Month: June 2019

🎭 HFF19 #3/#4: 🐵 “Hamilkong” | “Supportive White Parents”

Posted onAuthorcahwyguy

userpic=fringeAnd the Fringing continues: Yesterday we saw four more shows (6 out of a current 20 down). The first was about a rapping ape; the second was about a girl who wished for different parents… and got them.

Hamilkong (HFF19)The idea behind Hamilkong (HFF19, WWW, Playbill, FB) was a potentially interesting one: tell the story of King Kong, using the music from the juggernaut that is the musical Hamilton.  The execution, at least at our preview performance, was fatally flawed in a number of ways. First and foremost, they committed the cardinal sin of a Fringe show: Thou shalt not run over your time slot. This show was scheduled for our hour; we walked out at almost the ninety minute mark because we had another show to make, and they had three songs still to go. We did receive an email from Adam Korenman (FB), the producer (and author, and lyricist) this morning that said: “We know that the show ran a bit longer than intended, and we want to apologize if you had to leave early to make your next play. When ambition and reality collide, you can end up running over a few minutes. HAMILKONG will be cutting some pieces in order to tighten up to 60 minutes. That means that you, as the Preview Crowd, saw an exclusive DIRECTOR’S CUT! Congratulations!”

Making lemonade and all that rot, I guess.

Yes, songs need to be cut. But I believe the problem with this show runs a bit deeper than that. Simply put, it is monotonous. There’s a reason that Lin Manuel had the variety of songs that he did — and in particular, why he had the more pop style songs for the King. Breaking up the style of the songs makes the show aurally interesting — it provides the necessary variety for the ears. In its current incarnation, Hamilkong is too much of the same. Look at the song list. How many times can you hear the lyric: “I’m just like a monkey; I’m flexible and funky”? So not only is cutting required, but improving the mix and the storytelling is needed.

Although I haven’t seen it, I can 100% guarantee that the version of King Kong on Broadway adapted the story and is not the Peter Jackson movie on stage. For this to work, the story details need to be worked down a bit a bit more to the essence, and the characters need to be clearer. The idea is good, the execution needs work.

Under the direction of Adam Korenman (FB), and with choreography by Marlee Delia (FB), the staging was effective for a fringe show: meaning minimal costumes and effects. The performances were, for the most part, strong — although with these lyrics, the cast really needs to make sure that they enunciate clearly so the audience can hear all the worlds.

Notable cast members were Geri Courtney-Austein (FB) as the king himself, Hamilkong;  Asia Ring (FB) as Ann Darrow, and Sashaaa (FB) as Carl Denham. These three had lovely voices, and did the best they could with the characters they had (after all, this is a parody, meaning the characters weren’t that fleshed out). In more supporting roles, but also with good voices, were Francesca Reggio (FB) as Carol Preston / T-Rex and Olga Desyatnik (FB) as Jack Driscoll. I’ll note that Reggio was particularly cute as T-Rex.

Rounding out the cast were: Nate Leykam (FB) Bruce Baxter / King Lobster / Eisenhower / Agent; Adam Korenman (FB) Captain Engelhorn / New King; Jeanne Lau (FB) Chief Akko / Ensemble; Genna Weinstein (FB) Queen Squid / Ensemble; Jeremy Klein (FB) Cop / Ensemble; and Kyle Reese Klein (FB) Sailor / Ensemble.

The production was inspired by the play Hamilton by Lin-Manuel Miranda, and the character of King Kong by Edgar Wallace and Merian C. Cooper. Music direction by Francesca Reggio (FB), Olga Desyatnik (FB), and Asia Ring (FB). Piano Accompaniment by Nate Leykam (FB). Graphic Design by Joey Korenman. Nick Foran (FB) was the stage manager and technical director.

Hamilkong (HFF19, WWW, Playbill, FB) has three more performances: June 16 @ 630p, June 21 @ 1030p, and June 29 at 1030p. Hopefully, they will get the show cut down to the advertised Fringe length. Tickets are available through the Fringe Website. The show was an ambitious idea and had good performances, but our preview performance ran way long — a cardinal sin for Fringe.

Supportive White Parents (HFF19)We escaped the machinations of King Kong in order to run over to the Broadwater for what was our best show of the night: Supportive White Parents (HFF19, FB). The premise of this show, which was written by Joy Regullano (FB), with music by The Sam and Tony Show (FB) and Lyrics by Joy Regullano (FB), was simple:

When an Asian girl tells her parents she doesn’t want to be a doctor anymore, she wishes on a shooting star for supportive white parents.

The show, which is structured with a few musical numbers, has Joy telling her Filipino parents that she has decided to change her major from Molecular Biology to Theatre and East Asian Studies, with predictable response. She wishes she had parents that would support her whatever she does, and so wishes on a star for supportive white parents. The stars grant her wish, and suddenly all the things that made up her identity: her drive, years and years of study, etc., have been replaced with the stereotypes of white parents that love you and hug you even if you slack off and talk back. It is a great parody of what parents have become these days. Of course, in the end she decides that her original parents are what she wanted.

The show is extremely funny, with entertaining music and great performances. Perhaps it leaned into the stereotypes a bit, but comedy has the ability to do that and get away with it. It was one of our favorite shows of the night.

In the lead position was  Joy Regullano (FB), who not only sang and told the story, but played a mean violin. She was just delightfully fun to watch.

As her Filipino parents were Giselle “G” Tongi (FB) Maria Elena [Joan Almedilla (FB) plays the role on 6/26 and 6/28] and Earl Baylon (FB) Jose, Guitar. Although I’m not an expert on Filipino parents, they seemed to capture what I would expect from that role well.

The Supportive White Parents were played by Gina D’Accario (FB) Carol and Scott Palmason (FB) Jim, with Greg Smith (FB) as the rebelling brother Garrett. They captured the “mayonnaise” perfectly: the parents that love you no matter what you do. Gee, I hope we weren’t like that.

In terms of production credits: The show was directed by Frank Caeti (FB), with music direction by Tony Gonzalez (FB) and Choreography by Ally Vega (FB).

Supportive White Parents has four more performances: Sun 6/16 @ 930p, Wed 6/23 @ 10pm, Fri 6/28 @ 5pm, and Sun 6/30 @ 11am. This is a very funny show that is well worth seeing. Tickets are available through the show’s Fringe page.

🎭

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 Ahmanson Theatre (FB) [2018-2019 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.

Upcoming Shows:

The the Hollywood Fringe Festival (FB) has started. If you are unfamilar with Fringe, there are around 380 shows taking place over the month of June, mostly in the stretch of Santa Monica Blvd between 1 bl W of La Brea to 1 bl E of Vine, but all generally in Hollywood. On a first pass, there were lots I was interested in, 30 I could fit on a calendar, but even less that I could afford. Here is my current Fringe schedule as of the date of this writeup. [Here’s my post with all shows of interest — which also shows my most current HFF19 schedule. Note: unlike my normal policy, offers of comps or discounts are entertained, but I have to be able to work them into the schedule with the limitations noted in my HFF19 post]:

Key: ⊕: Non-Fringe Show/Event; °: Producer/Publicist Arranged Comp or Discount

As for July, it is already filling up. The first weekend of the month is still open. The second weekend brings An Intimate Evening with Kristen Chenowith at,The Hollywood Bowl (FB).  The third weekend of July brings Miss Saigon at the Hollywood Pantages (FB), followed by A Comedy of Errors from Shakespeare by the Sea (FB)/Little Fish Theatre(FB). The last weekend of July brings West Side Story at 5 Star Theatricals (FB). August starts with an alumni Shabbat at camp, and The Play That Goes Wrong at the Ahmanson Theatre (FB). August ends with Mother Road at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival (FB), and we might do rush tickets for Alice in Wonderland as well. In between those points, August is mostly open.

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!

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🎭 HFF19: And it starts… #1 “She Kills Monsters” | #2 “Trump Family Special”

Posted onAuthorcahwyguy

userpic=fringeSaturday night was our first night “Fringing” for 2019. Translating that for the uninitiated: that means the Hollywood Fringe Festival (FB) has started. The Fringe Festival consists of around 385 live performance shows taking place over the month of June, mostly in the stretch of Santa Monica Blvd between 1 bl W of La Brea to 1 bl E of Vine, but all generally in Hollywood. Comedies, dramas, and variety shows. One person to large cast. All taking place in the smaller intimate theatres (99 seats and under, as opposed to the thousands of seats at the big boys). Some shows work, and some are duds. But that’s how a festival is.

She Kills Monsters (HFF19 | Hobgoblin Theatre)Both of our shows Saturday night were at the Hobgoblin Playhouse (FB), a pop-up venue that appears during Fringe, operated by the team behind Studio/Stage and Theatre Unleashed. The first was to have been a revue of Tom Lehrer music, but the producer had to withdraw due to a death in the family. Together we say “Awww” because that was a show we really wanted to see, but given the circumstances, condolences to the producer. As a result, our first show was a traditional play, a show that has been mounted at venues large and small across the country: She Kills Monsters (HFF19, WWW, FB) by Qui Nguyen.

Nguyen, on her webpage, describes the show thusly: “Average Agnes is finally leaving her childhood home following the death of her sister Tilly. However when she stumbles upon Tilly’s Dungeons & Dragons notebook, Agnes embarks on an action-packed adventure to discover more about her geeky sibling than she previously cared to know. A heartwarming comedy about loss, bullies, and dragons!”

She Kills Monsters was a great start to the 2019 Fringe. In terms of story, not Fringy at all. The well constructed story focuses on Agnes, an admitted average high school teacher, who lost the rest of her family in a car crash. She finds her younger sister’s D&D notebook, and decides to go on the adventure that she wrote to learn more about her. Through battles in the role playing world, she gets to truly know and understand her sister, as well as her sister’s high-school friends and what role playing games can do for people. More importantly, she learns about herself and how to transcend her average life.

It is worth noting that the venue, Hobgoblin Playhouse, is D&D central: in addition to She Kills Monsters, the venue is host to a celebrity D&D game, as well as Tabletop the Musical, a new musical that is focused on D&D and its impact on a group of friends (which is well worth seeing). The production itself started as a staged reading at Stuart Roger’s acting studio.

Getting back to She Kills Monsters: We just loved the story of She Kills Monsters, and the message it sends on female empowerment and the positive aspects of role playing games. I never got into RPGs for the same reason that I’m a professional audience, and not either on stage or writing the stories: I can’t inhabit characters, or imagine their stories. But I know D&D players well; I knew folks who were deep in that community when I was in the UCLA Computer Club in the late 1970s. This captured that community, and the freedom that RPGs bring to their players.

The execution of She Kills Monsters was more fringy: minimal sets and costumes, as befits a kickstarted fringe show. Performances were generally strong, but at our preview performance there were a few line mishaps, and the cast was a bit less polished than might be seen in an established company’s fully realized production. That doesn’t make one difference at all to me; this is Fringe, after all. But the Fringe environment forces creativity on a low budget, and this show definitely had both.

In the lead positions were Susannah Snowden-Ifft (FB) as Tilly, and Vivi Thai (FB) as Agnes. This duo was also the producing team, serving as Executive Producer and Producer, respectively. Snowden-Ifft brought a wonderful nerdy-ness and vulnerability to Tilly, a high-schooler who repressed her personality in life, but found expression in the fantasy world of D&D where she could live the life she wanted. Snowden-Ifft did a great job of making the two personalities distinct. Thai’s Agnes was different. What I remember most was her reaction during the opening exposition, recoiling in horror at being characterized as being notable only in her average status. That wasn’t what she wanted in life: to be average. Thai captured the transformation of her character from average teenager and sister to a bad-ass warrior well. Both of them were a joy to watch, and you could see their passion for telling this story.

The remaining characters in the story all served to help Agnes and Tilly in their transformations, starting with the members of the RPG party: Harry Owen (FB) — Dungeonmaster (DM) Chuck; Reyneen Pedro (FB) — Kaliope / Kelly; Kristin Walker (FB) — Lilith / Lilly; and John Yang Li (FB) — Orcus / Ronnie. Most of these were drawn broadly, as D&D characters are: the warrior, the elf, the DM, the demon. But each performer brought a little something to those characterizations — a good sense of fun and playfulness. More importantly for the actual party characters was the characterizations they brought to those people outside the game, as the high school friends of Tilly. Of not here was Pedro’s transformation from the strong and sexy elf to the real-life person behind the elf. Great acting.

Also serving to help Agnes find herself were Zach Summers (FB) — Miles (6/8, 6/14; Andres Paul Ramacho (FB) for the last three performances in June); and Brad Milison (FB) — Steve. Summers was the clueless boyfriend of Agnes who misunderstood what Agnes was doing with this high school kid, and Millson was the red-shirt of the story: another D&D adventurer who kept being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Both captured these broad stereotypes well.

Rounding out the cast in smaller and more various roles were Shikira Saul (FB) — Vera / Farrah / Evil Tina / The Beholder; and Blair Allison (FB) — Narrator / Evil Gabbi. Saul got to play the most varied roles, from jaded best friend of Agnes to high school cheerleader to various demons and monsters. She was best in her portrayal of Vera, Agnes’ friend, where she delivered some wonderfully sardonic lines that I’m sure most high school guidance counselors would love to say. Allison’s parts were smaller, although she did well with the narration and its tone.

Lastly, turning to the production side: The production was directed by Genny Wilson (FB), with no real credits for scenic design, costumes or those traditional departments. This isn’t surprising for Fringe, where you load in and out in 15 minutes. The sets were either non-existent or minimal — perhaps a few square boxes. There were projections used, as well as shadow puppets to show events like the car crash. Props and costumes were used to create characters and provide weapons as such, although there were no explicit credits for prop or costume design. Elliott Beltran (FB) did the sound design (mostly sound effects and establishing music), and Greg Crafts (FB) did the lighting design. The effective fight choreography was by Masa Kanome (FB) and Tadahiro Nakamura. Incidental music was composed by Darrin Stafford (FB). Beth Wallan (FB) was the stage manager. She Kills Monsters was produced by Vivi Thai (FB), with Susannah Snowden-Ifft (FB) as Executive Producer.

She Kills Monsters has four more performances during Fringe: Fri 6/14 @ 11pm; Sat 6/22 @ 9pm; Sun 6/23 @ 9:30pm; and Sat 6/29 @ 2:00pm. Tickets are available at their Fringe Page.

2nd Annual Trump Family Special (HFF19)The second show we saw last night, The 2nd Annual Trump Family Special, was both much more Fringe-y and more professional. On the professional side of the equation, this particular production had been mounted before: off-Broadway in New York, as well as previously in Hollywood. It had many cast members that were AEA and who had performed on Broadway and/or in National Tours. But the execution itself was on the Fringe side: improvisation at times, quick adaptation, improvised costumes and props at times, and a general playfulness that comes with the nature of a live variety show vs. a more scripted play such as She Kills Monsters.

The basic conceit of the show is that the Trump family — Melania, Ivanka, Eric, and Don Jr. — are putting on an annual variety show, hoping that their dad (the POTUS) will show up. Making special guest appearances are the earlier Trump wives — Marla Maples, Ivana Trump, as well as Jared Kushner. Missing in action, just as in real life, are Barron and Tiffany. Trump never shows, of course, but contributes to the proceedings through tweets. The content of the show is a both a politically incorrect appeal to their base, but much more a parody of their situation and personalities.

The show featured book and lyrics by Daniel Salles (FB), with music and additional lyrics by Tor Hyams (FB) and Lisa St. Lou (FB) / Tor and Lisa (FB). The book and songs generally poked at the well known images of the first family: Melania as the airhead model who hates her husband, Donald and Eric as generally stupid and sixest, the nature of Trump’s relationships to his ex-wifes, Ikanka as the power behind the throne, Jared Kushner as a puppet, etc. As such, it is both silly and plays to the LA audience well (as well as to the gay audience in particular, based on the attendance at our show). Examples of this are songs such as “Win, Win, Win”, “Look Gorgeous”, “Three Trophy Wives”, and perhaps the best political commentary, “It’s a Circus”, which presented the White House as a three-ring circus, with Donald as the ring-leader.

But I think the most telling song of the show was “MAGA/And Then He Tweets”. In the middle of a song about how great Trump is, there are asides from the Music Director talking about the reality of the world of Trump for gays and other minorities. This, I believe, was the true heart of the show.

Over the years at Fringe, I’ve seen numerous shows dealing with Trump. These have ranged from the totally warped Zombie Clown Trump, the Star-Trek mashup Trump in Space, and the quite good The Dangerous Cures of Dr. B, which uses the demagogue John Brinkley as an analogue for the pedagogy of Donald Trump. The 2nd Annual Trump Family Special does a great job of skewering the first family, their foibles and personalities, and how Trump relates to them. But does it make a strong cases or have a deeper meaning? Does it provide a particular insight into Donald Trump, his machinations, or the motivation behind his forms of evil. No. You get more of that from Planet Money. The 2nd Annual Trump Family Special is entertaining, but ultimately light on substance — reflecting perfectly the first family and the absence of substance and depth therein.

Under the direction of show creator Daniel Salles (FB), the show moves briskly and is entertaining. At our preview performance, the cast had to improvise around various problems, such as lights not being where expected and wardrobe malfunctions of various forms. They coped well, as trained actors do. Benji Schwimmer (FB)’s choreography was appropriate for the style of variety show — low budget — that the book made this show out to be.

The performances were strong. Perhaps the strongest — certainly the strongest and clearest voice — was that of Lisa St. Lou (FB) as Ivanka Trump and Ivana Trump. She had the bulk of the stage time, and was extremely strong in her songs and characterizations.

Playing her step-mother and first lady was Mary Birdsong (FB) as Melania. She was clearly having fun with the characterization, sang strongly, and dealt well with the preview issues.

Rounding out the cast were Ryan Murray (FB) as Eric, and John Shartzer (FB) as Donald Jr. Shartzer got double-duty as Marla Maples, and I believe it was Murray doing double duty as Mike Pence.  Both handled the comedy and the songs well.

Tor Hyams (FB) served as music director, and provided commentary and “directed” the variety show from behind the parameter. It was Hyams that provided the input on “And Then He Tweets” aspect I liked so well.

The NY scenic designer was David Goldstein; as there is no LA credit for this, presumably his design was transferred. The design was simple: some boxes, a fancy backdrop, a few props, and a Jared Kushner puppet that looked a lot like Jerry Mahoney. The NY costume design was by Vanessa Leuck (FB), with LA costumes credited to Wendell Carmichael (FB). Modulo a few costume malfunctions, the costumes generally worked. Johnnie Carmichael was the Sound Engineer; Greg Crafts (FB) did the lights. Tanya Nancy Telson (FB) was the stage manager, and Hannah Carroll (FB) and Sharon Logan are credited as “Backstage Superstars”, whatever that means. The lead LA producer was Victoria Watson Winkler (FB); there are numerous other producers and associate producers.

The 2nd Annual Trump Family Special has 6 more performances: Sun 6/9 @ 8pm; Thu 6/13 @ 830p; Fri 6/14 @ 7pm; Sat 6/15 @ 1030pm; and Sun 6/16 at 3pm and 10pm. Tickets are available through their Fringe site; through the show website; and discount tickets may be available on Goldstar.

🎭

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 Ahmanson Theatre (FB) [2018-2019 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.

Upcoming Shows:

The the Hollywood Fringe Festival (FB) has started. If you are unfamilar with Fringe, there are around 380 shows taking place over the month of June, mostly in the stretch of Santa Monica Blvd between 1 bl W of La Brea to 1 bl E of Vine, but all generally in Hollywood. On a first pass, there were lots I was interested in, 30 I could fit on a calendar, but even less that I could afford. Here is my current Fringe schedule as of the date of this writeup. [Here’s my post with all shows of interest — which also shows my most current HFF19 schedule. Note: unlike my normal policy, offers of comps or discounts are entertained, but I have to be able to work them into the schedule with the limitations noted in my HFF19 post]:

Key: ⊕: Non-Fringe Show/Event; °: Producer/Publicist Arranged Comp or Discount

As for July, it is already filling up. The first weekend of the month is still open. The second weekend brings An Intimate Evening with Kristen Chenowith at,The Hollywood Bowl (FB).  The third weekend of July brings Miss Saigon at the Hollywood Pantages (FB), followed by A Comedy of Errors from Shakespeare by the Sea (FB)/Little Fish Theatre(FB). The last weekend of July brings West Side Story at 5 Star Theatricals (FB). August starts with an alumni Shabbat at camp, and The Play That Goes Wrong at the Ahmanson Theatre (FB). August ends with Mother Road at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival (FB), and we might do rush tickets for Alice in Wonderland as well. In between those points, August is mostly open.

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!

 

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🎭 🎸 Learning About Legends | Surviving Frank Lloyd Wright @ EST/LA ♦ Ruskin / Book Binder @ Blvd Music

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Surviving Frank Lloyd Wright (EST/LA)Saturday was an interesting day. The Hollywood Fringe Festival (FB) hasn’t started yet, so my calendar was empty. My wife was out of town and I wasn’t in the midst of highway page updates, so I didn’t have much to do. I thought about the opening night of  Ready Set Yeti Go at Rogue Machine Theatre (FB), but there were no discount tickets. But then I received some emails about the solution to my problem.

The first was from Ensemble Studio Theatre / Los Angeles (FB) about a “Check-In Reading” for a play they had in development from Tom Lazarus (FB). “Check-In Readings” are no-frills readings of plays under development in the Launchpad 2018-19 Long Term Dramaturgical program. The readings “check-in” on the current status of the play, and allow an audience to give their reactions and make suggestions.

At this reading, the play was “Surviving Frank Lloyd Wright: The Creation of Hollyhock House“. It was described in the email thusly:

The true story of political radical and free love advocate Aline Barnsdall hiring the scandal plagued genius Frank Lloyd Wright to architect a creative utopia. They battle over the design and the out of control budget. Wright hires Rudolph Schindler to supervise construction throwing the future of Hollyhock House in doubt as the aesthetic and sexual triangles play themselves out.

Given that as an ancillary interest to my highway hobby I have a keen interest in the history of Los Angeles, this play caught my eye. So yesterday started out with a jaunt to Atwater Village for the reading.

This was my first time attending one of these readings, and I had a blast. The setup was simple: actors reading from the script, with another actor reading the stage directions. Voice performance, no costumes, allowing one to focus on the script in development. The performers were: Ian Patrick Williams (FB) – Frank Lloyd Wright; Lizzie Peet (FB) – Aline Barnsdall; Ethan Rains (FB) –Rudolph Schindler; Ashley Francis Hoffman (FB) – Maud (Maude Noel, Wright’s 2nd wife); Maura Knowles (FB) – Miss Lang; Jon Sperry (FB) – Norman Bel Geddes; and Stevie Stern (FB) – stage directions.

I’m not going to go into the developmental work needed or any criticisms — those were communicated to the playwright during the discussion afterwards (and were the purpose of this reading). Readings are how plays mature into what you see working on stage, and it is rare for a play to emerge fully formed and perfect (no matter what the author may think). The same is true for government documents :-). So this is more my positive thoughts on the show.

Going in, although I had heard of Frank Lloyd Wright and Barnsdall Park, I didn’t know much more than that. This show was focused on the creation of Hollyhock House. It starts with Aline Barnsdall hiring Frank Lloyd Wright to build an artist’s utopia at the top of Olive Hill, which she had purchased with her inheritance.  Her plan was to build a theatre, housing for staff, and a house for herself and her daughter on the hill. Wright was focused on the house, and kept delaying everything else. The focus of this play was the conflict between the two, and which ones would give first, and what the ultimate result would be.

I was initially confused as to location when this play started, probably because I’ve never been to Barnsdall Park or seen Hollyhock House. The way the characters spoke, I thought the hill was much higher than it was — but that was likely due to the growth of the area around the park obscuring the hill. Still, this play introduced me to a side of Los Angeles that I didn’t know, and made me go and research people I had never heard about (in particiular, Aline Barnsdall). That’s a good thing for a historical play. It helped me learn the personalities of these people. The script caught and held my attention, and I had a blast learning both about the story and the play development process.

The performances were strong. The actors, as this was a reading, had no costumes, no particular directions other than those in the script, and no real rehearsal. As such, you got to see the pure actor’s side: taking the lines on the page and bringing them to life just through voice and minimal movement. They did a great job. I particularly enjoyed the Williams, Peet, and Sperry.

I got such a kick out of this that I plan to attend more readings. If you want to learn about these types of efforts, get on the email lists for the theatres you like. To get on EST/LA’s list, click here.

Rick Ruskin and Roy Book Binder (Blvd Music)The second email I received was from Boulevard Music (FB) about a concert from Rick Ruskin and Roy Bookbinder. I was familiar with Rick Ruskin (FB), having been introduced to him by my uncle through some of his earlier albums. I was unfamiliar with Roy Bookbinder (FB) (sometimes written as Roy Book Binder). Both were expert guitar players, students and friends of the Reverend Gary Davis, with both a blues and humorous guitar style.

As I was less familiar with the songs from these artists (I have four albums from Ruskin, none from Bookbinder), I don’t have a play list. The two were both on stage at the same time, alternating songs and sharing stories. Ruskin did a mix of songs from Davis, himself, and a few covers of popular songs. Bookbinder focused more on the blues, doing songs from Davis, himself, and a few others. What was notable about Bookbinder was his stories. Before — and sometimes during — each song, Bookbinder would tell a rambling story of how the song came to be, stories about characters in the songs, and so forth.

There were a few mentions of Peter, Paul and Mary; I hadn’t realized that “If I Had My Way” was a Davis song and earned him substantial earnings. There was also a story about Mississippi John Hurt.

I enjoyed the music quite a bit, and picked up two albums from each artists. Always support artists at shows by buying merch.

Both had interesting observations about their age. This got me thinking about who the new folk artists are; in other words, who are the youngsters perpetuating the folk tradition. I’m not sure the answers, but I’d like to explore getting music from folk artists who aren’t 15 years older than I am.

🎭

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 Ahmanson Theatre (FB) [2018-2019 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.

Upcoming Shows:

Next week, the the Hollywood Fringe Festival (FB) starts. If you are unfamilar with Fringe, there are around 380 shows taking place over the month of June, mostly in the stretch of Santa Monica Blvd between 1 bl W of La Brea to 1 bl E of Vine, but all generally in Hollywood. On a first pass, there were lots I was interested in, 30 I could fit on a calendar, but even less that I could afford. Here is my current Fringe schedule as of the date of this writeup. [Here’s my post with all shows of interest — which also shows my most current HFF19 schedule. Note: unlike my normal policy, offers of comps or discounts are entertained, but I have to be able to work them into the schedule with the limitations noted in my HFF19 post]:

Key: ⊕: Non-Fringe Show/Event; °: Producer/Publicist Arranged Comp or Discount

As for July, it is already filling up. The first weekend of the month is still open. The second weekend brings An Intimate Evening with Kristen Chenowith at,The Hollywood Bowl (FB).  The third weekend of July brings Miss Saigon at the Hollywood Pantages (FB), followed by A Comedy of Errors from Shakespeare by the Sea (FB)/Little Fish Theatre(FB). The last weekend of July brings West Side Story at 5 Star Theatricals (FB). August starts with an alumni Shabbat at camp, and The Play That Goes Wrong at the Ahmanson Theatre (FB). August ends with Mother Road at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival (FB), and we might do rush tickets for Alice in Wonderland as well. In between those points, August is mostly open.

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!

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🛣 Headlines About California Highways – May 2019

Posted onAuthorcahwyguy

Another month has come and gone, and already we are almost half-way through the year. But it hasn’t been an “April Showers bring May Flowers” month, as we’ve seen more rain and more snow, and one of the coolest Memorial Days in a while. But one thing is constant: Highway headlines!

  • Caltrans Delays Major East Bay Project After Local Backlash. After major pushback from Emeryville, Oakland, and Alameda County officials, the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) has delayed a major construction project that would tear down the “MacArthur Maze,” a series of overpasses connecting the I-80, I-580, and I-880 freeways near the eastern entrance to the Bay Bridge. Adding to their frustration, city officials say the purpose of the project isn’t clear, while other capital improvement projects on nearby state highways languish.
  • Caltrans announces year-long Palmdale Road construction project. The California Department of Transportation announced the beginning of a year-long construction safety project along State Route 18 or Palmdale Road. Caltrans officials said the raised curb median project will begin the first week in May on Palmdale Road from Cobalt Road to Highway 395 in Victorville. The project will affect those traveling to and from Silverado High School, located near the corner of Cobalt and Palmdale roads, and Cobalt Institute of Math and Science, located west of the SHS.
  • Cities along 710 not happy money is flowing to car-centric projects. Three cities ready to receive a portion of almost $1 billion in lieu of a north 710 Freeway extension are unhappy with the process, want more cooperation from Metro and are concerned their suggestions are being ignored. A letter signed by the city managers of Alhambra, Pasadena and South Pasadena to the Los Angels County Metropolitan Transportation Authority board accuses its staff of only accepting projects that enhance the movement of automobiles, namely adding lanes to regional thoroughfares in an area between El Sereno and Pasadena, from Valley Boulevard to the 210 Freeway just west of Fremont and Pasadena avenues.
  • The First Cable-Stayed Pedestrian/Bicycle Bridge in California Rides Gracefully Over a Freeway. The Mary Avenue Bicycle Footbridge was opened in the city of Cupertino in California’s Santa Clara County, which encompasses much of the region popularly known as Silicon Valley. The 503-foot (153.3-meter)-long bridge, which crosses over Interstate 280 and connects the north and south sections of the Stevens Creek Trail, has the distinction of being the Golden State’s first cable-stayed bridge for bicycle and pedestrian traffic that is located above a freeway.
  • Caltrans inspecting troubled stretch of I-80 freeway after concrete falls. Caltrans crews are inspecting an elevated section of Interstate 80 where a chunk of concrete broke off Tuesday night, falling 25 feet onto a street in SoMa. The stretch of freeway that links the Bay Bridge to the Highway 101 split has dogged city and state officials for years. Officers who manage police parking lots adjacent to the Hall of Justice say that they have found large pieces of debris and bolts on the ground but that their complaints to Caltrans have gone largely unaddressed.
  • Caltrans to inspect I-80 where concrete chunk fell off near Bay Bridge. Caltrans will inspect a portion of Interstate 80 where a fist-sized chunk of concrete fell to the street below, according to the agency. The chunks of concrete fell in a stretch of I-80 in San Francisco at Harriet Street, approaching the Bay Bridge, Tuesday, according to Caltrans. No injuries or property damage was reported.

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