other-theatres – Page 5 – Observations Along the Road

No, They Won’t Eat You — Inspired Lunacy in Denmark

Posted onSaturday, September 19, 2015Authorcahwyguy

userpic=yorick [Note: Although I’m posting this on Talk Like a Pirate day, this isn’t in pirate speak. Alas, the “Arrrr” and “Ayeeee” keys on my keyboard are broken.]

Clowns. Some find them scary. Some find them funny. Some just don’t understand them, or think of them solely in their “big top” circus incarnation — the white makeup, the big shoes, the squirting flowers. But real clowns — in the form of true clowning around — are much different. They have an inspired silliness — they just enjoy wild play. Want an example? Look no further than Moonie, a regular at Ren Faire. He’s just silly and funny, playing on and off people. Clowns are just funny.

Now, let’s look at Hamlet. One of William Shakespeare‘s greatest plays. A tragedy, in which everyone dies. Sad. Heavy. Somber drama. Think Lion King drama. But within the play lies…. madness. After all, Hamlet puts on an antic disposition. Right?

Combine the two … clowns and Hamlet and the result is… intriguing. That was my thinking when I received a press release about this show. I’d heard good things about the Four Clowns (FB) company, and unfortunately had to miss their fringe shows. So this press release piqued my interest, and when the opportunity arose to schedule it… I did. Building off a day when I was working at home, I scheduled a Friday evening show (opening night, in fact), and we worked our way through traffic to get to the Shakespeare Center near downtown for Four Clowns Presents Hamlet. I’m very glad we did, and that’s not just because we got to have a great dinner at The Park’s Finest beforehand.

Now, I’m decidedly not a Shakespeare expert. I studied it in high school, and saw the New York Shakespeare’s version of Two Gentlemen of Verona (in fact, it is still my favorite show). I’d also seen Moonlighting’s Atomic Shakespeare. But other than that, my exposure until recently was limited. In the last few years I’ve seen a bit more: Two Gentlemen of Verona at the Old Globe in San Diego; The Taming of the Shrew at Santa Clarita Shakespeare Festival and Theatricum Botanicum; As You Like It at Theatricum Botanicum. All of them comedies (everyone gets married). I’ve never seen the big dramas such as Hamlet or the Scottish Play.

As a result, the Four Clowns version of Hamlet was probably the first time I’ve explored Hamlet as Hamlet since 1975 and Mr. Smith’s English Class at Pali Hi. Guess what. It was the perfect introduction to the piece. From the ghost wandering through the audience before the opening to the final closing scenes, it was inspired lunacy. The story came through, but the dark and somber nature heightened through the iambic pentameter wasn’t there to clutter the understanding. In fact, by lightening the tone of the story, the clowns made the story accessible and understandable, despite the difficulties that the language of Shakespeare’s time can bring. Translation: Go see this — it makes Shakespeare accessible in a truly unique way.

Normally, at this point, I’d summarize the story of Hamlet. I’m not sure I need to do that — you may already know the story, or you may have seen The Lion King and know the basis of the story. You can always read the summary at Wikipedia, or read the actual play (it’s in the public domain). The elevator summary is that it is a story of revenge: Hamlet learns from the ghost that his father was murdered, and vows revenge on his uncle, King Claudius — who did the deed and married Hamlet’s mother, Gertrude. To do this, he pretends to be mad. Only his best friend Horatio knows the truth. Hamlet is even forced to hide the truth from his love, Ophelia, and her father Pelonius and brother Laertes. Added to this mix are two fools: Rosencrantz and Guildenstern.

This, as I’ve noted before, is a classic story. It is one of Shakespeare’s most produced plays, and has been reworked into countless cover stories (including the aforementioned Lion King). Who can find fault with a classic story of revenge and madness, murder and mayhem? But not everyone likes dark heavy dramas.

The Four Clowns Company took this story and lightened it up… by not changing a single plot point. What they did was turn the knob on the lunacy to a 12 when the max was 10, and dial back the somberness and actual violence. This wasn’t to the level of caricature, although Rosencrantz and Guildenstern did seem like a pair of drunken frat boys. They just changed the sanity to silly, and let the descent into lunacy proceed apace.

You get a sense of what will be happening from the pre-show, when the ghost (Joe DeSoto (FB)) starts wandering amongst the audience, making spooky hand motions (I really have no other way to describe it), and encouraging the audience to play along. This is all silent play, but very funny and very reminiscent of how Moonie plays with his audience. DeSoto seems to excel at this silent form of play. You see it again during his actual scenes as the ghost — you just don’t know where he is going to go with anything.

After the artistic director announcements, we meet an overenthusiastic Horatio (Connor Kelly-Eiding (FB)). This overenthusiasm continued throughout the show — Kelly-Eiding seemed almost like a puppy craving the acceptance and full of manic energy. It was just a joy to watch, and I found my eye drawn to her character whenever she was one the stage. Horatio then proceeds to introduce us to all the characters, after which they leave and Hamlet and Horatio encounter the Ghost.

Hamlet (Andrew Eiden (FB)) is initially portrayed as very somber — perhaps the one sane member of this troupe. The lunacy arises when Hamlet puts on the red nose… at which point the unpredictability arises. But his intensity when he delivers Hamlet’s classic monologue from the audience is remarkable, and his lunacy and actions before that only serve to heighten understanding of the classic words. He was just fun to watch.

The “bad guys” of this story are King Claudius (Corey Johnson (FB)) and Queen Gertrude (Charlotte Chanler (FB)). Chanler’s Gertrude kept making me think of Carol Kane, for some reason. This is a good thing: Kane is a wonderful comic actress, and that sense of comic timing and lunacy came across on Chanler’s Gertrude. Watching her face the first time she gets killed is delightful. Similarly, Johnson’s Claudius came across more as comic than evil.

The other major family in the story is Polonius (Scotty Farris (FB)), and his two children, Ophelia (Elizabeth Godley (FB)) and Laertes (Joe DeSoto (FB)). Farris captures the befuddled old man well, with some great comic overacting at point. Godley’s Ophelia is sweet — I particularly recall the scene where Hamlet eats the flower and watching her reaction. We don’t see that much of DeSoto as Laertes, but he does do a wonderful job in the swordfighting scene.

Rounding out the cast were Rosencrantz (Dave Honigman (FB)) and Guildenstern (Tyler Bremer/FB), who will later go on to star in their own play. These two men elevated the small courtier role into gag comedy, coming off as a pair of frat brothers on the edge of drunken playfulness. The torture scene with Hamlet and Horatio is great, and their introduction to the Queen is hilarious.

Four Clowns Presents Hamlet was adapted and directed by Turner Munch (FB). I spoke to Munch after the show, expressing my usual confusion of where the director ends and the actor begins. He indicated that this production was truly a collaborative effort with everyone contributing bits and ideas; his job was to bring the various pieces together and to make them into some sort of coherent whole. He did a great job.

On the technical side… The set and props by Alexandra Giron/FB was relatively simple: some chairs, some fabric. There were more props, but they all worked to establish the appropriate sense of place and story. Lighting Design was by Mcleod Benson/FB, and it worked well-enough. Nothing fancy, but adequately illuminating :-). The back projection scenese were also quite good. There was no credit for sound design; this was too bad, as there were some scenes where sound was used to great effect. Costumes, hair, and make-up were by Elena Flores/FB and worked well. The costumes defined their characters well (the ghost costume was particularly creative). Fight choreography was by Matt Franta (FB), and appeared quite realistic. Rounding out the technical credits were: Technical Director – Matt MacCready/FB; Production Manager – Julianna Stephanie Ojeda/FB; Graphic Designer – Zach Steel (FB); Trailer Editor – Adam Carpenter/FB; Stage Manager – Ashley Jo Navarro/FB; Producers – Jeremy Aluma (FB), Sara Waugh/FB, and David Anthony Anis (FB). Four Clows is under the artistic direction of Jeremy Aluma (FB).

Four Clowns Presents Hamlet continues at the Shakespeare Center of Los Angeles (FB) in a co-production with the Four Clowns (FB) until Saturday, October 10, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 PM. Tickets are available through the Four Clowns website. This show does not appear to be on Goldstar. It is well worth seeing; one of the funniest shows I’ve seen in a long time. We’re going to keep our eyes open for other Four Clowns productions — they’re great.

Ob. Disclaimer: I am not a trained theatre critic; I am, however, a regular theatre audience member. 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 am not compensated by anyone for doing these writeups in any way, shape, or form. I subscribe at three theatres: REP East (FB), The Colony Theatre (FB), and Cabrillo Music Theatre (FB). Through my theatre attendance I have made friends with cast, crew, and producers, but I do strive to not let those relationships color my writing (with one exception: when writing up children’s production, I focus on the positive — one gains nothing except bad karma by raking a child over the coals). I believe in telling you about the shows I see to help you form your opinion; it is up to you to determine the weight you give my writeups.

Upcoming Shows: This evening brings our second show of the weekend: “The Diviners” at REP East (FB). Next weekend sees us going down to La Mirada to see “First Date” at The La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts (FB). October was being held for the NoHo Fringe Festival (FB), but they haven’t put up the Fringe shows yet, so I’ve started booking weekends. The first weekend of October brings “The Baker’s Wife” at Actors Co-op (FB) in Hollywood. The second weekend of October brings “The Best of Enemies” at The Colony Theatre (FB). The third weekend of October takes us to Thousand Oaks for “Damn Yankees” at Cabrillo Music Theatre (FB). The fourth weekend of October brings “Uncle Vanya” at Antaeus Theatre Company (FB) in North Hollywood. Halloween weekend sees me at CSUN for Urinetown, and then both of us out in Simi Valley for “The Addams Family” at the Simi Cultural Arts Center (Simi Actors Rep Theatre (FB)). The following weekend sees us back in Simi for the Nottingham Festival (FB) on November 7. We then go out to Perris for “A Day Out with Thomas” at Orange Empire Railway Museum (FB) on November 11 (I can’t skip seeing my buddy Thomas and his friend Percy). The bookings for November conclude with Deathtrap at REP East (FB) on November 14; the rest of the month is currently open. December brings “Humble Boy” at The Colony Theatre (FB) the first weekend, followed by a mid-week stint as a producer, when we present The Nigerian Spam Scam Scam as the dinner entertainment at the Annual Computer Security Applications Conference (ACSAC). December also has dates held for “The Bridges of Madison County” at the Ahmanson Theatre (FB) and “If/Then” at the Pantages (FB). There are also a few other interesting productions I’m keeping my eyes open for. The first is the Fall show at The Blank Theatre (FB), “Something Truly Monstrous”, sounds wonderful — however, it runs through November 8, so squeezing it in would mean a double weekend. The show at the Kirk Douglas Theatre (FB) also sounds like an interesting exploration of clutter — but “The Object Lesson” only runs through October 4, and I’m not sure we can squeeze it in. 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.

The Art of the Possible

Posted onSunday, August 30, 2015Authorcahwyguy

userpic=theatre_tickets Just because we are on vacation doesn’t mean the theatre stops. When I’m on vacation, I typically try to see at least one local show. When I confirmed we were going to Maui, I started looking for what live shows would be here while we were here. The only one in our window was Evita (FB), a Maui Academy of the Performing Arts (MAPA) (FB) production at the Maui Arts and Cultural Center (MACC) (FB), which we saw last night. The BLUF (Bottom Line Up Front) assessment is that it was a very good production for community theatre, and quite enjoyable with only a few quibbles. As an aside, I’ll note that there appears to be a fair amount of theatre on Maui, including a regular fringe festival. Who knew?

We last saw Evita in a high-school performance at Van Nuys HS back in 2011. That was my wife’s first exposure to the show; I had seen the original when it was at the Shubert Theatre in Century City back when both existed back in 1980. For those not familiar with Evita, it is the second rock opera written by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice. It concentrates on the life of Argentine political leader Eva Perón, the second wife of Argentinian president Juan Perón. The story follows Evita’s early life, rise to power, charity work, and eventual death. It is a sung-through opera, with very little non-musical spoken dialogue. You can find a detailed synopsis of the story on the wikipedia page or on the Rice/Webber page for the show.

This production of Evita was put on by the Maui Academy of the Performing Arts (MAPA) (FB) , the third annual Broadway-style production from the 35 year old arts organization (they did Miss Saigon in 2014 and Les Miserables in 2013). As you can tell from the choice of shows, they like shows with large casts (presumably, to get large community involvement). This show was no exception, with 49 people in the ensemble, 10 additional tango dancers, 13 children in the children’s chorus.

The show was directed by David C. Johnston (FB), MAPA’s artistic director, with Choreography by André Morissette (FB) and staging by David C. Johnston (FB) and André Morissette (FB). They made some interesting choices in the casting, movement, and staging departments — not necessarily bad choices, but ones that drew my attention. The first was in the casting. If you think about Evita and the typical casting, what comes to mind? A pencil-thin Eva Perón, a relatively thin army-officer type for Juan Perón, and a tall and thin Tango dancer for Agustin Magaldi. Their choices — talented all — were a bit more on the mid-size scale. This didn’t hurt the performances one bit (and I’m sure most of the audience didn’t notice), but it did give a different look to the show. You can see what I mean in the photos accompanying the cast credits below. I actually enjoyed the casting, and it may have been more reflective of the Argentinian society of the time (size norms have changed over time, and what might be the image in my mind might reflect more the norms of the 1980s when this show came out, vs. the Latin American norms of 1930-1940 Argentina).

The second and third issues were more movement based. The director tended to have his actors use their arms quite a bit during songs (you likely know what a mean — the tendancy to sweep one’s arms in front of oneself as one sings to punctuate everything). This got to the point where it was a little visually distracting — again, it didn’t detract from the overall performance but was a directorial choice that was bothersome. The third issue was the overall movement of the ensemble, which was a bit more simplistic than I’m used to seeing on shows such as this in Los Angeles. My guess is that this was a combination of the extremely large ensemble and the fact that the ensemble was not built from professional dancers and gypsies, but from community members. Given that, the choreography was very good; it was just not all it could have been given what I’m used to seeing. It was great for the community theatre level, and — again — I’m sure most of the audience did not notice. I’m just used to community theatre at the level that challenges the professionals (look at the work of Cabrillo Music Theatre (FB)).

In the overall scheme of things, however, those are minor quibbles. The basic performance and staging went well, with a set that consisted primarily of moving stairways and balconies, a few drop columns, and some basic props. With this simplicity, there was a strong need for the acting to establish not only story but place and time — and it did that well. The show was overall enjoyable with some very good performances. Let’s now look at those performances.

In the lead position as Eva Perón was Hawai’i’s top selling vocalist of all times (and a product of the early days of MAPA), Amy Hānaili’i Gilliom (FB). She had the perfect vocals for the role and captured the emotional performance quite well. The staging had a few odd costume changes on stage for Ms. Gilliom that were much more noticeable from the balcony (where we were sitting), but she looked beautiful in the costumes and gave a great performance. I’ll note that MAPA chose the staging that incorporated the song “You Must Love Me” from the movie, and Gilliom handled that song beautifully.

Eva’s antagonist, Che, is never mentioned by name during the show, but serves as a sardonic off-side commentator on the proceedings to provide the necessary cynical look on the situation. If you’re familiar with the concept album, you always see him as pushing his insecticide (a plot element that disappeared in the stage transition, leaving a number of musical moments where the words have been removed from the remaining music. Che was performed by Kepa Cabanilla-Aricayos/FB. He brought a much higher voice to the character (as if Patinkin wasn’t high), but worked well. The only oddity was that in a number of scenes he was part of the crowd seemingly supporting Perón; I would have expected him to be more off on the side observing instead. I’m guessing this was a directorial choice, and not a major problem. In general, I expected a strong sardonic and angry nature from the performance — this was particularly noticeable in “Goodnight and Thank You”.

Juan Perón was portrayed by Francis Tau’a/FB. Tau’a had a lovely voice for Perón and brought an appropriate stage presence, including a very touching performance in the second act.

The remaining two named characters were Danielle Dalaunay (FB) as Perón’s mistress, and Joey Schumacher/FB as Agustin Magaldi. Dalaunay (hint: don’t do a Google search on the name; unfortunately an adult industry actress also chose that name) really only has one scene and one song, but she nailed it and gave a lovely and touching rendition of “Where Am I Going To?”. Schumacher’s gave a wonderful vocal performance as Magaldi, but didn’t have the look of a tango singer that would have the teenage girls swooning.

Rounding out the performances were the large ensemble components. The ensemble consisted of (takes deep breath): Jay Agasid/FB, Ashlyn-Jade Aniban (FB), Heather Bartlemus/FB, Craig Bode/FB, Shane Borge/FB, Alfred Cantorna/FB, Emily Cantorna/FB, Dr. Virgie Cantorna/FB, Alice Carter/FB, Maile Castro/FB, Jordyn Clarke/FB, Haylie Daunhauer/FB, Haley DeForest/FB, Gina Duncan/FB, Christie Ellison/FB, Molli Fleming/FB, Marion Haller/FB, Halia Haynes/FB, Casey Hearl/FB, Tasiana Igondjo/FB, Aeris Joseph/FB, Brock Kahoohanohano-Abrose/FB, Julie Kawamura/FB, Kevin Lawrence/FB, Carlyn Leal/FB, Nomi Macadangdang/FB, Betty Miller/FB, Orion Milligan/FB, Danann Mitchell/FB, Kaimana Neil/FB, Tully O’Reilly/FB, Jim Oxborrow/FB, Sara Patton/FB, David Pisoni/FB, Isaac Rauch/FB, David Rooks/FB, Karli Rose/FB, Kela Rothstein/FB, Molly Schad, Cole Shafer/FB, Emma Smith/FB, Scott Smith/FB, Theresa Supera/FB, Joylene Nina Tabon/FB, Marc Toliver/FB, Preston Watanabe/FB, Eliza Wright/FB, and Nolan Yee. The Tango Dancers were Vicky Ayers/FB, Rose Baiot/FB, Marcia Barnett-Lopez, Peter Black/FB, Sugandha Ferro Black/FB, Hawkeye Lannis, Doug Miller/FB, Nadama/FB, Rita Okeane/FB, and Tom Weierhauser/FB. The Children’s Chorus was Avery Ardoin, Madeline Austin, Ashton Chargualaf, Nealon Guzman, Kaylee Herman, Sofia Kafami/FB, Randi Lonzaga, Haley Mahoe, Luna Graham Milligan, Jena Mukai, Elly Smith/FB, Erin Smith/FB, Dutch Tanaka Akana, and Jillian Vince-Cruz.

Music was under the direction of Gary Shin-Leavitt (FB), who conducted the 19 piece on-stage band (something you don’t often see). The band consisted of: Kim Vitterli (FB) (Keyb0ard), Beth Fobbe-Wills/FB (Keyboard), Reid Ishikawa/FB (Keyboard), Judy Waters (1st Violin), Sue Westcott/FB (1st Violin), Ana Kalina (2nd Violin), Darius Soo Hoo (FB) (2nd Violin), Teresa Skinner (FB) (Viola), Patrice Weed-Shearer (FB) (Viola), Cheryl Lindley/FB (Cello), Michelle Ancheta (Cello), Lauralei Singsank (FB) (Flute), Beth Sederstrom (Clarinet/Sax), Cody Sarmiento (FB) (Trumpet), Henry Arroyo (Trombone), Stephen Rodrigues (Electric Bass), Wenlu Duffy (FB) (Guitar), Perry Gragas/FB (Percussion), and Richard Vetterli/FB (Drums).

Turning to the technical side. The set design by Dan Hays/FB was relative simple: two movable staircases, a movable balcony, and a static balcony. Simple, but effective, as they were constantly being reconfigured. These were supported by the props by Jeff Robidoux and Barbara Sedano (FB), which worked reasonably well. My only quibble was with the Argentinian flag, which was often portrayed without the sunburst. Now, it turns out that the sunburst-less version of the flag is the ornamental flag and thus a valid version. Still, I’m not sure if that was the right flag to use. The sound design by Joseph “Joe” Arias was reasonable, but could stand for a little adjusting (some mics were problematic, and some needed their volume increased). The lighting design by Mark Astrella served to create the mood appropriately. The costumes by Vanessa Cerrito (FB) (Kenneth Peter Lee for Eva Peron) seemed appropriately period, as did the hair, wig, and make-up design by Marc Tolliver/FB and Karli Rose/FB. André Morissette (FB) was the costume consultant. Lina Krueger/FB was the stage manager, assisted by Tina Kailiponi/FB. Evita was produced by the Maui Academy of the Performing Arts (MAPA) (FB).

The last performance of Evita at the Maui Arts and Cultural Center (MACC) (FB) is a few hours away, at 2:00 PM HST. Tickets are available through the MACC website, but at this point I’d call the box office. We forewarned: Hurricane Ignacio, as the time I’m writing this, is a Category 4 Hurricane about 400 mi E of the island of Hawaii, with a storm track that has it running to the north and west of the islands. We’re getting wind and some rain here on the north western side of Maui; MACC is in Kahului, on the eastern side of the island (which will have more storms and winds). The show is worth seeing, but stay safe.

Upcoming Shows: September starts with Tom Paxton’s last concert at McCabes (FB) on September 12, followed by “The Diviners” at REP East (FB) and “First Date” at The La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts (FB). October will bring another Fringe Festival: the NoHo Fringe Festival (FB). They haven’t put up the Fringe shows yet, so I may start booking weekends. October also has the following as ticketed or hold-the-dates: CSUN’s Urinetown (end of October – 10/30 or 11/1); “The Best of Enemies” at The Colony Theatre (FB) (Ticketed for Sat 10/10); and “Damn Yankees” at Cabrillo Music Theatre (FB) (Ticketed for Sat 10/17). November will bring the Nottingham Festival (FB) on November 7; “A Day Out with Thomas” at Orange Empire Railway Museum (FB) on November 11; and Deathtrap at REP East (FB) on November 14. The rest of the month is currently open. 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.

Guns Aren’t Lawful .. Nooses Give … Gas Smells Awful …

Posted onSaturday, June 27, 2015Saturday, June 27, 2015Authorcahwyguy

userpic=fringe By now, you’ve probably figured out I’ve tried to participate in the 2015 Hollywood Fringe Festival (FB) as fully as I could, modulo other commitments and general unavailability on weeknights. So, when it came to the last night I could participate in the festival (I have another commitment on closing night), I looked through the Fringe catalog. Most of the shows I wanted to see were not running that night, but there was a show about Dorothy Parker that timed right. Parker was a well-known wit and commentator, and a presentation of some of her stories might be interesting. If you’re unfamiliar with Parker, you might recognize her poem I quoted in the title:

Razors pain you;
Rivers are damp;
Acids stain you;
And drugs cause cramp.
Guns aren’t lawful;
Nooses give;
Gas smells awful;
You might as well live.

Hence, this afternoon saw us at our last Fringe show, Might As Well Live: Stories By Dorothy Parker (FB) at the Acme Theatre at the Complex Theatres (FB).

Might As Well Live presented four vignettes from short stories by Parker: “The Lovely Leave, 1942”; “You Were Perfectly Fine, 1968”, “New York to Detroit, 1997”, and “The Game, Today”. Although I found them entertaining, they were not super engrossing or something that sparked the “Wow” factor. Let me describe the four stories, and then try to figure out why they didn’t hit the nerve they should have:

“The Lovely Leave, 1942″. This vignette told the story of Mimi Parker (Bailey Wilson/FB) and Steve Parker (Paul Stanko (FB)). They were evidently someone recently married and then separated by the war (presumably WWI from the uniform, but seemingly WWII from the mention of airfields). Steve called and thought he had a 24 hour pass before going off to the war. Mimi prepped for this, but when he arrived he only had one hour, and they spent most of that hour fighting.
“You Were Perfectly Fine, 1968″. This vignette tells the story of Peter (Bret VendenBos (FB)) and Lauren (Aly Fainbarg (FB)). Peter wakes up on Lauren’s couch after a particularly bad drinking bender, and learns the story of how he behaved during that bender.
“New York to Detroit, 1997″. This vignette tells the story of Jean (Gabrielle Giraud (FB)) and Jack (Clinton Childress). Jean is in New York, where she’s attempting to have a telephone call with her husband or boyfriend Jack, who is in a hotel room in Detroit. She’s obviously trying to tell him something, but he can’t here her well and appears more self-centered on himself than willing to try. As the vignette ends, we see she’s sitting there with the results of a home pregnancy test, and he’s not alone in the hotel room, The Other Woman (Paget Kagy (FB)) is with him.
“The Game, Today”. This vignette was based on a story in the Saturday Evening Post, and appears to have been derived from a Charades game that Parker and her cohorts played at the Algonquin Round Table. In this story, there are a number of couples [Thelma (Paget Kagy (FB)) and Sherm (Paul Stanko (FB)) Chrystie ; Ryan (Bret VendenBos (FB)) and Cassie (Aly Fainbarg (FB)) McDermott; and Jim (Clinton Childress) and Dianne (Gabrielle Giraud (FB)) Bain] celebrating the wedding of Emmy Ford (Bailey Wilson/FB) to Bob Lineham (Kaylon Hunt (FB)). This is Bob’s second marriage; his first wife evidently died by drowning in a lake. They decide to play the game and partner up, but every clue seems to keep bringing up the drowning. This gets Bob more and more upset, until he ends up telling everyone to go jump in a lake. Blackout.

Thinking back over these, I think the reason they didn’t grab is that they were too short. Each of the stories was crying out for more — for a longer treatment, a deeper exploration of the characters, for something deeper than the superficial. Treating the stories as lightly as they were treated did not create the investment in the characters — you didn’t know who they were, and you didn’t really care what happened to them. They were meaningless brief scenes, when they could have been much more.

Further, even if they were to keep the scenes short, they didn’t select the stories to provide some through theme or make some through point from the overall collection. The stories seemed random, unconnected, and it wasn’t clear what point they were trying to make about Dorothy Parker other than, well, she wrote short stories.

Unless you are a Parker fan (and they are out there — after all, this was funded by a Kickstarter with 56 backers), I think this production needs some dramatalurgical work (if that’s a word). Get us more invested in these stories, even if you need to expand them a little. Connect the dots between the stories to make a point about Parker. Were these reflective of some overall attitude towards life? Towards men? Towards women? Towards society at large? What was she trying to say between the lines? Bring out those points, and this work would improve quite a bit.

Independent of the story, the performances where quiet good. I enjoyed Bailey Wilson in both of her roles — both as the overly anxious wife in “Lovely Leave”, as well as the bride-to-be who was clueless about her husband’s past in “The Game”. I also enjoyed Paget Kagy for her performance in “The Game”, as the silent instigator. It really raised the question — never explored — about why she hated Bob Lineham so much and wanted to cause him pain. Bret VandenBos’ Peter in “You Were Perfectly Fine” was also quite good. Lastly, Gabrielle Giraud was great as Jean, the woman trying to communicate with her husband, in “New York to Detroit”.

The program handed out provides no technical credits (tsk, tsk — they make you look good on stage). I’ll note that Steve Parker’s uniform was distracting — yes, it was correct army, but the insignia was a double chevron, which would have been a corporal — yet he was referred to as a Lt. (which would have been a single bar). I’m picky on this, primarily because I work with the Air Force every day. Otherwise, the costuming was reasonable, and the lighting established the mood without distraction. No credit was given for stage management. Might As Well Live was adapted for the Stage and Directed by Adam Scott Weissman (FB). There were numerous executive producers, associate producers, and special thanks, which referred to Kickstarter bonuses. In a real production sense, Might as Well Live was co-produced by Adam Scott Weissman (FB) and Bailey Wilson/FB.

This was the last performance of Might As Well Live: Stories By Dorothy Parker (FB). There is no mention yet of an extension.

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 am not compensated by anyone for doing these writeups in any way, shape, or form. I subscribe at three theatres: REP East (FB), The Colony Theatre (FB), and Cabrillo Music Theatre (FB). Through my theatre attendance I have made friends with cast, crew, and producers, but I do strive to not let those relationships color my writing (with one exception: when writing up children’s production, I focus on the positive — one gains nothing except bad karma by raking a child over the coals). I believe in telling you about the shows I see to help you form your opinion; it is up to you to determine the weight you give my writeups.

Upcoming Shows: Tomorrow, it is time for something different: time to see teams of 130 young adults, ages 16-21, broken into color guard (flags, props), brass, and percussion, performing in the Riverside heat in 15 minutes shows, being judged on musical quality, precision, general effect, and individual captions. That’s right, we’ll be at the Western Corps Connection (if you don’t know what Drum Corps competitions are, read this) in Riverside. July is a month of double-headers, begining with “Murder for Two” at the Geffen Playhouse (FB) on July 3rd, and “Matilda” at the Ahmanson Theatre (FB) on July 4th. The next weekend is another double: On Friday night, July 10th, we’re seeing Colin Mitchell‘s show Madness, Murder Mayhem: Three Classic Grand Guignol Plays Reimagined at Zombie Joes Underground Theatre (FB); Saturday July 11th brings “Jesus Christ Superstar” at REP East (FB). The following weekend is another double header: “The History Boys” at the Stella Adler Theatre (FB) on Saturday (Goldstar), and “Green Grow The Lilacs” at Theatricum Botanicum (FB) on Sunday. The last weekend of July brings our last double: “Lombardi” at the Lonny Chapman Group Rep (FB) on July 25th, with the annual Operaworks show the next day. August start calming down, with “As You Like It” at Theatricum Botanicum (FB) the first weekend of August, our summer Mus-ique show the second weekend of August, and “The Fabulous Lipitones” at The Colony Theatre (FB) the third weekend of August. After that we’ll need a vacation … but then again we might squeeze in Evita at the Maui Cultural Center (FB) the last weekend of August. September right now is mostly open, with the only ticketed show being “The Diviners” at REP East (FB) and a hold-the-date for “First Date” at The La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts (FB). October will bring another Fringe Festival: the NoHo Fringe Festival (FB). October also has the following as ticketed or hold-the-dates: Kelrik Production (FB)’s Urinetown at the Monroe Forum Theatre (Hold for Sat 10/3); “Mrs. A. Lincoln” at The Colony Theatre (FB) (Ticketed for Sat 10/10); and “Damn Yankees” at Cabrillo Music Theatre (FB) (Ticketed for Sat 10/17). 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.

Beauty is in the Eye of…

Posted onFriday, June 26, 2015Friday, June 26, 2015Authorcahwyguy

userpic=fringe If you know me at all, you know my taste in watching people — men or women — is simple: I want them to be real. I enjoy seeing the imperfections, the things that make us unique and different. So, not surprisingly, I’ve been a big supporter of the efforts of promulgating a positive body image for women (and also for men, although the pressure there is perhaps different). For example, I supported the Kickstarter for The Nu Project (FB) [warning: link target is NSFW], a project with the goal of help women appreciate their body, whatever their shape, look, size, age, etc. I constantly read articles noting body image activities, such as the recent Dove campaign or the Buzzfeed editors who took bathing suit photos in Victoria Secret suits (for the record, I thought they look great). My wife has a similar attitude — she’s been large since I’ve known her, although she’s now much less large.

Given this, it should be no surprise that when I read to her some of the 2015 Hollywood Fringe Festival (FB) shows, we both agreed that Medium Size Me sounded interesting. Just look at the description:

“In Hollywood, it’s who you are on the outside that counts! One thing you can always count on in Hollywood is that there’s never one thing you can count on in Hollywood. If an actress wants a big role, she’d better be prepared to get small. Or so you’d think. Now you can experience the lunacy of La-La Land through the eyes of a young “chubby” actress whose attempt to slim down for tinsel town brought her the one thing she never expected: punishment for not being chubby enough. Sometimes you quite literally can’t win for losing.”

However, although we wanted to see it, I just couldn’t fit it into any weekend. That wasn’t the end of the story. My wife said she really wanted to see the show. Given that I normally pick the shows, when my wife specifically wants to see something — I find a way to make it happen. Thus, on a Thursday night we drove into Hollywood to see Amy Halloran (FB) and Medium Size Me.

The presentation of this show is very simple: A single person monologue, punctuated by images and the occasional video. What the show says about Hollywood and body image, however, is significant.

Amy Halloran had a love of acting, and she didn’t believe that being a chubby girl (who, in reality, wasn’t that chubby) should stop her. It actually didn’t — she acquired an agent easily and started booking lots of parts. The problem was: the type of parts. The fat girlfriend. The fat girl who gets raped. The fat girl who gets raped. The fat girl who gets raped. The fat girlfriend. Often, these parts were in comedies where the fact that she was fat was the target of all the jokes. Hollywood had loads of parts for “the fat girl”. The problem is that the parts often telegraph the body shaming the Hollywood loves to do. The roles that Hollywood gives to the fat girls (less so to the fat guys) just emphasize that to be successful, to be loved, to find happiness, you need to fit Hollywood’s image of beautiful.

She also got a Disney Channel movie where she was confronted with a demonstration of how the industry saw her size. She was also lucky at one point to get a series where she was able to project a positive body image. First slated for the fall, it was pushed to the mid-season… and then was cancelled without even being shown.

After a number of years of these parts, she decided to change her life. She lost 50 pounds, changed how she lived (and she’s been that size for a number of years — my wife guessed around a size 8). Guess what happened.

The jobs dried up. Her agents kept sending her out on jobs for “chubby” or “fat”, but she was too thin to get the jobs. Of course, her agents didn’t send her out for the normal size roles, nor did Hollywood see her as a normal size. In other words, although she had a realistic shape, she didn’t fit Hollywood’s image of “normal”. That’s where she is today. Looking for work. Practicing her craft at Fringe festivals :-).

My wife and I both loved this show, and would recommend it to anyone dealing with body issues (alas, last night was the last performance). It did what theatre is supposed to do: provoke a discussion and stimulate thoughts.

First and foremost, it demonstrated that although Hollywood professes to be pushing for realistic shapes, that push is coming from just a few actors. In reality, the studios are still run by primarily white men who want a particular shape for women, and they will mold society to get it (no matter how it hurts). Yes, we have the Melissa McCarthy‘s of the world — but look at how her image is really projected. Although the fat jokes may be less, how much of her humor intentionally comes from the fact that she is a very large woman doing those stunts? Even with Mike and Molly, how much of the humor is fat based? Read the comment boards whenever Rosie O’Donnell‘s name comes up. Look at what just happened with the Fat Shamers Subreddit. Now think what is fueling that hatred of the larger woman? The few efforts we have seen are attempting to swim upstream. The problem will not be solved until the media regularly accepts women and men no matter what their shape or size, no matter what their imperfections. It also makes me realize how many men are (to put it bluntly) pigs, sullying the name of my gender.

Second, it made me realize what I love live theatre and live performance. As much as the Hollywood Machine emphasizes an unrealistic shape, live theatre (at least to me) seems more realistic. I won’t go as far as to say accepting, but many live productions — especially those in intimate theatre — cast for the talent first and the shape second. Two wonderful examples are recent productions at Repertory East: one of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee that cast Rona as a large woman, and the second being their production of 9 to 5 that cast Judy as a large women. Two great performances (from the same actress — Sarah Krieg (FB)) where size made no difference. This is the power of live theatre: it can demonstrate that beauty comes from how you behave, how you perceive your character. [Need another example? Look at the recent production of Violet]. It shows the power of “act as if”.

In the end we had a simple show — a sharing of an experience with love, acceptance, and humor. Sharing your story can provide profound insights.

Medium Size Me (FB) was written and performed by Amy Halloran (FB), directed by Julie Brister (FB). The other technical credits were not provided.

Last night’s performance at the Ruby Theatre in the Complex Theatres (FB) was the last performance of Medium Size Me. There is always the possibility it will be extended as some of the Best of Fringe shows that extend into July.

Upcoming Shows: Our Fringe craziness ends with Might As Well Live: Stories By Dorothy Parker (HFF) at the Complex Theatres (FB) on Saturday. Although there are Fringe shows on Sunday, we won’t be able to see them because we’ll be at the Western Corps Connection (if you don’t know what Drum Corps competitions are, read this) in Riverside on Sunday. July is a month of double-headers, begining with “Murder for Two” at the Geffen Playhouse (FB) on July 3rd, and “Matilda” at the Ahmanson Theatre (FB) on July 4th. The next weekend is another double: On Friday night, July 10th, we’re seeing Colin Mitchell‘s show Madness, Murder Mayhem: Three Classic Grand Guignol Plays Reimagined at Zombie Joes Underground Theatre (FB); Saturday July 11th brings “Jesus Christ Superstar” at REP East (FB). The following weekend is another double header: “The History Boys” at the Stella Adler Theatre (FB) on Saturday (Goldstar), and “Green Grow The Lilacs” at Theatricum Botanicum (FB) on Sunday. The last weekend of July brings our last double: “Lombardi” at the Lonny Chapman Group Rep (FB) on July 25th, with the annual Operaworks show the next day. August start calming down, with “As You Like It” at Theatricum Botanicum (FB) the first weekend of August, our summer Mus-ique show the second weekend of August, and “The Fabulous Lipitones” at The Colony Theatre (FB) the third weekend of August. After that we’ll need a vacation … but then again we might squeeze in Evita at the Maui Cultural Center (FB) the last weekend of August. September right now is mostly open, with the only ticketed show being “The Diviners” at REP East (FB) and a hold-the-date for “First Date” at The La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts (FB). October will bring another Fringe Festival: the NoHo Fringe Festival (FB). October also has the following as ticketed or hold-the-dates: Kelrik Production (FB)’s Urinetown at the Monroe Forum Theatre (Hold for Sat 10/3); “Mrs. A. Lincoln” at The Colony Theatre (FB) (Ticketed for Sat 10/10); and “Damn Yankees” at Cabrillo Music Theatre (FB) (Ticketed for Sat 10/17). 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.

A Wackadoo That Would Shock Bob McAllister

Posted onMonday, June 22, 2015Authorcahwyguy

userpic=fringe OK, those of you who don’t know who Bob McAllister is or what Wonderama was, I’ll wait while you look it up.

OK, let’s go. As you probably know if you are friends with me on Facebook, I’m a big fan of the children’s programming that used to exist on TV. I’m talking the local stuff — before syndication: Sheriff John, Engineer Bill, Hobo Kelley, Tom Hatten. There were also the better known network shows: the aforementioned Wonderama, Captain Kangeroo, Howdy Doody, and such. These shows declined through the 1970s and 1980s; I doubt that many folks younger than 40 remember watching them live at all. But for those of us who did — they bring back memories.

So, when I was reading the 2015 Hollywood Fringe Festival (FB) show list and saw a show with the following description, I was intrigued:

The original Uncle Impossible was an Imaginary Friend & beloved Children’s Show Host paving the way for those like Captain Kangaroo & The Muppet Show. Later in his life, he became a recluse & a shut-in up until his passing. Upon his passing he left a large inharetance to his only living heir; his estranged and eccentric nephew Rex The Impossible. In his Uncle’s will, it states that Rex would inherit the large fortune only if he continues his beloved uncle’s show “Uncle Impossible’s Funtime Variety & Ice Cream Social”. Rex agreed to the terms, but decides to do it HIS way, making it an Adult Version of a Saturday Morning Kid’s Show.

With the help from his Oddly Sweet Sidekick; Princess Bebop A’Lula, Rex The Impossible brings the new “Uncle Impossible’s Funtime Variety & Ice Cream Social” on stage by blending the Whimsy of Saturday Morning Kids Shows & Cartoons that we all know & love with Zany Adult themed Variety Acts creating an off the wall experience…….possibly with Ice Cream.

An adult version of children’s shows. What an intriguing idea? Think of the possibilities? Think of what Hobo Kelley might see in her magic mirror? Think of the toys her toy machine might produce? And the cartoons they might show? The characters they might invent (in the spirit of the aforementioned Bob McAllister)?

Naturally, I went out and got tickets to Uncle Impossible’s Funtime Variety & Ice Cream Social (HFF) at the Complex Theatres (FB). It was our second show on Sunday. Sad to say, I think the potential of the idea didn’t live up to its execution. But at least we got ice cream.

Uncle Impossible’s show, run by his nephew Rex Impossible (FB)* , assisted by Princess Bebop A’lua was strictly a low-budget affair — and they knew it. In that, it had the appropriate air of a local TV show where things could (and often did) go wrong. But the show was less about the hosts, and more about the variety acts they booked to fill the time. In many ways, they could make (or in our case, break) the show. Let’s look at the various pieces in our production (every performance has different acts):

Openings, Closings, and Interstitials. These were run by the aforemented Rex and Princess A’Lula. They were moderately funny, and the Princess was really fun to watch. The two had a strong working chemistry, and had they expanded their portion of the show they could have been great — that is, moving on to playing characters, pretending to be the acts, and so forth.
Boylesque by Captain Jack Heartless. Captain Jack Heartless (FB) is a male burlesque (read: stripper) entertainer. In this case, he was in the form of Woody from Toy Story. When the adults left the room, guess what Woody did. That’s right. At least we didn’t see wood. I don’t think I’ll ever look at Toy Story the same again (but then I never did after reading The Pixar Theory)
30 Second Songs by Brady Spindel. Brady Spindel (FB) is a local musician who plays short songs (such as “I wore a red shirt in the hood”) and then ends with a sing along. Being a folk music person — and one familiar with short humerous songs (as well as satirical bluegrass), I found him very amateurish. He needs to take a lesson from the short songs of Tom Paxton and the humor of the Austin Lounge Lizards. Now, if the singalong could have been “When I’m Cleaning Windows“….
Clown Comedy by Johnathan Cripple. Cripple played a professor who interrupted the show, sat in the audience, read a paper, and primarily provided someone for Rex Impossible to have a back and forth with. It was more annoying than particularly funny.
Burlesque by Ra Ra Sis Bomba. In this skit, the Princess got a pet — Chilly Willy, the penguin. When the music changed, Chilly Willy (who was really the burlesque artist Ra Ra Sis Bomba (FB)), stripped down to her frilly undies, pasties, and wings. She was cute to watch, but … OK, her butt was cute to but… while fun to watch, it just didn’t seem to gel right.
Hypnosis by Cathy Kay: Mystic-A-Muse. In this Mister Rogers type number, Cathy Kay does a hypnosis act on someone in the audience. No implanted suggestions, just a fall relaxed, wake up, think you see things in a book. I didn’t find it that impressive, although it was fun to watch.

At least the ice cream was good. Well, OK for commercial ice cream.

In short, the show appeared to be low budget in intent and it knew it, and it went for it. In that, it was good, plus there was ice cream. Perhaps that was the intent. Perhaps it was the burlesque style. I know that burlesque and the clown arts are their own distinct community, and perhaps that style didn’t mesh with the theatrical approach I’m used to. This, after all, is Fringe, which includes everything under the sun.

But I can only judge based on my impressions and my tastes. The problem, I’ll note, wasn’t prudishness. I can handle a good adult show. It was more that I was disappointed because it could just have been so much more. Looking at the pages for many of the acts, I got the sense that there was real talent there, but that talent didn’t come across as presented. That was a loss. Further, the notion of an adult children’s show — especially one that wasn’t blatant about it but used double entendre to reach the adult audience could have been great. Even the strippers could have worked — had the host stayed and reacted to the stripper. It is the reactions that make the funny, not the stripping. Think about Pee Wee Herman. What makes the show work is that Pee Wee is always that child at heart. Even if Rex Impossible was going for the adult humor of Pee Wee Herman, the Princess could have been representing the shocked child. But as it was, it just quite didn’t hit the mark for me. This is too bad, because the concept — executed correctly — could have been brilliant. I will give them points for effort.

I’ll note that one factor — which Rex can’t control, might be age. Not the lower bound of the audience age, but the upper. I’m 55. I was a child in the era of the kid’s TV shows. I remember Sheriff John; I watched Wonderama. I also watched Pee Wee Herman. There were other, younger folks in the audience that found this uproariously funny — and I won’t fault them for that. Humor is intensely personal. To use a baseball metaphor: This was a base hit or a double; it wasn’t a home run. I was hoping for the excitement of the home run, but I’m happy that it wasn’t an error.

On the technical side: according to Rex The Impossible, Brad Bentz was the Sound Tech & Stage Manager. Rex the Impossible was the Creator, Director & Producer of the show. He indicated that although the names are strange, that’s what they go by in the Burlesque, Variety, Cabaret and Circus Performance world.

There is one more performance of Uncle Impossible on Thursday, June 25 at 11:15 PM. Tickets are available through the Fringe website. If this is your style — especially if you like burlesque — go for it. It was enjoyable for me, but could have been so much more.

Upcoming Shows: The Fringe craziness ends with Medium Size Me, (HFF) at the Complex Theatres (FB) on Thursday 6/25 and Might As Well Live: Stories By Dorothy Parker (HFF) at the Complex Theatres (FB) on Saturday. June ends with our annual drum corps show in Riverside on Sunday. July begins with “Murder for Two” at the Geffen Playhouse (FB) on July 3rd, and “Matilda” at the Ahmanson Theatre (FB) on July 4th. July 11th brings “Jesus Christ Superstar” at REP East (FB). The following weekend brings “The History Boys” at the Stella Adler Theatre (FB) on Saturday (Goldstar), and “Green Grow The Lilacs” at Theatricum Botanicum (FB) on Sunday. July 25th brings “Lombardi” at the Lonny Chapman Group Rep (FB), with the annual Operaworks show the next day. August starts with “As You Like It” at Theatricum Botanicum (FB), and is followed by the summer Mus-ique show, and “The Fabulous Lipitones” at The Colony Theatre (FB). After that we’ll need a vacation! September right now is mostly open, with the only ticketed show being “The Diviners” at REP East (FB) and a hold-the-date for “First Date” at The La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts (FB). October will bring another Fringe Festival: the NoHo Fringe Festival (FB). October also has the following as ticketed or hold-the-dates: Kelrik Production (FB)’s Urinetown at the Monroe Forum Theatre (Hold for Sat 10/3); “Mrs. A. Lincoln” at The Colony Theatre (FB) (Ticketed for Sat 10/10); and “Damn Yankees” at Cabrillo Music Theatre (FB) (Ticketed for Sat 10/17). 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.

Silly Wombat, Trix Are For …

Posted onSunday, June 14, 2015Sunday, June 14, 2015Authorcahwyguy

userpic=fringe Do you remember the days when Superheros were clearly good, not these brooding tortured psychological studies we see on the screen today? The days when good meant clear ethics and clear morals, that hint of sparkle from the teeth? The days when our heroes may not have been the brightest bulbs in the bunch, but they were good?

Do you remember the days when our Supervillains were truly cartoonish, not these brooding tortured psychological studies we see on the screen today (hmmm, there’s not much difference today between good and bad)? The days when being bad meant stealing candy from children and killing off significant plot points in bloodless ways, with no ethics or morals? The days when our villains were clearly not the brightest bulbs in the bunch?

Do you remember the days when live was accompanied by a voice-over track setting the scene, when our police officers were more interested in going after cartoon threats than the real source of crime — actual criminals committing common crimes (assault, murder, mayhem, theft).

Yes, I’m talking about the days of innocence. The days of — Batman on television, when being a superhero was to be campy and funny and unconsciously self-aware. I certainly remember those days, watching Batman on television. Chrisi Talyn Saje (FB) also remembers those days, and has captured their style and tone perfectly in her 2015 Hollywood Fringe Festival (FB) comedy, Wombat Man: The Cereal Murders (Blog, FB), which we saw last night at Underground Theatre (FB). [This is a product of the Female Playwrights Initiative]

Wombat Man tells the story of (who else) Wombat Man, a blissfully good and completely clueless superhero in Slotham City. He is so unaware that he keeps leaving his cellphone for his roommate, Gladys to find, and prefers to be contacted by pigeon than his phone. He has barely 20 twitter followers, yet the city depends on him. When Trix the Rabbit steals all the marshmallow bits from Lucky Charms cereal (together with kidnapping Lucky the Leprechaun so that no more can be made), Commissioner Borden and Police Chief Leibowitz (who oddly has an Irish accent) summon Wombat Man into action. The subsequent adventure, involving the plot by Trix, his evil henchmen Milk and Spoon, and his girlfriend Lucy first involves capturing Tony the Tiger. When Tony is inadvertently killed, they go next after Snap, Crackle, and Pop. Trix’s goal: Finally get a taste of his namesake cereal (which he seems to never be able to get, because, all together now, “Trix are for kids”.

I think, from the names and the descriptions, you get a real sense of the show. It is blatantly silly, hilariously funny, and a complete mindless diversion (which we all need occasionally). It is truly helped along if you understand the parameters of the good era of superheroes — the 1960s — when Superman, Batman, and WonderWoman were all white and clean cut, villians were truly cartoonish, and every fight was accompanied by word balloons.

In addition to a very funny and silly story, Chrisi Talyn Saje (FB) directed her team to capture the mood and style very well. In the lead positions were Brian Cunningham (FB) as Wombat Man and Jan-David Sohtar (FB) as Trix the Rabbit. Cunningham’s Wombat Man was the perfection of clueless good in a furry coat and purple cape; fun to watch just for the silliness. He had a certain charm that made his character work well. Sohtar’s Trix was an equally cartoonish rabbit, with the typical high nasally voice and outlandish plot ideas. He also captured the stereotypical performance well.

Most of the other roles were similarly stereotypical to the their appropriate tropes. On the side of good were Steve Jun (FB) (Sidekick), Chrisanne Eastwood (FB) (Gladys, the housekeeper), Jim McCaffree (FB) (Police Chief Leibowitz, Tony the Tiger, Jimmy), John David Wallis (FB) (Commissioner Borden, Lucky, Arena Stage Manager). Jun’s Sidekick, who shows up in the middle of the show after he loses his ride (Tony the Tiger) brings a wonderful breath of fresh rationality to the show — he seems completely confused by the other characters but ends up playing along, much like Sancho Panza goes along with Don Quixote. Eastwood’s Gladys is marvelously cynical; again, she is seemingly wondering why Wombat Man doesn’t see his own ridiculousness. On the law and order side of the issue, Borden and Leibowitz are remarkable parodies of Gordon and O’Hara (except that Leibowitz keeps wanting to sing showtunes).

On the henceperson side were Clare Wess Yauss (FB) (Lucy, Jenny), Dan Horstman (FB) (Spoon), and John Potter (FB) (Milk). Yauss’ Lucy captured the sexy but ditzy girlfriend well; Horstman and Potter were the typical non-descript henchment from the Batman days, down to the point of having their names on their shirts (presumably, so they don’t forget them). Potter had a short running gag about not talking.

On the technical side…. this is a Fringe production. The set itself (designed by one of the henchmen, Dan Horstman (FB)) was some simple black flats with shiny curtains; a sense of place was conveyed more by props (the Wombatputer, the cereal table, the boxes of cereal, the “red phone”, etc.) and costumes. General costume credit was not provided — overall the costumes provided a good sense of character, especially those of the cartoon characters, the henchmen, and Lucy (Glady’s costume was the typical shapeless shift you expect a housekeeper to wear). There was specific credit for Wombat Man’s costume (Lara Kristine Elliott/FB) and hat (Toni Johnson/FB). His costume was the typical superhero costume (you should know, you see them on the street everyday): tights, shorts, a hairy top) with a cap with Wombat ears. It was reasonably well executed and suited the character well. No credit was provided for lighting or sound design. Jeremy Saje (FB) was the real stage manager and wrote the Wombat Man theme song.

Wombat Man: The Cereal Murders (Blog, FB) has 4 more shows at Underground Theatre (FB) as part of the 2015 Hollywood Fringe Festival (FB): June 19, 20, 26, and 27 at 8:00 pm. Tickets are available through the Fringe Website. If you like humor you don’t need to think too much about — and especially if you were a fan of the 1966 Batman series, this is worth seeing. For us, it was the perfect show after the bad interaction at Fringe Central after our 4pm show left a bad taste in our psyches.

Upcoming Shows: This afternoon brings Marry Me a Little (HFF) by Good People Theatre (FB) at the Lillian Theatre (FB). Next weekend sees the craziness continue with the Nigerian Spam Scam Scam (HFF) at Theatre Asylum (FB) and Merely Players (HFF) at the Lounge Theatre (FB) on Saturday, and (on Sunday) The Count of Monte Cristo – The Musical (FB) (HFF) at the Lounge Theatre (FB) in the afternoon, and Uncle Impossible’s Funtime Variety & Ice Cream Social, (HFF) at the Complex Theatres (FB) in the evening. The Fringe craziness ends with Medium Size Me, (HFF) at the Complex Theatres (FB) on Thursday 6/25 and Might As Well Live: Stories By Dorothy Parker (HFF) at the Complex Theatres (FB) on Saturday. June ends with our annual drum corps show in Riverside on Sunday. July begins with “Murder for Two” at the Geffen Playhouse (FB) on July 3rd, and “Matilda” at the Ahmanson Theatre (FB) on July 4th. July 11th brings “Jesus Christ Superstar” at REP East (FB). The following weekend brings “The History Boys” at the Stella Adler Theatre (FB) on Saturday (Goldstar), and “Green Grow The Lilacs” at Theatricum Botanicum (FB) on Sunday. July 25th brings “Lombardi” at the Lonny Chapman Group Rep (FB), with the annual Operaworks show the next day. August starts with “As You Like It” at Theatricum Botanicum (FB), and is followed by the summer Mus-ique show, and “The Fabulous Lipitones” at The Colony Theatre (FB). After that we’ll need a vacation! 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.

Medieval Improvisation (or) I Hate a Man Who Quests

Posted onSunday, June 7, 2015Sunday, June 7, 2015Authorcahwyguy4 Comments

userpic=fringe This week marks the start of the 2015 Hollywood Fringe Festival (FB), an ambitious effort where approximately 274 shows are mounted over 19 different venues during the month of June. For the last two Fringes, we’ve only made it to one show (the musical from Good People Theatre (FB)). This year, we’ve tried to hit more Fringe shows. We’ve typically got 3 shows each Fringe weekend, and that only hits a small percentage of the shows. Our first Fringe show was to be Clybourne Park (Lounge Theatre), but alas they cancelled on Thursday. Perusing the other shows available on Saturday night, we selected Camenot: The Broadway Style Medieval Musical (Acme Theatre @ The Complex) (FB) as its replacement. The published description intrigued us: “Kings, Queens, knights, maidens, magic and music! Is it Camelot? No… it’s the nearby but far less perfect kingdom of CAMENOT, where everyone grows up on the wrong side of the trail. Join the cast of this broadway-style medieval musical on their hilarious, improvised quest for that coveted fairy tale ending!” So, after seeing Grease (The Movie) in a singalong showing as a subscriber reward at The Colony Theatre (FB), we toddled over to Hollywood to wait at Fringe Central (which wasn’t open yet), hung around at the Hudson Cafe, had dinner, and toddled down the street to The Acme Theatre at the Complex Theatres (FB) for Camenot.

Unlike a lot of shows we see, Camenot is not a scripted show. It is improvisation. At the beginning of the show, the men in the cast come out and asked for a medieval noun. In our case, someone shouted out “Chalace”. The ladies in the cast then come out and ask for an “adjective”; our’s was “lumpy”. As a result, our show was about “The Quest for the Lumpy Chalace”.

Now, I sincerely doubt that this is 100% improvisation. That would be difficult when you have musical accompaniment. My guess is that the improvisation team works the selected item into a rough framework of a story, with pre-defined musical pieces that are engineered to support some level of improvisation.

[Edited Interruption: Turns out, I was wrong on my doubt. The director commented (see the comments section) the following: “The show is pure improvisation. There is no preset plot structure, there are no preset characters and there is no preset music that our cast plugs lyrics into. Jonathan Green is making up the music on the spot right along with us! Like a pure free jazz ensemble, we rehearse improvising together, but don’t have any framework, other than it will be medieval in nature. ” This makes what this company does even more impressive. Coming up with music and lyrics on the fly is exceedingly difficult, especially when there is no preset arrangement between the fingers on the keyboard and the brain making the words. Now we resume….]

The fact that this was improvisation was clear; cast members standing to the side often were visibly stifling laughter at what other cast members were doing. I had no problem with that — the audience has fun when the cast has fun, and this cast was clearly enjoying what they were doing.

I’ll describe, roughly, the story we had. As just noted, I guess other stories will be similar but not the same — I could imagine a very different story if the improvised item was a “Filthy Bath”. In our story, there was a serf family — a husband (Garrett, if I recall correctly), wife, and three children — dealing with a bad drought. The husband collects some good and goes off to the man in the castle to give him anything to fix the drought. He asks the man (whose name was Cunningham) to collect the tears of the Druidia the woodland nymph and bring them back to him. Druidia, however, is pissed at Cunningham in the castle for breaking promises, and lying about the death of her true love (Thomas, the grandfather of the husband on the quest, who made the lumpy chalice). She relates the story, gets sad, cries, and the tears are collected. When the man returns to the castle, the ghost of his grandfather appears and explains the true story. The principals are brought together, and Druidia throws away the tears, which ends the drought (oh, were it that easy). The family is restored to happiness, Cunningham loses, and Druidia is happier again. Onto the basic scaffolding were overlain about 4-5 songs, all of which were enjoyable in the moment but ultimately not memorable.

All of the story above is conveyed through acting and improvisation, for the set was a basic black box with an upper level, and perhaps one or two smaller boxes on stage that provided seating. There were no props; the only other thing on the stage was the music director (Jonathan Green (FB)) at his keyboard, with a visible clock to ensure the production fit within the 45 minute allotted timeslot. As such, imagination and the art of the theatre came to the fore, and worked quite well. This is a great reminder that it is not fancy production values and perfect set realism that makes a show — it is the talent of the actor to create the set in the mind.

The cast of the show (a significant subset of the normal show cast) — Brian Giovanni (FB), Brian Breiter (FB), Joseph Limbaugh (FB), Beth Leckbee (FB), Kimberly Lewis (FB) [who we’ve seen before in Moon Over Buffalo], & Amanda Troop (FB), under the direction of Brian Lohmann (FB) — were very talented (in the picture to the right, the men (in the order listed, L to R) are in the back row, the women (in the order listed, L to R) in the front). I was particularly impressed with the singing voices of both Leckbee and Troop — they had lovely strong and pure voices that were a delight to the ears. As I started with the ladies, I’ll note that they were also strong with the comedy. I recall the woodland scenes with Leckbee as Druidia, with the other ladies acting as animals — with Troop as a trilly-lizard. The men also were strong on the comedy side, particularly Limbaugh as the husband on the quest, and Breiter as Cunningham. It was hilarious to watch the actors trying to catch up and react as new directions were suddenly improvised (particularly when they were standing on the side — I recall quite a few scenes where you could see the actors on the side on the edge of laughter from their colleague’s improvisations). It takes a quick mind and a quick wit to pull that off; this team did it well. My guess is that this comes from the fact they regularly improv together on this show throughout the year.

One failing of the show, alas, is that they do not provide a program. I was able to piece together the cast above from the list on the HFF website and the cast page for the show. However, they do not list any technical credit. Clearly there was no set design, no sound design, no stage manager, and such. There was however a lighting design, which was simplistic but worked reasonably well to convey mood. There was also likely a costume designer, but as the actors arrived in costume (I was talking to both Kimberly Lewis and Joseph Limbaugh outside before the show), it could have just been from the actor’s closet. I’ll note they were not the realistic costumes one sees at RenFaire; rather, they were more the velour/velvety costumes that musicals such as Camelot have led us to believe were the height of fashion in medieval times. In spite of that, I did find the costumes cute; I particularly enjoyed the little touches that Beth Leckbee put on her costume.

This production would be quite at home on the RenFaire stage; I’m surprised they haven’t done it before. But I guess a RenFaire-ish improve on an intimate theatre stage but not the Faire itself balances Moonie and Broon (FB), who are regularly at Faire, but doing a single show at the Colony on June 20 (see how cleverly I worked that in :-)). We went last year and it was quite fun; this year, the Fringe Festival was booked first.

Camenot has three more shows as part of the Fringe: 6/13 at 10pm; 6/19 at 7:30 pm, and 6/27 at 4:15 pm. They also evidently do the show monthly the first Saturday of the month at Acme. Fringe tickets may be purchased from the Fringe website and are only $10; tickets during the year may be purchased through the show website (although there are no tickets listed there). Check here for Goldstar discount tickets, but be forewarned they haven’t listed any since 2014. C’mon, the show is only $10 — you can afford to pay full price! I do recommend the show — the production values may not be the greatest, but it is a fun short evening and clever improv…. plus every show is different.

One last note on this show: The tickets they used were actually advertisements for the NoHo Fringe Festival (FB), which will be October 1-25, 2015. Alas, we already have a fair number of weekends booked (yes, I do plan that far in advance), but given this is NoHo, we’ll try to squeeze in as much as we can. Thanks to Acme for bringing this to our attention.

Other Fringe Show Notes. Before the show, we had dinner over at EatThis Cafe. While there, we had a lovely discussion with Ann Starbuck (FB), the author and star of Tiananmen Annie. The show sounds interesting; we may try to fit it into our schedule; most likely it will be my wife who will succeed in doing so. Based on our discussion, I recommend you consider her show. It has gotten good writeups in the past.

Grease Sing-a-Long at the Colony. As noted above, before the Fringe show, we went to Grease (The Movie) in a singalong showing as a subscriber reward at The Colony Theatre (FB). This is a movie that has been out for a while and there’s no real point in reviewing it. I do, however, have a few comments:

It was interesting to contrast seeing the movie on a big screen vs. at home on TV. I was able to note the background performers much more, and to see who was singing and who wasn’t, and how the background would suddenly break out in dance.
We guessed, while watching the show, that it was filmed at either Van Nuys HS or Venice HS. We were right about Venice. The location used for the carnival scene at the end (which turned out to be Huntington Park HS) was clearly a different school from the fictional Rydell.
The actors look much less like believable teenagers on the big screen.
Turnout for the performance was poor — perhaps 20 people. Surprisingly, a number had never seen the movie (such as the older couple behind us …. that kept talking)

Upcoming Shows: Today brings a Men of TAS outing to see the Lancaster Jethawks, so alas there is no more theatre today. The bounty that is the Hollywood Fringe Festival (FB) continues throughout June. Next weekend brings Max and Elsa. No Music. No Children. (HFF) at Theatre Asylum (FB) and Wombat Man (HFF) at Underground Theatre (FB) on Saturday, and Marry Me a Little (HFF) by Good People Theatre (FB) at the Lillian Theatre (FB) on Sunday. The craziness continues into the third weekend of June, with the Nigerian Spam Scam Scam (HFF) at Theatre Asylum (FB) and Merely Players (HFF) at the Lounge Theatre (FB) on Saturday, and Uncle Impossible’s Funtime Variety & Ice Cream Social, (HFF) at the Complex Theatres (FB) on Sunday (and possibly “Matilda” at the Ahmanson Theatre (FB) in the afternoon, depending on Hottix availability, although July 4th weekend is more likely). The Fringe craziness ends with Medium Size Me, (HFF) at the Complex Theatres (FB) on Thursday 6/25 and Might As Well Live: Stories By Dorothy Parker (HFF) at the Complex Theatres (FB) on Saturday. June ends with our annual drum corps show in Riverside on Sunday. July begins with “Murder for Two” at the Geffen Playhouse (FB) on July 3rd, and possibly Matilda. July 11th brings “Jesus Christ Superstar” at REP East (FB). The following weekend brings “The History Boys” at the Stella Adler Theatre (FB) on Saturday (Goldstar), and “Green Grow The Lilacs” at Theatricum Botanicum (FB) on Sunday. July 25th brings “Lombardi” at the Lonny Chapman Group Rep (FB), with the annual Operaworks show the next day. August starts with “As You Like It” at Theatricum Botanicum (FB), and is followed by the summer Mus-ique show, and “The Fabulous Lipitones” at The Colony Theatre (FB). After that we’ll need a vacation! 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.

Bang Bang Shoot-Em-Up To The Moon!

Posted onSunday, May 31, 2015Monday, June 1, 2015Authorcahwyguy

userpic=99love One of the hallmarks of theatre — especially intimate theatre — is its creativity. Whereas at the cinema the director can call on a special effects team to make movie magic through a combination of CGI and effects that look good on film; the theatre director can only call on imagination and creativity, because live theatre by definition is live and in front of you. Perhaps this is one reason we don’t see a lot of plays that take place in outer space. Luckily, we saw one of the few that exists last night, and it was excellent and creative and remarkable and funny and … well, almost any superlative you can think of. Unluckily (at least for you), you won’t be able to see it; this write-up will have to suffice. The show that you missed (but we saw) was Entropy, written by Bill Robens (FB), directed by Christopher William Johnson (FB); we saw it at Theatre of Note (FB), an outstanding intimate theatre on Cahuenga in Hollywood.

Now, when I hear the term “Entropy”, what comes to mind is the quality of random numbers — in particular the seeding of a random number generator. But that’s likely just because of who I work with on a daily basis. In a broader sense, entropy is a thermodynamic term that is a measure of the disorder of a system. In particular, according to the second law of thermodynamics the entropy of an isolated system never decreases; such a system will spontaneously proceed towards thermodynamic equilibrium, the configuration with maximum entropy. In other words, isolate a system, and it rapidly descends into chaos. And chaos, my friends, is funny (and if you don’t believe me, ask Maxwell Smart).

In the case of last night’s show, the “entropy” was brought upon by an absurd premise; suspend disbelief on this premise, and set it down in a stereoptypical genre situation appropriate for the premise, and guess what? Instant entropy. What was the premise? Only that the sputnik satellite, after 15 years in space, had become sentient, gone to the Moon, was doing the happy dance, and was about to realize that it was lonely and craving another mechanical intelligence to love. The stereotypical genre situation? NASA in the early 1970s when there was still a strong competition between the US and the Russkies. Now, mix, stir, and laugh.

At this moment, I must digress and comment on the “Playwright’s Notes” in the program, which said “This show is reserved for people smart enough to accept absolute fact, and to celebrate the magnificent achievement of those who risked everything to explore the unknown. And then we make fun of them. Okay, so we’re not perfect. We’re not rocket scientists, but we hope any rocket scientists would appreciate our play and just shut up for a couple hours about our inaccuracies. They can be such snobs.” I must point out that I actually am a rocket scientist (well, a rocket computer scientist), and work with rocket scientists every day at my place of employ. I enjoyed the inaccuracies; entertainment is about suspension of belief. Look at the reaction of seismologists to San Andreas. However, we are not snobs.

Of course, suspending disbelief is easier when it is clear you are not in a realistic situation. Movies go for that realism and immerse you in the story. The stage is all about imagination, and what hits you first about Entropy is the incredible about of imagination that has gone into this production. It is apparent the first time you see the stage. Let me set the scene. On stage left is Mission Control — some fake consoles constructed from all sorts of destroyed keyboards and electronics, with an upper level with a desk and a picture of Richard Nixon, with an open window to the folks doing sound and lights, but dresses as 1970s engineers. On stage right is the space capsule, with handholds everywhere and all sorts of buttons and electronics (again, broken up keyboards). At stage center is a model of the Saturn V. When it is time to launch the ship, out comes the stagehands, dressed in black with black hoods, who manually raise the Saturn and hold a cardboard cutout of fire beneath the engines, and move it around the theatre (including a similar manual separation). You’ve now got a sense of the show.

The plot, as I said, is silly. The US is launching a space mission with the first girl astronaut (or astronette). Yes, I said “girl” — this is the 1970s and this is NASA. The ostensible mission is to test whether toys and parlor games work in space. The real mission is to capture Sputnik and bring it back to a girl robot that the US has built, in order to sway the Russian Sputnik to the side of the US. The real real mission, as developed jointly by NASA head of mission control Chuck Merrick and Russian Ambassador Anatoly Dobrynin, is to destroy Sputnik. So, when the “Green Drive” developed by NASA Engineer Neil Bradley fails, and the EVA to get to activate the auxiliary power also fails (stranding Astronaut Red Jackson in space), the mission seems doomed. Just then Sputnik knocks at the door of the capsule, and the remaining Astronauts, Samantha McKinley and Scott Derickson, let him in — and discover how to communicate and become friends. But Merrick really wants to destroy Sputnik, so he steals a spacecraft and rendezvous with the Zeus III. He coordinates with Dobrynin, and is about to destroy the Zeus III, Sputnik, and the remaining astronauts with the laser. However, Sputnik is saved when Alexandra Mikhailova destroys Merrick’s capsule instead. The astronauts of Zeus III are saved when Sputnik uses his power to save them, leaving him stranded in space. The secondary comic subplot, because every story has a comic subplot, involves mission control engineers Benny and Joanna Curtis who are undergoing a nasty divorce, partially because Benny has been cheating… with Rebecca, who turns out to be Alexandra undercover.

Now, on top of a wonderfully comic plot and a wonderful set, we have wonderful performances. This is one case where I’ll give extra credit to director Johnson. On the space capsule side, he has the actors, through physicality and handholds, provide a wonderful simulation of weightlessness. He also has actors continuing to act and move in character even when they aren’t the focus of attention. This is a lovely attention to detail, and it keeps the audience busy as they try to capture the action everywhere in the wide-but-narrow Note performance space.

Let’s get to the actors themselves. In the space capsule we have Trevor H. Olsen (Red Jackson), Alina Phelan (FB) (Samantha McKinley), and Nicholas S. Williams (FB) (Scott Derickson). Olsen does a wonderful job of capturing the stereotypical cowboy astronaut, down to the twang, racist commentary, and cowboy hat. Yee haw! Williams, on the other hand, is the hot shot test pilot/engineer trope. Phelan’s trope is the clueless newbie, who has been kept in the dark because she’s a girl in a male chauvinist world. All three capture their characters well, and excel at simulating zero gravity movement. They had a wonderful chemistry together.

In mission control we had David Wilcox (FB) (Chuck Merrick, Head of Mission Control), Travis Moscinski (FB) (Benny Curtis, Mission Control Engineer), Wendi West (FB) (Joanna Curtis, Mission Control Engineer), Justin Okin (FB) (Neil Bradley, Engineer), and Kjai Block/FB (Rusty, the Intern). Wilcox was the gung-ho anti-Communist, and he captured that perfectly. Moscinski and West had the trope of the bickering couple, and were quite fun to watch. Bradley’s trope was the milquetoast engineering (who should have been shot for using designs without testing them) — he played the role for comic effect and was, again, excellent. Lastly was Block as Rusty, who was just a bit more of background comic relief.

Our Russian friends were Brad C. Light (FB) (Anatoly Dobrynin) and Rebecca Light (FB) (Alexandra Mikhailovna). Light, the Mr., captured the trope of the hard drinking Russian emissary well, providing that wonderful sense of evil we no longer have. Light, the Ms., was lovely as the female spy, who once was undercover as the lover of Benny. She was able to exude that aura of evil sexy. Fun fun fun to watch.

Rounding out the cast in smaller roles, as reporters, other unnamed characters, and likely, as stagehands in black and as Sputnik, were: Christopher Neiman (FB) (Reporter); Lynn Odell (FB) (Minnie Jackson); and Arlene Marin (FB) (U/S Reporter). Rounding out the understudies, who again were probably the stagehands in black, were David Bickford (FB) (U/S Dobrynin); Christine Breihan (FB) (U/S Mikhailovna); Gene Michael Barrera (U/S Benny Curtis/Rusty); Stacy Benjamin (FB) (U/S: Joanna Curtis); Dan Wingard (FB) (U/S Neil Bradley); Bill Robens (FB) (U/S Chuck Merrick); Garrett Hanson (FB) (US Soctt); Jo D. Jonz (FB) (U/S Reporter).

Turning to the technical side. The wonderful set was designed by Krystyna Łoboda (FB) (set designer), with graphic design by Gene Michael Barrera , prop design by Richard Werner (FB), and puppet design by Andrew Leman. I’ve described the set before. The props — especially the spacecraft — were wonderful. The puppet design refers to the wonderful Sputnik puppet that was expressive while still being, at its heart, Sputnik. Costume design was by Kimberly Freed (FB), and were fun while being reasonably period. Particularly cute were the spacesuit costumes. Corwin Evans (FB) did the sound design, and I particularly enjoyed both the selection of music tracks, as well as the overall sound effects (particularly the launch sequences). Lastly, the lighting design by Brandon Baruch (FB) did an excellent job of focusing attention. Fight choreography was by Jen Albert (FB). As noted earlier, the production was directed by Christopher William Johnson (FB). It was produced by John Money (FB).

Now is the point where I would normally tell you to go see this show at Theatre of Note (FB). But, alas, for you, last night was the last performance. So I’ll say instead: Go support your local intimate theatre — you’ll be surprised at the great productions you’ll discover.

Upcoming Shows: This evening brings “Waterfall“, the new Maltby/Shire musical at the Pasadena Playhouse (FB). June will be exhausting with the bounty that the Hollywood Fringe Festival (FB) brings (ticketing is now open). June starts with a matinee of the movie Grease at The Colony Theatre (FB), followed by Clybourne Park (HFF) at the Lounge Theatre (FB) on Saturday, and a trip out to see the Lancaster Jethawks on Sunday. The second weekend of June brings Max and Elsa. No Music. No Children. (HFF) at Theatre Asylum (FB) and Wombat Man (HFF) at Underground Theatre (FB) on Saturday, and Marry Me a Little (HFF) by Good People Theatre (FB) at the Lillian Theatre (FB) on Sunday. The craziness continues into the third weekend of June, with Nigerian Spam Scam Scam (HFF) at Theatre Asylum (FB) and Merely Players (HFF) at the Lounge Theatre (FB) on Saturday, and Uncle Impossible’s Funtime Variety & Ice Cream Social, (HFF) at the Complex Theatres (FB) on Sunday (and possibly “Matilda” at the Ahmanson Theatre (FB) in the afternoon, depending on Hottix availability, although July 4th weekend is more likely). The Fringe craziness ends with Medium Size Me, (HFF) at the Complex Theatres (FB) on Thursday 6/25 and Might As Well Live: Stories By Dorothy Parker (HFF) at the Complex Theatres (FB) on Saturday. June ends with our annual drum corps show in Riverside on Sunday. July begins with “Murder for Two” at the Geffen Playhouse (FB) on July 3rd, and possibly Matilda. July 11th brings “Jesus Christ Superstar” at REP East (FB). The following weekend brings “Green Grow The Lilacs” at Theatricum Botanicum (FB). July 25th brings “Lombardi” at the Lonny Chapman Group Rep (FB), with the annual Operaworks show the next day. August starts with “As You Like It” at Theatricum Botanicum (FB), and is followed by the summer Mus-ique show, and “The Fabulous Lipitones” at The Colony Theatre (FB). After that we’ll need a vacation! 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.