Tag: theatre-2007

Their Love Was Forbidden… and it Changed The World

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Last night, we went to see a musical fairy tale, a gay little romp that is my daughter’s favorite musical about high school life. Grease? Nah. Bye Bye Birdie? Nah. We saw Zanna Don’t at the West Coast Ensemble in Silverlake.

“Zanna Don’t” (MySpace) is a musical about love, in all its variations. Set in Heartsville USA, it (like Hello Dolly before it), is the story of a matchmaker changing the world. In this case, our matchmater is Zanna, who lives only to help people fall in love with the right guy or girl. The show opens on a busy day, where Zanna (Danny Calvert), dressed in pink, is creating some new matches between the super-popular Chess team champion, Mike (Dan Pacheco), and the new Football player, Steve (Brent Schindele). He also is matching up Roberta (Natalie Monahan) with the head of the precision mechancial bull riding team, Kate (Rebecca Johnson). He does this all with the aid of his canary, Cindy, his wand, and love music selected by Tank, the DJ (Brian Weir). If you noticed something odd here, perhaps I should explain.

Zanna Don’t is set in a topsy-turvy world, where being gay is normal. Guys go with guys, girls go with girls. Boys have two dads, Girls have two moms. The world stops for the Chess Team champions and the precision dancing team, and football is this off sport that no one understands. The local bar (the “I’m OK, You’re OK Corral”) serves milk, or if you’re having man trouble, Ovaltine.

Back to the story. Life at high school is highlighted by the drama club musical, directed by Candi (Justine Valdez) and her assistant, Brad (Matthew Rocheleau). This year they have chosen to do something daring, something that upsets the locals and the school board. They are doing a musical about heterosexuals in the military. The musical stars Steve (the football player) and Kate (the bull rider). Although they each have their own partners (Steve has Mike, Kate has Roberta), the reluctantly agree to kiss (but who would want to kiss someone of the opposite sex?). As you might guess, they fall in love. But this is a forbidden love, which has its consequences… and it is discovered at the end of Act I.

Act II deals with the consequences of this love. Their partners are left in the dark, not understanding how someone could fall that way. Candi is disgusted, and is protesting to the school board, which promptly bans straight couples from the prom. The couple turns to Zanna, who unleashes a love spell that changes the world, a spell that makes the world safe for heteros. After the spell is cast, the scene changes to the prom… where in their black tuxes, Mike and Roberta and Candi and Brad all gather together to crown their new King and Queen: Mike and Kate. Into this sashays Zanna, in a grey and pink tux… and is immediately the outcast, for he is (gasp) gay. But the attitudes change, and soon everyone is singing about how all love must be accepted (and Zanna finds a guy for himself, Tank).

This is a high-energy, high-spirited musical, with peppy songs by Tim Acito (additional book and lyrics by Alexander Dinelaris), strong direction by Nick DeGruccio, delightful choreography by Christine Lakin (MySpace) and Paul Nygro.

The high energy and high spirits are infectuous, and have clearly infected the cast, who seem to be having the time of their lives in this Los Angeles premier. All are excellent singers and dancers, but a few need to be singled out in various ways. On the singing front, I just adored the powerhouse singing of of Rebecca Johnson (Kate), Brent Schindele (Steve), and Justine Valdez (Candi). All of the cast were strong singers, but these three just blew the house away (in particular Ms. Valdez… I haven’t heard pipes like that since I fell in love with Klea Blackhurst). On the acting and emoting side, all the cast was excellent and having fun with the show (something I love to see), but particular standouts included Danny Calvert (Zanna), Natalie Monahan (Roberta), and Rebecca Johnson (Kate). I particularly enjoyed watching Ms. Monahan, who was having a blast with her role.

The theatre itself is a very small venue, under 50 seats. This strong singing and dancing production fits in only through the clever scenic design of Tom Buderwitz, the direction of Nick Degruccio (assisted by Flip Laffoon), and the previously-mentioned choreographers. The theatre seats, however, are nothing to write home about… but you came for the show anyway! Lighting was by Lisa D. Katz. Sound design was by Cricket S. Myers assisted by Patricia Cardona. Musical direction was by Bill Brown, whose single keyboard made the orchestra come alive. Stage management was by Lara Nall, with production by Richard Israel and Dana Moore, assisted by Suzanne Doss.

“Zanna Don’t” continues at the West Coast Ensemble through most of August. Tickets are available through the box office; they are also on Goldstar. I strongly recommend this show.

I should note that the staff of the theatre was also remarkable. My daughter was able to get a poster for her Bat Mitzvah (we would rather promote local theatres in her theatre theme than venues 3000 miles away). We also had the opportunity to meet Steven Glaudini, artistic director of MTW Long Beach, who told us about their 2007-08 season (which sounds excellent). He’s the husband of Bets Malone, whose website is done by our friend shutterbug93. With Steven at the show was Misty Cotton (another friend of shutterbug93, who we recognized from our previous meetings… and thus we took the opportunity to briefly say hello). All in all, a delightful evening. I’ll also note that WCE has an intern program we might explore for nsshere.

Dining Notes: The mood for this delightful evening was set when we had dinner at the Flying Leap Cafe a few blocks up Hyperion from the theatre. The meal was excellent (I had the chicken fried steak, my wife had a steak salad, and my daughter had the cobb salad). But what set the mood was the clientele, for the restaurant and its bar and a very happy crowd, one might even say gay. Didn’t bother us at all, but it did set the mood.

So, what’s coming up on our theatre calendar? Next Saturday night is our playhouse night; we’re seeing “Can-Can” at The Pasadena Playhouse on 7/28 at 8:00pm. This is followed by “Beauty and the Beast” at Cabrillo Music Theatre on 8/4 @ 2:00pm; the DCI 2007 World Championship Finals in Pasadena on 8/11 @ 5:00pm; and “Avenue Q” at the Ahmanson on 9/15 @ 2:00pm. We’re also debating the Hollywood Bowl… in particular, possibly Bernstein/Copland/Gershwin on 8/2, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy on 8/24-25, or American Originals on 9/11. We may also go see “Zanna Don’t” again… it is just that good.

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You’re Just Too Good to be True / Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You

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Last night, we returned to our theatre pattern and saw Jersey Boys at the Ahmanson Theatre. Jersey Boys was the winner of the 2006 Tony Award for Best Musical (beating out “The Color Purple”, “Drowsy Chaperone”, and “The Wedding Singer”). Jersey Boys tells the story of the rise and fall of the musical group “The Four Seasons”, later “Frankie Valli and the 4 Seasons”, beginning with their origins as a trio on the corner in Jersey to their reunion in 1990 after nearly 40 years when they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

“Jersey Boys” is an interesting duck of a musical. It isn’t a straight jukebox musical, because there is a story and it isn’t artificial (as one finds in shows like “All Shook Up” or “Forever Plaid”). However, it isn’t strictly a traditional musical either, for the songs really don’t serve to advance the plot or story; they establish the chronology (with a few exceptions, and those exceptions are out of chronological order to establish the mood, such as “My Eyes Adored You”). And yet the story is strangely compelling and told in an interesting fashion, weaving the recollections of each member of the Four Seasons. As such, whatever it is, this musical works and works well.

The star of the show, of course, is Frankie Castelluccio, who the world knows as Frankie Valli. But he didn’t start the nucleus of the group; that honor goes to Tommy DeVito, who was singing with his brother Nick DeVito (who didn’t join the group), and Nick Massi. Eventually, the group became a foursome after Joe Pesci (yes, that Joe Pesci) introduced Bob Gaudio to the group. Gaudio wrote “Sherry” for Valli, and the rest is history. What he show fails to emphasize are the other members of the group: based on the credits to the songs, it looks like Bob Crewe (who is in the show) was more than their producer — he was also their lyrics writer. The show also fails to mention at all who was their drummer, and their drummer was a key part of their sound. My only guess is that he was a studio drummer and not part of the group. The story also fails to mention some other aspects of the story, such as Valli’s loss of hearing, the true timing of things, and “Grease”. Still, it was good.

The show starred the first National Touring Company. In the leads were Deven May (Tommy DeVito), Michael Ingersoll (Nick Massi), Rick Faugno (Frankie Valli), and Erich Bergen [MySpace] (Bob Gaudio). I should note that Sunday night was Ingersoll’s last night with the tour, and at the end of the curtain call, the cast gave him a special going away spotlight. All of these principles were excellent, in particular, Faugno (who does the role Thursdays and Sundays) as Valli was excellent in a role that had him singing almost every song. Others in the cast, playing multiple roles, were John Altieri, Miles Aubrey, Sandra DeNise, Nathan Klau, Brandon Matthieus, Jackie Seiden, Courter Simmons, Joseph Siravo, Melissa Strom, Leo Huppert (a bassest with “Blood, Sweat & Tears”), and Brian Silverman. Also deserving of credit were the Orchestra (conducted by Andrew Wilder assisted by Joe Elefante), who appears on-stage at various points, which consisted of Caren Cole, Joe Elefante and Andew Wilder on keyboards; Brian Silverman on guitar; Leo Huppert on bass; Mark Papazian on drums; Kurt Bacher and Christopher Miele on reeds; and Thomas E. Chubb on trumpet. It appears that a large number of the major cast plays instruments, but this isn’t credited.

The show had a book by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice, with music by Bob Gaudio and lyrics by Bob Crewe. This production was directed by Des McAnuff, with choreography by Sergio Trujillo, and musical direction by Ron Melrose. Costumes were by Jess Goldstein, lighting by Howell Binkley, scenic design by Klara Zieglerova, and sound design by Steve Canyon Kennedy. It runs at the Ahmanson through August 31, 2007.

As an aside: The original title of this post was “Would my sister-in-law see this show?” My sister-in-law’s name is Sheri. From what I’ve been told, she hates the song.

Dining Note: We had dinner before the show at Weiland Brewery in Little Tokyo, on 1st Street. I think the concensus was that it was yummy. It is across from the Japanese American museum, and validation makes the parking $3… and it’s about 5 minutes from there to the Ahmanson parking lot. We found them through Rewards Network.

So, what’s coming up on our theatre calendar? On Friday, 7/20 @ 8:00pm we see “Zanna Don’t” at the West Coast Ensemble. This is followed by “Can-Can” at The Pasadena Playhouse on 7/28 at 8:00pm; “Beauty and the Beast” at Cabrillo Music Theatre on 8/4 @ 2:00pm; the DCI 2007 World Championship Finals in Pasadena on 8/11 @ 5:00pm; and “Avenue Q” at the Ahmanson on 9/15 @ 2:00pm. We’re also debating the Hollywood Bowl… in particular, possibly Bernstein/Copland/Gershwin on 8/2, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy on 8/24-25, or American Originals on 9/11.

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Interesting Castings…

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Some interesting casting from my review of theatre news during lunch:

  • Jason Alexander, artistic director of LA Reprise, is exploring doing staged readings of The Odd Couple, hopefully re-pairing him with Martin Short, his co-star in The Producers. They make a good team, so this might be worth seeing.
  • Another musical in the workshop stage is 9 to 5, moving to the stage the Dolly Parton movie from the 1980s, with additional music and lyrics by Ms. Parton. The current workshop cast includes Allison Janney (in the Lily Tomlin role), Stephanie J. Block (in the Jane Fonda role) and Megan Hilty (in the Dolly Parton role); with Bebe Neuwirth (Chicago) as office snitch Roz; Marc Kudisch (Thoroughly Modern Millie) as the boss, Mr. Hart; and Andy Karl (Legally Blonde), among others, including an ensemble. Quite interesting. This one might succeed.
  • Coming to Broadway in October, as we all know, is Young Frankenstein: The Musical. Just cast in the Frau Blucher role originally played by Cloris Leachman is Andrea Martin. Inspired. Martin joins a cast that includes the previously announced Roger Bart (Dr. Frederick Frankenstein), Megan Mullally (Elizabeth), Sutton Foster (Inga), Shuler Hensley (The Monster), Fred Applegate (Kemp) and Christopher Fitzgerald (Igor).
  • Lastly, for those bemoning the wrong casting of Molly Ringwald in the tour of Sweet Charity, there is good news. When the National Touring Company of Charity opened in San Antonio TX yesterday, the lead role is now being played by Paige Davis (who we all loved from Trading Spaces). I think she’ll be good in this role; I still miss her on TLC (but enjoy her in reruns on Discovery Home–funny how you never see the host from the first season of Trading Spaces).
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Your word is: E-N-T-E-R-T-A-I-N-I-N-G

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This afternoon, the family and I went to see The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee at the Wadsworth Theatre, presented through Broadway/LA. Going in, I wasn’t in a great mood: I had a headache, and traffic getting to the theatre was horrible. The show, however, made me feel great for the slightly over 105 minutes that it lasted (no intermission).

For those not familiar with the show, it tells the story of six mitsfits at a local Spelling Bee, and their quest to win the Bee. For these six misfits we had the original Broadway cast, which is rare in Los Angeles these days. However, these six aren’t the only participants in the Bee: there are also four audience members drawn at random, who sink or swim on their own. In the first half of the Bee, you clearly know who will win (the cast members) and who will lose — the fun part is learning the back-stories for the competitors, and seeing the crazy introductions the writers have — both for the cast members and the audience participants. Evidently, there are different words given to audience participants each show, with extremely funny definitions (for example, today someone got “mexican”). The definitions (and the use of the words in a sentence) is hilarious. The second half of the show is the serious competition, with the final five contestants being winnowed down. During this part you learn more about the kids and see how they grow — and what is really inside of them. I should also note that the writers tailor the background schools of the characters to local schools, and have topical and local jokes. Translation: they do their homework.

The six contestants in the Bee are:

  1. Marcy Park (Deborah S. Craig), an Asian overachiever, who knows five six languages, excells in sports (and everything else), and who is driven to win the bee.
  2. Leaf Coneybear (Jesse Tyler Ferguson), a second-runner up who got to the competition because the kids in front of him had to attend a Bat Mitzvah. Comes from a hippie family, in this show, from Topanga Canyon.
  3. William Barfée (Dan Fogler), an eccentric character who spells words before saying them with his “magic foot”, who is allergic to peanuts and everything else, and who is probably like someone you knew in your high school.
  4. Olive Ostrovsky (Celia Keenan-Bolger), an isolated newcomer to the Bee, whose parents seem to be taking out their agressions through her, and so she finds the dictionary a safe place to hide.
  5. Logainne Schwartzandgrubenierre (Sarah Saltzberg), the product of two dads who are pushing her to succeed… however she can.
  6. Chip Tolentino (Jose Llana), last year’s winner, a fearce competitor… until other problems rise up to distract him.

Rounding this out are Rona Lisa Peretti (Lisa Howard), the mistress of ceremonies and the #1 realtor in Putnam County; Douglas Panch (Jay Reiss), the vice-principle serving as judge, and Mitch Mahoney (Alan H. Green), who is doing his community service by comforting kids when they lose. Also onstage was the conductor/pianist, Jodie Moore.

Here’s a clip of this cast at the Tony awards a few years ago. It does give an example of the cleverness of the writing, especially for the word definitions:

Of course, with the original Broadway cast, they did a wonderful job. Some of them were looking a bit long in the tooth for the roles they were playing, but I would rather have the talent. You could also tell they enjoy doing this show — they were just having fun up there. Especially fun was the reaction of the audience participants, in particular, what had to be a 10 year-old boy named Dakota…. who actually spelled words they expected him to miss, such that they had to give him an extra one to get him out when they needed to. Quite fun.

In the technical area… the show had music and lyrics by William Finn (who also did Falsettos and A New Brain), book by Rachel Sheinkin. It was conceived by Rebecca Feldman, with additional material by Jay Reiss. Set design was by Beowulf Boritt, costumes by Jennifer Caprio, Lighting by Natasha Katz, Sound by Daniel Moses Schreier, and Orchestractions by Michael Starobin. It was directed by James Lapine. Tomorrow night is the last performance.

So, what’s coming up on our theatre calendar? We have a short break while we’re off to Nashville on vacation, although we’re debating going to the Grand Old Opry… but the only show we are free to see would be Restless Heart on 7/3. When we return, it is “Jersey Boys” at the Ahmanson Theatre on 7/15 @ 7:30pm; “Can-Can” at The Pasadena Playhouse on 7/28 at 8:00pm; “Beauty and the Beast” at Cabrillo Music Theatre on 8/4 @ 2:00pm, and the DCI 2007 World Championship Finals in Pasadena on 8/11 @ 5:00pm . I’ve also ordered season tickets for the Ahmanson, as discussed here. We’re also planning to get tickets to “Zanna Don’t” at the West Coast Ensemble (waiting for them to show on Goldstar). We’re also debating the Hollywood Bowl… in particular, possibly Bernstein/Copland/Gershwin on 8/2, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy on 8/24-25, or American Originals on 9/11.

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Observations on the Local Stage

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I’m glad that all my friends survived the zombie attack yesterday. But zombies are still in the news; dianec42 has brought to my attention an article from the BBC about how zombie (i.e., botnets) are under attack by the FBI. Botnets are a subject of interest to me; I hope to have a tutorial on the subject at ACSAC in December, if the other reviewers agree.

But that’s not why I’m writing today. Rather, today’s news is bringing some interesting articles regarding the arts in Southern California:

  • The Daily News is reporting that Los Angeles County will soon be announcing a $2M investment in the CSUN Performing Arts Center, together with a parnerships with the Music Center, and possibly LA Opera and the Center Theatre Group. The $100 million performing arts center at California State University, Northridge, would be the largest in the Valley and include a centerpiece 1,700-seat auditorium to accommodate music, dance, theater and film performances. This center would bring to the Valley a venue large enough for full-scale Broadway productions and operas. Few folks realize (except for those who were involved in the secession effort) that if the Valley were its own city, it would be the fifth or sixth largest in the U.S. … and would be the only one of such population density that does not currently have a major performing arts center. I think this is great news for the Valley.
  • The Santa Clarita Signal is reporting that the College of the Canyon’s performing arts center (which features a proscenium style theater, with a state-of-the-art sound system, more than 900 seats and a smaller “black box” theater) is being renamed the Santa Clarita Performing Arts Center, and will be programmed by the Canyon Theatre Guild under the name Santa Clarita Regional Theatre. The first season of the Santa Clarita Regional Theatre will consist of Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast,” which plays from July 28 through August 19. It will be followed by the classic Broadway musical “Man of La Mancha” which will be presented March 1 through March 9, 2008.
  • Thanks to shutterbug93, I have learned that the West Coast Ensemble Theatre will be presenting “Zanna Don’t” beginning in mid-July. This will be the first performance of this off-Broadway musical in Los Angeles, and it is something nsshere wants to see. I sense that there is another performance to add to my theatre agenda.
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Come Look at the Freaks / Come Gape at the Geeks

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Some shows you watch as a disinterested observer. It is the rare show where the power of the music and the power of the acting combine to get into you, to touch your soul, and to leave you thinking about deeper meanings. It is even rarer when such a show is a student performance. Last night, we saw the final performance of such a show… “Side Show”, the final student performance of the year from the UCLA Theatre Arts Department. This production was funded through the UCLA Ray Bolger Musical Theater Program.

“Side Show” tells the story of the Hilton twins, Daisy and Violet. The presented story closely parallels the real life of the twins. The show opens at a Texas sideshow where the twins are the featured attraction. Spotted by a talent broker, the twins are soon encouraged to leave the show for a chance at vaudeville. They do, and succeed quite well in the show biz. But love, as always, gets in the way, for the twins fall in love with the talent broker and their agent. The love isn’t always returned, for the men have trouble accepting the issues of getting two-for-one. Violet is loved by Jake, another sideshow performer who comes with them as their protector, but she doesn’t return it, unable to accept loving a black man. The climax of the show is the wedding of Violet to her talent broker at the Texas Centennial, at which the true nature of all the relationships are revealed. The marriage goes through anyway, but no one is happy. The show closes with the sisters realizing that the only people they truely have are each other.

There are many aspects here to explore, so let’s start with the story (book and lyrics by Bill Russell, music by Henry Krieger (who also did “Dreamgirls”)). The story raises the question of what is a “freak”, and how society treats them. Far too often, freaks are judged by looks and not the inner person. In the case of the Hilton Sisters, we had two beautiful young ladies, who do to their deformity were classified as freak first. The show also touched on the issue of acceptance, and how and why we accept people. This is a big issue in Kreiger musicals (look at the acceptance question, based on looks, of Effie in Dreamgirls). In this case, we had someone who could accept the twins as they were, coming from the same mileau (Jake), but they could not accept him… again, based on looks (black vs. white). Acceptance is something we all crave, on our terms. The show says it quite well:

Like a fish plucked from the ocean
Tossed into a foreign stream
Always knew that I was different
Often fled into a dream
I ignored the raging currents
Right against the tide I swam
But I floated with the question
Who will love me as I am?

Lastly, the show raised the question of whether we are ever alone. In the case of Daisy and Violet, they couldn’t move forward until they accepted that they were never alone spiritually in addition to physically: that each twin was there for the other, as they sing:

We were meant to share each moment
Beside you is where I will stay
Evermore and always
We’ll be one though we’re two
for I will never leave you

In reality, aren’t we all twins, with that inner strength we forget we have that is always with us? If you would like a taste of the music, here is a performance by the original actresses at the 52nd Tony Awards.

This performance was made even better by the talented cast and crew, all of whom were members of the UCLA Theatre Department, and all of whom (to my understanding) were undergraduates. Further, according to the article on the show by the Daily Bruin, the production process officially began in January with the directors and designers meeting. Auditions were not held until after spring break, and the cast had only nine weeks to rehearse and prepare for the performance. They also physically connected the lead actresses for the role, something that was not done on Broadway.

Starring in the production as Daisy and Violet Hilton were Melisa De Seguirant and Grace Wall (both third-year theatre students). Both were remarkable: great singers, great dancers… but what got to me more were their facial expressions. Even thought we were in a 100 seat theatre, I had to pull out the binoculars just to look at their fantastic and expressive faces. They made the characters come alive; they inhabited these twins. I hope these beautiful young ladies go far.
[Note: The picture was snarfed from the Daily Bruin article.]

Joe Bettles co-stars as Terry, the twins’ agent who is loved by Daisy, but can never let himself express that love publically because he thinks it isn’t normal. Jimmy Lambert co-stars as Buddy, the talent scout who finds the twins and initially wins Violet’s heart… and eventually marries here, although he can’t love her as she wants to be loved. The third man in the life of the girls is Jake, played by Ryan Castellino. All three of these men gave powerful performances.

Supporting the principles were the inhabitants of the side show, who played various other unnamed roles through the show. These included Adam Cohen (The Boss/Tod Browning), Kerry Watson (Fortune Teller), Daniel Becker (Roustabout), Caitlin Beitel (Harem Girl), Kaitlyn Daley (Snake Lady), Emma Hawley (Half Man/Half Woman), Mrk Krey (Geek), D’Angelo Lacy (Roustabout), Jamison Lingle (Harem Girl), Patrick Logothetti (Reptile Man), Nathan J. Longdon (Sheik), Lauren Okida (Harem Girl), Brian Pugach (Roustabout), Jacob Silva (Roustabout), Tony SIlva (Fakir), and Naomi Segert Tauger (Bearded Lady). The production was directed by Nicholas Gunn, with musical direction by Dan Belzer, vocal direction by Jeremy Mann, and choreography by Christine Kellogg. The scenery was designed by Tesshi Nakagawa, lighting by Neil Jampolis, costumes by Leighton Aycock, and sound by Jon Gottlieb. Stage management was by Bonnie Anderson. The production was managed by Jeff Wachtel. All aspects of the production were supurbly exectued by students enrolled in the UCLA Department of Theatre.

Alas, the production we saw was the final performance, although the audio was recorded and will be used during the Theatre Department’s graduation in a few weeks. We were impressed with the program, and are curious what they will come up with next year. Speaking of student theatre, I’ll note that the CSUN Theatre Arts department has announced their 07-08 season, and one of the productions will be “Tommy! The Rock Opera”, currently scheduled for Apr 4-6, 9-13, 2008 (if they can get the rights).

What’s next for us? P-U-T-N-A-M. That’s right, we’re seeing “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” through Broadway/LA on 6/16 @ 2pm. We’re on vacation the end of June in Nashville, and when we return, it is “Jersey Boys” at the Ahmanson Theatre on 7/15 @ 7:30pm; “Can-Can” at The Pasadena Playhouse on 7/28 at 8:00pm; “Beauty and the Beast” at Cabrillo Music Theatre on 8/4 @ 2:00pm, and the DCI 2007 World Championship Finals in Pasadena on 8/11 @ 5:00pm . I’ve also ordered season tickets for the Ahmanson, as discussed here, and there’s likely to be a Hollywood Bowl show in there somewhere.

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“I am constant. I always think that’s my most endearing quality.”

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Last night, after attending the 2:00 PM performance of “The Wizard of Oz, and Then Some” at Nobel Middle School, we trundled on down to the Pasadena Playhouse to see “The Constant Wife”.

“The Constant Wife” was written by W. Somerset Maugham in 1926, and tells the story of Constance and John Middleton. It is comedy (referred to as a “comedy of manners”) that explores marriage from what I felt was a cynical point of view, although my wife felt it was realistic. The play investigates the moral and emotional nature of married life as well as the intricacy and limitations of the marriage contract. Act one opens with an argument between Constance’s sister, Martha Culver, and her mother, Mrs. Culver, about whether Constance should be told that her husband is cheating on her with her best friend, Marie-Louise Durham. It seems that all of Constance’s friends (except Constance) know about this affair. Add to the mix Barbara Fawcett, a sucessful interior designer, who offers to give Constance financial independence by having her join in her business. Constance, after 15 years of marriage to John (an eminent London surgeon) isn’t interested in any of this. She isn’t even interested in anything but friendship from her former suitor, Bernard Kersal, who is back in London after 10 years. When Marie-Louise’s husband Mortimer bursts in and proclaims he has evidence of the affair, Constance isn’t bothered at all. In fact, she makes it appear to Mortimer that there was no affair, that the evidence was from her visit, and he must buy jewelry to make up for this affront on his wife’s character.

The second act opens after Mortimer leaves, when Constance reveals she knew all along of the affair, but as she didn’t love her husband anymore, it didn’t bother her. In fact, she takes a very realistic attitude (or cynical, depending on your point of view):

Martha: Are we to understand that you are not going to divorce John?
Constance: You know, I can never see why a woman should give up a comfortable home, a considerable part of her income and the advantage of having a man about, because he has been unfaithful to her. She’s merely cutting off her nose to spite her face.

Constance notes that in the lower classes, marriage is an economic partnership: the woman takes money for raising the children, running the household, and so on. But in the well-to-do, “The house is managed by servants; nurses look after her children, if she’s resigned herself to having any; and as soon as they are old enough she packs them off to school. Let us face it, [the wife] is no more than the mistress of the man whose desire she has taken advantage of to insist on a legal ceremony that will prevent him from discarding her when his desire has ceased.” Constance isn’t interested in divorce; rather, she indicates she is taking Barbara up on her offer to be a partner. In the last scene, it is revealed that Constance is heading off for a 6-week holiday to Italy… without John. She has earned £1400 in the past year, of which she is using £200 for the trip, £200 for her clothes, and has deposted £1000 into her husband’s account for her room and board for the past year. She proclaims that “there is only one freedom that is really important, and that is economic freedom”, and with this, also proclaims her sexual freedom…

Mrs. Culver: … We all know that unchastity has no moral effect on men. They can be perfectly promiscuous and remain upright, industrious, and reliable. It’s quite different with women. …
Constance: …But I’m not dependent on John. I’m economically independent, and therefore I claim my sexual independence.

She does this by going off to Italy with her former beau as husband and wife. When John complains, she points out that he has no say in this at all: it is her money, her time, and he lost all claims on saying anything by cheating on her. John goes red in the face. She points out that she is devoted to her husband, and has been constantly… she just no longer loves him. The play ends with John dejected in London, and Constance having a delightful time in Italy.

I’ll note there’s a good study guide available.

This is a story that strikes men differently from women, I believe. I viewed Constance’s attitude as cynical, viewing marriage on purely economic terms. My wife argued that it was more realism: it is purely economic. In any case, it struck me as a very “modern” attitude for 1926, when the play was originally performed (with Ethyl Barrymore in the lead). The attitude wasn’t surprising to hear from Maugham, who was gay and in a marriage of convenience to hide the fact. It was also interesting to contrast this with the other views of marriage we have had from the Playhouse, where marriage was either rosy (“I Do, I Do”) or an unequal partnership (“The Last 5 Years”). One wonders what would happen if Kathy (L5Y) had had Constance’s view of things. We also saw the play as possibly supporting some of the poly notions, for it distinguished relationships for economic security from relationships for the sake of love.

As always, the Pasadena Playhouse production was excellent. The production starred Megan Gallagher as Constance Middleton, Stephen Caffrey as her husband John Middleton, Monette Magrath as her sister Martha Culver, and Carolyn Seymore as Mrs. Culver, her mother. Libby West played John’s paramour and Constance’s best friend, Marie-Louise Durham, with Andrew Borba as her husband, Mortimer Durham. Rounding out the cast were Ann Marie Lee as Barbara Fawcett (Constance’s friend and business partner); Kaleo Griffith as Bernard Kersal (Constance’s former beau), and John-David Keller as Bently, the butler. All are members of Actors Equity.

Turning to the technical side, the set design and decoration (by Angela Balogh Calin, with lighting by Peter Maradudin) was beautiful, setting the mood and not distracting from the action… although the stage was a little too big for this small play (it would work great in REP East’s space). Sound was by Steven Cahill, with casting by Michael Donovan C.S.A., stage management by Lea Chazin assisted by Hethyr Verhoff. The production was directed by Art Manke. The play continues through June 10th.

What’s next for us. Next week we’re off to see “Side Show” at UCLA Theatre Arts on 6/9 @ 8pm. That’s followed by “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” through Broadway/LA on 6/16 @ 2pm. We’re on vacation the end of June in Nashville, and when we return, it is “Jersey Boys” at the Ahmanson Theatre on 7/15 @ 7:30pm; “Can-Can” at The Pasadena Playhouse on 7/28 at 8:00pm; “Beauty and the Beast” at Cabrillo Music Theatre on 8/4 @ 2:00pm, and the DCI 2007 World Championship Finals in Pasadena on 8/11 @ 5:00pm . I’ve also ordered season tickets for the Ahmanson, as discussed here, and there’s likely to be a Hollywood Bowl show in there somewhere.

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Because I Knew You, I Have Been Changed For Good

Posted onAuthorcahwyguy

Friends, let me tell you a story. In the past, I’ve written about how teachers have influenced me in my life. Tonight, I’m writing about how two teachers, Jean Martellaro and Fanny Arana, are influencing over 85 kids for good.

Tonight, I just got back from the second performance of “The Wizard of Oz and Then Some” at Nobel Middle School in Northridge, California (Note: there are two more performances of this show on Saturday: 2 PM and 6:30 PM). Wow! What these teachers have guided this group of over 85 remarkable young adults to do. I can guarantee that these two teachers are influencing these kids lives in a way that will benefit them positively for the rest of their lives. And that’s a good thing.

The play is an amalgam of the Harold Arlen “The Wizard of Oz”, with a few songs from Charlie Small’s “The Wiz” and Stephen Schwartz’ “Wicked” thrown in… and a few more surprises. I’m sure everyone is familiar with the basic story, so I won’t repeat it here. The kids did it wonderfully. As there were 85 kids in the production, I’m not going to list them all (nor am I listing last names), but I do need to note some particular standouts in the cast. Starring as Dorothy was Shelby W., who along with Glinda the Good Witch of the North (Savannah L.), and Talulah the Good Witch of the South (Joy T.), were remarkable singers and young actors. Also as standouts in the cast were Nolan M. as Toto (who stole every scene he was in) and Melanie T. as Elphaba (who stole every scene she was an… and projected quite well). I was also impressed with Kenny C. as Biff the Narrator, who had a great speaking voice; the other narrators were John A., Hessica S. and Danielle W.. Rounding out the principles in the cast were Trevor C. as the Scarecrow, Nora F. as the Tinsman, Bobby L. as the Cowardly Lion, and Giovanni F. as the Wizard of Oz. Of these, I was particularly impressed with Nora F., who had a good singing voice and a delightful smile. Bobby L., as the Lion, had the right comic chops, but (perhaps intentionally) couldn’t quite do the songs. Amanda C. as Ozwina also did a good job. A special mention goes to our own nsshere, who played Olive Green as well as being the head costume mistress and wrangler for the entire cast. This was a big job, and she has received incredible complements on her work. The rest of the cast members all did great jobs, but didn’t have specific performances to highlight.

Big kudos, however, go to the teachers behind all of this. They revitalized the drama program at this school. From nothing they arranged a first production, and now this… which was better than many local and community theatre productions I’ve seen. The skills these kids learn here: from public speaking to time management to teamwork…. will serve these kids well the rest of their lives in whatever career they are in. Additionally, I know it will instill a love of live theatre, which is a great thing.

Could things be improved? Yes. Some of the kids need to focus a bit more on projection, so you could hear them more clearly. That will come with time. On some of the songs, the breaths need to be timed a bit better — again, that’s a practice issue, and we’re dealing with 7th and 8th grade non-professionals here, so it didn’t bother me that much. The facility needs a better sound system and raked seating — but this is a public school, so we need bond funds to fix that :-). There were a few cases where I noted some miscues, but I’m sure that will be fixed in tomorrow’s performances. For what they had, they did great! [Updated 6/2 to add: The sound was better at the Saturday 2pm performance, and everyone could be heard great.]

What’s next for us. Well, we’ll be back at the 2 PM performance tomorrow :-). Alas, we’ll miss the last performance of this, as we’ll be at “The Constant Wife” at The Pasadena Playhouse. Following that is “Side Show” at UCLA Theatre Arts on 6/9 @ 8pm; “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” through Broadway/LA on 6/16 @ 2pm. We’re on vacation the end of June in Nashville, and when we return, it is “Jersey Boys” at the Ahmanson Theatre on 7/15 @ 7:30pm; “Can-Can” at The Pasadena Playhouse on 7/28 at 8:00pm; “Beauty and the Beast” at Cabrillo Music Theatre on 8/4 @ 2:00pm, and the DCI 2007 World Championship Finals in Pasadena on 8/11 @ 5:00pm . I’ve also ordered season tickets for the Ahmanson, as discussed here, and there’s likely to be a Hollywood Bowl show in there somewhere.

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