{"id":14360,"date":"2018-06-11T18:32:31","date_gmt":"2018-06-12T01:32:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cahighways.org\/wordpress\/?p=14360"},"modified":"2018-06-12T09:03:21","modified_gmt":"2018-06-12T16:03:21","slug":"telling-the-stories-the-story-of-my-life-hff18-chromolume","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cahighways.org\/wordpress\/?p=14360","title":{"rendered":"Telling the Stories | “The Story of My Life” @ HFF18\/Chromolume"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"\"userpic=fringe\"Theatre is visceral. It creates, in the audience, reactions that can range the gamut from “Wow! What was that!” to “Ugh. What was that?”. This weekend, we saw four shows — three\u00a0\u00a0Hollywood Fringe Festival<\/a>\u00a0(FB<\/a>)*<\/sup> shows, and one commercial theatre show<\/a> — that were a clear demonstration of the range (and in that order). But first, however, my stock description of what the Fringe Festival is (as our first show was technically a Fringe show):<\/p>\n

*<\/sup>\u00a0For those unfamiliar with \u00a0Hollywood Fringe Festival<\/a>\u00a0(FB<\/a>), there are over 390 different shows occurring in the heart of Hollywood, with most along the stretch of Santa Monica Blvd from Western to W of LaBrea, and between Hollywood Blvd and Melrose. The shows run from 5 minutes to 2 hours, from one person shows to gigantic casts, from mimes to musicals. They have one \u2014 and only one \u2014 thing in common: they have to be able to load into a theatre in 15 minutes or less, and get out afterwards in the same time. You never know what you will see: it could be complete crap, it could be the start of a major new show. The shows and scheduling thereof\u00a0are a nightmare to coordinate<\/a>, but you could easily\u00a0end up seeing four to five shows in a day<\/a>. However, you can be guaranteed of a good time.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0And now, on to that first show, which was both a Fringe show, as well as being the last show from one of our theatre subscriptions:<\/p>\n

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\"The<\/a>Theatre often sheds a light upon, and echoes, reality — sometimes in very painful and poignant ways. Back in 2010, a very dear dear friend of ours died<\/a>.\u00a0 Less than a week after she died, we were at the Havok Theatre production of Neil Bartram<\/a> and \u00a0Brian Hill<\/a>\u00a0(FB<\/a>)’s musical,\u00a0The Story of My Life<\/em><\/a>\u00a0(at the Lillian Theatre, now The Broadwater<\/a> — host to many Fringe productions). As I wrote then, the combination of the story and the circumstances moved me to tears<\/a>. To understand why, you need to understand the story — or perhaps stories — being told in this intimate, two-person musical. Here’s how I described it back then:<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Story of My Life\u201d tells the story of the friendship of Thomas and Alvin, who met in first grade. It starts out right after Alvin had died by jumping off a bridge, and his friend Thomas, now a famous writer, has the obligation to write Alvin\u2019s eulogy. Thomas is blocked and can\u2019t come up with anything, and so Alvin appears in his head, urging him to write what he knows, and that a eulogy is simply a series of stories, with a tearjerker at the end. But Thomas is still blocked, trying to figure out where this childhood friendship went wrong. So Alvin starts pulling books off the bookshelves of Thomas\u2019 mind, sharing the stories. We start with their meeting, where their teacher Mrs. Remington introduced them: Thomas dressed as Clarence the angel from \u201cIt\u2019s a Wonderful Life<\/a>\u201d, and Alvin dressed as the ghost of his dead mother. We see them grow up: picking the magical book from Alvin\u2019s father\u2019s bookstore that turns Tom into a writer; the Christmas\u2019 where they make snow angels and watch \u201cIt\u2019s a Wonderful Life\u201d; Tom\u2019s application to college; Tom\u2019s distancing himself from Alvin (and his subsequently becoming blocked). In the end, we see how this distancing affects Tom\u2019s ability as a writer (for his stories turn out to be expressions of his adventures with Alvin), and the reconciliation of the friendship in Tom\u2019s mind.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a Wonderful Life\u201d is a recurrent theme in this musical, and perhaps is a bit heavy-handed. It shows up repeatedly: from Clarence the angel, to everyone saying \u201cEverytime a bell rings\u2026\u201d whenever the door bells ring, to Alvin being compared to George Bailey (who sets aside his own life to attend to another\u2019s responsibility, and thus never leaves town), and ultimately, to the parallel in Alvin\u2019s death\u2026 and perhaps the reason behind the death. It didn\u2019t bother me, but I can see where others might find it heavy\u2026 but then again, I\u2019ve seen people who model their lives around movies. It simply shows the power of the media and metaphor in our life.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

A little over 8 years ago, the musical was resonating with the death of our dear friend — a friend whose life touched ours in ways that are still felt to this day. This weekend we saw\u00a0The Story of My Life<\/em><\/a> again as part of the Fringe Festival, and the musical was resonating with additional recent deaths. First were the suicides over the past week of Kate Spade<\/a> (Katherine Noel Brosnahan<\/a>) and\u00a0Anthony Bourdain<\/a> (in an unexplained manner, similar to Alvin); second, the confirmation of the death of the producing company<\/a>, Chromolume Theatre<\/a> (FB<\/a>) — their Fringe production of\u00a0<\/a>The Story of My Life<\/a>\u00a0<\/em>will be their final production, as far as I know. As with my dear friend, all of them touched and changed the lives of people. We’ve been seeing testaments and stories about the impact of Spade and Bourdain all week. As for Chromolume: it has touched the lives of actors and audiences; it has given people exposure; it has brought forgotten gems to the intimate stage (such as their recent spectacular production of\u00a0Dessa Rose<\/em><\/a>, as well as lots of forgotten Sondheim). As with another producing company\/theatre that died a few years ago, REP in Santa Clarita<\/a>, we keep running into people who we first met in those productions.<\/p>\n

The key point in the show is that our lives our represented by the stories that we tell, and the stories we file away in our cranial filing cabinets. The incidents behind the stories influence our lives, and that — as in the ways the flapping of a butterfly’s wings affects the currents in the wind, so the interactions and influences of the people and incidents in our lives create subtle changes that move us forward. The notion of “The Butterfly” is a central metaphor for this show. Here is an excerpt from the song of that name that many feel is one of the most beautiful songs in the show:<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re a butterfly my friend,
\nPowerful and strong
\nAnd I\u2019m grateful for the way
\nYou\u2019ve always hurried me along.
\nWhen you flap your wings to stretch yourself
\nIt might seem small to you
\nBut you change the world
\nWith everything you do.\u201d<\/p>\n

The book behind \u201cThe Story of My Life\u201d is by\u00a0Brian Hill<\/a>, who received a 2009 Drama Desk Award nomination for the book. The music and lyrics were by\u00a0Neil Bartram<\/a>, who also received 2009 Drama Desk Award nominations for Outstanding Music and Outstanding Lyrics. The show opened on Broadway in 2009 but closed in a week: this is not a show for a large Broadway house, but is perfect in the smaller and more intimate venues.<\/p>\n

As I noted earlier, this production was also a revisiting of something we’d seen before (that was a theme for Saturday’s shows — this show was followed by the touring production of the recent revival of\u00a0The Color Purple<\/em><\/a>, which we\u00a0had also seen a decade earlier<\/a>). Back in 2010 when we first saw this show, it was a spectacularly executed set filled with books. As I wrote about the 2010 production: “The set (designed by\u00a0Tom Buderwitz<\/a>) consisted of rows upon rows of bookshelves and books, covered with books and papers in shades of grey and black (collected through the hard work of one of our favorite stage managers), with a bridge across the back. It was gently lit (in a lovely lighting design by\u00a0Steve Young<\/a>) through mood expressing colors via overhead leikos and lighting behind the bookshelves.” This production, on the other hand, was a Fringe production. This meant that it had 15 minutes to load in, and the same to load out. It was much simpler: a table, some boxes of books, more books on the floor, a podium, and some wooden screens. It was, in a sense, a deconstructed set design. But this show is so simple in that aspect of the staging that it worked equally well.<\/p>\n

One of the things that made this particular production spectacular was the cast: Andrew Schufman<\/a> (FB<\/a>) as Thomas, and Daniel Koh<\/a>\u00a0(FB<\/a>) as Alvin. Koh we had seen recently in another Bartram\/Hill musical,\u00a0The Theory of Relativity<\/em><\/a>, and it was a delight to see him again. He has a wonderful voice, and he brought so many small touches and quirks to Alvin that just brought him to life.\u00a0 Schufman, on the other hand, was new to us. He gave a lovely warm performance with a great singing voice that was quite touching. In short: they made these characters people.<\/p>\n

Conor Sheehan<\/a> (FB<\/a>) and Johnathan Brett<\/a> (FB<\/a>) are the understudies for Schufman and Koh, respectively. They will get their chance to shine at the June 16th performance.<\/p>\n

The production was directed by Michael Marchak<\/a> (FB<\/a>), who also designed the movement and presumably the “set and props” (as much as you have those in Fringe). Richard Berent<\/a> (FB<\/a>) provided the musical direction, which means he was at the piano.\u00a0Veronica\u00a0Vasquez<\/a> (FB<\/a>) was the stage manager.<\/p>\n

This show is one of the best shows we’ve seen at Fringe this year (and it ranks right up there with the best musicals we’ve seen at Fringe over our many years of attending Fringe). Especially given the turmoil behind the scenes with the producing company, that this show shines so bright is a testament to the talent that was Chromolume, and the people that made it special. Go see it, and you’ll walk away moved by the experience. Theatre, at its essence, is the telling of stories to impact lives. That is what this show is — that is what this show does — and that is why you must see it.<\/p>\n

As I write this, there are three more presentations of\u00a0The Story Of My Life<\/em><\/a> at The Hobgoblin Playhouse<\/a> on Hollywood Blvd: June 12, 16, and 23. Tickets are available through the Fringe website<\/a>.<\/p>\n

A final note: Although there was a hope of resurrection, it appears that hope has been extinguished and this production is Chromolume’s last. We’ve only been subscribing for two years, and were impressed with what the theatre did with what little it had. We will miss the friends we were starting to make there, and hope they turn up at future companies. It does mean we’re looking for a replacement subscription: I’m open to suggestions for a similar theatre with similar programming — meaning affordable revisitings of rarely-done musicals, with high quality.<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

Ob. Disclaimer<\/strong>: I am not a trained theatre (or music) critic; I am, however, a regular theatre and music audience member. I\u2019ve been attending live theatre and concerts in Los Angeles since 1972; I\u2019ve been writing up my thoughts on theatre (and the shows I see) since 2004. I do not have theatre training (I\u2019m a computer security specialist), but have learned a lot about theatre over my many years of attending theatre and talking to talented professionals. I pay for all my tickets unless otherwise noted. I am not compensated by anyone for doing these writeups in any way, shape, or form. I currently subscribe at\u00a05 Star Theatricals<\/a>\u00a0(FB<\/a>) [the company formerly known as\u00a0Cabrillo Music Theatre<\/a>\u00a0(FB<\/a>)], the\u00a0Hollywood Pantages<\/a>\u00a0(FB<\/a>),\u00a0Actors Co-op<\/a>\u00a0(FB<\/a>), the\u00a0Chromolume Theatre<\/a>\u00a0(FB<\/a>) \u05d6\u05f4\u05dc<\/a>, a mini-subscription at\u00a0the Soraya [nee\u00a0<\/i>the Valley Performing Arts Center (VPAC)]<\/a>\u00a0(FB<\/a>), and the\u00a0Ahmanson Theatre<\/a>\u00a0(FB<\/a>). Through my theatre attendance I have made friends with cast, crew, and producers, but I do strive to not let those relationships color my writing (with one exception: when writing up children\u2019s production, I focus on the positive \u2014 one gains nothing except bad karma by raking a child over the coals). I believe in telling you about the shows I see to help you form your opinion; it is up to you to determine the weight you give my writeups.<\/p>\n

Upcoming Shows<\/strong>:<\/p>\n

It\u2019s June \u2014 ah, June. That, my friends, means only one thing: the\u00a0Hollywood Fringe Festival<\/a>\u00a0(FB<\/a>), Here\u2019s\u00a0our June schedule<\/a>:<\/p>\n