (9/17-10/16). It is unknown if there will be a September “Meeting of Minds”, and if so, when and where. October will bring “Happy Days: The Musical” at Cabrillo Music Theatre, and possibly “The Glass Menagerie” at the Mark Taper Forum.

As always: live theatre is a gift and a unique experience, unlike a movie. It is vitally important in these times that you support your local arts institutions. If you can afford to go to the movies, you can afford to go to theatre. If you need help finding ways, just drop me a note and I’ll teach you some tricks. Lastly, I’ll note that nobody paid me anything to write this review. In fact, I receive no remuneration for any reviews I write.

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Pasadena Playhouse Update: Out of Bankruptcy, but Subscriber Communications Still Suck

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By now, you’ve probably read how the Pasadena Playhouse is out of bankruptcy. There have been articles in Playbill, the Los Angeles Times, Pasadena Now, Pasadena Star News, Broadway World, and other locations. The gist of the articles is that the Playhouse is emerging from bankruptcy clear from all debts, save those to their subscribers, that there is a matching gift from two anonymous donors of $1 million, and that they are going to start back slow, with a single show in the fall.

Note the little line about their subscribers. The LA Times article mentioned the subscribers twice. The first reference was when it referred to the reorganization plan: “The plan of reorganization that U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Thomas Donovan approved Wednesday erases all the Playhouse’s debts except the obligation eventually to provide its 2010 subscribers with seats for the number of shows they had bought.” There was also a mention at the end of the article: “Documents in the bankruptcy showed that season subscribers — about 2,600 couples or individuals — were owed about $1.2 million. Walper [the pro-bono attorney] said many of them have agreed to return their tickets as a donation, or claim just two of the plays they are owed instead of all five.”

What have the subscribers been told about this? What about the promise I received from the Executive Director’s Administrative Assistant that “There was a great deal of acknowledgment that within the past couple of years, communication with the subscribers had not been well maintained. One of our prime goals in this reorganization is to mend that…”, and that these ways would include getting “all the online media back up and running properly” and that when the large announcements would be made “both to the general public and subscribers”.

Obviously, things didn’t change.

The press release went to major media outlets… but was not emailed to subscribers. It was not posted to the Pasadena Playhouse blog nor to their Facebook page. The Pasadena Playhouse web site was not updated in parallel with the press release. I dropped a note to the aforementioned Administrative Assistant about this… but there was no response.

This morning, long after the press release went out, their main web site was updated with large font text that is difficult to read, and their news site (which doesn’t have an RSS feed) was updated with a number of links. [ETA, 2hr later: The large print text is gone, replaced by a readable copy of the press release]. There has still been no email to subscribers.

I’m trying to give the Playhouse the benefit of the doubt. However, this seems to show the priority of the Playhouse is the general media newshounds, and not their relationship with their subscribers. It will be interesting to contrast the subscriber relationship this weekend, when we go to the first show of our new subscription at the Colony Theatre in Burbank, where we’ll be seeing “Grace & Glorie”.

P.S.: I’ll note that the Los Angeles Times appears to have a bug up its arse about the Playhouse. Yesterday, whilst doing my normal news reading, I discovered a piece of how the Rubicon Theatre in Ventura (a similar theatre in reputation to the Pasadena Playhouse) is having serious financial difficulties, and their main theatre space was about to be sold to the highest bidder on the Courthouse steps. Luckily, a deal was reached, but they aren’t out of the woods yet. I forwarded this article to the LA Times… so far I haven’t seen them pick up on it.

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What Did You Say? Something about a Bordega?

Posted onAuthorcahwyguy

Today, we went to the Pantages Theatre to see “In The Heights”, the 2008 Tony Award winning musical whose tour finally came to Los Angeles… and I was reminded yet again why I hate the Pantages theatre with a passion. The Pantages was built in the early 1930s as a Vaudeville house, but until 1977 was an elegant movie palace. You know the type: ornates ceilings with lots of art-deco rococo, super fancy staircases, etc. It was retrofitted in 1977 to be a stage house, and has served as home to numerous productions since then (it is currently the home of Nederlander’s Broadway LA series, the “successor” to the LA Civic Light Opera). I’ve been going to the Pantages since 1980 when I saw “Barnum” there; other shows seen there have included “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” (1982); “The Lion King” (2000); “The Producers” (2003); “Hairspray” (2004); “Wicked” (2005). Every time I’ve gone (except, I think, the first productions where I could afford good orchestra seats), the Pantages hasn’t failed to disappoint. The problem: the sound. The palace wasn’t built as a stage house, and the sound bounces everywhere, hurting the production.

This afternoon’s production was no exception. We had great balcony seats… but could only understand about three-quarters of the words said or sung. This made the story hard to follow, hindering our enjoyment of the show. So now, of course, you want me to summarize the story. I’ll have to turn to Wikipedia for help: “In The Heights” is primarily the story of Usnavi, an immigrant from the Dominican Republic who runs a bodega in Washington Heights, a barrio in New York. Usnavi is not the only character: it is the story of Usnavi’s assistant; the story of the Rosario family who run a taxi service, and whose daughter, Nina, has just dropped out of Stanford; and the story the salon next to the bodega: the owner Daniela, her friend Vanessa. It is also the story of Abuela Claudia, who immigrated from Cuba and has served as grandmother to Usnavi. When Abuela wins $96,000 in the lottery, we see how the money affects the life of this community. The website for the show describes this generally as follows: In the Heights tells the universal story of a vibrant community in Manhattan’s Washington Heights – a place where the coffee from the corner bodega is light and sweet, the windows are always open, and the breeze carries the rhythm of three generations of music. It’s a community on the brink of change, full of hopes, dreams and pressures, where the biggest struggles can be deciding which traditions you take with you, and which ones you leave behind.

If you read the full synopsis, you’ll see this is a complicated interwoven story. It truly helps if you can hear the words of the dialogue and songs.

Acting wise, the performances were impressive. We were lucky to have the originator of the Usnavi role (as well as the author and composer of the show), Lin-Manuel Miranda, in the lead role. He was great, with rapid hip-hop style patter telling the story (again, it helps if you can hear that rapid-speak). You could tell he was comfortable in the part. The other leads were Rogelio Douglas Jr. (Benny, the dispatcher for the Rosario’s Taxi service); Arielle Jacobs (Nina Rosario, who was back in the barrio for the summer after dropping out from Stanford); Elise Santora (Abuela Claudia); Sabrina Sloan (Vanessa, a worker in the beauty salon next to the bodega and the love interest for Usnavi); Danny Bolero (Kevin Rosario, the owner of the Taxi dispatch and Nina’s father); Natalie Toro (Camila Rosario, Kevin’s wife); Genny Lis Padilla (Carla) and Isabel Santiago (Daniela), the owners of the salon; and Shaun Taylor-Corbett (Sonny, Usnavi’s assistant). All were strong singers and actors—I particularly liked Sabrina Sloan, Natalie Toro, and Arielle Jacbos. Rounding out the cast were David Baida as the Piragua Guy, Jose-Luis Lopez as Graffiti Pete, and the ensemble members: Sandy Alvarez, Christina Black, Natalie Caruncho, Oscar Cheda, DeWitt Cooper III, Wilkie Ferguson, Rayanne Gonzales, Rebecca Kritzer, Joseph Morales, April Ortiz, Carlos Salazar.

The production was directed by Thomas Kail (assisted by Casey Hushion), and was written by Quiara Alegria Hudes, with music and lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda (who also came up with the original concept). Choreography was by Andy Blankenbuehler, with Daniel Cruz and Kristina Fernandez as dance captains. Musical supervision and orchestration was by Alex Lacamoire and Bill Sherman, with musical direction by Justin Mendoza. Michael Keller was music coordinator. The fight director was Ron Piretti.

The sets, which were quite good, were designed by Anna Louizos. The excellent costumes were by Paul Tazewell. The lighting was by Howell Binkley, and felt like tour lighting: adequate, but it gave off that programmed feeling. The follow-spot operators should be chastised for not keeping up with the actors. I did, however, like the lighting for the fireworks. I’ve already complained about the sound design by Acme Sound Partners: it may have been adequate in the original theatre, but needed adjustment for the problematic Pantages. John S. Corker was the general manager, with Brian Lynch of Theatretech as Technical Supervisor. Marian DeWitt was the production stage manager, assisted by Joel Rosen and Katrina Stevens as stage managers.

“In The Heights” continues at the Pantages through July 25, 2010. You can get tickets through Broadway LA; discount tickets for selected days are available through Goldstar Events.

Upcoming Theatre and Dance. Monday is a little something different: the DCI Southern California drum corps tour (the Western Corps Connection) in Riverside on July 5. The next weekend (July 10 @ 8pm) is the first show of the 2010-2011 Colony season, “Grace & Glorie”. The third weekend of July brings ; “The Last Days of Judas Iscariot” at REP East on July 17 and the July “Meeting of Minds (Catherine the Great, Daniel Cromwell, and Daniel O’Connell, starring Gary Cole, Penny Peyser, Ian Buchanan and Jim Handy) on July 18. The 4th weekend brings “Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella” at Cabrillo Music Theatre on July 24, and “The Lieutenant of Inishmore” at the Mark Taper Forum on July 25. July or August should also bring “[title of show]” at the Celebration Theatre (July 16-September 5) — I’m just waiting for tickets to show up on Goldsar. In terms of what is ticketed and calendared, August starts with “Young Frankenstein” at the Pantages on August 1, and (hopefully) “Rent” at the Hollywood Bowl (pending ticketing) the following weekend. August 15 brings the August “Meeting of Minds”, and August 21 “Side Man” at REP East. Looking into September, there is “Free Man of Color” at the Colony on September 4, and “Leap of Faith” at the Ahmanson Theatre (September 5-October 17, to be ticketed), and “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” at REP East (9/17-10/16). It is unknown if there will be a September “Meeting of Minds”, and if so, when and where.

As always: live theatre is a gift and a unique experience, unlike a movie. It is vitally important in these times that you support your local arts institutions. If you can afford to go to the movies, you can afford to go to theatre. If you need help finding ways, just drop me a note and I’ll teach you some tricks. Lastly, I’ll note that nobody paid me anything to write this review. In fact, I receive no remuneration for any reviews I write.

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Pasadena Playhouse Update: Positive Movement

Posted onAuthorcahwyguy

I’m pleased to report some positive news regarding the Pasadena Playhouse. I heard back from the Operations person today. She reported that the Playhouse Board had a long meeting addressing many of the issues that I have pointed out (although I don’t know if they included the suggestions from my last post). She indicated that there was a great deal of acknowledgment that within the past couple of years, communication with the subscribers had not been well maintained. She indicated that one of their prime goals in this reorganization is to mend that.

I am very pleased to hear that. The first step in fixing relations with the subscribers is to recognize the problem exists.

She indicated that she will personally do her best to get the online media back up and running properly, that they are bringing in a new ticketing and email system, and that (in my case) she has confirmed our information is in the database. She also hinted that, pending approval, they will have some big announcements in mid-July.

Again, I’m please to hear this. I do want the Playhouse to survive and thrive.

She also indicated that both the Executive Director and Artistic Director were willing to sit down and discuss the issues with me. I’ve deferred that for now—I want to see what they do in July, plus I want to have concrete suggestions to give her. I did suggest that she read my favorite producing blogs (The Producers Perspective, Live 2.0 (from the fellow behind Goldstar Events), and Confessions of an LA Theatre Producer). I also suggested that the Artistic Director should work his way onto Downstage Center the next time he’s in New York.

So, the big question: Will we resubscribe? I can’t answer that yet, which I guess is a good answer (and certainly a better answer than my earlier ones). I want to see what their recovery plan is; I want to see what productions they program; and most importantly, I want to see how the subscriptions are priced and how the payment plans (if they have one) work. I also want to see how things change for returning subscribers—what are they going to do to repair relations with the subscriber base. I don’t want to give up our good seats, but they were getting a bit pricey, and I might want to do single tickets for specific productions until I see how things stabilize.

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Cult Theatre

Posted onAuthorcahwyguy

We’re all familiar with cult movies: those movies that have acquired such a following that the audience becomes part of the entertainment; movies that have become part of the cultural landscape. Examples abound, from bad films such as those of Edward Wood, to “Night of the Living Dead”, to “Harold and Maude”, to singalongs for “The Sound of Music”, to …. well, I’m sure you have your favorite. Often, they are run at midnight and have a devoted group of followers. Theatre too has its cults: one only need look at the devoted followers of “Wicked” or “Jekyll and Hyde” to see this.

These two cult worlds intersect—or should I say collide—when one runs into the sweet transvestite from Translyvania. In terms of film, one the best known cult fils is “The Rocky Horror Picture Show”, whose cult stature was perhaps best captured in the 1980’s-era movie “Fame”. Before Rocky Horror was a film, however, it was a stage musical called “The Rocky Horror Show” written by Richard O’Brien. After starting in London, Rocky Horror made its debut in Los Angeles at the Roxy in 1974—producing an album many of us are familiar with. As with the movie, this musical has its cult following.

By now, you have realized this is all lead-in, for last night we went to the Underground Theatre (who has a website to make a subway fan swoon) in Hollywood to see their production of “The Rocky Horror Show”. About half of the audience was made up of a party group made up with red boas and sparkly hats celebrating the birthday of a fabulous man named Michael. This was neither your typical staid and boring theatre audience that sits back and watches the show, nor was it your rowdy high school audience. This audience knew the show, and shouted back at the cast (encouraged by the producer), just as those at the movie shout at the screen. It was a unique (pause) experience (pause)… and quite a blast!

I’m not sure I even need to explain the plot of “Rocky Horror”, but perhaps there is some virgin somewhere that hasn’t seen either the stage production or the movie. A detailed synopsis can be found on the Wikipedia page. The show tells the story of a young couple, Brad Majors and his fiancee Janet Weiss. Their car breaks down in the rain one night while they are on the way to visit Dr. Everett Scott, and they go to the local castle to phone for help. Once there, they are greeted by Riff Raff, the hunchbacked assistant of the castle’s owner, Frank N. Furter, a bisexual mad scientist. They meet the castle’s staff: Magenta, the maid (Riff Raff’s sister), and Columbia, Frank N. Furter’s “groupie.” They do the Time Warp (“It’s just a jump to the left…”). They then go to the laboratory where they learn about Frank’s creation: a blond, bronzed man named Rocky Horror. We also learn about Furter’s earlier effort: Eddie, whom Columbia loves/loved. From there the events and activities get weirder, more sexual, and at times bizarre. Janet enjoys Brad’s advances in her darkened bedroom before realizing that it is in fact Frank in disguise. Brad enjoys Janet’s advances in his darkened bedroom… before realizing that it is in fact Frank in disguise. Rocky escapes, and has a trist with Janet, while Dr. Scott shows up investigating aliens. Eventually, the inhabitants of the castle are revealed to be space aliens led by Frank, and under Frank’s influence, Columbia, Rocky, Brad, and Janet perform song and dance routines while clad in lingerie. This all climaxes (in every sense of the word) in your typical science fiction movie ending. In short: wild, bizarre, fun. Everything a musical should be.

The Underground Theatre’s production of “Rocky Horror” was excellent. All of the cast were a delight to watch: they acted well, they danced well, and except for an odd note or two here and there, sang well. This was especially true up close and personal in the front row, and given the nature of the costumes. Let’s start with the “normal” leads: Troy Guthrie as Brad Majors and Susan Huckle as Janet Weiss. Strong singers and actors, these two captured the innocence and subsequent descent of the characters well. Huckle, in particular, was a joy to watch—one of those actresses you can’t take your eyes off of.

Turning to the castle’s inhabitants: Adia Joëll (Riff Raff), Jessica “Sugar” Kiper (Magenta), Kelly Devoto (cast page) (Columbia), Peter Tucci (Rocky Horror), and of course, Carey Embry (Dr. Frank N. Furter). Before we even start, yes, it was Sugar from Survivor. As I was saying… the castle’s inhabitants. Joëll’s Riff Riff was an interesting choice, as normally Riff Raff is male. She brought an interesting sexuality and a strong singing voice to the role. I found Devoto’s Columbia truly remarkable to watch: a unique characterization that reminded me of Abby on NCIS: cute, small, a distinctive voice and style, and a great dancer. Sugar was more in the background as Magenta (or perhaps I just felt this way because she was situated more on the other side of the stage), but proved to be a surprisingly strong singer, especially in the opening number. Tucci’s Rocky didn’t capture me: although he was having fun with the role and had the requisite bronzing and package, he had a few off notes that I can’t precisely pin down in both singing and performance. Embry, as Furter, was fantastic: a towering transvestite who could act, sing (except for one off note) and dance; a freak who drew your eye and did wild bizzare things with it.

Rounding out the cast were the Phantoms: Adrian Lee Borden, Kristian Espiritu, Shelly Hacco, and Natasha Velasco; Max Maven (Narrator); and Alexel Ryan (Eddie/Dr. Scott). The Phantoms were a joy to watch sing and dance, and I was particularly smitted by Adrian Borden, who had a look and facial expressions that just drew your eye. However, all were great singers and dancers and good actors. Maven was off on the side, narrating, but you can still tell he had fun with the role. Lastly, Ryan had fun with Dr. Scott, especially in the closing numbers.

If I had to summarize the effect of this cast: they had fun and ran with it, and this joy and love for this show just shone through in their performance. When this happens, it just magnifies what the audience gets out of the show.

Turning to the technical: In an interesting coincidence, David Goldstein (who did the “It’s Top Secret” set) also did the set for Rocky Horror. As this was a simple black box theatre, the set was primarily the lab setup and not all that fancy, although there were some interesting blinkenlights equipment. Jessica “Sugar” Kiper also served as costume supervisor, although it is unclear if she designed the sexy costumes, which were effective, creative, and (ahem) revealed the characters quite well. Special costume thanks were given in the program to www.pinupgirlclothing.com. Lighting design was by Ian Peacock, who effectively established the mood. Molly G. Yarn was the Production and Stage Manager.

The production was directed by Allison Austin, who has received kudos from others for how she directed this production. I have to agree with them: she did a great job in preventing the production from degenerating into camp; she drew out remarkable performances from all the cast. This makes it so one can see the show repeatedly and find nuances to enjoy from each cast member. Lindsey Glick choreographed the show, making creative use of the small space. Ed Kelly served as musical director of the off-stage small band, which was led by Rosh Roslin and consisted of Roslin, Kelly, and Mike Papgni, and provided great sound. The show was produced by Brian Glicker and Big Brit productions.

“The Rocky Horror Show” (a Big Brit production) continues through July 10, 2010, with one special midnight show remaining on July 10. General admission is $25; you may be able to find discounts on Plays411.net. Tickets are available through Plays411.net and Brown Paper Tickets, or you can call (323) 960-4443.

Dining Notes: Before the show, we hit Natalie’s Peruvian Seafood Restaurant which was up on Hollywood near Wilton, not that far from the theatre. In one word: excellent. I had the Pescado Sudado, a delightful whitefish steamed in a sauce with onions and tomatos and white white. Karen had the Ceviche Mixto, which she said was delightful but a bit spicy. Erin had the Arroz con Mariscos, which sent her into seafood ecstasy. Jim was the non-seafood person: he had the Bisteck a lo Pobre—I had a taste, and it was good (although with all the fried stuff, a bit more fattening). In short: this place is a do again!

Upcoming Theatre and Dance. Next weekend is the 4th of July. We’re celebrating this with two tours: the Broadway tour of “In The Heights” at the Pantages on July 3, and DCI Southern California drum corps tour (the Western Corps Connection) in Riverside on July 5. The next weekend (July 10 @ 8pm) is the first show of the 2010-2011 Colony season, “Grace & Glorie”. The third weekend of July brings ; “The Last Days of Judas Iscariot” at REP East on July 17 and the July “Meeting of Minds on July 18. The 4th weekend brings “Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella” at Cabrillo Music Theatre on July 24, and “The Lieutenant of Inishmore” at the Mark Taper Forum on July 25. Plus July will possibly bring some ventures out to the Hollywood Bowl. July or August should also bring “[title of show]” at the Celebration Theatre (July 16-September 5) — I’m just waiting for tickets to show up on Goldsar. In terms of what is ticketed and calendared, August starts with “Young Frankenstein” at the Pantages on August 1, and (hopefully) “Rent” at the Hollywood Bowl (pending ticketing) the following weekend. August 15 brings the August “Meeting of Minds”, and August 21 “Side Man” at REP East. Looking into September, there is “Free Man of Color” at the Colony on September 4, and “Leap of Faith” at the Ahmanson Theatre (September 5-October 17, to be ticketed), and “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” at REP East (9/17-10/16). It is unknown if there will be a September “Meeting of Minds”, and if so, when and where.

As always: live theatre is a gift and a unique experience, unlike a movie. It is vitally important in these times that you support your local arts institutions. If you can afford to go to the movies, you can afford to go to theatre. If you need help finding ways, just drop me a note and I’ll teach you some tricks. Lastly, I’ll note that nobody paid me anything to write this review. In fact, I receive no remuneration for any reviews I write.

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