Tag: meeting-of-minds

Last night was our first theatre for 2010, so I’m taking a few minutes at lunch to write up some observations on it. The show was the first production of “Meeting of Minds” for 2010 — the show is now on a regular schedule of the third Sunday every month at 7pm at the Steve Allen Theatre. This production was Episode #2, the 2^nd episode with President Theodore Roosevelt, Queen Cleopatra, Fr. Thomas Aquinas, and Thomas Paine.

This episode was an excellent production. Three of the actors were the same as in Episode #1 — Steven Culp as Thomas Paine, Bill Smitrovich as Pres. T. Roosevelt, and Joe Spano as Thomas Aquinas. New for this episode were Jack Maxwell as Steve Allen and Stana Katic as Queen Cleopatria. This was an excellent mix of actors — one of the best so far in the series.

Let’s look at each of them. Maxwell, as opposed to Gary Cole (who normally plays Steve Allen) knew his lines much better and had fewers misreads (this is a staged reading) — in fact, he did his entire introductory monologue off-book, which was impressive. Allen’s role is to play everyman: to ask the stupid questions to prompt the guests to respond. He does this well. Culp, who was fighting in obvious cold, was magnificant as Paine. Even with the cold, Paine’s passion for the rights of the common man and distaste for the implicit power of the monarchy came through. He was delightful to watch. Also delightful to watch was Katic as Cleopatra. This wasn’t just for her beauty (she is a beautiful woman), but for the intellect and fire and playfullness that she brought to the reading. She was demonstrably an intelligent queen, not the bubblehead of Antoinette. You could see why she was loved by men as powerful as Caeser and Anthony. Smitrovich had a few more line hesitations this time, but still had the forceful “Teddy Roosevelt” personality as before. Lastly, Spano was reserved as always as Aquinas, who comes across as the quiet, scholarly type as opposed to the powerful characters across the time. Aquinas had the smallest role in this episode; I seem to recall he had a bit more time in Episode #1.

“Meeting of Minds” is now produced approximately monthly by Opening Minds Productions. Meeting of Minds is the third Sunday of every month at 7:00pm at the Steve Allen Theatre in Hollywood. The next episode will featre Jean Smart as Catherine The Great (meaning the other guests are Daniel O’Connell and Oliver Cromwell). As always, the production was directed by Frank Megna.

Dining Notes: For dinner before the show, we hit Cafe Columbia in Burbank as opposed to the usual Fred 62. Wonderful food — we’ll be back there to try more of the excellent menu.

Upcoming Theatre: I’m still working on the 2010 theatre schedule — you can see my planning in this entry.

As I wrote yesterday, we saw two productions on Sunday. The first was “M*A*S*H” at Repertory East Playhouse. The second, which is the subject of this review, was the latest installment of Steve Allen’s Meeting of Minds at the Steve Allen Theatre. This month we had Episode #7, and our guests were:

Frederick Douglass (1817-1895)….. Ernie Hudson
Cesare Beccaria (1738-1794)…. Joe Mantegna
Empress Tz’u-Hsi (1835-1908)…. France Nuyen
Marquis de Sade (1740-1814)…. Richard Gilliland
Steve Allen (1921-2000)…. Gary Cole

The script was updated slightly from the original 1979 script, including references to the health care debate and President Obama. The person who was given credit for suggesting the Marquis de Sade was changed from Claire Boothe Luce to Rush Limbaugh. Even without updating, some interchanges were truly applicable today:

STEVE: Why do you think, Signor Beccaria, that progress in this area has been so painfully slow?
DOUGLASS: Progress, my friend, is always slow.
BECCARIA: Yes. It seems to me that the intellectual enlightenment of a nation is usually about a century in advance of its actual practice.
DOUGLASS: Again and again through history we see precisely this same process. The brighter, more civilized individuals in a culture begin to perceive that something is wrong, about a specific custom. They very tentatively, carefully–even fearfully–begin to question that custom.
BECCARIA: (He nods) Perhaps–as I did–they publish their writings anonymously, out of fear of vicious reprisal. A quite justified fear, may I add.
     Then, at a second stage, one man’s modest gesture encourages another, so that gradually there emerges a body of opinion–at least among certain intellectuals, scholars, and reformers–that more outspokenly criticizes the prevailing custom, whatever it might be, whether we are talking about slavery, burning people alive, or whatever.
DOUGLASS: But generally at this stage a backlash takes place. A great conservative groundswell attacks the reformers, questioning not only their arguments but their intelligence, even their loyalty.
     If their arguments prove difficult to assail, then they personally are attacked, sometimes even physically.
STEVE: But many people ask: why not? Such disturbers of the peace–they argue–deserve to be punished!
DOUGLASS: It is not the peace they disturb, Mr. Allen; it is the status quo. But this reactionary backlash in turn stimulates its own opposition–generally because of its unfairness and cruelty–and this, in turn, encourages a still small but now growing number of people who perceive that their society does indeed need to be additionally civilized. And so this slow, glacial process occurs–sometimes speeded by revolution, sometimes not.
     That is why necessary progress is usually made so painfully slowly.

Now, this discussion was relating to the stopping of torture for minor crimes, but applies equally well to health care or the gay marriage debate. It is why these program as so timeless: the thoughts and philosophies are as timeless today as when conceived by the speakers, or when written as a script by Steve Allen.

The Episode #7 discussion was a bit more focused than most, exploring the history of the speakers as well as the notions of torture and its appropriateness, and how free man should be to inflict pain and cruelty on other man. Is it something, as deSade argued, that should be freely permitted with consent, or is it something that goes against general moral law, as Beccaria argued? It is right to kill or torture because you disagree with someone or see them as barbaric, as the Empress believed? Is it right to subjugate and exploit people for financial gain, as was done with slaves, and as the western societies tried to do in China? This was the topic of discussion.

Viewing the production as theatre, there were strengths and weaknesses. As usual, Gary Cole was obviously reading the script cold, as he had a lot of line stumbles. France Nuyen conveyed her character well, but spoke a bit softly, requiring the sound engineer to have to raise her amplification noticably. Erine Hudson was a forceful but calm Douglass, improving as the episode went on. Richard Gilliland gave a stunning and playful performance as de Sade, and was quite entertaining to watch (especially in his interplay with Joe Mantegna as Beccaria). As always, the production was directed by Frank Megna.

Dan Lauria, who bears an uncanny resemblance to President U.S. Grant, introduced the program, and reminded attendees of the goal of bringing this program to college campuses. He noted the well-known Hollywood actors who have already participated in the program (such as Ed Asner as Karl Marx), and the ones who will be in upcoming episodes, such as Keith Carradine as Pres. Thos. Jefferson or Lou Diamond Phillips as Emiliano Zapata. It was nice to see Mr. Lauria back doing the introductions.

“Meeting of Minds” is now produced approximately monthly by Opening Minds Productions. They will be starting a regular schedule in 2010: Meeting of Minds will be the third Sunday of every month at 7:00pm at the Steve Allen Theatre in Hollywood, starting January 17, 2010.

Upcoming Theatre: Thanksgiving weekend sees us back at the Pasadena Playhouse for “Baby Its You” on November 28. The next week brings us to Van Nuys HS for “The Taming of the Shrew” (12/3, 12/4, and 12/5; we’ll likely be going to the Friday, December 4 performance). I fly out to Hawaii for ACSAC on 12/5 (hint: registration is now open and we have a great technical program — so come to the conference).I return 12/12 (and, alas, this is why we can’t see Equus at LA Valley College the weekends of 12/3-5 and 10-12). December 20 brings “Mary Poppins” at the Ahmanson. We’ll be going to the movies on Christmas Day (as well as having Chinese food), and the likely movie is “Nine – The Musical”. As always, I’m looking for suggestions for good shows to see, especially if they are on Goldstar or LA Stage Tix.

Disclaimer: In light of the upcoming rules, you should know that nobody paid me anything to write this review. In fact, I receive no remuneration for any reviews I write.

Last night, we went to the Steve Allen Theatre to see another episode in the recent theatrical revival of Steve Allen’s Meeting of Minds. As I got home too late last night, I figured I’d take some time over lunch to write this. This production was episode #9, and featured:

• Martin Luther (Ron Perlman) – (1483-1546); German protestant reformer
• Voltaire (Ray Abruzzo) – (1694-1778); French writer, philosopher & moralist
• Plato (Harold Gould) – (429-347 B.C.); Greek philosopher
• Florence Nightingale (Sharon Lawrence) – (1820-1910); British hospital reformer; founder of nursing
• Steve Allen (Gary Cole) (1921-2000) – The host and moderator. Writer, composer, inventor of late night TV, creator of Meeting of Minds

This was a second season episode, and it was clear that Steve Allen hadn’t had as much time to refine the scripts, for this episode was less a true dialogue and more a series of introductions into the four characters at the table. It is likely the dialog aspect grows in the second half of each episode pair, but those haven’t been produced yet. As a result, in this episode, we spent a bunch of time with Voltaire, and then Martin Luther, and then Florence Nightingale, and finally Plato. So let’s look at each performance and performer.

Gary Cole (Steve Allen) is the one common element in these performances. He does a good job of moderating, but doesn’t always capture Allen’s jocularity. He also occasionally slips up in the staged reading, but some are better at cold reads than others. Ray Abruzzo (Voltaire) gave a strong performance: he had Voltaire’s energy and condescending nature down — you can tell he was on the side of reason and against the religious faith-based notions of Martin Luther. Abruzzo did well with the cold reading. Ron Perlman (Martin Luther), however, was the weakest of the group this time: his reading was very quiet and subdued (some in the audience even asked him to speak up), and he didn’t have the firebrand energy I expected from Luther. As such, his discussion took much longer than it should have. Luckily, this quiet mood changed when Sharon Lawrence (Florence Nighingale) came to the table. Although she entered looking feeble with her cane, she proved to have strong energy and fire and passion about the poor conditions of the British soldiers during the Crimean War. Last to the table was Harold Gould (Plato), looking quite old (he almost reminded me of George Burns in “Oh God”). You could tell he was the consummate actor: he gave a nuanced performance above and beyond the reading, and reacted well to the mocking that his notions about science and the origins of man received.

This performance had more ad-libbing from the original script than I’ve seen before. Abruzzo ad-libbed, when he screwed up a French name, to “Pardon my French, I haven’t used it in 300 years”. Perlman made a simlar ad-lib when screwing up the German (“Pardon my German, I haven’t used it in 400 years”. Lawrence had her own more appropriate script change, when she broadened the power of the media to explicitly include the Internet, which Allen hadn’t mentioned in his 1978 script. I believe that Cole also had an ad-lib making fun of Scientology in response to a comment by either Plato or Luther.

This episode was not as energetic as the first season episodes, and expanded beyond the nominal hour it should have taken. It was still good, but the subdued nature of Perlman as Martin Luther was a significant weakness.

Technically, the show was simple. A table, some chairs, some water on the table. The production was directed by Frank Megna; no other technical credits were provided in the program. Lighting was simple. I do have one technical comment. At the first episode we saw, a representative from Working Stage got up and introduced the program, indicated what they were trying to do with the revival, and (of course) requested that beeping devices be disabled. That wasn’t done at this performance, and I missed it. All we had was someone standing up and pointing to their cellphone. As I said on the last episode, I think that bringing back this introduction would be a good thing for the series overall.

The next episode of “Meeting of Minds” only had the date and actors announced: Sunday, November 22, 2009 at 7pm, featuring Gary Cole, Joe Mantegna, Ernie Hudson, France Nguyen, and Richard Gilliland (Eventbrite Page). Given the ethnic mix of the cast, this looks to be Episode #7:

• Frederick Douglass – (c.1818-1895); black American abolitionist
• Empress Tz ‘u-hsi – (1835-1908); Dowager Empress of China
• Marchese di Bonesana Cesare Beccaria – (1738-94); Italian philosopher & politician
• Marquis Donatien Alphonse Francois de Sade – (1740-1814); French revolutionary

This should be an interesting discussion about, among other things, the role of torture. It may create some interesting parallels to what has happened during the Iraq war.

Upcoming Theatre: We currently have no theatre scheduled over the next two weeks, due to Halloween on Saturday and Erin’s Homecoming D&D game the following Saturday. Still, if I find the right production, the Sundays are open. November 11th (Veterans Day) we’re at a Day Out With Thomas at Orange Empire Railway Museum. The following weekend Erin is going to the TMBG concert at UCLA, while we will attending Havdalah with Peter Yarrow at the American Jewish University. On November 22 at 2pm we return to REP East Playhouse for “M*A*S*H”, followed by the next installment of Meeting of Minds (pending ticketing). Thanksgiving weekend is currently open; however, it might be taken by a shift of our production for the following weekend (“Baby Its You” at the Pasadena Playhouse, December 5 at 8pm… which, by the way, features the actress who played Marie Antoinette), due to the fact I head out the morning after we see it for ACSAC in Hawaii. That same weekend (December 3, 4, 5) also brings “The Taming of the Shrew” at Van Nuys HS — we’ll likely be going to the Friday, December 4 performance. I fly out to Hawaii for ACSAC on 12/5 (hint: registration is now open and we have a great technical program — so come to the conference). While there, I hope to get together one night with shutterbug93 and see some local theatre. I return 12/12 (and, alas, this is why we can’t see Equus at LA Valley College the weekends of 12/3-5 and 10-12). December 20 brings “Mary Poppins” at the Ahmanson. As always, I’m looking for suggestions for good shows to see, especially if they are on Goldstar or LA Stage Tix.

Disclaimer: In light of the upcoming rules, you should know that nobody paid me anything to write this review. In fact, I receive no remuneration for any reviews I write.

I’ve written in the past of my admiration for the Steve Allen series “Meeting of Minds”, where four historical people are brought together for a roundtable discussion. Working Stage Productions has brought back the series as an ongoing series of staged readings. Last night was their third production, episode #3, featuring a discussion between President U.S. Grant (Dan Lauria), Dr. Karl Marx (Ed Asner), Queen Marie Antoinette (Meeghan Holaway), Sir Thomas More (Bruce Davison), and moderated by Steve Allen (Gary Cole). As usual, it was thought provoking and excellent.

Steve Allen wrote these scripts in the 1960s, and they were first produced for television in the 1970s. Thus, they contain some very slightly dated dialogue that is more emphasized in this particular episode than others, such as the references to Henry Kissinger as Secretary of State or the intense hatred for Karl Marx (which was very much a product of the Cold War). Still, this episode does have some topics that resonate today, such as the attempts by the United States to intervene in the affairs of other countries in order to promote democracy. This is highlighted when Karl Marx points out that it is difficult to argue for democracy when the problems of world hunger and world poverty are not being solved. Could this apply to the situation in the Middle East? Could the reason that the US is not embraced be that the US values haven’t improved the quality of life? These discussions make you (at least) think about the issue, and how we can work better to make the world a better place.

Still, the main focus of this episode is not Karl Marx — in this episode, he serves more as historian and adjunct moderator than civil agitator. His story, as well as that of Sir Thomas, comes out in Episode #4. This episode focuses more on the lives of U.S. Grant and especially Marie Antoinette and the philosphy behind the French Revolution. As such, the theme is more the disconnect of the nobility, how rulers can distance themselves from the rules, and ultimately, how civil wars are savage. It also emphasizes how the danger can come from either side: Antoinette was beheaded by the left-wing, and More by the right-wing.

In terms of acting and theatricality, this was a staged reading. Scripts were on stage, costumes and makeup were simple and suggestive (Grant’s uniform, Antoinette’s dress and hair). There were the occasional line hesitations (mostly from Gary Cole). Still, some superb theatricality shone through. I was particularly taken by Ed Asner, who conveyed Marx’s disgust with a number of the responses with simple facial gestures and movements, going above and beyond the script to establish the character. Meeghan Holaway also did an excellent job with Antoinette, especially in the scenes where she talked about her imprisonment and the revolution — she gave a good sense of non-chalance about the pesentry, and was truly moved to tears when talking about the life and death of King Louis. She also had a lovely French accent (unlike Asner, who didn’t attempt a Prussian accent, or Davison, who didn’t have an English accent). It was a bit disconcerting when she took off her wig (something that doesn’t happen in the original), but I guess it was wobbling and she thought it better to take it off and retain control. As Grant, Lauria provided some excellent gruff and bravado (as one would expect), but also conveyed his tender side well. Great performances.

Technically, the show was simple. A table, some chairs, some water on the table. The production was directed by Frank Megna; no other technical credits were provided in the program. Lighting was simple, and the program was recorded. I do have one technical comment. At the first episode we saw, a representative from Working Stage got up and introduced the program, indicated what they were trying to do with the revival, and (of course) requested that beeping devices be disabled. That wasn’t done at this performance, and I missed it. I think that bringing back this introduction would be a good thing for the series overall (and, of course, would goad those that forgot to silence their cells).

Another minor complaint, which I’m sure is due to scheduling, but never explained: For seasons 1, 2, and 3, there were two episodes with each set of four. We see the first, but never the second. It might be better to do these productions as a two-act show with each episode being an act, as opposed to the seeming approach of eventually doing the second episode. That, at least, would provide more even coverage to the four historical characters.

According to the program, the next episode in “Meeting of Minds” will be episode #9, featuring Martin Luther (Mark Moses), Plato (Harold Gould), Voltaire (Ray Abruzzo), Florence Nightengale, and Steve Allen (Gary Cole). It will be Sunday, October 25 at 7pm, presumably at the Steve Allen Theatre. The ticket page is not yet up.

Upcoming Theatre: Our next scheduled theatre is Sunday October 18, when we’re seeing the Donmar workshop version of “Parade” at the Mark Taper Forum. The next weekend will see two productions: “Guys and Dolls” at Cabrillo Music Theatre on Saturday October 24 @ 8pm, and (pending ticketing) “Meeting of Minds” Episode #9 (Martin Luther, Plato, Voltaire, Florence Nightengale) at the Steve Allen Theatre on Sunday October 25 @ 8pm. Halloween weekend is currently open. The following weekend is currently blocked off for “A Day Out With Thomas” at Orange Empire Railway Museum (although we may do it Veterans Day instead). The following weekend Erin is going to the TMBG concert at UCLA, while we will attending Havdalah with Peter Yarrow at the American Jewish University. On November 22 at 2pm we return to REP East Playhouse for “M*A*S*H”. Thanksgiving weekend is currently open; however, it might be taken by a shift of our production for the following weekend (“Baby Its You” at the Pasadena Playhouse, December 5 at 8pm… which, by the way, features the actress who played Marie Antoinette), due to the fact I head out the morning after we see it for ACSAC in Hawaii. That same weekend (December 3, 4, 5) also brings “The Taming of the Shrew” at Van Nuys HS — we’ll likely be going to the Friday, December 4 performance. The rest of December is currently open, but I know that sometime in December I’ll be attempting to ticket “Mary Poppins” at the Ahmanson (HotTix were supposed to go on sale 10/23, but may not as per the postscript below). As always, I’m looking for suggestions for good shows to see, especially if they are on Goldstar or LA Stage Tix.

An interesting postscript to the above: There may not be HotTix to “Mary Poppins”. According to my contact in Audience Services at CTG, Disney and Center Theatre Group are in the midst of negotiations for HotTix. Disney is not in favor of having discount tickets and CTG would like to continue the HotTix program for this show. I’m waiting for the final answer on this, but we might be up in the balcony for that one.

Disclaimer: In light of the upcoming rules, you should know that nobody paid me anything to write this review. In fact, I receive no remuneration for any reviews I write.