Day: March 25, 2019

🎭 Has It Gotten Easier for Women in STEM? | “Ada and the Engine” @ Theatre Unleashed

Posted onAuthorcahwyguy

Ada and the Engine (Theatre Unleashed)I’ve written before how, when I see multiple shows in a weekend, there tends to be a connecting thru-line that I never realized when I scheduled these shows. That was certainly true last weekend, and it hit me during the closing scenes of Ada and the Engine at Theatre Unleashed (FB) (studio/stage), which we saw Sunday evening. Earlier that morning I had been at our synagogue’s Purim Carnival, celebrating the agency of Queen Esther in saving her people, and Saturday evening we had seen Matilda Wormwood using her agency — and the power of her mind — to rewrite her story. What hit me as the story of Ada drew to its conclusion was that Lady Ada Lovelace had also used her agency — and the power of her mind — to rewrite her legacy and reputation as the daughter of Lord Byron to become a mathematician. She also overcame her mother’s desire for her to be a distinguished socialite. She became what was (in essence) the first computer programmer. Never mind that the computer didn’t really exist. The computer industry has a long history of promoting vaporware.

I first became familiar with Ada Lovelace as I was finishing up graduate school in Computer Science, with a specialty in programming language. I had been following development of the Steelman programming language competition, of which the eventual winner was the Steelman Green language. Steelman Green was eventually standardized and released as the programming language Ada, MIL-STD-1815A. The language has been updated since 1983 when it first came out, but I still have the MIL-STD on my bookshelf. It was named Ada, of course, in honor of Ada Lovelace, the first programmer.

This brings us back to Ada and the Engine, written by Lauren Gunderson, who has written a number of science-themed plays. Ada tells the story of Lady Lovelace. It covers her life from when she was an 18 year old mathematician and socialite looking for a husband, through her marriage to Lord Lovelace, up to her eventual death. It focuses, however, on her relationship with Charles Babbage and the work he was doing on the Difference Engine, later the Analytical Engine. Ada is remembered as the first person to see the broad potential of the Babbage’s Analytic Engine, and the developer of the first algorithm for the engine — essentially the first program.

But what struck me during the show was how things have changed so little. Ada fought to be seen as more than just a daughter of her famous father, or wife of her famous husband. She was forced into a role, and not seen at the time for the mathematical talents and insight that she had. In a world where women engineers have to still fight for recognition parity and pay parity, can we really say we’ve improved all that much. As Gene Spafford has written: We are out of balance with respect to women in technology. Ada and the Engine reminds us that this has been a long battle. But Ada, and Esther, and Matilda remind us that we have the power to rewrite the story — we have the power to increase the visibility and parity of women in STEM fields (and I would be remiss if, at this point, I didn’t mention my long-term involvement with the sponsors of the Scholarships for Women Studying Information Security (SWSIS), which everyone should support). PS: You want proof that there’s discrimination against women in STEM? NASA just cancelled the first all-women spacewalk because they didn’t have two suits of the right size for women.

Back to Ada and the Engine: Knowing my background and my history, it is probably not a surprise that I really enjoyed the show. So did my wife, who is also an engineer. We felt that the story captured well the history and excitement of Ada, and brought her to life with a wonderful energy and … for us … the correct math and science. It was also helped by the fact that, under the direction of Heidi Powers (FB), the cast brings the story to life with exuberance and joy.

In the lead position is Jessie Sherman (FB)  as Ada Lovelace . We saw Sherman last summer in Beauty and the Beast at 5-Star Theatricals, and she brought the same energy and giddyness to Lovelace. I think the best way to characterize her performance is that the mathematics were bursting out of her in excitement, and that joy made her performance special for the audience. She also had a few singing moments in the show that were quite beautiful, using musical arrangement from Jennifer Lin, who is the musical director of Matilda. Connections, folks, connections! The music and lyrics for those songs were by The Kilbanes.

Playing the main men in her life were Alex Knox as Charles Babbage and Gregory Crafts (FB) as Lord Lovelace. Both literally towered above Sherman — I think they had at least a foot and a half of height on Sherman, providing a metaphorical demonstration of the difference in stature. Knox’s Babbage captured the excitement of an engineer and scientist of the age — as well as the arrogance. His performance presented an interesting relationship between the quasi-romantic (but perhaps only in the mind) and the business relationship, and demonstrated well the power dynamics that often come into play with women in the professional technical world. Crafts had a different role: the husband of someone who didn’t understand his wife having a technical relationship and friendship, but who learned how satisfaction of that aspect of his wife’s nature made her whole. Anyone who is married to an intellectual or a scientist understand that well, and I think Crafts portrayed it right. I must also acknowledge all the work that Crafts has done outside this show for the LA Theatre community and the #Pro99 efforts (I was one of the audience members speaking up on behalf of that effort).

As Ada’s moether, Anabella Byron, Denise Nicholson (FB) brought the right level of sternness and disapproval and authority to the role. Watching her facial expressions while Ada was interacting with Babbage said multitudes about her attitudes on the matter.

Rounding out the cast was Casey Hunter (FB) as Lord Byron and Michelle Holmes (FB) as Mary Somerville. Hunter’s Byron is really only seen (as Byron) in the opening and in the final scenes, but he does a great job with those closing scenes. Holmes role is even smaller, showing up introducing Ada to Byron at a few parties.

The scenic aspects of the show — set, props, and hair design — were handled well by Jenn Scuderi Crafts (FB), who did a really great job with a small budget.  Costumes were designed by Denise Barrett (FB), and worked well. Movement was choreographed by Roger Fojas (FB). This went beyond the few dance numbers; there was some really interesting choreography as the actors portrayed the analytic engine and the gears and cogs that made it work. The sound design of Graydon Schlichter (FB) provided the appropriate ambient sound effects, and Gregory Crafts (FB) lighting established time and place well. It also worked well with Kevin Hilton (FB)’s projection design, which provided context and the background mathematics. Other production credits: Tanya Nancy Telson (FB) — Stage Manager; Tom Moore (FB) — Dramaturg; Rosie Bryne (FB) — Dialect Coach; Jim Martyka (FB) & Gregory Crafts (FB) — Publicity; Matt Kamimura (FB) — Production Photography.

Ada and the Engine, continuing the parallelism with Matilda the Musical, also runs through March 31, 2019. Tickets are available through the Theatre Unleashed website. Discount tickets may be available through Goldstar. As an engineer, programmer, and mathematician (really, my Bachelors degree from UCLA is in Math/Computer Science; my Masters in in Computer Science), I found this to be a wonderful show. The science is right, the story is right, and the performances were great. It is well worth seeing.

***

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), and the Ahmanson Theatre (FB). Through my theatre attendance I have made friends with cast, crew, and producers, but I do strive to not let those relationships color my writing (with one exception: when writing up children’s production, I focus on the positive — one gains nothing except bad karma by raking a child over the coals). I believe in telling you about the shows I see to help you form your opinion; it is up to you to determine the weight you give my writeups.

Upcoming Shows:

March was to conclude with us back at the Hollywood Pantages (FB) for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, but that date had to chance so that we could attend the wedding of our daughter’s best friend, who is a wonderful young woman.

April starts with Steel Magnolias at Actors Co-op (FB) and the MoTAS Men’s Seder. During the week, we are back at the Hollywood Pantages (FB) for our rescheduled performance of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. The next weekend brings the annual visit to the Renaissance Pleasure Faire (FB). The third weekend of April will bring Fiddler on the Roof at the Hollywood Pantages (FB). The fourth weekend of April is open, although we may see Chris McBride’s Big Band at the Saroya [nee the Valley Performing Arts Center (VPAC)] (FB) and I may book a show for myself. Looking to May, the month starts out with Sister Act at Casa 0101 (FB) in Boyle Heights, simply because we love the work of this theatre, and we want to see how a small theatre tackles this big show. The second weekend of May brings  Falsettos at the Ahmanson Theatre (FB) and Les Miserables at the Hollywood Pantages (FB). The third weekend of May brings The Christians at Actors Co-op (FB).  May closes with two concerts: Lea Salonga at the Saroya [nee the Valley Performing Arts Center (VPAC)] (FB) and Noel Paul Stookey at McCabes (FB) … and that’s not even the weekend. Who know what the weekend will bring! June, as always, is reserved for the Hollywood Fringe Festival (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. Note: Lastly, 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.

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🎭 Taking Back the Power | “Matilda” @ 5-Star Theatricals

Posted onAuthorcahwyguy

Matilda (5-Star Theatricals)Last Saturday night we saw Matilda (with a book by Dennis Kelly and Music and Lyrics by Tim Minchin (FB) based on the novel by Roald Dahl (FB)) at 5 Star Theatricals (FB). I had seen Matilda before at the Ahmanson almost four years ago, and I was at a loss how to describe the show last time. Back then, I had riffed off the bullying theme in the show (perhaps because I had just seen the La Mirada production of Carrie, and was making the connection). But this time that theme didn’t hit me, and so I was stuck. In fact, it wasn’t until near the end of the show we were seeing on Sunday, Ada and the Engine,  by Lauren Gunderson, that it hit me: The two shows were linked with a common theme. In fact, it was a theme common with my third event of the weekend: A Purim Carnival. Purim, after all, tells the story of Queen Esther, who saved her people by speaking up.

What was this common message, you might ask. Simple: It is up to you to change your story. It is a message I highlighted in the lyrics I quoted in my previous post:

If you sit around and let them get on top, you
Won’t change a thing.
Just because you find that life’s not fair, it
Doesn’t mean that you just have to grin and bear it.
If you always take it on the chin and wear it,
You might as well be saying you think that it’s OK.
And that’s not right.
And if it’s not right, you have to put it right.

But nobody else is gonna put it right for me.
Nobody but me is gonna change my story.
Sometimes you have to be a little bit naughty.

Matilda overcame the bullying by her parents and by the Trunchbull to take charge of her story, and to change the ending.

Esther overcame the existential threat from Hamen, and changed the ending to save her people.

Ada overcame the legacy and reputation of her father, the overbearance of her mother, and her participation in a field that wasn’t particularly welcoming of women to change the nature of computing (more on that in the next post).

All changed their story. All overcame parents who were bullies. This was the uniting them of the shows over the weekend: Finding your agency. Overcoming your circumstances to write the end to your story, the way your want it to be. Not being powerless; taking the power into your own hands. Using the power of your mind. Being a little naughty along the way.

I just realized I’ve been blathering on without providing you a short synopsis.. After all, you might never have read the novel; you might not have seen the wonderful 1996 movie with Danny DeVito, Rhea Pearlman, and Mara Wilson. Luckily, I can copy what I wrote back in 2015: As opposed to trying to detail it all here, I’ll point you to the Wikipedia page. The “TL;DR” version is: Matilda is a precocious and intelligent little girl born to parents who didn’t want her, and who value stupidity and the messages that TV teaches over reason. Unable to control her (Matilda loves to play pranks on her parents), then enroll her in a school run by an evil headmistress who delights in torturing children. One teacher sees Matilda’s value, and working together they fight the headmistress, and return the school to a place of love and learning. Oh, and Matilda gets a happy ending as well.

Back then, I also noted that in adapting this story to the stage, the authors imbued it with an additional message that was not the novel or the movie — a message that is a commentary on parents today. In the opening scenes, there is a birthday party where every parent is talking about how their child is a precious little miracle and something special. This, of course, creates a contrast with Matilda’s parents who see her not as a miracle and as something not special. The point that is being made is that if everyone is special, then no one is. Special becomes the norm, and the truly special become invisible. The reality must be that we, as parents, must not predefine our children with labels, but must encourage them to grow up and be whatever they are destined to be (and be the best at that).

Today, there was one other additional message that I noted: At the top of Act II, there is a number called “All I Know” (which is known to most folks as “Telly”). In it, Matilda’s father and her brother sing of the joys of getting all your information from television, and making fun of people that believe in facts and getting information by reading. Back then, the number was a novelty number. But that was 2015. It is now 2019 — and Donald Trump is President. All I could think of watching that number was that it described perfectly Donald and Eric Trump.

My one complaint with the show from the first time I saw it, alas, was not resolved as the version was adapted for licensing and regional productions. The Act I ending is still too abrupt. You want Act I to end with a rousing number to get you talking during intermission and wanting to come back. Instead, you get Matilda alone on stage going “But That’s Not Right”. There are a few points where the story seems to drag a bit, or at least move away from the interesting. But overall, the structuring of the story is fun and well-paced, and the songs are more than just entertaining patter. In particular, the songs did a great job of illustrating the wants and motives of the characters; they illustrated and illuminated personalities and drives. This is what the songs in musicals should do.

I also want to note that, unlike the production at the Ahmanson Theatre (FB) back in 2015, this production was not a tour. 5-Star Theatricals, formerly Cabrillo Music Theatre, is Broadway in Your Backyard, and they pride themselves in not booking tours. They cast using a mix of local and new-to-local top talent. They pride themselves on finding newcomers (such as Katharine McPhee (FB), who was in CMT’s Annie Get Your Gun) who excel. They do this all in an environment of community outreach and giving back. As an example for this production, they made an effort to honor local teachers, and collect used books for school libraries and children. Next year will be 5-Star/Cabrillo’s 25th Anniversary. They have just announced their season: The Music Man, Mamma Mia, and Newsies.

Matilda @ 5-Star Photo StripThis production was directed by Lewis Wilkenfeld (FB), the former artistic director of 5-Star, and choreographed by Heather Castillo (FB), who has choreographed a number of productions at 5-Star. Both know how to work well with kids and ensure that they are having fun with the show, and this was evident in how the children and adult performers were having loads of fun with the show. This is one reason why we keep coming back to 5-Star, even with seasons (such as the upcoming season) where we’ve seen the shows before.

The lead position in Matilda is quite demanding, and as a result is dual-cast. The 5-Star Matildas are Lucy Bollier and Olivia Marcum. At our production, we had Lucy, and she did a spectacular job. She had a very strong singing voice, and a wonderfully mischievous and expressive face. She moved well, was suitably playful, and was just fun to watch. If you are up in the balconies, bring your binoculars because you’re going to want to watch her face.

On the other hand, Nicholas Mongiardo-Cooper (FB)’s Miss Trunchbull is best seen at a distance. His performance itself was quite strong and hilarious; it is more that a closeup of his/her makeup was a bit off-putting, with the exaggerated cheekbone and moles. That might have been the intent, but it was a bit distracting through the binoculars. But, again, that doesn’t make the performance bad. Performance-wise, Mongiardo-Cooper is perfect, capturing the overbearing and bullying nature of Trunchbull perfectly, and handing Trunchbull’s few songs well and with strong humor.

Even more humorous moments come from Matilda’s parents: Janna Cardia (FB) as Mrs. Wormwood, and James Larsen (FB) as Mr. Wormwood. Cardia was hilarious during the opening “birth” number, as well as in her dancing number with John Paul Batista (FB) as Rudolfo (who was side-splitting in the background). Larsen — who research shows we saw over 10 years ago in Parade, where I noted the strength of his performance even then — was just great. His comic movements with the hat were just great, and his performance in “All I Know” was very very strong.

Representing the good in the show was Matilda’s teacher, Miss Jenny Honey, played by Katie DeShan (FB). DeShan captured the innocence of the character well, as well as the pathos in the later scenes. She had a strong singing voice and a wonderfully expressive personality on stage. A slight PS: She needs to update her personal website as it still uses Flash, which has security risks and has been deprecated.

Then there are the kids. Cabrillo/5-Star loves kids, and works with them as performers to bring out something special. The youngsters in Matilda are no exception. Strong singers and strong dancers, they had delightful performances, with special acknowledgements for the kids playing Lavender and Bruce. The kids consisted of: Drew Rosen — Nigel; Luke Pryor — Tommy; Olivia Zenetzis — Lavender; Marcello Silva — Bruce; Taylor Lynda Thomas (FB) — Amanda; Nico Ridino — Eric; Glory Rose — Alice; and Iyana Hannans — Hortensia.

This brings us to the adults who had the smaller roles, and the members of the adult ensemble (many of whom also played kids). The most notable performance here was Deanna Anthony (★FB, FB, IG)’s Mrs. Phelps, who brought a wonderfully comic touch to her scenes. She’s been in a number of 5-Star roles and always brings a great humorous character touch to her roles. We also recently saw her singing and dancing her way through Cupcake Theatre’s Mamma Mia — who knows, perhaps she’ll reprise the role for 5-Star in their next season. Also notable (as I noted earlier) was John Paul Batista (FB)’s Rudolfo, who was hilarious in “Loud”.

Anyway, the other adults on stage were: John Paul Batista (FB) — Rudolfo, Ensemble; Ben Carroll (FB) — Escape Artist, Doctor; Monica Ricketts (FB) — Acrobat, Ensemble; Joah Ditto (FB) — Ensemble; Maya Galipeau (FB) — Ensemble; Tyler Luff — Ensemble; Julia Marley (FB) — Ensemble; Jared Cardiel (FB) — Ensemble; Renee Cohen (FB) — Ensemble; Josh Golombek (FB) — Ensemble; Carolyn Lupin (FB) — Ensemble; and Tyler Marie Watkins (FB) — Ensemble. I’ll note that, as a former Rep East subscriber, that we saw Ms. Cohen many years ago in Rep East production.

This brings us to the musicians, under the direction of Jennifer Lin, musical director and conductor. The excellent 5-Star Theatricals orchestra consisted of: Gary Rautenberg (FB) — Flute, Clarinet, Alto Sax; Darryl Tanikawa (FB) — Clarinet, Bass Clarinet, Tenor Sax; Chris Maurer (FB)  — Trumpet 1, Flugelhorn, Piccolo Trumpet, Cornet; Michael Fortunato (FB) Trumpet II; June Satton (FB) — Tenor Trombone, Bass Trombone; Brian LaFontaine (FB) — Acoustic & Electric Guitar; Bang Eunn Lee (FB) — Cello; Chris Kimbler (FB) — Keyboard I;  Jennifer Oikawa — Keyboard II; Shane Harry (FB) — Double String & Electric Bass; and Alan Peck — Set Drums & Percussion. The orchestra was produced by Tanikawa Artists Management LLC.

Finally, we turn to the production team. Unlike recent productions, where 5-Star had moved from the days of Cabrillo building its own sets to renting sets from other productions, this production has no credits for set rental, meaning that the excellent sets were the sole work of Stephen Gifford (FB) and his construction team. Gifford is a busy man; we saw his sets a few weeks ago for Anna Karenina. I had memories of the Ahmanson tour sets: swings and letter blocks everywhere. Gifford’s unifying motif was books and more books, library bookcases around the stage, with other pieces that came in for the school, Trunchbull’s office, and a large blackboard that made good use of projections. It worked well, and was augmented by properties design of Kevin Williams (FB) — who, in an interesting coincidence, did the properties for 1776 at the Saroya (together with Gifford‘s scenic design), which we saw the same day as Karenina. Also supporting this design was Noelle Raffy (FB)’s costume design, Jessica Mills (FB)’s hair and wig design, and Debby Bryan (FB)’s makeup design (modulo my comments on Miss Trunchbull’s makeup, which I thought was a bit overdone).  Jonathan Burke (FB)’s was reasonable, although the first few numbers had the same problem as the Ahmanson — clearly making out the lyrics that were being sung. Always test the sound quality in the balconies!  Jose Santiago (FB)’s lighting design worked well in establishing time and mood. Other production credits: Alex Choate (FB) — Asst. Props Design; David Elzer/Demand PR — Publicity; Fresh Interactive (FB) — Marketing; Tal Fox (FB)— Assoc Producer; Jack Allaway (FB) — Technical Director; Talia Krispel (FB) — Production Stage Manager; Patrick Cassidy (FB)— Artistic Director. The original Broadway production was directed by Matthew Warchus and choreographed by Peter Darling.

Roald Dahl’s Matilda – The Musical has one more weekend at 5 Star Theatricals (FB). Overall, I thought it was a very strong production with good performances and a great message. It is well worth seeing; you’ll enjoy it. Tickets are available through the 5-Star Theatrical’s website. Discount tickets may be available through Goldstar. The last performance of Matilda is March 31, 2019.

***

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), and the Ahmanson Theatre (FB). Through my theatre attendance I have made friends with cast, crew, and producers, but I do strive to not let those relationships color my writing (with one exception: when writing up children’s production, I focus on the positive — one gains nothing except bad karma by raking a child over the coals). I believe in telling you about the shows I see to help you form your opinion; it is up to you to determine the weight you give my writeups.

Upcoming Shows:

The day after Matilda, we saw Ada and the Engine at Theatre Unleashed (FB) (studio/stage). March was to conclude with us back at the Hollywood Pantages (FB) for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, but that date had to chance so that we could attend the wedding of our daughter’s best friend, who is a wonderful young woman.

April starts with Steel Magnolias at Actors Co-op (FB) and the MoTAS Men’s Seder. During the week, we are back at the Hollywood Pantages (FB) for our rescheduled performance of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. The next weekend brings the annual visit to the Renaissance Pleasure Faire (FB). The third weekend of April will bring Fiddler on the Roof at the Hollywood Pantages (FB). The fourth weekend of April is open, although we may see Chris McBride’s Big Band at the Saroya [nee the Valley Performing Arts Center (VPAC)] (FB) and I may book a show for myself. Looking to May, the month starts out with Sister Act at Casa 0101 (FB) in Boyle Heights, simply because we love the work of this theatre, and we want to see how a small theatre tackles this big show. The second weekend of May brings  Falsettos at the Ahmanson Theatre (FB) and Les Miserables at the Hollywood Pantages (FB). The third weekend of May brings The Christians at Actors Co-op (FB).  May closes with two concerts: Lea Salonga at the Saroya [nee the Valley Performing Arts Center (VPAC)] (FB) and Noel Paul Stookey at McCabes (FB) … and that’s not even the weekend. Who know what the weekend will bring! June, as always, is reserved for the Hollywood Fringe Festival (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. Note: Lastly, 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.

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