Tag: theatre-2012

Dance, Exploded, On Stage

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

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War is Hell… and a Damn Good Drama

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

It’s a hard question to answer.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

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A Philosphy on Trial

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New Jerusalem at the Pico PlayhouseThe use of a trial is a wonderful theatrical trick to tell a story. It can captivate an audience, provides a ready conflict, and inherently builds to a conclusion. Examples abound: A Few Good Men, The Caine Mutiny Trial, The Last Days of Judas Iscariot, … the list goes on an on. I mention this because a number of weeks ago I was captivated by a play broadcast by LA Theatre Works: New Jerusalem: The Interrogation of Baruch de Spinosa at Talmud Torah Congregation: Amsterdam, July 27, 1656. That production, starring Edward Asner, Richard Easton, and Matthew Wolf, was captivating. So when I discovered that the West Coast Jewish Theatre was doing a the first full-staged version on the west coast at the Pico Playhouse, I went out and got tickets for last night.

New Jerusalem is a dramatization of the “trial” of Baruch Spinoza, a Jewish philosopher whose positions are controversial even today (we had numerous discussions on the subject on the Liberal Judaism Mailing List). The known facts are this: Baruch de Spinoza, a member of the Portuguese Jewish community living in exile in Amsterdam was summoned to Talmud Torah on Tuesday, July 27, 1656. We do know that he was later excommunicated from that community by Rabbi Saul Mortera. We have the words of the excommunication writ and Spinoza’s response. We know the characters in Spinoza’s life and his philosophy. Beyond that, we have no idea what happened when he was interrogated. So playwright David Ives crafted the artifice of a trial to present the conflict and Spinoza’s philosphy, beginning with the historical summons, and concluding with the  actual writ of cherem and Spinoza’s response. It is a wordy play (as trials are) without a lot of action. Ives also introduces historical anachronisms into the staging and the language which some find jarring and others find distracting. Personally, I found I noticed them more on stage than on the radio. Still, the story and the philosophy are compelling, and make for an evening of intellectual stimulation. You can find a good summary in the Santa Monica Mirror review. The story does highlight the precariousness of the Jewish community: even in locales where life is seemingly good, there are often accommodations made and the situation not entirely stable. This was true for the longest time throughout history, and does explain why Jews are so sensitive to the need to preserve religious freedom in the US and the Jewish state in Israel.

In preparing this write-up, I came across two reviews of New Jerusalem: one from the LA Times and one from Stage and Cinema. Both found the story a bit artificial (which it was, as I noted above) and had problems with the actors. I had no such problems; perhaps the actors have grown into their roles since opening night; perhaps things were improved by the new prosecutor (the casting for this role changed during the run). There were still a few line problems, but that happens in small theatre where the role is not the day job of the actors.

So let’s get to the acting team. Prosecuting the case for the Dutch government was Abraham van Valkenburgh, played by Tony Pasqualini. Pasqualini did a good job with the role (although I didn’t like his costuming).  The leaders of the congregation were Rabbi Saul Levi Mortera (portrayed by Richard Fancy) and Parnas Gaspar Rodrigues Ben Israel (portrayed by Shelly Kurtz). Of the two, I really likes Kurtz’s performance. He came across as real–perhaps this was due to the fact he was a Yeshiva University graduate. Kurtz’s Ben Israel came across as a man who wanted to learn; a leader of his congregation who cared about the community and wanted to do the right thing to protect it, but didn’t want to cast any member out unless he had to. Fancy was reasonable as Mortera: he had the emotion and fire for the most part, but an indescribable something was missing. Here was a man whose entire theology was being beaten down and the survival of his community was threatened: there needed to be more hurt and pain (there was also the issue that there was something wrong with his beard that made made the real beard seem to look fake). Baruch de Spinoza — perhaps the most important role — was portrayed by Marco Naggar. Naggar had the passion for the role, although he came across as too contemporary (perhaps it was the lack of a beard, which he should have had as part of an Orthodox community). His performance was quite good, and you got the impression that he really believed the philosophy.

In supporting roles were the various friends and relatives of Spinoza. Simon de Vries, portrayed by Todd Cattell, was perhaps a little older for the role (when contrasted to Naggar), but performed it well. de Vries is the flatmate of Spinoza who ultimately provided the evidence of his philosophy. As Clara van den Enden, the Christian daughter of his Deist landlord, Kate Huffman was wonderful. Perky and spirited, you can see why Spinoza loved her. Lastly, as Spinoza’s sister Rebekah de Spinoza, Brenda Davidson came across a bit shrewish (but I believe that was her character). In real life, it was Rebekah that initiated the trial out of an inheritence dispute.

The production was directed by Elina de Santos, who made some staging decisions that (in my opinion) hurt the program. She chose to have the actors be in a mix of modern dress (shiny suits for Van Valkenburgh, modern jeans for deVries, and a light airy dress for van den Enden), sedate suits (Mortera and Ben Israel), and somewhat period dress for Rebekah de Spinoza. It didn’t work, was distracting, and didn’t convey the intent of the story being applicable to modern times. I would have preferred if all the characters were in a somewhat period dress. That would have enabled me to focus on the story, as opposed to being distracted by the dress. The audience is smart enough, even in a period piece, to see the applicability to today. Perhaps Stephanie Kerley Schwartz, who did the costumes, should have spoken up more. Schwartz‘s set design, however, was good: a flexible space that served as a good bimah for the trial. The lighting by Leigh Allen was good — I particularly liked the lighting of the windows. The sound, by Bill Froggatt, was effective and not distracting, although it was clear the shofar was a recording. Priscilla Miranda was the stage manager. Tara Windley was assistant director. New Jerusalem was produced by Howard Teichman, the artistic directory of WCJT, assisted by Diane Alayne Baker.

New Jerusalem continues at the West Coast Jewish Theatre through April 1. Tickets are available online; discount tickets may be available via Goldstar. The remainder of the WCJT season is the musical “The Immigrant” (book by Mark Harelik, lyrics by Sarah Knapp, music by Steven M. Alper), opening May 18, 2012, and “Mickey’s Home” by Stephen Fife, opening September 28, 2012.

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

Music: String Along (The Kingston Trio): The Tattooed Lady

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How to Succeed … in High School Drama Productions

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Our theatre this weekend was at the hyperlocal level: We were at Van Nuys High School to see the final production of the 2012 school year: “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying“. This was the final performance of the cohort of kids that entered Van Nuys with our daughter, so we know many many folks in the cast. How did Van Nuys do? Pretty good, for a high school production. This wasn’t quite up to last year’s Evita, but I think that is partially due to the story, and mostly due to music problems. On the acting level, the show was pretty good.

“How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying” (henceforth, H2$) is perhaps the most successful business musical to succeed in the early 1960s (when there was a bunch of such musicals, including “How Now Dow Jones” and “Let Em Ride“, both big failures). It was written by Abe Burrows, Jack Weinstock, and Willie Gilbert, based on Shepherd Mead‘s 1952 book of the same name. It had music and lyrics by Frank Loesser. It opened on Broadway in 1961 with Robert Morse in the lead, was made into a movie in 1967, had a successful revival in the 1990s with Matthew Broderick, and is currently in a 2nd revival on Broadway, first with Daniel Radcliffe and now with Nick Jonas.

H2$ tells the story of the rise of J. Pierpont Finch from a lowly window washer to chairman of the board, all in a very short time thanks to a very little book. Along the ascent, the show skewers business as it was in the 1960s… from the girls in the steno pool wanting to marry their boss, to doing things the “corporate way”, to the closed-in culture of business at the time. The show is extremely set in the 1960s — I was noting that many of the jokes would not be recognized by a teen audience (such as an advertising executive with the initials BBDO, to a reference to a club for the diners, and so on). A detailed synopsis can be found on the Wikipedia page.

Van Nuys did a reasonable job with the show. Perhaps the weakest point was the orchestra, which had a number of out of tune instruments that were painful to hear. The second problem is something inherent in a high school production: some of the kids are better singers than the others. In general, the seniors in the production could sing quite well — this included actors portraying Finch, Smitty, Bigley, and Ms. Jones. The younger actors were more spotty: mostly they sang good, with the occasional off note. The talent is there, so I’m sure they will get better as they do more shows (we’ve seen this happen with the current crop of seniors). The last problem with the show was the directions: there was an overuse of the hands with gestures as people talked and sang. This is something you notice when it goes beyond natural movement, and is quite common in stage productions.  There were also some microphone problems, especially in the second act where the microphone for the solo in the last big number went out completely.

Van Nuys also made some minor changes in the script due to casting– in particular, they cast B.B.D.O. as a woman, and had some women executives in the washroom scene and the final scene. This was likely due to the availability of cast members, but was jarring. Business in the 1960s was extremely sexist: there were few (if any) women executives. Women were secretarys; men were executives. In fact, women executives were viewed with suspicion. The purpose of this show was to highlight and exaggerate this sexism; thus the women executives were incongruous and distracting.

As I said before, the actors did really good (especially considering that this was a high school production). The seniors (designated with *) were particularly good. In the lead positions were Sean Scott* as J. Pierpont Finch and Sophie Taylor as Rosemary Pilkington. Scott was very good as Finch — good singing voice, a playful boyish quality. He needed just a bit more impishness to be perfect. Taylor was pretty good as Rosemary — she had a few off notes, but her acting was spot on and she had the lovability needed for the character. She could do with a little more visibility of the inner hardness and drive. Her character in the story is attracted to Finch because she is equally calculating and focused on getting her goal, only her goal is different. Seeing that drive is critical. According to her bio, this was her first play at Van Nuys, so I’m sure she will be getting better and better as they years go on and her talent is honed.

Shows of this era had a comic second tier. Playing these roles in this show were Erin Geronimi* as Smitty and Dominique Bautista as Bud Frump. Geronimi was very good as Smitty: she had the comic timing down pat, sang well, and acted well. I particularly enjoyed how she handled Been a Long Day. Bautista was reasonably good as Frump. He had the singing down well, but Frump is supposed to be a true comic character (the originator of the role was Charles Nelson Reilly). Bautista needed to be a bit more playful and clownish, but hopefully those skills will be honed as he does more roles. According to his bio, this was his first play; given that, his performance was remarkable for what it was.

There are a number of featured players in this show. A Van Nuys favorite, Quest Sky Zeidler*, was playing J. B. Biggley. We’ve seen Quest grow in his skills since his middle school days as a wolf. He handled Biggley well — the singing, the acting, and the dancing. I’m sure we will be seeing him go on to do great things. Also strong was Ariel Kostrzrewski as Hedy LaRue. Initially, I wasn’t sure she had the right look for LaRue, but her performance sold me that this was a great role for her (and with a bit more padding, she would have been perfect). Also notable was Vivian Cermeño who got the featured spot in Brotherhood of Man. Even with the microphone problems, you could hear the quality and power of Ms. Cermeño’s voice. Cermeño is a freshman, so I’m sure that Van Nuys will have some really good productions in the next two years as she matures in vocal and acting qualities. Lastly, Jade Field did good as Ms. Jones, particularly in the first scene she has with Finch. She was also hit with the microphone problem in the last big number.

Rounding out the cast were: Jazmine Aguilera (Chorus), Cydell Bossette (Mr. Gatch), Luis Carranza (Tackaberry), Ana Chaglasyan (Chorus), Lucky Cortez (Mr. Twimble), Henry Etchison (Mr. Bratt), Darwin Gallegos* (Chorus), Josias Garcia* (Davis), Jose Daniel Herrera (Jenkins), Cris Morgan (Book Voice), Melodie Muñoz-Lestrade (Toynbee), Sameer Nayak* (Wally Womper), Flavia Ponce (Peterson), Kim Reyes* (Chorus), Samantha Robbins (Chorus), Anjela Tokadjian (Ms. Krumholtz), Sue Turjman (Chorus), Alyia Yates (Ms. Ovington), and Priscilla Zambrano (Chorus). The production was directed by Mr. Randy Olea. Robbyne Kermesse was the vocal director, and Anita Morales did the choreography (I’ve always wondered by the excellent Van Nuys Dance department isn’t consulted on choreography — it would be a wonderful way to provide synergy to the overall program).

Turning to the technical side. The sets, which worked reasonably well, were constructed by Mr. Tom Kirkpatric and his students, based on a design from the University of Missouri. There were some anachronisms, but finding 1960s props is getting harder and harder. Sound and Lights were provided by Mr. Marque Coy and his team, including Jessica Andrade, Kenji Kang, Sierra McDuffee, Marion Paguio, Clarissa Tangloa, and Karina Vega on sound and Joshua Nicolas, Kacie Rodriguez, Joseph Tarfur, Kevin Vasquez, and Marelen Villalta on lights. Sound was OK in the first act, but had problems in the second. Lighting was more naturalistic (i.e., white), but I don’t know if this was a directoral choice or a reflection of new lighting people (I miss the days my daughter was doing lighting–she had some great creative talent there). Alicia Ryan Lee was Stage Manager, assisted by Gabriel Dominguez and Leisa Duya.

The Orchestra was led by Mr. Robert Eisenhart and Mr. Brian McGaffey and had lots of people that I’m not going to list. They made a valiant effort with the difficult score, was had problems due to some out of tune instruments (in particular, it sounded like there was a problem with the violins). I did appreciate that attempt to get a typewriter sound effect during A Secretary is Not a Toy, but they needed to be a bit stronger on the electric razor effect for I Believe in You (which could also have benefitted from electric razors on the stage).

This is likely the last Van Nuys HS drama department production we will see. Over four years (actually a bit more, as we saw one production when Erin was in 8th grade) we’ve seen this program become bolder and attempt harder and harder works. From the overdone “Grease” to works such as “Damn Yankees”, “Evita”, and now “H2$”, we’ve seen Van Nuys try things that most high schools do not do. We’ve seen students grow as actors and singers. Van Nuys HS has an underappreciated drama program, and the community needs to applaud these hardworking students and staff members for what they do. It’s not always perfect, but hey, this is high school.

Upcoming Theatre, Concerts, and Dance: Next week sees us in West LA for “New Jerusalem, The Interrogation of Baruch de Spinoza at Talmund Torah Congregation: Amsterdam, July 27th, 1665” at the Pico Playhouse. March continues with “American Idiot” at the Ahmanson, and “Journey’s End” at REP East. March will conclude with Tom Paxton in concert at McCabes on 3/31. Continuing the look ahead, April will bring “Billy Elliot” at the Pantages, the Southern California Renaissance Faire, “Once Upon a Mattress” at Cabrillo, and “Dames at Sea” at the Colony.  May will bring “The Great American Trailer Park Musical” at REP East, the senior dance show at Van Nuys HS, and may bring “Heiress” at the Pasadena Playhouse, “Follies” at the Ahmanson, and the Spring Railfestival at Orange Empire Railway Museum. 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: Its Gonna Be Fine (Glenn Yarborough): I Hate To See The Sun Go Down

 

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Joy and Sadness in Vienna

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Last night, we went to see “Old Wicked Songs” at the Colony Theatre in Burbank. With a title like that, you would probably expect a musical. Although there was music, and the actors even sung to it, this was most assuredly not a musical. Rather, it was part comedy and part drama that explored the conflicted emotions and environment in Vienna, Austria, during the time that Kurt Waldheim ran for the President of Austria.

“Old Wicked Songs“, written by Jon Marans, tells the story of two men: Professor Josef Mashkan and Stephen Hoffman. Mashkan is vocal instructor in Vienna who teaches piano students how singers sing, in order that they might be better accompanists. Hoffman is a young piano prodigy who burned out doing solo concerts, who wants to move beyond technical proficiency to find the joy in music. Hoffman has come to Vienna to study with a piano teacher, but this teacher requires him to study vocal accompaniment for 3 months before he will work with him. The framing music for this study are a number of pieces by Shubert that emphasize the theme of sadness mixed with joy, which proves to be an ongoing theme throughout the piece. I don’t want to give away all the plot twists and turns, but I will mention that the story is more than just piano lessons: it goes into the deeper relationship between these two men, the relationship that both Germany and Austria have with their past (including Dachau), and the election of Kurt Waldheim, who tended to hide his personal connection to the Nazis.

When this show started, we didn’t quite know what to make of it. It was slow, with lots of classical music and German songs. Mashkan came off as slightly antisemitic, and it just didn’t seem all that interesting. We might have left midway through, but the theatre was small enough that the actors would have noticed, and that’s just a wrong thing to do. The second act turned the story around and redeemed the production — you really began to care about these two and their situation, and you ended up walking out quite satisfied. It’s nice when theatre does that.

The credit for this goes not just to the writing, but to the acting and direction. Stephanie Vlahos directs her two actors to have them come across as real people. They way they move and talk and interact just seems normal. Credit also goes to the actors: John Towey as Josef Mashkan and Tavis Danz as Stephen Hoffman. Both are excellent actors and piano artists, and come across extremely realistic.  I was particuarly taken with Towey’s portrayal of Mashkan: there was just an indescribable level of depth in it.

Turning to the technical: The Scenic Design was by Stephen Gifford, and did a great job of turning the stage into an old Vienna study. Properties and Set Dressing were by Colony regulars MacAndMe.  Lighting was by Jared A. Sayeg, and was particularly notable as some scenes were entirely done through a combination of lighting and the set — no acting. Sound design was by Drew Dalzell, and was effective, especially the music between scenes. Costume design was by Kate Bergh. Mary K Klinger was production stage manager.

“Old Wicked Songs” continues at the Colony through March 4, 2012. The next production at the Colony is “Dames at Sea“.

Upcoming Theatre, Concerts, and Dance: March begins with Bernadette Peters in concert at the Valley Performing Arts Center on March 3. That will be followed by  “How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying” at Van Nuys High School (March 2-3 and 8-10; we’re likely going on 3/10), and continues with “American Idiot” at the Ahmanson, and “Journey’s End” at REP East. March will conclude with Tom Paxton in concert at McCabes on 3/31. Continuing the look ahead, April will bring “Billy Elliot” at the Pantages, the Southern California Renaissance Faire, “Once Upon a Mattress” at Cabrillo, and “Dames at Sea” at the Colony.  May will bring “The Great American Trailer Park Musical” at REP East, the senior dance show at Van Nuys HS, and may bring “Heiress” at the Pasadena Playhouse, “Follies” at the Ahmanson, and the Spring Railfestival at Orange Empire Railway Museum. 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: The Marvellous Toy & Other Gallimaufry (Tom Paxton): Englebert The Elephant

 

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A Train Ride to Remember

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A number of weeks ago, I read an article in the LA Stage Blog about the challenges of staging “20th Century” on a black-box stage with no wings or fly space. The author indicated the challenge resulted in an even funnier production. Thinking this was the Cy Coleman / Comden and Green musical “On the Twentieth Century“, I quickly got tickets. Today, we trudged out to the Sierra Madre Playhouse to see the show… and I was surprised in a number of ways.

First, the show wasn’t what I expected. Instead of the musical, the show was the original play by Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur, adapted by Ken Ludwig. Secondly, the production was quite funny and quite well acted. So my initial disappointment turned into pleasure, and now I understand the musical much better. The play itself is quite significant: produced in 1932, it was later remade as a 1934 movie with John Barrymore and Carole Lombard that ushered in the era of 1930s screwball comedies.

The story of “20th Century” is set in March 1933 on the Twentieth Century Limited, a train from Chicago to New York City. The story is centered around Oscar Jaffe, an egomaniacal Broadway director, and Lily Garland, the chorus girl he transformed into a leading lady. With three failed productions in a row, bankrupt, and about to lose his theatre after the failure of his latest, “Joan of Arc”, Oscar boards the Twentieth Century Limited. He knows that his former protege and star, Lily Garland, will also be on the train; Lily is now a temperamental movie star (with a “golden statue”). He’ll do anything to get her back under contract and back in his bed, but his former protege will have nothing to do with him.  Assisting Jaffe in this exercise are his staff, Ida Webb and Owne O’Malley. Also on the train are Dr. Grover Lockwood and his mistress, Anita Highland; the doctor has written a play he wants Jaffe to product (about “Joan of Arc”). Also on the train is Myrtle Clark, a religious fanatic and heiress of a laxative fortune (and also escaped from an asylum). After Lily Garland boards the train at the second stop with her agent and boytoy, George Smith, the craziness begins. Now add to this mixture a second producer who also wants to cast Garland in his production, and the touring company of the  Oberammergau Passion Play. The role of the century! A potential investor! All of this to be resolved on a single train trip from Chicago to New York.

As you can see, this is definitely a screwball comedy that requires a good cast, together with a set that works for multiple staterooms and a train. Somehow, Sierra Madre Playhouse pulled this all together into a production that works. Credit here goes to the director, Michael Lorre, and his excellent cast, led by Arthur Hanketæ as Oscar Jaffe, with Hanket’s real-life wife, Stephenie Hanket Erbæ as Lily Garland. Hanket (as Jaffe) has the megamaniacal part down well, and overplays the role as necessary perfectly. The real-life chemistry between the two comes across on stage as you see Oscar and Lily sparring and playing with each other like a cat and a mouse. These two work well together, and are fun to watch.

This doesn’t mean the rest of the cast is slouching. Notable in the second tier is Beth Leckbee as Myrtle Clark. Leckbee is a joy to watch whenever she is on stage, with a playful energy that is delightful. Also notable are the various “assistants”: Alan Brooksæ as Owen O’Malley, Kimberly Lewisæ as Ida Webb, and Matt Isemanæ as George Smith. These three provided the necessary straightness to the craziness provided by Oscar Jaffe, Lily Garland, and Myrtle Clark. They were all fun to watch–I was particularly surprised by Iseman, who I knew only has the carpenter on Clean House. Completing the main cast were Douglas Gabrielleæ as the Conductor, Barry Saltzmanæ as Dr. Grover Lockwood, and Dorothy Brooksæ as Anita Highland. Of these, Gabrielle had the right look and feel for the conductor, and I particularly liked his actions and reactions in the gunshot scenes. Rounding out the cast were Matt Bolte as the Porter/Passion Play Lead, Grant Baciocco as the nurse and Max Jacobs, Jill Maglione in the smaller unnamed female roles, and Zoe Hanket (the lead’s daughter) as the little girl boarding the train. Two comments on this last tier: I particularly liked Baciocco’s Max Jacobs, and I liked the acting but not the makeup for Bolte as the Passion Play Christos.
[æ denotes members of æ Actors Equity or other 4-A Unions]

Turning to the technical side of things: The set design by Adam Smith was masterful: two compartments and a general seating area, with a boarding space to the right of the stage, on an elevated platform that permitted boarding. This provided the three main settings for the actions quite well. The set was augmented by the excellent lighting design of Sammy Ross (PRG) and sound of Michael Lorre. Costumes (by Shon LeBlank of The Costume House) were appropriately period–I particularly liked the correctness of the men’s suits. Wigs were by Kevin Remington, with probs by Anne Marie Atwan. Kim Kurzinger was stage manager, and Orlando Mendoza was the house manager.

“20th Century“ continues at the Sierra Madre Playhouse until March 17th. Go see it; it is worth the trip. Tickets are available through the SMP; discount tickets are available through LA Stage Alliance.

Upcoming Theatre, Concerts, and Dance: We conclude February in Burbank, with “Old Wicked Songs” at the Colony Theatre. March is equally busy, beginning with “How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying” at Van Nuys High School (March 2-3 and 8-10; we’re likely going on 3/2), and Bernadette Peters in concert at the Valley Performing Arts Center on March 3. March should also bring “American Idiot” at the Ahmanson, and “Journey’s End” at REP East. March will conclude with Tom Paxton in concert at McCabes on 3/31. Continuing the look ahead, April will bring “Billy Elliot” at the Pantages, the Southern California Renaissance Faire, “Once Upon a Mattress” at Cabrillo, and “Dames at Sea” at the Colony.  May will bring “The Great American Trailer Park Musical” at REP East, the senior dance show at Van Nuys HS, and may bring “Heiress” at the Pasadena Playhouse, “Follies” at the Ahmanson, and the Spring Railfestival at Orange Empire Railway Museum. 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: Chicago (Chicago): Poem for the People

 

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Revisiting Jewtopia

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JewtopiaLast July, as part of its “81 Series”, Rep East Playhouse presented a little play that proved immensely popular (it sold out its entire run before it even opened): “Jewtopia“. It was so successful that REP brought it back as the first show of their 2012 season. As season subscribers, this presented us with the opportunity to see it again. Back when I purchased our subscription I had scheduled last night for the show, and so we went (alas, this meant I had to miss a 1970s era 50th anniversary high school party scheduled a few weeks ago). I’m actually glad I went–REP (as usual) did a great job with the show; it is rare to find a comedy that is as funny the second time around, and this show was.

Jewtopia tells the story of Chris and Adam, two young single men in their 30s, looking for love. Chris, more formally Chris O’Connell, a non-Jew, wants to find a good Jewish girl to marry so he never has to make a decision again… but the Jewish girls are uninterested in him because he’s a goy. His best friend, Adam Lipschitz, has the opposite problem: he’s more interested in shiksas (non-Jewish girls), but has the family pressure to find a Jewish girl to marry, so he needs to find one he likes. So these two make a pact: Adam will teach Chris how to be Jewish so that he can get the Jewish girl he wants, while Chris will introduce Adam to Jewtopia, the land of Jewish girls, and teach him how to attract a Jewish girl who will finally say “yes, yes, oh yes”. The rest of the play is the story of that question: Chris and his journey to convince the family of Alison Cohen that he is Jewish-enought for their daughter… and Adam and his journey through 155 Jdate dates to find a Jewish girl that he likes. Along the way, every (and I mean every) stereotype of Jewish families is exposed, ripped asunder, and exaggerated for humor and amusement (as examples, Jews never own tools, and if we do, we don’t know where they are or how to use them; Jews always are complaining about one medical problem or another, etc.). Essentially, Jewtopia is a series of comic sketches highlighting what it means to be culturally Jewish. The traits they highlight may be exaggerated, but they are there and are touched upon out of a sense of love, not mocking. They quest they describe is true. I remember it from my college days, as well as from talking to my friends. If you are Jewish, you’ll enjoy this play and see yourself. If you are not Jewish… well, bring a Jewish friend to explain things to you.

REP could have taken the easy approach: used the same cast and sets from the July production. They didn’t. The only holdovers from July were the directors and three actors (who were in smaller roles). This was essentially a new production, and the freshness elevated it from a retread. It also provided the show with a lot of energy, surely helped by the hefty-helping of local references tossed into the script.

Leading the cast were Michael Hanna as Adam Lipschitz and Joe Roselund as Chris O’Connell. Of these two, I found Roseland slightly stronger. Both were comfortable in and having fun with their roles, and they brought that energy to the stage. Rounding out the cast, in various smaller roles, were: Liza Baronæ (Crazy Girls/Jill), Barry Agin (Rabbi Schlomo), Laura Lanoil (Marcy Cohen), Bonnie He (Rachel Kahn/Nurse), Darel Roberts (Dennis Lipschitz), Laurie Morgan (Arlene Lipschitz), and Michael Levine (Grandpa Irving). Bonne He and Darel Roberts were reprising their roles; He in particular was having quite a bit of fun in her various characters. Michael Levine was reprising half of his original role, and one gets the sense that playing a dirty old man comes quite easily to him :-). Liza Baron was  quite good in her various characters–I particularly enjoyed her personification of “Firetushy”.
[æ denotes members of æ Actors Equity ]

The production was directed by Marlowe Weisman, assisted by Bill Quinn. The new set was designed by Ovington Michael Owston (who is also Artistic Director and a producer of the production) and worked well. Costumes and props were by Lisa Melcombe-Weisman and Christina Gonzalez (who was also stage manager). Steven “Nanook” Burkholder was the sound designer (and I applaud his choice of music — I’d love to get a track list). Tim Christianson did lighting design. Mikee Schwinn designed the program and videos, and was also a producer.

The run of “Jewtopia” concludes next weekend, February 25. Tickets may be available through the REP Online Box office. Next up at the REP is “Journey’s End”. Set in the trenches at Saint-Quentin, Aisne, in 1918 towards the end of the First World War, Journey’s End gives a glimpse into the experiences of the officers of a British Army infantry company in World War I. The entire story plays out in the officers’ dugout over four days from 18 March 1918 to 21 March 1918. Journey’s End runs from March 16-April 14.

Upcoming Theatre, Concerts, and Dance: Later today we’re in Sierra Madre for “On The Twentieth Century” at the Sierra Madre Playhouse. February concludes with “Old Wicked Songs” at the Colony Theatre. March is equally busy, beginning with “How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying” at Van Nuys High School (March 2-3 and 8-10; we’re likely going on 3/2), and Bernadette Peters in concert at the Valley Performing Arts Center on March 3. March should also bring “American Idiot” at the Ahmanson, and “Journey’s End” at REP East. March will conclude with Tom Paxton in concert at McCabes on 3/31. Continuing the look ahead, April will bring “Billy Elliot” at the Pantages, the Southern California Renaissance Faire, “Once Upon a Mattress” at Cabrillo, and “Dames at Sea” at the Colony.  May will bring “The Great American Trailer Park Musical” at REP East, the senior dance show at Van Nuys HS, and may bring “Heiress” at the Pasadena Playhouse, “Follies” at the Ahmanson, and the Spring Railfestival at Orange Empire Railway Museum. 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: The Tap Dance Kid (1984 Original Broadway Cast): Overture

 

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