Tag: theatre-2012

Normal is Overrated

Posted onAuthorcahwyguy

Da-Da-Da-Dump (snap) (snap)

Da-Da-Da-Dump (snap) (snap)

Da-Da-Da-Dump Da-Da-Da-Dump Da-Da-Da-Dump (snap) (snap)

Sing those bars of music to most adults, and they will instantly recognize the source: the gloriously wonderful television series from 1963 starring John Astin and Carolyn Jones called “The Addams Family”:

This was the first excursion for the family of characters created by cartoonist Charles Addams for the New Yorker Magazine. They have since gone through numerous movie adaptations, but have always kept their spirit of being the non-normal family that you love. I mention all of this because I fell in love with them again last night at the Pantages, with an almost perfect production of the musical version of “The Addams Family“.

The musical version of The Addams Family was not based on the television or the movies, although given that they drew upon the same characters, there are some commonalities. The musical, with book by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice and music/lyrics by Andrew Lippa, was based on characters from the original Charles Addams cartoons: Gomez, Morticia, Fester, Wednesday, Pugsley, Lurch, and Grandma (these characters were named for the TV show; they were unnamed in the cartoons). Now Addams stories usually take one of two forms: normal family visits the Addams and is shocked by the family, or the Addams have to appear normal to another family. In the original Broadway production, this was roughly the form of the story: Normal family of Wednesday’s boyfriend comes to visit, so the family needs to behave normally. Meanwhile, Morticia thinks she is getting old, family is shocked by the Addams, and Wednesday is pulled in different directions by love. You can read the original synopsis on Wikipedia.

On Broadway, this didn’t work. The show was popular, but eviscerated by critics. Before the current Broadway tour, the creative team decided to rework and tweak the story (ok, they decided to fix the show). They did, and I’m pleased to say is it much stronger. This entailed cutting some songs, a squid, and adding some new ones, so if you saw the show on Broadway, you should see it again.

When the show opens, the ghoulish Addams family is visiting the graveyard for an annual gathering of all family members (living, dead, and undecided) to celebrate what it is to be an Addams. Uncle Fester stops the Ancestors’ return to their graves to enlist their help: he knows that Wednesday is in love, and he wants love to conquer all. She has invited the boy’s family for dinner, and Fester wants it to be a success. We then learn that Gomez has built his relationship with Morticia on a foundation of never keeping secrets… after which Wednesday comes  and asks Gomez to keep a secret: she is engaged to this boy (Lucas Beineke). She doesn’t want her mother to know, so he must not tell her. This sets up the rest of the show: what is the effect of keeping this secret. While torturing Pugsley on a rack, Wednesday admits that love is pulling her in a new direction. As the Beinekes arrive, Wednesday and Lucas instruct their families to act normal so they can all enjoy a simple dinner. But the moment Lurch ushers the Beinekes into the mansion, tensions begin to mount. Mal wants to tear down the old house, Alice begins to spout happy poems at random, Pugsley, Fester, and Grandma fail at acting normal, and Wednesday, after wearing black for eighteen years, appears in a bright yellow dress. Morticia, realizing something is happening, believes Gomez is hiding a secret from him. Meanwhile, Pugsley is worried that Wednesday’s lovelife means she won’t torture him anymore. He steals a potion from Grandma after she reveals it will bring out someone’s dark nature. Pugsley plans to slip it to Wednesday at dinner. At dinner, “The Game” is played, where each person at the table confesses something. Gomez tells a story about not opening secrets in a box, while Uncle Fester admits he’s in love with the moon. In a mix-up, Alice drinks Pugsley’s potion and in front of everyone declares her marriage to Mal a loveless mess as she reveals her misery and woe. As Mal, humiliated, attempts to leave with his family, Wednesday announces that she and Lucas are engaged. Chaos engulfs both families, and Uncle Fester, trying to be helpful, instructs the Ancestors to create a sudden, terrible storm, trapping everyone in the mansion for the night. This is where the first act ends; I’ll leave the second act to you (noting that, after all, this is a musical).

I think the reworking of the story made a big difference. The original had Mal Beineke falling in love with a squid, and Morticia being worried about being old. That just didn’t work. The new story creates tension that works. It also places the focus of the story where it needs to be: on the love story of Gomez and Morticia, and the ancellary stories of Wednesday and Lucas. It gives characters growth: the characters at the end of the show — all of them — are not the same characters at the beginning. Each learns and grows. I should also note that this show was one of the funniest shows I’ve seen — the only shows I’ve seen that are equally funny are Neil Simon comedies and true farces. The writing on this show was just hilarious, as was the execution. From the opening notes of the traditional theme, to the use of Thing to open the curtain, to the little references to Cousin Itt — just well executed and well thought out. The show also made very effective use of the stage curtains to portion off the stage and allow scenes to progress without the distraction of changing scenery in the background. So kudos to the writers, directors, and creative team for pulling this show together. Credit here should go to Jerry Zaks as the production supervisor, the original direction by Phelim McDermott and Julian Crouch, and Steve Bebout as the Associate Director.

[ETA: As a father seeing the show the weekend before Fathers Day, I wanted to add that I found the show resonating very well with my experience as a father to a young woman. You’re happy to see your child growing up, but sad to see the little girl going away. You’re torn between trying to make your spouse happy and your child happy, when doing both isn’t always possible. And, as the show notes, we all seem to turn into our parents in some way — hopefully good ones — and we need to learn to realize that and work to combat the bad parts… or do as the Addams do, and embrace being different and being bad.]

The musical numbers were, for the most part, quite entertaining (the music is still stuck in my head this morning–a good sign). A few numbers were a little bit slow, but most did a great job of moving along the plot, illustrating characters, and explaining motivations. Again, this was improved by the rework.

The tour company does not have the marquee names of the Broadway company, but I think they did an excellent job. Lots of strengths, with only a few minor weaknesses. In the lead positions, we had Douglas Sills as Gomez and Sara Gettelfinger as Morticia. Sills’ Gomez was perfect: playful, crazy, latin, unpredictable, madly in love with his wife, a loving father to his daughter… just a perfect portrayal. Gettelfinger was good as Morticia, but no warmth came through — but I think that was the character as written. I’m not sure if it was the writing or Gettelfinger, but the character had a vocal quirk with “sh”s that was annoying. Other than that, her singing was strong, and she was fun to watch on stage. Also noticable was her stage presence, and her dress… which was (as Gomez said) cut down to Venezuela. We were all hoping for the wardrobe malfunction that didn’t happen.

In the secondary positions, we had the rest of the Addams clan and the Beinekes. Topping this group was Blake Hammond as Uncle Fester (who I think was at the table across from us when we had dinner before those show). Hammond was the only actor able to break the fourth wall and recognize that this was a show–he was a wonderful comic actor with great timing, singing and dancing well and doing a wonderful interaction with everyone. Hammond also got a wonderful second act number, “The Moon and Me”, where he got to sing a love song and dance with the moon. So playful; so wonderful. As Wednesday Addams, Courtney Wolfson was spectacular — a wonderful singing voice that I would love to hear again, great acting, great movement. Her performance was so great it made you forget that she looked a little too old for her character. That’s what good acting can do.

Rounding out the named family members: As Lucas, Brian Justin Crum brought strong singing and acting chops to his smaller role. He worked well with Wolfson as Wednesday, and had just the right off-ball nature that you could see them as equal partners. As his parents, Martin Vidnovic (Mal) and Gaelen Gilliland (Alice) were good. I liked Gilliland a little better, but I think that’s because she had a slightly more meatier, non-reactive part. However, Vidnovic was great just for the final scene. The remainder of the named Addams clan had smaller roles: as Lurch, Tom Corbeil had that zombie-shuffled down pat, and truly suprised the audience in the “Move Toward The Darkness” number. Patrick D. Kennedy did good with the smaller role of Pugsley (a character who always seems to get short shrift). Lastly, as Grandma, Pippa Pearthree had a small part (again, this seems to be the case with Grandma), but she did good with what she had.

The ensemble consisted of the unnamed Addams ancestors, who were integrated well into the revised storyline. The ancestors/ensemble were: Ted Ely, Karla Puno Garcia, Steve Geary,  Patrick Oliver Jones, Lizzie Klemperer, Pilar Millhollen, Christy Morton, Roland Rusinek, Geo Seery (Fight Captain), Samantha Shafer. Swings/supports were: Victoria Huston-Elem (Swing), Alexandra Matteo (Swing/Asst. Dance Captain), Brad Nacht (Swing), Jonathan Ritter (Swing, Dance Captain, Puppet Performance Captain), and Ethan Wexler (u/s Pugsley).

As I noted before, the music and the movement was great. The choreography was by Sergio Trujillo, assisted by Dontee Kiehn as Associate Choreographer and August Eriksmoen as Dance Arranger. As I noted before, the music and lyrics were by Andrew Lippa, with orchestrations by Larry Hochman. Musical direction was by Valerie Gebert. Mary-Mitchell Campbell was the music supervisor, and Michael Keller was the music coordinator. The orchestra was conducted by Valerie Gebert, assisted by Christopher D. Littlefield on keyboard. Also on keyboard was Anthony DeAngelis. Paul Hannah was on drums. Supporting them was the local orchestra who consisted of Kathleen Robertson on violin, Paula Fehrenbach on cello, Trey Henry on bass/5-string electric/fretless electric, Dick Mitchell on flute/piccolo/clarinet/alto sax; John Yoakum on flute/clarinet/bass clarinet/tenor sax/soprano sax; Wayne Bergeron on trumpet/flugelhorn; Andrew Martin on trombone/bass trombone; Justin Less Smith on guitar/ukulele/banjo; Judith Chilnick on percussion, and David Witham as the keyboard swing.

Technically, the show was magical. Part of this was due to the set and costume design of Julian Crouch, who used the stage curtains to great effect to partition the action and focus attention. It was enhanced by the lighting of Natasha Katz, who used lots of reds and purples to create the mood. Also deserving compliment is Acme Sound Partners, who finally figured out how to get the sound in the Pantages right. Also amazing was the puppet magic of Basil Twist, which could be seen in the Itt family, as well as Fester’s Moon number. Special effects, which were great, were by Gregory Meeh. Hair and wig design was by Tom Watson, with make-up by Angelina Avallone. Daniel S. Rosokoff was the production stage manager; E. Cameron Holsinger was the State Manager, Raynelle Wright was the Assistant Stage Manager.

“The Addams Family” continues at the Pantages through Sunday. Best way to get cheap tickets is to go to the box office. The tour continues to Denver CO, Kansas City MO, Washington DC, and many other places before ending up in Costa Mesa CA in December. We enjoyed the show, so if it hits your city, go see it.

Upcoming Theatre, Concerts, and Dance: Next week brings “Million Dollar Quartet” at the Pantages on June 22. July features “The Savannah Disputation” at the Colony, “The Laramie Project” at REP East, and “Meet Me In St. Louis” at Cabrillo. August is more open, but will bring “Memphis” at the Pantages and “Playdates” at REP East.  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.

 

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Ghosts of the Past in the Follies of the Present

Posted onAuthorcahwyguy

Today, in the LA Times, there is a story about the first semi-nude Vegas showgirl. She’s still got the showgirl in her; it shapes her life. She was once asked to carry Cary Grant’s child. Looking back about whether she should have done it, her response was “You wouldn’t have to care about money today, that’s for sure. But then I wouldn’t be who I am today. I’d be somebody else.”

That story dovetails well with the show we saw last night: “Follies“, which is playing through June 9 at the Ahmanson. “Follies”, with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by James Goldman, tells the stories of a collection of old showgirls — the former Weismann Girls of the period between WWI and WWII — who have been gathered together for one last time. It is a story of a life in the theatre, and love for the theatre. Even more so, it is a story of regrets and choices not made, of relationship durability and relationship loss.

One thing Follies is not, however, is a story for young people. This is not due to any specific problematic content, but simply because they won’t understand the story. They’ll love the beautiful music and the spectacle. But they won’t understand the ghosts that haunt older people — especially the people in this show. As you get older, you acquire this ghost that is the younger you. This show makes those ghosts visible. We see the ghost showgirls inside these older women. We see the young women and men inside the characters, with their youthful exuberance and regrets. This would go over the heads of most 20-year-olds, and was probably one reason the show was not a successs when it first premiered in 1971.

So what is the story of Follies? Here’s a cut-down summary, drawn from Wikipedia: The show takes place on the soon-to-be demolished stage of the Weismann Theatre, where a reunion is being held to honor Weismann’s “Follies” shows past. This theatre is constantly populated with the ghosts of the beautiful chorus girls who once performed there. As the reunion starts, we begin to meet the Follies girls that came for the reunion, beginning with Sally Durant Plummer, now 49. Next we meet Phyllis Rogers Stone, a stylish and elegant woman, who arrives with her handsome and successful husband, Ben Stone. As more guests arrive, Sally’s husband, Buddy, enters. These are the major couples at the center of the piece: Sally married to Buddy, but in love with Ben; Buddy in love with Sally-of-the-past, not the Sally of today; Phyllis distance from Ben; and Ben walking through the motions. As the reunion continues, Mr. Weismann enters to greet his guests. We meet the other showgirls, and get to know more about them through various numbers. Former Weismann performers at the reunion include Max and Stella Deems, who lost their radio jobs and became store owners in Miami; Solange La Fitte, a coquette, who is still vibrant three decades later; Hattie Walker, who has outlived five younger husbands; Vincent and Vanessa, former dancers who now own an Arthur Murray franchise; Heidi Schiller, for whom Franz Lehár once wrote a waltz; and Carlotta Campion, a film star who has embraced life and benefited from every experience. As the guests reminisce, the stories of Ben, Phyllis, Buddy and Sally unfold. Phyllis and Sally were roommates while in the Follies, and Ben and Buddy were best friends at school in New York. As the stories are told, the ghosts in the background come alive and echo the stories being told. Sally is awed by Ben’s apparently glamorous life, but Ben wonders if he made the right choices and considers how things might have been. Sally tells Ben how her days have been spent with Buddy; it is clear that Sally is still in love with Ben – even though she was terribly hurt when Ben chose to marry Phyllis. As the reunion continues, we see the truth come out and the lives unravel. This culminates in the second act in the Loveland sequence, where each of these four characters goes through a nervous breakdown and we see their inner thoughts. By the end of the story, we’re back at the reunion, and watching which relationships survive, and which don’t.

The production of “Follies” at the Ahmanson was spectacular. It starts the moment you walk in the theatre, where the normally grand auditorium is transformed into an aging theatre about to be torn down. The production is the first I’ve seen that effectively creates ghosts and tells a story with flashbacks. This works — but it is such a novel approach I can see why it didn’t work in the 1970s. And the performances, oh the performance, they are wonderful. Credit for this not only goes to the actors, but to Eric Schaeffer who directed this story is a moving and haunting way.

But the actors, oh the actors. Let’s start with the leads: Victoria Clark as Sally Durant Plummer, Jan Maxwell as Phyllis Rogers Stone, Danny Burstein as Buddy Plummer, and Ron Raines as Benjamin Stone. These four were all wonderful, making you believe the characters were who they were. Each had their standout moments: Burstein in “The God-Why-Don’t-You-Love-Me-Blues”; Raines in a numbers such as “The Road You Didn’t Take”; Maxwell in “The Story of Lucy and Jessie” (a really dancing tour-de-force), and Clark in “Losing My Mind”. If I have any quibble it is with the casting of Clark: wonderful performance, but her voice is a bit operatic for the role (and, for the record, I also had a problem with Bernadette Peters in this role: she’s just not the right actress for this character). I’m not sure who is right: my wife suggested Annie Potts, but I’m not sure.

Next we come to the other former showgirls. These we see mostly through their spot performances. As Hattie, Jayne Houdyshell does a spot-on “Broadway Baby”, where you can see the inner performer in the doudy exterior. As Carlotta, Elaine Paige brings down the house with “I’m Still Here”. As Solange, Mary Beth Peil does a spectacular “Ah, Paris”, and the entire crew does a spectacular “Whose That Woman”, led by the wonderful Terri White (who has been through a lot). Rounding out the showgirls, we have Florence Lacey as Sandra Crane, Colleen Fitzpatrick as Dee Dee, Carol Neblett as Heidi,  and Susan Watson as Emily Whitman (who does a wonderful number, “Rain on the Roof” with her husband, Theodore, portrayed by Sammy Williams).

Throughout all these numbers, we constantly see the younger versions of these characters. Chief among the younger versions are Christian Delcroix as Young Buddy, Nick Verina as Young Ben, Lora Lee Gayer as Young Sally, and Kirsten Scott as Young Phyllis. These four just shine in numbers such as “Waiting for the Girls Upstairs”  and in the Loveland sequences. Rounding out the “young” versions were Leah Horowitz (Young Heidi), Becky Elizabeth Stout (Young Sandra, Buddy’s Blues “Margie”), Angel Reda (Young Solange), Jenifer Foote (Young Hattie, Buddy’s Blues “Sally”), Erin N. Moore (Young Stella), Danielle Jordan (Young Emily), and Pamela Otterson (Young Carlotta). All of these performers were also part of the ensemble, and were principally seen as ghosts and dancers echoing the older versions of their characters.

Rounding out the cast and ensemble were Obba Babatundé (Max Deems), Michael Hayes (Roscoe), David Sabin (Dimitri Weismann), Clifton Samuels (Kevin), and the other members of the ensemble: John Carroll, Mathew deGuzman (Swing, Dance Captain), Sara Edwards (Swing, Dance Captain), Nathaniel Flatt, Leslie Donna Flesner, Amanda Kloots-Larsen, Joseph Kolinski (understudy), Joe Komara, Jessica Perrizo, Andrew Pirozzi, Sam Strasfeld, and Sarrah Strimel.

Turning to the music and dance aspects. I’ve already mentioned that the music was composed by Stephen Sondheim. Orchestrations were by Jonathan Tunick. Music direction was by James Moore, and the production featured a nice large and lush orchestra. The choreography was by Warren Carlyle and was beautiful. I particularly noted the ghostly spectral showgirls constantly moving in the back, and how the younger versions of the dancers mirrors the older performers. Dance music was arranged by John Berkman.

The technical production was also outstanding. From the moment you enter the theatre you were aware of Derek McLane‘s wonderful scenic design. He transformed the Ahmanson stage into a decaying theatre, but even more amazing was the sudden Loveland transmission. Speaking of Loveland, that sequence highlighted the lighting design of Natasha Katz, where you could easily see how color created a mood. The costumes of Gregg Barnes did a wonderful job of creating not only the fabulous showgirl costumes, but the informal actor clothing of the thirties, as well as establishing the older showgirl characters and their present lives. Hair and wig design was by David Brian Brown, with make up by Joseph Dulude II. The sound design by Kai Harada was hidden, as a good sound design should be–everything was clear and crisp and the sound effects were natural. Juniper Street Productions served as the production manager, and Mark Rozzano is the company manager. David Ruttura was associate director. Ray Jin was the production stage manager.

“Follies” continues at the Ahamanson until June 9. You can get tickets through the Ahmanson Website, although if you’re looking for the cheap tickets, here’s a hint. If there are lots of balcony tickets available, just go to the box office and ask for Hottix. You can get two balcony tickets, day of show, at the box office, for $20 each, no surcharge. That’s what we did.

Upcoming Theatre, Concerts, and Dance: Rounding out June we have “Addams Family” at the Pantages on June 15 and “Million Dollar Quartet” at the Pantages on June 22, as well as the Palisades High School mega-picnic and the Wilshire Blvd Temple Camps 60th Anniversary. July features “The Savannah Disputation” at the Colony, “The Laramie Project” at REP East, and “Meet Me In St. Louis” at Cabrillo. August is more open, but will bring “Memphis” at the Pantages and “Playdates” at REP East.  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: Follies (Highlights from the 1971 Original Broadway Cast) (Fufi D’Orsay / Ethel Shutta): Ah! Paris / Broadway Baby

 

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Revisiting a Friend in Dr. Seuss’ World

Posted onAuthorcahwyguy3 Comments

Last night, we went to go see “Seussical–The Musical” at Nobel Middle School in Northrdge. Now, I’m sure your first question is… why? After all, our daughter has graduated high school, we have no other kids, so why would we willingly go to a middle school to see a musical. You’re probably thinking we are crazy. Trust me: we’re not. This little middle school does damn fine performances equaling or bettering many high schools and coming close to small regional productions. Plus, the people behind the program are just wonderful, and seeing how it was these people that were the teachers that were the initial “spark” for our daughter in school, we just had to go.

Before I go into the specifics of this production, I want to talk about the program itself. Back in 2005, there was no drama program at Nobel–at least nothing that presented shows to people. That changed in 2006, when two hard-working English teachers, Fanny Araña and Jean Martellaro, revitalized the program. Our daughter was in that first show, An Evening of Silverstein, and it touched a nerve for her. She was involved in every show thenceforth while at Nobel; she remained involved while at Van Nuys. It was the reason she went to Van Nuys HS (she loved working in theatre); it gave her friends and self-confidence. I think it was the “nudge” that turned her into the woman of today.

Now, that first show wasn’t all that fancy. There were a few lights on a light bar on the side, plugged in with extension cords because they couldn’t use the lights in the building. There was little amplification, and you couldn’t hear the kids. Sets were simplistic. The program wasn’t supported by the administration; in fact, it seemed as if the administration was actively hostile at times. Over the years, this program has grown and grown and become more professional. In Spring 2008 for Grease, there were professional-quality sets. Since then, the quality of the shows has continued to improve. They’ve got full theatrical lighting (paid for by the program or grants), a full lighting board and sound board with wireless microphones. They had spectacular sets. They are training students not only on acting and singing, but on the technical and backstage aspects of the production. They had remarkable costumes. All this in a drama progam at a Math-Science-Technology magnet. Even the administration seems to have turned around. Although there are still problems, I now see the school promote the drama productions and it has become something the school is proud of. All this is due to the work of Fanny and Jean and the parents, children, and others they have loved and brought into their orbit. These two women have made this program, and I just love them (both as teachers, and as really great people).

Turning to the show itself. This is one we’ve seen before–at the Teen Drama Workshop at CSUN. “Seussical” is a musical based on the Dr. Seuss books, with music by Lynn Ahrens, Book and Lyrics by Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty, and co-conceived by Lynn Ahrens, Stephen Flaherty, and Eric Idle. The story basically combines “Horton Hears a Who” with “Horton Hatches an Egg”, with a number of other Seuss stories and characters thrown in for good measure. If you are familiar with the two-act version of the cast album, this is a cut down, one act version that preserves the basic story, but cuts out some of the more extraneous stuff, such as the Butter Battle, and the environmental subplot (it appears to be the Jr. High/Middle School version).  It is a great show for middle school: it supports good characters, lots of music, and lots of positions for kids.

Nobel did a great job with the show. I really couldn’t detect acting problems–there wasn’t the overacting you often see in HS productions. There was just good storytelling and kids having fun. The singing was mixed–some good, some weaker–but this is what you get in middle school with kids that aren’t going into that career. It was a step above past productions–this is likely due to the introduction of a choral director, Sara Greenberg. I’ll go into the tech in a bit.

Some of the kids performances were outstanding. Particularly notable was Michael Dager as Horton the Elephant: this young man could sing well, and could act well, conveying his emotion to the audience clearly. Also mostly strong were Julia Trites as the Cat in the Hat, Jessica Bell as Gertrude McFuzz, Jenny Tuell as the Sour Kangaroo. The acting of these three was all great, and for the most part, their singing was strong and spot on. As Jojo, Jordan Vasich started out weak, but once he moved into the real Jojo role, was pretty good. A number of other kids caught my eye with their acting–particularly Deven Streeton at Thing1, Megan Chu as Thing 2, the twins (Amanda and Jessica Wilheim) who played the baby kangaroos, and whichever citizen of Whoville was wearing the glasses.  These youngsters were just fun to watch.

As would be expected, there was a large cast in this show, and I could only highlight a few. The full cast was: Cat in the Hat: Julia Trites; Jojo: Jordan Vasich. Horton: Michael Dager. Gertrude McFuzz: Jessica Bell. Amayzing Mayzie: Taylor Pearl. Sour Kangaroo: Jenny Tuell. Baby Kangaroos: Amanda and Jessica Wilsheim. Mr. Mayor: Noah Gephart Canada. Mrs. Mayor: Jenny McNabb. Vlad Vladikoff: Cruz Godinez. Yertle the Turtle: Shelby Kaplan. Bird Girls: Abigail Franks, Emily Bernstein, Gianna Lowe, Kayla Hamburg, Shelby Vasich, Victoria Solkovitz. Wickersham Mob Boss: Josh Zweig. Wickershams: Aria Doherty, Bennett Chester, Edgar Tumbokon, Jeremiah Coleman, Michael Lertzman, Sabrina Vasich. Whoville Citizens: Alexander Goldbloom, Adnrea Mayorga, Berna Amet, Cassandra Cohen, Kaitlyn Guadagno, Maya Efrat, Nick Katurich, Nichole Wilheim, Shane Harrington. Thing 1: Deven Streeton. Thing 2: Megan Chu. Jungle Creatures: Alice Kazantsev, Ashley David, Crystal Garcia, Jaylen Dunn, Jessica Zubia Calsada, Josh Lloyd, Josue Solorzano, Sukhmani Kaur. Hunters: Josue Solorzano, Wade Hawthorne. Jungle Creatures/Fish: Alyssa Escartin, Drew Golden, Lisette Avila, Madison Tilner, Michaela Moser, Sanam Vojdanpak, Shannon Fonseca. Jungle Creatures/Circus Performers: Brian Card, Emily Flores, Miaya May, Michelle Sarabia, Shiloh Sacks, Sukhmani Kaur, Wade Hawthorne.

The production was directed by Jean Martellaro and produced by Fanny Araña. Choreography was by Carloyn Doherty. Choral direction by Sara Greenberg. No credit was provided for the recorded music.

Turning to the technical: Nobel has improved 200% in terms of light and sound. Going from the early days of stand up microphones at the front, with some light stands on the side that kept overheating and no controls for either to last night’s show: with multiple standard theatrical lights both on the sides and on top in front of the stage, as well as overhead on the stage, with a full lighting and sound board. Credit to this improvement goes to the technical directors, Fanny Araña and Brian Bengler. Brian also did lighting and sound design, and other than a few glitches, it was pretty good (and in many ways, stronger than I’ve seen at Van Nuys). The spectacular sets were designed by Gail Zweben, stepping in for regular designer Dennis Kull, who was unable to do the show. These sets were clever, multilevel (something you rarely see in middle school), well constructed, and took great advantage of black lighting. The costumes were extremely clever, and were the work of a large number of people. Also spectacular were the fish puppets — I think these had the audience in awe.

Technical credits (not already given): Production crew: Chriss Bell, Darlene Streeton, Huan Chu. Production assistants: Charlene Wilheim, Debbie Canada, John Roberto, Steve Wilheim. Specialty costumes: Bird Girls & Kangaroos – Larissa Kazantsev; Whos & Monkeys – Michelle Hamburg. Costume Assistants: Darleen Streeton, Debbie Sornborger, Lucia Arias, Patty Katurich. Fish puppet creators: Diane Kaspar, Baljot, Chanal, Micole Granados, Savannah Flores, Thrinity Martinez. Technical crew: Alex Pappas, Andre Shahinian, Bella Ortega, Daniel Zgodzay, Denise Rojas, Gillian Evenas, Isaíjah Johnson, Jojo Roecker, Jordan Whittaker, Luis Gallardo, Matan Levin, Megan Roberto, Nicolas Carlson, Ridge Echiverri, Rosemary Vazquez, Sahar Alubhoy, Salpy Haroutunian, Shaha Shahinian, Shane Scott, Stephanie Italiaie, Taylor Ketterling, Tyler Greene, Zaharun Hossain.

“Seussical” continues at Nobel Middle School today at 2pm and 630pm. Nobel Middle School is in Northridge CA at Tampa and Lassen; parking is on Merridy one block N of Tampa. This program is funded by donations, not tickets at the door. So come, donate, and help keep this program alive.

ETA: You can see some wonderful pictures of the production here.

Upcoming Theatre, Concerts, and Dance: I may see if I can get last-minute tickets to  “Follies” at the Ahmanson for tonight. Rounding out June we have “Addams Family” at the Pantages on June 15 and “Million Dollar Quartet” at the Pantages on June 22, as well as the Palisades High School mega-picnic and the Wilshire Blvd Temple Camps 60th Anniversary. July features “The Savannah Disputation” at the Colony, “The Laramie Project” at REP East, and “Meet Me In St. Louis” at Cabrillo. August is more open, but will bring “Memphis” at the Pantages and “Playdates” at REP East.  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: Confessions (Liza Minnelli): Close Your Eyes

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Assessing the Ahmanson 2012-2013 Season

Posted onAuthorcahwyguy

The Ahmanson Theatre has just announced their 2012-2013 season, so I guess I should comment on the season offerings:

  • “Seminar” (Oct. 10-Nov. 18). A transfer of the Broadway production of Teresa Rebeck’s comedy about a group of young novelists who are criticized and sedued by a bullying editor. Stars Jeff Goldblum. I hadn’t heard of this before; I’m not sure I’m that interested. Probably not ticketing.
  • “Anything Goes” (Nov. 27-Jan. 6) the touring version of the current Broadway production. This one will star Rachel York in the role of Reno Sweeney.I’ve only see Anything Goes once before–it was the first production we saw at Cabillo Music Theatre. Good music, and the production should be good. Will probably ticket.
  • “Backbeat” (Jan. 16-Feb. 24). This is a new musical in development about how the Beatles became the Beatles. The musical focuses on Stuart Sutcliffe, the so-called “fifth” Beatle who died in 1962. The show ran in Glasgow, Scotland, and in London recently and is scheduled to open in Toronto in July… and will supposedly transfer to Broadway from the Ahmanson. The score features the rock classics such as “Money,” “Long Tall Sally,” “Twist and Shout,” “Good Golly Miss Molly,” “Please Mr. Postman,” “Rock ‘n’ Roll Music” and more. This is potentially interesting. Will probably ticket.
  • “End of the Rainbow” (March 12-April 21). Peter Quilter’s play with music charting the final days of singer Judy Garland. In the show, concert sequences are meshed with private-life scenes involving Garland, her husband and her accompanist. The L.A. premiere will again star two-time Olivier Award winner and current Tony Award nominee Tracie Bennett as Judy Garland. Tony Award winner Terry Johnson will again direct. This has gotten good reviews in the New York run. Will probably ticket.
  • “Fela!” (April 25-May 5, 2013). The 2010 Tony Award-nominated Best Musical biography of Nigerian musician and activist Fela Kuti. Bill T. Jones directs and choreographs. It has a book by Jim Lewis and Bill T. Jones, music and lyrics by Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, additional lyrics by Jim Lewis, additional music by Aaron Johnson and Jordan McLean, and was conceived by Bill T. Jones, Jim Lewis and Stephen Hendel. This was just at the Ahmanson in December 2011 as the replacement for “Funny Girl!”. I saw it then; I have no desire to see it again.
  • “The Scottsboro Boys” (May 21-June 30, 2013). The provocative musical about a grim chapter in American justice. In the Depression, a group of African-American teenagers were jailed for a crime they did not commit. The musical satire — with a score by John Kander and Fred Ebb and book by David Thompson — is offered in the form the defunct theatrical convention of the minstrel show. This had a short life on Broadway, and is currently in a revised staging in San Diego–and I was annoyed I couldn’t get down to see it. Definately will ticket.

In general, a so-so season. The only show I’m really excited about is “Scottsboro Boys”, with the “Anything Goes” revival as a runner up. The tours coming into the Pantages were also so-so,  with the only excitement being “The Book of Mormon”, “Catch Me if You Can”, and “Priscilla, Queen of the Desert”. … that reminds me, however… I must see if I can get “Follies” tickets for this weekend, and it’s about time to go to the box office to get “Book of Mormon” tickets.

Music: The Wiz (1977 Original Broadway Cast): The Feeling We Once Had

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A Trailer Park Worth Visiting

Posted onAuthorcahwyguy

Great American Trailer Park MusicalMost of the time, when you see trailer parks, you don’t stop in. You drive on past, oblivious to the goings-on inside. We’ll I’ve got a trailer park that is worth visiting–“Armadillo Acres”, in Starke FL. Now, to make your life a little easier, you can find “Armadillo Acres” in old-town Newhall, right next to a Mexican restaurant.

Perhaps I should explain. “Armadillo Acres” is the fictional setting for “The Great American Trailer Park Musical“, on-stage at REP East Playhouse in Newhall until June 16. In presenting this show, the REP has transformed itself into a trailer park: Pabst Blue Ribbon, tacky accents, tacky dress, and tacky demeanor. It has done this to support a show that itself it tacky, but is also incredibly funny, well performed, and a delight to watch. This show is a hoot–a load of fun performed as only REP can do it.

“The Great American Trailer Park Musical” (book by Betsy Kelso, with music and lyrics by David Nehls) can be enjoyed on two levels. On the top (or should I say “over the top”), it is a celebration of all things Trailer Park and “White Trash”: from the Trailer Park culture itself, with its pregnancy and messy relationships and borderline incest and tackyness, to how that culture is portrayed on television, advertising, QVC, and such. But deeper inside, GATPM is a love story–a story about a couple whose relationship has persevered for over 20 years, and the relationships of those around them with the men in their life. Of course, they don’t quite present it in those words, and the relationships (especially if you’ve seen Jerry Springer or Sally Jesse) may not be what you expect.

At its heart, GATPM is the story of Jeannie Garstecki (Kristen Heitman) and Norbert Garstecki (Jeremiah Lowder): two high school sweethearts (the math nerd (she) and the football jock (he)) who have been together 20 years. After a traumatic incident at the beauty salon, Jeannie became agoraphobic, and hasn’t set foot outside of her trailer for almost 20 years. It is their anniversary, and she has promised Norbert she’ll go outside and he can take her somewhere special–the Ice Capades! This basic story is introduced to us (and carried on throughout the show) by the trailer park equivalent of a greek chorus: the trailer park owner, Betty Burnside (Leslie Berra)–a tall, well-worn gal who has seen everything, especially in this park; “Lin” (Lori D’itri)–short for Linoleum, whose husband is on death row in the Florida Penitentiary; and “Pickles” (Beth Ann Sweezer)–a young woman who wants a baby so bad she has continual hysterical pregnancies. Into this mix is thrown Pippi (Shannon Bouknight), a stripper on the run from her psychotic boyfriend Duke (Luke Barnett). Pippi moves into the trailer park to hide, and Norbert has a wife who has been unavailable for 20 years. You can figure out the rest. Let’s just say that the story plays out with humor both small and large, amplified by stereotypical “white trash” behaviors, and magnified by the hilarious videos projects on screens on the side and the clever music and lyrics.

All of the performances in this production were excellent and each actor has their moment to shine. I walked out of this production going: these guys were perfect–they could sing, they could act, and most importantly, they were having fun on stage and conveying that fun to the audience. There are a few performances and moments I want to highlight. The first is Beth Ann Sweezer as “Pickles”. Sweezer has a smile and a bubbly personality that light up the stage, and was just a joy to watch in every scene she was in. Your eyes were drawn to her as a result (and not just because of the pregnancy belly), and she made the show fun. She also had great comic timing, which was especially demonstrated in her scenes as Tina from Oklahoma City. The second highlight to me was Kristen Heitman. Initially, she didn’t fit my image of Jeannie, but she won me over with her perkiness–and more importantly, her singing voice. She truly shined in numbers such as “Owner of My Heart”, “Panic”, “But He’s Mine”, and particularly “Flushed Down The Pipes” (which had the most hilarious accompanying video I’ve seen in ages). The third highlight was Shannon Bouknight as Pippi. Again, she was having fun with her role (and especially that pole dance!), but man, could this young woman sing. This was highlighted in many of the numbers with Jeannie (such as “But He’s Mine” and “Panic”). Lastly, as Norbert, Jeremiah Lowder, exhibited a gentle charm that was infectious.

The show was directed by Mark Kaplan, who did a wonderful job of bringing out the inner “white trash” of his actors, and making the production come across as natural and fun. Choreography was by Stephen Bailey and was effective for the REP space. Vocal direction was by Leslie Berra. The music was prerecorded (the REP doesn’t really have space for an orchestra, let alone an onstage band), and was not credited in the program.

The production aspects of the show equaled the acting quality. Much credit goes to the regular REP team. Jeff Hyde was back with a spectacular set design that put four trailers on the small stage, utilizing a turntable and other tricks to also provide inside views of the two of them. Art Direction (which likely means helping Jeff with the numerous design and props) were the REP artistic directors, Ovington Michael Owston and Mikee Schwinn. These three transformed the entire REP facility and did a great job of setting the stage. As an aside: this is one thing I love about the REP–the show isn’t just on the stage… for they transform their lobby and bar into a parallel area whose them echoes what is on the stage. The costumes (by Claudia Alexopoulos) and wigs (by Jennifer Alexopoulos) were period-appropriate and (especially for the wigs) appropriately tacky. The sound design by Steven “Nanook” Burkholder was a step above his normal work, with on-actor mics (something one rarely sees at the REP) and appropriate sound effects. The videos (by Jeremiah Lowder and Mikee Schwinn) were period-perfect clips from advertising and TV shows, and augmented the action perfectly. The lighting by Tim Christianson was effective and unobtrusive, and did a great job of setting the scene. Vicki Lightner was stage manager, assisted by Christina Gonzalez.

“The Great American Trailer Park Musical” continues through June 16 at the REP. Tickets are available through the REP Online Box Office. Go see it; you’ll have a wonderful time, and never look at trailer parks the same. Following Trailer Park at the REP are the two shows in the more mature “81 series”: “The Laramie Project” (running July 13-July 28) and “Playdates” (running August 17-September 1).

Upcoming Theatre, Concerts, and Dance: May will end with the production of “Seussical” at Nobel Middle School. I wanted to see “Follies” at the Ahmanson, but that doesn’t look like it will work out. June is more open, but does feature both “Addams Family” and “Million Dollar Quartet” at the Pantages, as well as the Palisades High School mega-picnic and the Wilshire Blvd Temple Camps 60th Anniversary. July features “The Savannah Disputation” at the Colony, “The Laramie Project” at REP East, and “Meet Me In St. Louis” at Cabrillo. August is more open, but will bring “Memphis” at the Pantages and “Playdates” at REP East.  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: Greatest Hits I & II (Linda Ronstadt): Desparado

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Silly Nonsense

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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

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

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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

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Why Do We Work?

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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

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