Tag: reviews-2008

No Woman Is An Island

Posted onAuthorcahwyguy

Last night, we went out to Santa Clarita to see the Repertory East Playhouse (REP East)’s production of the drama Wit by Margeret Edson. Wit premiered at the South Coast Rep in 1995, and won the 1999 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

Wit tells the story of Dr. Vivan Bearing, a professor of English literature specializing in the works of John Donne, a seventeenth-century metaphysical poet. The play begins with Vivian talking to the audience: she is currently a patient in a major research hospital undergoing treatment for stage IV metastatic ovarian cancer, and she knows the prognosis is not good. She relates how she was diagnosed by her doctor, and then tells the story of her treatment by her doctor and his research fellow students through a full course of an experimental chemotherapy drug, eight rounds. Through this process, through flashback and monologue, we learn Vivian’s history. We learn how she started studying Donne intensely through her graduate school professor, E.M. Ashford. We learned how she learned to love words and their meanings from her father, and how she teaches those words and meanings through her analysis of Donne’s Holy Sonnets, especially Sonnet X:

Death, be not proud, though some have callèd thee
Mighty and dreadful, for thou art not so;
For those whom thou think’st thou dost overthrow
Die not, poor death, nor yet canst thou kill me.
From rest and sleep, which yet thy pictures be,
Much pleasure, then from thee much more, must low
And soonest our best men with thee do go,
Rest of their bones and soul’s delivery.
Thou art slave to fate, chance, kings and desperate men
And dost with poison, war and sickness dwell,
And poppy or charms can make us sleep as well
And better than thy stroke; why swell’st thou then ?
One short sleep past, we wake eternally,
And death shall be no more; death, thou shalt die.

We also learn through the play the life of a person being treated with aggressive chemotherapy for eight months. We see the indignities, we see how it can dehumanize someone. We also learn how she is similar to her doctors, preferring pure research to human contact, and thus never learning how to approach people to gain that contact. While in her hospital bed, Vivian recalls her life in the classroom, where she was known as a spell-binding lecturer on Donne and a demanding teacher of literature. Ironically, one of her doctors, Jason, is a former student and now a budding researcher in his own profession, having been inspired by Vivian’s uncompromising scholarship. We also see how Vivian comes to rely on her nurse, Susie, who sees her suffering and treats her with kindness. She helps Vivian decide on a DNR order (Do Not Resuscitate). As she dies, having learned much about life, Vivian is at peace with herself and her mortality. But her research fellow is not: he forgets the order and attempts to revive her. It takes the nurse to remind him of the DNR, and to let Vivian go peacefully. You can find a good study guide on the play here.

Although one doesn’t fully realize it watching the play, the play is intimately tied to the philosophy of Donne, perhaps no more so than Donne famous saying from Meditation XVII: No man is an island. Throughout the play, we learn how Vivian has pushed away human contact. She had no friends, she was harsh on her students. Yet, when the time has from for the bell to toll for Vivian, she craves that which she so strongly pushed away. She only finds, however, doctors who are so strongly focused on research that they have no idea how to comfort their subjects. Thus, Vivian only finds comfort in her nurse and her memories, as she becomes more aware of her mortality (another concept emphasized by Donne) and learns not to fear Death. It is a very moving and compelling story.

This play succeeds or fails on the strength of its acting team, and this one succeeds and soars upward. Leading the team was Susan Watkins (æ), in her debut at REP East. Onstage for the entire performance, Ms. Watkins grabs the audience from the start and takes them skillfully on the roller-coaster ride from the discovery to her death. Throughout this, she realistically conveys the emotions, strengths, and fears of a cancer patient. Quite remarkable.

In the three main named supporting roles are Daniel Lench (æ) as Dr. Harvey Kelekian, Vivian’s lead doctor; Orestes Arcuni (æ) as Dr. Jason Posner, Kelekian’s senior research fellow and former student of Vivian’s; and Bess Fanning (æ) as Susan Monahan RN BSN, the nurse who becomes Vivian’s personal support throughout the hospital stay. All were superb in their performances, exhibiting the quality we have come to expect from REP East. Playing a smaller supporting role was Marla Khayat as E. M. Ashford, Vivian’s mentor. Also in various supporting roles were Amber Clark and Mikee Schwinn.

The production was directed by Erin Rivlin (who it turns out is a grad of both VNHS and CSUN), assisted by Ransom Boynton. The production stage manager was Ovington Michael Owston (who does double-duty as the REP’s artistic director). Sound design was by the ever-capable Steven “Nanook” Burkholder, with lighting by Tim Christianson.

“Wit” continues at REP East through April 5. The REPs subsequent productions are “Necessary Targets” by Eve Ensler in the “81 Series” (April 17-May 3) and “The Full Monty” by Terrence McNally with music by David Yazbek (May 16 – June 14).

So what’s next on our theatre calendar? On Sat 4/5 @ 8pm we have the premier of the new musical “Mask” at the Pasadena Playhouse. The following day we’re going to the Sunday matinee performance of “The Who’s Tommy” at Cal State Northridge. I still need to figure out productions for late April and early May — possibilities include “Pippin” at East West Players (5/8-6/8) and “The Immigrant” at Colony Theatre (4/2-5/4). Of course, I’ll be getting tickets to “The Full Monty” at REP East (5/16-6/14). I’ll also be exploring whether there is anything workable from the Festival of New American Musicals. On 5/31, we’re scheduled to see “A Chorus Line” @ 2pm at the Ahmanson, and “Of Mice and Men” @ 8pm at the Pasadena Playhouse. We’re likely to change those due to the performance of “Grease” at Nobel MS on 5/29, 5/30, and 5/31. I’m also looking into “Brain from Planet X“. That takes us to the end of 2Q08.

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Bloody Weekend, Part II: In Which Pi Day Is Celebrated

Posted onAuthorcahwyguy

Back in 1981, I had the opportunity to attend the third production* of the 44th Annual Season of the Los Angeles Civic Light Opera…. a little show called “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” starring Angela Lansbury, George Hearn, and numerous others in a full blown spectacle. The show featured a cast of 26 (including the ensemble and chorus) in addition to a full orchestra, and the stage at the Dorothy Chandler Pavillion was filled with a gigantic steelwork set, a scrim depicting the beehive of London society, full costumes, and full sets and staging. When combined with the music and lyrics of Stephen Sondheim, well, it was spectacular.

This afternoon, I returned to a different theatre at the Music Center complex — the Ahmanson — to see the Center Theatre Group’s production of the deconstructed “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street”. The phrase “deconstructed” refers to the simplification that director John Doyle applied to the show: the cast was pared down to its main characters, the orchestra was eliminated in deference to the cast taking up the instruments themselves, the stage was shunk, the sets were abstracted, and the costumes were minimal. This change placed the focus on the music and the acting, and not other distractions. It was a unique way of presenting the story.

For those unfamiliar with the plot of Sweeney Todd, well, just go see the movie. Or, as Sweeney puts it himself:

Attend the tale of Sweeney Todd.
His skin was pale and his eye was odd.
He shaved the faces of gentlemen
who never thereafter were heard of again.
He trod a path that few have trod
did Sweeney Todd
the demon barber of Fleet Street.

He kept a shop in London town.
Of fancy clients and good renown
and what if none of their souls were saved
they went to their maker impecably shaved.
By Sweeney,
by Sweeney Todd
the demon barber of Fleet Street.

       His needs were few, his room was bare.
A lavabo and a fancy chair.
A mug of suds, and a leather strop,
an apron, a towel, a pail, and a mop.
For neatness he deserves a nod,
does Sweeney Todd,
the demon barber of Fleet Street.

Inconspicuous Sweeney was,
quick, and quiet and clean he was.
Back of his smile, under his word,
Sweeney heard music that nobody heard.
Sweeney pondered and Sweeney planned,
like a perfect machine he planned,
Sweeney was smooth, Sweeney was subtle,
Sweeney would blink, and rats would scuttle

Attend the tale of Sweeney Todd!
He served a dark and a vengeful God!
What happened then, well that’s the play,
and he wouldn’t want us to give it away…
Not Sweeney
Not Sweeney Todd
The demon barber of Fleet Street.

The new performance approach was interesting. I’ll get to the individual cast members in a bit, but focusing on the approach itself… I found it more focused and more acted. The lack of costumes and props led the actors to focus on their craft, and it came across clearly in their performances. The instruments became props themselves at times. The music was simplified, and there were points where lyrics were clearly cut or lyrics changed. At times I liked the new orchestrations, but I did miss the additional brass of the original orchestrations. It was clearly a different beast, similar to the way the revised version of Chicago in its Encores version was a distinctly different from the original: both were good and had strengths and weaknesses of their own.

Leading the cast was David Hess as Sweeney Todd. He played trumpet, orchestra bells, and percussion. As opposed to the white-faced George Hearn or the younger mad Johnny Depp, David Hess appeared much more as a middle-aged normal man, driven to madness. His Sweeney wasn’t malevolent — he was obsessed and focused, and just couldn’t rest until he had righted his wrong. His performance was riveting. His accomplace in crime was Judy Kaye as Mrs. Nellie Lovett, playing tuba, orchestra bells, and percussion. Ms. Kaye’s performance was marvelous, surpassing even Angela Lansbury’s performance. Her embodiment was not a comic characture; she also sang clearly and one could make out all words and nuances of Sondheim’s wonderful lyrics. But she did bring humor to the role through her movements and her phrasing — it just wasn’t over the top, exaggerated humor.

The first and last character you see in the show is Tobias, played by Edmund Bagnell, playing violin and clarinet. The initial (and terminal) image of Tobias is in a straightjacket, but he ends up being the assistant to both Pirelli and Mrs. Lovett. Tobias remained in his pajamas/institutional jumpsuit the entire performance, and exhibited a form of comic madness as he observed and reacted to the proceeedings. Unlike the traditional performance, he didn’t remain in the background. He was one of the most expressive actors I have seen on stage.

Johanna, Sweeney’s daughter, was played by Lauren Molina, playing cello. Yet another remarkable actress in facial expression and use of her instrument (cello). She was just delightful, reacting to the horror and events around her. I just fell in love with her face. Anthony, the young lad who rescued Sweeney and fell in love with Johanna was played by Benjamin Magnuson, playing cello and keyboard. He was more bland in his performance.

The Beggar Woman, played by Diana DiMarzio, playing clarinet and keyboard. In this production, her role was magnified and reactive, and was a significant contribution to the proceedings. Most of the performance she was in beggar woman rags, although in the final scenes when her true identity was revealed, you could see how she was the beautiful woman who was behind the entire plot.

The remaining roles were much smaller, although the actors were on stage all the time playing music. Judge Turpin was played by Keith Buterbaugh, playing trumpet, orchestra bells, and percussion. His was a much more handsome judge than the original. The Beadle, played by Benjamin Eakeley on clarinet, keyboard, and saxophone, was a much thinner beadle. Pirelli, casting against type, was played by Katrina Yaukey on accordion, keyboard, and flute, was strong in her one song (which had the tooth pulling cut). Lastly, Jonas Fogg was played by Steve McIntyre, playing bass.

As one can see, this was a drastically cut-down cast. There was no chorus, no crowds of London. The focus and attention was on the principles. I should also note that (for the most part), the musicmanship (if that’s a word) was impressive. The single keyboard would shift off between actors in mid-song with nary a beat lost. Instruments would be handed around like props so that the music could be continuous and part of the characters. It was amazing.

The staging and design was remarkable. No fancy set, just a coffin and some chairs. The murders were indicated by red lights, the pouring of a red liquid from one bucket to another, and a steam whistle. The coffin was turned around, stood on end, and served as numerous locals. It was all abstract, focusing the attention on the words and music. This design was developed by John Doyle, with lighting design by Richard G. Jones, and sound by Dan Moses Schreier.

Costumes were simple. Men were mostly in suits (except Tobias), and women in dresses of various forms. When one died, one acquired a red-stained lab coat. Wigs and hair by Paul Huntly, with makeup by Angelina Avallone.

So, overall, did I prefer this production to the original stage production or the movie? Hard to say. Each had their strengths and weaknesses, and were truly different beast, each highlighting a different aspect of the Sondheim score and the Hugh Wheeler book. The original was the more complete telling, but often the acting got lost in the stagecraft. The movie was musically the weakest, but brought the madness and the gore center stage, and made it upclose and personal as only a movie can. The deconstructed version focused on the essence of the musical: the Sondheim music and lyrics, and brought out the comic and the discordant in unique ways. All different. All good.

All actors were members of Actors Equity (æ). The credits also indicated that musicians were members of the American Federation of Musicians, but I’m unclear if that applied to the actors playing instruments.

Sweeney Todd continues at the Ahmanson until April 6, 2008.

So what’s next on our theatre calendar? Next weekend (3/22) is “W;t” at REP East. On Sat 4/5 @ 8pm we have the premier of the new musical “Mask” at the Pasadena Playhouse. The following day we’re going to the Sunday matinee performance of “The Who’s Tommy” at Cal State Northridge. I still need to figure out productions for late April and early May — possibilities include “Pippin” at East West Players (5/8-6/8) and “The Immigrant” at Colony Theatre (4/2-5/4). On 5/31, we’re scheduled to see “A Chorus Line” @ 2pm at the Ahmanson, and “Of Mice and Men” @ 8pm at the Pasadena Playhouse. We’re likely to change those due to the performance of “Grease” at Nobel MS on 5/29, 5/30, and 5/31. That takes us to the end of 2Q08.

*: The other productions that season were Little Johnny Jones and The Pirates of Penzance at the Dorothy Chandler, and Barnum at the Pantages. I saw all but the first.

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Bloody Weekend, Part I: In Which Good and Evil is Divided

Posted onAuthorcahwyguy

Today, I woke up with a bad headache. I mention this because (according to my family) I become different when I have a bad headache. I become cranky and grumpy — a totally different person than the normal me. It is as if I was divided into my good and evil sides.

I mention this because this afternoon (still with the headache) we went to to Cabrillo Music Theatre (cmt_news) in Thousand Oaks to see “Jekyll & Hyde: The Musical”, the musical retelling of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson. This version used the Fullerton Civic Light Opera version of the script (which improved upon the original Broadway script), and featured book & lyrics by Leslie Bricusse and music by Frank Wildhorn. This was the first show of our “Bloody Weekend”: tomorrow we see the deconstructed “Sweeney Todd” at the Ahmanson.

“Jekyll & Hyde: The Musical” tells the story of Dr. Henry Jekyll, a doctor in the Violent Ward at St. Judes Hospital in London. His goal is to find a medical answer to evil and violence in men. He has developed a formula that he believes will extract the evil, and wants to begin human experimentation. His fiancee’s father (Danvers Carew) helps him present his case to the members of the hospital board, but they deny his request. At the party celebrating his engagement to Emma Carew, the board members and society make it clear that they consider him mad. Jekyll decides the only way to prove his theory is to experiment on himself. Before he does, he celebrates his upcoming nuputals at a East-End Bar, the Red Rat, where he befriends one of the “ladies”, Lucy Harris. Of course, we all know what happens once Jekyll experiments on himself: he becomes the evil Edward Hyde. As Hyde, he has regular trysts with Lucy, and starts murdering the board members one by one. As Jekyll, he realizes he must take the antidote and destroy Hyde, but this isn’t so easy. He also trys to warn Lucy to leave London. Neither attempt is successful, and the show ends with even more death. This is a dark and bloody show–the body count may even be higher than Sweeney Todd.

Cabrillo, who produced this version, is know for their regular schedule of popular musicals. Most of the time they do good work; occasionally they are spectacular, and less occasionally, just average. This show was spectacular. I think a lot of the credit for this excellent goes to Nick DeGruccio, the Ovation Award winning director of the show. His approach to staging this musical brought out the best in the talented performers, and elevated the potentially ponderous music to a something enjoyable. He should win another Ovation Award for this work, but alas the Ovation voters tend not to trudge out to Thousand Oaks.

The cast was also spectacular. Leading the performance in the dual role of Henry Jekyll and Edward Hyde was Robert Townsend (æ). This one actor gave two completely different characterizations: the good Dr. Henry Jekyll and the evil Mr. Hyde. These characterizations, combined with his wonderful strong singing voice, made him a delight to watch. Of particular note was his performance in “Confrontation”, where he sings against himself in both roles, at the same time. Spectacular staging, spectacular voice.

The two female leads were also quite strong. The “girl of the night”, Lucy Harris, was played by Lulu Lloyd (æ). Just as many years we were blown away by the performance of the (then unknown) Katherine McPhee in Annie Get Your Gun, Ms. Lloyd is another find. She pr0jected the right innocence and love, and had a super strong singing voice. The other female lead, playing Emma Carew, Jekyll’s fiancee, was Beth Obregon. She also gave an extremely strong performance, with delightful singing in the few numbers she had.

The remainder of the cast was also very strong, but as they tended not to have individual numbers they stood out less. The remainder of the cast consisted of Aaron Phillips (John Utterson, Jekyll’s lawyer); Douglas Crawford (æ) (Simon Stride, former beau of Emma); Jack E. Curenton (Danvers Carew, Emma’s father); Terry Fishman (Poole); Mona King (Lady Beaconsfield); John D. LeMay (Proops); Caitlin McGinty (Nellie); Ron Rezac (Lord Glossop); August Stoten (Lord Savage); Tony Teofilo [MyS] (Basil, Bishop of Basingstoke); Paul Bartlett (Ensemble); Brandee Berndt-Aguirre (Barmaid, Ensemble); Becca Cornelius (Minnie, Ensemble); Tess Ferrell (Tallulah, Ensemble); Cristie Grissmer (Barmaid, Ensemble); Kasi Jones (Lorraine, Ensemble); Jill Kocalis (Charlott, Ensemble); Chandler Krison (Ensemble); Daniel Ross Noble (Ensemble); Cory Pearce (Manservant, Ensemble); Nuno de Sousa (Ensemble); Alex Spencer (Cora, Ensemble); Greg Thompson (Orderly, Ensemble); Bobby Traversa (Newsboy, Ensemble); Philip Wieck (Priest, Ensemble); and Katie Young (Harriet, Ensemble).

Were there weaknesses in the show? Yes, but I think these are not the fault of Cabrillo. The music was typical Wildhorn, which can be overly romantic and ponderous at times, and the lyrics by Leslie Bricusse were at times weak. The music is very romantic and lush, but is not one of your killer scores. I much prefer Wildhorn’s score for The Scarlet Pimpernel.

Turning to the technical credits: The musical director was Steven Applegate, who also conducted the excellent 17-member orchestra. Roger Castellano provided the musical staging. Lighting design was by Steven Young, with sound design by Jonathan Burke. Hair and wigs were by Karen Zanki, wardrobe supervision by Christin Gibson, and prop design by T. Theresa Scarano. The sets and costumes were from the Fullerton CLO. Production stage manger was the ever capable Lindsay Martens assisted by Abby Martin Stein. Pyrotechnics were by J.S. Marsh Special Effects Inc.. CMT is under the artistic direction of Lewis Wilkenfeld.

At this production, Cabrillo announced their 2008-2009 season, and the first production of the 2009-2010 season. The 2008-2009 season will be “The King and I” (October 17-26, 2008); “Breaking Up Is Hard To Do” [The Neal Sedaka Musical] (January 9-18, 2009); “42nd Street” (March 27-April 5 2009); and “Cats” (July 24-August 2 2009). The first production of the 2009-2010 season will be “Dreamgirls” in October 2009.

So what’s next on our theatre calendar? Tomorrow we have the 2nd half of our “Bloody Weekend”: “Sweeney Todd” at the Ahmanson @ 1pm. The following weekend (3/22) is “W;t” at REP East. On Sat 4/5 @ 8pm we have the premier of the new musical “Mask” at the Pasadena Playhouse. The following day we’re going to the Sunday matinee performance of “The Who’s Tommy” at Cal State Northridge. I still need to figure out productions for late April and early May — possibilities include “Pippin” at East West Players (5/8-6/8) and “The Immigrant” at Colony Theatre (4/2-5/4). On 5/31, we’re scheduled to see “A Chorus Line” @ 2pm at the Ahmanson, and “Of Mice and Men” @ 8pm at the Pasadena Playhouse. We’re likely to change those due to the performance of “Grease” at Nobel MS on 5/29, 5/30, and 5/31. That takes us to the end of 2Q08.

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Restaurant Recommendation: Lum-Ka-Naad, Northridge, CA

Posted onAuthorcahwyguy

This evening, with nsshere out with friends at the House of Mouse, we decided to continue our quest to find a Thai Restaurant to replace Khun Khao in Panorama City, which now is too far away.

Our search is over. We found a new place, Lum-Ka-Naad in Northridge, less that a mile from our house. They have great prices, great food, and an extremely wide menu. In fact, their menu goes beyond your normal Thai-Chinese restaurant menu to include specialty regional dishes from northern and southern Thailand.

Tonight we ordered our usual test dish, Phad Thai, together with a glass noodle soup (#49, Glass noodle soup with fish ball, ground pork, served with baby bog choy, and bean sprouts), and a southern regional dish, Kuah Gling (#140, Pan-fried meat marinated in Southern Style spices paste: fresh galangal, Kaffir lime leaves, turmeric root, Thai Chili, and shrimp paste. Served with fresh spinach, carrot, lettuce, cucumber, and cilantro leaves). This last dish was almost like a dry tum-yun, and was just a little spicy (3 on a scale of 10). All were excellent in both taste and presentation, and the prices weren’t that bad: with tip, just over $32. They also have a separate vegan menu.

This is definately a go back. ixixlix, we picked you up a “to go” menu.

Lum-Ka-Naad is located in Northridge, at 8920 Reseda Blvd between Nordhoff and Rayen. It is a few doors up from Morigi Pizza and Kabobs.

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It’s The Word.

Posted onAuthorcahwyguy

Last night, we went out to see “Grease” at Van Nuys High School. This was the first of many productions of the show in the San Fernando Valley: supposedly there will also be productions of “Grease” at Cleveland HS and at Taft HS, as well as a production at the end of May at Nobel MS. The Van Nuys production was of particular interest, as they have a Performing Arts Magnet that we have applied to for next year.

For those unfamiliar with the musical (yes, you, in the back, I see you). Grease hit Broadway in the early 1970s. It is set in 1959 at the fictional Rydell High School in Chicago, and basically tells the story of the greaser Danny Zucko and his relationship with the clean-cut girl Sandy Dumbrowski. Side stories include the adventures of the Burger Shop Boys and the Pink Ladies, the high-school dropout, a teen pregnancy scare, and gang fighting. Just your standard, wholesome, high-school musical fare. There are a number of versions of the script floating around, from the original stage production (just described), to the well-known movie version (with John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John), to various hybrid and bastardizations. Van Nuys appears to have performed the original licensed stage script, with minimal modifications.

With such a well-known story, the focus of any review must be how the story was realized, not the quality of the story itself. As with any realization, that realization can be divided into three aspects: the good, the bad, and the ugly.

There were a number of very good aspects of this production. The set was phenominal, especially for a high-school production. There was basically a three part set, with a school portion in front, and a burger joint / bedroom upstairs (upper stage left and right). The center could open to roll in “Greased Lightening”, a modified truck body (no engine) obviously provided by the auto shop. There was a full eight-piece student band (piano, bass, guitar (2), reeds (2), flute/percussion, and drums) which did an excellent job with both the musical numbers and incidental music.

Turning to the performance aspects: In general, the acting portion and the dancing portions of the performance were very strong. I was particularly impressed with the singing abilities of Kacey Marton (YouTube example of her singing Besame Mucho) as Sandy Dumbrowski and Stephanie Hoston as Marty (who did a killer job on “Freddie, my Love”). Ms. Marton is particularly impressive given she’s in the medical magnet, this was her first VNHS production, and she’s from a family of scientists (and did a killer webpage on Medieval Guilds). John Armstrong gave a strong performance as Danny Zuko, and Mikel Bossette (YouTube of a play she wrote and directed) and Leslie Montano did reasonably as Frenchy and Betty Rizzo, respectively. Also impressive was the dancing ability of Mia Jamili (YouTube) as Cha-Cha Digregorio. Also worthy of mention were the performances of Lisa Lee as Jan and Julia Rachilewski as Patty Simcox.

As for the bad: There appeared to be a significant sound problem: I’m unsure whether it was badly-placed microphones or a mixing problems, but often the actors could not be heard over the music. There were also portions where the actors just spoke too fast, further complicating the ability to hear their lines. The audience didn’t help, screaming out to their friends over the lines (but it was a high-school audience, not a theatre audience, so this might be expected). My daughter noticed some line flubs, but from my point of view, they were not significant enough to distract. Lastly (and this is indeed a nit), the stand-in for “Greased Lightening” was from the wrong era — it was a 1990s Chevy Truck, cherry-red primer, as opposed to a 1950’s Ford or Chevy. It is a nit because one wouldn’t expect a HS production to get a real 1950s car, but perhaps the auto shop could have added some chrome and fins somewhere 🙂

The ugly: There was one ugly moment, from my perspective. The “Teen Angel” number is supposed to be suave and smooth. The young man playing the part had the acting and dancing moves down, but just didn’t have the voice for the number.

Overall, I think it was a pretty-good job for a high-school production (betcha thought I would say “High School Musical”), especially considering that this was Van Nuys’ first musical production. I do hope they do more musical productions: they are great audience pleasers, and allow for the growth of numerous performance skills. The magnet coordinator noted that this musical was a true unifying event for the school: it is nice when something other than sports unifies a school.

The cast consisted of Reyna Hallett (Miss Lynch), Julia Rachilewski (Patty Simcox), Marlon Meyerson (Eugene Florczyk), Lisa Lee (Jan), Stephanie Hoston (Marty), Leslie Montano (Betty Rizzo), Erick Maldonado (Doody), Timothy Glick (Roger), Dominic Gessel (Kenicke), John Geronilla (Sonny LaTierri), Mike Bossette (Frenchy), Kacey Marton (Sandy Dumbrowski), John Armstrong (Danny Zuko), Cody Banks (Vince Fontaine), Aria Pakatchi (Johnny Casino/Teen Angel), and Mia Jamili (Cha-Cha Digregorio). The singing and dancing ensemble consisted of Angie Beas, Joseph Cayanan, Paulina De La Rosa, Ashlyn Killham, April Machado, Amanda Molano, Deeanna Padilla, Marissa Perplies, Brandon Thomas, Nikki Stevens, and Kaitlin Marie Walters. The orchestra was conducted by Robert Eisenhart assisted by Aidan Reynolds, with Jung Lee (Piano), Kayla Cota (Bass), Aidan Reynolds (Guitar), Isaac Roman (Guitar), Dylan Rodriguez (Reeds), Joanne Ayalia (Reeds), San Juanita Martinez (Flute/Percussion), and Arturo Martinez (Drums). The overall production was supervised by Randy Olea.

So what’s next on our theatre calendar? Next weekend is a gothic weekend, with “Jekyll & Hyde” at Cabrillo Music Theatre on Sat 3/15 @ 2pm, followed the next day by “Sweeney Todd” at the Ahmanson @ 1pm. The following weekend (3/22) is “W;t” at REP East. On Sat 4/5 @ 8pm we have the premier of the new musical “Mask” at the Pasadena Playhouse. Either that week or the next week we’ll be getting tickets for “The Who’s Tommy” at Cal State Northridge. I still need to figure out productions for late April and early May — possibilities include “Pippin” at East West Players (5/8-6/8) and “The Immigrant” at Colony Theatre (4/2-5/4). On 5/31, we’re scheduled to see “A Chorus Line” @ 2pm at the Ahmanson, and “Of Mice and Men” @ 8pm at the Pasadena Playhouse. We’re likely to change those due to the performance of “Grease” at Nobel MS on 5/29, 5/30, and 5/31. That takes us to the end of 2Q08.

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We hold these truths to be self-evident, that some plays make history come alive….

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This afternoon we went out to the Actors Co-Op at the Crossley Theatre in Hollywood (MySpace) to see a Tony-award winning musical from 1969: “1776”. Before I go into the show, I’d like to describe the theatre and its company. The Crossley Theatres are located on the large campus of First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood, and is the first Christian-based professional theatre company in the US that operates under a c0ntract with Actors Equity (I’ll note we’ve been to one other Church-based theatre company — ELATE Lincoln Steadman Theatre (where we saw “Songs for a New World”)). They’ve been around for 16 years, and did a remarkable job. It is an interesting company. I also note that we met shutterbug93 at the show — it is always a delight to see her when she is in town (her review).

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

Actors Co-Op, for the most part, did a good job of the play with the resources they had. The principal lead was Bruce Ladd* as John Adams. Ladd did a very good job with the acting side of the role, creating a believable character with the requisite commitment. I felt his singing, at points, could have been a little bit stronger, but was certainly good. Larry Lederman, as Benjamin Franklin, also inhabited the character, and had a strong singing voice. The third member of our leading trio, Ben Hensley, was the strongest — great singing voice, great acting.

Turning to the two women in the cast: Leslie Spencer Smith was a strong Abigail Adams, with a delightful singing voice and good characterization. Also good was Erika Whalen* as Martha Jefferson. Although she only had one scene, I enjoyed her playfullness and vitality (although her singing could have been a tad stronger).

Looking at the rest of the Continental Congress and their aides, there are a few particular standouts. Stephen Van Dorn did a remarkable job as Edward Rutledge, especially on the song “Molasses to Rum”. Alson strong was Matt Lutz* as the courier, especially in “Momma Look Sharp”, the last number in Act 1. I also liked Michael Downing’s performace as John Dickinson, especially in one of my favorite songs, “Cool Considerate Men”. The last person I would like to single out is Don Robb as Stephen Hopkins, who was just fun to watch. Rounding out the cast was Tad Atkinson (Reverend John Witherspoon), Ryan Beringer (Josiah Bartlett), Gary Clemmer* (John Hancock), Rick Marcus (Andrew McNair), Stephen Folds (Roger Sherman), Greg Martin (Samuel Chase), Tim Farmer* (Caesar Rodney), Jim Keily (James Wilson), Mark Kinsey Stephenson (Richard Henry Lee), Carl Moebus (Dr. Lyman Hall), Michael Mulligan (Thomas McKean), David Nadeau (Leather Apron/Painter), Markus Parker (Philip Livingston), David Scales (George Read), Brian Sparrow (Joseph Hewes), Ronnie Steadman (Charles Thomson) and Gary Steelman (Lewis Morris).

Turning to the technical side. The music was directed by Johanna Kent, leading a four-piece ensemble (keyboard, piano, violin, and drums). I felt that this wasn’t enough for the show (it probably needed double that for the right sound), but was likely all they could fit in the space. The scenery was excellent for the space, consisting of the main congress room with adjustable lighting and two side areas for the outside scenes — Stephen Gifford is to be commended for his use of the space, Lisa D. Katz for her lighting, and Lori Berg for her props. Sound design was by Cricket S. Myers. The costumes by A. Jeffrey Schoenberg seemed reasonably period. Stage management was by Doirean Heldt assisted by Amanda Bell. Choreography was by Allison Bibicoff, who made excellent use of the small space. The production was directed by Richard Israel. The artistic directors for Actors Co-op are Micha Kobayashi and Mark Kinsey Stephenson, and the producing director is Paul Stuart Graham.

“1776” continues at Actors Co-Op until March 16, 2008.

As for us, the next show on the theatre calendar is likely one of the productions of Grease at Van Nuys High the weekend of March 6-8, although I may get tickets for something one of the remaining weekends in February (I’m keeping my eyes on a production of “Assassins”). Also sometime in March will be “W;t” at REP East (it runs 3/7 through 4/5). March 15 brings “Jekyll & Hyde” at Cabrillo Music Theatre, followed the next day by “Sweeney Todd” at the Ahmanson. That’s our current 1Q08 in theatre, as we know it now.

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You Can Bring Giants Together, But You Can’t Make Them Work

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Last night, we went out to the Pasadena Playhouse for the first show of the 2008 season, “Orson’s Shadow”. In the words of Kander and Ebb, “It isn’t working.”

“Orson’s Shadow”, by Austin Pendleton, purports to tell the story of the time in 1960 when the cinema great Orson Wells agrees to direct Sir Lawrence Olivier and Dame Judith Plowright in a restaging of Eugène Ionesco’s Rhinoceros. At the time, Wells was coming off of multiple years of failure in Hollywood post-“Citizen Kane,” and was involved in a disasterous production of “Chimes at Midnight” in Dublin. This activity was arranged by theatre critic Kenneth Tynan as a way to get involved with the forthcoming National Theatre, directed by Olivier. At the same time, Olivier was fresh from his portrayal of vaudevillean Archie Rice on stage in John Osborne’s “The Entertainer”, and about to reprise the role in the film adaptation thereof. He was also getting romantically involved with Plowright, and was in the process of leaving Vivian Leigh (also a character in the play). Leigh, at the time, was coping with her manic-depression, TB, and was about to go to New York to work on a play. Lastly, adding to the complications, were the supposed reactions of Olivier and Leigh to bad reviews written by Tynan of the stage productions of “Streetcar Named Desire” in London and the Cleopatra Plays in New York.

So here we have a number of big egos–Wells, Olivier, Leigh, and to some extent Tynan–coming together. The explosion should be interesting to watch, right, and the drama is in how the characters pick up the pieces. I’m sure that’s what the author thought, and why Judith Auberjoinois suggested the idea. To some extent, it was — when the play was concentrating on the characters in character, it was good (although you weren’t quite sure where it was going). However, there was a lot of backstory to be brought in if the audience was to understand the production. How to do it? How to do it?

In this, the job devolved to characters in the play — although not as their characters. Instead, they would turn to the audience and give a monologue providing the necessary exposition. As an example of this, in the first scene, the Tynan character turns to the audience and says (paraphrased): “Here’s where the maid would receive a phone call where through the answers to the questions the backstory would be given. It would go like this…”, and he goes on for 5 minutes related the call and the exposition. This continued throughout the play, including announcing the intermission, and having Plowright (the only character still alive today) turn to the audience at the end and giving a recap of where every character ended up. This, to me, is poor writing. The play needs a different framing device, or additional scenes and characters to bring in this background in a more realistic fashion.

There were further book problems. Some scenes went on too long (such as the first rehearsal of Rhinoceros). More importantly, the playwright never found the right dramatic arc: at the end of the play, you need to provide redemption for some characters and comeuppance for others to provide the feeling of satisfaction… and that never happened in this incident, which was a fiasco from beginning to end. Perhaps that’s why they needed the expository bookends, but maybe this just wasn’t the right thing to dramatize. However, I must note that the middle — where the characters were being their characters — was very well written. There is the nucleus of gem here, but I think it still needs more work to polish it and get rid of some of the rough edges.

Aside from the book problems, how was the play? Acting-wise, most of the performances was excellent. I was particularly taken by the performances of Bruce McGill as Orson Wells, and Sharon Lawrence as Vivian Leigh. Lawrence’s performance in Act 2 was particularly good: she did a remarkable job of showing the manic-depressive nature of Leigh, and just shone in her scenes. McGill as Wells became the character: he had the stage presence and authority to become the man. Alas, the same could not be said of the other role requiring stage presence, Sir Lawrence Olivier, as played by Charles Shaughnessy (who most folks know as the male lead on “The Nanny”). Shaughnessy had the accent and played the role well, but just didn’t have the special something that made Olivier. Another key role in the cast was Scott Lowell, who did a good job as Kenneth Tynan — he had down the cough and meek nature of the man, but the role just isn’t a “shine” role. I also liked Libby West as Joan Plowright, but the role just didn’t allow this talented actress much to do. Rounding out the cast was Nick Cernoch as Sean, an invented minor stage hand/assistant role whose main purpose seemed to be for reaction and exposition.

On the technical side, this was the directoral debut of Damaso Rodriguez, the new associate artistic director of the Playhouse. He did OK, although there was some stiffness at time. The scenic design (a mostly backstage set, dark and dreary) was by Gary Wissmann. Costume design was by Mary Vogt, with lighting by Dan Jenkens and sound by Cricket S. Myers. Casting was by Michael Donovan, and the production was aided by dance consultant Art Manke with dialect coaching by Joel Goldes. Stage management was by Lea Chazin assisted by Hethyr Verhoef. The production continues through February 17.

As for us, the next show on the theatre calendar is “1776” at Actors Co-Op (with shutterbug93). I’m still considering whether to get tickets for something the remaining two weekends of February. The weekend of March 6-8 we’ll likely see “Grease” at Van Nuys High. Also sometime in March will be “W;t” at REP East (it runs 3/7 through 4/5). March 15 brings “Jekyll & Hyde” at Cabrillo Music Theatre, followed the next day by “Sweeney Todd” at the Ahmanson. That’s our current 1Q08 in theatre, as we know it now.

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“Who am I? I’m Andrew F***ing Jackson!”

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Many, many, (many) years ago, I had a girlfriend who loved horror movies. Our usual date was to go see such movies at the Culver Theatre. I remember seeing such movies as Halloween and Friday the 13th on their first release there. Why do I mention this (after all, the horrorfest (the movies, not the girl) was back in my undergraduate days)?

The answer is simple. Today, I returned to the Culver Theatre to see another bloody, bloody production. Of course, the Culver Theatre is no longer called the Culver — it is now the Kirk Douglas Theatre (part of Center Theatre Group), and the production wasn’t a movie but the stage production of “Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson” (Myspace Page).

“Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson” tells the story of our 7th president, Andrew Jackson, using the rock/emo musical style of “Spring Awakening”. The book (by Alex Timbers) isn’t your typical biographical musical, with the songs advancing the story, with a true love story interwoven throughout, and a happy ending. This was a rock-style “in your face” musical, with microphones and a rock band on stage, featuring a twenty-something Andrew Jackson emoting throughout, cutting himself and his wife when times got tough, with lots of death and staged violence. There was lots of emphasis on Jackson’s populism, his interactions with the Washington Elite (Madison, Calhoun, JQ Adams) as well as an obviously fey Martin Van Buren. But the title really gives the emphasis of the play: the bloodiness that ran thoughout his life, especially with respect to his relationship with Native Americans. Jackson was an Indian-fighter, if not outright Indian-killer, throughout his rise through the Army, especially in battles with the Cree and the Seminole. It is Jackson upon who the credit — and the blame — for the Trail of Tears. There’s lots of profanity (although arguably, that was Jacksonesque, as he was known as being coarse).

The music and lyrics (written by Michael Friedman) is definately emo-rock. The program doesn’t list song titles, but I do know that some of the songs include “Populism Yea Yea”, “Life Sucks”, and “Ten Little Indians” (all available from the musical’s MySpace page). The style and the tone of these songs really describe the musical. Hell, even the CTG page says about the musical, “Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson redefines America’s seventh president, a pioneer of humble stock who invented the Democratic Party, moved Indians west, and played a kick-ass guitar.”

Here is a You-Tube video with some show clips to give you an idea of the show:

I walked out the musical undecided about it. It wasn’t the staging that bothered me — I don’t mind innovative staging. Perhaps it was the language — again, I don’t mind coarse, but this seemed gratuitous. Perhaps it was that there were moments that seemed, perhaps, just too cute, too played for the effect it would give. I don’t fault the actors here — this is a writing thing — and I hope that it is something that improves as this musical matures and grows. I think it does portray Jackson as an interesting character, and perhaps leads folks to think about the presidents we often don’t think about (most folks don’t think about #6-#13). I’ll also note that the parallels between Jackson’s time and our present time are often quite eeery.

The acting on this was excellent, although on a few songs the singing started weak. In the title role of the bad-ass Andrew Jackson was Benjamin Walker*. Other cast members, who formed the ensemble as well as playing the indicated parts, were Anjali Bhimani* (Rachel Jackson), Will Collyer*, Diane Davis* (Elizabeth), Zack DeZon, Erin Felgar*, Kristin Findley, Jimmy Fowlie, Patrick Gomez, Sebastian Gonzalez* (Lyncoya), Will Greenberg* (Clay), Greg Hildreth* (Red Eagle), Brian Hostenske* (Van Buren), Adam O’Byrne* (Calhoun), Matthew Rocheleau* (John Quincy Adams), Ben Steinfeld* (Monroe), Ian Unterman* (Defense Attorney), and Taylor Wilcox (Storyteller). The on-stage music was led by Gabriel Kahane, with Charlie Rosen (Bass Guitar), Mike Schadel (Drums), and Ben Steinfeld.

The stage (set design by Robert Bill) was set up in a very eclectic fashion, but utilized the small space well. Lighting (design by Jeff Croiter) was very rock-ish. Choreography was by Kelly Devine, costumes by Emily Rebholz, sound by Bart Fasbender, and projections by Jake Pinholster. The overall production was directed by Alex Timbers, with production stage management by David S. Franklin, Elizabeth Atkinson, and Michelle Blair. The production continues at the Kirk Douglas until February 16.

As for us, the next show on the theatre calendar is “Orson’s Shadow” at the Pasadena Playhouse on 2/9 @ 8pm. On February 16, we’re seeing “1776” at Actors Co-Op (with shutterbug93). The weekend of March 6-8 we’ll likely see “Grease” at Van Nuys High. Also sometime in March will be “W;t” at REP East (it runs 3/7 through 4/5). March 15 brings “Jekyll & Hyde” at Cabrillo Music Theatre, followed the next day by “Sweeney Todd” at the Ahmanson. That’s our current 1Q08 in theatre, as we know it now.

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