Tag: cabrillo-music-theatre

There are just some shows that theatres just love to do. These shows don’t require fancy sets; they have small casts; and they please the audience. We saw one such show two weeks ago, “I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change” at Repertory East Playhouse (FB) (which is sold out for the remainder of the run). We saw another such show last night at Cabrillo Music Theatre (FB): “Forever Plaid“. The funny thing about this is that we saw the same two shows back in 2006, in the same order, at the same two theatres. Remember what I said about theatres loving these shows? [I’ll note we first saw “Forever Plaid” back in 1991 at the Pasadena Playhouse.]

“Forever Plaid” (written by Stuart Ross) isn’t a bad show — in fact, it is very much like it’s subject: harmonious, humorous, and completely inoffensive. “Forever Plaid” tells the story of the 4-man harmony group Forever Plaid, who was broadsided on the way to their first big gig by a bus full of parochial school girls who were on their way to see the Beatles on Ed Sullivan (exactly 50 years ago today). The musical “Forever Plaid” is the show that the Plaids were never able to put on in real life. As such, it is a collection of classic harmony songs from the 1950s and early 1960s, interspersed with some very humorous numbers and humorous patter.

I will note that I do have some favorite numbers in this show, which were all executed very well. These include the entire Ed Sullivan Show (in 3 minutes and some-odd seconds), which is very funny; “Perfidia”; the whole Heart and Soul audience interaction bit; the “Crazy ‘Bout Ya Baby” bit with the plungers; and the “Sixteen Tons”/”Chain Gang” number. To me, these are the best parts of the show.

During this show, I was watching the audience as well as the show (this is the third production of FB that I’ve seen). You could see this show was bringing back good memories: there were people singing along, people tapping their toes, people rocking in time to the harmonies. This show was hitting a good nerve, and people were leaving the theatre happy. This is a good thing.

Alas, while the show had few faults, the audience was a different story. There was a fellow in the Founders Circle who was seemingly texting for 80% of the show. There were the two young ladies sitting in front of me who used their cell phone to record “Perfidia”. There was another young couple who lit up their tablet at one point. My opinion: If you cannot exercise the self-restraint to turn off your cell-phone for 90 minutes and keep it in your pocket, you don’t belong in the theatre. You don’t belong in the movies either — you need to be reeducated in etiquette and how to behave in public places. Sorry, I’ll get off my soapbox now. Back to Forever Plaid. After all, they didn’t have cellphones in the early 1960s — and the audience better behave as if they were in that time!

Larry Raben, a former Plaid himself (indeed, we saw him as Sparky in the 1991 production), did a nice job directing this group of young men. The four Plaids themselves were, again, just like the musical itself: harmonious, humorous, and completely inoffensive. Their harmonies were tight and spot on; their humor worked well, and they had the uniform appearance that a group like this should have. About the only problem was individual: some of them were slightly off in their solo parts. The four Plaids were: Roger Befeler (Francis), Scott Dreier (Smudge), Jeffrey Scott Parsons (Sparky), and Kurtis Simmons (Jinx), and they were supported onstage by Alby Potts (Piano/Musical Director), and John Smith (Bass).

Technically, this is a simple show: four microphones, a piano, a bass, some projections, and loads of props. As such, there are no credits for set design or even the main prop design, although Alex Choate designed additional props. Jonathan Burke (FB), the resident sound designer at Cabrillo, did the sound for this show and it worked well. Jean-Yves Tessier did the lighting design, and it was problematic, for while the principal singer was always lit, often the other Plaids were in shadows or darkness. Gary Mintz was the technical director — and I’m guessing the man responsible for the projections — and he did a very nice job with those. However, his fog machine seemingly was creating problems for the people in the front row of the orchestra. There were no credits for the costumer or makeup artists — all were reasonably plaid, although one of the Plaids had this lock of hair that kept falling into his face. Additional technical credits: James Raitt (Musical Continuity and Arrangements); Kevin Traxler (Producer); Christine Steele (Company Manager); Phil Gold (Production Stage Manager); Kirsten D’Agostaro Shook (Assistant Stage Manager).

The last performance of “Forever Plaid” is today at 2pm at Cabrillo Music Theatre (FB). If you haven’t seen it before, it is a fun show to see. At this point, I’d suggest just going to the box-office at the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza to get tickets. Cabrillo has announced their 2014-2015 season; I wrote about it in this post and won’t repeat it. Oh heck, I will: it is “Memphis“, “Mary Poppins“, “Oklahoma“, and “Company” as a bonus show. Still haven’t decided if I’m going to resubscribe.

[Ob. Disclaimer: I am not a trained theatre critic; I am, however, a regular theatre audience. I’ve been attending live theatre 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. 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 Theatre and Concerts:  Next weekend (February 16) brings Lysistrata Jones at The Chance Theatre (FB) in Anaheim. The next weekend, February 22 I’m doing a site visit to Portland OR for ACSAC, so if I see any theatre, it will be up there. The last day of February sees us in Studio City at Two Roads Theatre for Tom Stoppard’s “The Real Thing“, followed the next evening by the MRJ Regional Man of the Year dinner at Temple Beth Hillel. March theatre starts with “Sex and Education” at The Colony Theatre (FB) on March 8.  (this might be good for March 16); The weekend of March 16 brings Purim Schpiels, with Sunday afternoon bringing “Inherit the Wind” at the Grove Theatre Center (FB) in Burbank. March 22 is being held for “Harmony” at The Ahmanson Theatre (FB). March concludes with “Biloxi Blues” at REP East (FB) on March 29. April will start with “In The Heights” at Cabrillo Music Theatre (FB) on April 5, and should also bring “Tallest Tree” at the Mark Taper Forum, as well as the Southern California Renaissance Faire. April may also bring “My Name is Asher Lev” at the Fountain Theatre (FB) (as this runs through April 19). As always, I’m keeping my eyes open for interesting productions mentioned on sites such as Bitter-Lemons, and Musicals in LA, as well as productions I see on Goldstar, LA Stage Tix, Plays411.

I’ve written before about how I love to finally see musicals I’ve only heard. That’s what led to me seeing a number of new musicals such as “bare“, “Ordinary Days“, and “Burnt Part Boys” earlier this year. But sometimes it applies to older musicals as well. I’ve loved the music to “Kiss Me Kate” for years, but had never gotten around to seeing a production (part of this is because good revival productions of the musical are surprisingly rare in Southern California). That was remedied last night, at Cabrillo Music Theatre (FB) where I saw a truly outstanding production of Kiss Me Kate. In fact, it is one of the best Cabrillo productions I’ve seen in all our years of going to Cabrillo.

If you hadn’t figured it out from the title, Kiss Me Kate is a musical retelling of William Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew. Before I relate a little history of the musical, let me gush a bit about Taming, which is one of my favorite Shakespeare plays (the other is Two Gentleman of Verona, which I know best from the 1970s musical). I’ve seen a number of incarnations of Taming — from the perfect version of Taming done as an episode of Moonlighting back in the 1980s to Shakespeare in the Park to another version this summer at Theatricum Botanticum. The retelling in this musical — while not capturing all the elements of the original — captures many of the key elements and language, and is a hoot to watch.

As for the musical itself: Kiss Me Kate has music and lyrics by Cole Porter, and a book by Sam and Bella Spewack.  Cole Porter was one of the most prolific and popular composers of his day. However, he had had a major horse riding accident in 1937 that resulted in the amputation of left leg. This affected his creative output generally, and by the mid-1940s he was dealing with depression. He was talked into writing Kiss Me Kate, and it went on to be one of the most successful musicals of the day. In fact, Kiss Me Kate won the first Tony award for best musical in 1949.

The conceit that makes this musical successful is that it is not just a musical version of Taming. It combines a musical Taming with a backstage story of the actors putting on a production of Taming in Baltimore. The backstage story mirrors the on-stage story: The leads of Taming: Katharine and Petruchio, are played by Lilli Vanessi and Fred Graham. Lilli and Fred have an equally tempestuous relationship and are currently both in love with each other and divorced from each other. Similarly, there is in offstage relationship between the secondary couple, Bianca (Lois Lane) and Lucentio (Bill Calhoun). The secondary relationship (played, as many secondary relationships were in shows of that day, for comic effect) is complicated by the fact that Lois sleeps around, but loves Bill… and Bill can’t stop gambling. In fact, Bill has recently incurred a $10,000 gambling debt from some local gangsters and signed the IOU… as Fred. Complicating all this is that Fred is trying to woo Lois and sends her flowers and a card before the show. However, these flowers and card are delivered to Lilli, who interprets the flowers as anniversary flowers and doesn’t read the card… until during the show. At this point the real shrew comes out, and the fur flies! In some ways, Lilli’s reaction during shrew brings in a some elements of a farce, and the reaction to her ad-libbed fighting makes the Taming scenes all the more fun.

Are there book problems? A few minor ones that show up only in retrospect — that is, when you compare Kate to modern musicals. A number of the songs are more like 1930s musicals in that they have no connection to advancing the plot. This was the pre-Oklahoma style that Porter grew up with. A number of scenes take place infront of a dropped curtain solely to allow scenery changes. These two combine in this show with the number “Brush Up Your Shakespeare”, which is clearly a killing time novelty number. But it’s fun… so no one cares. Similarly, the wonderful number “Too Darn Hot” adds absolutely nothing to the story other than a wonderful dance number… but this was common for musicals of the day (you’ve got similar numbers in Damn Yankees and The Pajama Game).  Again: so much fun, and no one cares with that dancing and that music.

So you’ve already got a winning basic story, and a winning conceit and wraparound story. Now add to this all the glorious Porter songs from this show that have become standards — I can’t think of a single one that hasn’t had strong popular play, except perhaps “From This Moment On”. This is what Cabrillo started with — great story, great music. What turned the Cabrillo production into something spectacular was the execution, which was perfect.

In discussing the execution, I’m going to start someplace I normally don’t start — with the musical side. A credit is not provided for the orchestrations here (I’m guessing they are based on the 1999 Broadway Revival), but they were wonderful — clear, crisp, energetic, bright, sparkingly. If you only knew this show from the cast album of the 1948 shows, you’ll be blown out of your seats. Credit here should likely therefore go to the 1999 musical team: orchestrations by Don Sebesky; dance arrangements by David Chase; under the 1999 musical direction of Paul Gemignani. However, I think more credit here goes to the Cabrillo team that executed that design: Darryl Archibald (FB) as musical director and Lloyd Cooper (FB) as associate conductor and assistant musical director.  The orchestra assembled by Darryl Tanikawa (FB) was also excellent and a delight to hear in these days of small efforts. It featured Darryl Archibald (FB) as conductor, and consisted of Gary Rautenberg (FB) [Flute I, Piccolo, Clarinet, Alto Sax I], Darryl Tanikawa (FB) [Clarinet I, Alto Sax II], Ian Dahlberg (FB) [Oboe, English-Horn, Tenor Sax, Flute, Clarinet], Darrin Smith [Bassoon, Bariton Sax, Clarinet, Flute], Bill Barrett [Trumpet I, Flugelhorn, Piccolo Trumpet], Chris Maurer/FB [Trumpet II, Flugelhorn, Piccolo Trumpet], June Satton [Trombone, Bass Trombone], Melissa Hendrickson [Horn], Sharon Cooper [Violin I – Concertmaster, Mandolin], Sally Berman [Violin II, Mandolin], Marisa Mcleod [Viola], Rachel Coosaia (FB) [Cello], Lloyd Cooper (FB) [Piano, Keyboard Synth I], Bill Fulton [Keyboard Synth II], Shane Harry [Electric & Acoustic Double String Bass], Michael Deutsch [Percussion] and Alan Peck [Set Drums].  Particularly noteworthy was the trumpet performance of Bill Barrett (at least I’m guessing it was Barrett) onstage during “Too Darn Hot”. But during a number of songs the quality of the orchestral team was apparent — they were just great.

Of course, the on-stage team was no slouch either. Under the perfect direction of Richard Israel (FB), and dancing their feet off with the choreography of John Todd (FB), the acting team also blows you away. Again, I’m particularly noting the directing and choreography team here, because I kept noticing all the small things going on in the background during performances that made this special. This was particularly noteworthy during “Too Darn Hot”, but was in other numbers as well. There was so much going on you need to see this show multiple times to catch it all — but today is the last performance. The team of Israel and Todd brought out the fun in these actors and they just had fun with their characters — and this came across wonderfully on stage. This is what I absolutely love to see — and it is something you don’t get in the movies — performers infused with the joy of performing and their characters, and this joy just infecting and reflecting to the audience.

OK, OK, but what about the actors. In the lead positions were Davis Gaines (FB) as Fred/Petruchio and Victoria Strong (FB) as Lilli/Kate. We’ve seen both many times – Gaines most recently in Silence! , and Strong many years ago in Light in the Piazza. Both were perfect in these roles and brought a dynamism and energy that was spectacular. Both also brought wonderful voices. I particularly enjoyed pulling out the binoculars and watching the faces of these two — they were having such delight and fun with their roles. Just a joy to watch. They had so many strong numbers it is hard to single them out, but I particularly remember Strong taking no prisoners in “I Hate Men” and Gaines in “Where Is The Life that Late I Led”, although they were also great in their joint numbers.

As the secondary couple, Scott Reardon (FB) (Bill/Lucento) and Reba Buhr (FB-Actor, FB) (Lois /Bianca) were no slouches either.  We’ve seen both before as well — Reardon as Dauntless in Once Upon a Mattress and Buhr as Sally in You‘re a Good Man, Charlie Brown (one of the best things about that show). Both sang well and performed well, especially in numbers such as “Bianca” (Reardon) and “Always True to You in My Fashion” (Buhr).

Also noteworthy were the two gangsters (a common comedy theme in musicals, which was spoofed in The Drowsy Chaperone): Tom McMahon (FB) and Steve Greene (FB). These two had their main number in “Brush Up Your Shakespeare”, but performed their comic relief role well throughout the production.

In terms of smaller roles, there was the lovely black lady who played Lilli’s dresser (I’m guessing this was Raquel Jeté (FB) as Hattie) and Lamont Whitaker (FB) (Paul), who just shone throughout “Too Darn Hot” and in other small roles. The remainder of the cast is harder to single out primarily because their roles aren’t as strongly identified to the audience in the script. However, a number stand out in my memory even if I don’t know what to call their characters. There was one member of the ensemble who was doing cartwheels in one number and in general bouncing and bounding around — she was just a joy to watch. There were also two larger members of the ensemble who had such joy of movement and stage presence that they just drew your eye (and kudos to the casting director for casting an ensemble of all shapes and sizes, as opposed to the model size of the day).  I also remember the dancers during the grape stomping number in Act II — again, these young women were just exuding such fun. The athletic energy and joy of the ensemble was just great. The remaining performers were: Steve Perren (General Howell), Ronald Rezac (Harry/Baptista), Orlando Agawin (FB) (Ensemble), Francesca Barletta (FB) (Ensemble), John Paul Batista (FB) (Riley/Hortensio), Michael Byrne/FB (Flynt/Gremio), Danielle Campbell (FB) (Ensemble), Allen Darby/FB (Ensemble), Martin Feldman/FB (Pops/Ensemble), Jay Gamboa (FB) (Ensemble), Lexi Greene (FB) (Ensemble), Abigail Herman (FB) (Ensemble), Natalie Rose Iscovich/FB (Ensemble) [and the daughter of someone I went to camp with], Kurt Kemper (FB) (Ensemble), Anna Lamonica/FB (Ensemble), Tellina Lee (FB) (Ensemble), Derek A. Lewis/FB (Ensemble), Timothy Reese/FB (Ensemble), Shelly Regner (FB) (Ensemble), Tracy Ray Reynolds (FB) (Ensemble), Harry Schantz (FB) (Ensemble), Joey Sponseller (FB) (Ensemble), and Megan Stronger/FB (Ensemble).

Turning to the technical side of things. The sets were provided by Gateway Playhouse (FB) in Bellport NY and worked quite well. I was particularly taken by the sets for the Taming side of things, which reminded me of the other productions of Taming that I have seen. Costumes were provided by A. Jeffrey Schoenberg (FB) and were quite well done. I particularly appreciated the homage to the original 1948 costumes on the Taming side of things (as opposed to realistic costumes), and period costumes used in the backstage scenes. I also applauded the costumes during Act II, Scene 8 — in particular the use of hosiery for the grape stompers (Christine Gibson was the wardrobe supervisor).  The hair and makeup design of Cassie Russek (FB) was strong, especially considering the abuse that it took. Sound was by regular Cabrillo sound designer Jonathan Burke (FB) and was excellent as usual; the lighting by Rand Ryan worked well to establish the mood and didn’t have an obvious overuse of spots (a Cabrillo problem many years ago). Gary Mintz was the technical director. There was a new face as production stage manager: Brooke Baldwin/FB, assisted by Susie Castillo/FB. Another changing of the guard in that position? (First Lindsay, then Allie, now…). Cabrillo Music Theatre (FB) is under the artistic direction of Lewis Wilkenfeld (FB).

The last performance of “Kiss Me Kate” is today at 2pm. Given when I’m finishing this writeup, you have about an hour or so to get there and get tickets. So get moving — what are you waiting for?  You can purchase tickets online. Cabrillo’s next show is “Forever Plaid” at the end of January (this will be our third visit with the Plaids — fourth if you count Plaid Tidings).

Dining Note: We discovered a new Japanese restaurant — Nori Japanese Grill (menu), which is in the same center with Lassens Natural Foods. Nothing fancy in terms of the restaurant itself — you order at a counter and they bring it to the table. However, the food itself was excellent both in terms of quality and presentation. Quite a surprise, and I think we’ll be back there.

[Ob. Disclaimer: I am not a trained theatre critic; I am, however, a regular theatre audience. I’ve been attending live theatre 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. 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 Theatre and Concerts:  November starts with “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels” at Actors Rep of Simi (FB). That will be followed by a visit with Thomas the Tank Engine when we volunteer at OERM over Veterans Day.  The third week will be theatre-ish, as we attend ARTS’s Nottingham Village (FB) (a one-weekend ren-faire-ish market — tickets are now on sale), as well as seeing the Trollplayers (FB) production of Steven Schwartz’s “Children of Eden” (which runs November 8-17) [Trollplayers is the community theatre group at Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Northridge]. That weekend will also bring a release party for a Kickstarted-CD by Big Daddy. The weekend before Thanksgiving is also very busy with three shows: Tom Paxton (FB) in concert at McCabes Santa Monica (FB) on Friday; “Play It Again Sam” at REP East (FB) on Saturday, and the rescheduled “Miracle on S. Division Street” at the Colony Theatre (FB) on Sunday. Thanksgiving weekend is currently open, as is much of December (December is due to the Annual Computer Security Applications Conference (ACSAC) in New Orleans, which has me out of two the first two weekends in December… but has me wondering about New Orleans theatre), but should bring “The Little Mermaid” at Nobel Middle School, and “Peter and the Starcatcher” at The Ahmanson Theatre. Looking into January…. nothing is currently scheduled, but it will likely bring “I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change“, which is the first show of the REP East (FB) season, running 1/17 through 2/15/2014… and the end of the month will bring “Forever Plaid” at Cabrillo Music Theatre (FB). Of course, we look forward to seeing you at ACSAC for the wonderful training opportunities there. As always, I’m keeping my eyes open for interesting productions mentioned on sites such as Bitter-Lemons, Musicals in LA and LA Stage Times, as well as productions I see on Goldstar, LA Stage Tix, Plays411.

Movie-to-stage adaptations are interesting beasts, especially when the target is a musical. The notion seems to be: take a familiar property, add music, stir well, and you end up with something entertaining for the audience. Sometimes the transition works spectacularly (“The Producers“), and sometimes it doesn’t (“King of Hearts“). Sometimes the transition is a serious rexploration and musicalization (“Man of No Importance“), sometimes it is a camp romp and parody(“Xanadu“), but most often it is somewhere in the middle. One such translation is the movie “Legally Blonde” (2001), a fun summer flick about a blonde sorority girl chasing her man to law school, and discovering something about herself. The theatrical doppelganger to this confection appeared on Broadway in 2007: “Legally Blonde – The Musical“; it is currently on-stage in Thousand Oaks at Cabrillo Music Theatre (FB) in an excellent regional/professional production (non-tour). We saw it last night, and here are my thoughts on the show.

“Legally Blonde – The Musical” (book by Heather Hach, music and lyrics by Laurence O’Keefe and Nell Benjamin), based on the novel by Amanda Brown and the motion picture) is a relatively faithful translation. It tells the story of Elle Woods, a UCLA Delta Nu sorority girl, about to be engaged to Warner Huntington III. When Warner dumps her for someone more serious to advance his law career, Elle makes the decision to follow him to Harvard Law School. She gets in, and initially her “blonde” ways get her rejected both by the other students and a key law professor, Callahan. But the teaching assistant Emmett Forrest, together with a mental greek chorus of her sorority sisters keep her positive. She decides to become a brunette, but the beautician Paulette, who convinces her to stay blonde and keep plugging away. After another setback when she embarrasses herself, Emmett helps Elle reassess her priorities until she realizes it is her obsession with Warner that keeps her from earning his respect. This helps her move forward legally, and win a coveted internship position. During this internship, Elle has to defined fitness queen, Brooke Wyndham, a former Delta Nu. Elle obtains Wyndham’s alibi where no one else could, but never discloses it. Instead, Elle and Emmett use smarts to break the case open. Calahan hits on Elle, and so Elle and Emmett go of on their own, are hired by Wyndham, and subsequently use fashion smarts to prove Wyndham’s innocence. Cue happy ending. [This is a summary – you can find a full synopsis on Wikipedia]

The translation to the stage makes a number of changes from the movie. Some are minor, and others are annoying and nonsensical. Emmett’s involvement is increased into a significant mentorship role (essentially incorporating the role of the female Law School president). This works. The end is also changed from Emmett and Elle dating to Elle proposing to Emmett, which also works well and shows an important change in Elle’s character. What doesn’t work are the changes to Paulette’s role, which is not only expanded in importance, but has a large Irish dance aspect added for no rational reason. These changes annoyed my wife, who is movie purist for this movie; for me, the only annoying change was the Irish stuff. Why, oh why, did they feel the need to add that?

Otherwise, I think this was a relatively successful adaptation — primarily because they played up the sillyness and humor to just the right amount. They lampooned sorority stereotypes and various behaviors without turning into camp, and without turning the production into a parody of the movie (“Silence!“). This, combined with the high energy production as the excellent direction by Tiffany Engen (FB), made this production a joy to watch.

I normally don’t talk much about the direction, for I have difficulty separating what the director brings to the production from what the actors bring to the production. The Cabrillo production was directed and choreographed by Tiffany Engen (FB), with choreography assistance by her sister, Brooke Engen (FB), based on the original Broadway choreography by Jerry Mitchell. These two blondes (the Engen girls, not Mitchell) brought a delightful manic energy and joy to the production — these actors were having fun with the moves, story, and performance, and that joy was transmitted to the audience, making this a fun show. There was a great mix of realism and fantasy, played well. I’m guessing this is the contribution of the director, but it wasn’t so heavy-handed that it wasn’t natural. In other words, so to speak, this was clearly a natural Blonde, not a bleached bottle Blonde that is trying too hard.

Helping this all work together was an excellent acting ensemble, led by Emma Egerstadt* (FB, FB Fan, @DegerstedtEmma). Based solely on her look on the advertising postcards, I wasn’t sure she was right for the part. Then I saw her performance, and… wow! This young women was perfection as Elle — bubbly and determined, playful and sarcastic, and basically just a delight to watch. Hopefully, this is one of those Cabrillo finds that will go far in her career, and I hope to see her more on stage. Stealing the stage from Emma whenever he was on, however, was Frankie, the rescue dog playing Bruiser. Well-training and full of energy, this 7-year Chihuahua barked, jumped, and acted with abandon. Perhaps that’s why he was only on in selected scenes.

The second tier of actors were also excellent. Of particular note were Matt Bauer (FB, Muffookies) as Emmett, who portrayed a wonderful level of comfort and wisdom, as well as being an excellent actor, singer, and dancer. As Paulette, Lowe Taylor* (FB) was also very strong. We saw her back in 2011, in the Blank production of The Cradle Will Rock and we were impressed with her singing then; this show cemented the fact that she is a wonderful performer. Another notable performer was John D. Lemay (FB) as Callahan, who we’ve seen in numerous Cabrillo productions.  Lemay gave off a wonderful sharky-slime vibe, as well as being a great singer. Another supporting performer of particular note was Natalie Storrs (FB) as Vivienne. We were introduced to Storrs in Cabrillo’s You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown, where I wasn’t sure about Storrs’ look as Lucy, but was won over by her comic timing and singing skills. Both were put to great effect here, and she just was a delight as Vivienne (which was, inexplicably changed from the movie’s Vivian).  Lastly, Jaycie Dotin (FB) was wonderfully exhausting as Brooke, especially in her dance number that opened Act II.

However, in reality, all the supporting actors and ensemble was strong in their singing, dancing, and performance skills and it is difficult to highlight specific performances. Rounding out the cast were J. D. Driskill (FB, @jddriskill) (Warner); Sheila Karls (FB) (Enid); Veronica Dunne (FB?) (Margot); Kimberly Ann Moore/FB (Pilar); Caitlyn Calfas (FB) (Serena); Ben Bowen (FB) (UPS [Kyle] / Dewey); Ryan Braun (FB) (Aaron Shultz); Rachel Burkert/FB (Whitney / Delta Nu); Nathaniel Flatt (FB) (Nikos / Padamadon); Jay Gamboa/FB (Bailiff); Raquel Jeté (FB) (Judge / Delta Nu); Ashley Jones (FB) (Kate / Chutney); Kurt Kemper (FB) (Kiki); Natalie MacDonald/FB (Lellani / Stenographer / Cat Lady / Delta Nu); Sabrina Olivieri/FB (D.A. Joyce / Delta Nu); Jayson Puls/FB (DJ Chad / Ensemble); Tracy Ray Reynolds (FB) (Elle’s Mom); Kelly Roberts/FB (Elle’s Dad / Winthrop); Alex Sanchez/FB (D.A. Jack); and Lamont Whitaker (FB) (Carlos).

The musical side of the production was excellent.  Darryl Archibald (FB), who we last saw at Next to Normal, was musical director and conducted the wonderful Cabrillo orchestra. He was assisted by Kevin Roland (FB). The orchestra consisted of Darryl Archibald (FB) (Keyboard Synthesizer), Kevin Roland (FB) (Keyboard Synthesizer II), Alby Potts (FB) (Keyboard Synthesizer III), Sharon Cooper (Violin), Ian Dahlberg (FB) (Alto Sax, Oboe, English Horn, Flute, Clarinet, Piccolo), Gary Rautenberg (FB) (Baritone Sax, Clarinet Flute), Stan Hernacki (FB) (Trumpet I, Flugelhorn), Scott Wright (FB) (Trumpet II, Flugelhorn), David Blake (FB) (Tenor and Bass Trombone), Steve Bethers (Electric and Acoustic Guitar), Shane Harry (Double String and Electric Bass), Alan Peck (Set Drums), and Kelly Weaver (Percussion).

Technically, the show was a marvel. Under the technical Direction of Gary Wissmann, people and set pieces were flying everywhere but it was all working out great. The scenery was originally designed by John Patrick for Citrus College Music Theatre workshop, and worked very well. The costumes, designed by Carin Jacobs for FCLO Music Theatre in Fullerton, worked well (although the UCLA costumes weren’t UCLA). Wardrobe supervision was by Christine Gibson. Hair and Makeup was by Cassie Russek.  The lighting by  Christina L. Munich worked very well in establishing the mood and scene, and Jonathan Burke (FB)’s sound, as always, was clear and crisp. Animal Training was by William Berloni.  Allie Roy* (FB) was the production stage manager, and Kirsten D’agostaro Shook (FB) was the assistant stage manager. Cabrillo Music Theatre (FB) is under the artistic direction of Lewis Wilkenfeld (FB), who also introduced the show and introduced the stage crew just before Act II when he awarded a stage crew scholarship.

The last performance of “Legally Blonde – The Musical” at Cabrillo Music Theatre (FB) is today at 2pm. Tickets are available at the box office. Cabrillo has also announced their 2013-2014 season: Kiss Me Kate (October 18-27, 2013); Forever Plaid (January 31-February 9, 2014); In The Heights (March 28-April 6, 2014); and Bye Bye Birdie (July 18-27, 2014). Prices run from $229 for Orchestra to $100 for balcony, with special kids rates. Contact Cabrillo for more information.

Upcoming Theatre and Concerts:  This afternoon brings “Exposure” from OperaWorks at CSUN (FB). August starts with Nine at DOMA Theatre Ensemble (FB). That will be followed by “The Apple Tree” at ELATE/Lincoln Stegman]. Otherwise, August is currently completely open due to vacation planning, although we may see a show at the Lawrence Welk Resort in Escondido at the end of the month (depending on price), or at another venue in San Diego. September may bring Sarah Ruhl’s “In The Next Room or The Vibrator Play“ at the Production Company/Secret Rose (FB) and “Blue Man Group” at the Hollywood Bowl. The middle of the month may bring “The Vagina Monologues” at REP East (FB), and the end definitely sees us back at REP East (FB) for “God of Carnage” (September 28). October 5th brings “Breath and Imagination” at the Colony Theatre (FB), as well as the Cabrillo Music Theatre (FB) production of “Kiss Me Kate” at the end of the month (October 26). November will start (hopefully) with “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels” at Actors Rep of Simi (FB), as well as ARTS’s Nottingham Village (FB) (a one-weekend ren-faire-ish market — tickets are now on sale). November will conclude with “Play It Again Sam” at REP East (FB) at the end of the month (November 23), and “Miracle on S. Division Street” at the Colony Theatre (FB).  The fall should also bring a production of “Carrie – The Musical” (FB) by Transfer Theatre, but the specific dates have not been announced. As always, I’m keeping my eyes open as the various theatres start making their 2013/2014 season announcements. Lastly, what few dates we do have open may be filled by productions I see on Goldstar, LA Stage Tix, Plays411, or discussed in the various LA Stage Blogs I read (I particularly recommend Musicals in LA and LA Stage Times).

Most people are familiar with the musical “Grease“. You’ve seen the movie or you’ve heard the music; perhaps you’ve even seen a production. I know that I am — I’ve seen the movie, have three different versions of the cast album on my iPod (1972, 1994, 2007) … plus the movie, and have seen increasingly professional productions over the years (including the excellent Nobel MS production and the less excellent Van Nuys HS production). Last night we added to our roster the strong regional production at Cabrillo Music Theatre. This production was very good, but it also illuminated some things about Grease that I hadn’t noticed before. Let me elaborate.

One problem with being so familiar with the property is that they all start to blur in one’s head. This isn’t helped by the various versions out there blurring things. The production at Nobel MS, for example, combined a number of scenes and songs from the movie with cuts and edits from the school version. Stage productions over the years have rearranged songs or added movie songs (notably the 2007 revival). Add to this that many people are overly familiar with the movie version, and expect that to be the stage version (I heard that from people sitting around me). Cabrillo’s version was the official licensed version, which is the original 1972 production without any of the revival changes. There are a number of things that worked well in Cabrillo’s production — and a few that didn’t. So let’s look at the production in four areas: book, direction, performance, and technical.

As I alluded too above, most people believe they are familiar with Grease, but that familiarity is with a blurred version in one’s head. Wikipedia provides a good synopsis of the original story, which concerns two groups of quasi-gangs in a 1950s-era Chicago high school. One, the “Pink Ladies”, consists of Betty Rizzo, Frenchy, Jan, and Marty (Beauty); the other, the Burger Palace Boys, consists of Danny Zuko, Kenicke, Doody, Sonny, and Roger. The story concerns the relationship between Zuko and Sandy Dumbroski, a girl Danny met over the summer at the beach. Sandy shows up unexpectedly at Rydell High, and Danny must balance being cool with his friends and the “good girl” he wants. Sandy, meanwhile, is integrating into the Pink Ladies, and dealing with the clash of lifestyles and morals. Other characters in the story include Patty Simcox, the cheerleeder; Eugene, the nerd; and Miss Lynch, the English teacher. I should note that the book, music, and lyrics for Grease are by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey; Jacobs was in the audience last night.

When Grease premiered on Broadway, it was not received well by the critics, but was loved by audiences. Last night while watching the show, I could see why critics at the time didn’t like it. The music in Grease is an amalgam between traditional musical music that moves the story along and illustrates the inner thoughts and motivations of the characters, and more novelty numbers that serve as a backdrop for something else. Critics hate those backdrop numbers, and last night they screamed out at me as well. For example, if one was to drop “Magic Changes” from the story, not a whit of meaning is lost. Similarly, “Freddie My Love” introduces an aspect of Marty’s character that is never mentioned again, and one could replace “Hand Jive” with a generic 1950s song without the loss of story. On the other hand, some numbers (such as “Sandra Dee” or “Summer Nights” are critical to the plot. One thing that all the music has, however, is fun. The score is something that is just fun to listen to (and Cabrillo’s production is strong in this regard, as they always have an excellent orchestra). However, the book is beyond our ability to change — and I know that many of the changes that have been done to integrate movie material haven’t significantly improved the book.

Normally, one is not aware of the direction of a show. The skills of the actors combine with the skills of the directors to make the portrayals realistic; just like the sound design, the direction blends into the background and the show becomes a harmonious whole. Occasionally characters will burst out into song, but this is part of the suspension of disbelief one sees in the musical theater (and something directors fight when turning a musical into a movie). This production of Grease was directed by Barry Pearl and choreographed by Kelly Ward. For the most part the direction and dance worked well, but there were some puzzling choices. The first — and the most jarring for me — was the decision for many of the musical numbers to have the actors grab large wired microphones for the musical numbers. These were unnecessary for either sound design or the story, and their use served only to distract. It would be much better — and more realistic — if the use of such microphones would have been only where they would be used in real life. The second jarring decision was the casting for Cha Cha. Not the actress — who was great — but the decision to make the character (described in the script simply as “homely “) be fat and slovely. I don’t recall this choice from any version I have seen — usually Cha Cha is more homely in spirit and behavior and not particularly overweight. When this choice for Cha Cha is combined with the script’s behavior for Jan and Roger, there is a bit more size-ism in the production than I feel is necessary.

Other than those choices, the direction and movement worked reasonably well. I particularly liked how the various couples were highlighted during the “Hand Jive” (although I wish Cabrillo had augmented this number with more dancers — I’m sure they had teen kids that would love to be on stage, and it would have made it more of a real high school dance). I also enjoyed the enthusiasm brought out in the cast during “We Go Together”, and the emotion brought out during both “Alone at a Drive-In Movie” and “There Are Worse Things I Could Do”.  The staging of “Beauty School Dropout” (the Teen Angel number) was cute, although not all of the irony of the words of the songs came out in the angel’s performance.

As usual, the cast was very very good. In the lead positions were Michael Cusimano (FB) and Natalie MacDonald/FB as Danny Zuko and Sandy Dumbrowski. Both were great performers and had strong singing voices, and this made a wonderful Cabrillo debut for both. The remainder of the “Burger Palace Boys” consisted of Harley Jay* (FB) (Kenickie), Nick Tubbs/FB (Doody), Ryan Quick/FB (Roger) and Nick Bernardi/FB (Sonny). All were good; there were standout performances by both Jay and Quick. I particularly enjoyed Jay’s voice, and the personality of Quick in his interaction with Jan. Speaking of Jan, the “Pink Ladies” consisted of Katherine Malak* (FB) (Betty Rizzo), Tessa Grady (Frenchy), Claire Bermingham (FB) (Marty), and Kimmy Zolozabal (FB) (Jan). Malak’s Rizzo was very strong in all her numbers, and was particularly touching in “There Are Worse Things I Could Do”. Grady’s Frenchy was also very good; Grady is always fun to watch on the Cabrillo and she did her best to bring some fun to Frenchy. Particularly fun to watch was Zolozabal’s Jan — she brought a lot of fun and enthusiasm to the role, and one’s eye was just drawn to her.

Notables in the remainder of the cast were Veronica Dunne as Patty Simcox, who brought an extreme amount of enthusiasm to the role (including doing cartwheels during the final bows) and Francesca Barletta/FB as Cha-Cha DiGregorio, who projected a memorable personality in what is a small role.  Also notable was Adrian Zmed* (FB) as Teen Angel. Admittedly a cameo role, Zmed had fun with the camp aspects of the song and role, although I wish he had paused a little more for emphasis after some of the musical phrases. Rounding out the cast were Michele Selin (Miss Lynch), Adam von Almen/FB (Eugene Florczyk), Travis Dixon (Vince Fontaine), and Jon Robert Hall (FB) (Johnny Casino).
[* indicates members of Actors Equity]

The music was under the direction of David O, who conducted the 7 piece on-stage band. As always, the band was excellent. The band consisted of David O (Keyboard, Conductor); Gary Rautenberg (Tenor Sax 1, woodwinds), Matt Germaine (Tenor Sax 2, woodwinds), Brian Lafontaine (Electric Guitar), Steve Bethers (Electric Guitar II), Shane Harry (Electric Bass, Double String Bass), and Dave Lotfi (Set-drums).

Lastly, let’s look at the technical aspects of the program. The set was designed by Valley Youth Theatre in Phoenix, AZ, with additional scenic design by Hana Kim. The set left me a little baffled — I couldn’t understand why there was an odd keyboard platform near the top of the stairs, nor why a high school in 1959 would have a big picture of James Dean. The sound design was by Jonathan Burke and (aside from the previously mentioned hand-mic problem) was reasonably good, although there were a few problems during the “Mooning” number with the actor’s mics. Lighting was by Design Partners Inc and Kim Killingsworth, and was for the most part OK. There were some odd transitions, particularly during the opening number when the spot would move from one side to the other (note: the problem wasn’t the switching of the spot; it was the effect during the transition). Christine Gibson was wardrobe supervisor, using costumes from the FCLO Music Theatre. Cassie Russek provided the hair and makeup design. Gary Wissmann was technical director, and the everpresent Allie Roy was the production stage manager (assisted by Morgan Zupanski).

A few notes about the audience at this show. First, the balcony was about half full — this is the best I’ve seen at a Cabrillo show in a long time and was a great thing to see. Alas, much of the audience was addicted to their smart phones. The minute intermission started — boom — out came the phones and there were these little squares of light everywhere. Also, Cabrillo appears to have changed their policy and was allowing food and drink in the balcony. I don’t mind this for the occasional candy bar or cookie or water bottle, but these were bags of chips (crinkling during the 2nd act) and open cups of beer (worries about spillage). I’m not sure this is a wise policy, and I hope last night was an aberration.

The last performance of “Grease” at Cabrillo is this afternoon. Tickets are available online or at the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza Box Office.  Cabrillo has also announced their 2013-2014 season: Kiss Me Kate (October 18-27, 2013); Forever Plaid (January 31-February 9, 2014); In The Heights (March 28-April 6, 2014); and Bye Bye Birdie (July 18-27, 2014). Prices run from $229 for Orchestra to $100 for balcony, with special kids rates. Contact Cabrillo for more information.

Upcoming Theatre and Concerts:   April concludes with a winetasting at Temple Ahavat Shalom. May is busy in a different sense, with two concerts — Elton John in Las Vegas on May 4, and (tentative) Michael Feinstein at VPAC on May 11. May also brings “Falling for Make Believe” at The Colony Theatre and “To Kill a Mockingbird” at REP East. Lastly, continuing the look ahead, June will bring (tenative) “The Scottsboro Boys” at the Ahmanson Theatre, “Priscilla – Queen of the Desert” at the Pantages, and (tentative) Sweet Charity“ at DOMA. July is currently more open, with “9 to 5 – The Musical” at REP East in the middle of the month, and “Legally Blonde – The Musical” at Cabrillo at the end of the month. August is currently completely open due to vacation planning and the potential Nottingham Faire. I’m also keeping my eyes open as the various theatres start making their 2013 season announcements. Lastly, what few dates we do have open may be filled by productions I see on Goldstar, LA Stage Tix, Plays411, or discussed in the various LA Stage Blogs I read (I particularly recommend Musicals in LA and LA Stage Times).

Comic strips — especially those regularly published in the newspapers — are interesting things. At one level they are aimed for children, but at another level they are something completely different. One of my favorite examples of this is the webcomic “Garfield minus Garfield“, which takes the regular Garfield comic and simply subtracts Garfield. This turns what is often a childish strip into a wonderful portrait of existential angst, sadness, and loneliness. I got to thinking about Garfield last night at Cabrillo Music Theatre in Thousand Oaks, while we were attending their latest production, “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown“.

“You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown” (henceforth, YAGMCB) is a simple piece — a series of vignettes (very much like a series of comic strips) that illustrate incidents from the Peanuts comic strip written by Charles Shultz, where most of the vignettes are punctuated with simple musical novelty numbers. I’ll note it isn’t the only stage show about Charlie Brown; there is also “Snoopy! The Musical” (which I’ve heard but never seen), and the unauthorized “Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead” (which visits the characters (or close facsimiles thereof) as teens, which we saw in 2010). It features only six characters: Charlie Brown, Lucy, Linus, Schroeder, Sally Brown, and Snoopy. It’s inherent simplicity and small cast make it work wonderfully off-Broadway (where it ran for over 1,500 performances in early 1970) and in smaller theatres; that is also what works against it in larger Broadway venues (as demonstrated by the first Broadway run, which lasted only 32 performances, or the revival, which ran longer at 149 performances). This size problem is one thing that works against the show in the Cabrillo production — the show is simply dwarfed by the cavernous Kavli stage and theatre space. The inherent smallness and beauty of the piece is lost. This is no fault of the actors, writers, or directors, but of the producers. YAGMCB is simply not an appropriate piece for large theatres.

As I noted at the beginning, YAGMCB is a series of vignettes, with original book, music, and lyrics by Clark M. Gesner. The Cabrillo production is based on the 1999 revival, which replaced the original Patty with Sally Brown, and featured additional dialogue by Michael Mayer  and additional music and lyrics by Andrew Lippa. The vignette approach mirrors the comic strip nature very well, but it also means that it inherits another characteristic of many comic strips that make them bad for the stage: no through story. In the Peanuts strip, the characters never age, they never grow, they never learn. They never have crises to overcome along the path. That works well for gag-a-day strips; however, it works poorly for much live theatre. In the theatre, such productions are often enjoyable but ultimately empty, marshmallows that are sweet going down but mostly empty. What YAGMCB does have for depth — if you are looking for any — is the ultimate angst and depression (and yet continuing optimism, which will be torn asunder in his teens) of Charlie Brown when faced with the characters around him. You see these character traits (which were magnified and amplified in the unauthorized and aforementioned Dog Sees God) well in this show. With the adult side of your mind, they are fun to watch.

With the kid side of your mind, however, you see the simple strip. Here is where YAGMCB works quite well. It does bring the nature of the strips to the stage well. The universal humor, featuring situations we’ve all faced, works well. The director, Lewis Wilenfeld, does a great job of bringing out the kid in the adult actors. Although initially jarring, the fact that these are adults playing kids eventually fades  away, and you are left seeing the characters you love so well. The situations present reflect the best moments of the comic strip: Linus and his blanket, Schroeder and his piano, Charlie Brown and his kite, Snoopy and his food, Snoopy and his Sopwith Camel, Snoopy and his birds, Lucy and her crabbiness, and so on. The songs in the production, for the most part, are not deep. They are amusing and they often tell the story, but they don’t have complexity. There is one exception — the standout song from the show: “Happiness”. This is the closing song of the show, and it touches on everything it means to be a child, to be a friend, and it cements the relationships between these comic strip characters.

So let’s look at the characters… and the actors, who performed them very well. Although the production may have been dwarfed by the Kavli stage, the performances did a great job of filling the theatre.

As Charlie Brown, Dane Biren (FB) is appropriately youthful, but didn’t fully strike me as Charlie Brown. Still, especially as the show went on, he worked quite well. He had a delightful singing voice, and was particularly notable — both in performance and acting — in his numbers “The Kite” and “T.E.A.M.” (The Baseball Game). I also enjoyed him in the closing finale of “Happiness”.

Lucy, as portrayed by Natalie Storrs (FB), was more problematic. For me, her look was off — she looked too old for the character, and her costuming was off (I never recall Lucy wearing bloomers in the strip, and this production put both Lucy and Sally in bloomers, as seen in the image to the right). However, her comic timing was wonderful, her performance was very strong, and her singing was great (and very much like the cast album). Storr particularly shone with her comic performance in “Schroeder” and “The Doctor is In”, and her vignette about crabbiness. Ultimately, I was won over by Storr’s Lucy despite the problems, and truly enjoyed her performance.

Linux, Lucy’s younger brother, was well played by Jeffrey Scott Parsons* (FB). Linus represents the philosophical viewpoint (he becomes a pothead in Dog Meets God), and Parsons portrayed that well. He was exceptional in “My Blanket and Me”, and touching in the aforementioned crabbiness vignette. In the 1999 revival, Linux was cast (for whatever reason) as Asian. I’m not sure how this would have affected the character’s reception.

Schroeder was cast with a black actor, following the model of the revival. As Schroeder, Todrick Hall* (FB) worked reasonably well. He sang a bit softer than I expected, but performed quite well. He also gave off — to me — a gay vibe to the character. It was just something in the mannerisms and vocal style. This aspect of Schroeder has been picked up by others (and is a major plot point in Dog Meets God, although it turns out there’s something darker, which is the conceit of Dog Meets God). In YAGMCB, however, it was a little odd. Hall was particularly great in Beethoven Day, one of the new numbers introduced for the revival, as well has his interactions with the other characters.

Sally Brown is a character that was new to the revival. Her character replaced the original Patty of the strip (not Peppermint Patty). Reba Buhr (FB) did a great job with her, channeling Kristen Chenowith, the original Sally Brown, quite well. Buhr moved well and sang well, and was a standout in her number “My New Philosophy”. She also captured Sally’s mood swings very well. She was very fun to watch.

Lastly, we have Snoopy, as portrayed by Zachary Ford* (FB). As any Peanuts reader knows, although Charlie Brown is the center of the strip, Snoopy is the star and lead character. That definitely comes across in this show. Although costumed somewhat poorly (a white jumpsuit with no indications of dog), Ford still came across as a dog pretty well, especially in numbers such as “Suppertime”. He was also great in his acting, as shown in the Red Baron number, and his comic performances (as seen during the rabbit chase).

Tessa Grady and Bear Maneschalchi/FB were the understudies.

YAGMCB was directed by the aforementioned Lewis Wilkenfeld, who did a good job bringing out the “kid” in the performances, although some of the movements seemed out of place. Choreography was by Kirsten Chandler, and for the most part was very good, although there were a few spots where it didn’t seem kid-like. Chandler was hindered by the very large Kavli stage and the lack of significant set pieces, providing very little for her to choreograph against. Dean Mora did a wonderful job of music direction and led the spectacular Cabrillo orchestra.

For this production, Cabrillo used the sets by Off-Broadway West, LLC, with additional props by Anna Grijalva/FB. These sets worked, but they were dwarfed by the facility. I did appreciate the fact that they attempted to use perspective to make the actors look like children — extra large props, sofas, pianos, and other set pieces made the actors seem smaller. Sound design was by resident Cabrillo designer Jonathan Burke (FB), and was particularly notable in the high quality of sound effects used. The lighting by Coby Chasman-Beck also worked quite well in establishing the mood, which was supplemented by the excellent projections of Kaitlyn Pietras. Costumes were provided by The Theatre Company in Upland, and worked well for Charlie Brown, Schroeder, and Linus, less so for the Lucy, Sally, and Snoopy. Tim Schroepfer (FB) was the technical director. Allie Roy* (FB) was the production stage manager, assisted by Taylor Ruge. Cabrillo Music Theatre is under the artistic direction of Lewis Wilkenfeld.

One of the things I like about Cabrillo is their family nature. Last nights show included a raffle to have the Kabrillo Kids serenade your sweetie before the second act (which was cute), interactions with local dog rescue organizations, and their usual wonderful support of the Naval Base in Ventura County. This is what makes Cabrillo a very special organization.

The last performance of Cabrillo’s “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown” is today at 2pm. Tickets are available at the box office. There are two productions left in the Cabrillo 2012-2013 season: “Grease” on April 12-21, 2013, and the regional premiere of “Legally Blonde: The Musical” (July 19-28, 2013). There will also be a fundraising singalong to Grease-The Movie at Movico Theater in Thousand Oaks. Information on the Cabrillo Website. Cabrillo has also announced their 2013-2014 season: Kiss Me Kate, October 18-27, 2013; Forever Plaid, January 31-February 9, 2014; In The Heights, March 28-April 6, 2014; and Bye, Bye, Birdie, July 18-27, 2014.

As for us…

Upcoming Theatre and Concerts:   Today brings a British sex farce, “Run for your Wife” at Canyon Theatre Guild. The last weekend of February is “The Snake Can” at the Odyssey Theatre (based on an ad that caught Karen’s eye in the latest Footlights). Karen (but not me) will be seeing “When You’re In Love The Whole World is Jewish” at the Greenway Court Theatre on Feburary 21. March starts with “I’ll Be Back Before Midnight” at the Colony. The following weekend sees us in North Hollywood for “Company” at the Crown City Theatre. The third week of March takes us to the Pantages and Hollywood for  “Catch Me If You Can”on March 16. The fourth week of March brings “Boeing Boeing” at REP East on March 23. March may also bring “End of the Rainbow” at the Ahmanson, most likely on March 30. April will bring the Southern California Renaissance Faire , “Grease” at Cabrillo Music Theatre, and a winetasting at Temple Ahavat Shalom. May is also busy, with two concerts — Elton John in Las Vegas on May 4, and (tentative) Michael Feinstein at VPAC on May 11. May may also bring “Falling for Make Believe” at The Colony Theatre, “To Kill a Mockingbird” at REP East. Lastly, continuing the look ahead, June will bring (tenative) “The Scottsboro Boys” at the Ahmanson Theatre, “Priscilla – Queen of the Desert” at the Pantages, (tentative) Sweet Charity“ at DOMA, and the Western Corps Connection at the end of the month. I’m also keeping my eyes open as the various theatres start making their 2013 season announcements. Lastly, what few dates we do have open may be filled by productions I see on Goldstar, LA Stage Tix, Plays411, or discussed in the various LA Stage Blogs I read (I particularly recommend Musicals in LA and LA Stage Times).

The last few weeks we have all been inundated with politics. It comes to us over the airwaves, over the Internet, over the phones. Our friends talks to us about it, and it fills our Facebook feeds. It is even on our stages with various productions, including the one we saw today: Cabrillo Music Theatre’s production of “1776: The Musical“.

It’s been a while since we’ve seen 1776; the last time was the Actors Co-Op production in 2008. This was our first “full stage” production; in some ways, I prefer 1776 on the small stage. Still, Cabrillo did a great job with the show, and I heard things in the show that echoed very differently than they did in 2008.

In 2008, I described the show as follows:

“1776” was produced on Broadway in 1969 and feature a book by Peter Stone (who did a number of other plays), and music and lyrics by Sherman Edwards (his only musical). It tells the story of what would normally not be viewed as a musical event: the events surrounding the Continental Congress’s Declaration of Independence. The lead character is John Adams, firebrand delegate from Mass., who is attempting to convince Congress to vote for independence. With his ally Benjamin Franklin, he convinces Thomas Jefferson to write the declaration, and then works to convince the other delegations, suffering moments of despondence along the way. The only female roles are that of Abigail Adams, which whom John has discussions in his head, and Martha Jefferson, who serves to eliminate some (uhh) “writers block” that Thomas Jefferson has. The play, although quite long (just under 3 hours), has delightful music, although it is not evenly spaced — there are along stretches of mainly dialog, making this much more a “play with music”. There are also points where the anti-war nature of the play comes through, especially in the song “Mama, Look Sharp” about the horrors of battle.

Last time, I heard more of the anti-war nature of the play because we were involved in the war in Iraq, which had many parallels with the war in Vietnam. This time, I heard something different. This time I heard more and more the words of the song “Cool, Considerate Men”:

Come ye cool cool conservative men
The likes of which may never be seen again
We have land, cash in hand
Self-command, future planned
Fortune flies, society survives
In neatly ordered lives with well-endowered wives

We sing hosanna, hosanna
To our breeding and our banner
We are cool

Come ye cool cool considerate set
We’ll dance together to the same minuet
To the right, ever to the right
Never to the left, forever to the right
May our creed be never to exceed
Regulated speed, no matter what the need

We sing hosanna, hosanna
Enblazoned on our banner
Is keep cool

What we do we do rationally
We never ever go off half-cocked, not we
Why begin till we know that we can win
And if we cannot win why bother to begin?
We say this game’s not of our choosing
Why should we risk losing?
We are cool

To the right, ever to the right
Never to the left, forever to the right
We have gold, a market that will hold
Tradition that is old, a reluctance to be bold.

Listening to this song, I’m hearing the words of the 1% — the people that were afraid to take bold action, the people that wanted to preserve their land and property and privilege. These were also the people that were more concerned about protecting their economic power than doing the right thing. They would have been happy to keep with the old ways; the ways that weren’t working.

To me, this is the beauty of the musical 1776: It reminds us of what this country stands for, and that we have to take bold action to do the right thing. It also reminds us that the founders of this country were not god or demigods, but men. Fallible men, working out of their own concerns, compromising where necessary for the sake of the country. This is something we forget today.

As you can tell, I liked this production of 1776, even with the shows endemic flaws (the length, and the lack of roles for women). For the most part, under the direction of veteran director and choreographer Nick Degruccio, the production was well conceived and executed. People lived and breathed their roles, and you believed them for who they were pretending to be.

No where was this seen better than in the lead roles: As John Adams of MA, Peter Husmann* gave a very believable and spirited performance. He didn’t quite have the New England flavor of William Daniels (the original Broadway Adams), but he had the requisite internal fire and drive. Further, he was a delight to watch with respect to his facial expressions; this is where his passion really came through. He also had a strong singing voice and was fun to listen to. As Benjamin Franklin of PA, Steve Gunderson* had the necessary rascally side, but was saddled with a really bad Franklin wig. He was strong singing and paired well with Husmann’s Adams. Lastly, as Thomas Jefferson of VA, Dan Callaway* had a wonderful voice and worked well with his Martha, but I didn’t always see the necessary fire.

Three other actors were notable primarily because they got particular songs. For example, as John Dickinson of PA, Michael Andrew Baker* did a lovely job on “Cool Considerate Men”, and in playing the conservative opposition. As Edward Rutledge of SC, Garrett Marshall did a spectacular job on “Molasses to Rum”. Lastly, as Richard Henry Lee of VA, Stephen Bishop was remarkabLEE good :-).

One problem with 1776 is the dearth of female roles. Abigail Adams (Christanna Rowader) has three scenes, all literally walk-ons. Martha Jefferson (Natalie Haro) has one scene and one song. Both were good, but I was particularly impressed with Haro’s performance: she had the spirit, the voice, and the enthusiasm to make the role work. I’m hoping she goes far in this industry.

Rounding out the cast were the rest of the Continental Congress and supporting staff. All were good and portrayed their characters well. My only complaint was with Kelly Roberts (Joseph Hewes of NC) during “Molasses to Rum” — he seemed to be laughing behind Rutledge, and that didn’t come off well.  The remainder of Congress consisted of Miller James (John Hancock of MA), Danny Blaylock (Col. Thomas Mckean of DE), Robert Glen Decker (James Wilson of PA), David Gilchrist (Stephen Hopkins of RI), Ben Hackney (George Read of DE), John D. LeMay (Dr. Lyman Hall of GA), Nick Marinoff (Dr. Josiah Bartlett of NH), Tim McGowan (Lewis Morris of NY), Steven Perren (Roger Sherman of CT), Ronald Rezac (Caesar Rodney of DE), Kelly Roberts (Joseph Hewes of NC), Sal Ruggiero (Rev. Jonathan Witherspoon of NJ), Gary Saxer (Robert Livingston of NY), and Tony Teofilo (Samuel Chase of MD). The Congressional staff were Vsev Krawczeniuk (Charles Thompson, Congressional Secretary), Kristofer Sundquist (The Courier), Tom Hall (Andrew McNair, Congressional Custodian), and Harrison Meloeny (A Leather Apron).

Musically, the production was under the musical direction of Steven Applegate. He led the large orchestra, consisting of Gary Rautenberg (Flute, Piccolo, Clarinet), Victoria Sabonjohn (Oboe, English Horn), Darryl Tanikawa (Clarinet, Flute), Eric Johnson-Tamai (Bassoon), Stan Hernacki (Trumpet), June Satton (Trombone), Robert Coomber (Bass Trombone), Melissa Hendrickson (Horn), Sharon Cooper (Violin I-Concertmaster), Richard Adkins (Violin II), Thomas Turner (Viola), Rachel Coosaia (Cello), Lloyd Cooper (Piano, Keyboard Synthesizer 1), Alby Potts (Keyboard Synthesizer 2), John Smith (Double String Bass), and Dave Lotfi (Set Drums, Percussion). It is remarkable to have an orchestra of this size in any production these days, so Cabrillo deserves kudos for doing it.

Turning to the technical side: The sound direction by Jonathan Burke (FB) was crisp as always. The lighting by Christina L. Munich was effective as usual; I particularly noted the different colors used behind the Continental Congress set. Wardrobe was supervised by Christine Gibson and was reasonably effective, although some costumes (provided by Musical Theatre West) seemed a little large.  The set and props, also by Musical Theatre West, worked well. Hair and Makeup were by Mark Travis Hoyer, and proved the only weakness in the production — in  particular, the wig for Benjamin Franklin was just wrong. Tim Schroepfer (FB) was the technical director. Allie Roy* (FB) was the production stage manager, assisted by Jessica Standifer. Cabrillo Music Theatre is under the artistic direction of Lewis Wilkenfeld.

This afternoon’s show was the final performance of 1776. However, you can still subscribe to the rest of the Cabrillo season: “You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown“, “Grease”, and “Legally Blond: The Musical“.

Upcoming Theatre and Concerts:  November is much lighter in terms of theatre. At the beginning of the month, my wife will be going to VPAC to see Ballet Folklorico (but you probably won’t see a review here), but there is no other theatre planned. The following weekend won’t be available for theatre, as we’ll be out working at “Day Out with Thomas” at OERM. The next weekend sees us at VPAC for a concert performance of Raul Esparza. November will close with “Moonlight and Magnolias” at REP East. December sees us at the Colony for “The Morini Strand” on 12/15 (if it happens; the Colony is having major financial trouble). December will also likely bring “Anything Goes” at the Ahmanson. It will also bring another concert: “Judy Collins” at VPAC. Starting the look into 2013. Currently nothing is scheduled for January, but that’s sure to change as REP announces its dates for the 2013 season. February brings “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown” at Cabrillo Music Theatre and “I’ll Be Back Before Midnight” at the Colony. It may also bring “Backbeat” at the Ahmanson. March will likely bring “Catch Me If You Can” at Broadway LA/Pantages. I’m also keeping my eyes open as the various theatres start making their 2013 season announcements. Lastly, what few dates we do have open may be filled by productions I see on Goldstar, LA Stage Tix, Plays411, or discussed in the various LA Stage Blogs I read (I particularly recommend Musicals in LA and LA Stage Times).