Tag: theatre-2007

Whodunnit? I dunno. Let’s vote on it.

Posted onAuthorcahwyguy

Last night, we went to the final performance of “The Mystery of Edwin Drood” at the Simi Valley Cultural Arts Center. I was very glad that we only had to go to Simi Valley and not the REP, because we were able to avoid the mess that is the I-5/Route 14 junction. Anyway, on to the show.

“The Mystery of Edwin Drood” is a musical based on the unfinished novel by Messr. C. Dickens, with book, music, and lyrics by Messr. Rupert Holmes. The story concerns a young man, Edwin Drood, who is about to marry a beautiful young lady, Rosa Bud. Unfortunately for Edwin, his uncle is Rosa’s music teacher and is also in love with Rosa. His uncle also suffers from a medical condition (I think migraines) that has him visiting the opium dens in London (run by Princess Puffer). Added to the mix is are the brother and sisters Neville and Helena Landless from Ceylon: Neville and Edwin have a distinct dislike for one another, as Edwin is English and Neville is British. There is also the comic relief subplot about Durdles and Deputy digging a crypt for the Lord Mayor, and a seemingly lecherous Reverend Mr. Chrisparkle. One night, after a dinner at Jaspers, Edwin disappears. The group starts to investigate the murder when… led by Princess Puffer and a mysterious stranger, Dick Dachery. However, shortly after that point, Dickens died and the story was finished.

Here is where the conceit of the play comes it. The play is told in the setting of an English Musical Hall (in fact, the original opening number (captured on a Lost in Boston album) was “An English Music Hall”), and so the actors are playing actors in the Music Hall Royale production of December 29, 1892, who are playing the actors in the story. This leads to an intentional “melodrama” style of performance, where actors are introduced as the Music Hall actor in their first scenes, and the play is presided over by a Chairman who relates the story and sets each scene. It also leads to the main conceit: audience participation.

Yes, audience participation. When the play abruptly stops, there are four open questions:

  • Is Edwin Drood dead or just missing?
  • Who is Dick Dachery?
  • Who murdered Edwin Drood?
  • Who eventually falls in love with each other?

The first question is always answered by the company, who vote Edwin dead. The rest are voted on by the audience, and the actors in the music hall then end the story based on the vote. In the production we saw last night, a minor character (Bazzard) was voted to be Dachery, the murderer was Neville Landless, and the couple was Princess Puffer and the Reverend.

So how did the company do? Acting-wise, quite well for what they are. The Actors Rep of Simi Valley rarely uses equity actors, and is more on the level of local community theatre (vs. Rep East, where there are regular equity actors). The actors were all reasonably competent, and some were quite good. We were all very impressed with Elisabeth Stockton as Princess Puffer/Miss Angela Prysock and Anna Graves as Edwin Drood/Miss Alice Nutting. Both sang and acted quite well. Comically, John Sarkela did an excellent job as The Reverend Mr. Chrisparkle/Mr. Cedric Moncrieffe, with Nick Furguson and Corey Slack as the bumbling Durdles/Mr. Nick Cricker and Deputy/Master Dick Cricker, respectively. Jodi Wurts had the appropriate melodramatic chops as Neville Landless/Mr. VIctor Grinstead, playing up the role to the hilt. Kristina Reyes as Rosa Bud/Miss Deirdre Peregrine was beautiful, but at times came off as stiff. I was less impressed with Ryan Neely as John Jasper/Mr. Clive Paget–his performance just seemed a bit off for me, but I can’t put my finger on why. Amanda Lastort as Helena Landless/Miss Janet Conover was competant, but seemed to be overacting a bit which was distracting. The very rotund Fred Helsel as Mr. William Cartwright/Lord Mayor/Chairman occasionally tripped over his tongue but recovered well. Rounding out the cast were Seth Kamerow as Bazzard/Mr. Philip Bax and Sarah Goodwin, Erica Hess, Megan Tisler, and Heather Neely as The Sparkling Ingenues. I should note that the cast did an excellent job of remaining in character when they mingled with the audience during the pre-show and intermission.

My main complaint with the production was technical. The musicians were over-amplified, making it difficult to hear the words the actors were singing (better enunciation would have helped as well). The costumes were occasionally off-period, and more ill-fitting (especially on the larger busted ladies, who looked to be nearly falling out of their tops). So who did what technically? The production was directed by Fred Helsel, produced by Fred Helsel and Linda Gray. Musical direction was by Gary Poirot, with vocal direction by Bonnie Graeve and choreography by Alexandra R. Lastort. The effective lighting design was by Christian West, costumbe by Randon Pool, and scenery by Fred Helsel.

Tonight is the last night of the production.

Dining Notes: Dinner last night was at Reds BBQ in Simi. Quite tasty. Highly recommended.

Speaking of upcoming shows, here’s how our calendar is looking: We have a break before our next show, which is “7 Brides for 7 Brothers” at Cabrillo Music Theatre on 11/3 @ 2:00pm. The rest of November is taken up by other activities: 30th High School Reunion, Thomas at OERM, and isn’t programmed. Theatre starts up again in December, with “Ray Charles Live” at the Pasadena Playhouse on 12/1 @ 8pm; Tom Paxton at McCabes on 12/2 @ 7:30pm; and the highly anticipated “The Stinky Cheese Man And Other Fairly Stupid Tales” at Nobel Middle School on 12/6 @ 7pm, 12/7 @ 7pm, and maybe 12/8 @ 5pm.

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I Won’t Grow Up! Awwww, Do I Have To?

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Last night we went to one of our favorite venues, the REP East in Newhall, to see the play “All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten”, based on the books by Robert Fulghum, as adapted by Ernest Zulia. This was not your typical comedy or drama with a connected plot. Rather, it was a series of scenes illustrating various life lessons, all with the general theme of reminding us with what we learn as we grow up. As a result, the title served only to refer to the first scene, wherein we learned that when we were in Kindergarten, we were willing to try and do anything (whether we knew how or not)… but as we grew older, we became more aware of our abilities and limitations, and tried less and less–the point being (I think) that we should continue to have that childish enthusiasm and constantly try. It is OK to fall on our face and look silly sometimes. We do forget that as adults (well, most of us, that is).

As I said, there were a number of scenes, and I don’t recall them all. There are a few that stick in my mind, however. “Cinderella” was about a shy boy in Kindergarten who decided to be the pig in Cinderella (yes, I know there isn’t one in the story)–and his pig became the star of the show. This boy was unaware of conventional limitations, and succeeded because no one told him they existed. There is a lesson there. “The Stuff in the Sink” was about the gunk that collects in the sink when you do the dishes, and you have to periodically clean it out. Adults recognize this as a part of life, but kids hate dealing with the gunk. The segued into a high school graduation, where the speaker reminded the kids that growing up means being willing to deal with the gunk in the sink, changing the poopy diapers, cleaning the vomit of a friend off the floor, and so on, and the kids all quickly decided they didn’t want to grow up. But it is something we forget. There was also a scene called “Problems and Inconveniences”, reminding us that what so often seem to be problems are really just inconveniences, or as the play put it, “A lump in your oatmeal is very different than a lump in your breast.”

The second act had more scenes along these lines: “MOTB” made me think of the upcoming Bat Mitzvah: it was about a mother of the bride who worked to have everything perfect for her daughter’s wedding… only to have the bride eat too much while getting dressed, and rolf over the entire front pew at the ceremony. They all learned to laugh at this. There was a scene about the relationship about “Fathers and Sons”, as well as how that mirrors how children approach “Pigeons” (one can never get too close). There was a scene about “Geek Dancing”, which was about how one needs to find the joy in doing this, and who cares what the rest of the world thinks. The last scene, “Are There Any Questions”, was about the purpose of life… and how it is to be a mirror that helps shine others into the deep crevaces of life.

Gee, I guess I got more out of this play than I thought six hours ago. That is the mark of a good play: one that upon reflection gets even stronger. Of course, I think this was helped by the excellent cast (playing a variety of roles): George M. Chavez II, Marla Khayat, Jeff Lucas, Jymn Magon, and Erin Rivlin-Sakata. Some of these are regular REP folks we’ve been seeing throughout the year; some are new. All were excellent. I particularly enjoyed the enthusiasm of George and Erin, and I loved Jymn and Marla’s facial expressions and glee. There were a few line hesitations, but that is part of life, and they didn’t serve to distract from the show at all.

The uncredited stage design was simple and worked well, with much of the mood established through the lighting of Tim Christianson. Sound was by the always excellent “Nanook” Burkholder, with costumes (primarily clothes that didn’t distract from the actor) by Ryan Todd. Stage management was by Lauren Pearsall, with direction by the theatre’s artistic director, “O” (Owington Michael Owston). The show runs through October 20.

At the performance, REP East announced their 2008 season, which looks quite good. No dates as of yet, but the shows planned are: “Steel Magnolias,” “W;t,” “The Full Monty: The Musical,” “Of Mice and Men,” and “Ten Little Indians”. The 81 Series (short run shows for mature audience) are “Hurleyburly”, “Necessary Targets”, and “Suburbia”. I don’t know about the 81 series, but the main stage shows look great. I haven’t figured out if we’re doing season tickets (as they are good and start their season in January, not June like everyone else, which helps the pocket book), or will continue to go through Goldstar.

This debate occurs because they still have trouble coming up with a season ticket packet that works for us. All of their subscription packets consist of 8 shows, and I really just want a main stage (5 show) subscription (which I think many families would want). There’s also the pricing question. There are times I get season tickets because the shows don’t always show up on Goldstar with suitable times (Pasadena Playhouse), at all (Cabrillo Music Theatre), or might have great demand (Ahmanson). REP East shows up regularly on Goldstar, and the discount is better than the season discount. The only reason to get the season pass would be to show support for the theatre. This could easily be done by showing that the season tickets are not just paying for the tickets: the tickets are effectively at Goldstar prices, with the remainder of the season fee being a (tax-deductable, hopefully) donation to the group. The packages are also oddly structured: the Patron Circle and Members Circle are essentially the same goodies (the former is for one, the latter for two)… except that the latter is more than double the former. The only difference is where you are in the program. Again, making clear that this is a greater donation to the theatre would really help here. I know that folks from the show read these reviews, so hopefully these ideas will help them (or they will comment here–I invite you to join Livejournal).

Speaking of upcoming shows, here’s how our calendar is looking: Next weekend, we have “The Mystery of Edwin Drood” at the Simi Valley Cultural Arts Center on 10/13 @ 8:00pm; followed by “7 Brides for 7 Brothers” at Cabrillo Music Theatre on 11/3 @ 2:00pm. The rest of November is taken up by other activities: 30th High School Reunion, Thomas at OERM, and isn’t programmed. Theatre starts up again in December, with “Ray Charles Live” at the Pasadena Playhouse on 12/1 @ 8pm; Tom Paxton at McCabes on 12/2 @ 7:30pm; and the highly anticipated “The Stinky Cheese Man And Other Fairly Stupid Tales” at Nobel Middle School on 12/6 @ 7pm, 12/7 @ 7pm, and maybe 12/8 @ 5pm.

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The Power of the Code

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Last night, we saw the play “Matter of Honor” at the Pasadena Playhouse. “Matter of Honor” is an interesting one-act 90-minute play that tells the story of Johnson Whittaker, one of the first African-American cadets at the Military Academy at West Point (he wasn’t the first, however; that honor goes to Henry O. Flipper). During his first class (senior) year at West Point, Cadet Whittaker was found one morning in his room, beaten and bound, with cuts to his ears and a brused and bloodied head. The play tells the story of the investigation into this beating, under the direction of the superintendent of West Point, General John McAllister Schofield. General Schofield brings in an outside investigator, Mr. Chase, to apply scientific methods to the case (such as they were in the 1880s). Chase interviews other cadets, notably Stanton, a gentlemanly son of the south, as well as Whittaker, to come to his conclusion, all the while running into the honor code of West Point, combined with the silent overt segregation of the sole black cadet. He initially concludes that Whittaker beat himself, but later changes that position as Whittaker protests his innocence throughout the court martial. The play is framed throughout with Chase being subjected to questioning by an army officer (Stern) about whether Gen. Schofield interfered in the case.

This was a very intense drama, but one that doesn’t have a real good conclusion (it didn’t in real life either). You never find out who really beat Whittaker (although initially court-martialled for beating himself, that was later overturned… but he still was separated for not passing philosphy… it wasn’t until President Clinton that the separation was overturned and he was posthumously awarded his lt. bars). There were some strong parallels to today, with the military being notoriously tight lipped about what goes on inside its walls, not letting outsiders see the truth.

The performances were very strong, as we’ve come to expect at the Playhouse (although, alas, the audience was only about half full). Whittaker was played by Cedric Sanders, a relative newcomer but a very strong actor. The investigator, Chase, was played by Eric Lutes, who did an excellent job shifting personas between the alcoholic Chase of 1882 (post-investigation) and the eager Chase of the 1880 investigation. Enforcing honor, for right or wrong, was Richard Doyle‘s Gen. Schofield, who had the right amount of bluster and bravado to pull it off. Rounding out the cast were Steve Coombs as Stanton, Adam J. Smith as Stern, Brian Watkins as Foster, and Steve Holm, John O’Brien, and Ryan J. Hill as various cadets. The play was written by Michael Chepiga and directed by Scott Schwartz (who also directed tick, tick… BOOM).

On the technical side: the Scenic Design was by Robert Brill, who built a stone West Point facade that was nothing short of remarkable, combined with an incredibly raked stage. Costumes design was by Maggie Morgan (with military precision), and lighting was by Donald Holder (who created some remarkable mood with lighting shifts). Sound design was by Mark Bennett, with video design by Austin Switzer. The videos were used to provide captions and date framing, as well as providing updates on the story to the present day. Dialect coaching was by Joel Goldes, and fight coordination was by Tim Weske (who I also think did Can-Can).

“Matter of Honor” continues through September 30, 2007.

Dining Notes: Nothing really, as we had to stop by the mall to hit Teavana (eh, in my opinion… I prefer Franklin Tea), and thus quickly hit Barney’s Gourmet Hamburgers, which were actually quite good.

What’s next on the theatre calendar? Next is “All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten” at REP East on 10/6 @ 8:00pm; “The Mystery of Edwin Drood” at the Simi Valley Cultural Arts Center on 10/13 @ 8:00pm; and “7 Brides for 7 Brothers” at Cabrillo Music Theatre on 11/3 @ 2:00pm.

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I Wish I Could Go Back To College…

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…for life was much simpler back then.

This musing is brought to you, of course, by the letter Q, as in Avenue Q, the musical we saw today at the Ahmanson Theatre. Avenue Q, for those who haven’t seen it, is a musical with puppets that is definately not for the little kiddies. This is no Flahooley, folks. Avenue Q is the story of Princeton, a freshly-minted BA in English, who is trying to find his Purpose in life. However, life is proving to be much harder than he expected… with jobs, housing, personal problems, and all the other aspects of daily life that frustrate us. Can we go back to college yet?

Along the way, we meet the cast of characters that inhabit the block of Avenue Q that is affordable by Princeton: Kate Monster, a kindergarten TA; Brian, an out-of work comedian; Christmas Eve, Brian’s fiancee and an unsuccessful therapist; Rod, a closeted gay Republican investment banker; Nickey, Rod’s roommate; Gary, the superintendent; and Trekkie Monster, an, ummm, Internet entrepreneur and all-around pervert. Note that some of these are puppets, some of these are real people, and some bear a close resemblence to Sesame Street characters, but not close enough for a lawsuit. All have relationship trouble of some form, just like in real-life. All of them also have the “Bad Idea Bears” whispering bad ideas into their heads that they listen too. In other words: the story mirrors real life, which is why it has been so successful, going on to win a Tony Award in 1994 2004, as well as winning the hearts and minds of the Internet generation. Porn has nothing to do with it. Yeah, right.

The production at the Ahmanson was excellent. It is hard to match performers with the physical characters, as often the actual puppet manipulation was swapped between actors. But let’s try to name names anyway, based on the characters played or voiced. In the lead was Robert McClure, who voiced Princeton and Rod. McClure had a strong singing voice and made the puppets come to life, although he was occasionally off on his synching of the puppet with the words. Even stronger was the female lead, Kelli Sawyer, who voiced Kate Monster, Lucy T. Slut, and other characters. She had an extremely strong singing voice (especially in the torch songs), and I hope she goes far. Rounding out the major puppet vocals was Christian Anderson as Nicky, Trekkie Monster, and one of the bad-idea bears. His “Ernie” voice was dead on, and his Trekkie was raw (as it should be). The last puppet vocalist was Minglie Chen, who played Mrs. Thistletwat, a bad-idea bear, and assisted with puppet manipulation. She really didn’t speak much.

Turning to the human characters, we had Cole Porter (no, not the composer, he’s dead) as Brian; Angela Ai as Christmas Eve, and Carla Renata as Gary Coleman. All were strong; I was particularly taken by the comic stylings of Ms. Ai (and her voice during her one big song), as well as the singing voice of Ms. Renata. The ensemble consisted of Maggie Lakis, Seth Rettberg, and Danielle K. Thomas.

Turning to production information: Avenue Q has music and lyrics by Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx, with a book by Jeff Whitty based on an original concept by Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx. Puppets were conceived and designed by Rick Lyon. Scenic design was by Anna Louizon; Costumes by Mirena Rada; Lighting by Howell Binkley; Sound by Acme Sound Partners. The animation was by Robert Lopez (the co-composer/lyricist), and brought back memories of days watching Sesame Street, especially come+mittment. Musical drection was by Andrew Graham, with supervision and orchestrations by Stephen Oremus. The production was directed by Jason Moore, with technical direction by Brian Lynch, and stage management by Marian DeWitt. Overall, this was a production of the Center Theatre Group, Michael Ritchie artistic director.

Avenue Q runs through October 14, 2007. I believe that discounted tickets are available through Goldstar Events as well as Hottix.

By the way, at the end of Avenue Q, Princeton believes that his purpose is to put on a show about how to get through life, thus being self-referential. I can think of two other shows that were similarly self-referential: A Class Act, where Ed Kleban’s dying wish was that his songs be assembled into a show and presented in a large dark room, preferably in the center part of town, in front of a bunch of people, all of whom have paid a great deal to come in. The other show is Curtains, where the opening songs makes reference to a lawman from the east who came into to save the show.

Dining Notes: Before the show, we did a dim-sum run to Empress Pavillion in Chinatown. We need to remember that my favorite, the BBQ Pork, doesn’t come out until 11am (together with goodies like the meats and the turnip cakes), although there are goodies like juk and lemon tarts and greaseballs, oops, jin dui, available. Also, it doesn’t appear that crowded on Saturday.

Dining Note 2: Dinner was at Carnival, a Lebanese restaraunt in Sherman Oaks. This place is yummy, with good lentil soup. I was less impressed with their hummas, although the kebabs we had were quite tasty.

So, Mr. Wizard, what’s next on the theatre calendar? “Matter of Honor” at the Pasadena Playhouse on 9/22 @ 8:00pm; “All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten” at REP East on 10/6 @ 8:00pm; “The Mystery of Edwin Drood” at the Simi Valley Cultural Arts Center on 10/13 @ 8:00pm; and “7 Brides for 7 Brothers” at Cabrillo Music Theatre on 11/3 @ 2:00pm.

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Behind the Scenes at the Taper

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For those into Los Angeles Theatre, the Center Theatre Group has put up four YouTube videos on the upcoming renovation of the Mark Taper Forum, built in 1967. I found them fascinating, as they go through the entire theatre, pointing out its flaws and what is being done in the renovation. It gives a really good view of all the hidden stuff you never think about when you see a show.

Video 1: The Front of the House
Video 2: Backstage
Video 3: The Grid above the Stage
Video 4: The Secret Room Upstairs

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Dancing Furniture on the Stage… Without An Earthquake

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This afternoon we trudged out to Thousand Oaks to one of our favorite musical venues, Cabrillo Music Theatre at the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza, where we saw “Disney’s Beauty and the Beast”. This was Cabrillo’s summer show, which is always family entertainment, so the audience was filled with kids of all ages, but lots of the younger ones.

For those not familiar with this show, it is basically the Disney animated “Beauty and the Beast” made into a theatrical stage show. It closed on Broadway on July 29, so this is one of the few current stage productions. It is a classic story, and one of the few Disney plotlines to feature a female heroine who loves to read. As for the storyline, it is pretty simple. Brainy beauty who no-one understands falls in-love with a man who has a beastly outside but inner beauty, while the outerly-beautiful man with inner ugliness falls by the wayside. We all know this happens in real life. Right? Right??

I should note that the book for the theatrical B&TB is by Linda Woolverton, with Music by Alan Menken and Lyrics by Howard Ashman and Tim Rice. Ashman and Menken were a very talented team, and I miss Howard Ashman and his truly clever lyrics.

Cabrillo did their usually excellent job with this production. Let’s start with the principals, and work our way down the cast. Our lead heroine, Belle, was played by Ashley Moniz, a drama major at UCI. She did an excellent job (reminding quite a bit of Susan Egan) in her playfullness with the character, bringing Belle’s unique humor to life. Her “beast” was played by Chris Warren Gilbert*. It is hard to judge his acting underneath the layers of beast, but he didn’t come off as well. I don’t think it was an acting problem as much as a micing problem–the Beast needs to boom, and he didn’t boom until the end (so I’m guessing his mic was misadjusted).

Of course, the real beast in the production was Gaston, played by Matt Merchant*. He had the right playfullness for the role, the right bounce, the right buffoon-ness, and a great singing voice. He needed more hair, though :-). His comic relief was Lefou, played by David R. Gordon. He acted the role well with all the right comic moves, but his makeup (to make him look like the cartoon character) distracted from the role instead of enhanced it.

Turning to the significant furniture and inhabitants of the castle. Lumiere was played by Joshua Finkel*, who was excellent in the role. He sang well, danced well, and (uh) inhabited those candlesticks. Equally talented was James William Gruessing Jr. as Cogsworth, who had sufficient bluster in the role. Lisa Donahey as Mrs. Potts had a lovely singing voice for her main songs. Other significant castle inhabitants were Victoria Hart as Madame de la Grande Bouche, Brooke Murphy as Chip, and Elissa Wagner as Babette (the role that propelled Mindy Paige Davis Page to fame). Of the minor furniture, a special nod goes to Daniel Ross Noble as the Doormat, whose acrobatics and flips were simply amazing.

Others in this large cast (ensemble unless otherwise noted; roles in addition to the ensemble shown in []) were: Jack E. Curenton (Maurice), Beth Alison (Silly Girl), Tess Ferrell (Silly Girl), Laura Thatcher (Silly Girl), Trai Allgeier, Chrissy Anderson, Sam Arkin [+ Wolf], Phil Bandel, Gloria Bennett, Josh Christoff, Erin Fagundes, Steven Ferezy [+ Wolf, Pepper], Jennifer Foster, Alana Grossman, Jason Heck, Bradley Horwitz [+ Wolf, Salt], Emili Lauren, Patrick Logothetti, Daniel Ross Noble, Meredith Nussbaum [+Enchantress], Steve Perren [+ Monsieur D’Arque], Courtney Potter, Chris Ramirez, Michelle Y. Reyes, Catherine T. Ricafort, Tony Silva, Joey Sponseller [+Young Prince], Adrienne Storrs, Richard Storrs [+ Bookseller], Andrea Taylor, Bobby Traversa, Estevan Valdes [+ Wolf], Katie Young, Allie Stoller, Jenirae Beyer-Johnson, Jessica Dial, Andrew Fishman, Ben Gutierrez, Jenna Miller, Kayleen Murphy, Delaney Niehoff, and Bailey Tait. Whew. Large cast.

The productions was directed by Lewis Wilkenfeld, with technical direction by Hugh Scott, lighting by Rand Ryan, sound by Jonathan Burke, wigs/hair by Paul Hadobas. Wardrobe supervision was by Christine Gibson, and props by Joannie Meister. The excellent musical director was Tom Griffin, and choreography was by Peggy Hickey. Stage management was by Lindsay Martens assisted by Melissa Machat. The production runs through Sunday, August 5, 2007.

So, what’s coming up on our theatre calendar? Next up is something not quite theatre–we’re going to the Drum and Bugle Corps. Specifically, the DCI 2007 World Championship Finals in Pasadena on 8/11 @ 5:00pm. We then have a few unprogrammed weeks (but watch this space), and we pick up again with “Avenue Q” at the Ahmanson on 9/15 @ 2:00pm; and “Matter of Honor” at the Pasadena Playhouse on 9/22 @ 8:00pm. We’re also planning on going to the Hollywood Bowl for Big Bad Voodoo Daddy on either 8/24 or 25.

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Teenage Drama, realized

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Last night I went to the TADW 10 Minute Play festival wth my daughter. Setting aside the shared drama between us (she had wanted to go to TADW this year, but pre-purchased non-refundable tickets to a one-time family reunion in Nashville intervened), the festival was interesting.

This festival presented 9 student-written, student-acted, and TADW-alumni directed short plays, of for the most part, pretty good quality:

  1. “Your Class President”, written by Amanda Cummins, directed by Jill Novick, acted by Chloe Bryant and Lindsay Robb. This was the story of a girl running for class president, trampling everyone along the way. The weakest of the bunch, in my opinion, although the storyline was mentioned in other plays. In this one, the actresses overacted a little, believing every word required an accompanying action. But the series got better.
  2. “Chemical Dependency”, written by Zach Graber, directed by Stephanie Blaze, with Alia Bakr, Nona Harutyunyan, and Gaby Koek. This was a better play, building off the notion of so many people seeing therapists. It ended on a joke, which had the problem that folks started applauding too soon so no one could hear it.
  3. “Darkroom”, written by Haylee-Rae Averill, directed by Brittany Surrett, with Alec Nelson, Malena Riccardelli, and Lauren Steinberg. This was the story of a girl who lived in a darkroom and behind her camera, given to her by her father before his death. At the end, she comes out to accept life. Well written, reasonably well acted.
  4. “Mommy Murdoc”, written by Mandee Pro, directed by Doug Kayne, with Caitlin McCarthy and Jeannine Orosz. This was the story of two flight attendants, one just discovering she was pregnant, the other knowing, both impregnated by the captain of their flight. Well acted, but the story didn’t work too well.
  5. “When you gaze into the Abyss…”, written by Polina Alekseenko, directed by Michael Russ, with Ashley Durrer and Inga Harutyunyan. A murder or spy mystery. Another weak play. I couldn’t quite figure out the story, and Inga didn’t speak clearly enough to follow her words.
  6. “Confused Love”, written by Angelica Valiton, directed by Brent Rosen, with Bobby Lebeda, Raleigh Stamper, and Sidnie Thomas. The story of a boy who has two girls ask him to a Sadie Hawkins dance. Well written, well acted.
  7. “In A Rich Man’s World”, written by Jessica Wingenbach, directed by Laura Clark, with Margot Parker-Elder, Miranda Riddle, and Taelyr Souza. Another strong story about the effect of a working mother on her kids, who aren’t having the life they want. Again, well written and well acted.
  8. “Get Over It”, written by Carly Danielle Mayer, directed by Amy Geiger, with Maddie Dugan and Amanda Voyce. The story of two young girls in their first gay relationship, and how they will tell their unaccepting parents. Very well written and very well acted.
  9. “For The Love of Lettuce”, written by Will Coates, directed by Jennifer Potell, with Becca Lasky and Wesley Rodriguez. The story of a young man who loves meat, who goes out on a blind date with a vegetarian child of the woods. This one started slow, but got much better.

So that’s it for this brief TADW interlude. This afternoon, we return to the big theatre world with Beauty and the Beast at Cabrillo Music Theatre.

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If an elm and an oak and an ash can, baby you can Can-Can too!

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Back in 1951, fresh on heels of the success of his musical “Kiss Me Kate”, composer and lyricist Cole Porter was asked by theatrical producers Cy Feuer and Ernest Martin (fresh on the heels of their success “Guys and Dolls”) to create a musical based on two words: “Can-can”. But figuring out the story was harder, and after going through two playrights (F. Hugh Herbert and the team of Sam and Bella Spewack), Abe Burrows, who wrote the book for “Guys and Dolls” was brought in. By 1953, Can-Can had opened on Broadway, where it played for 853 performance, and made a star of the original Claudine, Gwen Verdon, as well as introducing such songs as “C’est Magnifique”, “Can-Can”, “I Love Paris”, and “It’s All Right With Me”. Although critics loved the score, the book was problematic. After Can-Can completed its Broadway run, it was rarely revived due to the book problems, as well as the size of the cast. The last formal revivals were on Broadway in 1981, which ran for 5 performance, and in 1988 in London (which revised the show and added other songs from other Cole Porter shows).

Well, it’s back. Last night, we went to the revisal of “Can-Can” at the Pasadena Playhouse (pasadenaplayhse). This show has been extensively revised by Joel Fields and David Lee, with permission of the Burrows family and the Cole Porter estate. Unlike other revivals (or the poor movie adaption), this revisal does not add any songs not written expressly for Can-Can by Porter, and retains all the characters of the original story, and the underlying original premise. Other than that, about 80% of the book was rewritten to make the show work.

So, with all of this, we have to start with the book. The original version of Can-Can opened in the courtroom, where the girls were on trial for doing the scandelous special “Can-Can” (special means “no underwear”). It tells the tale of La Mome Pistache who is upset about the investigation of her Bal Du Paradis, where the major attraction is the Can-Can. She tries to seduce the highly moral investigating judge Aristide Forestier. The two eventually fall in love and when her case comes to trial, Aristide takes over the defence and wins the acquittal. There is a complicated subplot about one of the dancers Claudine and the artist she supports, Boris Adzinidzinadze, who need to impress the art critic Hilaire Jussac, which includes a swordfight between Jussac and Adzinidzinadze. But it really is a poor plot.

The revisal turns this all on its heels. In this product, we open in the Bal du Paradis where we meet Pastiche, the dancers, Claudine, and Boris and his artist friends. Unfortunately, the police are there that night and after the girls dance the Quadrille, they are all arrested. However, the case is dismissed because the cops and most of the judges were paid off. The new judge, Aristide, however wants the club closed down, so he goes there to witness the dancing himself. When he arrives, he is recognized by Pistache as her former beau from her past, and she tries to rekindle the love. The judge won’t have anything to do with it, and goes to the show. Also in the audience that night is Hilare, an influential art critic, who wants to see the special “Can-Can”. Hilare has already gained the attentions of Claudine, who is accomodating him to get Boris a good writeup. When the special “Can-Can” is done, the club is closed… but Hilare bails everyone out and decides to hold his special ball there. After a number of machinations (too complicated to summarize), the love of Paris wins out: Aristide ends up with Pistache, Boris ends up with Claudine, and Hilare ends up with nothing.

This revised book significantly improves the story, but it is still a typical 1950s musical. It is much more melodramatic and improbable; it doesn’t have the depth of today’s stories. But as a rework of a period piece, it is great. There are many musicals with great scores and problematic books (one of the best known is “Mack and Mabel”) that you rarely see — it is nice to see this one back. But it is what it is, and you don’t go for the book: you go for the wonderful Cole Porter music and delightful acting and dancing. And the Pasadena Playhouse cast? Ohh-la-la!

The cast stars Michelle Duffy as Pistache, our favorite Kevin Earley (official site) as Aristide, David Engel as Hilaire, Amir Talai as Boris, and Yvette Tucker as Claudine. At this point, a few observations on the leads. First and foremost: Kevin was great! His singing, dancing, humor, and fencing were delightful in this show — this young man has so many talents we hope to see him again and again (and it is recognized elsewhere–the actor Michael Lerner, who was sitting two seats down from us, commented on how Kevin should be a lead on Broadway). Michelle Duffy was delightful as Pistache: she had a great humor and played well with the audience, and well as having a wonderful singing voice. Yvette Tucker had less time onstage as Claudine, but was a breakout dancer and actress (this was the role that made Gwen Verdon). She played well off of Talai, who showed great comic chops in the traditional comic lead role (Hans Conreid in the original). David Engel was a strong singer and swordfighter as Hilare.

Returning to the rest of this large and talented cast. Other cast membersw included Jeffrey Landman (Hercule), Justin Robertson (Etienne), Robert Yacko (Le Petomane), Shell Bauman (Ensemble/Dance Captain), Andrea Beasom (Ensemble), Bonne Bentley (Ensemble), Robert Alan Clink (President/Ensemble), Seth Hampton (Ensemble), Alaine Kashian (Celestine/Ensemble), Jeanine Meyer (Ensemble), Alison Mixon (Ensemble), Justin Roller (Ensemble), Joe Schenck (Ensemble), Jonathan Sharp (Ensemble), Leslie Stevens (Ensemble), Rocklin Thompson (Ensemble), and Rebecca Whitehurst (Ensemble). The cast, overall, is one that had fun with this show and with each other, and drew energy from the audience, making the show even more delightful. The entire group were strong in their singing and their dancing skills, and this was such a high energy show you couldn’t avoid walking out of the theatre with that glow of enjoyment.

Turning to the production staff we haven’t mentioned… the show was directed by David Lee, with strong choreography by Patti Colombo assisted by John Charron. I was amazed at how athletic and precise the choreography was… a few missteps or catches and there would have been serious injuries. Musical direction was by Steve Orich assisted by Sam Kriger, who conducted a fine orchestra and had a few great comic bits of their own. Scenic design was by Roy Christopher, who had the set done up as a Tolouse Latrec painting which set the mood. Costumes were by Randy Gardell, Lighting by Michael Gilliam, Sound by Francois Bergeron, Video by Austin Switzer, and Fight Coordination by Tim Weske (Hollywood’s premier sword choreographer). Casting was by Michael Donovan, with stage management by Jill Gold assisted by Lea Chazin.

I only had one complaint with the show: they had LCD screens set up on the top of the balcony to show the conductor to the actors, as the conductor was onstage behind the actors. These screens were too bright, and often distracting to the other lighting.

“Can-Can” continues at the Pasadena Playhouse until August 8 (it was extended a few days). The show appears to be popular; tickets may be hard to get.

After the show, we did something unusual for us and waited to say “Hi” to Kevin as he came out. He really is one of our favorites on the stage; thanks to shutterbug93 for introducing us to him and his talent. Now Karen wants his CD, for his voice really shone in this show.

All together now…

I love Paris in the springtime.
I love Paris in the fall.
I love Paris in the winter when it drizzles,
I love Paris in the summer when it sizzles.

I love Paris every moment,
every moment of the year.
I love Paris, why, oh why do I love Paris?
Because my love is near.


Dining Notes: Dinner was had at one of our traditional haunts, Sachi Sushi in Pasadena, walking distance to the playhouse. For those of you who are vegan, note that they also have vegan sushi.

So, what’s coming up on our theatre calendar? Next up is “Beauty and the Beast” at Cabrillo Music Theatre on 8/4 @ 2:00pm; the DCI 2007 World Championship Finals in Pasadena on 8/11 @ 5:00pm; “Avenue Q” at the Ahmanson on 9/15 @ 2:00pm; and “Matter of Honor” at the Pasadena Playhouse on 9/22 @ 8:00pm. We’re also planning on going to the Hollywood Bowl for Big Bad Voodoo Daddy on either 8/24 or 25.

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