theatre – Page 7 – Observations Along the Road

🎭 Be World Class in Everything, Center Theatre Group

Posted onFriday, February 21, 2020Friday, February 21, 2020Authorcahwyguy

With the announcement of the Ahmanson Theatre season at the Center Theatre Group (FB) this week, we made the decision to resubscribe at the Ahmanson again. Doing so reminded me yet again of the differences between how the Hollywood Pantages (FB)/Broadway in Hollywood (FB) does the care and feeding of subscribers, vs how CTG does it (especially as we also just resubscribed at the Pantages for their 2020-2021 season). So I thought I would start the morning by writing up this summary — primarily so I could tweet it to @CTGLA and challenge them to match their world-class theatre with a world-class subscriber experience.

I’ve been attending theatre since I was 12 and attended The Rothschilds at the Dorothy Chandler Pavillion as part of the LACLO season. My parents were long time LACLO season ticket holders. We’ve subscribed at numerous theatres large and small, from the Pasadena Playhouse for almost 20 years (until their bankruptcy), the Colony, small venues like REP East and Chromolume (both now gone). Currently we subscribe at 5 Star Theatricals (FB), the Hollywood Pantages (FB), Actors Co-op (FB), the Soraya/VPAC (FB), the Ahmanson Theatre (FB) [2020-2021 season] and the Musical Theatre Guild (FB).

Most theatres make it easy for subscribers: call and change your tickets easily, get the best prices (modulo the Goldstar last-minute tickets), often the ability to pick your seats and your nights well in advance. Some of the venues have their quirks: the Thousand Oaks Plaza (home of 5-Star) insists on a change fee, for example, when rescheduling. But the comparison of the two largest theatres in town: the Pantages and the Ahmanson, is telling. Both book Broadway tours and compete for the same audiences, although the former is for-profit and the latter non-profit. Here’s a comparison:

Characteristic	Pantages	Ahmanson
When you subscribe, can you pick the day you attend?	Yes, online	Yes, online
When you subscribe, can you pick the date you attend (i.e., which week of the run)?	Yes, online, and you can compare seats across the nights	Only over the phone, and there’s no ability to compare the different seats across the nights
When you subscribe, can you pick your seat?	Yes, online	Yes, online
When you subscribe, can you set up a payment plan?	Multiple payment plans are possible, up to 10 payments, all can be set up online, no additional fee	You can pay online in a single payment, or set up a 2 or 4 payment plan, but only over the phone, for an additional fee.
When do you learn of your subscription dates and seats, so you can block your calendar?	At the time of subscription.	Months later when they resolve the seats for subscribers, unless you did a phone subscription and picked the week.
Can you improve your seats after the renewal deadline, when non-renewing subscribers have dropped off?	Yes, online, for no additional fee.	Not that I recall from the last time we subscribed.
Do you get reminders before each show of the opportunity to purchase additional tickets (or exchange your seats) before anything opens to the public or special pre-sales?	Yes, online	Not that I recall from the last time we subscribed.
Are exchanges easy?	Yes, online, for no additional fee. Often, however, it is hard to find a good exchange seat.	Somewhat. They are online, but the system is confusing with respect to the full price vs. the exchange price. Often, however, it is hard to find a good exchange seat, especially at the lower price points.
Are there special subscriber events?	Numerous evenings to see the theatre and backstage, for free, often with tastings set up from local restaurants.	The occasional speaker or educational events.
Any other thank yous?	We’ve occasionally gotten thank you bags … and even chocolate.	Not much that I can recall.

Now I understand that goodie bags are probably a perk of being a for-profit theatre, and that might also limit the ability to do the tastings (although that’s marketing for the local restaurants, so it is in their interest). But the online ticketing and subscription system of Center Theatre Group is so antiquated and limited in its abilities. It really calls out for improvement. The Pantages is using an instance of the Ticketmaster system (also used by 5-Star, TO Civic Arts Plaza, and the Soraya), which likely means the increased fees are added silently to the ticket prices. But CTG really needs to look into getting some of these capabilities integrated into their system if they are going to successfully compete in the subscriber market. They’ve improved quite a bit from 10 years ago, when it was actually more expensive to subscribe thanks to per-ticket fees than to buy HotTix for each show. But I challenge them to improve again.

🎭 A Warped Interfaith Shakespearean Comedy | “It Shoulda Been You” @ MTG

Posted onWednesday, February 19, 2020Thursday, February 20, 2020Authorcahwyguy

It Shoulda Been You (MTG) Trust me, you’ll understand the title by the time I’m done explaining things. Just as with Saturday’s show, A Body of Water, there was confusion in the show we saw Sunday night: It Shoulda Been You at the Musical Theatre Guild (FB). But this confusion was a good confusion, and the story progressed in a clear manner from Point A to Point B. But the path along the way was, shall we say, a bit warped. Point A starts with an Interfaith Wedding. Point B is the ending every Shakespearean comedy has. Ah, but the journey… the journey…

Warning: This writeup does contain spoilers. Given the age of the show, the availability of the cast album, and the fact that this was a single night performance, I’m not worried. But you’ve been forewarned.

It Shoulda Been You is a musical with book and lyrics by Brian Hargrove, and music and concept by Barbara Anselmi. It opened on Broadway in August 2015, and ran for 31 previews and 135 performances. I still remember the humor in the number they did at the Tony Awards. But it didn’t last, and it never went on tour. Luckily, the Musical Theatre Guild (FB) brought it back for a one-night, staged reading performance. This means: 25 hours of rehearsals, minimal costumes and scenery, actors have their scripts in their hands per AEA rules, and a focus on the score and the story.

So what’s the story. It starts with an interfaith wedding, being told from the point of view of the oldest daughter, Jenny Steinberg. She’s a little bit zaftig, and her mother, Judy, has been pressuring her with the wedding planning, and guilting her for not being married or even having a relationship — as only a Jewish mother can do. Criticizing everything, butting in everywhere. Luckily, there is an all-knowing, all-seeing wedding planner to save the day. So what about the bride and groom. The bride, Rebecca, is having cold feet about the wedding, but the best man (Greg Madison) and maid of honor (Annie Sheperd) are holding that together. The groom, Brian Howard, is the reason for the culture clash. Coming from a nice WASP upper-class family, his parents, Georgette and George Howard, don’t want this marriage — for obvious WASPish reasons, if you get my drift. This whole mix is complicated when Jenny accidentally calls Rebecca’s ex-boyfriend Marty, who rushes over to stop the wedding.

As I said, crazy comedy, but it gets worse. Insert all the expected Jewish and WASPish jokes. Insert all the jokes about drinking. Insert all the typical self-worth issues any wedding brings out. Insert last minute prenuptial contracts to protect the trust fund, and all that stress.

But, eventually, things get worked out and the wedding happens. But then Jenny walks into the room with the Bride and Groom after the wedding… to find the Bride busily kissing the Maid of Honor, and the Groom kissing the Best Man. You see, it turns out that her sister and her fiancee are both gay. The wedding was a scheme to split the trust fund, so they could be with their real loves. Oh, and the sister is pregnant by her gay groom, thanks to one night with too much drinking. Now comes the next part: how to tell the parents, and will they be cool with it?

Let’s add one more complication: the ex-boyfriend of the bride, Rebecca? He wanted to stop the wedding not because he was in love with Rebecca, but because he knew she was gay. He’s been in love with Jenny since school days, but never told her. Insert proposal.

As I said: A Shakespearean comedy, as everyone ends up married and in love at the end. One might easily draw some parallels to Two Gentlemen of Verona or Twelfth Night.

As for what I thought of the show: I had heard the music before (I have the album), so I knew what was going on going in. In fact, we even used this as an event for the live theatre group at our synagogue. But the show was much much funnier than the cast album made it out to be. Just like with $5 Shakespeare (last Sunday’s show), this one was laugh out loud funny. Many of the jokes were extra funny if you knew the stereotypes or tropes behind them. So I really, really enjoyed this show.

I also liked quite a few of the songs, but they were much more contextual — not songs you would walk out the theatre humming or as an earworm. Nope, this is not a The Last Ship. But some songs, such as “A Little Bit Less Then” or “Jenny’s Blues” are just beautiful, and convey touching messages. Many of the other songs are just extremely funny, going from the opening number to the “That’s Family” number at the end.

So why did this show fail? I think, in some ways, it didn’t find its audience. The liberal Jewish audience would have no problem with a gay wedding, and the more conservative Orthodox audience wouldn’t have the interfaith aspects occurring. Some of the jokes may have fallen flat. But, I think, just as with the recent The Prom, much as we think audiences are ready to look at the humor in a particular subject, sometimes they just surprise us by not being ready. So why does something like The Book of Mormon work? One could say it was the message at the heart of it, but this is a Shakespearean comedy at its heart and that is timeless. Perhaps people were ready to laugh at Mormons? Perhaps this just needs to be rediscovered. I still think this should have toured.

Those who were able to make it out to the Alex Sunday night were treated to a wonderful show with wonderful performances, and only a few sound problems. Unlike Encores in NYC, these shows don’t have the possibility of extending. But if you see a production of It Shoulda Been You pop up near you, give it a try. I think you’ll find it a very fun evening.

One of the things that made this production so good was the performances. As I noted earlier: the cast gets a total of 25 hours to pull this together. They have scripts in hand. They haven’t had the time to polish and shine their musical numbers. So when performances are outstanding, that indicates a particular level of skill.

At the top of the performance chart was Julie Garnyé (★FB, FB) Jenny. She just hit it out of the ballpark with humor and character and fun. Her performances in both “Beautiful” and “Jenny’s Blues” were outstanding. Also strong was the actor playing her younger sister, Ashley Fox Linton (FB) Rebecca. She also brought a load of humor to the role, and gave a touching performance in her main number, “A Little Bit Less Then”.

This brings us to the actors playing the Steinberg parents: Eileen Barnett (FB) Judy and Anthony Gruppuso (FB) Murry. Barnett, as in any Jewish family, had the larger role. She got to play some wonderfully humorous numbers, such as “Nice”, but also got the touching number “What They Never Tell You”. Gruppuso got a smaller role in terms of songs, but handled the humor well as he always does.

Turning to the groom’s side of the equation, there was Zachary Ford (FB) Brian Howard. Ford is quite adept at playing comical characters, and he handled this quite well. His soft shoe with his father, “Back in the Day”, was spectacular.

Playing a larger role were the groom’s parents: Barbara Carlton Heart (FB) Georgette and Bryan Chesters (FB) George. Heart did a great job of the humor in Georgette, especially in numbers like “Where Did I Go Wrong” and the closing “That’s Family”. As noted above, Chesters did a great job with Ford in “Back in the Day”.

But if you want the real humor in the story, that credit goes to one of my favorite performers, Jason Graae (★FB) Albert, the wedding planner. He upped the humor an order of magnitude with the performance he brought to the role, and made every scene he was in. Graae is just a delight to watch.

The remaining members of the wedding party were Travis Leland (FB) Marty Kaufman, the ex-boyfriend; Helen Jane Planchet (FB) Annie Shepard, the maid of honor; and Adam Lendermon (FB) Greg Madison, the best man. Leland did a spectacular job, especially in numbers like “Whatever”. He also had a delightful chemistry with Garnye’s Jenny. Planchet and Lendermon had more comic supporting roles, but they did wonderfully with them.

Rounding out the cast were Thomas W. Ashworth (FB) Walt/Uncle Morty and Pamela Hamill (FB) Aunt Sheila/Mimsy.

Music was provided by a small on-stage band consisting of Dan Redfeld (★FB, FB) Music Director / Piano; Steve Dress (FB) Bass; and Albie Berk (FB) Percussion. Although small, they had a wonderful sound.

The production was pulled together in the famous 25 hours by Josh Grisetti (FB) Director and Mackenzie Perpich (FB) Choreographer. Adding to the stress for this duo is that they just got married… to each other… less than 2 weeks ago and cut their honeymoon short to do this show. No pressure there, but it certainly meant that they understood the stress that is involved with planning a wedding and having things go wrong. That experience was demonstrated on the stage as they perfectly choreographed both the humor and the movement, and worked with the talented acting team to bring off the production with few hitches.

Finally, we turn to the production and creative side: Set Design … none. Well, a few tables, a few boxes. Lighting design … minimal, with no credit. Sound design … minimal, which is a bad thing because microphone problems invariably happen in these productions. The one thing they did have were costumes, including two beautiful wedding dresses, that were coordinated by A Jeffrey Schoenberg / AJS Costumes (FB). Other production credits: Paul Wong (★FB; FB) Production Coordinator; Leesa Freed (FB) Production Stage Manager, Production Manager; Stacey Cortez and Debra Miller (FB) Assistant Stage Managers.

This was a one-time only performance. The next Musical Theatre Guild (FB) performance is May 3, 2020 for the musical Kismet, which actually started here in Los Angeles at the LA Civic Light Opera. Tickets are available through the Musical Theatre Guild (FB) website. MTG announced much of their next season, which includes Mack and Mabel, The Wedding Singer, and Brigadoon, together with a show to be announced.

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Ob. Disclaimer: I am not a trained theatre (or music) critic; I am, however, a regular theatre and music audience member. I’ve been attending live theatre and concerts 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 (or I’ll make a donation to the theatre, in lieu of payment). I am not compensated by anyone for doing these writeups in any way, shape, or form. I currently subscribe at 5 Star Theatricals (FB), the Hollywood Pantages (FB), Actors Co-op (FB), the Soraya/VPAC (FB), the Ahmanson Theatre (FB) [2020-2021 season] and the Musical Theatre Guild (FB). Through my theatre attendance I have made friends with cast, crew, and producers, but I do strive to not let those relationships color my writing (with one exception: when writing up children’s production, I focus on the positive — one gains nothing except bad karma by raking a child over the coals). I believe in telling you about the shows I see to help you form your opinion; it is up to you to determine the weight you give my writeups. Note to publicists or producers reading this: here’s my policy on taking comp tickets. Bottom-Line: Only for things of nominal value, like Fringe.

Upcoming Shows:

Sunday night brought It Shoulda Been You at Musical Theatre Guild (FB) — that’s next on the writeup stack. Next weekend is crazy, as it brings The Simon and Garfunkel Story at the Hollywood Pantages (FB), Escape to Margaritaville at the Dolby Theatre/Broadway in LA (FB), and Step Afrika at the Soraya/VPAC (FB). Yes, that is the Pantages and the Dolby the same day — that’s what I get for not entering season tickets on my calendar before ticketing a bonus show. As for the last weekend of February, I’ll be in Madison WI visiting my daughter, the the lineup she has scheduled is busy: Madison’s Funniest Comic Contest on Wednesday (meaning I’ll miss Survivor), The Revolutionists from Mercury Players Theatre/Bartell Theatre on the UW Madison campus on Friday (Eileen Evers is an alternative); the Lee Blessing play Down The Road from Two Crows Theatre Company on Saturday (columbinus at Edgewood College is the bad weather backup), and MST 3000 on Sunday. Whew! Alas, I’ll be missing both Nefesh Mountain at Temple Israel of Hollywood and Tom Paxton and the Don Juans at McCabes due to this.

March starts with Passion at Boston Court (FB) the first weekend. The 2nd weekend brings the MRJ Man of the Year dinner (and The Wild Party at Morgan Wixson). The 3rd brings Morris’ Room at Actors Co-op (FB) ; and the last weekend brings Spongebob Squarepants at the Dolby Theatre/Broadway in LA (FB) and the MoTAS/TBH Seder. April is similarly busy: the 1st weekend is Mamma Mia at 5 Star Theatricals (FB); the 2nd is during Pesach and is open (but has Count Basie at the Soraya/VPAC (FB) the Thursday before); the 3rd is Once on This Island at the Ahmanson Theatre; the last is Hamilton at the Hollywood Pantages (FB) (and possibly Hands on a Hardbody at the Charles Stewart Howard Playhouse (FB)), and the first weekend of May is Mean Girls at the Dolby Theatre/Broadway in LA (FB)

As always, I’m keeping my eyes open for interesting productions mentioned on sites such as Better-Lemons, Musicals in LA, @ This Stage, Footlights, as well as productions I see on Goldstar, LA Stage Tix, Plays411 or that are sent to me by publicists or the venues themselves. Want to know how to attend lots of live stuff affordably? Take a look at my post on How to attend Live Theatre on a Budget. Want to learn about all the great theatre in Southern California? Read my post on how Los Angeles (and its environs) is the best area for theatre in the Country!

🎭 Thoughts on a Theatre Season – Ahmanson Theatre 2020-2021

Posted onWednesday, February 19, 2020Wednesday, February 19, 2020Authorcahwyguy

CTG/Ahmanson 2020-2021 Season Well, the Ahmanson has announced their 2020-2021 season and… well, it’s better than their 2019-2020 season. That season had a lot of problems, with two one-person shows and a number of shows I had no interest in seeing. For the upcoming season, at least there aren’t any one-person shows. But there are so many encores that I’m still not sure it is worth subscribing, especially with the quality of the Mezzanine seats and the availability of the AmEx Presale (as well as how poorly the Ahmanson treated their subscribers vs. the Pantages/Broadway in Hollywood)*. Here’s the season and my thoughts (🎶 indicates musical; 🎭 indicates a play; and 🔁 indicates “encore performance”):

Open Slot. To Be Announced. According to the formal announcement it will be announced this Spring.
🎭 The Lehman Trilogy, Oct. 20–Nov. 28, 2020. Written by Stefano Massini, adapted by Ben Power, directed by Sam Mendes.
🔁 🎶 Dear Evan Hansen. Dec. 1, 2020–Jan. 23, 2021. Book by Steven Levenson, score by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, directed by Michael Greif
(🔁) 🎶 Les Misérables. Jan. 26–Feb. 28, 2021. Music by Claude-Michel Schönberg, lyrics by Herbert Kretzmer, original French text by Alain Boublil and Jean-Marc Natel, directed by Laurence Connor and James Powell. Note: Les Miz was at the Pantages in May 2019.
🎶 Hadestown. March 2–April 4, 2021. Book, music and lyrics by Anaïs Mitchell, directed by Rachel Chavkin
🎭 Harper Lee’s “To Kill a Mockingbird”. April 29–June 6, 2021. Written by Aaron Sorkin, directed by Bartlett Sher
🔁 🎶 Come From Away. June 9–July 4, 2021. Book, music and lyrics by Irene Sankoff and David Hein, directed by Christopher Ashley
🎶 The Prom. July 6–Aug. 8, 2021. Book by Bob Martin and Chad Beguelin, music by Matthew Sklar, lyrics by Chad Beguelin, directed and choreographed by Casey Nicholaw
🔁 🎶 Ain’t Too Proud — The Life and Times of The Temptations. Aug. 11–Sept. 5, 2021. Book by Dominique Morisseau, music and lyrics from the Motown catalog, choreographed by Sergio Trujillo, directed by Des McAnuff

Of these, the ones that I want to see are Hadestown, Mockingbird, and The Prom. Although we saw it the last time we were at the Ahmanson, we’ll want to see Come From Away again, simply because my wife likes that musical so much. But as for the others: We weren’t that impressed with Dear Evan Hansen, despite all the buzz. We saw Les Miz when it was at the Pantages in May. Lastly, we saw Ain’t Too Proud when it had its pre-Broadway run at the Ahmanson, and I don’t have the strong urge (based on that) to see the post-Broadway changes in a jukebox musical.

That leaves The Lehman Trilogy, which is a maybe and depends on scheduling. I’ll note that it is during a period when both the Ahmanson and Dolby are dark.

*: The last time we subscribed to the Ahmanson, for the lowest priced tier, they shuffled us off to a Friday night claiming no subscriptions were available for Saturday nights. Friday nights were a pain to get to. I seem to recall they didn’t have the clearest system for changing seats. For 2020-2021, we’re interested in 4-5 of the 8 announced shows. If they have good prices and dates for the season, and we can get a decent side mezzanine price, subscription is a possibility, although they seem to save those seats for open sales. At that point, we might just as well wait for the Amex Pre-Sale and get the seats when they first go on sale. Their subscription plan, according to their site, is for the six season shows (Lehman, TBA, Les Miz, Hadestown, Mockingbird, and Prom) plus one encore show. That’s a possibility, although I have no desire to see Les Miz again.

ETA: Subscribing is a clear example of how the Pantages knows how to treat subscribers, and the Ahmanson does not. When you subscribe at the Pantages/Broadway in Hollywood, you can pick which week of the run you want and which night, pick your seats, and set it up with a 10 payment plan all from the web. With the Ahmanson, you can only pick the day of the week — no choice on which week of the run. You can’t pick your seat — only the seating area, and there is no seat map made available. And if you want to do something other than pay it all in one lump sum, you have to call Customer Service. Which I will do tomorrow.

🎭 What Was That? | “A Body of Water” @ Actors Co-Op

Posted onMonday, February 17, 2020Monday, February 17, 2020Authorcahwyguy

A Body of Water (Actors Co-Op) Irritating.

That’s the one-word description of Lee Blessing*’s play “A Body of Water“, currently at Actors Co-op (FB) in Hollywood, that I’ve seen most often in other write-ups of the show. That’s certainly how we felt as we left the performance, scratching our heads along with other audience members, as we tried to figure out exactly what it was that we just saw transpire over 90 minutes (no intermission).
(*: And a note to Mr. Blessing: Your personal website, leeblessing (dot) com, which comes up on a Google search, is infected with drive-by loading malware that my malware scanner caught. You need to fix that ASAP. Non-technical folks: Check your websites regularly.)

Here’s the teaser that Actors Co-Op uses to describe the show:

What if you awoke to find yourself married to someone you didn’t know? With a daughter you’ve never met? And what if you spent each day re-learning things about your past that only proved you never really knew what your life was like?

Going through a number of other reviews and combining things, here’s a bit better of a synopsis:

An attractive fifty-ish couple, after waking up in the same bed, are having coffee in the living room facing spectacular views of hills and a lake. The trouble is, that neither the man or the woman know who they are and how they got here. They don’t know their names, whether or not they’re married or whose house this is. The mystery about who’s who and what it all might mean mean unravels or, to be more precise, deepens, with the arrival of a third character — a young woman named Wren who could be their daughter, the lawyer defending them against accusations that they’ve murdered their daughter, or their long time caretaker. Telling them she’s been conducting this grilling and drilling for weeks and years, she hands him a wallet and her a handbag, as well as couple of possible answers as to who they are. One is that she is, as they suspected, their daughter; the other is that she is a defense lawyer trying to get to the bottom of a young girl’s murder and Avis and Moss (as we learn are the names of the man and the women, perhaps) are the girl’s parents and also the prime suspects. Wren has a couple other questionable revelations up her sleeve that leave Avis and Moss even more befuddled Over the course of what could be multiple days, Wren presents various scenarios for why Avis and Moss are trapped in their state of living without memory. But we never seem to learn the definite answer as to what the truth is and why they are there.

The play itself is fascinating to watch as an audience member, as you’re constantly with the characters in trying to figure out what the hell is going on. The problem is that, again, just like the characters, you never do. You walk out of the play as puzzled as you were when is started. Did they kill their daughter? Were there auto accidents? Was it just dementia? Was this purgatory? Were they political prisoners (after all, they were outside the village)? Who is Number Six? You are Number One. Oh, right.

I can certainly see why Actors Co-Op wanted to do this piece. Under the direction of Nan McNamara (FB), this is an actor’s and director’s dream. You get to imagine what you want and create a memory piece. You have character with lots of emotion, and a wonderful acting exercise. You just don’t have a story that goes anywhere, or that leaves you in a different place from where you started. But performance-wise, it’s wonderful.

So, focusing solely on the story aspect of this piece, my response is… eh. I hope that Blessing doesn’t subject the new writers over in the Skylight program to this. This has a supposed new ending, but that makes me only question the original ending, which must have been equally worse. This is not a play I can particularly recommend for the story. But it is also a clear demonstration of why I do subscribe to theatres: to see the plays that I might not normally pick for myself. Often, you get a winner you might never have discovered. Sometimes, you get one that is a klunker for you, but perhaps others like it. At least we got to see some excellent performances.

As our befuddled couple, Treva Tegtmeier (FB) Avis and Bruce Ladd (FB) Moss are believably a couple, and portray the sense of confusion well. They capture well the range of emotions one would expect in such a situation: anger, confusion, loneliness, fear, and so forth. They believably fall into the various situations proposed or set up by the (supposed) (daughter or lawyer) Wren. As for Wren, Ivy Beech (FB) also does a good job of capturing the range of emotions one would expect in that character from anger to exasperation to care and concern. Absent the totally confusing story, the characters are played well.

Rich Rose (FB), assisted by Mateo Rudich, has created an elegant scenic design that adds plausibility to the background story of Avis and Moss in terms of their social and economic position in society. It is a beautiful household setting with lovely modern furniture. This design is supported by the properties design of Lori Berg (FB). Nicholas Acciani (FB)’s projection design seemed primarily to be a rippling water effect that didn’t add much to the design; more annoyingly, the light from the projector shone right into our eyes. A similar problem existed with Andrew Schmedake (⭐FB)’s lighting design: the leikos across the stage from the seats behind the box office had a tendancy to shine into the eyes of the audience. So although the lights established the mood well, they made it hard to watch the action. Warren Davis (FB) ‘s sound design established the woods and exterior items well, although some of the insect sounds were a bit towards the audio feedback level. Paula Higgins (FB)’s costumes were appropriate for the character’s station. Other production credits: Francesca Patrón (FB) Director’s Apprentice; Richard Soto (FB) Fight Direction; Nora Feldman Publicist; Kay Bess (⭐FB) Production Manager; Shawna Voragen (FB) Stage Manager; Katie Lee Merritt Asst. Stage Manager; Crystal Jackson (FB) Producer; and Heather Chesley (FB) Artistic Chairwomen.

A Body of Water continues at Actors Co-op (FB) through March 15. TIckets are available through the Actor Co-Op website. Discount tickets may be available through Goldstar. We’re Actors Co-Op subscribers, and normally I would recommend their shows. This show has great acting — and is worth seeing if you want to see some quality actors from the Actors Co-Op acting company. But the story itself is irritating and confusing, and you’ll walk out a bit befuddled. If you enjoy the thought questions that go with something like that, you’ll enjoy this. But if you are looking for something that goes from Point A to Point B in some form of logical progress — in particular, if you want that Point B to be different than your starting Point A, then this likely isn’t the show for you. Get tickets to Man of No Importance, which Actors Co-Op is doing later in the season, instead. That should be a great show.

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Ob. Disclaimer: I am not a trained theatre (or music) critic; I am, however, a regular theatre and music audience member. I’ve been attending live theatre and concerts 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 (or I’ll make a donation to the theatre, in lieu of payment). I am not compensated by anyone for doing these writeups in any way, shape, or form. I currently subscribe at 5 Star Theatricals (FB), the Hollywood Pantages (FB), Actors Co-op (FB), the Soraya/VPAC (FB), and the Musical Theatre Guild (FB). Through my theatre attendance I have made friends with cast, crew, and producers, but I do strive to not let those relationships color my writing (with one exception: when writing up children’s production, I focus on the positive — one gains nothing except bad karma by raking a child over the coals). I believe in telling you about the shows I see to help you form your opinion; it is up to you to determine the weight you give my writeups. Note to publicists or producers reading this: here’s my policy on taking comp tickets. Bottom-Line: Only for things of nominal value, like Fringe.

Upcoming Shows:

🎭 Why I Do Not Accept Comp Tickets (excepting Fringe)

Posted onThursday, February 13, 2020Authorcahwyguy

As you know, I do lots of theatre writeups, which some folks view as reviews. Because of this, there are many people out there who view me as a critic. I always respond that, no, I’m just an audience member who loves to share my views on theatre with my friends and the broader world, with the hope of enticing more people to discover live performance. But they still think I’m a critic. This includes publicists, who then offer me comp tickets to their shows. I generally decline (with one exception), citing the ethics policy of my real-life employer. Although I generally do not state who I work for other than that I work in the field of cybersecurity (although one can find that information if one looks), I do note that we have ethics rules that prohibit us from receiving gifts from suppliers above a nominal value (around $10). The logic being that if you get such a gift, and then make a decision of judgement regarding such a supplier, it could appear to be biased due to such a gift.

I have always felt that this applies in the arena of theatre reviewing. Why should you accept a gift from a theatre, and then write a review of that theatre? After all, Consumers Reports doesn’t accept products from suppliers and then review them — they go out and buy the product on the open market. That is why I always pay for tickets, with the exception of the Fringe Festival (which is often of nominal value). I will accept discounts, but that’s because I would normally pay for half-price tickets through Goldstar. So I’m paying the theatre what I would pay through Goldstar.

I will never forget a discussion with one local critic regarding this, where his response was that he would not review a show unless he received free tickets and free parking. I think that is just wrong. I will note that, however, that this does highlight one key difference (in my eye) between “reviewers” and “audience members that write up shows”. Reviewers have editors that assign them shows to provide coverage in a market. Audience members pick the shows they want to see because they think the show will be interesting, and then write up what they see. Both can be critics, and both can apply critical thinking and constructive criticism to what they write up.

I bring this up because of a recent crackdown by the FTC on “influencers”. Here’s a quote from that article:

Commissioner Rohit Chopra called for tougher penalties on companies that disguise advertising on platforms like Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok as authentic reviews in a statement sent out Wednesday. The statement came after the FTC voted 5-0 to approve a Federal Register notice that would seek public comment on whether Endorsement Guides for advertising (which haven’t been updated since 2009) need to be reviewed, according to TechCrunch.

For years, the Federal Trade Commission has required influencers to disclose sponsored posts, but the guidelines seem to have had little effect. In one recent case mentioned in the letter, a Lord & Taylor campaign paid 50 social media influencers to post about a dress on Instagram, but didn’t require them to disclose that the posts were sponsored. The FTC charged Lord & Taylor with deceiving the public, settling the case by prohibiting the company from “misrepresenting that paid ads are from an independent source,” but didn’t levy a monetary fine.

Influencers and online personalities are often given products for free by companies hoping to get some exposure. While some reviewers will disclose that detail, it’s often hard to tell when an endorsement is genuine, or if a review is coming from an undisclosed partnership. Now the FTC is cracking down, but the focus is on holding advertisers and companies accountable, not small influencers.

Note the sentence I have highlighted. If a critic receives a free ticket to a show, how is that any different than being given the product for free by a company hoping to get some exposure? Yes, it is traditional — but as we’ve seen with #MeToo, tradition doesn’t makes something ethically or morally right. At minimum, critics must disclose whether they were given free tickets by the theatre directly or by a publicist for the theatre.

This emphasizes why my ticket policy remains. I do not accept free tickets for non-Fringe shows. For the Fringe festival, where tickets are of a nominal value, I will accept free tickets if I can fit the show into my Fringe schedule, but I will always disclose when a producer has given me free tickets. I encourage — indeed, I challenge — other critics to adopt this policy.

🎭 Is There A Reason Behind The Intimate Insanity? | The $5 Shakespeare Company @ 6th Act/Theatre 68

Posted onMonday, February 10, 2020Thursday, February 13, 2020Authorcahwyguy

The $5 Shakespeare Company (6th Act @ Theatre 68) Often, when I have two theatre shows in a weekend, there’s some common theme between them — some sort of connecting through line that I can ruminate on. In this case, that through line is Los Angeles, and some of the unique things that we find in the city. One is the West Adams district, which was the subject of our play on Saturday night. West Adams was also the home of an intimate theatre that, alas, is no more, Chromolume, that used to do remarkable productions held together with love, talent, and I think lots of duct tape. Chromolume made miracles out of a little, and the people kept doing what they were doing for some unknown reason, until their landlord figured they could make more money with a tenant that could pay more.

The play we saw Sunday afternoon, The $5 Shakespeare Company, explores intimate theatre in Los Angeles, This World Premiere from The 6th Act at Theatre 68 in NoHo, written by Matthew Leavitt, tells the story of one of the shoestring companies, The $5 Shakespeare Company, whose mission is to present Shakespeare plays on no budget for $5 in a storefront theatre (implied to be on Theatre Row on Santa Monica Blvd). You’ve all been in these theatres during Fringe: a black box stage and perhaps 50 seats. The action, which reminded me a bit of Noises Off without the full-on farcical elements, alternated between the back-stage story of the company and the on-stage presentation of A Midsummer’s Night Dream (in February). This allowed you to meet all the characters, learn their stories, see both how they were invested in the company and why they were there, as well as seeing the quality of the performance. The Noises Off comparison is apt, as just as in Noises Off, there is deterioration of the relationships backstage as well as the performances to the audience.

I’ll do my best to describe the characters in the story, although alas I was dealing with a slight headache that gave me microbursts of drowsiness beyond my control. The head of the company was Jacob (Adam J. Smith (FB)), an actor who was fired from a sitcom for pushing a camera into a wall in an outburst, now serving as the Artistic Director of the company trying to hold it together and move it forward. Lillian (Liza Seneca (FB)) is another long-time company member, who had aspirations to run the company until Jacob was selected by the membership. She remains because it allows her to play roles that she would never get to normally play. Working closely with Lillian is Elena (Carolina Espiro (⭐FB)), who has been in the business a long time, and is introduced to the audience requiring liquid fortification to go on with the show. She’s also having an affair with Randall (Kenajuan Bentley (FB)), an actor who enjoys his Shakespeare … but also enjoys torturing the understudy in the show, Louis (Luke McClure (FB)). Louis, a recent graduate of RADA … in Riverside CA … thinks he knows everything about theatre professionalism.

Also in the $5 Shakespeare Company is Everett (Emerson Collins (⭐FB)), the stereotypical gay character who longs to play Tatiana. He’s tortured Noel (Jamie Zwick (⭐FB, FB)), the type of actor so proud of his body he takes off his shirt and oils up at the slightest opportunity. The elder actor in the community is Chester (Andy Robinson (FB)), who has basically done it all and seen it all, and is cynical about it all, and wants to play King Lear before he is too old to remember the lines. The two youngest members of the company are Camille (Cindy Nguyen (FB)), whose doesn’t have the greatest amount of talent but whose father is bankrolling the company, and Spencer (Sami Kolko Zwick (FB) at our performance, normally Natalie Lander (⭐FB)) a young actress who is expecting her big break any moment (and who thus must have her cell phone with her at all times … all times).

As you can see, this company captures most of the archetypes of actors in Los Angeles, from the experienced to the not, from the stage professionals to the TV actors. The script is loaded with references that LA natives, and LA folk that love theatre will get. I think there were also quite a few inside references that I didn’t get (being a cybersecurity guy) that others in the audience (who were clearly in the industry) got. But that’s good — that makes this a play that works at all levels.

The play, under the direction of Joel Zwick (FB), moves briskly (90 minutes, no intermission), and the actor capture and are clearly having fun with their character types. I can’t necessarily say they are realistic portrayals, because I think the characters were written to exaggerate the behaviors. Stylistically, they capture well what I expect the backstage of an bare-bones theatre would be like — one shared dressing room for all, with threadbare decor and no privacy for changing except standing behind something. But I think Zwick also does a great job of turning what could be a bunch of stereotypes into a believable family that cares about each other — foibles and all.

Overall, I found the play entertaining and quite funny — and one that even made me laugh out loud (which is rare). The performances were strong, and the story was in essence a love letter to the people that do intimate theatre for rewards that are certainly not monetary, but are more spiritual. I think it is well worth seeing, especially if you (like me) are an audience member that loves the creativity that only small theatres can bring. My wife (who brought the show to my attention) found it rolling-on-the-floor funny. It really was a great show.

I’ve cited the performers before. I’d like to highlight a few that particularly caught my eye. The first was our understudy put-in, Sami Kolko Zwick (FB), who was a delight to watch as Spencer. Also fun to watch was the other young actress, Cindy Nguyen (FB). I really liked Adam J. Smith (FB)’s Jacob — you could just sense the exasperation. I thought Andy Robinson (FB)’s name was familiar, but I never even recognized Gareck in Chester, his portrayal of Chester was that strong. I also enjoyed the easy familiarity of Kenajuan Bentley (FB)’s Randall. But all of the actors were great.

Chris Winfield (FB)’s scenice design was suitably dilapidated for a company doing thing on the cheap, as were Ashphord Jacoway‘s costumes. Nick Neidorf (FB)’s sound design provided the appropriate sound effects. Chu-hsuan Chang‘s lighting design blended into the background, quietly establishing the mood. Other production credits: Nick Neidorf (FB) Composer; David Elzer, DEMAND PR Publicity; Michelle Hanzelova (FB) Graphic Design; MacKenzie Smith Stage Manager; Sami Kolko Zwick (FB) Assistant Director; Megan Donahue (FB) Assistant Stage Manager.

The $5 Shakespeare Company continues at Theatre 68 in NoHo through March 8. Tickets are available through Eventbrite. Discount tickets may be available through Goldstar (which even gets a mention of the show, about the importance of getting a good review on Goldstar).

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Ob. Disclaimer: I am not a trained theatre (or music) critic; I am, however, a regular theatre and music audience member. I’ve been attending live theatre and concerts 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 (or I’ll make a donation to the theatre, in lieu of payment). I am not compensated by anyone for doing these writeups in any way, shape, or form. I currently subscribe at 5 Star Theatricals (FB), the Hollywood Pantages (FB), Actors Co-op (FB), the Soraya/VPAC (FB), and the Musical Theatre Guild (FB). Through my theatre attendance I have made friends with cast, crew, and producers, but I do strive to not let those relationships color my writing (with one exception: when writing up children’s production, I focus on the positive — one gains nothing except bad karma by raking a child over the coals). I believe in telling you about the shows I see to help you form your opinion; it is up to you to determine the weight you give my writeups. Note to publicists or producers reading this: here’s my policy on taking comp tickets. Bottom-Line: Only for things of nominal value, like Fringe.

Upcoming Shows:

Next weekend brings A Body of Water at Actors Co-op (FB) and It Shoulda Been You at Musical Theatre Guild (FB). To top all of that, the fourth weekend brings The Simon and Garfunkel Story at the Hollywood Pantages (FB), Escape to Margaritaville at the Dolby Theatre/Broadway in LA (FB), and Step Afrika at the Soraya/VPAC (FB) the fourth weekend. Yes, that is the Pantages and the Dolby the same day — that’s what I get for not entering season tickets on my calendar before ticketing a bonus show. The last weekend is open, but I’ll probably find some theatre in Madison WI when I’m out there; alas, I’ll be missing both Nefesh Mountain at Temple Israel of Hollywood and Tom Paxton and the Don Juans at McCabes.

March starts with Passion at Boston Court (FB) the first weekend. The 2nd weekend brings the MRJ Man of the Year dinner (and possibly The Wild Party at Morgan Wixson). The 3rd brings Morris’ Room at Actors Co-op (FB) ; and the last weekend brings Spongebob Squarepants at the Dolby Theatre/Broadway in LA (FB) and the MoTAS/TBH Seder. April is similarly busy: the 1st weekend is Mamma Mia at 5 Star Theatricals (FB); the 2nd is during Pesach and is open (but has Count Basie at the Soraya/VPAC (FB) the Thursday before); the 3rd is Once on This Island at the Ahmanson Theatre; the last is Hamilton at the Hollywood Pantages (FB) (and possibly Hands on a Hardbody at the Charles Stewart Howard Playhouse (FB)), and the first weekend of May is Mean Girls at the Dolby Theatre/Broadway in LA (FB)

🎭 The Dark Side of Gentrification | “West Adams” @ Skylight Theatre

Posted onSunday, February 9, 2020Monday, February 10, 2020Authorcahwyguy

West Adams (Skylight Theatre) Gentrification. Wikipedia defines it as “a process of changing the character of a neighborhood through the influx of more affluent residents and businesses.” Merriam Webster defines it as “a process of changing the character of a neighborhood through the influx of more affluent residents and businesses.” The key factor that these definitions have in common is that affluent residents move in, and the poorer people get pushed out. In the 1960s, this process was called “urban renewal”, and (back then) you saw poorer people get pushed out for businesses and civic monuments — such as Dodger Stadium and the Music Center.

In Los Angeles, there have only been a handful of plays that have explored the subject of gentrification. In This Land, presented by Company of Angels in 2017, the story of gentrification was told by focusing on a single plot of land in Watts, showing how the land passed from family to family: Gabrielino tribal land to the Spanish, from the Spanish to the (white) Americans, from the whites to the blacks, from the blacks to the Hispanics, until the whites started moving back in, gentrifying, pushing out the Hispanics in the name of progress. That play emphasized the commonalities in the cultures, but it also showed some of the hatred that came when new and different people moved in. The play Remembering Boyle Heights, presented by Casa 0101, presented the history of Boyle Heights — a community that often faced redlining and became a melting pot of immigrants and minorities because it was the only place they could live… and a community that is also seeing its poorer residents being pushed out as the white investors come in with their art galleries and trendy restaurants.

This brings us to West Adams, a new play developed by SkyLab, the resident playwright’s program (directed by Lee Blessing) and written by Penelope Lowder, currently being presented by the Skylight Theatre Company (FB). West Adams explores another gentrification story in Los Angeles, this time in the Historic West Adams community. Once a trendy white community, this community in the post WWII era became increasingly black and hispanic. Recently, it has been a prime area for investors and the folks who chase the trends to move into for the beautiful 1920s houses. If you want an easy example, look at the sitcom The Neighborhood. Based on the houses, this likely takes place in West Adams — and yes, the white couple there, while comically portrayed, are gentrifying the neighborhood.

This play concerns some different couples, perhaps with different motives. Michael Hills (Clayton Farris (⭐FB)) and his wife Jullie Cho Hills (Jenny Soo (FB)) have moved from a crappy Santa Monica apartment to West Adams, and own a bouncy castle business. They operate this business with the help of their friends Edward (Andres M. Bagg) and Sarah Apaza (Allison Blaize (FB)). Michael sponsored Edward for his green card and brought him over from Peru. They are attempting to get their performance of the Star Spangled Banner into the West Adams Block Party (they must audition), and Michael has donated a number of bouncy houses to the party. Then new neighbors move in across the street, renovating the dilapidated house into a palace. The Hills and Apaza’s are happy about this, as they appear to be white and wealthy. Later they learn that the actual buyer is a black ENT with a practice in Beverly Hills, who knows lots of stars. But they are still happy, because these connections mean more visibility and upward mobility.

But when the new family starts being liked more by the neighborhood council, and getting exemptions from the rules, things start to simmer. When a trip to the African American Museum turns into a tirade on the problems with white privilege, they heat up more. And when the Hills and Apaza’s lose the privilege they had, and start to see the neighborhood not wanting the improvements they want to bring… let’s just say that it gets real ugly. Really, really, ugly.

West Adams shows a much darker (if that’s the right word to use) motive behind gentrification: overt racism and classism. In the play, the motives for moving to West Adams is not the overt “buying the best house for the least money” (which is often stated as the reason for gentrification), or the fact that it is “a good investment”, but for the betterment of the neighborhood. This betterment is not defined as making the neighborhood better for the people that live there, and preserving the culture of the people that live there, but rather bringing in the culture that we (i.e., the white gentrifiers) think is the better culture, and pushing out the lower class and poorer minorities that live in these houses (often giving them pennies on the dollars, while making money on the investments). The play posits that, for at least some people, gentrification is just another form of purification — of making portions of the city over into the culture that they think is the better culture.

[ETA: An interesting thought hit me this morning regarding this: When non-whites have moved into traditionally white neighborhoods, this hasn’t been viewed as gentrification and there haven’t been claims that these non-white have been attempting to treat their culture as superior and impose it (in fact, from the white point of view, the opposite has been said: these folks moving in are lowering values). Yet when we have the gentrification situation, the white moving in attempt to impose their values to “improve” the neighborhood. I see some parallels in my head of Christians moving in and imposing Christian values to “improve” societies. What does this say, overall, about the implied privilege, and why that implied privilege leads people to view one culture, religion, or values as superior — when in reality, there is often no such weighting and judging the value of a culture is itself bias. See, this is what plays do — they make you think.]

In presenting this story, West Adams does what theatre is supposed to do: make you think, and make you confront something that makes you uncomfortable. Theatre isn’t always a story with a light and happy ending, with song and dance and laughter in your heart. Sometimes it is the darker stories, such as last week’s The Last Ship about the death of a community when the wealthy shipyard owners close a business for economic reasons, or West Adams where we see the unspoken racism in this country as a factor in gentrification. The shows I’ve cited here from Company of Angels, Casa 0101, and Skylight also do what is very important in Los Angeles: Having theatre that is not only presented in Los Angeles, but is about Los Angeles, and tells stories that make Los Angeles think about its place and what it is doing. West Adams is also a significant show in juxtaposition with the larger story of what is happening in this country under the Trump administration, where white supremacy is increasingly out in the open and accepted by the administration. How would President Trump feel about the family in this story? Would he be giving them the President Medal of Freedom for what they are doing. All these factors make this show something that should really be seen.

Lastly, an it is in some sense a spoiler, there is reference to rape in this show, and of possibly false #MeToo like accusations being weaponized. If that is a sensitive subject for your, be forewarned. The N-word is also used once.

Under the direction of Michael A. Shepperd (FB), the family is quickly believable and their behavior makes sense. This feels not like a stereotypical group, but a group you could imagine being friends with. In other words, Shepperd does a great job of making them be (insert emphasis and pauses) just (pause) like (pause) you. In doing so, he makes us confront whether this form of racism and behavior is within us. Shepperd does a great job of working with the actors and crafting a presentation that is believable, and that flies by in a short 85 minutes. About the only thing I didn’t like was the mechanical choreography between scenes.

I’ve mentioned the cast above (unlike my usual approach), but I’d like to highlight how much I liked them and how well they worked as an emsemble. I read one review that liked the story but didn’t think the cast had jelled. They saw it opening night, which is perhaps not the best time to see a show. I saw it a week after opening, and the cast has really jelled into believable and likable couples. This makes the ugly in the latter half of the play even more shocking. All of the cast — Clayton Farris (⭐FB), Jenny Soo (FB), Andres M. Bagg and Allison Blaize (FB) — are just great.

Turning to the production and creative side. Stephen Gifford (FB)’s set design presents the basic front room of a house, in which all the action takes place. This design works well with the direction to believably create the new family’s house across the street. This imaginative solution is aided by the inventive sound design of Jesse Madapat, which creates the moving trucks and the parties sonicly placed behind the audience. David Murakami (FB)’s projection design augments the location providing movement and maps between the scenes. Mylette Nora‘s costume design seemed appropriate up-scale for the aspirations of these couples, and Donny Jackson‘s lighting design established time and mood well. Rounding out the production credits: Michael O’Hara (FB) Props; Michael Teoli (FB) Original Music; Judith Borne Publicist; Guillermo Perez Graphic Design; Raul Clayton Staggs Casting; Garrett Crouch Rehearsal Stage Manager; Christopher Hoffman Production Stage Manager; Jen Albert Fight Coordinator; Amy Pelch Associate Producer; Andrew Brian Carter Assistant Director; Gary Grossman and Michael Kearns Producers.

West Adams continues at the Skylight Theatre Company (FB) in Los Feliz through March 8. Tickets are available through the Skyline box office; discount tickets may be available through Goldstar. If you are a student of Los Angeles or the impacts of gentrification — or just like good theatre — go see this.

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Ob. Disclaimer: I am not a trained theatre (or music) critic; I am, however, a regular theatre and music audience member. I’ve been attending live theatre and concerts 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 (or I’ll make a donation to the theatre, in lieu of payment). I am not compensated by anyone for doing these writeups in any way, shape, or form. I currently subscribe at 5 Star Theatricals (FB), the Hollywood Pantages (FB), Actors Co-op (FB), the Soraya/VPAC (FB), and the Musical Theatre Guild (FB). Through my theatre attendance I have made friends with cast, crew, and producers, but I do strive to not let those relationships color my writing (with one exception: when writing up children’s production, I focus on the positive — one gains nothing except bad karma by raking a child over the coals). I believe in telling you about the shows I see to help you form your opinion; it is up to you to determine the weight you give my writeups.

Upcoming Shows:

Today brought the $5 Shakespeare Company from The Sixth Act (FB) at Theatre 68 — writeup coming up in a day or three. The third weekend brings A Body of Water at Actors Co-op (FB) and It Shoulda Been You at Musical Theatre Guild (FB). To top all of that, the fourth weekend brings The Simon and Garfunkel Story at the Hollywood Pantages (FB), Escape to Margaritaville at the Dolby Theatre/Broadway in LA (FB), and Step Afrika at the Soraya/VPAC (FB) the fourth weekend. Yes, that is the Pantages and the Dolby the same day — that’s what I get for not entering season tickets on my calendar before ticketing a bonus show. The last weekend is open, but I’ll probably find some theatre in Madison WI when I’m out there; alas, I’ll be missing both Nefesh Mountain at Temple Israel of Hollywood and Tom Paxton and the Don Juans at McCabes.

🎭 A Pipefitter’s Dream | “The Last Ship” @ Ahmanson Theatre

Posted onSaturday, February 8, 2020Authorcahwyguy

The Last Ship (Ahmanson Theatre) Last Saturday night, we saw the musical The Last Ship at the Ahmanson Theatre (FB), with music and lyrics by Sting (FB), and new book by Lorne Campbell, based on the original book by John Logan and Brian Yorkey. Since then, I’ve been trying to figure out how to write up this puzzler of a show (and, to be honest, I’ve been trying to find the time to finish the writeup, once started — crazy week).

The Last Ship tells the story of a shipyard in Wallsend UK, and the workers who work in the yard. They’ve built many ships over the generations, passing jobs down from father to son. They see them sail off, and wonder about the next job. They are about 90% done with the current ship when the owner comes in and says they cannot find a buyer for it. They are going to dismantle it for scrap. He wants to stop work, higher a smaller number of workers for less pay for less skilled work. He will then close the yard. The workers, naturally, are against this for a number of reasons: they build ships, they don’t take them apart; the good pay is going away; the jobs are going away. At the heart of the matter is the question: What are they without the shipyard, and what is the meaning of their lives without the building of a ship?

At this point, the leaders of the workers what to have a strike. But it is soon discovered that doesn’t make a difference and their hand is forced: The company that owned them is being dissolved, and a new entity is purchasing the yard to dismantle the ship and close it. So who is there to strike against?

Parallel to this is the story of Gideon Fletcher, the son of one of the shipbuilders. He doesn’t want to inherit the tradition. After his father is injured in an industrial accident, he decides to leave for Her Majesties Navy. He doesn’t just leave his family, he leaves his girl Meg. But he promises he’ll be back soon. Seventeen years later he returns and tries to rekindle the relationship. There are two things standing in the way: the whole 17 year thing, and the fact that he left Meg “in the family way” — and now has a daughter. This daughter, Ellen, wants to go off with her rock band to London, which her mom doesn’t want.

These stories come together in the resolution of the shipyard story, when the shop foreman (Jackie White) and the shop steward (BIlly Thompson) decide they are going to occupy the shipyard, and complete the last ship. This is after Jackie White breaks the news to his wife that he has mesothelioma and will die soon (and does). Gideon decides his destiny is to captain the ship down the slip, and so he (predictably) sails off into the sunset … with Meg … and the casket of Jackie White … on the ship Utopia.

This show, famously, has been a pet project of Sting (who has lots of pet projects). It is quasi-autobiographical — Sting grew up in such a working class community. The show failed on Broadway, where it played 29 previews and 109 performances. It was subsequently retooled for the UK and Toronto, and the retooled and rewritten version is what is going on tour, starting with this production in Los Angeles. From what I’m given to understand, the story was retooled to focus a bit more on the women standing by their men. Originally, a priest character was the one who encouraged them to finish the ship, and Meg had to decide between her current husband and Gideon. Those aspects of the plot have gone away, The abandoned daughter is intended to be the representation of Sting, and after protest, Gideon and Meg allow her to go to find her destiny.

I could stop here, and just go on to the performances. But the show demands more analysis. But what to say?

This isn’t one of those great shows that you’ll see again and again (unless you are a Sting fan). But it’s not a disaster either. It’s … problematic. The accents, initially, are hard to get used to. But you do. The score is good, if a bit of a downer at times. Still, there are songs that are quite energetic, with a bit of a feel of Once. But the story is also a bit of a downer. In a musical, you often want a happy ending. Yes, the guy gets the girl, but the main focus of the story, the shipbuilders, are in for a sorrier lot. Once that last ship sails, their way of life sails away as well. It’s a commentary on our times: the yards in the other countries can build it faster and cheaper (who knows about better, but faster and cheaper are what matters). And so, the jobs go away, as they have in so many industries. As they say in Urinetown: who wants to be told their way of life is unsustainable. This play does that, but the music isn’t as pretty.

Then there is the union aspect of the show. This is why my wife liked the show — she comes from a family of union organizers and rabble-rousers. But the union story has been told before — look at the backstory in Billy Elliott, for example, for a strike that was around the same time and ended equally poorly. We see unions at the center of Pins and Needles, of The Pajama Game, and in other shows. The union fight is a good story and an honorable story. You want the laborers and the unions to win. But their fight, in this case, is a pipe dream. Who knows if it isn’t a dream in total: the ship is, after all, called Utopia. Give me a union fight where the union wins it, and makes life better for the workers. Give me Norma Jean: The Musical. That’s what we need these days: stories that show the value of the union.

As for the love story at the center of it: You never really know if there is love there at all, or just a different form of a sense of duty. Would Gideon have stayed with Meg without the question of Ellen? The setup of their relationship isn’t as strong as it could be. You don’t become invested in their story. In many ways, I think that the Gideon/Meg story could be easily jettisoned without impacting the main story that is being told. After all, the earworm you walk away with is not any love song between Gideon and Meg, but “the only life we’ve known is in the shipyard.” But then again, where would the future Sting-but-not-Sting be in the show if that happened?

In the end, am I glad I saw the show? Yes (and not only because I discovered that the Mezzanine seats in the Ahmanson aren’t bad at all). The music has grown on me, and now I understand the story. Perhaps some years down the road a revival of the show may figure out how to adjust the stories to strengthen it. It wasn’t bad. Just not great. It is clearly moving in the right direction.

That said, when you look at the performance side independent of the material, there are strong performances indeed. Under the direction of Lorne Campbell, the characters come off real and believable. The actors inhabit the characters, as you can see by watching the characters that are in the background. The performances evoke real emotion, and the conception and execution make space believably multiple spaces.

In the 🌟 “Star” position, billing-wise, is Sting (FB) Jackie White. We all know Sting can sing well, and because he wrote the music he knows the intent of the author. But he also handles the dramatic side strongly. In particular, his scenes with his wife, Peggy (Jackie Morrison) after he finally goes to the doctor are extremely touching. It is also interesting to note that Sting, being the “star”, actually doesn’t get the bulk of the song — or in fact any real solos. He has some touching featured moments in “Shipyard” and “Last Ship”, and a great duet with Morrison, but that’s about it.

In the real lead positions are the love interests: Frances McNamee (FB) Meg Dawson and Oliver Savile (FB, IG) Gideon Fletcher. Both are strong singers, and inhabit their characters well and believably. McNamee has a wonderful song in “If You Ever See Me Talking to a Sailor” and “August Winds”, and Savile does a great job on “When the Pubilist Learned to Dance” and “Dead Mans Boots”. I’m less sure whether they capture the spark that needs to be between the characters — is the love believable in “What Say You Meg”, although McNamee captures the anger and bathos quite well. As their daughter, Sophie Reid (IG, FB) Ellen Dawson captures the teen anger quite well, and does a great job with her songs, especially “All This Time”.

Other notable performers are Jackie Morrison Peggy White, the wife of Sting’s character, and Joe Caffrey (FB) Billy Thompson, the shop steward. Both give strong and touching performances and sing well. Caffrey gets her moment to shine in “Women at the Gate”, and Caffrey gets to shing in “Underground River”.

Rounding out the cast were Tom Parsons (IG) Adrian Sanderson (normally played by Marc Akinfolarin (FB)); Matt Corner (IG) Davey Harrison; Susan Fay (FB) Maureen Summerson; Orla Gormley (FB, IG) Mrs. Dees; Annie Grace Baroness Tynedale; Oliver Kearney Kev Dickinson; Sean Kearns (FB) Freddy Newlands, Old Joe Fletcher, Ferryman; David Muscat (⭐FB, FB) Thomas Ashburner; James Berkery (IG) Eric Ford (normally Tom Parsons); Joseph Peacock (IG) Young Gideon; Hannah Richardson Cathleen Fleming, and Jade Sophia Vertannes (IG) Young Meg. James Berkery and Jullia Locascio were the understudies. It is in this ensemble that the power of the women is shown, especially with all the numbers that put the women front and center. There are quite a few numbers that do this explicitly, from “If You Ever See Me Talking to a Sailor”, to “Mrs. Dees’ Rant”, and ending with the strong women of “Women at the Gate”. I should note the strong performance of Gormley as Mrs. Dees in the rant that opens Act II (although for a minute I expected it to be an oddly times BC/EFA appeal)

PS to artists writing their bios for a program: Please proof your links, and if you link to a website, make sure it is working. At least half of the Instagram links in the bios were bad or went to someone elses page. This is especially true if you are repeating letters in your Instagram handle (Jave Vertannes is an example of this: there is a difference between @jadesophia_ (in the program) and @jadeesophia_ (the actual handle, with two “e”s) or don’t proof (there is a difference between thom.parsons.com (in the program) and thom-parsons.com (the actual URL). You put the links there so folks can find you. They should work.

Movement in this show isn’t choreographed (as there is no choreographer), but there is a movement director (Lucy Hind) and an associate movement director (James Berkery). There were points in the show where I was watching the actors and going “that was clearly a ballet move”, so that movement types weren’t as believably seamlessly integrated in the story as they could be. But in general, the movement was more along the lines of Irish dance or folk dance than a traditional dance, to my eyes.

Music was provided by a small on-stage band, under the musical direction of Richard John (LI). The orchestra consisted of: Richard John (LI) Musical Director, Keyboards; Mick McAuley (🎼FB) Melodeon; Ben Butler (🎼FB, FB) Guitar; Scott Goldbaum (FB) Guitar; Kaveh Rastegar (🎼FB, FB) Acoustic Bass; Nathaniel Laguzza (FB) Drums/Percussion; Molly Rogers (🎼FB, FB) Violin. Other musical credits: Rob Mathes (🎼FB) Music Supervisor and Orchestrator; Sam Sommerfeld Associate Musical Director; Encompass Music Partners (FB) Music Contractor.

Finally, turning to the production and creative side. Overall designer 59 Productions deserves lots of credit for the outstanding scenic design which combined a roughly steel-ish structural set with scrims and projection surfaces to create an incredibly malleable set piece that could transform from a shipyard to a church to a pub to a house to a … you name it, just with some seamless projections and the dropping of a scrim or three. It was astounding to watch the transformations, and they gave a wonderful sense of space. This was augmented by the lighting designs of Matt Daw, which highlighted the sense of time and mood. Molly Einchcomb (TW)’s costumes, supervised by Verity Sadler (FB), seemed appropriate for the characters. Sebastian Frost‘s sound design worked reasonably well, although the accents were initially muddied in the mezzanine. Other production credits: Jullia Locascio Associate Director; Bethan Clark of Rc-Annie Ltd Fight Director; Helen Jane Simmons (FB) Voice Coach; Beth Eden Casting Director, US Tour; Selma Dimitrijevic Dramaturg; Russ Spencer Company Stage Manager; Maggie Swing Production Stage Manager; Lorraine Kearin (FB) Deputy Stage Manager; Christian Bawtree Assistant Stage Manager; Broadway Booking Office NYC Tour Booking, Engagement Management, Press & Marketing; PW Productions General Management; Pemberley Productions General Management; Iain Gillie (FB) Associate Producer; Ivan MacTaggart Associate Producer; Karl Sydow Producer.

When I started writing this review, you had two weeks to see The Last Ship at the Ahmanson Theatre (FB). You now only have one. Tickets are available through the Ahmanson box office. Discount tickets may be available through Goldstar or TodayTix. While not a perfect show, the music is beautiful and the show moderately interesting. I enjoyed it.

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Ob. Disclaimer: I am not a trained theatre (or music) critic; I am, however, a regular theatre and music audience member. I’ve been attending live theatre and concerts 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 (or I’ll make a donation to the theatre, in lieu of payment). I am not compensated by anyone for doing these writeups in any way, shape, or form. I currently subscribe at 5 Star Theatricals (FB), the Hollywood Pantages (FB), Actors Co-op (FB), the Soraya/VPAC (FB), and the Musical Theatre Guild (FB). Through my theatre attendance I have made friends with cast, crew, and producers, but I do strive to not let those relationships color my writing (with one exception: when writing up children’s production, I focus on the positive — one gains nothing except bad karma by raking a child over the coals). I believe in telling you about the shows I see to help you form your opinion; it is up to you to determine the weight you give my writeups.

Upcoming Shows:

This weekend brings West Adams at Skylight Theatre (FB) on Saturday, and the $5 Shakespeare Company from The Sixth Act (FB) at Theatre 68 on Sunday. The third weekend brings A Body of Water at Actors Co-op (FB) and It Shoulda Been You at Musical Theatre Guild (FB). To top all of that, the fourth weekend brings The Simon and Garfunkel Story at the Hollywood Pantages (FB), Escape to Margaritaville at the Dolby Theatre/Broadway in LA (FB), and Step Afrika at the Soraya/VPAC (FB) the fourth weekend. Yes, that is the Pantages and the Dolby the same day — that’s what I get for not entering season tickets on my calendar before ticketing a bonus show. The last weekend is open, but I’ll probably find some theatre in Madison WI when I’m out there; alas, I’ll be missing both Nefesh Mountain at Temple Israel of Hollywood and Tom Paxton and the Don Juans at McCabes.