The Definition of Insanity

Some say that the definition of “insanity” is doing the same thing and expecting different results (others say that that the DSM is wrong and we’re only diagnosing based on symptoms, but that’s later in this post). So, then, are theatre goers insane — we often go and see the same show over and over. Are we expecting different results, or are we just expecting to see the same show?  What do we expect to see in the different versions?

I can’t answer for everyone, but for me, I see different productions of the same show to find nuances, to see particular actors, and to see how different venues approach the material (especially different sized venues). I’m bringing this all up because last night I went to see a musical about mental illness; a musical that I last saw only a few years ago at the end of 2010. The musical is “Next to Normal” (music by Tom Kitt; book and lyrics by Brian Yorkey), and I decided to see it again because (a) I like the show, but more importantly (b) our experiences with the director and a number of cast members led me to conclude that this would be an excellent production. I wasn’t wrong — it wasn’t insanity to see “Next to Normal” again; rather, it was an experience that was well worth the drive (it was out in La Mirada, where we last saw Johnny Guitar in 2006) and provided additional insights.

As I’ve seen the show (and written up the show before), I’ll just repeat the synopsis I wrote up the last time. The story didn’t change from then:

“Next to Normal” tells the story of a dysfunctional family: the mother (Diana) who is falling deeper and deeper into the depths of her mental illness (bipolar); the father (Dan) who is attempting to hold it all together; the daughter Natalie who has been lost in the shuffle, and the son, Gabriel, who is the lynchpin for Diana’s illness. It is the story about how holding on to something too tightly can be just as damaging as not holding it enough… or at all. It is the story of how treating mental illness is not an exact science; although doctors offer a range of treatments from pharmacology to talk therapy to hypnosis to even stronger therapies, it is just throwing spaghetti on the wall. It is the story of Natalie and Henry, and how being in the middle of dysfunction and mental illness can affect a teen relationship… and how one can use substances to attempt to run away from problems, but it doesn’t help. Ultimately, it is the story of family, and that things don’t always work out how you expect them, but hopefully they work out for the best.

“Next to Normal” is such a great musical due to its honest treatment of mental illness. We see there is no cut-and-dried treatment. In “Next to Normal”, the triggering event for Diana is the death of her son at 8 months. She never lets go of the grief; rather, she embraces it and truly keeps her son alive in her mind, to the detriment of everything else. Although initially she could apparently cope (and even had another child shortly after), she began to lose it as her daughter got older. This impacted her daughter, for her mother never drew close to her. Diana’s husband, Dan, reacted in the other direction: he detached from his son, wanting to hide the memories away in a box, and live focused on the present. The latter (as the musical implies) is equally unhealthy, but is more acceptable to society. It also showed the differences in thinking for many men, who make a commitment to be there for the ones we love; good or bad, we hold things together.

(returning to the present) Every time I see this show, I see echoes of my life. I had a brother who died when I was ten; my mother went into a deep depression shortly thereafter that (I believed) colored her life thereafter and ultimately led to behaviors that killed her. Valium was indeed her favorite color. My wife has dealt with depression (successfully), and I’ve seen her mother deal with the inability to let go of grief. As I said the last time I saw this show: “The musical hits home for those that live with depression: the inability to get anything done and how that affects the family. It hits home with those who live with the manic side as well: the up-at-all-hours unpredictability that is equally taxing. This hits home—it is a deeply personal, touching musical.”

I also said last time — and I still agree — that Next to Normal is one of the best examples of a musical that needs the stage. Movies tend to be focused in the real (even if that is an alternative reality). What we see on the screen is realistic. Musicals allow the emotions to come out and be expressed, and Next to Normal is all about emotions. If you can find a production of this near you, it is well worth seeing.

As I wrote in the beginning, the primary reason I wanted to see this particular production was the director and the cast. I wasn’t disappointed. The director for this show was Nick Degruccio (FB), who has done numerous musicals in the Southern California area … all of which have been great. This show was no exception. Nick brought out the raw emotion from the actors, and connected with the audience (I know it brought out the emotion and me, and I heard others audience members saying something similar). If you have the opportunity to see something Nick directs, do it. The odds are good it will be excellent.

The casting for this production was spot on. Back in 2010, I saw the tour with the original Diana, Alice Ripley, in the lead. This production cast Bets Malone (FB) in the lead.  We’ve seen Bets in numerous productions at Cabrillo and throughout Los Angeles, and she is consistently one of the best musical performers in Southern California. She didn’t disappoint here — in fact, I think her performance was stronger than Ripley’s because she somehow made the performance and the character seem real and down-to-earth.

Also attracting us to the production was Tessa Grady as Natalie, Diana’s daughter. Tessa is another actor we see regularly in roles — we’ve seen her at the Colony and Cabrillo, and have always been impressed with her. She was very strong here, and gave a wonderful performance (I’m running out of superlatives) as the daughter.

Diana’s husband, Dan, was also played by Southern California regular, Robert J. Townsend (FB). We saw Townsend in the great production of The Story of My Life at Havok, and in numerous Cabrillo productions. Yet again — wonderful voice, wonderful performances.

Rounding out that cast — again, all with spectacular performances — were Alex Mendoza/FB as Henry, Eddie Egan (FB) as Gabe, and Keith A. Bearden (FB) as Dr. Madden. We’ve seen Mendoza before (Justin Love, Cabrillo) and Bearden (Johnny Guitar), but Egan was new to us. All were strong and a delight to watch.

Musically, the production was very strong, with musical direction by Darryl Archibald (FB) (another Cabrillo alumni). Archibald also conducted the 6 piece band, which included Archibald on piano, Dave Lofti on Percussion, Joe Jewell (FB) on Guitars, Shane Harry on Electric Bass and Acoustic Bass, Claudia Vanderschraaf/FB on Cello, and Tyler Emerson/FB on the odd combination of Violin and Keyboard.

The technical production was also excellent. The scenic design by John Ezell was reminiscent of the set at the Ahmanson, although lacking the eyes. I particularly noted how at points the background was cracked and imperfect. The lighting by Steven Young was also strong and effective, doing a wonderful job of creating the mood. The sound design by Josh Bessom provided clear and crisp sound (better than the production at the Ahmanson, where the orchestra overpowered at times), although there were a few static problems with the mics. The costumes by Kish Finnegan worked well with the characters, and the properties by Terry Hanrahan were effective. The prop/costume package were from the Arizona Theatre Company. David Cruise was the Technical Director. Jill Gold was the production stage manager, assisted by Phil Gold. The executive producers were McCoy Rigby Entertainment.

The last performance of Next to Normal is today, June 23. 2013. You can buy tickets online here.

Upcoming Theatre and Concerts:   Today brings more theatre: “The Taming of the Shrew” at Will Geer’s Theatricum Botanicum. The last weekend of June brings a Maria Muldaur concert at McCabes, as well as “Man of No Importance“ (Hollywood Fringe) at the Lillian.   July starts with a musical we had originally planned for Fathers Day weekend: “Ionescapade” at the Odyssey Theatre Ensemble. That will be followed by “9 to 5 – The Musical” at REP East in the middle of the month, and “Legally Blonde – The Musical” at Cabrillo at the end of the month. July will also (hopefully) see us as OperaWorks at CSUN. August is currently completely open due to vacation planning, although we may see a show at the Lawrence Welk Resort in Escondido at the end of the month (depending on price), or at another venue in San Diego.

Continuing the look ahead: September may bring Sarah Ruhl’s “In The Next Room or The Vibrator Play“ at the Production Company/Secret Rose and “Blue Man Group” at the Hollywood Bowl, as well as “God of Carnage” at REP East. October is open, but should the Cabrillo production of “Kiss Me Kate” somewhere, as well as “Dirty Rotten Soundrels” at Actors Rep of Simi. November will bring “Play It Again Sam” at REP East as well as ARTS’s Nottingham Village (a one-weekend ren-faire-ish market). The fall should also bring a production of “Carrie – The Musical” by Transfer Theatre. As always, I’m keeping my eyes open as the various theatres start making their 2013/2014 season announcements. Lastly, what few dates we do have open may be filled by productions I see on Goldstar, LA Stage Tix, Plays411, or discussed in the various LA Stage Blogs I read (I particularly recommend Musicals in LA and LA Stage Times).

This entry was originally posted on Observations Along The Road (on cahighways.org) as this entry by cahwyguy. Although you can comment on DW, please make comments on original post at the Wordpress blog using the link below; you can sign in with your LJ, FB, or a myriad of other accounts. There are currently comments on the Wordpress blog. PS: If you see share buttons above, note that they do not work outside of the Wordpress blog.

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Another Problematic Woman

Earlier today, I wrote of a theatre piece that focused on a woman with a behavior problem: she was bipolar, and couldn’t let go of her grief. But women with problems have been the focus of theatre for ages. This afternoon I saw a much older theatre piece about another problematic women: “The Taming of the Shrew” by William Shakespeare. As is common with Shakespeare pieces during the summer, it was at an outdoor venue: Will Geer’s Theatricum Botanticum in Topanga Canyon.

First, a word about the venue. My wife had been to Botanicum back in the 1970s, shortly after it was founded by Will Geer and his wife, during the days he was on The Waltons. Botanicum is in a wooded canyon; the theatres are in little amphitheatres with outdoor stages and bench seating. Actors are anywhere and everywhere  — this is very much outdoor theatre of the 1970s, not the enclosed structures of today or the little black boxes. In many ways, this is theatre as it was meant to be: actors honing their craft, using their skill and not technology to tell a story. Batanicum is also very much a repertory company: the cast of actors are doing multiple plays concurrently over the summer — Shrew is just one of them. They are also doing Midsummers Night Dream, The Royal Family, Merlin, and Tone Clusters. It is a joy to watch, and we’ll likely be back for future productions.

Now, on to the show itself. If you are not familiar with Shrew, all I can say is go watch the “Atomic Shakespeare” episode of Moonlighting. You know — Bruce Willis, Cybil Shepard. Oh, right, you’re too young. Go rent Kiss Me Kate. As for me, the last time that I saw Shrew on stage was back in 2008 when it was part of Santa Clarita’s Shakespeare in the Park. I do love me a good production of Shrew, and this one was a fun one.

This production of Shrew established the mood early, with a madrigal group singing outside the line to the theatre. However, there was this annoying drunk wandering around trying to cage cadge a ticket and get someone to save him a seat. Somehow he succeeded, because as we came into the theatre, so did he. In fact, during the pre-show announcements he waltzed on stage and the house manager had to call security, but before they arrived, he collapsed on the steps. Just then, some hunters showed up (speaking the Bard’s good English), and decided to pull a trick on him. They would dress him as a king, and perform a comedy for him. And thus… the framing of The Taming of the Shrew.

As with much of Shakespeare, distinguishing all of the different characters is difficult (especially when there were some last minute substitutions). I’ll list them all in a minute. First, however, I’d like to highlight some particularly strong performances. In the lead positions were Willow Geer (FB) as Katharina and Aaron Hendry (FB) as Petruchio. You can see them pictured in the image above. These two leads were perfectly matched to each other. Hendry was athletic and charming, well built, and just fun to watch. Geer was a tiger-cat — able to pull out her claws and purr on demand. These two were just having fun with the role, and just a delight whenever they were on the stage.

Also strong, but not quite as stand-out-ish, were Christine Breihan (FB) as Bianca. She was charming, but didn’t seem to acquire a personality to the end. Also strong was the drunk, Christopher Sly (Gerald C. Rivers (FB)), who was doing a great job of fooling theatre patrons before the show, and was a delight to watch while he remained in character throughout the production.

As for the remainder — it was truly an ensemble. All were wonderful, but no particular actor stood out over another. Here’s a full listing of the rest of the cast, but some roles were substituted at our production: Liz Eldridge (FB) (Widow/Musician), Bill Gunther (Gremio), Charles M. Howell IV (FB) (Pedant); Christopher W. Jones (FB) (Hortensio); Leo Knudson (Joseph/Priest), Gabrielle Lamb/FB (Servant/Player), John Maidman/FB (Ludentio), Melora Marshall (FB) (Grumio), Timothy McCray/FB (Curtis), Marcelo Olivas (FB) (Biondello), Kila Packett (FB) (First Huntsman/Baartholomew), Chynna Skye Pozzessere (FB) (Third Huntsman), Franc Ross (Baptista), Taylor Jackson Ross (FB) (Stage Manager/Haberdasher), Evan Tamayo (FB) (Philip), Esdras Toussaint (Nathaniel), Paul Turbiak (FB) (Lord/Vincentio), Frank Weidner/FB (Tailor/Musician), Christopher Weir (FB) (Second Huntsman), Jeff Weisen (FB) (Tranio). Understudies were Jonathan Blandino/FB, Jessica Butenshon, Kevin M. Connolly, and Dane Oliver/FB.

The production was directed by Ellen Geer, who did a wonderful job of bringing out the fun in the production — these actors were having the time of their lives, and it showed. Stage management was by Kim Cameron/FB assisted by Brandi Martin. The costumes, which were very inventive, were designed by Val Miller/FB. Properties were mastered by Shen Heckel. Sound was by Ian Flanders, who likely coordinated the on-stage musicians that provided the sound effects. Lighting was by Zach Moore/FB, although our production had mostly natural light.

Taming of the Shrew continues in Repertory through September 29. It is well worth seeing. Tickets are available online; you might also be able to find them on Goldstar.

Upcoming Theatre and Concerts:  The last weekend of June brings a Maria Muldaur concert at McCabes, as well as “Man of No Importance“ (Hollywood Fringe) at the Lillian.   July starts with a musical we had originally planned for Fathers Day weekend: “Ionescapade” at the Odyssey Theatre Ensemble. That will be followed by “9 to 5 – The Musical” at REP East in the middle of the month, and “Legally Blonde – The Musical” at Cabrillo at the end of the month. July will also (hopefully) see us as OperaWorks at CSUN. August is currently completely open due to vacation planning, although we may see a show at the Lawrence Welk Resort in Escondido at the end of the month (depending on price), or at another venue in San Diego.

Continuing the look ahead: September may bring Sarah Ruhl’s “In The Next Room or The Vibrator Play“ at the Production Company/Secret Rose and “Blue Man Group” at the Hollywood Bowl, as well as “God of Carnage” at REP East. October is open, but should the Cabrillo production of “Kiss Me Kate” somewhere, as well as “Dirty Rotten Soundrels” at Actors Rep of Simi. November will bring “Play It Again Sam” at REP East as well as ARTS’s Nottingham Village (a one-weekend ren-faire-ish market). The fall should also bring a production of “Carrie – The Musical” by Transfer Theatre. As always, I’m keeping my eyes open as the various theatres start making their 2013/2014 season announcements. Lastly, what few dates we do have open may be filled by productions I see on Goldstar, LA Stage Tix, Plays411, or discussed in the various LA Stage Blogs I read (I particularly recommend Musicals in LA and LA Stage Times).

This entry was originally posted on Observations Along The Road (on cahighways.org) as this entry by cahwyguy. Although you can comment on DW, please make comments on original post at the Wordpress blog using the link below; you can sign in with your LJ, FB, or a myriad of other accounts. There are currently comments on the Wordpress blog. PS: If you see share buttons above, note that they do not work outside of the Wordpress blog.

(Click Here to Comment)