Last night, we went to see “Loving Repeating: A Musical of Gertrude Stein” at ICT Long Beach. That is to say, it was in Long Beach that we saw “Loving Repeating at ICT. For the fact is, ICT is doing this wonderful presentation of “Loving Repeating, a musical about Gertrude Stein with music by Stephen Flaherty. Yes, it was in Long Beach, and it was Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas, and it was a musical, and it was done by ICT. For in the repeating was the story, and the story, which was about loving, was in the repeating.
Confused yet?
“Loving Repeating is a musical about Gertrude Stein, and it reflects the writing and speaking style of Gertrude Stein, which tended to emphasize the repeating. It was adapted from the writings and works of Gertrude Stein by Frank Galati, and all the words and the lyrics of the musical are by Gertrude Stein. The music is by Stephen Flaherty, and is reminiscent of other works of his such as “Ragtime”, “Seussical”, and “Once on This Island”; that is to say it sounds like Flaherty but is uniquely Stein. The repetition makes the music soothing (for as Noel Paul Stookey once noted, repetition is present as a calming influence) and beautiful. The effect of all of this is to make any scene or segment difficult to understand. Let me clarify by quoting some of the lyrics of the song I’m currently listening to:
and both working there then
They were in a way
both gay there
Where there were many
cultivating something.
They were were both regular
in being gay there.
or
My wife has a cow
A love story
My wife has a cow
has a cow as now
A love story
Having, having a cow
A love story
And having a cow now
My wife has a cow
and now
My wife has a cow!!
If you are confused, you’re not alone. “Loving Repeating” is a very strange and beautiful musical, and many in the audience walked away not understanding it at all. But the answer is actually in the pieces and the repetition, and in all the hints about cubism in the art design. This is a musical best approached as a Picasso painting (and Picasso was a contemporary of Stein): you can’t look at it closely and descern a story or a through line, but if you step back and look at the performance as a whole, you come away with the sense of the story, which is the story of Gertrude Stein and her search to find the nature of everyone, how everyone has being and loves and couples, in myriad ways, again and again, repeating the loving. (Yes, the repetition style does start to take over your brain, why do you ask?). This approach to looking at the musical is hinted at early on, when Old and Young Gertrude say: “I began to get enormously interested in hearing how everyone always said the same thing over and over again over and over again with infinite variations but over and over again until finally if you listened with great intensity you could hear it rise and fall and tell that all there was inside them, not so much by the actual words they said or the thoughts they had but the movement of their thoughts and the words enlessly the same and endlessly different.”
It is the movement of these thoughts and words that tells the love story of Stein and Toklas, Husband and Wife in a time where two women were not husband and wife, but these two were. The story begins with their meeting, and though incomprehensible lyric operas and lyrics we see the love grow, with the musical ending with Alice alone, as Stein has passed away. But there is never an explicit telling of their story: it comes through the musical as a sense, not explicit words. Perhaps this is the effect of the music, which is so lyric and beautiful you are instantly lulled into this sense of floating and relaxing. For those who are Ahrens and Flaherty fans, I do recommend the CD.
The production of “Loving Repeating” at ICT was beautifully staged and executed, under the firm directoral hand of caryn desai (sic). The cast featured five women and three men, of which only three were named roles: Old Gertrude, Young Gertrude, and Alice. The rest flowed in an out (as the music flowed), building the pieces of the story around the narrative of the Gertrudes, conducted by the director and the choreography of Heather Castillo.
The acting talent was excellent, conveying the joy of the music and the love that existed between everyone. The older Gertrude Stein was played by Cheryl Davidæ, who provided the basic narrative thread of the story. The younger Gertrude Stein, who did more of the singing, was Shannon Warneæ. We have seen Warne before as Geneveve in the Pasadena Playhouse’s Camelot and as Millie in Cabrillo’s Seven Brides; she has a wonderful singing voice and stage personality. Alice B. Toklas was portrayed by Melissa Lyons Caldrettiæ (who we also saw before at Cabrillo in both Cats and Peter Pan). The mixture of Warne’s and Caldretti’s voices was just magic. Rounding out the cast were Carly Bracco (a graduate of Thousand Oaks High) [Woman #1], Allison Eberly [Woman #2], Leland Burnett [Man #1], Jay Donnell [Man #2], and Tyler Milliron [Man #3]. This ensemble danced and moved well, and the voices blended to perfection. They were just a joy to watch.
[æ denotes members of Actors Equity ]
Turning to the technical: Kurt Boetcher designed the simple but beautiful set, which featured branches forming a heart in the background, and a stage platform with modernistic paintings on the ground. The costumes by Kim DeShazo were reflective of the period (the late 1800s and early 1900s), with a wonderful cubist dancing cow. Gordon and Patty Briles, the resident property designers, did a beautiful job of constructing the stage and providing the few props used. The lighting design by Donna Ruzika effectively conveyed the mood of the piece. The sound design by Joseph Slawinski started out clear and strong, but there were odd periods of echo-i-ness in the sound and static, indicating there was some form of transitory problem that was distracting.
The musical team was led by Darryl Archibald, who led the five piece band.
“Loving Repeating” continues at ICT Long Beach through February 13. At the performance we were at, there were lots of empy seats in the Loge. ICT has been putting some performances on Goldstar. Get them if you can; if not, full price isn’t all that bad. But if you like pretty music and don’t mind a story that doesn’t gel in your head until the end—if you enjoy floating on the music and watching beautiful staging, go see it. I’ve got the feeling that this is a musical that grows as you see it more and listen to it more.
Dining Notes: Normally, finding good dining and good parking in downtown Long Beach is a pain. We found the answer. The Long Beach Cafe at 615 Ocean, about 5 minutes from the theatre, has free parking in its own lot. When you combine this with incredibly tasty food and plentiful portions, and you have a winner. We’ll be back.
Upcoming Theatre, Concerts, and Dance: February starts with “Frankie and Johnny in the Claire de Lune” at Repertory East on February 4 (which got a great review), and “Dangerous Beauty” at The Pasadena Playhouse on February 5. The next weekend also brings two shows: “The Marvelous Wonderettes at Cabrillo Music Theatre on February 12, and “Adding Machine: The Musical at The Odyssey Theatre Ensemble on February 13. The third weekend of February is another with two shows: “Rock of Ages at The Pantages Theatre on February 19, and “33 Variations at the Ahmanson Theatre for February 20. February closes with “Moonlight and Magnolias” at The Colony Theatre on February 26. March is also busy. It begins with a Noel Paul Stookey concert at McCabes on March 4. March 5 is the MRJ Regional Man of the Year dinner at TBH. The first two weekends of March are also the Spring Musical, “Evita”, at Van Nuys High School; we’re likely going on Saturday, March 12. Sunday, March 13 is “The Cradle Will Rock” at the Blank Theatre. The weekend of March 19 is currently open, but that probably won’t last for long. Lastly, March 26 brings “The Diary of Anne Frank” at Repertory East. April will bring the Renaissance Faire, “The Producers” at Cabrillo Music Theatre, “The All Night Strut” at the Colony Theatre, and (pending ticketing) Brian Stokes Mitchell at the new Valley Performing Arts Center.