Tag: reviews-2011

The Wicked of the South

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Recently, while at Pic-N-Save, my wife picked up a copy of “Rhett Butler’s People“, the authorized sequel to “Gone With The Wind“. This prompted me to add “Gone With The Wind” (GWTW) to my reading queue, and after that, “Rhett Butler’s People“. I finished “Rhett Butler’s People” (RBP) yesterday, and I feel compelled to share a few observations.

I’ll start my noting that I hadn’t read GWTW before, although I had seen the movie numerous times. I was pleasently surprised. The movie turned out to be relatively close to the book (a surprise given how they hack things up these days). I’m not sure the movie emphasized Scarlett’s sisters or first two children as much, but my memory could be fault. GWTW was a good read, and I can easly see why it was one of the most popular novels in its day. It had incredible complexity, deeply tracked and plotted characters that connected with each other, interesting historical observations, and lots of different motivations. Although some might view it as a romance novel (ala Helen Hunt Jackson’s Ramona), I would put it more in the historical novel vein. I think it is unappreciated today, and probably could do with more depth and study (certainly it would be better than the numerous times Catcher in the Rye is forced on kids).

RBP tells the story of Rhett Butler, from his youth until well past that famous last scene of GWTW. Reading the book, I couldn’t help think of the parallels with Wicked, Gregory Maguire’s telling of the backstory of the Wicked Witch of the West, including that unfortunate encounter with that brat from Kansas. I mention this because RBP also took incidents and characters (especially little ones) from the base story (in Wicked’s case, The Wizard of Oz), and attempted to weave them into a coherent backstory. Wicked was perhaps more successful in this, because there was so little about the Witch in the original book. RBP had a harder task because there is just so much in the GWTW story. I’d say that McCraig was about 85% successful in that effort: there are some incidents he doesn’t mention, and there are points where I think he might have his chronology wrong. There are some who dispute his characterizations of some of the individuals. Of course, these problems set off the reviewers of the story who insisted on 100% fidelity to the original. I can see that point of view, but I’m willing to accept a few minor discrepancies. [If you hadn’t guessed, I’m not a fan fiction person, nor am I a slavish fan to any particular story].

The story also suffered from what I will call sequelitis. This is when the sequel attempts to tell the same story as the original. It’s really common in the few sequels that have been attempted in the theatre (and often in them movies, as opposed to “Part 2”). In the case of RBP, the entire story of Butler’s sister, Rosemary, seems in many ways to be a parallel to Scarlett’s story—in love with one man, but marrying another, and with a very plain best friend who marries the man she loved. That story plays out differently than Scarlett’s, but the parallels are just disturbing (and to me, an indication of taking an easy writers out).

Does this mean that RBP was bad. No, I’m not as down on it as some of the reviewers on Amazon, but I think it was a pleasant read—certainly appropriate for two days over Memorial Day, in preparation for a trip to the South and many of the locales of GWTW (in particular, New Orleans and Atlanta). I thought the story flowed well, and McCraig is certainly an adequate writer. For a $3 read, it wasn’t bad (and the copy of GWTW was even cheaper—a $1.75 paperback from 1970). It is certainly better than the unauthorized sequel by Alexandra Ripley, “Scarlett“, which I understand had Scarlett going off to Ireland after Rhett left. That got scathing reviews.

Now it’s off to read another book about Civil War days: Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. That should get me ready to drive through Illinois!

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The Decadence Before a Fall

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This seems to be a Holocaust Spring in terms of theatre, for we’ve been seeing a number of productions related to Germany during WWII. The latest was REP East’s revival of the seminal Kander-Ebb musical “Caberet“, which we last saw in 2009 in a production done by the Aerospace Employee Association. The REP’s revival was very different, and—in typical REP fashion, which is never conventional—challenged the way you look at this musical and heightened what you got out of it.

Let’s start with what the musical is about. Here’s what I wrote back in 2009 as a synopsis of the musical:

Cabaret was Kander and Ebb’s second musical, and featured a book by Joe Masteroff based on John Van Druten’s play, “I Am A Camera”, which itself was adapted from the novel “Goodbye to Berlin” by Christopher Isherwood. The musical tells two intertwined stories taking place in 1931, just as the Nazis are rising in power: the first is a revue centered on the decadence of the seedy Kit Kat Club, the second is a story set in the real world in which the club existed. The basic plot concerns American writer Clifford Bradshaw and his visit to Berlin. After making a few friends and finding housing, Clifford visits the sleazy Kit Kat Club and meets an English singer, Sally Bowles. The writer and singer soon fall in love. Meanwhile, Clifford’s elderly landlord, Fraulein Schneider, gets engaged to a Jewish greengrocer, Herr Schultz – not an easy decision given the increasing influence of the Nazis. Soon, Clifford discovers that he has been inadvertently helping the Nazis by delivering packages to Paris for a German friend of his, Ernst Ludwig. Clifford ends up deciding to return to the United States but Sally, after aborting their baby, decides to remain in Berlin.

This story is told by intertwining scenes taking place in the Caberet that often echo what is happening in the real world, but in a more decadent or exaggerated sense. Thus, the “The Money Song” song echoes Cliff and Sally’s need for money; the title song “Cabaret” echoes how Sally views life. No where is this better seen than in the controversial song “If You Could See Here Through My Eyes” in the second act, where the emcee dances with a gorilla that he purports to love, ending with the “If you could see her through my eyes/she wouldn’t look Jewish at all.”

A musical like Caberet is a challenge for a theatre like the REP, which has a single black-box space with no fly space. In adapting the production for this space, they made a number of interesting decisions that made this production really unique. These decisions make themselves apparent even before you enter the auditorium, for the show begins in the lobby where the cast mingles, in costume, with the playgoers, and then starts to sing Wilkommen (into which they integrate the normal announcements about cell phones) to usher people into the auditorium. They also adapted some of the traditional dialogue and jokes in this song for their casting approach and orchestra (for many in the cast often play intruments (in fact, all of the band except for the piano and the percussion players).

The staging was unique, making extensive use of hand-held LED flashlights to give ominious lighting and a non-traditional look. The set design was bare-bones set design, primarily consisting of a large welded rotating cage with doors and a few simple props to suggest locations (as contrasted with the traditional painted backdrops of the AEA production). This work surprisingly well, especially for the final scene.

The biggest change made by the REP was to divide the MC role into three pieces, as some times doubling the emcee with three of the Kit-Kit club positions (Victor, Herman). This had the effect of changing the emcee from a single androgynous or slightly-gay character (think Joel Grey or Alan Cumming) to a family, as there was a Male Emcee, a Female Emcee, and even stranger, a Boy Emcee. This doesn’t mean there wasn’t gender-confusion: Each emcee at times dressed as the opposite sex (in fact, when the boy emcee came out, I wasn’t even sure it was a boy, given the hairstyle). There was even one point where each emcee was both sexes—in the number Two Ladies, each was wearing a costume that was half male (dress shirt, slack, black shoes) and half female (short skirt, sexy top, heels and hose). Throughout most of this show I was unsure about how this three-emcee thing was working, but I was sold in the final scene, where both the male emcee and Herr Schultz ended up inside, in the cage, in concentration camp clothing (with the appropriate symbols for homosexual and Jew), with the female emcee and the boy emcee, now in Nazi uniform, standing in front of them in a motherly pose. Chilling.

All three emcees were strong. The female emcee (and also playing alto sax and clarinet) was Rachel Brownæ (). She was particularly stunning (and chilling) in “I Don’t Care Much”, one of the few amplified songs I’ve ever seen the REP do. The male emcee (also playing Victor) was Malek Hannah () was also strong, particularly in Tomorrow Belongs To Me and the Entracte/Kick Lines. The boy emcee was JT Friedman, who perhaps was the most surprising of the three, given how adult his performance was (in fact, it was a little creepy to watch, knowing he was a teen, but then again, that was Berlin in the 1930s).

But Cabaret is not the story of the emcees, although it often seems that way. It is the story of the transformation of Germany from the decadant party atmosphere to the Nazi state, told through the eyes of the innocents—in particular, two couples: Clifford Bradshaw and Sally Bowles, and Herr Schultz and Fraulein Schneider. In this production, both were strong. Cliff, portrayed by Adam Joseph Reichæ (), came across as very straightlaced, although there were implications of his being either homosexual or bisexual. He was a strong singer, especially in Perfectly Marvelous and Don’t Go. Sally was played by Kristen Heitman (). Kristen was strong in the role, and that perhaps was the problem: she came off as too cute, and was too good of a singer (as was demonstrated in her performance of Cabaret). I was hoping for a little seedier Sally (who is supposed to be a seedy cabaret performer in a second or third rate cabaret); but having a strong Sally is a common casting problem, for it often doesn’t hurt the performance. Note that I’m not saying Kristen’s performance was bad in any way; rather, it was too good. Such a problem!

The secondary couple were portrayed by Chera Hollandæ () as Fraulein Schneider and Robert W. Lauræ () as Herr Schultz. Holland (who also played glockenspiel) was strong both in performance and voice (especially in What Would You Do?), although I wasn’t enamored of her makeup, which was required to make her appear the requisite age. Perhaps that was a first-row problem in a small theatre—you see the magic. Laur was an appropriately befuddled Schultz, which was the intent of the role.

The supporting cast was also strong I was particularly taken with April Audiaæ () Shannon Bouknight as Fraulein Kost: she had a look that was captivating, and was a very strong singer. Christopher Karl Johnson had the right look for Ernst Ludwig that lulled you into thinking he was good until you learned his real motives. Rounding out the supporting cast were the Kit-Kat boys and girls: Shannon Bouknight (Rosie / Kit Kat Girl), Richard Van Slykeæ () (Max / Officer / Sailor / Guard / Nazi… and played cello), Mark Amacker () (Bobby / Sailor / Guard / Nazi… and played trombone and blow accordian), Laura Biery (Lulu / Kit Kat Girl), Dawnmarie Ferrara () (New York / Kit Kat Girl), and Jillann Tarara (Frenchie / Kit Kat Girl… and played violin). Rounding out the orchestra were Cassandra Nickols on piano and Johnny Schwinn on percussion.
[æ denotes members of æ Actors Equity ]

The production was directed by Mark Kaplan, who was responsible for the interesting changes in the production, and bringing out the most in the acting ensemble. The music was under the direction of Cassandra Nickols. The choreography was by Melissa White ()—it was good, but needed a little more oopmph at times… something that made it more seedy or risque. Vicki Lightner was Production Stage Manager, and Johnny Schwinn was stage manager.

Turning to the technical: The set was designed by REP regular Jeff Hyde, and was distinctly different than any other set I’ve seen Jeff design. You can see a picture of it in the review of the show from The Signal, which I’m lifting and shrinking. I have no idea how they are going to get it out of there when the show closes; evidently, they spent hours welding it together. Costumes were by Vicki Lightner and Christopher Chase and were perhaps my one slight disappointment. In particular, for the Kit-Kat girls and boys, they were good but could have been better. I expected something seedier and sexier. As you can see from the picture, the costumes covered from bust to butt, and I would think a seedy cabaret would be showing more skin, with the girls and boys always about to fall out of the costumes. Perhaps that didn’t work with Santa Clarita sensitivities, or perhaps it was my expectations. Other than that (i.e., for the other characters) they were excellent. Sound design was by REP regular Steven “Nanook” Burkholder and was strong; I was particularly impressed with the sound for Cabaret and I Don’t Care Much, which was the first use of amplified singing I’ve seen at the REP. Lighting design was by REP regular Tim Christianson, who did a number of innovative lighting approachs. The stage was mostly static leikos and lighting bars with heavy use of red and yellow to create menace; there was also heavy use of hand-held LED flashlights, which were very effective. Cabaret was produced by O Michael Owston and Mikee Schwinn.

“Cabaret” continues at REP East until June 18, 2011. It is well worth seeing for its unique interpretation. Tickets are available through the REP Online Box office, and often through Goldstar or LA Stage Alliance. You can also find out about ticket bargains by friending REP East on Facebook.

Upcoming Theatre, Concerts, and Dance: June begins with “Year Zero” at the Colony Theatre on June 5, but most of June is lost to the college visit trip (but who knows — we might go see “Always Patsy Cline” at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville). July starts with “Les Miserables” at the Ahmanson on July 2 (ticketed); followed by Western Corps Connection on July 3 in Riverside. July should continue with “Jerry Springer: The Opera“ (July 8, Chance Theatre, pending ticketing); “Twist: A New Musical” (July 16, Pasadena Playhouse, ticketed); “Jewtopia” (July 17, REP East, ticketed); Dolly Parton (July 23, Hollywood Bowl); “Shrek” (July 23 or 24, Pantages Theatre, ticketed); and “The Sound of Music” (July 30, Cabrillo Music Theatre, ticketed). August brings “Doubt” at REP East on August 13, and “On Golden Pond” at the Colony Theatre on August 20, and possibly the last Summer Evening at the Huntington with the Quarteto Neuvo on August 27. September currently only has one weekend booked: “Laughter on the 23rd Floor” at REP East on September 24; October shows “Shooting Star” at the Colony Theatre on October 1, “Annie” at Cabrillo Music Theatre on October 22, and (hopefully) Bernadette Peters at VPAC on October 16. October will also hopefully bring “The Robber Bridegroom” at ICT. Of course, I expect to fill some of the weekends in August, September, and October with productions that have yet to appear on the RADAR of Goldstar or LA Stage Alliance.

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And I Thought My Mother Was Bad….

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Last night, otaku_tetsuko joined us (nsshere wasn’t feeling well) as we ventured to Hollywood to see the West Coast Ensemble production of “Gypsy“. Yes, that “Gypsy“—the one that has numerous big name stars in it (Ethel Merman, Angela Lansbury, Tyne Daly, Bette Midler, Bernadette Peters, and Patti LuPone) and is generally acknowledged as one of the greatest musicals. West Coast Ensemble is doing a version of the show they are calling “Gypsy… stripped”, which is done in a very small production, directed by Richard Israel, in a 99-seat older theatre, with a five-piece orchestra. A very seedy-feeling production, bare-bones, that focuses on the acting.

Wait, you say you’ve never heard of the story of “Gypsy“? “Gypsy“, on its face, is the story of the creation of the stripper Gypsy Rose Lee. In reality, it is the story of her stage mother, Rose Havok. You can find a detailed summary at Musicals.Net, but in short: The story starts in Seattle, where Rose is trying to get her kids, June and Rose, into a kiddy show. She succeeds, and this starts them on the road. They acquire an agent (Herbie) and supporting boys, and start on the vaudeville circuits. Slowly successful, they run into the death of vaudeville. Bookings start to get slower, and the children get older—at least in life, if not on stage. As the first act ends, June has gotten fed up, and one of the boys, Tulsa, has developed his own dance duo act. They elope, leaving Rose, Herbie, and Louise to regroup. In Act II, Rose is attempting to restart the act around Louise, but failing. They eventually end up as a children’s act at a burlesque theatre in Wichita. Here, Louise learns about the stripper’s life. When their gig ends, Herbie is about to marry Rose, when the theatre suddently needs a star stripper. Rose volunteers Louise, which is the last straw for Herbie. Louise goes on, timidly at first, to discover a career she loves and is good at. This leaves Rose unneeded, and as the musical ends, we learn why Rose did it all—not for the children, but for herself, living vicariously through her children’s success that she could never have.

Most versions of Gypsy are built around a star and a star’s performance, and people remember their Gypsy’s by the Mama Rose performer. Oh, I saw Merman. I saw Daly. I saw Peters. For this Gypsy, the Mama Rose actress (Jan Sheldrickæ) was not a big-name star. Her singing was not the calibur of a Peters or LuPone (although it was good); I’m not sure her voice will last out the run. But she was a strong actress… and it is the acting at close quarters that makes this show. Watching her face during performances such as “Roses Turn” you could see the determination and vulnerability of this woman—this was a woman you crossed at your own risk.

Faces. They are what made this production. I just loved watching the faces. My favorite was that of Stephanie Wallæ (). She was just such a great reactive performer. Watching her in “Little Lamb” or “If Mama Was Married” was a delight. She was timid; she was joyful; she was expressive. In “All I Need Is the Girl”, you could see her longing to dance with Tulsa. Perhaps her best faces and reactions were in “Everything’s Coming Up Roses”, where her face showed such abject terror and horror as Rose became focused on Louise’s success. Similarly, her face during “You Gotta Get a Gimmick” was remarkable: going from shock to joy. Watching this young woman’s transformation into Gypsy was just great; you could just read the self confidence (although I was disappointed there wasn’t more of the older Gypsy — I seem to recall a bit more in the strip routine number). Although people claim Rose is the star of this show, I personally feel this show was made by Ms. Wall.

Another great face was Michael Matthysæ as Herbie. This is not a strong singing role (the original was Jack Klugman). Mr. Matthys’ strength, again, was in his acting and his face. You could see his love for Rose and the kids. You could see his horror as Rose turned in “Everythings Coming Up Roses”. You could see his disappointment as Rose pimped her daughter in Wichita. Very expressive actor.

A few other “faces” that I want to particularly mention. The first “face” that I found fascinating was that of Caitlin Williams as young Louise. She seemed so lost on the stage when contrasted with her sister (played by Kaleigh Ryan). She seemed off in the dance numbers, a bit lost with the words, but I got the impression that was the actress acting—she was doing a wonderful job of showing Louise as the introverted one who was not comfortable on stage. I also enjoyed the face of Kaylie Swanson as the older June, especially during the “If Mama Was Married” sequence where her personality shone through. As Tulsa, Eric Allen Smith was a remarkable dancer and a delight in “All I Need Is The Girl”. A fourth worthy face was Sara J. Stuckey () as Tessie Tura (she also had a few other small roles). As Tessie, you could she how she enjoyed burlesque for what it was, and how she enjoyed interacting with Mama Rose’s girls.

Rounding out the cast were: L. J. Benet () (performer boy / singer / newsboy); Kelly Jean Clairæ () (Mazeppa / Miss Cratchitt); Quintan Craig (Yonkers); Glory Curda (Balloon Girl); Major Curdaæ (Boy Scout / Newsboy); Saylor Curda (Twirling Girl); Amy Lawrenceæ () (Marjorie); Larry Ledermanæ () (George / Rose’s Father / Mr. Kringelein / Cigar); Dan Pachecoæ (Angie); Tony Pandolfoæ (Uncle Jocko / Mr. Weber / Mr. Goldstone / Pasty); Zack Salas () (L.A. / Bourgeron); Katie Scarlett (Agnes / Showgirl); Jessica Schatzæ () (Electra / Renee / Stage Mother); Ann Villella () (Geraldine / Showgirl); and Petey Yarosh () (Newsboy).
[æ denotes members of æ Actors Equity ]

Technically, the production was bare bones. The set, designed by Stephen Gifford, was primarily a bare stage with vaudeville stage cards and simple props. The costumes, by Zale Morris (assisted by Cat J. Scanlan as associate and Daniel Kingsland as assistant), were appropriately period and seedy (although Tessie’s was a big more risque than I expected). Wigs were by Anthony Gagliardi. The sound by Rebecca Kessin was seemingly unamplified. The lighting by Lisa D. Katz was relatively static and unadored with lots of blues and pinks, with a single follow spot. Stage management was by Nicholas Acciani, assisted by Lindsay Capacio.

The production was directed with Richard Israel, with musical directon by Johanna Kent. The orchestra was uncredited and unseen, but sounded like five pieces. This was a mistake—they deserved credit. Choreography was by John Todd, who did an effective job with movement and dance.

The West Coast Ensemble webpage does not show a closing date for “Gypsy“. It is being performed at the Theatre of the Arts Arena Stage, which is behind the Egyptian Theatre on Las Palmas in Hollywood. Tickets are available through West Coast Ensemble, as well as through Goldstar or LA Stage Alliance.

Upcoming Theatre, Concerts, and Dance: The last weekend of May brings “Cabaret” at REP East on May 28. June begins with “Year Zero” at the Colony Theatre on June 5, but most of June is lost to the college visit trip (but who knows — we might go see “Always Patsy Cline” at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville). July should hopefully start with “Les Miserables” at the Ahmanson on July 2; pending hottix ticketed, followed by Western Corps Connection on July 3 in Riverside. July should continue with “Jerry Springer: The Opera“ (July 8, Chance Theatre, pending ticketing); “Twist: A New Musical” (July 16, Pasadena Playhouse, ticketed); “Jewtopia” (July 17, REP East, ticketed); Dolly Parton (July 23, Hollywood Bowl); “Shrek” (July 23 or 24, Pantages Theatre, pending ticketing); and “The Sound of Music” (July 30, Cabrillo Music Theatre, ticketed). August will bring “Doubt” at REP East on August 13, and “On Golden Pond” at the Colony Theatre on August 20. The remainder of August is currently open.

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Students of the Dance

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Last night, we went to the Spring show of the Van Nuys High School dance department, “Collabor8”. This is the student produced dance show, featuring primarily student-choreographed worked and primarily student performers (the class instructor, Mike Nakauchi, performed in one number). It is always an interesting show, although I do advise those unfamilar with today’s music scene to bring your foam earplugs, for it gets LOUD in the auditorium, especially when the subwoofers and bass gets turned up.

The show last night featured three acts. Act 0 was the senior spotlight, with Acts I and II being the main production featuring students of all years. I’d like to comment on a number of the productions that particularly caught my eye.

Act 0: Senior Spotlight. In this act, there were two performances I particularly liked. The first was “My Immortal”, choreographed and performed by Dixie Zelaya, perhaps because it was more traditional and ballet-like. The second performance (which was stronger) was “My Chick Bad”, performed and choreographed by Amanda Molano. This was a very athletic performance to a strong beat, which even though I didn’t like the music drew me in from the movement.

Act I. There were a number of good performances here. Here are the ones I particularly liked, in presentation order… “Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend”, chroeographed by Tatyana Saldana and performed by Arielle Bell, Layla Chatthoranongsak, Paloma De Ruiz, Alex Geronilla, Amanda Molano, Tatyana Saldana, and Andrea Vargas was a relatively traditional number, which I liked primarily because the music (“Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend”, from the Moulin Rouge soundtrack) was accessible, and they did a good job of executing it. “Beautiful Liars” was a belly dance-like number choreographed and performed by Layla Chatthoranongsak and Dixie Zelaya. “ABC” was a tap number choreographed and performed by Natalya Shoaf and Tatyana Saldana to the Jackson 5 song… and I’m a sucker for tap. Always have been, always will be. “Heavy”, choreographed by Thomas Murphy O’Hara and performed by Thomas and Andrea Vargas was an extremely strong number, very moving. “Fembot”, choreographyed by Myelle Bossette, Erin Geronimi, Quest Sky Zeidler and performed by the choreographers plus Zoya Hasan, was a very cute and appealing number. “Stay with Me”, choreographed and performed by the faculty advisor, Mike Nakauchi, showcased his ability very well. Lastly, “SAW”, choreographed by Mike Nakauchi and performed by the Jazz Dance Team, was a wonderful story peace, well performed and danced.

Act II. Again, here are the numbers I liked in this act, in performance order. “Wonderland”, choreographed by Dixie Zelaya, Rebecca Monterroso, and Mary Jannie Taylor, and performed by a hell-of-a-lot-of-people was an interesting take on Alice In Wonderland; I found myself wondering what they might do with the new Frank Wildhorn score. “Mafia”, choreographed by Joseph Cayanan, Stephen Park, Joe Gravina, and Lionel Vivar and performed by the Hip Hop Dance team was also an excellent story piece about mobs and mob violence. Also enjoyable was “Bad Romance”, choreographed by Thomas Murphy O’Hara and performed by another-large-bunch-of-people (including my daughter)—it was a joy to watch. “Otea”, choreographed by Lyndel and performed by May Poovaviranon, was a traditional hulu dance and made an interesting change of pace. I may be biased on this, but I enjoyed “Atonement”, which was choreographed by my daughter, Erin, and was performed by Erin, Taylor Morris, and Quest Sky Zeidler. Lastly, I enjoyed the finale piece, “Salome”, choreographed by Mike Nakauchi and featuring the entire company.

Upcoming Theatre, Concerts, and Dance: Next weekend brings us to “Gypsy… Stripped” at West Coast Ensemble (specifically at the Theatre of Arts Arena Stage in Hollywood) The last weekend of May brings “Cabaret” at REP East on May 28. June begins with “Year Zero” at the Colony Theatre on June 5, but most of June is lost to the college visit trip (but who knows — we might go see “Always Patsy Cline” at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville). July should hopefully start with “Les Miserables” at the Ahmanson on July 2 (pending hottix), and continue with “Jerry Springer: The Opera“ (July 8, Chance Theatre, pending ticketing); “Twist: A New Musical” (July 16, Pasadena Playhouse, ticketed); “Jewtopia” (July 17, REP East, ticketed); Dolly Parton (July 23, Hollywood Bowl); “Shrek” (July 23 or 24, Pantages Theatre, pending ticketing); and “The Sound of Music” (July 30, Cabrillo Music Theatre, ticketed). August will bring “Doubt” at REP East on August 13, and “On Golden Pond” at the Colony Theatre on August 20. The remainder of August is currently open.

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Hershey One Note

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Last night, we went to see our penultimate (i.e., next to last) production at the Pasadena Playhouse, George Gershwin: Alone (GGA). “George Gershwin: Alone” is part of a four musical series called “The Composer Sonata”. It consists of three movements and a coda: “Beethoven: As I Knew Him“, “Monsieur Chopin“, “George Gershwin: Alone“, and “Maestro: The Art of Leonard Bernstein“. All of these shows feature a book by Hershey Felder, with music by the indicated artists.

“George Gershwin: Alone” purports to be a one-man show that tells the life story of George Gershwin. Although in some sense a jukebox musical, it doesn’t have the typical larger cast, nor does it have reenactments of scenes in the life of the group. If I was to try to come up with a close comparison, it would be the one-woman show on Ethel Merman done by Klea Blackhurst. In other words, the show is structured as a single performer (Hershey Felder, in this case) telling the target’s life story, punctuated with the songs from that story. But unlike Blackhurst’s show, which discusses the life of Merman in detail, Felder’s presentation on Gershwin was superficial, concentrating most heavily on the music, not the man, and on the post-Rhapsody period. About the only mention of the extensive Broadway career of Gershwin was the singular mention of Merman and “I’ve Got Rhythm”—and this seemed to be done primarily to get a joke comparing Merman and Jolson (who introduced Gershwin’s first famous song, “Swanee”). Although the production did cover the highlights of Gershwin’s career (popular songs, Broadway, Rhapsody, the Concerto, Porgy and Bess, and his Hollywood work), it never gave the sense of why the Gershwin’s were one of the most popular composing teams of the 1920s and 1930s, and why they had such an impact on American music. In particular, it never gave mention of Gershwin’s targeted political nature, evidenced in shows such as “Strick Up The Band”, “Of Thee I Sing”, and “Let Them Eat Cake”. It scratched the surface of what Gershwin was and the music he gave the world. On the up-side, Felder does a good job of telling the story he tells, and seems to know Gershwin’s life intimantly. He is a virtuoso at playing Gershwin’s music, especially “Rhapsody in Blue”, which takes up the last 10 minutes of the formal show.

The best part of the show was not the formal show itself, but the aftershow. In the tradition of Gershwin, Felder hosts a party at the theatre immediately after the bows. This includes crowding the audience (virtually) around the piano and singing along (“Embrace me, you sweet embracable you…”). It also includes having the audience suggest songs from the Gershwin catalog to sing (in our case, it included “Someone to Watch Over Me”, “It Ain’t Necessarily So”, and “Summertime” — he nixed “Strike Up the Band” because he didn’t have the music (only for the UCLA version), and “Lady Be Good” because it was in a register too difficult for the audience to sing. He also sang a humerous song that Gershwin and Berlin wrote. He also used this time to talk about his new show, “An American Story” about the surgeon who treated Lincoln, and how merch (including advance copies of the CD of that show) would be available in the patio, with proceeds going to the Playhouse.

The show did not give the feeling of a Pasadena Playhouse production. It seemed more like “FDR“, a imported show that was brought into the Playhouse to help fill out the season’s slots after the bankruptcy. Hopefully the next show, “Twist“, won’t have that feeling.

“George Gershwin: Alone” was directed by Joel Zwick. The scenic design by Yael Pardess was simple: a grand piano, a table stacked with music, a chair and a light, and some pictures of sheet music. The lighting design by Michael T. Gilliam, assisted by Margaret Hartmann, was relatively basic (c’mon, what was being lit was a piano!). Matt Marsden was Production Manager and Technical Director. Gigi Garcia was the Production Stage Manager, assisted by Nate Genung. I should note that much of this production team were not Playhouse regulars, but were staff from Eight-Eight Entertainment (I’d link, but Google thinks the site is compromised), the production company for “George Gershwin: Alone“—this served to highlight the sense of this being an imported production.

The last performance of “George Gershwin: Alone” is tonight, Sunday, May 8, 2011.

The Pasadena Playhouse has announced their next season. Suprisingly, for a theatre coming out of bankruptcy, they didn’t do this heavily during the show. There was no announcement during the show of the program; there was no insert in the program; there was no full-page ad on the season. Instead, there was a heavily textual 1/3rd page column on the last page of the program-specific material. So I’ll be similarly low-key: you can find a full description in this post. It consists of “South Street” (September 2011), “Pastoral” (November 2011″, “Art” (January 2012), “The Heiress” (April 2012), and a summer musical, which will either be “Peggy Sue Got Married” or “The Nutty Professor”. We’re not subscribing; we may go to particular individual shows.

Upcoming Theatre, Concerts, and Dance: Next weekend sees us at Van Nuys High School for the “Collabor8 Dance Festival”, which is always excellent. The third weekend in May brings us to “Gypsy… Stripped” at West Coast Ensemble (specifically at the Theatre of Arts Arena Stage in Hollywood) The last weekend of May brings “Cabaret” at REP East on May 28. June begins with “Year Zero” at the Colony Theatre on June 5, but most of June is lost to the college visit trip (but who knows — we might go see “Always Patsy Cline” at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville). July should hopefully start with “Les Miserables” at the Ahmanson on July 2 (pending hottix), and continue with “Jerry Springer: The Opera“ (July 8, Chance Theatre, pending ticketing); “Twist: A New Musical” (July 16, Pasadena Playhouse, ticketed); “Jewtopia” (July 17, REP East, ticketed); Dolly Parton (July 23, Hollywood Bowl, pending ticketing); “Shrek” (July 23 or 24, Pantages Theatre, pending ticketing); and “The Sound of Music” (July 30, Cabrillo Music Theatre, ticketed). August will bring “Doubt” at REP East on August 13, and “On Golden Pond” at the Colony Theatre on August 20. The remainder of August is currently open.

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Beautiful Music, Beautiful Venue

Posted onAuthorcahwyguy

Last night, we went to the new Valley Performing Arts Center at California State University, Northridge (CSUN) to see one of their inargural concerts: Brian Stokes Mitchell. Before I go into the show itself, a few words about the venue.

This was our first time at VPAC, which is a brand-new (opened in February) performing arts facility located on the CSUN campus. It is a beautiful venue in many ways, with loads of light woods and marble; however, as befits a CSUN building, it isn’t overly ornate. Decorations are primarily glass and the overhead lighting is florescent, although there is a beautiful reflecting pool with sculptures in front of the building. Inside, the light woods theme is repeated. There are three seating levels (we were the last row in the first balcony, called the loge) over four stories with a total seeting capacity of 1672. This is about the same size as the Ahmanson (which is configurable to 1600-2000), but it seems a lot smaller; it’s smaller than the 1800-seat Kavli and significantly larger than the 499-seat Broad. The sight lines are great, and the seats are comfortable (although firm). What sets the building apart are the acoustics (technical specifications). The hall has variable acoustics, meaning that behind the screen “grillage” covering the rear and side walls are carefully shaped reflecting wall construction and deployable sound absorptive wool serge fabric. Additional variable acoustic banners can be deployed above the hall’s catwalks to further modify the halls sound quality to suit a wide range of performance types. The hall also includes sinuous wood ribbons radiating from the stage while more than 34,000 feet of stainless steel mesh panels cover the acoustical fabric on the rear walls. The hall also includes an adjustable orchestra shell, a spacious professional stage-house with an 85-foot-high full fly tower equipped with a 60-line set rigging system, a hydraulic stage extension/pit lift and generous backstage maneuvering space for large stage sets. You can see the effect of this in the figure to the right.. What this means, of course, is that the acoustics are perfect (better than the Disney Hall downtown, from what I’ve been told). From where we were sitting in the last row of the first balcony, we could hear perfectly, and there was no hint of amplification is the sound. In fact, Stokes did one song without amplification, and we could hear him perfectly. That’s great acoustics, and that’s what makes this hall a delight. We only had two, easily correctible, complaints with the hall, in fact: (1) the blue safety lights behind the box seating were too bright and need to be toned down, and (2) they need edging on the marble steps so that people know where the edges are and don’t slip.

As for the concert itself. If you’re not familiar with Brian Stokes Mitchell, he’s a Broadway performer who has been the lead in a number of shows: Ragtime, Man of La Mancha, South Pacific (concert), Do Re Mi, and many many others. He has a beautiful baritone voice with lots of power behind it; this is combined with a friendly and accessible demeanor that makes him great in shows. Over the two-and-a-half hour show, Stokes (as he is known) sang the following:

Act I
Some Enchanted Evening
Make Someone Happy
Where is the Life That Late I Led?
Stars
Dulcinea
Love for Sale
How Long Has This Been Going On
Soliloquy
This Nearly Was Mine (no amplification)
I Was Here		       Act II
Take The “A” Train/Another Hundred People
The Best Is Yet To Come
The Waters of March
It’s Not Easy Being Green
Hooray for Tom
New Words
America The Beautiful/Wheels of a Dream
Some Other Time (encore)
The Impossible Dream (encore)

This was a mix of Broadway songs (with at least one from each of his major shows, with the exception of Guys and Dolls, which he was in at the Hollywood Bowl). Some songs were particularly notable. He did “This Nearly Was Mine” without amplification (as I noted above); we could hear him perfectly from the back of the hall, although I was much more conscious of audience noise. “I Was Here” is a song from The Glorious Ones that was adapted by Ahrens/Flaherty for a new book Stokes has out supporting the Actors Fund; it is all about being in the theatre. “The Waters of March” was a Brazilian list song I hadn’t heard before. “Hooray for Tom” is a song about a kid at a spelling bee. “New Words” is a Maury Yeston song about a child learning new words that is a beautiful lullaby.

On the whole, this was a beautiful concert in a beautiful facility.

Also announced during the concert was the 2011/12 season at VPAC. There are a number of shows we’re interested in (my shows are bolded; my wife’s are italicized; and things we both like are bold-italic: Arturo Sandoval “Tribute to My Friend Dizzy Gillespie) (Sep 10); Jamie Lee Curtis (Sep 24); National Acrobats of the People’s Republic of China (Sep 30); An Evening with Bernadette Peters (Oct 15); Mariinsky Orchestra (Oct 18); The Miles Davis Experience (Oct 23); Linda Eder and Tom Wopat (Oct 30); The King’s Singers (Nov 5); Wynonna (Nov 6); Trisha Brown Dance (Nov 19); David Sedaris (Nov 20); Compania Flamenca/Jose Porcel (Dec 2); Moscow National Ballet (Dec 14/15); Susan Graham (Jan 18); Diavolo (Feb 2); Hal Holbrook/”Mark Twain Tonight” (Feb 4); Ramsey Lewish with Nnenna Freelon (Feb 11); Royal Winnipeg Balley/Moulin Rouge (Feb 18); Wroclaw Philharmonic (Feb 23); Vladimir Spivakov/Olga Kern (Mar 1); Los Tigres del Norte (Mar 8); Marin Mazzie/Jason Danieley (Mar 17); Savion Glover (Mar 24); SFJAZZ Collective (Mar 27); Emerson String Quartet (Apr 18); Geena Davis (Apr 19); Academy of St. Martin in the Fields with Joshua Bell (Apr 25); The Acting Company/Julius Caesar (May 1); The Acting Company/Comedy of Errors (May 3); Stars of the Russian Ballet (May 4); John Pizzarelli Quartet with Jane Monheit (May 12); and Barbara Cook (May 19).

Upcoming Theatre, Concerts, and Dance: May starts with our penultimate Pasadena Playhouse production, “George Gershwin Alone“, on May 7. The weekend of May 12-14 will bring the “Collabor8 Dance Festival” at Van Nuys High School, which is always excellent. The third weekend in May is currently open, but I expect that to change. The last weekend of May brings “Cabaret” at REP East on May 28. June begins with “Year Zero” at the Colony Theatre on June 5, but most of June is lost to the college visit trip (but who knows — we might go see “Always Patsy Cline” at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville). July should hopefully start with “Les Miserables” at the Ahmanson on July 2 (pending hottix), and continue with “Jerry Springer: The Opera“ (July 8, Chance Theatre, pending ticketing); “Twist: A New Musical” (July 16, Pasadena Playhouse, ticketed); “Jewtopia” (July 17, REP East, ticketed); Dolly Parton (July 23, Hollywood Bowl, pending ticketing); “Shrek” (July 23 or 24, Pantages Theatre, pending ticketing); and “The Sound of Music” (July 30, Cabrillo Music Theatre, ticketed).

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A Mixed Jukebox

Posted onAuthorcahwyguy

Jukebox musicals are tricky things. You can’t depend on the quality of the book to save you; if there is a book, it’s skimpy at best and shoehorned at worse. Hopefully, the music itself provides a theme, but usually you have to depend on the casting or staging to save you. Sometimes it can work spectacularly, as in “Ain’t Misbehavin”. Sometimes it doesn’t. Alas, for “The All Night Strut”, which we saw last night at The Colony Theatre in Burbank, the pieces didn’t come together.

“The All Night Strut” is a celebration of the music of the 1930s and 1940s: Harlem, wartime music, and post-war music. Although the website descriptions purport that there is a unifying theme, the show is really just a collection of songs that attempt to evoke memories. There is no underlying story, and there are no characters (although the four singers, according to MTI at least, have distinct “personalities”: “A party girl”, “A down-home girl with lots of soul”, “A romantic balladeer”, and “A consummate storyteller”). So this isn’t a jukebox musical with a storyline in the sense of shows like “All Shook Up” or “Marvelous Wonderettes”. It also doesn’t celebrate the songs of a particular artist and attempt to tell that artist’s story, as “Ain’t Misbehavin’”, “Jersey Boys”, or “Smokey Joe’s Cafe” did. It is perhaps closest to “Sophisticated Ladies” in era and style, but it does not make each song into a vignette; it is more of a choreographed concert. Concerts depend on the choice of the music, and the music in this show was chosen to evoke memories, as opposed to a specific theme or style (such as “Bubblin’ Brown Sugar” did for Harlem). The show was packed with songs: 16 in Act I, and 13 in Act II. They included, to give you an idea of the range, “Chattanooga Choo Choo”, “Minnie the Moocher”, “Rosie the Riveter”, “I’ll Be Seeing You”, “Juke Box Saturday Night”, “Operator”, “As Time Goes By”, and “Lullaby of Broadway”, with dates ranging from 1928 to 1959, not presented in any particular date order, except for the WWII medly. “The All Night Strut” was concieved by Fran Charnas

Sometimes, a show like this can be saved by its casting and direction. I still remember the strength of the cast for “Ain’t Misbehavin’” or “Sophisticated Ladies”: pure talent. The story for “The All Night Strut” was mixed. The strongest was Jennifer Shelton () in the Alto/”A down-home girl with lots of soul” slot: she was a great singer and truly enjoyed entertaining. I was particularly impressed with her on “Operator”, a gospel-themed number. Also strong was Scotch Ellis Loring () in the Baritone/”A consummate storyteller” slot: He interacted well and sang great. The other two actors struck me as off in some way—not that they were bad, not that they were not enjoyable—but something was missing. In the Soprano/”A party girl” slot, Jayme Lake () didn’t quite seem to have the right vocal tone in some numbers, and came off as too choreographed. I wanted to see more of her personality come through, and I didn’t get the feeling that I was seeing it. In the Tenor/”A romantic balladeer” slot was Michael Dotson (). Michael was perhaps the weakest, coming across as wooden and a little too boyish. On some numbers he was vocally perfect; on others it seemed the wrong voice for the song. I should note that there is a distinct possibility that my problems may not have been the cast: it may have been the direction and choreography by Murphy Cross () and Paul Kreppel (), for I got the distinct feeling during the show that every movement and gesture was choreographed, meaning there may have been too much direction/choreography for this show, which suppressed the actors personality. In a concert-type show like this, you need the actor’s personality (or some at least what should appear to be the actor’s personality) to shine through.
[All actors are members of æ Actors Equity ]

Musically, the show was great but could have been spectacular. Musical direction was by Dean Mora (), who runs his own big band and played the piano on stage. Mora had a great personality that shown through; the audience would have enjoyed just listening to him and his trio for two hours! The other members of his trio were Jim Garafalo on bass and Ray Frisby () on drums. What would have made it spectacular? Even more of a big-band sound… meaning some brass and perhaps a saxaphone. That’s not to say the trio wasn’t great: it was the trio (and Jennifer Shelton) that provided the energy for this show. There was a reason the audience stayed after the lights went up to hear the band finish the playoff, and to give the band a rousing round of applause.

Technically, the show also didn’t “wow” as past Colony shows have. The scenic design by Stephen Gifford was a multilevel squarish platform that didn’t evoke a particular location or period; combine that with minimal props (as usual, from MacAndME), and its easy to see how any sense of time or period for these songs wasn’t there. The lighting design by Luke Moyer was odd: lots of flashing leikos (as opposed to moving lights), and some moving mirror lights to provide the primary spots proved more distracting; I found myself at times looking at the lights instead of the stage. The sound by Rebecca Kessin was mostly clear and crisp, although there were a few microphone blurbles, and I found myself wishing for the days where you didn’t see the ubiquitous microphone taped to the face. Casting was by Patricia Cullen, and Leesa Freed was the Production Stage Manager. Colony Theatre is under the artistic direction of Barbara Beckley.

“The All Night Strut” continues at The Colony Theatre () until May 1, 2011. You can purchase tickets through the Colony Website. There will also be a special night of Dean Mora’s Big Band Music on April 27.

In an era where theatres seem to be contracting their seasons (for example, the Pasadena Playhouse has one show less than in previous years, although the bankruptcy could be the reason) or going under entirely, the Colony has expanded their season to six shows. The 2011-2012 season consists of YEAR ZERO (June 1 – July 3, 2011); ON GOLDEN POND (July 27 – August 28, 2011); SHOOTING STAR (September 14 – October 16, 2011); TRAVELS WITH MY AUNT (November 9 – December 18, 2011); OLD WICKED SONGS (February 1 – March 4, 2012) and DAMES AT SEA (April 11 – May 13, 2012). Looks to be an interesting season.

Upcoming Theatre, Concerts, and Dance: Next weekend brings another concert: (this is a concert heavy year, it seems): Brian Stokes Mitchell at the new Valley Performing Arts Center. May starts with our penultimate Pasadena Playhouse production, “George Gershwin Alone“, on May 7. The weekend of May 12-14 will bring the “Collabor8 Dance Festival” at Van Nuys High School, which is always excellent. The third weekend in May is currently open, but I expect that to change. The last weekend of May brings “Cabaret” at REP East on May 28. June begins with “Year Zero” at the Colony Theatre on June 5, but most of June is lost to the college visit trip (but who knows — we might go see “Always Patsy Cline” at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville). July should hopefully start with “Les Miserables” at the Ahmanson on July 2 (pending hottix), and continue with “Jerry Springer: The Opera“ (July 8, Chance Theatre, pending ticketing); “Twist: A New Musical” (July 16, Pasadena Playhouse, ticketed); “Jewtopia” (July 17, REP East, ticketed); Dolly Parton (July 23, Hollywood Bowl, pending ticketing); “Shrek” (July 23 or 24, Pantages Theatre, pending ticketing); and “The Sound of Music” (July 30, Cabrillo Music Theatre, ticketed).

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Singing and Dancing Nazis–What Could Go Wrong?

Posted onAuthorcahwyguy

Last night, we went to go see the “The Producers” at Cabrillo Music Theatre. “The Producers” is an interesting piece. The original movie was a classic, with genius performances by folks such as Zero Mostel, Gene Wilder, and Dick Shawn. The Broadway musical version wasn’t as much genius as it was hyped to be or that its number of Tonys led one to think it was: it was Mel Brooks on stage with Mel’s unique level of Jewish humor, augmented by great choreography by Susan Stroman and wonderful wonderful sets. What set it apart—what made that show—was the chemistry between Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick (this was captured in the 2005 film, which was essentially the stage show on film, which is why it failed). We saw “The Producers” on stage in 2003 or so at the Pantages with Jason Alexander and Martin Short—which had its own form of manic energy. I had the opportunity to see “The Producers” again last year when the Aerospace Players at work did it, but having seen their production of “Caberet”, I just couldn’t see this show at the amateur level. This all brings us to Cabrillo.

Wait, you’re saying you’ve never heard of “The Producers”? Rent the 1968 movie. Seriously, the show tells a story of a failing formerly famous Broadway producer whose accountant points out that, under the right circumstances, you could make more money with a flop than a hit. The circumstances are: it must close on opening night. So they set out to make a guaranteed flop: a musical about a singing and dancing Adolph Hitler called “Springtime for Hitler”. Starting with the worse play, they get the worst director, the worst actor, and worst cast. And what happens? It is a smash success. The failure producer goes off to jail; his accountant partner goes to Rio with the buxom secretary. Along the way there are numerous old-lady sex jokes, gay jokes, Jewish jokes, in jokes about Broadway, and insults to almost every ethnic group you can think of. Typical Mel Brooks.

Cabrillo did a credible job with the show, but there was something missing that was hard to pinpoint. Perhaps it was the fact that I had seen the show numerous times before, and thus the jokes that are “in your face” funny the first time and perhaps the second don’t have the same resonance after many years. Perhaps it was the cast: they were good but they weren’t (at least in the leads) inspired to the level of “manic” that Mostel/Wilder or Lane/Broderick or even Alexander/Short could bring. Perhaps it was the sets, which didn’t go to the over-the-top level of the Broadway sets, but were the more limited National Tour sets, showing their age. Perhaps that’s the problem: this is a show that shows its age—it has gone quickly from the timeless to the shopworn. If it is not at the level of outrageous and over-the-top, it rapidly succumbs to the “just a musical”. A good musical. A well-executed musical. But not the comic juggernaut of the original.

That’s not to say there weren’t moments. During the intermisson portion of “Betrayed”, Max (Michael Kostroffæ) turns to the audience and says, “I understand your next show is “Sound of Music”. Another musical about singing Nazis”. Good line. Chris Caldwell Eckert (diswiz, ) was over-the-top as Carmen Ghia, especially in the little moments where he was able to milk the schtick. David Engelæ was a delight as Roger DeBris and even better as Hilter where the over-the-top asides to the Orchestra were spectacular.

What makes the show was the leads, and although they were good, they were missing the manic. As Max Bialystock, Max Kostroffæ () came across as a cross between Mel Brooks and Jon Lovitz. He was good in the role; he knew the role; he knew the moves…. but he wasn’t over-the-top outrageous. This was at its most obvious during “Betrayed”, which needs to be a comic tour-de-force but came off as more subdued. Better was Larry Rabenæ () as Leo Bloom. He had the boyish charm, and seemed to be channeling Matthew Broderick, and was closer to over-the-top. He worked well with Kostroff, and it was clear they have done these roles many times before. It was a comfortable chemistry, giving you what was expected. I wanted the unexpected.

The second tier was excellent, with a number of highlight-worthy performances. As noted before, David Engelæ was a delight as Roger DeBris. Also enjoyable for her performance was Sarah Cornellæ as Ulla Inga Hansen Benson Yonsen Tallen-Hallen Svaden-Svanson (Bloom), particularly in the quality of her singing (and her belting) and her dancing. Also strong was James W. Gruessing () as Franz Liebkind—I especially enjoyed his performance in “Have You Ever Heard the German Band”.

The third tier was mostly a well blended ensemble, but there were a few notables. As I mentioned before, Chris Caldwell Eckert (diswiz, ) was a great Carmen Ghia. I also want to single out Jennifer Strattan () in the multiple roles of a showgirl/Shirley Markowitz/Kiss Me-Feel Me. This is obviously a comic relief role, and Stratten does a lot with the little roles and was a joy to watch. Rounding out the cast, in various other roles (first nighters, denizens of New York, accountants, showgirls, pigeons, little old ladies, storm troopers, convicts) in addition to what I list, were Whitney Ackerman () (Officer O’Reilly), Joseph Almohaya (Bryan the Set Designer, Jack LaPidus, Judge), Kathryn Burns, Farley Cadena () (Hold-Me Touch-Me), Nicola Harrington (Usherette), Keenon Hooks () (Officer O’Houllihan), Natasha Hugger (), Elizabeth Johnson, Nick Lorenzini () (Lead Stormtrooper), Lindsay McDonald () (Usherette, Lick-Me Bite-Me), Chris Pow (Officer O’Rourke), Kelly Roberts (Mr. Marx, Kevin the Costume Designer, Seargent), Veronica Stevens, Timothy Stokel () (Scott the Choreographer, Donald Dinsmore), and Tonya Washington. There were some areas where this ensemble seemed smaller than I imagined it should be, especially in “Along Came Bialy”, where there were a number of men dancing as old women.

Technically, the production used sets from the national tour designed by Robin Wagner and costumes designed by William Ivey Long, provided by NETworks Presentations. The sets didn’t work work on the Cabrillo stage, often requiring scrims to reduce the stage size down, which truly deminished them. Lighting was by Christina L. Munich and was pretty good—the ubiquitous follow-spot wasn’t too intrusive, and there was good use of gobos and stage lighting. Sound Design was by Jonathan Burke and was unobtrusive, seeming as if amplification wasn’t being used heavily. I did note he did use the Mel Brooks vocal clip during Springtime for Hitler. Wardrobe was supervised by Christine Gibson, with Mark Travis Hoyer doing Hair and Makeup Design. Allie Roy was back as production stage manager, assisted by Michelle Stann and Jessica Standifer.

The production was directed by Steven Glaudini, who kept the portrayals pretty well in line. Matthew J. Vargo provided the choreography, buliding upon his previous presentations of this work at MTW and the St. Louis MUNY. Darryl Archibald once again led the great Cabrillo 17-piece orchestra—it is a rarety to see such a nicely-sized live orchestra in this day and age.

Alas, Cabrillo has lost their long time president Carole W. Nussbaum, meaning that Lewis Wilkenfeld, artistic director, did the introductions. He was much less organized and more rambling, but it was still nice to see the introductions remain. Cabrillo did announce their 2011-2012 season: “Annie” (October 14-23, 2011); “Ring of Fire” (February 3-12, 2012); “Once Upon a Matress” (April 20-29, 2012); and “Meet Me In St. Louis” (July 20-29, 2012). Mostly shows we haven’t seen before, so it looks to be a good season.

The last performance of “The Producers” at Cabrillo is tonight.

Upcoming Theatre, Concerts, and Dance: Tonight sees us at our second show of the weekend: “Lust N Rust: The Trailer Park Musical” at the Lyric Theatre. April 23rd, which is during Pesach, brings the last show of the current Colony season, “The All Night Strut” at the Colony Theatre. April 24 was to bring “God of Carnage” at the Ahmanson Theatre, but the Hottix sold out in ½ hour… so we may try to get rush tickets (for they are not selling rear balcony in advance). The last weekend of April brings another concert: (this is a concert heavy year, it seems): Brian Stokes Mitchell at the new Valley Performing Arts Center. May starts with our penultimate Pasadena Playhouse production, “George Gershwin Alone“, on May 7. The weekend of May 12-14 will bring the “Collabor8 Dance Festival” at Van Nuys High School, which is always excellent. The third weekend in May is currently open, but I expect that to change. The last weekend of May brings “Cabaret” at REP East on May 28 (note: “Dear World“, which was to have been at the Lyric Theatre, appears to have been cancelled). June begins with “Year Zero” at the Colony Theatre on June 5, with the rest of June being lost to Confirmation Services at Temple (now a maybe), and a college visit trip (but who knows — we might go see “Always Patsy Cline” at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville). Lastly, July should hopefully start with “Les Miserables” at the Ahmanson on July 2 (pending hottix), and continue with “Jerry Springer: The Opera“ (July 8, Chance Theatre, pending ticketing); “Twist: A New Musical” (July 16, Pasadena Playhouse, ticketed); “Jewtopia” (July 17, REP East, ticketed); Dolly Parton (July 22 or 23, Hollywood Bowl, pending ticketing); “Shrek” (July 23 or 24, Pantages Theatre, pending ticketing); and “The Sound of Music” (July 30, Cabrillo Music Theatre, ticketed).

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