B’Shert

Handle with Care (Colony Theatre)userpic=colonyNormally, when I write up shows I’ve seen at the The Colony Theatre (FB), you’re getting the write-up just before the last show. That’s just because that’s when our season tickets happen to be. However, for the Colony’s current show, our season tickets are just before the start of the Annual Computer Security Applications Conference in New Orleans (you are going, aren’t you — advance registration closes November 14), so I had to change the date. Due to a busy theatre calendar, this means we saw the new Colony show “Handle With Care“‘s second performance. So, for a change, you can act upon my recommendation to go.

I should warn you that the advertising for “Handle With Care” (written by Jason Odell Williams (FB), directed by Karen Carpenter (FB)) is misleading. The elevator pitch advertising calls it a “Jewish Christmas Play”. Sorry, but the only real connection to Christmas is that it occurs on Christmas Eve, which really isn’t that major of a plot contrivance. The short description on the Colony website is just a little better:

Magic can happen in the unlikeliest places ─ like Christmas Eve in a seedy motel, where fate and bizarre circumstances bring together a young Israeli woman who has little command of English, and a young American man with little command of romance. Is their love an accident? Pure coincidence? Or is it destiny that’s been generations in the making? It’s a wonderful new play about love, communication, fate, and the importance of GPS-enabled tracking devices.

GPS-enabled tracking devices? C’mon, again, not a major plot point at all.

Let me give  you a better description of the setup. Ayelet, a young Israeli woman with little English ability, has been convinced to visit America with her safta (grandmother in Hebrew), Edna. Edna wants Ayelet to visit America to get her over the depression from the loss of a long-term boyfriend (along with some other reasons, which reveal themselves during the story). After visiting a number of towns in Virginia, they end up in a seedy motel in Goodview, VA. Shortly after arriving, Edna dies, and Ayelet makes arrangement to ship her body back to Israel. She contacts DHQ, a shipping service, and they send Terrence, one of their drivers, to pick up Ayelet and take her and the body to the airport to fly back to Israel. While waiting for Ayelet to pack, Terrence goes out to fuel the truck… and loses the box containing the body. All of the above you learn during flashbacks during the story. When the story opens, however, you just have Ayelet distraught and upset in rapid-fire Hebrew, and Terrence, who knows no Hebrew at all, trying to explain what happens. To help him, he calls in his Jewish-but-Secular friend Josh, because (of course) all Jews know Israeli Hebrew fluently. Josh himself is coming off a bad loss — again, we learn the details during the play — and he thinks Terrence is trying to set him up.

OK. Now. You have the setup. You have the short description. Ready. Set. Go.

Now that you know the story but not all the twists, let’s assess the story. There are two ways to look at it. For audience members that know not of Jews (yes, they do exist in LA) or Israelis (yes, they too do exist in LA), a lot of this play will go over their heads. They’ll be confused by the Hebrew, they won’t get some of the Jewish jokes or the jokes about Israel. Still, they’ll be amused by how the story plays out.

For folks like me in the audience, who know Judaism well, know a smattering of Hebrew, and know Israelis well — they’ll like the show ever more. From my little knowledge,  the director (who also directed the show off Broadway) captures the Israeli mannerisms well. This may be because the lead actress, Charlotte Cohn (FB), not only played the role off-Broadway and is married to the playwright, but is also Israeli (and Danish).

Now, for folks that speak Hebrew fluently… I have no idea. My Hebrew isn’t that good; I’m at the level of Josh in the play (or worse). I’d be curious how well the Hebrew Ayelet speaks fits the story — the few words I could hear seemed to work.

In the end, what “Handle With Care” turns out to be is a very cute story about people finding love, perhaps where they didn’t expect it. However, what it isn’t is a Christmas story. Sure, it happens just before Christmas, serving to limit the availability of DHQ drivers. Sure, It’s a Wonderful Life is on the TV, but that’s just so people can impersonate Jimmy Stewart. There’s no real connection to the holiday; and certainly no clash of the holiday titans. Go to this show because you want to see a cute, Jewish/Israeli themed love story. Go to this play because you want to see a story that paints Israelis as real people — just like you and me.

As I’ve noted before, in the lead position was Charlotte Cohn (FB). Cohn knows this story well —  she’s a Danish-Israeli Jew married to a “lapsed” Catholic-Protestant (the playwright). She brings a lot of fun and passion to the part — you can see she enjoys playing this character and bringing this young woman to life.  She’s just fun to watch. Playing off her, as Josh, is Tyler Pierce (FB). Pierce gives off a very affable air that works well for the character; he’s believable as a relatively non-practicing Jew.

Rounding out the cast are Jeff Marlow (FB) as Terrence and Marcia Rodd (FB) as Edna. Marlow is fun to watch as Terrence — he radiates a youthful joy and innocence (or perhaps it is stupidity) that is both infectuous… and annoying to the other characters. He screwed up, is confronted by something and someone he doesn’t understand, and is grabbing for something to hold on to. Rodd’s Edna is the opposite: centered, strange, and clearly driven by some purpose that neither the audience (nor Ayelet) comprehends (until it is made clear in the second act :-)).

In short: this piece is well performed and directed.

Turning to the technical side: The scenic design by David Potts was very nice — we were sitting on the right side (as opposed to our usual center), and I appreciated that he had the attention to detail that was only visible to those on the side (i.e., real fixtures in the bathroom). Potts created an excellent run down motel set (aided by the properties and set dressing of John McElveney (FB) and scenic art by Orlando de la Paz). I also noted that he had different levels of snow on the roof of the motel depending on the particular day. The sound design by Drew Dalzell (FB) (based on an original design by Jill Du Boff (FB)) was also quite nice — I particularly enjoyed the use of Eli Eli in Act II and I’d love to find a copy of that recording. The lighting design by Jared A. Sayeg (FB) worked well to establish the mood, and the costumes by Dianne K. Graebner (FB) seemed to fit the characters. Mary K. Klinger (FB) was the production stage manager. The Colony is under the artistic direction of Barbara Beckley.

Handle With Care” continues at The Colony Theatre (FB) through December 14, 2014. Discount tickets may be available through Goldstar or LA Stage Alliance.

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

Upcoming Theatre and Concerts:  November is busy, busy, busy. This week brings a trip out to Orange Empire Railway Museum to see my buddy Thomas on 11/11, the Nottingham Festival (during the day) and “Sherlock Holmes and the Suicide Club” at REP East (FB) (in the evening) on Sat 11/15. I’m also seeing theatre when I visit my daughter Erin in Berkeley between 11/20 and 11/26, starting with “Harvey” at Palo Alto Players (FB) in Palo Alto for Friday 11/21. That will be followed Saturday afternoon with The Immigrant at Tabard Theatre (FB) in San Jose, and the Dickens Fair (FB) on Sunday in Daly City. Who knows, I might even squeeze in “Rhinocerous” at the UC Berkeley Theatre Department (FB). After I return, it is “Kinky Boots” at the Pantages (FB) on Sat 11/29. As for December, I just ticketed “She Loves Me” at Chance Theatre (FB) in Anaheim on 12/20, and we’ll probably go see Joseph and His Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” at Nobel Middle School just before ACSAC. Right now, there is only one show booked for January 2015 – “An Evening with Groucho” at AJU with Frank Ferrente; additionally we’ll likely have the first show of the REP East (FB) season: “Avenue Q“.  As always, I’m keeping my eyes open for interesting productions mentioned on sites such as Bitter-Lemons, and Musicals in LA, as well as productions I see on Goldstar, LA Stage Tix, Plays411.

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A Tail (or is that Tale) of Father and Son

Big Fish (MTW)userpic=theatre_musicalsAs you know by now, I love filling my iPod. So when new musicals by composers that I like (in this case, Andrew Lippa) come out, I tend to pick up their cast albums quickly. This happened in March, when I picked up the album for “Big Fish, a musical that opened and closed relatively quickly on Broadway (open in September 2013, closed in December 2013). When I discovered that Musical Theatre West (FB) was presenting the West Coast Premier of the musical, I decided that this was something that justified the drive to Long Beach, and picked up tickets. Hence, last night saw us down in Long Beach at the Carpenter Center for an opening weekend performance of “Big Fish“.

Before I dive into the review, a word about the venue. This was our first time at the Carpenter Center on the campus of CSULB. A beautiful venue with great sight lines, it has one major problems: the side entrances do not close. This lives you not in a great dark box where your imagination can take over, but with light in the side of your peripheral vision constantly reminding you that you are in a theatrical venue, and distracting you with visible movement of the ushers. Bad, bad design.

On the the musical itself. “Big Fish” features a book by John August, and music and lyrics by Andrew Lippa. It is based on the 2003 movie “Big Fish” which was also written by August, based on the novel by Daniel Wallace, which I have never seen. I emphasize that because reading the Wikipedia description of the movie and the summary of the musical makes clear that there are situations in the movie that were collapsed and combined into the musical, and if you come in expecting to see the movie on screen, you will likely be disappointed. This isn’t the movie, I rarely ever go to the movies, and I judge the stage production on its own merits. There, I’ve said it.

Big Fish, at its heart, is the story of fathers and sons. In this case, the father, Edward Bloom, is an seemingly ordinary traveling salesman in rural Alabama. He loves to tell far-fetched stories to his son Will of his life growing up; stories in which he was always the hero. These stories are meant to inspire Will to be the hero of his story, but children are often the opposite the parents. Will is a pragmatist who believes his father’s stories are fictions; falsehoods leading him astray. The musical opens on the occasion of Will’s wedding to Josephine, and the announcement that Will is to be a father. Shortly we also learn that Edward is dying. The musical then keeps moving back and forth between Edward’s story and Will’s attempts to find out the truth.

Edward’s stories border on the fantastic: Edward charms fish out of the lake. Edward meets a witch who tells him how he will die, giving him confidence because he knows the situation is not the one that will kill him. Edward meets a mermaid who teaches him about love. Edward is the hometown “big man” who always saves the city, destined to marry the head cheerleader (Jenny). Edward rescues his hometown from a giant (Karl), befriending him instead. Edward joins the circus, sees the girl he will marry (Sandra), and spends three years working for the circus owner, a werewolf, to get the clue to the girl. Edward saves a general from death.

On the other hand, Will has this image of what he thinks his father to be — especially as he wasn’t home a lot — and he does his best to confirm it. As Will is going through his father’s records in preparation for his passing, he discovers that his father co-signed a loan for an unknown woman in his hometown. Will believes this to be evidence of his father’s secret life — and secret mistress. When his father refuses to talk about it, Will goes to his father’s hometown, and discovers the truth. This ultimately changes Will’s view of his father, and his entire approach to raising his own child.

When one looks at a show, there are three distinct aspects to assess. The story, the performance, and the technical side. I’ve given you the summary of the story; as I’ve noted, those coming in expecting the movie may be disappointed. I found the story itself charming; presenting an interesting core notion of the relationship between father and son. How does a father convey his values to his children? Some (like me) try to do it by being a role model, living by example. In this case, Edward attempts to convey his value and life philosophy through his stories — his notion that one needs to be the hero in your life, and to recognize your heroism. By the end of the play, we learn that much of the stories are embellishments — but at the center of it all, Edward is still the hero he claims to be. In fact, he is more the hero than he was in the stories, for his actual heroism — his biggest act — was in the story he never told. Its an interesting life philosophy, and theatre is a great medium for transmitting broad philosophies. We saw this last week in Pippin, which gave the philosophical message that fulfillment for extraordinary people may often be found in the ordinary. We see it again this week, in proving that the ordinary people may be quietly extraordinary. It’s quite an interesting juxtaposition.

Before I delve into the performances themselves, let’s address the larger performance aspects: The direction and choreography. This production featured the Broadway sets and costumes, but not the Broadway director and choreographer (Susan Stroman). Reading the reviews of the Broadway production, one gets the idea that the disappointment was less in the show itself, and more in Stroman not being as creative as the critics expected her to be. This production of Big Fish was directed by Larry Carpenter, and choreographed by Peggy Hickey (FB). I didn’t particularly notice the direction — which is a good thing. Story and scene melded reasonably well into the next story and scene; the characterizations of the actors seemed reasonable and believable. Movement and dance integrated well into all of this, and there were many beautiful dances (which might have been based on Stroman). I think this is one advantage of regional theatre — you can move away from the baggage brought by the “name” creatives, and see the story for what it is.

In the lead performance tier in this show were Jeff Skowron (FB) as Edward Bloom and Andrew Huber/FB as Will Bloom. Although not a Norbert Leo Butz (Edward in the Broadway production), Skowron gave a very strong performance as Edward. He sang well, he danced well, and most importantly, he seemed to embody Edward and enjoy being the character. This was clear from the onset in his “Be The Hero” number. Similarly strong was Huber as Will, his son. Strong movement, strong singing (especially in “What’s Next”) — just very well done. Supporting these two men were Rebecca Johnson (FB) as Sandra Bloom, and Kristina Miller (FB) as Josephine Bloom. Sandra gave off the sort of charm that made you see why Edward fell in love with her at first sight, especially in her “Little Lamb from Alabama” number. Kristina was more supporting, but both worked well to ground the family side of the story. Also notable was Jude Mason as young Will.

Supporting the family were the many characters in Edward’s stories. These included Molly Garner (FB) as The Witch, Timothy Hughes as Karl (the Giant), Gabriel Kalomas (FB) as Amos Calloway, Zachary Ford (FB) as Don Price, Michelle Loucadoux (FB) as Jenny Hill, and Marisa Field/FB as the Mermaid (Girl in the Water). Notable performances here were Garner as the Witch, who had a spectacular dancing number in “I Know What You Want” and Hughes in “Out There on the Road”. Hughes’ dance was even more notable given that it was done on stilts!

Rounding out the cast were Richard Bulda (FB) as Dr. Bennet, Jake Saenz/FB as Zacky Price, and the members of the ensemble: Caitlyn Calfas (FB), Rachel Davis (FB,TW), Jessica Ernest (FB), Aaron Felske (FB), Brad Fitzgerald/FB, Annie Hinskton (FB), Morgan McGeehan (FB), Lauren Newman/FB, and Michael Starr (FB).

Musical direction was by Matthew Smedal (FB), who also led the uncredited orchestra of some unknown number of players. At least they got to be in the pit with the mermaid :-).

Turning to the technical side of the equation. Here’s where there were some problems with the show. I’ve already noted the distracting effects due to the building design not creating a fully-darkened box. There were also sound problems with the sound design/mixing of Brian Hsieh — at times mics had incorrect volume, and at times there was a fair amount of static. There were also some large thumps in the second act as scenery was moved. Other technical areas were good: the lighting design of Phil Monat worked well to create the mood; the sets (from the original Broadway production, designed by Julian Crouch) established place well and were reasonably flexible; the costume design of William Ivey Long (again, from the original Broadway production, adjusted locally by Karen St. Pierre) were clever and inventive (especially for the Witch’s dance and the Giant); and the properties (by Melanie Cavaness and Gretchen Morales) worked well. Also very inventive were the projections of John Infante. Additional technical credits: Hair Design – Michael Greene; Technical Director – Kevin Clowes; Stage Manager – Heidi Westrom (FB);   Production Stage Manager/ASM – Mary Ridenhour; Production Assistant – Anna Katharine Mantz; Executive Director/Producer – Paul Garman.

Big Fish” continues at Musical Theatre West until November 16. Tickets are available through MTW; discount tickets are available through Goldstar.

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

Upcoming Theatre and Concerts:  November is back to busy. Tonight brings a special tribute to Stan Freberg at the Egyptian Theater.  Next weekend brings “Handle with Care” at The Colony Theatre (FB) on Sun 11/9 (shifting to avoid ACSAC and opening night), a trip out to Orange Empire Railway Museum to see my buddy Thomas on 11/11,  “Sherlock Holmes and the Suicide Club” at REP East (FB) on Sat 11/15, the Nottingham Festival on Sun 11/16, and “Kinky Boots” at the Pantages (FB) on Sat 11/29. I may also see some theatre when I visit my daughter Erin in Berkeley between 11/20 and 11/26. Right now, I’ve scheduled “Harvey” at Palo Alto Players (FB) in Palo Alto for Friday 11/21, and I’m looking at The Immigrant at Tabard Theatre (FB) in San Jose, , “Rhinocerous” at the UC Berkeley Theatre Department (FB), or possibly a show at UC Santa Cruz featuring a family friend in the cast or crew. [As a PS on the above: I’m trying to figure out a way to balance “The Immigrant”, the show at Santa Cruz, and Dickens Fair on one weekend. Am I crazy?] As for December, I just ticketed “She Loves Me” at Chance Theatre (FB) in Anaheim on 12/20, and we’ll probably go see Joseph and His Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” at Nobel Middle School just before ACSAC. Right now, there is only one show booked for January 2015 – “An Evening with Groucho” at AJU with Frank Ferrente. As always, I’m keeping my eyes open for interesting productions mentioned on sites such as Bitter-Lemons, and Musicals in LA, as well as productions I see on Goldstar, LA Stage Tix, Plays411.

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Marital Discord in the Back Woods

Don't Hug Me, We're Married (The Group Rep)userpic=theatre_ticketsBack in August, when I was planning my theatre for October (you can stop laughing now), I noticed a period where my wife would be out of town and I had no theatre booked. “Aha!,” said I, “This is a perfect time to book something my wife might not like.” It turns out I was wrong. Yes, I booked a silly show in a series I had long heard about but never attended. However, it turns out that my wife would completely enjoy it. Luckily, it runs until mid-November, so perhaps she can squeeze it in. By now, you’re probably curious about the show’s identity. Last night I went to the Group Rep (FB) in North Hollywood to see the fifth show in Phil and Paul Olson’s long running “Don’t Hug Me” (FB) series: “Don’t Hug Me, We’re Married“, featuring Book and Lyrics by Phil Olson (FB), and Music and Orchestrations by Paul Olson (FB).

Ads for the show describe it as follows:

“Set in a north woods bar in Bunyan Bay MN, plans are on tap for a double wedding. But before the nuptuals transpire, we’ll have to deal with a surprise visitor, two un-Hallmark proposals, an over-zealous wedding planner, a stag and stagette party, uber-mosquitoes, a quirky male stripper, an unhappy bridesmaid, a gigantic hangover, a sexy cheerleader, a rapping minister, and the dreaded wedding dress. One small hitch before the hitchings, they can’t find anyone who will pay for the wedding. What could possibly go wrong?”

What this doesn’t say is that all of the above takes place with a cast of 5.

When the show ended, I kept hearing the same word from others in the audience: “cute”. Indeed, about 10 minutes into the show, that was my one word summary: “cute”. This show is not high art — I don’t think it was intended to be high art (in fact, Phil seems to imply that was the intent in this interview). The songs and dances related to the plot, but they weren’t memorable and at times seemed to stick out (although they were well performed). The plot itself was very humorous, although it wasn’t a joke-a-minute-fest, and some of the recurring gags recurred a little too much. But that’s what this show was: cute humor for small casts; not high art but definitely entertaining. Art snobs wouldn’t like it, but audiences would enjoy it. It wasn’t “donuts for dinner” (as defined in “[title of show]“), but it wasn’t a gourmet meal either. It was Applebees, ummm no, it was Cracker Barrel. A filling meal, a tasty meal, a meal you enjoy when you eat it even if the surrounding are a bit corny…. but a meal that you didn’t choose because of the nutrition.

But on the way home a realization hit me: Although the presentation was a little corny, the underlying subject wasn’t — in fact, the underlying subject was something I had just been thinking about. Let me explain. My favorite little theatre, Repertory East (FB), loves to do a lot of fundraisers where you dress up: tux, tails — in fact, next week they are doing a full costume event (FB). I never go to these. I rarely get dressed up (the last time I wore a tux was my wedding); I never go out dancing. I don’t bring my wife flowers or do the spontaneous romance. In other words: I’m just like Gunner in this show. I’m not a romantic. On the other hand, my wife is like Clara. She’d love the romantic gesture (once she picked herself off the floor). She’s probably silently disappointed in my lack of romance. Yet we both love each other dearly — just like Gunner and Clara do in this show. On the other hand, there are couples just like Bernice and Aarvid in this show: couples deeply in love, who will make any gesture to show it. They wear their love on the outside; they have the courage to express it and it just shines away.

Although this show has a cotton-candy exterior, at its heart it is appealing simply because people see themselves in it. They see themselves so much they just start cheering for the characters. You want these characters to end up happy. It is this tender and sentimental heart that makes this show work. So what if an intuitive karaoke machine provides silly music with a look and a nod. So what if you suspend your disbelief when the dances come out and the singing starts. That’s the nature of this beast, don’tcha know.

The basic plot of the show is this: On the one side, you have Clara and Gunner: married for 20 years with the typical long-married blues. They are having a contest on who can be the better spouse. On the other side is Bernice, who has just decided to marry Aarvid. This upsets Kanute, who wants to marry Bernice. Thrown into the mix is Trigger (who is played by the same actor who plays Gunner, but in female clothing, explaining why the two are never seen in the same place at the same time and a number of other wink wink nudge nudge jokes — a running joke), who wants to marry Kanute. A double wedding is arranged, with predictible sitcom results and outcomes. This basic story, as I’ve noted before, is cute and sitcomish, but it is fun to watch.

The songs and accompanying dances range from silly to, ummm, sillier. None of the songs stick with you afterwards, although a number are very cute (there’s that word again): in particular “The Day That Bob Dylan Was Here”, “It’s All Comin’ Together” (notable for the clever passage of time), and the “Bunyan Bay High School Fight Song”. There was one number that truly made me suspend disbelief titled “We Are Gathered Here Today”, but I won’t spoil the twist.

One last note on the show itself: I fear that this series may depend too much on people knowing the recurring jokes and motifs from the previous episodes. In fact, if you read the synopsis of the past shows on the series website, you’ll see that all of the plays involve the same five characters in different situtations. That’s great if you’re a fan of the series; it makes it harder to get into if you’re thrown  into the latest incarnation without knowing the backstories and relationships that underlie some of the humor. Essentially, this is a musical sitcom on stage: the first show or two introduced you to the characters in depth, but the rest build upon your prior knowledge of these characters and their quirks. If you come into the show in the middle, it takes a while to warm up, and sometimes you wonder why people are laughing. Multi-part stories rarely work in the theatre; when they do, they are designed to also work as standalone pieces (Neil Simon’s Brighton Beach trilogy is an example of that, as are August Wilson’s works). Pure sequels (cough, Annie 2, cough, Bring Back Birdie) often don’t work as well, but usually that is because they try to repeat the same jokes and structure as the original. Having not seen the earlier incarnations, I can’t assess how much of that is the case for this play (but it surely seems to be based on the other play’s synopses).

The performances were very good. I was particularly smitten by both female leads: Truett Jean Butler (FB) as Bernice and Rebekah Dunn† (FB) as Clara. Butler just had some quality that drew me to her — I don’t know if it was her face, her expressions, her emotions — but my eye was just drawn to her character. Similarly, Dunn had that weary long married look of exasperation I know so well :-); and she had a completely different look in the second act when she let her hair down that gave the real demonstration of how love endures in a long term marriage. As my wife says, “Divorce never, murder frequently”. Both had good singing voices but came across a tad week — I think that was more the nature of the songs and the orchestrations than anything else. It would be interesting to see them in a caberet performance.
(†: In previous shows, this actor appears to have been credited as Rebekah Brown Czarnecki)

The male performers were equally strong — in particular Don Schlossman (FB) in his dual roles as Gunner and Trigger (which must be exhausting). Bert Emmett (FB) was good in his comic relief role as Kanute. Lastly, Troy Whitaker (FB) gave off a lovely boyish naive charm as Aarvid. Again all sang well but not strong due to the nature of the songs.

The direction, by Doug Engalla (FB) assisted by Natalia Santamaria (FB), worked reasonably well to make the characters as believable as possible given the story and the setup. The dance, under the choreography of Stan Mazin (FB), seemed simple. On the one hand, these are supposed to be patrons and owners of a backwoods bar in Minnesota — you’re not going to be seeing anything fancy there (unless it is with a moose). On the other hand, however, the simplicity of the dance and the nature of the movement made the songs stand out that much more: they became more like novelty numbers than seemlessly integrated. I can’t help but wonder if a different approach to the movement might have made the songs fit in a little better. Perhaps not. It could just be that is the nature of this particular beast. They do grow them strange in the back woods.

Turning to the technical side: The set design by Chris Winfield (FB) evoked the backwoods bar well; evidently, there were hidden homages to the past instances of the series. In any case, it was a well done set. This combined with costumes by Jocelyn Finn that again evoked backwoods Minnesota well, including some cute costumes for Trigger and Bernice. Steve Shaw (FB)’s sound design provided appropriate sound effects, although the music itself was a bit electronic. The lighting design by J. Kent Inasy was simple and mostly, umm, white; no particular instance of using light to create or enhance mood stands out to me.  The show was produced by Laura Coker (FB).

There’s one other technical credit I want to call out: Nora Feldman, who did public relations. Nora didn’t get me to this show; in fact, by the time she sent me the press release I already had tickets for the show (for some reason, I’m on a number of lists for theatre press release). Nora did, however, respond to me when I asked if she could coordinate a ticket donation for the upcoming MoTAS Charity Golf Tournament, and that enabled me to meet Bert Emmett, the President of the Group Rep Board of Directors. I had a delightful conversation with Bert after the show about theatre and such. So I thank Nora and Bert: both for making the donation (for which MoTAS thanks you), and for taking the time to talk to me (which I appreciate).

Don’t Hug Me, We’re Married” continues at  the Group Rep (FB) until November 15. Tickets are available through  the Group Rep (FB) box office, and discount tickets may be available on Goldstar or LA Stage Tix. The remainder of  the Group Rep (FB) season looks interesting: the farce “Don’t Dress for Dinner” (December 12, 2014-January 25, 2015); “Tiger by the Tail” (March 6-April 9, 2015), “Love Again” (a set of three mini-musicals) (May 15-June 28, 2014), and “Lombardi” (July 24-September 6, 2015). I particularly want to see that last show, “Lombardi“.

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

Upcoming Theatre and Concerts:  October currently has two shows remaining: “Pippin” at the Pantages (FB) on 10/25, and the Los Angeles Symphonic Winds (FB) at Calabasas High School on 10/26 (follows by the MoTAS Golf Tournament the next day at the Calabasas Country Club). November is back to busy, with “Big Fish” at Musical Theatre West (FB) on Sat 11/1, “Handle with Care” at The Colony Theatre (FB) on Sun 11/9 (shifting to avoid ACSAC and opening night), a trip out to Orange Empire Railway Museum to see my buddy Thomas on 11/11,  “Sherlock Holmes and the Suicide Club” at REP East (FB) on Sat 11/15, the Nottingham Festival on Sun 11/16, and “Kinky Boots” at the Pantages (FB) on Sat 11/29. I may also see some theatre when I visit my daughter Erin in Berkeley between 11/20 and 11/26. Right now, I’m looking at The Immigrant at Tabard Theatre (FB) in San Jose, “Harvey” at Palo Alto Players (FB) in Palo Alto, or “Rhinocerous” at the UC Berkeley Theatre Department (FB). As for December, right now I’m just holding one date: “She Loves Me” at Chance Theatre (FB) in Anaheim on 12/20. Right now, there is only one show booked for January 2015 – “An Evening with Groucho” at AJU with Frank Ferrente. As always, I’m keeping my eyes open for interesting productions mentioned on sites such as Bitter-Lemons, and Musicals in LA, as well as productions I see on Goldstar, LA Stage Tix, Plays411.

 

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Continuing Relationship Problems

The Great Gatsby (Rep East)userpic=repeastThis has been a weekend for relationship problems. Earlier this morning I wrote about some relationships in flux in Atlanta in 1973; these were portrayed on stage in What I Learned In Paris” at the Colony Theatre. This afternoon we saw more relationship problems — this time in the 1920s in New York — when we saw the Los Angeles Premier of “The Great Gatsby” at Repertory East Playhouse (REP East) (FB) in Newhall.†

I’d been roughly familiar with The Great Gatsby before: I knew of the novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald (but had never read it); I knew of the two movie versions of the story (but had never seen them); and I used to work next to a restaurant called Gatsby’s in Brentwood (but never ate there). I knew it was about the decadence of the 1920s, and that it concerned a relationship between Jay Gatsby and Daisy Buchanan. But that’s about all I knew.

As a result, as I sat through the show, I found myself hindered by the confusing exposition and relationships. I liked the characters and the performances, but the story left me cold. Discussing the show on the way home I discovered that was partially the intent: to show the decadence and how there was coldness behind it. I also read the Wikipedia page with the summary of the story, and it very very closely matched what was on stage. I opine that this show will be received at little better by those with a passing familiarity with the Gatsby story — be it from the book, the movies, or even the Wikipedia version :-). That’s not to say that the show wasn’t enjoyable — it was — just that a little more familiarity would have helped (I can’t fault the writer or those who adapted it for the stage, as they followed the original story; rather, I think there is so much meaning behind the elements of the story that the presentation would be enhanced with an understanding of those elements).

The adaption of the story was by Simon Levy, the producing director for the Fountain Theatre in Los Angeles. It was first produced at the Guthrie Theatre in MN; it had its West Coast premier at the Seattle Repertory Theatre. This production was the Los Angeles premier — it is great to see REP reaching the stature where it brings new plays to Los Angeles.

So what is the story behind Gatsby? Wikipedia summarizes the story as follows (condensed a little), and this is essentially what is portrayed on stage:

The story takes place in the summer of 1922. Nick Carraway, a Yale graduate and World War I veteran from the Midwest – who serves as the novel’s narrator – takes a job in New York as a bond salesman. He rents a small house on Long Island, in the (fictional) village of West Egg, next door to the lavish mansion of Jay Gatsby, a mysterious millionaire who holds extravagant parties but does not participate in them. Nick drives around the bay for dinner at the home of his cousin, Daisy Fay Buchanan, and her husband, Tom, a college acquaintance of Nick’s. They introduce Nick to Jordan Baker, an attractive, cynical young golfer with whom Nick begins a romantic relationship. She reveals to Nick that Tom has a mistress, Myrtle Wilson. Not long after this revelation, Nick travels to New York City with Tom and Myrtle to an apartment they keep for their affair. At the apartment, a vulgar and bizarre party takes place. It ends with Tom breaking Myrtle’s nose after she annoys him by saying Daisy’s name several times.  As the summer progresses, Nick eventually receives an invitation to one of Gatsby’s parties. Nick encounters Jordan Baker at the party, and they meet Gatsby himself, an aloof and surprisingly young man who recognizes Nick from their same division in the war. Through Jordan, Nick later learns that Gatsby knew Daisy from a romantic encounter in 1917 and is deeply in love with her. He spends many nights staring at the green light at the end of her dock, across the bay from his mansion, hoping to one day rekindle their lost romance. Gatsby’s extravagant lifestyle and wild parties are an attempt to impress Daisy in the hope that she will one day appear again at Gatsby’s doorstep. Gatsby now wants Nick to arrange a reunion between himself and Daisy. Nick invites Daisy to have tea at his house, without telling her that Gatsby will also be there. After an initially awkward reunion, Gatsby and Daisy reestablish their connection. They begin an affair and, after a short time, Tom grows increasingly suspicious of his wife’s relationship with Gatsby. At a luncheon at the Buchanans’ house, Daisy speaks to Gatsby with such undisguised intimacy that Tom realizes she is in love with Gatsby. Though Tom is himself involved in an extramarital affair, he is outraged by his wife’s infidelity. He forces the group to drive into New York City and confronts Gatsby in a suite at the Plaza Hotel, asserting that he and Daisy have a history that Gatsby could never understand. In addition to that, he announces to his wife that Gatsby is a criminal whose fortune comes from bootlegging alcohol and other illegal activities. Daisy realizes that her allegiance is to Tom, and Tom contemptuously sends her back to East Egg with Gatsby, attempting to prove that Gatsby cannot hurt him. On the way home, Nick, Jordan, and Tom discover that Gatsby’s car has struck and killed Tom’s mistress, Myrtle. Nick later learns from Gatsby that Daisy, not Gatsby himself, was driving the car at the time of the accident but Gatsby intends to take the blame anyway. Myrtle’s husband, George, falsely concludes that the driver of the yellow car is the secret lover he recently began suspecting she has, and sets out on foot to locate its owner. After finding out the yellow car is Gatsby’s, he arrives at Gatsby’s mansion where he fatally shoots both Gatsby and then himself. Nick stages an unsettlingly small funeral for Gatsby, ends his relationship with Jordan, and moves back to the Midwest, disillusioned with the Eastern lifestyle.

The performances of the actors were very good; the direction of co-directors Ovington Michael Owston (FB) and Christopher Chase (FB) worked well to bring realistic performances, although at times there was a little confusion as to what action was where. In the lead positions were Dennis Hadley (FB) as Jay Gatsby and Carole Catanzaro (FB) as Daisy Buchanan. Hadley was affable and gave off the ambiance of the well-to-do well; Daisy seemed appropriately self-centered and not really invested in any relationship — or to put it another way, in whichever relationship could move her forward. It was interesting to contrast Daisy with Ann in the Colony play. Both were torn between two men — one that loved them madly but wasn’t their spouse, and their spouse who was somewhat indifferent to them. The resolutions were very different, but the situations similar. Completing the love triangle was Dustin Emery as Tom Buchanan. Emery’s Buchanan gave off the appropriate violent menace required for the character. Emery played the character in a way that made it clear he did not love Daisy, but had a strong physical (but not necessarily emotional attraction) to his mistress. A friend of ours opined the similarity between Buchanan, a sports hero in the story, and certain characters in the NFL today.

Although I hesitate to call them supporting as they were critical to the action (but supporting in the sense of who you remember) were Cole Shoemaker as Nick Carraway and Alli Kelly (FB) as Jordan Baker. Shoemaker’s Carraway had a bit of cold indifference, but when you consider he was the narrator of the story that is less surprising. At times, I found his exposition a bit hard to follow, but in general I liked his performance as the character. Kelly’s Baker was fun to watch — she had these odd sardonic facial expressions at just the right moment.

Rounding out the cast were Amber Schwinn (FB) as Myrtle Wilson, Jeremiah Lowder/FB as George Wilson, John Lucewich (FB) as Chester McKee, Julie Henderson (FB) as Lucille McKee, and Brent Christensen (FB) as Myer Wolfsheim. Amber was great as Myrtle Wilson, capturing the distaste for her husband and her desire for Tom well; she also plays dead great :-). Lowder captured the mechanic nature of George Wilson well, but otherwise was written superficially. Lastly, I never quite understood Wolfsheim as his character was never given a good explanation; but Brent played him well.

Turning to the technical side. Sound and lights were by the usual REP suspects: Steven “Nanook” Burkholder/FB on sound and Tim Christianson/FB on lights. Both worked well. The set design was by Ovington Michael Owston (FB) and did a reasonable job of establishing place and era; this was aided by the projections by  Mikee Schwinn/FB. Costumes were by Janet McAnany (FB) and seemed reasonably flapper era — plus the suits that she chose for Gatsby were spectacular. Jeffrey Hampton/FB was the production stage manager. “The Great Gatsby” was produced by Mikee Schwinn/FB and Ovington Michael Owston (FB).

The Great Gatsby” continues at Repertory East (FB) until October 18.  Tickets are available through the REP East Online Box Office, as well as through Goldstar. It is well worth seeing.

Although there is no printed announcement, Repertory East (FB) has announced their 2015 season: “Avenue Q“, “Doubt“, “Dinner with Friends“, “Jesus Christ Superstar“, “Diviners” and “Deathtrap“. Specific performance dates and season subscription information should be available at the next REP show, “Sherlock Holmes and the Adventures of the Suicide Club“, starting November 14.

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

Upcoming Theatre and Concerts:  October currently has two shows (three if you count Yom Kippur on 10/4): “Don’t Hug Me, We’re Married” at the Group Rep (FB) on Sat 10/18 (when Karen is at PIQF), and “Pippin” at the Pantages (FB) on 10/25. November is back to busy, with “Big Fish” at Musical Theatre West (FB) on Sat 11/1, “Handle with Care” at The Colony Theatre (FB) on Sun 11/9 (shifting to avoid ACSAC and opening night), a trip out to Orange Empire Railway Museum to see my buddy Thomas on 11/11,  “Sherlock Holmes and the Suicide Club” at REP East (FB) on Sat 11/15, the Nottingham Festival on Sun 11/16, and “Kinky Boots” at the Pantages (FB) on Sat 11/29. I may also see some theatre when I visit my daughter Erin in Berkeley between 11/20 and 11/26. Right now, I’m looking at The Immigrant at Tabard Theatre (FB) in San Jose, “Harvey” at Palo Alto Players (FB) in Palo Alto, or “Rhinocerous” at the UC Berkeley Theatre Department (FB). As for December, right now I’m just holding one date: “She Loves Me” at Chance Theatre (FB) in Anaheim on 12/20. Right now, there is only one show booked for January 2015 – “An Evening with Groucho” at AJU with Frank Ferrente. 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.

†: Plus I did something to upset my wife (although not intentional), starting with not going to her backup restaurant when there was a 90 minute wait at our primary restaurant because there was nothing that looked appealing to eat. Following that, I was less then enthused when we went to an art show/pow-wow after the show (when I had load and loads of stuff to do at home). I’ve apologized, but I’m probably in the doghouse for a while. Back to cooking dinner, for example….

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Theatre Reflections and Community Participation

What I Learned in Paris (Colony)userpic=colonyIf there is a problem in the theatre today, it is the makeup of the audience. Go to most shows, and you’ll see the same type of audience — older, white, and typically better suited financially. None of these are particularly surprising, given who was trained to attend theatre when they were younger (i.e., in the 1950s and 1960s). Some theatres, playwrights, and artistic directors know how to change that — and I’m thinking of folks like Sheldon Epps over at the Pasadena Playhouse. They’ve mastered the art of the “black play” — that is, a play with something that draws out the African-American audience to the theatre. I’ve written before about how I believe this is a good thing — how, in fact, I wish that the audience for theatre in general was more reflective of society’s makeup. I’ve also bemoaned that the white audience seems to disappear for the perceived “black” plays, and black audience isn’t there for the “white” plays.

So what makes a successful “black” play or musical? To my eyes, there seems to be three varieties. There is the black play that draws on the uniquely black experience and uses that to teach. The Pasadena Playhouse has done loads of these, and you can often find them from playwrights such as August Wilson. The Colony had one recently in Breath and Imagination. Then there are those that draw on the black musical experience. A friend commented that the current musical “Motown” is like that. Then there are others that are just an everyday play with some slight story changes and an all-black cast. The current “Kiss Me Kate” revival at the Pasadena Playhouse is like that: it is the stock “Kiss Me Kate” placed in the milieu of 1920s black vaudeville. Other examples are the castings of “Guys and Dolls” or “Hello Dolly” with an all black cast. I ask all of this because last night we saw “What I Learned In Paris” by Pearl Cleage at The Colony Theatre (FB). This is obstensibly a “black play”: it is an all-black cast set in a significant time and place in black history. But there was no distinct color shift in the audience. Was this due to the play? The promotion? The fact that it was in Burbank?

I don’t really have the answers, alas. But I walked out of “What I Learned in Paris” thinking that the story itself was universal: with the exception of a few elements (mostly having to do with housing discrimination), this could have been the story about any election and the events that happened afterwards. In doing so, it made an important point: that there really is no difference. The black experience is often our experience. It was a good play; a fun play. The black-ness came from the cast and the setting, however, not as much the particular story. I was sad that the African-American theatregoing community in LA hadn’t discovered this play; our audience composition was the typical subscriber composition, and many of the seats on the sides were empty (as if the white single-purchase theatregoers normally drawn in weren’t, and the black single-purchase theatregoers weren’t drawn in). My only conclusion is a marketing one: the Colony simply may not know how to get the word out about its shows to the potential African-American audience. This is too bad: if theatre is to grow and survive, it must draw in the younger audience, draw more minorities to the live theatre experience, and do stories reflective of the world today (the Colony’s recent “Year Zero” was a great example of this, looking at the Hmong commuity).

Is “What I Learned in Paris” a black play? Set in Atlanta in 1972, right after the election of the first African-American mayor of any major city (Maynard Jackson), Paris concerns itself not with the pivotal events of the election and campaign, but the immediate post-election lives of his campaign staff. There are five main characters: J.P. Madison, an older lawyer working on the campaign; his first wife, Eve Madison; his second wife Ann Madison; another lawyer on staff John Nelson, and another staffer who worked on the get out the vote effort, Lena Jefferson. As the story opens in Eve Madison’s place (which was being used as campaign headquarters), J.P., Ann, Lena, and John are celebrating Jackson’s election. We quickly learn the nature of the characters, and that John is secretly in love with Ann, and was just waiting for the election to be over so she could divorce J.P. and be with him. The two major plot complications then appear. First, Eve Madison returns from San Francisco creating tension between J.P. and all. She wants to return to Atlanta and start hosting salons and parties to bring the diverse separate communities of Atlanta together, and to do this she wants to buy a house in Buckhead, an upscale white community near the Governor’s Mansion . Second, J.P. gets on the short list for city attorney. The latter brings to the front the fact that he never actually married Ann — they went to Vegas to get married, but never went through with it and have just been pretending for the last few months. J.P. asks Lena to find him a pastor who can discreetly perform the ceremony before the press finds out.  You can see the collisions already on the horizon.

You’ll note that “Paris” is no where in the description above? The title refers to the time when Edie was in Paris just before she divorced J.P., when she realized that she had to know who she was first before she could do any form of relationship — as she put it, she had to be free enough to be able to enjoy eating in Paris alone. This becomes the pivotal point in the second act, when Eve volunteers her services and her townhouse to host J.P. and Ann’s wedding, which she’ll perform; prior to the ceremony, she’ll host a small bridal shower for Ann with just her and Lena.

From the description, you can see there is little distinctly black about this story, save for the campaign that brought everyone together, and the reaction of the upscale community to Evie wanting to purchase there. That, perhaps, is the wasted potential of this play. It had the opportunity to say more about this election and the impact on the community… and it didn’t. Thinking about it a bit more, the problem could be the fact that the election wasn’t all that pivotal. He wasn’t the first African-American mayor of a major city (that honor goes to Carl Stokes in Cleveland in 1967; he wasn’t the first African-American mayor of a southern city (that was Howard Lee in Chapel Hill NC in 1968). In fact — an more importantly for this production and this play — Jackson’s election was the same year as the election of Tom Bradley, the first African-American mayor of Los Angeles.

Still, despite these flaws, we thoroughly enjoyed the story. It was fun to watch, well performed, with some unexpected twists and turns. The director, Saundra McClain (FB), shaped the performances to be natural and to fit the characters well. These seemed like people you would enjoy knowing; they had little quirks and mannerisms that made them fun to watch.

The cast was great. There weren’t really tiers here — all roles were equal in significance. There were two groupings, however. The “Madison” grouping consisted of J.P. Madison (William C. Mitchell (FB)), his first wife Eve (L Scott Caldwell), and his second “wife” Ann (Joy Brunson (FB)). Mitchell played the pompous politician/lawyer well, and at points gave great hints of the compassionate man under the surface. Caldwell captured the free-spirit nature of Evie well. I had recently seen Brunson on Masters of Sex, and it was a delight to see her here. She initially seemed colder as a character, but near the end of the play you could see flashes of fun in the character as Evie drew her out of her political shell and back into herself.

The second groups, for lack of a better term, were the non-Madisons: Shon Fuller (FB) as John Nelson and Karan Kendrick (FB) as Lena Jefferson.  Fuller (actually, his character) came across as young and headstrong, and confused about the love with Ann and how to deal with the fact that she was already married. Fuller portrayed this well. Kendrick’s Lena was that all knowing friend: she was in the middle holding things together; she conveyed quite a bit with an expression or look in reaction to an action.

In short, all five actors were great.

The technical side was up to the Colony’s usual excellence. The scenic design by Charles Erven captured the 1970s townhouse era well; this was aided by the properties and set dressing of John McElveney (FB), which was up to its usual excellent standards. The sound design of Dave Mickey (FB) provided great backround music, and the lighting design of Jared A. Sayeg (FB) was simple and effective.  Scenic art was by Orlando de la Paz. The costumes by Dianne K. Graebner (FB) were beautiful and effective, and reflected that era well. Leesa Freed (FB) was the production stage manager.

What I Learned in Paris” has one more week at The Colony Theatre (FB), closing on October 5th. Tickets are available through the Colony website; discount tickets are available on Goldstar and through the LA Stage Alliance.

Dining Notes: We tried someplace new for dinner: The Story Tavern, about 6 blocks (not counting the mall) from the theatre near Olive and San Fernando. In short: yum. I had a delightful beef stew, and they had loads of gluten-free goodies for Karen including Shepard’s Pie. Well worth trying, and we’ll be back.

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

Upcoming Theatre and Concerts:  This afternoon brings “The Great Gatsby” at Repertory East (FB) on Sun 9/29. October currently has two shows (three if you count Yom Kippur on 10/4): “Don’t Hug Me, We’re Married” at the Group Rep (FB) on Sat 10/18 (when Karen is at PIQF), and “Pippin” at the Pantages (FB) on 10/25. November is back to busy, with “Big Fish” at Musical Theatre West (FB) on Sat 11/1, “Handle with Care” at The Colony Theatre (FB) on Sun 11/9 (shifting to avoid ACSAC and opening night), a trip out to Orange Empire Railway Museum to see my buddy Thomas on 11/11,  “Sherlock Holmes and the Suicide Club” at REP East (FB) on Sat 11/15, the Nottingham Festival on Sun 11/16, and “Kinky Boots” at the Pantages (FB) on Sat 11/29. I may also see some theatre when I visit my daughter Erin in Berkeley between 11/20 and 11/26. Right now, I’m looking at The Immigrant at Tabard Theatre (FB) in San Jose, “Harvey” at Palo Alto Players (FB) in Palo Alto, or “Rhinocerous” at the UC Berkeley Theatre Department (FB). As for December, right now I’m just holding one date: “She Loves Me” at Chance Theatre (FB) in Anaheim on 12/20. Right now, there is only one show booked for January 2015 — “An Evening with Groucho” at AJU with Frank Ferrente. As always, I’m keeping my eyes open for interesting productions mentioned on sites such as Bitter-Lemons, and Musicals in LA, as well as productions I see on Goldstar, LA Stage Tix, Plays411.

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The Measure of a Community Is How They Treat The Stranger

Bat Boy (CSUN)userpic=ucla-csunWhen I told people that I was going to go see “Bat Boy: The Musical“, most thought I was going to see a musical about Batman. After all, there have been musicals about Superman and Spiderman, so a musical about  the caped crusader as a boy isn’t that farfetched. Farfetched, after all, would be a musical drawn from the pages of the Weekly World News, that crusading paper that is more accurate than Fox News, brings you headlines such as “Saturn is a Giant UFO“, “Chicago to be Renamed Obama City“, and, yes, “Bat Boy: Going Mutant“.  But it is just that paper — and in fact, that last story — that was the inspiration for the musical “Bat Boy: The Musical“, drawn from the pages of the Weekly World News, that we saw last night at the CSUN Experimental Theatre.

For those not familiar with the Bat Boy, he was a creation of the Weekly World News — a news source much like the Onion of today, only weirder. Half-man, half-bat, he was discovered in a cave in West Virginia. Constantly hunted by the government, he is regularly captured but escapes. The story first appeared in the pages of the WWN in 1992; by 1997, the Actors Gang had created a musical based on his story. This musical, with story and book by Keythe Farley (FB) and Brian Flemming, and music and lyrics by Laurence O’Keefe, made it to an off-Broadway production (which was recorded, permitting me to learn about it) and a London production. This fall, Janet Miller (FB) [who has done a great job with Good People Theatre Co (FB) productions of “A Man of No Importance” and “The Fantastiks“] selected “Bat Boy” as a production of the CSUN Theatre Arts Department. I learned about this production when I saw a poster for it while attending the Operaworks Advanced Artist production this summer. Having heard the music (which is great), loving the story (which has a great message), and knowing the quality of the director made this a must see. As soon as the ticket office opened in late August, I purchased my tickets for opening night.

[I’ll note an odd coincidence: Last night, I added yet another album to my iPod: the cast album for Heathers: The Musical, which just closed on Broadway. It turns out that Laurence O’Keefe did the music for that show, as well as for the Legally Blonde: The Musical. You’ll like the music to Bat Boy, especially the main song (“Hold Me, Bat Boy”) which is a definite ear worm.]

Bat Boy: The Musical” takes place in Hope Falls, WV. As the production opens, Rick, Ron, and Ruthie Taylor are exploring some deep caves near the town. In one cavern, they discover the Bay Boy; as Ruthie tries to make friends with it, he bites her on the neck. They kick and capture the Bat Boy and take him to the Sheriff and Ruthie to the hospital. The Sheriff decides to take the Bat Boy to the local veterinarian, who will know what to do with him. The vet, Dr. Thomas Parker, isn’t home so they leave the boy with his wife, Meredith and their daughter, Shelly. Although Meredith wants to take care of the boy and make him part of the family, the daughter wants nothing to do with him. Mom wins out, and slowly starts educating the boy (who is a fast learner). When Dr. Parker comes home, he wants to put the boy down, but Meredith dissuades him from doing so with the promise of sex with her (which hasn’t been happening for a while). Meanwhile, the town is becoming agitated: not only is Ruthie Taylor not getting better, the coal mine has closed, and all of the cattle around the town are getting sicker and thinner. The town, naturally, blames the Bat Boy and believes that killing him will solve all their problems. Back at the Parkers, the Bat Boy (now renamed Edgar) and Shelly are growing closer, and Edgar is learning fast — he already has his high school equvalency diploma. He wants to attend the big revival meeting but the town doesn’t want him to. When Meredith and Shelly take him anyway, he wins the town over. But when Rick Taylor attacks Shelly, Edgar goes crazy and bites Rick. This starts the hunt for the boy, based on some turn of events and resulting in some disclosures which I won’t reveal (as they are spoilers)… but you can find them in the Wiki synopsis.

The story is a good one, and quite time. At its heart, it explores xeonphobia in a funny and touching way. The Bat Boy is the stranger in our midst — an uglier reflection of ourselves. Seemingly uncivilized, yet some can see beyond that to discover the civilized person underneath. Are they human? Are they animals? Do we blame the stranger for our problems, or are our problems often created by our own actions (after all, you can’t feed cows on a coal mine). Take this musical, which was written in 1997, and look at it through 2014. Muslims in our community are the Bat Boys of today — misunderstood aliens, seen by some as civilized members of society, but seen through ill-informed and ignorant eyes as all evils, prone to attack when provoked. I think this musical is much more timely today than when it was first performed.

This production — like many CSUN theatre productions — was excellent (I still have fond memories of an excellent production of Hair many years ago). Director and Choreographer Janet Miller (FB) worked with the students to bring out excellent dramatic performances — you could see that were intensely into each character they played. That’s not to say the production was 100% perfect, but it was very very good. Let’s look at the players.

In the lead position was Skylar Keck/FB as Edgar, the Bat Boy. Keck nailed the dramatic side of the performance, from his movement as the uncivilized Bat Boy to his maturation as the civilized Edgar. In the beginning you see Keck on all fours, running around and screaming gibberish. As the story progresses you see him grow into an Oxford-English speaking young man (BBC language tapes). He was really spectacular to watch. He also moved well during the dance numbers. If he had one drawback, it was that his singing voice was a little off on some of the numbers; I believe that will improve with time and practice. I look forward to seeing him in future professional productions.

In the other lead positions were Aubrie Alexander (FB) as Meredith Parker, Jessica Patterson/FB as Shelly Parker, and Jared Tkocz/FB as Dr. Thomas Parker. All three had strong characterizations of their characters — I was particularly taken by both Alexander and Patterson in their characters. Tkocz had the evil side down well as well. All three were also strong in their singing and dancing numbers.

Much of the remainder of the cast doubled or tripled roles, some going cross-gender. This initially confused me; my wife thought it had to do with the diversity statement in the program. It turns out neither was the case: it appears to be intentional double casting from the original production. In any case, given the multiple casting it is difficult to single out many performances. Some, however, are worthy of special note. I was very taken by Nick Bruno/FB‘s performance as Pan during “Children, Children”. He had a very strong singing voice combined with a winner personality that shone through the character. Bruno also doubled as Bud, one of the ranchers whose cattle were dying. Also strong was Matthew Kesner/FB as Reverend Bill Hightower in the “Joyful Noise” number — again, a strong singing voice combined with good movement and the ability to be humorous worked well. Kesner also doubled as Daisy, a schoolteacher, with a very incongruous look (I’d say you could guess why she was a spinster, but then again, this is West Virginia). Lastly, I liked Benjamin Schwartz/FB‘s portrayal of Sheriff Reynolds. My wife felt that Mrs. Taylor (Logan Allison/FB) deserved an award for overacting, but I think the character was intentionally written that way to play up the nature of the Bat Boy threat. Allison also doubled as Roy, a rancher.  Rounding out the townsfolk and remaining cast were: Steve Brogan/FB (Rick Taylor, spelunker; Mr. Dillon, a rancher); Rachael Johnson/FB (Ron Taylor, spelunker; Maggie, senior Town Council rep); Julia Alix Ober/FB (Ruthie Taylor, spelunker; Ned, a rancher); Sarah Kline/FB (Lorraine, a rancher’s wife; Clem, a townsman); Hyungwood Jang/FB (a doctor, ensemble/townfolk); Jessamyn Arnstein (FB) (a doctor, ensemble/townfolk); Chelsea DiBlasi/FB (Institute Man, ensemble/townsfolk); and Alexander Cody Phaphol/FB (ensemble/townfolk).

The actors were supported by an on-stage band behind the main set. This band consisted of Philip Matthew Park (Musical Director, Keyboard I), Paul Duffy (Keyboard II), Andi Moresi (FB) (Guitar), Dustin Morgan/FB (Bass), and Wayne Hildenbrand/FB (Drums). The band had a great sound quality, and about the only quibble was the reflection of the “Exit” light in the plexiglass surrounding the drummer.

Turning to technical side, where my main quibble with this production lies. Let’s start with the problem, and then move on to what worked. What didn’t work was the sound design by Kenji Kang/FB. When the microphones worked there was an odd echo quality to them; later on in the show there were numerous static and glitch problems. This could just be opening night problems — I see that Kang was a Van Nuys HS graduate, meaning he should have learned from the best (Marque Coy (FB)). Hopefully, they will get things tuned for subsequent productions. In contrast to the sound, the lighting design of Kevin Vasquez/FB worked quite well, creating a mood, illuminating scenic queues, and making good use of moving lights and LED lights. The costume design of Bich Vu worked well and appeared suitably West Virginia-y to me, although my wife had some problems with the footware on some of the actors. The costuming for the Bat Boy was particularly good. The scenic design of Christopher Scott Murillo (FB) was simple but effective, and made good use of the CSUN Experimental theatre black box space. Heidi Dippold was the dialect coach; her work was particularly notable in the Bat Boy’s gibberish and later BBC accent (I can’t speak to WV accents). Shad Willingham (FB) was the Fight Choreographer. Lindsey Martin/FB (as opposed to Lindsay Martens/FB) was the stage manager (yes, I did a double take for a minute).

Bat Boy: The Musical” continues at CSUN (CSUN Theatre Arts Department (FB) through September 28, 2014, with performances today (9/20), tomorrow (9/21), and next weekend (9/24-9/28).  Tickets are available through A.S. CSUN at 818/677-2488. You might be able to get them online through Ticketmaster, but the fees will be less through the phone. Tickets are not available on Goldstar. You’ll have a great time if you go.

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

Upcoming Theatre and Concerts:  Next weekend brings  “What I Learned in Paris” at The Colony Theatre (FB) on Sat 9/27, and “The Great Gatsby” at Repertory East (FB) on Sun 9/29. October currently has two shows (three if you count Yom Kippur on 10/4): “Don’t Hug Me, We’re Married” at the Group Rep (FB) on Sat 10/18 (when Karen is at PIQF), and “Pippin” at the Pantages (FB) on 10/25. November is back to busy, with “Big Fish” at Musical Theatre West (FB) on Sat 11/1, “Handle with Care” at The Colony Theatre (FB) on Sun 11/9 (shifting to avoid ACSAC and opening night), a trip out to Orange Empire Railway Museum to see my buddy Thomas on 11/11,  “Sherlock Holmes and the Suicide Club” at REP East (FB) on Sat 11/15, the Nottingham Festival on Sun 11/16, and “Kinky Boots” at the Pantages (FB) on Sat 11/29. I may also see some theatre when I visit my daughter Erin in Berkeley between 11/20 and 11/26. Right now, I’m looking at The Immigrant at Tabard Theatre (FB) in San Jose, “Harvey” at Palo Alto Players (FB) in Palo Alto, or “Rhinocerous” at the UC Berkeley Theatre Department (FB). As for December, right now I’m just holding one date: “She Loves Me” at Chance Theatre (FB) in Anaheim on 12/20. As always, I’m keeping my eyes open for interesting productions mentioned on sites such as Bitter-Lemons, and Musicals in LA, as well as productions I see on Goldstar, LA Stage Tix, Plays411.

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“The theater is our lifeline to humanity — Without it we’d all be Republicans”

moon-over-buffalouserpic=yorickI’ve written before about how much I enjoy farce. Be it “Lend Me a Tenor” at the Pasadena Playhouse back in 1992, Black Comedy” at the REP in 2006, a revival of Noises Off” at the Pasadena Playhouse in 2003, Don’t Dress for Dinner” at REP in 2006, Is He Dead?” at ICT in 2009, or many others — you can always depend on farce for a laugh. So when I saw that Wasatch Theatrical Ventures (FB) was doing Ken Ludwig‘s farce “Moon over Buffalo” at the Grove Theatre Center (FB) in Burbank (where we had seen an excellent production of “Inherit the Wind” earlier in the year), the only question was when I could fit it into my schedule. Luckily, I was able to find space on closing weekend — so last night saw us in Burbank (where it was hot hot hot) seeing a farce (we where much luckier than my cousin, who was in the Rose Bowl taking her daughter to see some unknown boy band).

What makes a good farce a farce? The director of last night’s show, Kiff Scholl (FB1, FB2) wrote in the program that a farce has a number of rules: (1) lots of doors; (2) lots of confusion; (3) lots of physical comedy; and lots of improbably plot twists. What he doesn’t mention is that a good farce also needs good timing, a good comprehension of what is funny and what is not, and what is supposed to be funny and what is not. The latter is important: the actors shouldn’t be playful in a scene that in the stage reality isn’t funny, but in the real-world is. In essence, what this means for a farce is that the audience is in on the joke, but the actors don’t see it at all. In fact, in the farcical world, the absurd is perfectly normal, but it isn’t quite to the level of absurd (at least Ionesco absurd) yet. Confused yet.

Good writing is also important. The title of this post is one of the quotes from this show. I didn’t write down others, but did some searches post-facto. Here are some other lines to give you a taste:

  • “This is Buffalo, New York. It’s like. Scranton without the charm.”
  • “What? Bad news in this company? The House of Usher Repertory Theatre?”

You’re probably wondering what Moon in Buffalo is about. As with any farce, giving too many details will spoil the jokes, so here is how Ken Ludwig (the author) describes it on his web page about the show (slightly augmented):  “In the madcap comedy tradition of Lend me a Tenor, the hilarious Moon Over Buffalo centers on George and Charlotte Hay, fading stars of the 1950’s. At the moment, they’re playing Private Lives and Cyrano De Bergerac in rep in Buffalo, New York with 5 actors. On the brink of a disastrous split-up caused by George’s dalliance with a young ingénue (Eileen), they receive word that they might just have one last shot at stardom: Frank Capra is coming to town to see their matinee, and if likes what he sees, he might cast them in his movie remake of The Scarlet Pimpernel. Unfortunately for George and Charlotte, everything that could go wrong does go wrong, abetted by a visit from their daughter Rosalind’s clueless fiancé Howard (a TV weatherman from Buffalo) and hilarious uncertainty about which play they’re actually performing, caused by Charlotte’s deaf old stage-manager mother Ethel who hates every bone in George’s body.” Add to this a stage manager Paul, who is Rosalind’s former boyfriend, and Richard, who is both George’s lawyer and who wants to be Charlotte’s lover and next husband, and …. well you get the idea.

In farce, performances are key. Performances without the right timing or humor will torpedo a show. Luckily, the cast in this show gets things right. In the lead position are Mark Belnick (FB) as George Hays and Kimberly Lewis (FB) as Charlotte Hays. Belnick (who doesn’t need to act (if you follow his previous link), but loves to act) captures the hamminess of the character well — it is said of him in the show that he “is a walking ham — they should stick cloves in him and serve him with pineapple.” He handles the physical comedy well and excels at the requisite overacting the character calls for. As his wife, Charlotte, Lewis also captures the long-term actor well. She’s at her best in her interactions with Richard (her lover) and with George.

In the second character tier are Keri Safran (FB) as Rosalind Hays, Chuck Raucci as Howard (her fiancee), Paul Galliano (FB, FB2) as Paul (the stage manager and Rosalind’s former beau), and Carol Herman (FB) as Ethel (Rosalind’s hard-of-hearing grandmother). Safran handles Rosalind quite well — she has the timing and ability to play the daughter of an acting family who wants to get out of the family business, but the universe is conspiring to not let her escape. Raucci captures the clueless weatherman well, especially as someone who has no idea what he has gotten into. Galliano kept reminding me of perhaps a young cross between Bob Saget and John Stamos — handsome with good comic timing and reactions. Lastly Herman captured the befuddled old woman well.

In the last character tier were Sarah Randall Hunt (FB) as Eileen and Paul Michael Nieman (FB) as Richard. You can tell this is the third character role tier because all actors have three names :-).  Hunt seemed a little bit cold in her first few scenes as Eileen, but in her last scene you could see a wonderful personality and warmth shining through, so I’m guessing the earlier scenes were intentionally cold given the craziness of the characters. Nieman seemed appropriately blustery and forceful as the lawyer who wanted Charlotte. Neither character was involved in the actual mechanics of the farce much, although they may have been precipitating catalysts.

In general, the strong comic acting combined with the good direction from the aforementioned Kiff Scholl (FB1, FB2) combined to produce a funny show that, for the most part, enhanced the material.

Turning to the technical: The set (designed by Adam Haas Hunter (FB)) worked reasonably well to create the green room with the requisite lots of doors. The lighting by Michael Gend (FB) set the mood well, and the sound design by Daniel Hoal (FB) was mostly reasonable, although the mood music was a bit loud.  The costumes by Michael Mullen (FB)worked well for both Cyrano and Private Lives, as well as the Green Room scenes. Mike Mahaffey was the fight director. Erica Lawrence/FB was the stage manager. “Moon Over Buffalo” was produced by Racquel Lehrman and Victoria Watson/FB of Theatre Planners. (FB).

Alas, the last performance of “Moon over Buffalo” is happening as I type this; alas, this writeup was delayed due to this morning’s MoTAS meeting.

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

Upcoming Theatre and Concerts:  Next weekend brings  Bat Boy: The Musical” at CSUN for the Friday night before Slichot (9/19). This is followed by “What I Learned in Paris” at The Colony Theatre (FB) on Sat 9/27, and “The Great Gatsby” at Repertory East (FB) on Sun 9/29. October currently has two shows (three if you count Yom Kippur on 10/4): “Don’t Hug Me, We’re Married” at the Group Rep (FB) on Sat 10/18 (when Karen is at PIQF), and “Pippin” at the Pantages (FB) on 10/25. November is back to busy, with “Big Fish” at Musical Theatre West (FB) on Sat 11/1, “Handle with Care” at The Colony Theatre (FB) on Sun 11/9 (shifting to avoid ACSAC and opening night), a trip out to Orange Empire Railway Museum to see my buddy Thomas on 11/11,  “Sherlock Holmes and the Suicide Club” at REP East (FB) on Sat 11/15, the Nottingham Festival on Sun 11/16, and “Kinky Boots” at the Pantages (FB) on Sat 11/29. I may also see some theatre when I visit my daughter Erin in Berkeley between 11/20 and 11/26. Right now, I’m looking at The Immigrant at Tabard Theatre (FB) in San Jose, “Harvey” at Palo Alto Players (FB) in Palo Alto, or “Rhinocerous” at the UC Berkeley Theatre Department (FB). As for December, right now I’m just holding one date: “She Loves Me” at Chance Theatre (FB) in Anaheim on 12/20. As always, I’m keeping my eyes open for interesting productions mentioned on sites such as Bitter-Lemons, and Musicals in LA, as well as productions I see on Goldstar, LA Stage Tix, Plays411.

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Music, Rhythm, and Feet

Earth/quaked with Savion Glover | Muse/iqueNormally, I pick the shows that we see. So when my wife points to an ad for some shows and says “Get tickets for this”, I do it with nary an additional question. Recently, this happened with an ad for Muse/ique (FB), a counter-cultural orchestra event. She was reading the LA Times when she saw an ad for a concert event with Savion Glover (with a half-off discount code). She brought it to me and asked me to get tickets. I did, and Sunday evening saw us on the lawn at Beckman Mall at CalTech for a concert titled “Earth/quaked: Dance Changes the World“. I’m very pleased that I went. I do, however, need to apologize in advance for two things: First, I apologize for for the delay in this writeup — I’ve been busy with MoTAS business the last two nights. Secondly, I apologize for the briefness of the summary of the show and lack of complete credits — the closest thing to a program that was provided was a fan with some information, and I’m going from memory for the rest.

Let me start with some observations about the setup, which was remarkably civilized. One hears “concert on the lawn”, and one things this means bringing blankets and folding chairs. Not for Muse/ique (FB). There were tables set up on the lawn in distinct seating areas: upfront for the special patrons, in the middle for the premium assigned seats, and even tables of 6 for the festival seating (where we were) in the back. You could buy food at the catering tent in the back, or you could bring your own food in. Unlike the Hollywood Bowl or other such venues, there was no bag check — no limitations on bottles or what you could bring in. Further (and this really surprised me), no one ever asked to see my ticket! Each of our festival seating tables had a small bag of hard candy and a few fans that served as the concert program. Very, very, civilized.

The show itself had a wide variety of music, presented by the Muse/ique Counter-Conventional Orchestra. I’m going from memory, but the compositions (in order were): A medley by Lennon/McCartney, A medley from “West Side Story” (Bernstein), a clip of Bill “Bojangles” Robinson dancing with Shirley Temple, a recording of Mr. Bojangles sung by Sammy Davis Jr., a composition or two by Alan Steinberger, a longer medley of music by Duke Ellington (one of his suites), concluding with a long medley of Vivaldi. Starting with Mr. Bojangles, Savion Glover joined the orchestra. Glover, if you recall, was the man behind “Bring in ‘da Noise, Bring in ‘da Funk“, and his dancing during this show exemplified his philosophy of tap: that tap dancing is a form of music and that one can create music with the feet. Bojangles was straightforward emotional tap, but by the later numbers (especially in the Vivaldi piece), Glover’s feet were a part of the orchestra. Of course, being the back we could only see the dancing through the few big screen monitors that had been set up; but with Glover, this is dancing meant to be heard. I’ll also note that there was one segment that featured a display of artwork by davidkremers, a visitor in Aerospace at Caltech…. which was accompanied only by the sounds of Glover’s feet dancing.

The orchestra at Muse/ique was under the direction of Rachael Worby (FB), the artistic director of Muse/ique. It was a very large orchestra featuring the following artists: VIOLIN I / Roger Wilkie, Agnes Gottschewski, Grace Oh, Mei Chung, Shelly Shi, Hana Kim / VIOLIN II / Tammy Hatwan, Neel Hammond, Alwyn Wright, Simeon Simeonov / VIOLA / Shawn Mann, Rodney Wirtz, Brett Banducci / CELLO / Kim Scholes, Joo Lee, Ginger Murphy / BASS / Mike Valerio, Geoff Osika / FLUTE / Sara Weisz, Sal Lozano / OBOE / Jennifer Johnson / CLARINET / Amanda McIntosh, Damon Zick / BASSOON / Anthony Parnther, Samantha Duckworth / HORN / Kristy Morrell, Amy Sanchez / TRUMPET / Marissa Benedict, TJ Tesh / TROMBONE / Mike Hoffman / TUBA / Blake Cooper / TIMPANI / Theresa Dimond / KEYBOARD / Alan Steinberger / PERCUSSION / Jason Goodman / DRUM / Jamie Tate / ELECTRIC BASS / Mike Valerio… and of course, as Worby noted, / FEET / Savion Glover :-).

There were no technical credits, which is too bad because the sound designer ensured that the sound was clear throughout the mall, and the lighting designer used LED lighting very effectively to convey mood.

This was the end of the Muse/ique performances for the summer, but they do plan on activities over the year. Next summer’s program will focus on Leonard Bernstein, and we plan to be back. For future reference, they do appear to list tickets on Goldstar.

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

Upcoming Theatre and Concerts:  This coming weekend bring “Moon Over Buffalo” (Goldstar) at the GTC in Burbank. The remainder of September brings  Bat Boy: The Musical” at CSUN for the Friday night before Slichot (9/19),  “What I Learned in Paris” at The Colony Theatre (FB) on Sat 9/27, and “The Great Gatsby” at Repertory East (FB) on Sun 9/29. October currently has two shows (three if you count Yom Kippur on 10/4): “Don’t Hug Me, We’re Married” at the Group Rep (FB) on Sat 10/18 (when Karen is at PIQF), and “Pippin” at the Pantages (FB) on 10/25. November is back to busy, with “Big Fish” at Musical Theatre West (FB) on Sat 11/1, “Handle with Care” at The Colony Theatre (FB) on Sun 11/9 (shifting to avoid ACSAC and opening night), a trip out to Orange Empire Railway Museum to see my buddy Thomas on 11/11,  “Sherlock Holmes and the Suicide Club” at REP East (FB) on Sat 11/15, the Nottingham Festival on Sun 11/16, and “Kinky Boots” at the Pantages (FB) on Sat 11/29. I may also see some theatre when I visit my daughter Erin in Berkeley between 11/20 and 11/26. I’d love to get down to San Diego to see either (or both) of “Bright Star“, the new Steve Martin/Edie Brikell musical, at The Old Globe Theatre (FB) (September 13-November 2), or “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” (based on the Disney film) at The La Jolla Playhouse (FB) (October 25-December 2), but I’m not sure either would work in the schedule.  As for December, right now I’m just holding one date: “She Loves Me” at Chance Theatre (FB) in Anaheim on 12/20. As always, I’m keeping my eyes open for interesting productions mentioned on sites such as Bitter-Lemons, and Musicals in LA, as well as productions I see on Goldstar, LA Stage Tix, Plays411.

 

 

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