Tag: reviews-2012

A Final VNHS Dance Performance

Posted onAuthorcahwyguy

Last night, we went to Van Nuys HS for what will be our last performing arts performance there (most likely). It was the final show for the 2012 Dance Class at Van Nuys, and the final show that our daughter would be in. As such, it was a bittersweet moment. It brought back memories of the first time we came to Van Nuys HS in 2009 to first see their performing arts program. It’s been a journey, and we thank all the teachers that brought our daughter and her friends this far–especially Marque Coy in the technical theatre program, Mike Nakauchi in the dance program, and Randy Olea in the drama program.

On to the show… the show had three acts: a senior spotlight, followed by two normal Dance Production acts. I’m not going to comment on all the performances, just a select few that I particularly remember.

Senior Spotlight. Of course, the highlight of the senior spotlight to me was the program “Georgia”, which Erin choreographed and danced. It is hard to describe — it was a modern interpretive dance — almost primitive. I’ll edit this to add a link to the you-tube of it once it is uploaded. The other performance that I liked was “I Can Be Anything You Like!” by Mayra Martinez and Myelle Bossett (probably because I really liked the music).

Act I. A number of really good performances here. Ones I liked (and remembered) included “Time”, choreographed by Mike Nakauchi and performed by the Jazz Dance Team, “Classical Ballet”, choreogrpahy by Natalya Shoaf and performed by Layla Chatthoranongsak, Tatyana Saldana, and Natalya Shoaf, “Pure Imagination”, choreographed and performed by Layla Chatthoranongsak, “Glad to Go” choreographed and performed by Quest Sky Zeidler, “Transatlanticism” choreographed and performed by Erin Geronimi, “Love Sprung” choreographed and performed by Ronamae Septimo and Kevin Garcia, and a nice version of “Cell Block Tango”, choreographed by Tatyana Saldana and performed by Arielle Bell, Tatyana Saldana, Natalya Shoaf, Stephanie Cabrillo, Asha Morris, May Povoorian, Alex Genorilla, and Layla Chatthoranongsak.

Act II. Numbers I liked in Act II included the Senior Dance, cheoreographed by the Jazz and Hip Hop Team Officers and danced by a large number of seniors, “Pink Panther”, choreographed by Jayy Rodriquez, JDT and performed by Alex Geronilla, Layla Chatthoranongsak, Tatyana Saldana, and Natalya Shoaf, “Candy” choreographed by Joseph Cayanan, Aliam Jiles, Diane, Ronamae Septimo and performed by the Hip Hop Dance Team, and the finale “Pure Rock You”, choreographed by Mike Nakauchi and performed by everyone. This act also had another song from Chicago which was performed reasonably well, but I would have preferred if they had done “Hot Honey Rag” and had stronger tap. But that’s just me being a Chicago geek.

Upcoming Theatre, Concerts, and Dance: The remainder of May brings the Spring Railfest at Orange Empire, “The Great American Trailer Park Musical” at REP East, and it may also bring “Follies” at the Ahmanson. Oh, and May also has my daughter’s HS graduation. June is more open, but does feature both “Addams Family” and “Million Dollar Quartet” at the Pantages. July I”ve been keepling light until we know the orientation schedule at UC Berkeley and our vacation schedule. As always, open dates are subject to be filled in with productions that have yet to appear on the RADAR of Goldstar or LA Stage Alliance.

Share

Silly Nonsense

Posted onAuthorcahwyguy1 Comment

Some musicals you go to for their deep social content–an example might be “Kiss of the Spider Woman“. Others have a great or familiar story–take “Annie” or even last week’s “Once Upon a Mattress“. Some are simply jukebox musicals. Then there are those that are completely silly fluff — and they know it. Last night’s show, “Dames at Sea” falls clearly in the fluff category. The authors knew it, the set designers knew it, the actors knew it… and the audience learnd it when this fun piece of fluff was performed last night on the stage at the Colony Theatre in Burbank.

Those those unfamiliar with “Dames at Sea“, it is a musical written in the 1960s with book and lyrics by George Haimsohn and Robin Miller and music by Jim Wise. It was intended from the get-go as a parody of the “Golddiggers” movies of the 1930s and the style of Busby Berkeley. It was intially produced off-Broadway in 1968, and featured newcomer Bernadette Peters as Ruby, the fresh-off-the-bus newcomer to Broadway who becomes a star.

Plot? You want to know the plot? There isn’t any. Well, to be serious, it really doesn’t matter, does it? As the show opens, we see… opening credits. Seriously, the name of the show is introduced, along with each of the actors. As I said, this is a parody of movie musicals. As the show really opens, it is the early 1930s. We’re on Broadway, where a Broadway musical is in rehearsal. The temperamental star, Mona Kent, is doing a number with two dancing skyscrapers who keep trying to upstage her. In short order, we meet Hennesy, the producer/manager/director, and Joan, the seen-all, knows-all chorus girl. The naive Ruby arrives from Utah determined to be a Broadway star. She gets into the show, but then realizes she left her suitcase at the bus depot. In busts Dick with the suitcase. Ruby and Dick fall in love. Dick is not only a sailor, but an aspiring song-writer. The rest of the first act consists of Dick introducing his songs, the star Mona Kent falling for Dick’s songs, Ruby mistaking that for Mona falling for Dick, and Dick’s friend, Lucky, reigniting his relationship with Joan. As that act ends, however, the show can’t go on because the theatre was being torn down for a WPA project roller-rink. But Dick has an idea! They can do the show, which is titled “Dames at Sea” on the battleship. Thus, the second act. In the second act, Dick and Lucky persuade their Captain to volunteer the use of their ship. Mona recognizes the Captain as a former boyfriend. Again, we have the romance misunderstandings, and as Ruby wants to leave, Dick and Lucky engineering to make Mona seasick. As a result, Ruby steps in to save the show and becomes a star. The three couples decide to marry.

Simple, silly fluff, as I said. Luckily, the Colony saw this. The scenic designer, Stephen Gifford, designed a set that was purposefully hokey, including props that didn’t always work, a simple stage that turned into the battleship, and backdrops that looked like they were purposfully non-realistic. The sparkle and glitz came not from the set (as it does in some major theatres) but from the costumes (designed by A. Jeffrey Schoenberg) and the wonderful performances from the cast. The director, Todd Nielsen, also saw this and emphasized the sillyness and light-heartedness in the performances. The set, costumes, and direction in fact, were such a major part of establishing the tone of this show that I had to talk about them before the cast.

The cast was remarkable. Leading the cast as Ruby, the fresh-off who becomes a star, was Tessa Grady. We’ve seen Tessa many times on the Cabrillo stage (as Joanie in “Happy Days, The Musical” as well as the star-to-be in the recent “Annie“), and she has impressed us each time. She was simply superb–tapping her little heart out, singing up a storm, and exhibiting a naivete that came across perfectly. As Joan, Shanon Mari Mills (another Cabrillo regular, who we also saw in Mask at the Pasadena Playhouse) was also fun to watch. Shanon inhabited the blond wig, and was also a spectacular dancer. Rounding out the female roles was Heather Ayers as Mona, who presented a hard diva nature in addition to wonderful singing and dancing.

Turning to the men, Jeffrey Scott Parsons (yet another Cabrillo regular — we’ve seen him before in “42nd Street” and “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers“) portrayed Dick. Jeffrey had a voice that reminded me of Matthew Broderick, with a similar earnestness and comic timing, as well as great dancing skills. Quite a joy to watch. Dink O’Neal (who was also in “Annie” at Cabrillo) played the dual roles of the Captain and Hennesey. Dink is a great comic actor, with an expressive face and good dancing skills. The one problem I had was not with his performance, but when he was dressed as the Captain, he bore a strking resemblance to a vice-president at work. Very disconcerting. Lastly, as Dick’s shipmate Lucky, Justin Michael Wilcox (who hasn’t been at Cabrillo!) was also a great singer and dancer.

The production was choreographed by Lisa Hopkins, who not only captured the Berkeley style well, but had split-second timing in the movements she obtained from her actors. They would jump, move around, and dance in such a way that if they were just half-a-second off, they would have been in big trouble with their landings. This was amazing, and the show is worth seeing for the movement alone. Music was provided by Colony regular Dean Mora, who was hidden up-top but did stick out a baton to acknowledge the audience.

Sound was by Drew Dalzell and was effective and clear; the sound effects were also spot on. The lighting by Jared A. Sayeg did a good job of creating the mood, although the spot operator appeared to have some trouble keeping up with the actors. Colony regulars MacAndME provided the creative props. Hair and Make-up were by Joni Rudesill. Leesa Freed was the production stage manager.

“Dames at Sea” continues at the Colony through May 13. Tickets are available through the Colony website. The Colony has announced their 2012-2013 season, and season subscriptions are now available. The season is: THE SAVANNAH DISPUTATION,June 13 – July 8, 2012;BLAME IT ON BECKETT,August 8 – September 2, 2012;AMERICAN FIESTA,September 26 – October 21, 2012;THE MORINI STRAD, November 14 – December 6, 2012;I’LL BE BACK BEFORE MIDNIGHT,February 6 – March 3, 2012; andFALLING FOR MAKE BELIEVE,April 24 – May 19, 2013. All of them are premiers of one form or another.

Upcoming Theatre, Concerts, and Dance: The remainder of May brings the senior dance show at Van Nuys HS, the Spring Railfest at Orange Empire, “The Great American Trailer Park Musical” at REP East, and it may also bring “Follies” at the Ahmanson. Oh, and May also has my daughter’s HS graduation. June is more open, but does feature both “Addams Family” and “Million Dollar Quartet” at the Pantages. July I”ve been keepling light until we know the orientation schedule at UC Berkeley and our vacation schedule. As always, open dates are subject to be filled in with productions that have yet to appear on the RADAR of Goldstar or LA Stage Alliance.

Music: Songbird (Barbra Streisand): Stay Away

Share

Lacking a Lass? You Couldn’t Go Wrong with Princess Winnifred

Posted onAuthorcahwyguy1 Comment

Cabrillo UserpicOnce upon a time in the musical theatre, stories were light and (with the exception of Rogers and Hammerstein) not filled with social commentary or import. These were the days you could lose yourself in the sillyness of the show, and just relish in beautiful music, wonderful lyrics, and great performances. Last night, we saw one of those shows when we went out to Thousand Oaks to see Cabrillo Music Theatre‘s perfect production of “Once Upon a Mattress“. There’s one more performance of the show today at 2pm: if you can do so, go go go — it is well worth seeing.

“Once Upon a Mattress” (music by Mary Rogers, lyrics by Marshall Barer, with a book by Jay Thompson, Dean Fuller, and Marshall Barer) is a musical retelling of Hans Christian Andersen‘s “The Princess and the Pea“. But this isn’t your typical fairy tale. Sure, the story begins with the minstrel singing a traditional version, but as he quickly points out, that’s only the popularized version. He knows the true story because he was there! He then proceeds to tell you that story. It is a tale about a kingdom ruled by talkative Queen Aggravain, and mute King Sextimus (the king is mute due to a curse, and will remain mute until “the mouse devours the hawk”). Their 36-year old son, Prince Dauntless, wants to marry but cannot until a suitable queen is found. As the story begins, twelve have tried, and all twelve have been rejected by the Queen as ersatz princesses, having failed “fixed” princess-tests devised by the queen and the wizard. The Lady Larkin also wants to marry her suitor, Sir Harry — in fact, she needs to marry him within a few months before she starts to “show” — but cannot because of a rule in the Kingdom that no one can wed before Daultless shares his wedding bed. So Sir Harry goes out to find a princess, and brings back Princess Winnifred. Winnifred is so eager to meet the Prince that she swims the moat. Soon, she had charmed everyone with her energy and playfullness and joie de vivre. Everyone but the Queen, who is convinced she is not the princess. So she devises a new test: the princess will sleep that night on a bed of 20 matresses from the Sleep Shoppe (the show’s “mattress sponsor” :-)) with one pea at the bottom. If she stays awake: she passes the test. Just to ensure she will sleep, the Queen tuckers her out with a full-on dancing ball, sleeping potions, and a soothing songbird. But the Minstrel, Jester, and King have other ideas–they want this princess, and so they conspire to discover the test and make sure the princess passes.

A fairy story. A silly story. But one needs that sort of story now and then. Making this story better is the delightful music by Mary Rodgers (one of her few successful shows) and the lyrics by Barer, which I appreciate more and more everytime I hear them. Barer has a playfullness in his wordplay that  reminds me of Sondheim: internal rhymes, internal puns. An example of this is the second song — “An Opening For a Princess”, which includes the lines “Alas, a lass is what I lack / I lack a lass, alas alack.” It continues throughout the entire show with phrases like “I’m going fishing for a mate / I’m going to look in ev’ry brook / But how much longer must I wait / with baited breath and hook”. This playfulness, combined with double entendres (which were also implied in the original story), make the liberetto a pure joy.

So you take this wonderful show, and add astounding direction from Richard Israel (an extremely creative local musical director) and the perfect cast, and the result is magical. Israel’s direction is playful and inventive, and brings a joy and delight out of the actors that is communicated to the audience. The direction makes the performance seem effortless: nothing is forced, and nothing seems out of characters.

Adding to this, as I said before, is the perfect cast. As always, Cabrillo’s cast is a mix of locals and selected professionals. Leading this cast is Bets Malone* (Princess Winnifred), a wonderful performer we’ve seen numerous times. Bets embodies Winnifred with a joy and playfulness and energy and wonderful comic timing. She makes the show, and from her performance you can see why this role can make a comic actress famous (look what it did for the originator, Carol Burnett). One side note: As the Queen is getting Winnifred ready for bed, she talks about the sandman coming to put the princess to sleep. I was half expecting for Bets to suddenly drop into “Suzy” from Wonderettes and do a few bars from “Mr. Sandman”! Winnifred is also a very physical role, and Bets handles the physical comedy with aplomb and style. [Note: * denotes “Actors Equity” members]

But this cast is more than just Bets. The cast has the best minstrel, hands down, that I have ever heard. Danny Gurwin* has a wonderful singing voice that just makes you melt. He is also playful with his role (I’ll use that word a lot): having fun and inviting the audience in to share the fun. He particularly shines in the opening number and in “Normandy”. Also playful is Scott Reardon as Prince Dauntless. Reardon, who also has a great singing voice, captures Dautless’s cluelessness and eagerness, and you can just see Dauntless and Winnifred as a couple that are in love. Each has a childlike nature that complements the other.

The couple that is not in love are the King and Queen. As Queen Aggravain, Tracy Lore* brings vanity to a new level. She only has one song (the original actress, according to what I read, could not sing well), but brings a wonderful comic sensitivity to the role. Hers is not a physical role — it is character acting and is done well. As the King, David Newcomer brings no singing to the role — in fact, he has only a few lines. But his role brings something you don’t often see–playful pantomime. Newcomer is a master of comic movement and pantomime.

As the secondary couple (every musical of the era had one), we have Noelle Marion as Lady Larkin and Isaac James as Sir Harry. Both have delightful singing voices. They are believable as a couple, and are also having fun with their roles. They get many of the romantic Rounding out the featured positions are Timothy Stokel as the Jester (who does a great job with his number “Very Soft Shoes”) and David Gilchrist (who we saw in “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” and numerous CMT shows) at the Wizard.

Supporting cast members are: Sam Ayoub (Lord Heathcliff), Jennifer Bainbridge (Lady Marian), John Paul Batista (Lord Purell), Sydney Blair (Lady Rowena), Kathryn Burns (Lady Babette), Emma Chandler (Lady Lucille), Courtney Cheatham (Lady Lola), Judy Domroy (Lady Merrill), Emily Goglia (Princess Nº 12/Lady Lestrange), Holly Long (Lady Beatrice), Michael Marchak (Lord Claudio), Brett McMahon (Lord Peter), Alex Mendoza (Lord Dashwood), Courtney Potter (Lady Vivien), Tanner Richins (Sir Harold), Tyler Scheef (Lord Virgo), Josh Smith (Lord Leopold), Brandon Stanford (Lord Mischievious), Veronica Stevens (Lady Gaga), Matt Wiley (Lord Phillip).

Rounding out the performance aspects are the underlying dance and music artists. The choreography by Cheryl Baxter is remarkable: from the clear dances such as the Spanish Panic number, to the soft shoe of the Jester, to the comic choreography of Princess Winnifred in numbers such as “Shy” or “Song of Love”, to the pantomime of the “Man to Man” talk — the movement in this show is just delightful. Richard Israel, the director, took the interesting tactic of putting the Orchestra onstage, in turrets, in costume, interacting with the actors. The large (17 piece!) orchestra — led by Daniel Thomas as musical director and conductor — handled this wonderfully, including when Bets Malone took over conducting duties!

Having the orchestra led to some interesting staging. The scenery and lighting design, by Jean-Yves Tessier, was inventive and playful. Many have written about how Tessier created a castle hallway by flying in a set of famous portraits all featuring Tracy Lore’s face as the Queen; these included “American Gothic,” “Whistler’s Mother”, the Mona Lisa, Pinkie, the Scream, Andy Warhol’s Marilyn, … and my favorite, Dogs Playing Poker. But that’s only part of the set inventiveness. I particularly noted the lighting projections and the mattress structure.. He even threw in the kitchen sink (don’t believe me — look what they pull out of the bed in the end). The wardrobe by Christine Gibson and hair and makeup by Mark Travis Hoyer complement the characters well, even if more cartoony than period. Jonathan Burke’s sound design made everything clear and audible (although our performance had a few minor mic problems, quickly corrected). Technical direction was by Tim Schroepfer. Allie Roy was the production stage manager, assisted by Jessica Standifer and Julia Pinhey.

Lewis Wilkenfeld is the artistic director of Cabrillo, and deserves a special note for coming out and shilling each show. He’ll even sell you the props from the stage to keep Cabrillo going–he believes in Cabrillo that much. Seriously: Wilkenfeld appears to work hard to keep Cabrillo involved with the community and to keep the doors open. It is a shame that more people don’t come to Cabrillo’s shows: we’ve always found them well done and professional — the equal to Ahmanson or the tours that hit the Pantages, but with local actors, great acoustics, and remarkable pricing. They are doing a special to get children to attend live theatre.

The last performance of “Once Upon a Mattress” is today at 2pm. You can get tickets at the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza box office.

Upcoming Theatre, Concerts, and Dance: I’m still thinking about booking tickets for  “The Heiress” at the Pasadena Playhouse for next weekend (I heard it on LA Theatre Works and it sounds good). If we are going with what is ticketed, May begins with “Dames at Sea” at the Colony.  It also brings the senior dance show at Van Nuys HS, the Spring Railfest at Orange Empire, “The Great American Trailer Park Musical” at REP East, and it may also bring “Follies” at the Ahmanson. Oh, and May also has my daughter’s HS graduation. June is more open, but does feature both “Addams Family” and “Million Dollar Quartet” at the Pantages. As always, open dates are subject to be filled in with productions that have yet to appear on the RADAR of Goldstar or LA Stage Alliance.

Music: Drive Time (Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver): Gone at Last

Share

Why Do We Work?

Posted onAuthorcahwyguy

Working at the Production CompanyBack in the 1980s, when driving back from the San Fernando Valley to Brentwood, I was listening to KCRW when the song “Just a Waitress” came on the radio. I fell in love with the song, and eventually learned it came from the Stephen Schwartz musical “Working“. Eventually, I got a recording of the show from someone over Usenet, and fell in love with the music. I eventually saw the show sometime in the 1990s at PCPA Theatrefest in Solvang, and it holds a special niche in my musical favorites. So when I discovered that it was being done by a small theatre in Hollywood, I worked to squeeze it into the schedule. Thus, this afternoon found us at The Lex Theatre in Hollywood seeing The Production Company’s production of Stephen Schwartz’s “Working“.

For those who aren’t familiar with “Working“, it is based on one of the collections of oral histories done by Studs Terkel titled ” Working: People Talk About What They Do All Day and How They Feel About What They Do“. In this book, Studs talked to lots of people and asked them about their jobs. Stephen Schwartz and Nina Faso then took a number of these stories and wove them together into a musical quilt of people talking about their jobs, integrating music by Schwartz, Craig Carnelia, Micki Grant, Mary Rodgers, and James Taylor, and lyrics by Schwartz, Carnelia, Grant, Taylor, and Susan Birkenhead. As you can see, this is a stellar collection of composers and lyricists, and “Working” has some of the best music around. There isn’t a through plot, although there is a message: people work for various reasons: for the money, for their family, and sometimes, just because they are proud of what they and want to leave some form of mark on the world. Since the original production, a few songs have become dated and were replaced: in particular, “Newsboy” was dropped, and “I’m Just Moving” was added.

This is also an ensemble show: often actors play multiple characters, depending on the song. This is especially true in a small theatre. The ensemble that The Production Company assembled was very strong — I only had a few quibbles. Going in alphabetical order… Lane Allison (Pam (Babe), Enid) not only come first alphabetically, but was my favorite of all the female actors in the cast. She was particuarly strong in the number “I’m Just Moving”. Not only did Lane have a strong singing voice, but her face was extremely expressive and she just seemed to radiate joy in the characters she protrayed. Michael D’Elia (Roberto, Mason soloist, Ralph) was particularly strong in “Un Mejor Dia Vendra” and as the soloist in “Mason”: he had a wonderful singing voice and was very expressive and moving. Margaret Dwyer (Roberta, Millwork Soloist, Heather) was generally good, although she didn’t quite have the right voice for “Millwork”, at least to my taste. However, her monologue as the hooker was wonderful. Harmony Goodman* (Kate, Grace, Sharon) was notable as the lead millworker in “Millworker”, and did a very good job with one of my favorite songs, “Just a Housewife”. Kurt Andrew Hansen* (Mike) was excellent in his numerous songs: he was great as the steelworker, did a wonderful job on “Fathers and Songs”, and was just a joy to watch in the ensemble. Randy Wade Kelley (Frank, Tom Charlie) was also notable during his monologue in “Fathers and Son”. Larry Lederman* (Al, Trucker) [who we’ve seen before in “Gypsy“] was great as “Lovin’ Al” and in other numerous small roles. Judy Nazemetz* was great as the teacher in “Nobody Tells Me How”, although she needed a bit more belt and bravado to pull off “It’s an Art” (she was playing more to the humorous side). Pamela Taylor (Amanda Maggie) [who we’ve seen before in “Blood Brothers“] was wonderful in all her numbers — she was particularly strong in “Cleanin’ Women” and her expressiveness. Lastly, Michael Zemenick* (Rex, Anthony, Joe) was very strong — both in acting (as the Mason) and in singing (in numbers such as “Joe” — a number I normally don’t like, but Zemenick made very good).

As I said, a strong ensemble. The production was directed by August Viverito, assisted by T L Kolman (who also was the producer), who did an excellent job of turning the actors into characters. I particularly noticed how he had the actors in the background moving in character during numbers (such as “It’s an Art”, among others). Choreography was by Nancy Dobbs Owen, who did an excellent job of meaningful movement in the small Lex theatre space. Musical direction was by Richard Berent, who played piano on stage, assisted by George “Drew” Derieux on guitar and John Harvey on percussion.

The set design did a wonderful job of making the show current, echoing the recent “occupy” movement and the battles against unions in Wisconsin. This design, which would have made Studs Turkel proud, was by the director, August Viverito. Lighting design was by Ric Zimmerman, and made good use of both conventional and LED lighting (although the latter tended to flicker as it came on). Customes were by Kelly Graham, and worked quite well. Christopher Carver and CB Spencer were the production stage managers.

The Production Company’s “Working”  continues at the Lex Theatre until May 6. You can get tickets through Brown Paper Tickets; they may be available on Goldstar as well. It is well worth seeing.

Upcoming Theatre, Concerts, and Dance: The last weekend in April sees us out in Thousand Oaks for “Once Upon a Mattress” at Cabrillo; I may book tickets for “The Heiress” at the Pasadena Playhouse on that Sunday or perhaps the following weekend (heard it on LA Theatre Works and it sounds good). May begins with “Dames at Sea” at the Colony.  It also brings the senior dance show at Van Nuys HS, the Spring Railfest at Orange Empire, “The Great American Trailer Park Musical” at REP East, and it may also bring “Follies” at the Ahmanson. Oh, and May also has my daughter’s HS graduation. June is more open, but does feature both “Addams Family” and “Million Dollar Quartet” at the Pantages. As always, open dates are subject to be filled in with productions that have yet to appear on the RADAR of Goldstar or LA Stage Alliance.

Music: Movin’ Out (2002 Original Broadway Cast): Goodnight Saigon

Share

Dance, Exploded, On Stage

Posted onAuthorcahwyguy1 Comment

This has been a crazy weekend. I’ve already talked about the whirlwind trip to Cal, but I neglected to tell you how it started: a trip to the Pantages to see a dancing boy.

Our crazy day Saturday actually started with 8pm non-refundable, non-exchangable tickets at the Pantages; further, while we were seeing Billy Elliott at the Pantages, Erin was seeing American Idiot downtown with a friend. Add to this a dinner that was more expensive than I expected (but good), a back that was (and still is) acting up, and some other unnamed factors, and I wasn’t in the best of moods going in. So what did I think of the show? Pretty good, in spite of all that.

Billy Elliot: The Musical basically tells the same story as the original movie did: It is the story of a boy who discovers he loves ballet dancing, in the context of a hard-scrabble Northern England town where the life is coal mining, and that life has been thrown in limbo by the national strike of the coal miners against the UK government. So you have two parallel stories: a boy discovering dancing, and a town where there miners are facing the British police, hating Margaret Thatcher, and seeing the end of a way of life. They seem like incongruous stories, but somehow they work together, augmented by the music and the story. Luckily, the stage version featured a book by the author of the movie, Lee Hall, who also did the lyrics. The energetic music was by Sir Elton John.

What makes this production is the dancing. In particular, the dancing of the young Billy. This effort is so strenuous that there are four Billys that rotate over the various performances. “Our” Billy was Zach Manske, a 12 year old from Minnesota who did a remarkable job in full-on ballet sequences, as well as the expressive “Angry Dance”, remarkable tap numbers. You name it, this boy could dance it.

Another remarkable performer was the actress that played Mrs. Wilkinson, Leah Hocking. Hocking had a remarkable singing voice: clear and strong. She could also dance and act quite well. This came out from the start during her first number, “Shine”.

Few other characters “shine” individually. Cameron Clifford, who was “our” Michael, did a wonderful job as the cross-dressing lad who was Billy’s best friend. Michael’s signature song, “Expressing Yourself”, is perhaps the underlying theme of the show: do what you love, be yourself. The number is a remarkable transformation and a joy to watch.

The other interesting transformation in the show is achieved by Rich Hebert, playing Dad. Here the transformation is in the character, who goes from being a strong union miner with appropriate stereotypes to one who is 100% behind his son’s ballet. Hebert plays this well.

As for the rest of the cast: it is so large, and the numbers have such an ensemble effort that it is difficult to pick people out. This was also made difficult by a number of substitutions during the show. The remainder of the cast was: Patti Perkins (Grandma), Cullen R. Titmas (Tony), Joel Blum (George), Samanta Blaire Cutler (Debbie), Kat Hennessey (Mum, Ensemble), Maximilien A. Baud (Older Billy, Scottish Dancer, Ensemble), Job Christenson (Mr. Braithwaite, Accordion Specialty, Ensemble, u/s Big Davey), Mitch Poulos (Big Davey, Ensemble, u/s Dad, u/s George), Madison Barnes (Ballet Girl, u/s Debbie), Michael Biren (Swing, Fight Captain, Dance Captain), Damien Brett (Ensemble, Postman, u/s Mr. Braithwaite), Sasha Ely-Judkins (Ensemble, Lesley, u/s Mrs. Wilkinson, u/s Mom), Tim Funnell (Scab, Posh Dad, Ensemble), Richard Gatta (Swing), Susan Haefner (Ensemble, Clipboard Lady, u/s Mrs. Wilkinson, u/s Mum, u/s Grandma), Regan Mason Haley (Tracey Atkinson), Christopher M. Howard (Ensemble, u/s Older Billy/Scottish Dancer), Patrick Lavallee (Ensemble, Acro Captain), Alison Levenberg (Dance Captain, Swing, Resident Choreographer), Kent M. Lewis (Swing), David Light (Ensemble, Pit Official, u/s Tony), Rebecca Marlowe (Swing, u/s Debbie), Morgan Martin (Ballet Girl), Joel Newsome (Ensemble, Mr. Wilkinson, u/s George, u/s Big Davey, u/s Scab/Posh Dad), Jeffrey Pew (Ensemble, u/s Tony, u/s Scab/Posh Dad), Matthew Prescott (u/s Older Billy/Scottish Dancer, Resident Choreographer), Jillian Rees-Brown (Ensemble, u/s Grandma), Vanessa Russo (Swing), Brionna Trilling (Ballet Girl, u/s Small Boy), Genai Veal (Ballet Girl), Lexi Viernes (Ballet Girl), Olivia Wang (Ballet Girl), Thad Turner Wilson (Ensemble, u/s Mr. Braithwaite), Natalie Wisdom (Swing), Danielle Victoria Znutas (Ballet Girl), Jeremy Zorek (Small Boy). Also deserving credit, although we didn’t see them, are the Billys and Michaels that didn’t play this performance: Ty Forhan, Kylend Hetherington, and J. P. Viernes as the alternate Billys, and Jacob Zelonky as the alternate Michael.  As you can see: a large cast, which (due to the large number of children) has a large number of understudies and swings that go on at the last minute–sometimes during intermission!

Completing the performance aspect are the creative leads. The production was directed by Stephen Daldry, with Julian Webber and Justin Martin as Associate Directors, Steven Minning as Supervising Resident Director, and Christopher Schilder as Resident Director. The direction was good, although at times the dialect made things difficult to understand. Choreography was by Peter Darling, with Kathryn Dunn (Associate Choreographer), Mary Giattino (Assistant Choreographer), Sean Maurice Kelly (Resident Choreographer), Alison Levenberg (Resident Choreographer), and Matthew Prescott (Resident Choreographer), and numerous dance, fight, and acrobatic captains. The dancing was the strong point of this show: there were remarkable ballets, remarkable tap sequences, and remarkable choreographed movements (especially in numbers such as “Solidarity”, where the ballet girls are intermixed with the striking miners).Joel Rosen was Production Stage Manager; Melissa Chacon was Stage Manager, and Brian D. Gold and Jenifer A. Shenker were Assistant Stage Managers.

Turning to the technical: the set was designed by Ian McNeil: it is perhaps my only complaint with the show. To work with the various tour stages, it uses a border to shrink the wide Pantages stage, and then uses techniques to reduce the height of the stage during many numbers. This gives a cramped feeling that made it harder to watch things. Design supervision was by Edward Pierce. Lighting was by Rick Fisher (assisted by associate lighting designer Kristina Kloss and Daniel Walker) and was effective for the task. The sound design by Paul Arditti (assisted by Tony Smolenski IV, associate sound designer) was good (with good sound effects), but was hampered by the built-in sound dampening of the Pantages theatre that turns everything into muddied noise–this was especially a problem for the Northern England dialects, which are difficult to understand to begin with. Costumes were by Nicky Gillibrand (assisted by Claire Murphy and Rachel Attridge, associate costume designers in the UK and US, respectively)–they conveyed the time period quite well. Wigs and hair design were by Bernie Ardia.

Musical Supervision was by Martin Koch and David Chase. Susan Draus was music director and conductor.

“Billy Elliot: The Musical” continues through May 13. Hint: Go to the box office and get the $25 seats if they are available. They were on the side and perfectly acceptable, and if you go to the box office you don’t have to pay Ticketmaster extortion fees.

Upcoming Theatre, Concerts, and Dance: Next weekend brings student-directed plays at Van Nuys HS (Erin is in one of them), plus I’m judging an ethics competitation at UCLA, and hoping to book tickets for the new production of “Working” at The Production Company in Hollywood (haven’t seen the show in years, opens 3/16). The last weekend in April sees us out in Thousand Oaks for “Once Upon a Mattress” at Cabrillo; I’m also hoping to book tickets for “The Heiress” at the Pasadena Playhouse on that Sunday (heard it on LA Theatre Works and it sounds good). May begins with “Dames at Sea” at the Colony.  It also brings the senior dance show at Van Nuys HS, the Spring Railfest at Orange Empire, “The Great American Trailer Park Musical” at REP East, and it may also bring “Follies” at the Ahmanson. Oh, and May also has my daughter’s HS graduation. June is more open, but does feature both “Addams Family” and “Million Dollar Quartet” at the Pantages. As always, open dates are subject to be filled in with productions that have yet to appear on the RADAR of Goldstar or LA Stage Alliance.

Music: Barbra Streisand … and other Musical Instruments (Barbra Streisand): The World is a Concerto / Make Your Own Kind of Music / Concerto for Instruments and Appliances

 

Share

Revisiting a Musical Friend

Posted onAuthorcahwyguy

In addition to theatre, I’m a long-time folk music aficianado. So naturally, every time Tom Paxton comes to town, I’m out to see him. Last night was no exception: It was Tom’s second show at McCabes in Santa Monica. It was supposedly a sold-out show, yet there were a fair number of empty seats (I’d say the room was at 85%-90% of capacity) and the store was not as crowded as usual. It could be that the drizzily Saturday evening kept some folks in their homes.

The show itself was good, although looking back, it was roughly the same program as last year (this seems to be a common problem with artists–Erin noted that Bernadette Peters’ recent show repeated 80% of the show (including jokes) as her previous show two years before). Tom was accompanied last night by Zack Sokolow, Fred’s son, a regular performer in Los Angeles (he was out to do a Rockabilly show in Burbank after Tom’s show), and an instructor at McCabes. The show consisted of the following songs (* indicates new for this show):

Act I Act II
How Beautiful Upon The Mountain
Your Shoes, My Shoes*
Lament for a Lost Election
What Did You Learn In School Today?*
Getting Up Early*
Passing Through Tulsa*
My Pony Knows The Way*
And If It’s Not True
New Song – Central Square
Bottle of Wine		 Anytime*
New Song – Buffalo Dreams*
New Song – Finding Ireland*
Jennifer’s Rabbit
Katy
Jennifer and Kate
Marry Me Again
Last Thing on My Mind (Parody)
Last Thing on My Mind
Ramblin’ Boy
The Bravest
Comedians and Angels

What was new this year was a collection of “Oklahoma” songs, starting with “Passing Through Tulsa” and going into songs from characters that just showed up in Tom’s notebook. This replaced the set of songs Tom did previously with Joe Frazier. In the second part of the show, there were some new songs that, to my knowledge, are not on any of Tom’s albums (“Central Square” is also new, but (a) Tom did it last year, and (b) it is available on an album by Geoff Bartley)

Upcoming Theatre, Concerts, and Dance: This coming weekend sees the beginning of April, as well as the beginning of Pesach. We may go to the Southern California Renaissance Faire on Easter Sunday (or perhaps the following Sunday). Friday the 13th sees us at the Pantages for Billy Elliot” and I”m hoping to get tickets for the new small-theatre production of “Spring Awakening” by Over The Moon Productions at the Arena Stage (curious to see this in a small production, runs 3/14-4/22) on that Sunday (they aren’t on Goldstar yet). The following weekend brings student-directed plays at Van Nuys HS (Erin is in one of them), plus I’m judging an ethics competitation at UCLA, and hoping to book tickets for the new production of “Working” at The Production Company in Hollywood (haven’t seen the show in years, opens 3/16). The last weekend in April sees us out in Thousand Oaks for “Once Upon a Mattress” at Cabrillo; I’m also hoping to book tickets for “The Heiress” at the Pasadena Playhouse on that Sunday (heard it on LA Theatre Works and it sounds good). May begins with “Dames at Sea” at the Colony.  It also brings the senior dance show at Van Nuys HS, the Spring Railfest at Orange Empire, “The Great American Trailer Park Musical” at REP East, and it may also bring “Follies” at the Ahmanson. Oh, and May also has my daughter’s HS graduation. June is more open, but does feature both “Addams Family” and “Million Dollar Quartet” at the Pantages. As always, open dates are subject to be filled in with productions that have yet to appear on the RADAR of Goldstar or LA Stage Alliance.

Music: Je m’appelle Barbra (Barbra Streisand): Free Again

Share

War is Hell… and a Damn Good Drama

Posted onAuthorcahwyguy1 Comment

War is Hell. War is also a wonderful microcosm of life: a place to mix drama and comedy, to show how stress can bring out the best in a man, or how the strain can crack a man in half. Perhaps this is why playwrights often turn to a war setting to construct their stories. We’ve seen this many times, from pieces such as “M*A*S*H“, which tempers the absurdity of war with the spice of drama, to numerous World War II and earlier dramas. War dramas are on my mind, as we saw a World War I war drama last night at REP East: “Journey’s End” by R. C. Sherriff.

“Journey’s End” tells the story of four days (18 March 1918 to 21 March 1918) in in the officers’ dugout of a British Army infantry company in the trenches at Saint-Quentin, Aisne towards the end of the World War I. As the story opens, we meet Captain Hardy and Lieutenant Osborne, an older man and public school master, who has come to relieve him. Hardy jokes about the behaviour of Captain Stanhope, who has turned to alcohol in order to cope with the stress which the war has caused him. While Hardy jokes, Osborne defends Stanhope and describes him as “the best company commander we’ve got”. Other characters we rapidly meet are Private Mason, a servant cook, who does what he can with the ingredients he gets; Second Lieutenant Trotter, a rotund soldier who likes his food but cannot stand the war; and Second Lieutenant Hibbert, who is constantly complaining of neuralgia (Capt. Stanhope believes this is so that he can be sent home instead of continuing fighting). We also meet the newest officer: Second Lieutenant Raleigh. Raleigh a young and naive, who knew had a personal friendship with Stanhope from before the war at school. Raleigh requested to be sent to Stanhope’s company, and looks up to Stanhope–a form of hero worship that Stanhope believes he does not deserve. Other characters we meet over the course of the play include the Colonel, who is in charge of the entire operation, and the Sergeant Major, the senior enlisted officer. This set of officers has a duty period of six days at the front, although Stanhope personally refuses to be relieved and has been on the front for much longer.

The story starts out somewhat comedic as we get to know the characters. We see how Raleigh worships Stanhope and doesn’t see the flaws. We see how Stanhope cares for his men and is doing his hardest to appear strong for them in order that they remain strong. We see how Osborne serves as a father figure, providing wisdom and advice to all the men. The first few days are during a quiet period, when the watches are boring and every thing seems to be in a form of stasis. This changes shortly before the end of Act I, where it is learned that the Germans will be doing a major attack on Thursday morning. The British command has decided that they only way they can learn the strength of that attack is to send a raid into the British camp. The various officers are discussed, and ultimately, Capt. Osborne is chosen to lead the raid, with 2Lt. Raleigh selected to actually run in and grab a German soldier and bring him back to the British camp. The second act focuses on the raid itself… its consequences… and the German attack itself. You can read a more detailed synopsis on the Wikipedia page–I don’t want to spoil all the details

The director, Ovington Michael Owston, does a wonderful job of bringing this war to life. We believe that these actors are indeed soldiers, and that we have a window into the real bunker (this is aided by the wonderful technical aspects–more on that later). You can see the exhaustion mixed with the determination to be a good example in Stanhope, the youthful eagerness of Raleigh, the paternal strength of Osborne, the internal fear in Hibbit, the loyalty in the sergeant major, and sense that the Private is not a cook (but not a soldier either), but is doing the best with what he has. In fact, the only minor complaints I have came only after I read the Wikipedia synopsis: preserving the original three act structure (there was an act break after the first scene) would have addressed what seemed to be an overly long first act, and the original end to the second act–if there had been a way to do it in the confines of the REP–would have made the ending even stronger.

The acting in this production was excellent–but we’ve come to expect no less at the REP (* indicates Actors Equity members). In the lead positions were Reid Gormly as Capt. Stanhope, Daniel Lench* as Capt. Stanhope, and Stephen Bailey as 2Lt. Raleigh. Gormly does a great job with Stanhope: you can see the vulnerability behind the strength of the officer; you can understand why he has turned to alcohol (and large amounts thereof) to deal with the stress of leadership. Gormly is proving his versatility as part of the REP team: we saw him previously as the lead, Benjamin Braddock, in the recent production of The Graduate. Lench is already officer material and just grows in his ability to portray leaders both paternal and demented: we’ve seen him as both Col. Blake in M*A*S*H and Ltc. Jessep in A Few Good Men. Bailey is new to the REP, but gives off a wonderful youthful optimism that is a delight to watch. You can see that this fresh-out doesn’t know the horror and the risks of war, and doesn’t understand the risks. This bravery makes the ending of the play even more poignant.

In the supporting positions were Nathan T. Inzerillo as 2Lt. Trotter, Tom Lund as 2Lt. Hibbert, and Kyle Kulish as Private Mason. Kulish was enjoyable to watch in all of his scenes–the dutiful cook who knew nothing about cooking and was doing his best. Lund was particularly good in his scenes with Gormly’s Stanhope, particularly in the scenes where Stanhope helps Lund’s charater, Hibbert, overcome his fear of going back on the line. In tertiary positions were Harry Bennett* as the Colonel and Jeff Hyde as the Sergeant Major. I particularly enjoyed Hyde’s characterization of the Sergeant Major and the little Scottish touches. Rounding out the cast were Michael Levine as Captain Hardy, and Connor Pratt as a German Solider.

This was one show in particular where I noticed the technical touches much more than usual. “O”, in addition to directing, did the set design, and he did a great job of turning the black box of the REP into a dugout in Europe with a wooden substructure, diggings and a general sense of being underground. Steven “Nanook” Burkholder’s sound was even stronger than usual, with a wonderful continuous barrage of snipers and bombs and such that constantly evoked the war. This was echoed by Tim Christianson’s strong lighting which not only gave the foxhole feel, but illustrated the bombs bursting and the ever changing conditions. Rounding this out were the period costumes from Tonya and Rachel Nelson of NSA Costumes. Christina Gonzalez served as Stage Manager and Prop Mistress, and Mikee Schwinn provided art direction. “O” and Mikee also served as the producers.

When one goes to the REP, one learns that the lobby is often an extension of the show. This show was no exception. The staff at the REP turned the lobby into a museum of American military actions since WWI, using materials on loan from cast members and their families, as well as others. It did an excellent job of setting the mood.

“Journey’s End” continues at REP East through April 14. You can get tickets through the REP Online Box Office, and they are often found on Goldstar. The next show in the REP season is “The Great American Trailer Park Musical“, which “contains tacky outfits, bad wigs, crude language, adultery, strippers, road kill, electrocution, and spray cheese”. GATPM runs from May 11 through June 16.

Upcoming Theatre, Concerts, and Dance: March concludes with Tom Paxton in concert at McCabes on 3/31. April will bring “Billy Elliot” at the Pantages, the Southern California Renaissance Faire, “Once Upon a Mattress” at Cabrillo, and “Dames at Sea” at the Colony.  It may also bring the new production of “Working” at The Production Company in Hollywood (haven’t seen the show in years, opens 3/16); the new small-theatre production of “Spring Awakening” by Over The Moon Productions at the Arena Stage (curious to see this in a small production, runs 3/14-4/22); and possibly “The Heiress” at the Pasadena Playhouse (heard it on LA Theatre Works and it sounds good). May will bring “The Great American Trailer Park Musical” at REP East, the senior dance show at Van Nuys HS, and may bring “Follies” at the Ahmanson, and the Spring Railfestival at Orange Empire Railway Museum. It also brings my daughter’s HS graduation. As always, open dates are subject to be filled in with productions that have yet to appear on the RADAR of Goldstar or LA Stage Alliance.

Music: We Shall Overcome (Pete Seeger): Who Killed Norma Jean?

Share

Nobody Likes You / Everyone Left You / They’re All Out Without You Having Fun

Posted onAuthorcahwyguy1 Comment

Now we turn to the present, where last night we saw “Green Day’s American Idiot” at the Ahmanson Theatre. This continues the Ahmanson’s trend of aiming for the youth this season: first we had Bring It On, a cheerleader musical; next was Fela!, featuring afropop, and now American Idiot, a musical clearly designed to speak to college-age and just after theatre goers. However, I’m 50+, and familiar with Green Day only from this cast album and their original concept album. What did I think?

It’s a hard question to answer.

American Idiot, looking at the credits page, is a traditional musical. It has music by Green Day, lyrics by Billie Joe Armstrong, and book by Billie Joe Armstrong and Michael Mayer. It has musical supervision, arrangements, and orchestrations by Tom Kitt, who did Bring It On, High Fidelity, and Next to Normal. So it should be a book musical, right? But it isn’t.

On the other hand, it has a rockin’ score. From the minute I heard the opening number, I fell in love with the music of this show. It is energetic, pulsing… yet tender and affecting. Viewed as a simple rock concert, this would be spectacular. But it isn’t. It follows in the vein of shows such as Tommy: a rock album with an overall theme, some aspect of a through story. So this isn’t just a rock concert.

Judging this show requires a number of levels. So let’s talk instead about what was strong, middling, and weak.

Strong was the music and the singers. This music is loud (if you have sensitive ears, I suggest ear plugs), but it is rhythmic and sticks in your brain. Some songs, such as the title song or “21 Guns” are remarkable. Some of the songs are beautiful and tender, although I hesitate to call them ballads. Also strong was the performances. The actors, who I’ll discuss in a few paragraphs, are into their characters. They imbue the songs with stories, creating lyrical performances and dance. Their interpretation, power, and energy are what makes this show.

Middling is the story itself. If I had to summarize the book to you, I could do so only in short words and phrases. Alienation. Anti-war. Love. Perils of war. Perils of drugs. Perils of relationships. Finding yourself. I’d be hard-pressed to name specific characters. I’ve pieced together what the rough story is not from my watching of the show but from reviews of the show, such as the one in the LA Times. My short words described the story best: alienation. The story centers on three slacker college students: Johnny, Will, and Tunny. Trying to find themselves, Johnny and Tunny move to the city; Will can’t, as his girlfriend is pregnant. In the city, Johnny and Tunny try to find themselves. Instead, Tunny finds the army, Iraq, and the eventual consequences. Johnny finds a girl (Whatshername) and heroin and St. Jimmy. The three are eventually reunited. That is as detailed a story as I can piece together.

As I said, light story. But there are some touching and wonderful moments theirin. For example, the number “Extraordinary Girl” is presented in a military recovery ward as an aerial ballet between Tunny and the Extraordinary Girl, and is truly remarkable. The number “Give Me Novacaine” demonstrates through movement and performance Jimmy and Whatsername’s slide into drugs. Other numbers that stick in the head (I’m not sure if it is the performance or the music) include “Are We the Waiting”, “21 Guns”, and “Wake Me Up When September Ends”.  I particuarly love the title number and its staging, rage, and choreography.

Poor was some aspects of the stagecraft. We were seated in the limited view seats on the edge of the 6th row. We could see clearly into the wings where there was a large bunch of sound equipment, and people constantly coming over and fiddling with it. This was distracting. Other theatres know well that the illusion must be preserved wherever you sit in the auditorium. To the Ahmanson: get a curtain.

WIll you like the show? That’s hard to answer. Last night, we saw an elderly couple get out of their seats during the second number and leave. The music–both in tone and volume–isn’t for everyone. There is use of drugs, simulated sex, strong language and gestures, and revealing costumes. But if you can get past that, there is wonderful music (from a genre I never expected to like), touching performances, strong dance, and loads and loads of energy. So what if the story is weak. The performance and music make up for it.

As I indicated above, the performances were wonderful. Alas, it was hard to distinguish particular characters from each other. Further, members of the ensemble take on various characters throughout the story. All gave wonderful performances. In the lead positions were Van Hughes as Johnny, Joshua Kobak [note: Kobak’s personal site has a Google malware warning] at St. Jimmy, Scott J. Campbell at Tunny, and Jake Epstein as Will. We see the most of Van Hughes as Johnny and Kobak as Jimmy. Van Hughes performance is wonderful: his singing is great, and you can just feel his anguish. Campbell’s peformance is great as well, especially in the aforementioned “Extraordinary Girl”, “Are We The Waiting”, and “When September Ends”.

In the second tier (with respect to billing and role size), we have Gabrielle McClinton at Whatsername, Nicci Claspell as The Extraordinary Girl, and Leslie McDonel as Heather. McClinton is a remarkable performer, as is demonstrated in her interactions with Van Nughes’s Johnny. You can see the sorrow on her face when Johnny pulls out the heroin; you can see her love for the man-boy; you can see her rage when he leaves her. Claspell has a smaller role — primarily in the aforementioned ballet with Campbell’s Tunny. McDonel’s Heather plays the pregnant girlfirend of Will, and does a good job of conveying someone excited about being a mother, but fed up by the slacker father. She has no speaking lines: her role is solely through performance and song.

Rounding out the cast we have the ensemble, consisting of Talia Aaron, Krystina Alabado, Gabriel Antonacci, Larkin Bogan, Jennifer Bowles, Matt DeAngelis, Dan Gleason, Kelvin Moon Loh,  Jarran Muse,  and Okieriete Onaodowan. Swings were Tommy McDowell, Jillian Mueller, and Vince Oddo. All were strong dancers and supported the production well. Of special note is Jarran Muse, who was wonderful in the “Favorite Son” number.

Direction was by Michael Mayer, with choreography by Steven Hoggett and Musical Supervision by Tom Kitt. Jared Stein was the music director and conductor of an on-stage band consisting of Jason Bozzi (guitar), Julian Peterson (guitar), Dan Grennes (bass), Alon Bisk (cello), and Grant Braddock  (drums). Lorin Latarro was the associate choreographer, and Johanna McKeon was the associate director.

Turning to the technical. Christine Jones‘ scenic design shortens the Ahmanson stage, creating a half-depth space filled from floor to ceiling with video screens and debris. It works, although it is hard to take in all the images on the screen. Darrel Maloney‘s videos and projections are a critical part of the scenic design (as previously noted), establishing the context for the alienation. Andrea Lauer‘s costumes reflect the period well (if less-than 10 years ago can be called a period); some of them are quite astounding.  The lighting by Kevin Adams is effective and creates the mood well–he uses movers and LED lights to create a constantly changing hue. Brian Ronan‘s sound design deals with the volume well, although the actors must go through a lot of microphones! Technical Theatre Solutions LLC provided technical supervision; I was particularly amazed with how they handled Tunny’s leg. Monica Dickhens was the Production Stage Manger; A. J. Sullivan was Stage Manager, and Michael Rico Cohen was the Assistant Stage Manager.

“American Idiot” continues at the Ahmanson Theatre through April 22. Next up: “Follies“.

Upcoming Theatre, Concerts, and Dance: Tonight we’re seeing a very different show: “Journey’s End” at REP East. March will conclude with Tom Paxton in concert at McCabes on 3/31. April will bring “Billy Elliot” at the Pantages, the Southern California Renaissance Faire, “Once Upon a Mattress” at Cabrillo, and “Dames at Sea” at the Colony.  It may also bring the new production of “Working” at The Production Company in Hollywood (haven’t seen the show in years, opens 3/16); the new small-theatre production of “Spring Awakening” by Over The Moon Productions at the Arena Stage (curious to see this in a small production, runs 3/14-4/22); and possibly “The Heiress” at the Pasadena Playhouse (heard it on LA Theatre Works and it sounds good). May will bring “The Great American Trailer Park Musical” at REP East, the senior dance show at Van Nuys HS, and may bring “Follies” at the Ahmanson, and the Spring Railfestival at Orange Empire Railway Museum. It also brings my daughter’s HS graduation. As always, open dates are subject to be filled in with productions that have yet to appear on the RADAR of Goldstar or LA Stage Alliance.

Music: American Idiot (Green Day): Give Me Novacaine

 

Share