Observations Along The Road... at Dreamwidth

And just like that, with the coming of July, the Hollywood Fringe Festival (FB) is over (except for the encore extensions). For us, that means a return to our typical mix of shows (both large and small) and other live performance events. First up: Beautiful — The Carole King Musical (FB) at the Hollywood Pantages (FB). Beautiful purports to tell the story of singer-songwriter Carole King (FB, Wiki) through her music.

Watching the show Saturday night — which was excellent and very entertaining — my mind mused about the potential of this show in the regional and amateur markets, and drifted to other similar shows I have seen. I thought about 1978’s Ain’t Misbehavin’, 1981’s Sophisticated Ladies, 1995’s Smokey Joe’s Cafe, and 2005’s Jersey Boys.  Each show has had a successful after life, and each essentially captured the music of a generation: Ain’t Misbehavin’ captured Fats Waller’s music of the 1930s; Sophisticated Ladies captured Duke Ellington’s music of the 1950s; Smokey Joe’s captured Lieber and Stoller’s music of the 1950s; and Jersey captured Franki Valli’s music of the 1960s. All focused on what were essentially singer-songwriters; that is, people who primarily played their own music. Musicals that focused more on the cover artist have never gained the same traction — can you think of a successful Broadway musical that has addressed Frank Sinatra or Elvis Presley (neither of whom were writing their own music), or even the rock writing teams (about the closest are Beatlemania or The Who’s Tommy, and I don’t think anyone has addressed the Rolling Stones).

But focusing on the evolution of the singer-songwriter does capture the audience; often, such a focus captures the music of a generation. That was clear to me at Beautiful, which captures much of the catalog of Carole King — in particular, the songs of the 1960s and her emergence as a singer-songwriter in the Laurel Canyon scene of the early 1970s (which also gave us folks like James Taylor and Joni Mitchell). Never mind the fact that, if you do a little research,  you discover that the story presented plays a little loose with the chronology (especially the order in which the songs were written and became hits). It does capture the people and the key personalities; it does show the pain behind the stories. In doing so, it does attempt to imbue particular songs with a meaning that, perhaps, they only have in hindsight.

More importantly, the story it tells is one of empowerment. We see a daughter of the 1940s and 1950s — a daughter who believed her voice was dictated by her looks and her husband — take control of her life. The audience reaction when Carole King decided that she was the right person to sing her songs, and that she was the one who could dictate how they sound was transformative. It demonstrated the importance of controlling your own destiny to one’s self-worth.

So what if the first song that King wrote and sold was 1958’s “The Right Girl”, as opposed to 1962’s “It Might as Well Rain Until September”. So what if 1959’s response, “Oh Neal” wasn’t mentioned in relation to Sedaka’s “Oh Carol”. So what if the story stops back in 1971 at the Carnegie Hall Concert. — essentially shortly after the success of Tapestry, with no mention of her first album, Writer. So what if there is no mention of the other three husbands. This is theatre, where life and music is rearranged to fit the story to be told. Oh, and that music, that music. It is the music of a generation (and, I must admit, it is my generation — Tapestry is one of my favorite albums.

It should be noted that King did not write the book for the musical — that task fell to Douglas McGrath. McGrath’s story focused primarily on the tumultuous relationship between King and her first husband, Gerry Goffin; the competitive relationship between Goffin and King and their contemporary songwriting team of Cynthia Weil and Barry Mann.; their relationship with producer Don Kirshner; and the growth in confidence and self-assertiveness in King with her transition from background composer to confident singer-songwriter. Originally, King did not want to see her story replayed on the Broadway stage;  it was far too painful for her to relive. Eventually, her daughter convinced her to let the story be told, and she gave the show her blessing. She finally saw the full show after it opened.

I’m not going to detail the story as presented in the musical. There’s a good synopsis on the Beautiful Wikipedia page, and I’ll let you go there.  Suffice it to say that this is a jukebox musical in the same sense as the ones I listed at the start: songs are presented in historical context and somewhat historical order, but only rarely are they used to illustrate a character’s feelings or mood (unlike songs in a traditional book musical).

Reading the above you might get the impression that I felt the modifications to history hurt the presentation. They didn’t; most of the audience was probably not aware of them. The audience (and this audience member) heard the music and was instantly transported to the good time. The story as told flowed smoothly, and the performances were fantastic. How close they were to the originals I can’t say, but they were very enjoyable.

The performances in this show were top notch. In the lead position was Abby Mueller (FB) as Carole King (and the regulations state that we must note that her sister, Jesse, originated the role on Broadway). Mueller was a fantastic King, capturing the voice and the character well. She also appeared to actually be playing the piano, at least in those scenes with the grand piano (as opposed to the upright, where they hid the hands on the keyboard).

Playing off Mueller’s King were her songwriting contemporaries: Liam Tobin (FB) as her husband, Gerry Goffin; Becky Gulsvig† (FB) as Cynthia Weil; and Ben Fankhauser (FB)   as Barry Mann.  All presented good characterizations of their characters and did remarkable on thier songs. I was particularly taken by Gulsvig’s personality as it came across in her performance.

Rounding out the main named characters were Suzanne Grodner (FB) as Genie Klein, Carole’s mother and Curt Bouril† (FB) as Don Kirshner. Both are primarily character, as opposed to singing roles. In both cases, the actors did a great job of creating appropriate characters.

[†: At our performance. I must note that this show had the most “date-ranged” cast I’ve seen in a while; it is unclear whether those who were off returned to the ensemble in unnamed roles, or were just not present on stage. I’ll indicate where appropriate date ranged roles. † will indicated if they played the role at our performance on 7/2.]

In many ways, what made this show was the ensemble, who not only played unnamed background singers and characters, but rotated in and out as major performers of the 1960s. The ensemble consisted of Ashley Blanchet (FB) [Ensemble; Shirelle; Little Eva; “One Fine Day” backup singer], Sarah Bockel (FB) [Ensemble; Betty (6/22-6/30, 7/5-7/17); u/s Carole, Genie]; Andrew Brewer (FB) [Ensemble; Don Kirshner (7/3-7/7); Righteous Brother† (6/22-7/2, 7/8-7/17); Nick† (6/22-7/2, 7/18-7/17); u/s Gerry, Don]; Britney Coleman (FB) [Ensemble; Shirelle; “One Fine Day” backup singer; “Uptown” singer]; Rebecca E. Covington (FB) [Ensemble; Shirelle; Janelle Woods]; Josh A. Dawson (FB) [Ensemble; Drifter]; John Michael Dias (FB) [Ensemble; Neil Sedaka; Righteous Brother; Lou Adler; u/s Barry]; Sidney Dupont (FB) [Swing]; Ryan Farnsworth (FB) [Swing; u/s Barry]; Matt Faucher (FB) [Swing; Don Kirshner (7/8-7/10); Righteous Brother (7/3-7/7); Nick (7/3-7/7); u/s Gerry, Don], Rosharra Francis (FB) [Swing; Lucille (7/3)]; Jay McKenzie (FB) [Ensemble; Drifter]; Alaina Mills [Swing; Betty† (7/1-7/3); Cynthia Weil (7/7); Marilyn Wald (6/25-6/30); u/s Carole, Cynthia, Genie; Dance Captain]; Paris Nix (FB) [Ensemble; Drifter]; Noah J. Ricketts (FB) [Ensemble; Drifter];  Ximone Rose (FB) [Swing; Lucille (7/5-7/10); Marilyn Wald† (7/1-7/3)]; Salisha Thomas (FB) [Ensemble; Lucille† (6/22-7/2, 7/12-7/17); Shirelle; “One Fine Day” backup singer]; DeLaney Westfall (FB) [Ensemble; Marilyn Wald (6/22-6/24, 7/5-7/17); u/s Cynthia]. Whew. A few performances I wanted to note: I like Ashley Blanchet’s Little Eve — quite a bit of spunk and a nice costume transition. I also liked Andrew Brewer and John Michael Dias’ Righteous Brothers — it was interesting seeing the same scene we saw earlier this year from the other side of the story.

Turning to the music and movement side of the equation: The choreography was by Josh Prince, and seemed to reflect the early 1960s style of dance well. Other than dance as part of musical groups, there wasn’t much Broadway style dancing. The composers and lyricists were mentioned previously (i.e., Goffin / King, Mann / Weil). Music use was by arrangement with Sony/ATV Music Publishing (FB). Orchestrations, vocal, and music arrangements were by Steve Sidwell. Music supervision and additional music arrangements were by Jason Howland (FB). The music director was Susan Draus (FB), and the Music coordinator was John Miller (FB). The band consisted of Susan Draus (FB) as conductor and on keys; Nick Williams (FB) as assistant conductor and also on keys; Shannon Ford (FB) on drums; Eric Stockton (FB) on first guitar; Dick Mitchell on alto sax, flute, tenor sax, and alto flute; John Yoakum (FB) on tenor sax, baritone sax, clarinet, and flute; Wayne Bergeron (FB) on trumpet and flugelhorn; Andy Martin (FB) on trombone and bass trombone; Trey Henry (FB) on bass and electric bass; Paul Viapiano (FB) on guitar and second acoustic guitar, Brian Kilgore (FB) on percussion, David Witham (FB) on third keyboard. Christian Regul (FB) was the keyboard sub, and Brian Miller (who I discovered happens to be married to Carol Burnett) was the orchestra contractor.   If you follow those links you’ll see why the music was so good: they got some top notch musicians for the show — both local and on tour. I’ll note that it also looked like the lead, Abby Mueller (FB), was actually playing the grand piano.

The production was directed by Marc Bruni (FB), who did a good job of making the performers seem to be the characters they are supposed to be.

The scenic design by Derek McLane was simple but complicated — an elaborate background, frames, drops, risers, etc, that all made extensive use of LED lighting to get a multitude of colors, but providing minimal sense of place except for hints of set pieces — a sofa here, a table there, a tape deck here, a barstool there. Peter Kaczorowski‘s lighting design did well to establish and support the mood. Brian Ronan (FB)’s sound design was clear but loud; those with sensitive ears should bring foam earplugs. Alejo Vietti (FB)’s costume design was clever and seemed period appropriate; I particularly noted Little Eva’s transformation. Wig and hair design was by Charles G. LaPointe (FB), with make-up design by Joe Dulude II (FB). As with the costumes, the wigs seemed very era appropriate. Rounding out the production credits: Casting – Stephen Kopel, CSA; Production Stage Manager – Eric Sprosty (FB); Production Management – Juniper Street Productions, Inc. (FB) Stage Manager – Nicole Olson (FB).

Beautiful — The Carole King Musical (FB) continues at the Hollywood Pantages (FB) through July 17. Tickets are available through the Pantages website; discount tickets may be available through Goldstar. This is a very enjoyable musical, well worth seeing.

* * *

Ob. Disclaimer: I am not a trained theatre critic; I am, however, a regular theatre audience member. I’ve been attending live theatre and concerts in Los Angeles since 1972; I’ve been writing up my thoughts on theatre (and the shows I see) since 2004. I do not have theatre training (I’m 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 Cabrillo Music Theatre (FB), the  Hollywood Pantages (FB), Actors Co-op (FB), and I plan to renew my mini-subscription at the Valley Performing Arts Center (VPAC) (FB). Past subscriptions have included  The Colony Theatre (FB) (which went dormant in 2016), and Repertory East Playhouse (“REP”) (FB) in Newhall (which entered radio silence in 2016). 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’s production, I focus on the positive — 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.

Upcoming Shows:  July brings us back to conventional theatre and performance. Yesterday was the Western Corps Connection (FB) in Riverside. The weekend of July 9 brings Grey Gardens at the Ahmanson Theatre (FB). The weekend of July 15 may bring a Fringe encore performance of Thirteen’s Spring, as well as The Little Mermaid at  Cabrillo Music Theatre (FB). The end of July gets busy, with Weird Al Yankovic at the Hollywood Bowl (FB) on July 23, Operaworks (FB) Opera Re-Constructed at CSUN on July 24 (pending ticketing), and a mid-week Hollywood Bowl (FB) concert of Wynton Marsalis and Aaron Copeland on July 28, and … currently nothing for the weekend. August is a bit more open in terms of theatre. The first weekend just has a Jethawks game on Sunday; the second weekend has a hold for a Bar Mitzvah.  The third weekend brings another event from the wonderful counter-cultural orchestra, Muse/ique (FB) — American/Rhapsody — a celebration of George Gershwin. Late August sees us looking at shows down San Diego/Escondido for one weekend. The best of the shows available — or at least the most interesting — is Titanic from Moonlight Stages. September returns to conventional theatre. The first weekend has a HOLD for Calendar Girls at The Group Rep (FB). The second weekend may be another Muse/ique (FB) event — Summer/Time, a reimagined retelling of Porgy and Bess. The third weekend has a HOLD for Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom at the Mark Taper Forum (FB). The last weekend is yet another HOLD; this time, for The Hunchback of Notre Dame at The La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts (FB).

Continuing the look ahead: October is a bit more booked. The first weekend has a HOLD for Dear World at the Valley Performing Arts Center (VPAC) (FB) and Our Town at Actors Co-op (FB), as well as the start of the High Holy Days. The second weekend has another Valley Performing Arts Center (VPAC) (FB) HOLD: this time for Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis. The third weekend has yet another VPAC HOLD for An Evening with Kelli O’Hara on Friday, as well as tickets for Evita at Cabrillo Music Theatre (FB) on Saturday. The following weekend brings Turn of the Screw at Actors Co-op (FB) on October 22 and the new Tumbleweed Festival (FB) on October 23. The last weekend of October brings Linden Waddell’s Hello Again, The Songs of Allen Sherman at Temple Ahavat Shalom (a joint fundraiser for MoTAS and Sisterhood). Oh, and if that wasn’t enough, October is also the North Hollywood Fringe Festival (FB). November is still in the planning stages, but we know it will include Hedwig and the Angry Inch at  the Hollywood Pantages (FB); a Day Out With Thomas at Orange Empire Railway Museum (FB) [excuse me, “Southern California Railway Museum”]; the Nottingham Festival (FB); and possibly Little Women at the Chance Theatre (FB) in Anaheim. As always, I’m keeping my eyes open for interesting productions mentioned on sites such as Bitter-Lemons, and Musicals in LA, as well as productions I see on Goldstar, LA Stage Tix, Plays411 or that are sent to me by publicists or the venues themselves.

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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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OK, perhaps my taste in women is coloring my reaction to this musical. After all, if you know the women I dated (as well as the one I eventually married), you’ll know they all fit one particular mold.

No, not that mold.

They were all natural women who were comfortable in their bodies, who didn’t accept how society told them they had to look or had to behave, and who didn’t taken nothing from nobody.

(Excuse me while a song from Tom Paxton runs through the brain: …)

All over this great big city,
Can’t find a woman who’s nice and pretty.
They all look like a page in a magazine.
Legs are long and they eat like a sparrow.
Figures stick to the straight and narrow.
Top and bottom are the same as in between.

[Cho:]
Show me a pretty little number,
When she walks, she rolls like thunder,
Eyes as deep and dark as the deep blue sea.
Round right here and round right there,
Pretty red lips and her very own hair,
Wrap her up, she’s the natural girl for me.

OK, digression ended. Back to the Hollywood Fringe Festival (FB), where yesterday evening we saw our last show in the Sacred Fools (FB) Black Box space:  My Big Fat Blond Musical at 8:30pm.

My Big Fat Blond Musical, which was written, composed, and produced by Theresa Stroll (FB) and her finace, Bobby McGlynn (FB), and performed by Stroll, is the story of Stroll’s experience in Hollywood, where she moved from Connecticut to pursue a dream of being an actress. Unfortunately, she found out that Hollywood — in particular, the TV and Film industry — doesn’t have a liking of large (well, fubsy, well, fat) women, except as comic relief and the girl that never gets the guy. She did eventually find an answer to her problem — I’m not going to say it is the answer — but more on that later.

Throughout the show, Stroll relates her story portraying multiple characters along the way: an Austrialian actress working in a bar, her manager at Starbucks, a talent manager, and so forth. She had a particular point to make about the burden of student loans and how the loan companies start making demands to get their money back even before the student has begun to achieve their earning potential. This, as a dad of a recent UC Berkeley grad, scares me a little, although it is a little reassuring to know that her loan total is only the amount of a compact car.

Throughout the show, there are a number of songs and dances that convey the points of the accompanying scenes. Stroll sings these very well (there were only a few minor reaches), but one or two of songs themselves could use a little work if they were to survive out of the show. On the other hand, some were excellent — “Carbs and Oils” was a great parody of Modern Major General, and “Fuck It!” could be the anthem of many people that I know.  They do have a demo recording of the songs available for a PayPal payment of $2 to fatmusical@gmail.com.

By the end of the story, Stroll has found the avenue to success, and it is reminiscent of the will in A Class Act: she decides to tell Hollywood to F-it, and take control of her own destiny… and one aspect of this is creating a musical… which is, you guessed it….

I think the message that this show imparts is a great one: Don’t wait for destiny to come to you, go out and make your own destiny. It is one that is true for fat or thin actors, but especially true for actors that don’t fit the normal stereotypical molds of Hollywood and the TV and film industry. I’d say that we’re lucky that the theatrical stage is more diverse… but is it?

Stroll, in this show, touches on that last aspects of acceptable discrimination. We can no longer discriminate based on sex, race, creed, color, orientation, gender identification, religion; however, being fat or large — that you can make fun of. That’s wrong. We’re seeing some increasingly popular viral campaigns expressing that view — that what we need are real sizes and real people. (That’s one reason I supported The Nu Project (FB) — for it has a great message — all women are beautiful). But Hollywood and related acting professions (i.e., stage) still view the world through a narrow lens of shapes, sizes and colors. Fringe festival is beautiful because it allows celebration outside that boundary — whether “big boned”, “big chested”, or just “big opinioned”. Fringe embraces the wide variety of theatre in all its natural values from the one person to the ensemble, from the loosely scripted to the tightly scripted, from the polished to the not, from the… well you get it.

This is why Theresa Stroll’s piece is so important to be seen: to make us aware of the discrimination in the industry. Why can’t we have a show (other than Mike and Molly, which although it had the premise, was painfully flawed in execution) where the large girl gets the guy and is treated no different than the skinny girl that gets the guy (i.e., no jokes about size)? Why can’t we cast size diverse as well as color diverse? Why must the only role for fat be funny?

If you haven’t figured it out by now, I truly enjoyed this piece (as did my wife).

The production was directed by Jessica Lynn Johnson (FB), who is not from Australia but from St. Louis (but those midwest accents are difficult 🙂 ). Choreography was by Lindsay Braverman (FB). Rebecca Schoenberg (FB) [any relation to Larry?] was the stage manager. There were no credits given for lighting or sound or projections, but all worked very well in establishing place and mood.

Alas, we caught the last performance of My Big Fat Blonde Musical. I have heard rumors that it might be extended with a few shows, so keep checking their ticket page or follow @FatMusical  on Twitter for updates.

As a PS for this: We need to get some producer to follow this up with a production of Pretty Faces: The Large and Lovely Musical (FB, Amazon) at the next Fringe Festival. Vocal selections are available, but I can’t find licensing info. It looks like you contact the author.

Attention Programmers! Take the Fringe Programming Challenge! Scheduling your shows at the Fringe can be a pain in the …. I’m trying to solve the problem for next year, so take a look at my specs for a Fringe scheduling app. Can you write it?

* * *

Ob. Disclaimer: I am not a trained theatre critic; I am, however, a regular theatre audience member. I’ve been attending live theatre and concerts in Los Angeles since 1972; I’ve been writing up my thoughts on theatre (and the shows I see) since 2004. I do not have theatre training (I’m 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 Cabrillo Music Theatre (FB) and the  Hollywood Pantages (FB); my subscription at  The Colony Theatre (FB) has gone dormant, and REP East (FB) has seemingly gone dark for 2016. 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’s production, I focus on the positive — 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.

Upcoming Shows: Ah, June. Wonderful June. June is the Hollywood Fringe Festival (FB), and I’ve already written about the shows I plan to see, as well as suggestions to the Fringe regarding viewing the audience as a customer. Our Fringe/June schedule is as follows (for shows in the past, ✍ indicates writeup is in progress; ✒ indicates writeup is complete and links to the writeup):

• ✓ Sat, 6/4:  Alien vs. Musical (230p) (✒) •  Code 197 DWB (Driving While Blewish) (400p) (✒) •  Toxic Avenger: The Musical  (600p) (✒)
• ✓ Sun, 6/5:  Tell Me On A Sunday (600p) (✒) •  All The Best Killers are Librarians (800p) (✒)
• ✓ Sat, 6/11: Pali Hi All Year Picnic • Einstein (400p)  (✒) • The Boy from Oz – the Celebration Theatre (FB) (800p) (✒)
• ✓ Sun, 6/12: Titus Andronicus Jr. (700p) (✒); and then the Tony Awards when I get home.
• ✓ Sat, 6/18: 30JJ or Bust: The World is My Underwire (1130a) (✒) • Lamprey: Weekend of Vengeance (200p) (✒) • Mark Twain Answers All Your Questions (600p) (✒) • The Old Woman (800p) (✒)
• ✓ Sun, 6/19: Sweet Love Adieu (100p) (✒) • All Aboard the Marriage Hearse (400p) (✒)
• ✓ Sat, 6/27: Squeeze My Cans (400p) (✒) • Taming of the Show (600p) (✒) • My Big Fat Blond Musical (830p) (✒)
• Sun, 6/28: Temple Israel Reunion • Hamlet (Las Vegas Style) (630p) (✍)

Whew. July brings us back to conventional theatre, with Beautiful at the  Hollywood Pantages (FB) and the Western Corps Connection (FB) the first weekend, Grey Gardens at the Ahmanson Theatre (FB); the second weekend, The Little Mermaid at  Cabrillo Music Theatre (FB); the third weekend, Weird Al Yankovic at the Hollywood Bowl (FB) and Operaworks (FB) Opera Re-Constructed at CSUN; the fourth weekend, a mid-week Hollywood Bowl (FB) concert of Wynton Marsalis and Aaron Copeland, and … currently nothing for the weekend. As of right now, August is completely open. One weekend has a bar mitzvah, and there are a few holds for show, but nothing is booked. Late August may see us looking at shows down San Diego/Escondido for one weekend. The best of the shows available — or at least the most interesting — is Titanic from Moonlight Stages. September is similarly mostly hold dates at this point. As always, I’m keeping my eyes open for interesting productions mentioned on sites such as Bitter-Lemons, and Musicals in LA, as well as productions I see on Goldstar, LA Stage Tix, Plays411 or that are sent to me by publicists or the venues themselves.

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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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What makes something a cult? What makes something a religion? Is any belief system valid? Who was responsible for rerouting Route 79 in Riverside County between Gilman Springs Road and the Ramona Expressway? Did you like “Battlefield: Earth”?

That last question is a really important one.

Squeeze My Cans (HFF16, FB), which we saw yesterday afternoon as part of the Hollywood Fringe Festival (FB), is one woman’s story of how she got drawn into the tar-baby that is Scientology, how she worked her way into the upper tiers of the religions, and how she eventually escaped its grasp. Not only did this effort take more than a decade, it decimated her finances.

If you’re like me, you’ve heard of Scientology, and how it was created by science fiction author L. Ron Hubbard. You may have seen the large amount of properties they own in Hollywood. You may have heard perceptions that it is a cult.  You may have heard stories of Tom Cruise, Kirstie Alley, and John Travolta. You may have also heard that the Church of Scientology makes it very difficult for the truth of the story to get out, or for people to leave the church. You may have heard that the church tends to isolate people and disconnect them from their families.

Again, I’ll ask what is a church, and what is a cult? But don’t answer yet — after all, I wouldn’t want to draw the wrath of Scientology down upon me.

Now, coming in, I knew a little more about Scientology, primarily because I had listened to A Very Merry Unauthorized Children’s Scientology Pageant (you can listen too) [As an aside: it has been years since that show has been done in LA, and it would be ripe for a revival at a future Fringe]. I know about Scientology’s notion of Thetans and Xinu and ideas about aliens that sounded like they had been lifted from a science fiction novel. But that’s about all I knew.

I found Cathy Schenkelberg (FB)’s story about her interactions with Scientology scary and fascinating. Her manner of telling the story brought just the right amount of humor and humility to counter the horror of it all. She drew me (and the rest of the audience) in, and just held our attention rapt for a very fast paced and packed 80 minutes. Looking at it from the outside, it was easy to see the cult-ish signs: the constant demands for money, the taking out of loans for classes and to move up levels, the control over the life, the isolation from the outside world and outside voices. It is chilling, but it is even more chilling the mind games that the Church played so that those inside never realized it.

But you know what is even more scary? The fact that the Church is still out there doing it, drawing people in with their celebrities and influence. Even more scary than that? A number of the evangelical groups within our accepted religions (Judaism, Christianity, Islam) are doing just that. Where do you think the radicalized religious fanatics come from? Programs that use the same techniques as Scientology.

But why did this touch me so? Because I remember the days of cults first-hand. I remember the Moonies on college campuses, and the large meetings where they would attempt to recruit and draw people in.

The presentation in Squeeze My Cans was not only performed by Schenkelberg, it was written by her based on her experience, developed over years. It was directed by Shirley Anderson (FB), with lighting design by Brandon Baruch (FB) and Sound Design and Projections by Toy Deiorio (FB). The direction, lighting, and sound faded into the background — as they should — because Schenkelberg’s story and performance was just so engrossing.

There is one more performance of Squeeze My Cans at the main part of the Fringe Festival: today (Sun 6/26) at 8:00PM. Tickets (if not sold out) are available through the Fringe website. It may be extended with a few more shows in July; that will be announced tonight. Performances take place at the Sacred Fools (FB) Black Box. Check their Fringe Page for updates. It will also be presented the latter half of July as part of the Solo Celebration in Chicago. Go see this, and learn about the danger that is Scientology.

Attention Programmers! Take the Fringe Programming Challenge! Scheduling your shows at the Fringe can be a pain in the …. I’m trying to solve the problem for next year, so take a look at my specs for a Fringe scheduling app. Can you write it?

* * *

Ob. Disclaimer: I am not a trained theatre critic; I am, however, a regular theatre audience member. I’ve been attending live theatre and concerts in Los Angeles since 1972; I’ve been writing up my thoughts on theatre (and the shows I see) since 2004. I do not have theatre training (I’m 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 Cabrillo Music Theatre (FB) and the  Hollywood Pantages (FB); my subscription at  The Colony Theatre (FB) has gone dormant, and REP East (FB) has seemingly gone dark for 2016. 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’s production, I focus on the positive — 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.

Upcoming Shows: Ah, June. Wonderful June. June is the Hollywood Fringe Festival (FB), and I’ve already written about the shows I plan to see, as well as suggestions to the Fringe regarding viewing the audience as a customer. Our Fringe/June schedule is as follows (for shows in the past, ✍ indicates writeup is in progress; ✒ indicates writeup is complete and links to the writeup):

• ✓ Sat, 6/4:  Alien vs. Musical (230p) (✒) •  Code 197 DWB (Driving While Blewish) (400p) (✒) •  Toxic Avenger: The Musical  (600p) (✒)
• ✓ Sun, 6/5:  Tell Me On A Sunday (600p) (✒) •  All The Best Killers are Librarians (800p) (✒)
• ✓ Sat, 6/11: Pali Hi All Year Picnic • Einstein (400p)  (✒) • The Boy from Oz – the Celebration Theatre (FB) (800p) (✒)
• ✓ Sun, 6/12: Titus Andronicus Jr. (700p) (✒); and then the Tony Awards when I get home.
• ✓ Sat, 6/18: 30JJ or Bust: The World is My Underwire (1130a) (✒) • Lamprey: Weekend of Vengeance (200p) (✒) • Mark Twain Answers All Your Questions (600p) (✒) • The Old Woman (800p) (✒)
• ✓ Sun, 6/19: Sweet Love Adieu (100p) (✒) • All Aboard the Marriage Hearse (400p) (✒)
• ✓ Sat, 6/27: Squeeze My Cans (400p) (✒) • Taming of the Show (600p) (✍) • My Big Fat Blond Musical (830p) (✍)
• Sun, 6/28: Temple Israel Reunion • Hamlet (Las Vegas Style) (630p) (✍)

Whew. July brings us back to conventional theatre, with Beautiful at the  Hollywood Pantages (FB) and the Western Corps Connection (FB) the first weekend, Grey Gardens at the Ahmanson Theatre (FB); the second weekend, The Little Mermaid at  Cabrillo Music Theatre (FB); the third weekend, Weird Al Yankovic at the Hollywood Bowl (FB) and Operaworks (FB) Opera Re-Constructed at CSUN; the fourth weekend, a mid-week Hollywood Bowl (FB) concert of Wynton Marsalis and Aaron Copeland, and … currently nothing for the weekend. As of right now, August is completely open. One weekend has a bar mitzvah, and there are a few holds for show, but nothing is booked. Late August may see us looking at shows down San Diego/Escondido for one weekend. The best of the shows available — or at least the most interesting — is Titanic from Moonlight Stages. September is similarly mostly hold dates at this point. As always, I’m keeping my eyes open for interesting productions mentioned on sites such as Bitter-Lemons, and Musicals in LA, as well as productions I see on Goldstar, LA Stage Tix, Plays411 or that are sent to me by publicists or the venues themselves.

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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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As I wrote yesterday, the Hollywood Fringe Festival (FB) has a wide range of projects, from first person narratives (our first Saturday show) to ensemble comedies (our second Saturday show) to improvised history (our third Saturday show) to touching dramatic one-person shows (our fourth Saturday show). But wait…. there’s more. And we saw it on Sunday.

Having been reintroduced to the comedic possibilities of Shakespeare through his timeless classic Bard Fiction, and having seen even more comedic possibilities in Four Clowns Presents Hamlet, I was eager for more Shakespeare in the schedule. No, Titus Andronicus Jr. didn’t satisfy my appetite.  I wanted more. I wanted parody (before the real thing, which will be our last HFF16 show). Reading through the schedule, my eyes set upon Sweet Love Adieu (which had not acquired its subtitle yet). From an established company. A production that had gotten rave reviews in the past. Something a bit bawdy (because I was not going to this). Plus, there was free chocolate.  The description in the catalog was short but intriguing:

Verse * tights * codpiece * lights. Romeo and Juliet meets Monty Python in this hilarious comedy of errors from multiple award-winning British verse playwright phenomenon, Ryan J-W Smith. Smith’s first acclaimed verse play – completely rewritten and updated for 2016!

Coming out of the production, my basic impression was: Ren-Faire theatre done long. That’s not necessarily a bad thing (in fact, I still believe that one of the other shows in Fringe was a production I saw at Nottingham Festival last year (hmmm, it appears it was)). But typical Ren-Faire Shakespeare uses the rhyming couplets and combines it with the bawdy humor and risque word play of Faire (without really showing anything at all). This was all that, extended to 80 minutes or so. If you go in expecting that, you won’t be disappointed.

The plot? Yes, I guess there was one. Here’s a summary of a version  from 2007; the 2016 version was a bit longer but similar:

The plot of Sweet Love Adieu revolves around a love-sick William who instantly falls for Anne Beaumont, who is the ward of the stereotyped villain Lord Edmund. When Edmund decides that he will have Anne as his bride, William and Anne become secret lovers as they plot with their friends, cousins, mothers, and friars to outwit the nefarious Edmund and his feckless manservant Sidney. Homage is paid to Shakespeare’s comedies through cross-dressing, period music, marginal swordplay, and a happy ending.

Yup. Ren-Faire Shakespeare.

The free verse was quite good, and there were numerous references to modern technology that were quite clever. There were times where the fourth wall was broken, and that too was great fun.

I think my basic point here is one of managing expectations. This piece is quite fun to watch. It is well performed and cleverly written. But it is, at its heart, a Renaissance Faire stage show with the level of bawdy humor and depth of plot one would expect from such a piece. It would do great at Southern Faire or Nottingham or any of the Northern brethren. But deep theatre it is not; particularly fringey it is not.  But you do get chocolate. Good chocolate. Chocolate that made it clear that they spent the money on chocolate instead of a program (you had to find the players online)

One additional note: Given the recent kerfuffle over the abuse at the Profile Theatre in Chicago, and the resultant collateral damage at Bitter Lemons, the issues of sexual harassment and non-consensual sex were heavily on my mind. Watching this sex farce, where the men were constantly treating the women like objects and attempting to (essentially) sexually force themselves on them, was quite uncomfortable. I’m well aware of how this was the style of those days. Still, it goes to show how even historical drama (or comedy) can raise questions for today, and why we must remember to view things in the light of their times — and think about how far we have come.

As I said before, the company putting it on performed it well and handled the language quite well. Let’s start with the folks that attracted my attention whenever they were on stage: the ladies:  Faith Kearns (FB) as Audrey, Katey Zouck (FB) as Anne, and Megan Barker (FB) as Faith. All three exhibited a wonderful sexy spunk that was just fun to watch — and the sex didn’t come from exposing skin but from a great assertive attitude that was just projected out to the audience. These were no-nonsense gals; all great.

The three guys — William and his two friends, who also handled multiple roles, were portrayed by Jason Linforth (FB) [William], Lance Frantzich (FB) [Ridley / Doctor / Magistrate / Priest], and Ryan Stiffelman (FB) [Latimer]. Linforth’s William was a suitably handsome and clueless young lad, and Frantzich was a hoot in his multiple roles — particularly as the priest with his non-priestly inclinations.

The remaining characters: Lord Edmond and his aide, Sidney, were played by Roger Carvalho (FB) and the author, Ryan J-W Smith (FB),  respectively. Carvalho’s Edmond was suitably sinister, and was fun to watch when his, umm, member was damaged. Smith’s Sidney captured the plotting quite well.

On the technical side, the production was written and directed by Ryan J-W Smith (FB). Lisa Lynn is the company manager. Because they spent all their money on chocolate, they must have pulled random people off the street to handle lights, costumes, and the like because no one is credited on their website. 🙂

There are two more productions of Sweet Love Adieu — June 24th at 5:30PM and June 25th at 2:30PM. Tickets are available through the Fringe website. It is essentially running in repertory with Macdeth! (MacBeth Done Wrong), which also has two more performances: June 23 at 7:00 PM and June 25th at 8:00 PM. Again, visit the Fringe website for tickets. Oh, and go see a show at your local RenFaire — tickets to Nottingham in Simi Valley are on sale now.

Attention Programmers! Take the Fringe Programming Challenge! Scheduling your shows at the Fringe can be a pain in the …. I’m trying to solve the problem for next year, so take a look at my specs for a Fringe scheduling app. Can you write it?

* * *

Ob. Disclaimer: I am not a trained theatre critic; I am, however, a regular theatre audience member. I’ve been attending live theatre and concerts in Los Angeles since 1972; I’ve been writing up my thoughts on theatre (and the shows I see) since 2004. I do not have theatre training (I’m 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 Cabrillo Music Theatre (FB) and the  Hollywood Pantages (FB); my subscription at  The Colony Theatre (FB) has gone dormant, and REP East (FB) has seemingly gone dark for 2016. 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’s production, I focus on the positive — 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.

Upcoming Shows: Ah, June. Wonderful June. June is the Hollywood Fringe Festival (FB), and I’ve already written about the shows I plan to see, as well as suggestions to the Fringe regarding viewing the audience as a customer. Our Fringe/June schedule is as follows (for shows in the past, ✍ indicates writeup is in progress; ✒ indicates writeup is complete and links to the writeup):

• ✓ Sat, 6/4:  Alien vs. Musical (230p) (✒) •  Code 197 DWB (Driving While Blewish) (400p) (✒) •  Toxic Avenger: The Musical  (600p) (✒)
• ✓ Sun, 6/5:  Tell Me On A Sunday (600p) (✒) •  All The Best Killers are Librarians (800p) (✒)
• ✓ Sat, 6/11: Pali Hi All Year Picnic • Einstein (400p)  (✒) • The Boy from Oz – the Celebration Theatre (FB) (800p) (✒)
• ✓ Sun, 6/12: Titus Andronicus Jr. (700p) (✒); and then the Tony Awards when I get home.
• ✓ Sat, 6/18: 30JJ or Bust: The World is My Underwire (1130a) (✒) • Lamprey: Weekend of Vengeance (200p) (✒) • Mark Twain Answers All Your Questions (600p) (✒) • The Old Woman (800p) (✒)
• ✓ Sun, 6/19: Sweet Love Adieu (100p) (✒) • All Aboard the Marriage Hearse (400p) (✍)
• Sat, 6/27: Squeeze My Cans (400p) • My Big Fat Blond Musical (830p)
• Sun, 6/28: Temple Israel Reunion • Hamlet (Las Vegas Style) (630p)

Whew. July brings us back to conventional theatre, with Beautiful at the  Hollywood Pantages (FB) and the Western Corps Connection (FB) the first weekend, Grey Gardens at the Ahmanson Theatre (FB); the second weekend, The Little Mermaid at  Cabrillo Music Theatre (FB); the third weekend, Weird Al Yankovic at the Hollywood Bowl (FB) and Operaworks (FB) Opera Re-Constructed at CSUN; the fourth weekend, a mid-week Hollywood Bowl (FB) concert of Wynton Marsalis and Aaron Copeland, and … currently nothing for the weekend. As of right now, August is completely open. One weekend has a bar mitzvah, and there are a few holds for show, but nothing is booked. Late August may see us looking at shows down San Diego/Escondido for one weekend. The best of the shows available — or at least the most interesting — is Titanic from Moonlight Stages. September is similarly mostly hold dates at this point. As always, I’m keeping my eyes open for interesting productions mentioned on sites such as Bitter-Lemons, and Musicals in LA, as well as productions I see on Goldstar, LA Stage Tix, Plays411 or that are sent to me by publicists or the venues themselves.

Share/Bookmark

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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Our third show on Saturday was perhaps the weakest of the Hollywood Fringe Festival (FB) shows that we’ve seen so far — this is not to say that it wasn’t funny at points, but it was also much more improvised and disorganized.

The show was Mr. Mark Twain Answers All Your Questions, and the premise as described was: “Fresh off his award-winning performance at last year’s Poe Show,* Mr. Mark Twain is back with his one man show! This June at the new Sacred Fools space, Mr. Mark Twain will be shooting out the lights with stories, observations, and general nonsense (with extra nonsense on the side). If he fools around long enough, he may even say something worth repeating.”

As executed, it was a little different. The conceit was somehow that the Federal Bureau of One Person Shows was forcing Twain to do this show for some reason. The show involved Twain telling a few stories of his life, trying to tell some bad jokes, and the reacting and answering a number of questions from the audience in the Twain character. There was some level of audience participation, but in many ways the biggest question was whether Twain’s mustache would stay attached to his face. At our show, it didn’t and he eventually gave up.

Twain was played by a fellow named S. Clemens, who in reality was Ed Goodman (FB). Goodman was reasonably funny and quick on his feet, but I’m not sure he captured the Mark Twain character as the audience might expect.

Corey Rittmaster (FB) providedthe sound and voice, and served as the representative of the FBOPS when Twain broke the rules. Jeremy Aldridge (FB) helped develop the show and served as director. Suz Curtis was the Brainstorm Trooper. Mark Twain was partially funded by an Indiegogo Effort.

There is one more performance of Mark Twain Answers All Your Questions, Saturday June 25 at 11:30pm. Tickets are available through the Fringe Website.

Attention Programmers! Take the Fringe Programming Challenge! Scheduling your shows at the Fringe can be a pain in the …. I’m trying to solve the problem for next year, so take a look at my specs for a Fringe scheduling app. Can you write it?

* * *

Ob. Disclaimer: I am not a trained theatre critic; I am, however, a regular theatre audience member. I’ve been attending live theatre and concerts in Los Angeles since 1972; I’ve been writing up my thoughts on theatre (and the shows I see) since 2004. I do not have theatre training (I’m 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 Cabrillo Music Theatre (FB) and the  Hollywood Pantages (FB); my subscription at  The Colony Theatre (FB) has gone dormant, and REP East (FB) has seemingly gone dark for 2016. 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’s production, I focus on the positive — 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.

Upcoming Shows: Ah, June. Wonderful June. June is the Hollywood Fringe Festival (FB), and I’ve already written about the shows I plan to see, as well as suggestions to the Fringe regarding viewing the audience as a customer. Our Fringe/June schedule is as follows (for shows in the past, ✍ indicates writeup is in progress; ✒ indicates writeup is complete and links to the writeup):

• ✓ Sat, 6/4:  Alien vs. Musical (230p) (✒) •  Code 197 DWB (Driving While Blewish) (400p) (✒) •  Toxic Avenger: The Musical  (600p) (✒)
• ✓ Sun, 6/5:  Tell Me On A Sunday (600p) (✒) •  All The Best Killers are Librarians (800p) (✒)
• ✓ Sat, 6/11: Pali Hi All Year Picnic • Einstein (400p)  (✒) • The Boy from Oz – the Celebration Theatre (FB) (800p) (✒)
• ✓ Sun, 6/12: Titus Andronicus Jr. (700p) (✒); and then the Tony Awards when I get home.
• ✓ Sat, 6/18: 30JJ or Bust: The World is My Underwire (1130a) (✒) • Lamprey: Weekend of Vengeance (200p) (✒) • Mark Twain Answers All Your Questions (600p) (✒) • The Old Woman (800p) (✍)
• ✓ Sun, 6/19: Sweet Love Adieu (100p) • All Aboard the Marriage Hearse (400p)
• Sat, 6/27: Squeeze My Cans (400p) • My Big Fat Blond Musical (830p)
• Sun, 6/28: Temple Israel Reunion • Hamlet (Las Vegas Style) (630p)

Whew. July brings us back to conventional theatre, with Beautiful at the  Hollywood Pantages (FB) and the Western Corps Connection (FB) the first weekend, Grey Gardens at the Ahmanson Theatre (FB); the second weekend, The Little Mermaid at  Cabrillo Music Theatre (FB); the third weekend, Weird Al Yankovic at the Hollywood Bowl (FB) and Operaworks (FB) Opera Re-Constructed at CSUN; the fourth weekend, a mid-week Hollywood Bowl (FB) concert of Wynton Marsalis and Aaron Copeland, and … currently nothing for the weekend. As of right now, August is completely open. One weekend has a bar mitzvah, and there are a few holds for show, but nothing is booked. Late August may see us looking at shows down San Diego/Escondido for one weekend. The best of the shows available — or at least the most interesting — is Titanic from Moonlight Stages. September is similarly mostly hold dates at this point. As always, I’m keeping my eyes open for interesting productions mentioned on sites such as Bitter-Lemons, and Musicals in LA, as well as productions I see on Goldstar, LA Stage Tix, Plays411 or that are sent to me by publicists or the venues themselves.

Share/Bookmark

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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Saturday was our four-show day at the Hollywood Fringe Festival (FB). Whew! Luckily, all but one of them were one-person shows, making the write-ups easier. The first dealt with a subject that is really out in front, something that calls and hold your attention, something that … oh well, just pretend I’ve inserted all  the gratuitous jokes about large breasts. Guys like to joke about large breasts; certainly, in Western society, they are what’s in for most people*. But for those that have them, dealing with them is no fun. A hot day like Saturday means you’re swimming in boob sweat. There are back problems, knee problems, self-esteem problems, … the list goes on and on. Anyone who thinks that large breasts are a blessing doesn’t have to live with them.
(*: as you are probably dying to ask: I’ll enjoy them whatever size they are, just keep ’em natural)

That, precisely, was the subject of our first show Saturday: “30JJ or Bust: The World is My Underwire“. The artist, Joan Afton (FB), shares her experiences living with “the girls” (use whatever term you want), framing the discussion with a call to her insurance company about getting breast reduction surgery — and the angst it creates when she thinks about changing something that is so much part of her identity.

During the show, Afton explores society’s relationship and view about breasts, as well as what large chested girls have to go through to deal with the chest. From learning how to camouflage and distract attention, to finding appropriate size bras and being measured properly, and exploring both the physical and emotions damage that large size breast can create.

Now, I’m a guy, and I found the show quite enjoyable. I also found it interesting to hear and explore the reaction of the audience to the stories. I never found myself wondering when the show would be over, and found myself caught up in Afton’s story.

But I’m not the best judge. My wife was in a similar position to Afton: When we met, she was in a KK cup; she had reduction surgery many many years ago — and she’ll tell you it was the best decision she ever made. She absolutely loved this show: she said it captured the experience of every large breasted girl growing up. It captured the concerns that leads one to have surgery, and also captured the questions that go through one’s mind. She thought it was the best show we saw on Saturday.

So, if the boobs that are giving you the greatest problems in life are not your partner and your co-workers, but your large breasts; if you really want to get something off your chest… you should really see this show. It’s also great for those guys who either live with or want to live with someone with large breasts: you’ll discover that your fantasy does not trump your partner’s pain.

30JJ was directed by Deana Barone (FB), who worked with Afton to help her transform her story into what you see on stage. Evidently, they are long-time friends, and that close relationship showed in how well the story presented itself. Barone has another show at the Hollywood Fringe Festival (FB) — MetaFam. She also hostied a workshop (well, it has just started) called Unleash Your Story, also at Fringe.

30JJ has one more performance:  Saturday June 25 2016 at 11:30 PM at  Asylum @ Studio C (Mainstage). Tickets are available through the Fringe website.

Attention Programmers! Take the Fringe Programming Challenge! Scheduling your shows at the Fringe can be a pain in the …. I’m trying to solve the problem for next year, so take a look at my specs for a Fringe scheduling app. Can you write it?

* * *

Ob. Disclaimer: I am not a trained theatre critic; I am, however, a regular theatre audience member. I’ve been attending live theatre and concerts in Los Angeles since 1972; I’ve been writing up my thoughts on theatre (and the shows I see) since 2004. I do not have theatre training (I’m 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 Cabrillo Music Theatre (FB) and the  Hollywood Pantages (FB); my subscription at  The Colony Theatre (FB) has gone dormant, and REP East (FB) has seemingly gone dark for 2016. 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’s production, I focus on the positive — 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.

Upcoming Shows: Ah, June. Wonderful June. June is the Hollywood Fringe Festival (FB), and I’ve already written about the shows I plan to see, as well as suggestions to the Fringe regarding viewing the audience as a customer. Our Fringe/June schedule is as follows (for shows in the past, ✍ indicates writeup is in progress; ✒ indicates writeup is complete and links to the writeup):

• ✓ Sat, 6/4:  Alien vs. Musical (230p) (✒) •  Code 197 DWB (Driving While Blewish) (400p) (✒) •  Toxic Avenger: The Musical  (600p) (✒)
• ✓ Sun, 6/5:  Tell Me On A Sunday (600p) (✒) •  All The Best Killers are Librarians (800p) (✒)
• ✓ Sat, 6/11: Pali Hi All Year Picnic • Einstein (400p)  (✒) • The Boy from Oz – the Celebration Theatre (FB) (800p) (✒)
• ✓ Sun, 6/12: Titus Andronicus Jr. (700p) (✒); and then the Tony Awards when I get home.
• ✓ Sat, 6/18: 30JJ or Bust: The World is My Underwire (1130a) (✒) • Lamprey: Weekend of Vengeance (200p) (✍) • Mark Twain Answers All Your Questions (600p) (✍) • The Old Woman (800p) (✍)
• Sun, 6/19: Sweet Love Adieu (100p) • All Aboard the Marriage Hearse (400p)
• Sat, 6/27: Squeeze My Cans (400p) • My Big Fat Blond Musical (830p)
• Sun, 6/28: Temple Israel Reunion • Hamlet (Las Vegas Style) (630p)

Whew. July brings us back to conventional theatre, with Beautiful at the  Hollywood Pantages (FB) and the Western Corps Connection (FB) the first weekend, Grey Gardens at the Ahmanson Theatre (FB); the second weekend, The Little Mermaid at  Cabrillo Music Theatre (FB); the third weekend, Weird Al Yankovic at the Hollywood Bowl (FB) and Operaworks (FB) Opera Re-Constructed at CSUN; the fourth weekend, a mid-week Hollywood Bowl (FB) concert of Wynton Marsalis and Aaron Copeland, and … currently nothing for the weekend. As of right now, August is completely open. One weekend has a bar mitzvah, and there are a few holds for show, but nothing is booked. Late August may see us looking at shows down San Diego/Escondido for one weekend. The best of the shows available — or at least the most interesting — is Titanic from Moonlight Stages. September is similarly mostly hold dates at this point. As always, I’m keeping my eyes open for interesting productions mentioned on sites such as Bitter-Lemons, and Musicals in LA, as well as productions I see on Goldstar, LA Stage Tix, Plays411 or that are sent to me by publicists or the venues themselves.

Share/Bookmark

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)

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, …

That’s the opening of Dicken’s The Tale of Two Cities… and an opening I’ve used before. This time, let’s call this The Tale of Two Boys. Both Boys, as it happens, are from Oz. They happen to be from two different cities. They both happen to be excellent, each in its own way. And there, my friends, is the real tale.

Back in May, we had two theatres, one in Los Angeles, and one in San Francisco, both staging what was essentially the West Coast Regional Premiere of The Boy from Oz, a musical based on the life of Peter Allen, with music and lyrics by Peter Allen^*, and book by Martin Sherman and Nick Enright (Additional music and lyrics by Adrienne Anderson, Burt Bacharach, Jeff Barry, Michael Callen, Christopher Cross, David Foster, Tom Keane, Marsha Malamet, Dean Pitchford, and Carole Bayer Sager). I say “essentially”, because they opened a day apart, about the time it would take to drive from one theatre to the other during rush hour.

We had originally been planning to go to see Celebration Theatre (FB) version of The Boy from Oz in LA, which I had learned about back at the beginning of the year. But then I was scheduling a trip to the Bay Area for our daughter’s graduation, and what pops up but another version of The Boy from Oz: this one from  Landmark Musical Theatre (FB). So we scheduled that and released our informal hold date for Oz in LA. Then we saw (a) the production in San Francisco, and (b) the rave reviews that Celebration was getting, and we decided to compare and contrast. On paper, the presenting companies and productions  were very different. Landmark was a new company (their 2nd musical), in a large theatre (399 seats) that hadn’t hosted a musical before, with minuscule budget, weak lighting and sound infrastructure, and a Bay Area acting pool.  Celebration, on the other hand, was an established company with loads of musical experience, in a much smaller theatre (55 seats) with better infrastructure, the very talented Los Angeles acting pool, and a strong publicity machine.

You know what? As I said before, both productions were excellent. Each had their own unique strengths and their own weaknesses, and neither had weaknesses that reached the level of significant problems.

Here’s the synopsis of the show I wrote less than a month ago:

If you are unfamiliar with The Boy from Oz, that’s not a surprise. The musical opened in Australia in 1998, and moved to Broadway in 2004, where it won a Tony for an actor you might have heard of: Hugh Jackman (FB). However, the show never went on tour, and the regional producing rights in America were not released until this year. So the show has faded from popular memory, much like the subject of the show, Peter Allen.  The show itself is a jukebox musical, using the songs of Peter Allen to tell the life-story of Peter Allen. This is a story that starts in the outback of Australia in Tenterfield, New South Wales. It includes Allen’s stint as part of the  It includes both Judy Garland, the mentor who discovered Allen in Hong Kong and for whom Allen was a protégé, and Liza Minnelli (FB), Garland’s daughter whom Allen married shortly after her success in Flora the Red Menace. It is a story of the birth of gay awareness, as Allen realizes he is homosexual during the marriage, and the birth of the gay movement including the Stonewall Riots that occurred shortly after Garland’s death. It is the story of Allen going out as a solo act, and hitting his peak popularity in the 1980s. And it is the story of AIDS, with the death of Allen’s lover, Greg Connell, from AIDS, followed by the death of Allen himself. It is a celebration of the life of Peter Allen.

The show features many of Allen’s better known songs, including “When I Get My Name In Lights”, “The Best That You Can Do”, “Continental American”, “She Loves to Hear the Music”, “Bi-Coastal”, “Everything Old is New Again”, “I Honestly Love You”, “I Still Call Australia Home”, “Don’t Cry Out Loud”, and “I Go to Rio”. You’ll know the songs, even if you don’t know Allen.

The Celebration version, under the direction of Michael A. Shepperd (FB) [assisted by Kyle Cooper (FB)] and choreography of Janet Roston (FB) [assisted by Michael Quiett/FB] had a distinctly stronger staging and spectacular dance. Although Celebration’s space was smaller and had fewer set pieces, they made extremely good use of the pieces they had (more on that in a bit). More significantly, their level of dance was head and shoulders above San Francisco in terms of both design and execution.  San Francisco’s dancing was good, but lacked precision. Here, the dance was spot-on, energetic, precise, and just… wow. The Rockettes scene and the Fosse scene will just blow you away with the dance. I think this was a product of having a much stronger dance talent pool available, and having stronger dance experience working with that crew to design the dance. About my only dance quibble was: where were the taps, especially in the opening number. When we are seeing tap dance, we should be hearing tap dance. As for the staging, well, it oozed sex in a way that only Hollywood and West Hollywood can. San Francisco was tame compared to the sexiness here.

The Celebration production stared Andrew Bongiorno (FB) as Peter Allen. From the very start, I noticed Bongiorno’s charisma with the audience, and my wife commented that he was just giving off a very sexy vibe. Whereas Dan Seda (FB), Landmark’s Peter and their only AEA performer, was good with a wonderful singing voice, and a warm and accessible performance, Bongiorno was just outstanding — strong vocals, strong movement, according to my wife oozing testosterone, flirty, playful, and just everything you would expect Peter Allen to be. Further, unlike Seda, he didn’t have to fake an Aussie accent — he was from Victoria, Australia. No “shrimps on the barbee” here. He did a particularly great job on “Only an Older Woman”.

Another strong performer in the Celebration version was Bess Motta (FB) as Judy Garland. Motta captured Garland’s mannerisms and voice and look with turning the performance into caricature. When I saw the Landmark production with  Connie Champagne (FB) as Garland, something bothered me. The face seemed too stiff, the movement too stylized.  Motta made me realize the difference by being real — by being able to portray both the warmth and the hatred behind Garland. She came across as a real Garland, and her performance made me see the difference between becoming a character vs. impersonating a character.

On the other hand, there was Jessica Pennington (FB)’s Liza Minnelli. Although Pennington gave a very strong performance, with excellent vocals and emoting, she just didn’t become Minnelli (especially in the first act; she had grown a little bit more into the role in the second act). Landmark’s Liza Minnelli, Kat Robichaud (FB), did a stronger job of capturing the basic look of Minnelli well, and had the dance moves (especially in the Fosse-style number) down well. Robichaud also did a great job of capturing Minnelli’s singing style.  Robichaud wasn’t perfect — she needed a pinch more kookiness in Minnelli’s early days. Minnelli is a hard part to cast right and get right. Landmark casted for the young Minnelli — the kooky teenager of Flora the Red Menace and The Sterile Cuckoo. They got that right, but that gave them difficulty in the second act when you need the much older Minnelli who has started to see it all. Celebration cast for the older Minnelli, which made the first act Minnelli completely off the game. So, although both were good, I’ll give the Minnelli point to the Bay Area team.

There’s one other point where I felt the Bay Area was stronger in terms of performance: Allen’s lover Greg Connell (played by Ivan Hardin (FB)). Although Celebration’s Greg, Michael Mittman (FB) gave an excellent performance with strong vocals and emotions, Hardin’s Greg had that magical strong stage presence and a very engaging way about him, with a spectacular singing voice, and looks that were just … I normally don’t say this, but wow.

If you’re keeping score in the lead roles, all the performances were good, but we have two points given to Celebration for spot on strong casting, and two given to Landmark for the same thing.

There was one other significant casting strength for Landmark: their young Peter Allens, who were excellent tap dancers and believably young versions of their older Allen. Yes, they did tap — tap up a storm, as a matter of fact. Celebration went a different direction on casting, choosing the young Michayla Brown. The young Ms. Brown was a talented performer, but wasn’t believably a younger version of their Peter Allen, which impacted the suspension of disbelief. She also, alas, didn’t have taps.

Rounding out some of the named characters were Marcus S. Daniel (FB)’s Chris Allen, Michael Taylor Gray‘s Dee, and Kelly Lester (FB)’s Marion Woolnough.  All gave strong performances, in particular, Lester’s impressive performance in “Don’t Cry Out Loud”.  Landmark’s Maron ( Amy Meyers (FB)) was good, but Lester just had the right note of authenticity in her portrayal. Daniel gave a strong performance as Allen’s “Brother” Chris; although the size difference elminated the belief that they were brothers I’ll note Daniel was a hoot in the Rockette’s number. You’ll just have to see it. Gray’s Dee was suitably grizzled.

Rounding out the cast as other named characters and ensemble members were Nathan Mohebbi (FB) (Mark and others), Erica Hanrahan-Ball (FB) (Karen and others), Chelsea Martin (FB) (Linelle and others), and Shanta’ Marie Robinson (FB) (Shena and others).  It was in the latter three ensemble members — Erica, Chelsea, and Shanta — that Celebration just took this production over the top. Landmark had a larger ensemble with mostly weaker talent (they had one good ensemble member). Celebration’s, although smaller, was supersized in talent and dance. The small size of the Celebration space permitted the audience to hear the voices on these three — all were just great. Strong — perhaps exceptional — singers, sexy dancers, with a charisma that showed they were having fun. Oh, and could they smile. These girls are one of the highlights of the show. About my only comment was that there was a uniformity of dancer builds, but that’s how it was in that period.

Mat J. Hayes and Alli Miller (FB) were the swings. Marcus S. Daniel (FB) was the dance captain.

The on-stage band at the Celebration was smaller than the Landmark production, but had significantly better sound. I think that is because Celebration used the right instruments. In other words, Landmark had separate reed and trumpet players. Celebration combined the two with one player, but went with a saxophone instead of a trumpet. Celebration also had the string player cover both guitar and bass; Landmark tried to get away with only the bass. The net result: the Celebration had music that just blasted you away and had the full-size Broadway sound. Credit goes to the musical director, Bryan Blaskie (FB), on keyboard, and his musicians: Omar D. Brancato (bass/guitar), Noelle Fabian (saxophone/clarinet), and Stephen Dizon/FB (drums).

Turning now to the creative and production team. The scenic design is one area where there was the starkest differentiation between the two companies, owing to the difference in facilities. Both had limitations — Celebration in terms of a space that was perhaps one-third of Landmarks, with no flyspace; Landmark with a large space in an cavernous hall with concrete walls and musical theatre lighting at the middle-school level. Each made their space work, but in different ways. Landmarks showcase was a large baby grand piano (mostly styrofoam) with large musical note risers, and some projections on the back curtains. Celebration’s scenic design, by Yuri Okahana, was very different. Okahana had an upright piano — perhaps a spinnet. There were some stairs on the side that served as tables and such when needed, but it was mostly the actors front and center that created the impression of where you were. This mostly worked, although I found myself longing at times for Landmark’s projections to give a better idea of where we were in the world — the outback, Hong Kong, New York, etc.  Both worked, but very very different conceptions of their space. Celebration was significantly stronger in terms of sound (design by Eric Snodgrass) and light (design by Derrick McDaniel). Here the significantly stronger facilities and experience paid off handsomely, although Celebration’s space is limited in terms of spotlights, which require a moving mirror system. Landmark could use a real spotlight, although they didn’t have a sufficient light to be able to tightly focus. Another production aspect in which Celebration was significantly stronger was in the costumes of Michael Mullen. Landmark’s costumes were low-budget. Creative, but low-budget. Celebration’s costumes gave no idea of the budget: they were flashy, they were sexy, they were seemingly era-appropriate… on or off, they just worked right and made the characters shinge. Similarly, Bryon Batista‘s wigs and hair just worked right and didn’t appear to be wigs.  Rounding out the production credits were: Michael O’Hara (Properties Design), Jennifer Leigh Sears (Production Stage Manager), and Jillian Mayo (Alternate Stage Manager).

Celebration Theatre (FB)’s The Boy From Oz has been extended into July, and you should get your tickets now (through the Celebration website) before they sell out. I’d mention Goldstar,  but they are already sold out. This is an excellent production from an excellent company, and you should go see it. As for the San Francisco production: we saw the next to last performance, and they have already closed their short run. If you’re in the Bay Area and reading this, you missed your chance. C’mon down to LA and see this great production, and then make a note to support Landmark Musical Theatre (FB)’s future productions of The Drowsy Chaperone and The Roar of the Greasepaint, the Smell of the Crowd. As for what is in Celebration’s future: they are about to announce their next season, so stay tuned…

* * *

Ob. Disclaimer: I am not a trained theatre critic; I am, however, a regular theatre audience member. I’ve been attending live theatre and concerts in Los Angeles since 1972; I’ve been writing up my thoughts on theatre (and the shows I see) since 2004. I do not have theatre training (I’m 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 Cabrillo Music Theatre (FB) and the  Hollywood Pantages (FB); my subscription at  The Colony Theatre (FB) has gone dormant, and REP East (FB) has seemingly gone dark for 2016. 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’s production, I focus on the positive — 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.

Upcoming Shows: Ah, June. Wonderful June. June is the Hollywood Fringe Festival (FB), and I’ve already written about the shows I plan to see, as well as suggestions to the Fringe regarding viewing the audience as a customer. Our Fringe/June schedule is as follows (for shows in the past, ✍ indicates writeup is in progress; ✒ indicates writeup is complete and links to the writeup):

• ✓ Sat, 6/4:  Alien vs. Musical (230p) (✒) •  Code 197 DWB (Driving While Blewish) (400p) (✒) •  Toxic Avenger: The Musical  (600p) (✒)
• ✓ Sun, 6/5:  Tell Me On A Sunday (600p) (✒) •  All The Best Killers are Librarians (800p) (✒)
• ✓ Sat, 6/11: Pali Hi All Year Picnic • Einstein (400p)  (✒) • The Boy from Oz – the Celebration Theatre (FB) (800p) (✒)
• Sun, 6/12: Titus Andronicus Jr. (700p); and then the Tony Awards when I get home.
• Sat, 6/18: 30JJ or Bust: The World is My Underwire (1130a) • Lamprey: Weekend of Vengeance (200p) • Mark Twain Answers All Your Questions (600p) • The Old Woman (800p)
• Sun, 6/19: Sweet Love Adieu (100p) • All Aboard the Marriage Hearse (400p)
• Sat, 6/27: Squeeze My Cans (400p) • My Big Fat Blond Musical (830p)
• Sun, 6/28: Temple Israel Reunion • Hamlet (Las Vegas Style) (630p)

Whew. July brings us back to conventional theatre, with Beautiful at the  Hollywood Pantages (FB) and the Western Corps Connection (FB) the first weekend, a HOLD for Grey Gardens at the Ahmanson Theatre (FB); the second weekend, The Little Mermaid at  Cabrillo Music Theatre (FB); the third weekend, Weird Al Yankovic at the Hollywood Bowl (FB) and Operaworks (FB) Opera Re-Constructed at CSUN; the fourth weekend, a mid-week Hollywood Bowl (FB) concert of Wynton Marsalis and Aaron Copeland, and … currently nothing for the weekend. As of right now, August is completely open. One weekend has a bar mitzvah, and there are a few holds for show, but nothing is booked. Late August may see us looking at shows down San Diego/Escondido for one weekend. The best of the shows available — or at least the most interesting — is Titanic from Moonlight Stages. As always, I’m keeping my eyes open for interesting productions mentioned on sites such as Bitter-Lemons, and Musicals in LA, as well as productions I see on Goldstar, LA Stage Tix, Plays411 or that are sent to me by publicists or the venues themselves.

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I’ve known many a librarian in my life. One of my dearest friends (Z”L) was a librarian, and she had an inner something that made you not want to cross her… or you would pay the price. I’ve got corporate librarians on my van; again, don’t let their exteriors fool you about their toughness. I even know librarians that can dance people until they drop. So, when I saw a show in the Hollywood Fringe Festival (FB) catalog that was described as “In this action-packed comedy, a shy librarian is recruited into the thrilling world of professional assassinations, international intrigue, and forbidden romance”, well, I was sold. That show was All The Best Killers are Librarians (FB, TW), and it was the second show we saw last Sunday.

Before I go into the show itself, I’ll note that this show was the winner of Season Ten of “Serial Killers” at Sacred Fools Theater. Serial Killers (FB) is a Sacred Fools (FB) late night production where each week, three continuing stories face off against two new tales. At the end of the show, the audience votes for the three stories that will continue on to the next Saturday night, where their subsequent episodes will then be pitted against two completely new storylines. The season culminates in a head-to-head battle royale between the sixteen top serials, including the eight longest-running serials plus audience-choice selections!

All The Best Killers are Librarians (written by Bob DeRosa (FB)) tells the story of Margo, a shy librarian, content to hide out at the research assistance desk in the back of her library. But then she meets Lancaster, a man who hires and trains the best assassins in the world. Lancaster is convinced she is a natural born killer, and he proves this by sending in three trained assassins to kill her. She dispatches them quickly, for she has the gift to instinctively kill when her life is threatened. Lancaster then recruits Margo into his action-packed world of professional assassinations, international intrigue, and forbidden romance. There’s only one problem: Margo doesn’t really like to kill, and she has started to fall in love with the cleaning man. You know, the cleaning man. The man who disposes of the bodies. Before the show is done, Margo’s hands will be stained with blood and she will know the truth: all the best killers are librarians!

The acting ensemble, who I’m presuming are drawn from the Serial Killers regulars, are aptly directed by Alicia Conway Rock (FB), who keeps the pace brisk and the action non-stop. She takes advantage of blackouts and sound effects to have stage violence that isn’t too violent, focusing instead on the fun of the story. I think this is one part of why this show is so successful.

Another part of the show’s success is the acting ensemble itself, led by Lauren Van Kurin (FB) as Margo, the librarian. Van Kurin’s Margo is sexy, smart, and damn good with a throwing knife. She’s playing this show for fun, and it is clear she enjoys this very physical role. That enjoyment comes across to the audience, who is rapidly drawn into to her dilemma and adventure. She’s just a hoot to watch, and I truly could not take my eyes off of her.

Paired with her as her recruiter and mentor is Eric Giancoli (FB) as Lancaster. Giancoli’s Lancaster is the classic handsome strong silent type, who gives the great impression that there’s something more there that (say it slow) he (pause) is (pause) not (pause) telling. Nice deep voice, very well played.

Margo’s love interest, Henry, is portrayed by Pete Caslavka. Caslavka seems to be having fun with the role, although I think he missed a spot up to the right :-).

Rounding out the performing ensemble were Jennifer C. DeRosa (FB) as Eleanor, Carrie Keranen (FB) as Crane / Mrs. White, Mike Mahaffey (FB) as Belinda / Numerous Killers, and Monica Greene (FB) as Sally / Numerous Killers. All of them were great and it is hard to single out specific supporting roles (especially as the two sacrificial killees are killed so many many times). DeRosa was fun to watch as Eleanor, Margo’s supervisor. In general, the amount of physical work that these cast members go through must be exhausting!

That leads us to the production and creative credits, and at the top of the list must be Mike Mahaffey (FB)’s fight choreography. Knives were popping out everywhere, and I just couldn’t see how it was done; there were loads of physical fighting moves and punches, and yet no one got hurt. Remarkable choreography, especially when you realize that Mahaffey was there in the middle of it. Also noticeable was Ben Rock (FB)’s sound design — a significant part of what made this production work were the sound effects, perfectly selected and timed. Matthew Richter (FB)’s was very effective (especially considering that one cannot always get the lighting one wants or needs at a Fringe venue), making maximum use of blackouts to create the illusion of extra violence. Rounding out the production credits: Jennifer C. DeRosa (FB)  — Producer; Rachel Manheimer (FB) — Stage Manager; Blake Gardner (FB) — Photographer.

There are four remaining performances of All the Best Killers are Librarians (although some may already be sold out, including this Friday): Friday 6/10 at 8:30 pm; Wednesday 6/15 at 10:30pm; Saturday 6/18 at 4:00 pm; and Saturday 6/25 at 3:30 pm. I’ve been telling all my librarian friends about this. You can learn about the show and get tickets at http://www.hollywoodfringe.org/projects/3510. You’ll enjoy this show quite a bit.

I should note that the Serial Killers team that is behind this show is also behind two other Fringe shows: Lamprey: Weekend of Violence and Serial Killers at the Fringe. We already have tickets to the former; and don’t have room in our schedule for the latter. You might, and you should probably go to those as well.

* * *

Ob. Disclaimer: I am not a trained theatre critic; I am, however, a regular theatre audience member. I’ve been attending live theatre and concerts in Los Angeles since 1972; I’ve been writing up my thoughts on theatre (and the shows I see) since 2004. I do not have theatre training (I’m 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 Cabrillo Music Theatre (FB) and the  Hollywood Pantages (FB); my subscription at  The Colony Theatre (FB) has gone dormant, and REP East (FB) has seemingly gone dark for 2016. 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’s production, I focus on the positive — 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.

Upcoming Shows: Ah, June. Wonderful June. June is the Hollywood Fringe Festival (FB), and I’ve already written about the shows I plan to see, as well as suggestions to the Fringe regarding viewing the audience as a customer. Our Fringe/June schedule is as follows (for shows in the past, ✍ indicates writeup is in progress; ✒ indicates writeup is complete and links to the writeup):

• ✓ Sat, 6/4:  Alien vs. Musical (230p) (✒) •  Code 197 DWB (Driving While Blewish) (400p) (✒) •  Toxic Avenger: The Musical  (600p) (✒)
• ✓ Sun, 6/5:  Tell Me On A Sunday (600p) (✒) •  All The Best Killers are Librarians (800p) (✒)
• Sat, 6/11: Pali Hi All Year Picnic • Einstein (400p) • The Boy from Oz – the Celebration Theatre (FB) (800p)
• Sun, 6/12: Titus Andronicus Jr. (700p); and then the Tony Awards when I get home.
• Sat, 6/18: 30JJ or Bust: The World is My Underwire (1130a) • Lamprey: Weekend of Vengeance (200p) • Mark Twain Answers All Your Questions (600p) • The Old Woman (800p)
• Sun, 6/19: Sweet Love Adieu (100p) • All Aboard the Marriage Hearse (400p)
• Sat, 6/27: Squeeze My Cans (400p) • My Big Fat Blond Musical (830p)
• Sun, 6/28: Temple Israel Reunion • Hamlet (Las Vegas Style) (630p)

Whew. July brings us back to conventional theatre, with Beautiful at the  Hollywood Pantages (FB) and the Western Corps Connection (FB) the first weekend, a HOLD for Grey Gardens at the Ahmanson Theatre (FB); the second weekend, The Little Mermaid at  Cabrillo Music Theatre (FB); the third weekend, Weird Al Yankovic at the Hollywood Bowl (FB) and Operaworks (FB) Opera Re-Constructed at CSUN; the fourth weekend, a mid-week Hollywood Bowl (FB) concert of Wynton Marsalis and Aaron Copeland, and … currently nothing for the weekend. As of right now, August is completely open. One weekend has a bar mitzvah, and there are a few holds for show, but nothing is booked. Late August may see us looking at shows down San Diego/Escondido for one weekend. The best of the shows available — or at least the most interesting — is Titanic from Moonlight Stages. As always, I’m keeping my eyes open for interesting productions mentioned on sites such as Bitter-Lemons, and Musicals in LA, as well as productions I see on Goldstar, LA Stage Tix, Plays411 or that are sent to me by publicists or the venues themselves.

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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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OK, I have this thing for off-beat, quirky, what might be called “Off Broadway” musicals. Be it Brain from Planet X, Evil Dead: The Musical, It Came From Beyond, Zombies from the Beyond, Zanna Don’t, or even The Rocky Horror Show (yes, it was a stage musical — and Off-Broadway at that, before the movie) — these little musicals are just a hell of a lot of fun. I also like to find musicals for which I’ve heard the music but never seen them on stage. Good People Theatre (FB)’s The Toxic Avenger Musical at the Hollywood Fringe Festival (FB) is a two-fer: a wonderful quirky musical that I’ve never seen before.  It is a spectacular production that you are sure to enjoy.

The Toxic Avenger Musical is based on Lloyd Kaufman (FB)’s The Toxic Avenger. It was adapted for the stage by Joe DiPietro (Book and Lyrics) and David Bryan (Music and Lyrics) — the same team that did Memphis – The Musical. I guess I should say, following my conceit, that Kaufman did a wonderful job of adapting the stage show.

In any case, The Toxic Avenger Musical tells the story of a nerd, Melvin Ferd the Third, who secretly loves the town’s blind librarian, Sarah. Melvin also hates how his town of New Jersey has become a toxic waste pit. He investigates with a lead from Sarah, and discovers that the Mayor is behind the dumping of the toxic waste. He threatens to destroy her, and she sends her goons to take care of him. They dump him in a vat of toxic waste, and he emerges mean and green… and out to return New Jersey to the garden spot it is meant to be. After rescuing Sarah from attackers, she falls in love with him, believing him to be French (explaining the stench). So does the now christened Toxie save Tromaville, or does the Mayor win?

Yes, a comic story. Yes, a silly story. But one surprisingly relevant, based on concerns about toxic waste and global warming. The songs are infectious and upbeat, and I challenge you not to come out of this musical smiling. It is just great green toxic fun.

Of course, it is helped by spot on performances, under the direction of GPT’s Janet Miller (FB). Every time we’ve seen something Janet has done or directed, we have walked out impressed. Be it Fringe shows like Marry Me a Little or A Man of No Importance, or CSUN shows like Bat Boy, her direction guarantees a quality show. I’m not saying that to be nice. There are a few musical directors in Los Angeles who consistently do quality work in small theatres, folks like Richard Israel (FB) or Roger Bean (FB). Janet is part of that small group. If you see her name, go see her show.

Back to the performances, the cast in this was outstanding. Before I get to the mean green man himself, I want to highlight my favorite: Kim Dalton (FB). We saw Kim earlier this year in Chance’s Dogfight, and we were impressed. This time, we were blown away. Kristen Chenowith better watch out: this tiny package has a set of pipes on her that are astounding. I’m still thinking about “My Big French Boyfriend” , “Hot Toxic Love”, or “Choose Me, Oprah”. Further, her acting was great. In this show, she is playing a blind librarian. This could have degenerated quickly into caricature or farce, but she did it realistically, reminding me of a blind friend of mine. She was touching, funny, sexy, and just remarkable. I look forward to seeing her in more Southern California productions.

As for our mean green man, Melvin Ferd the Third, who become The Toxic Avenger, he was played by Jared Reed (FB). Reed projected a wonderful mix of meekness and strength — a combination that made him accessible and friendly and distinctly not a monster. Except when you cross him. Here’s a hint: You don’t want to cross big green men. Just ask Bruce Banner. Reed also had a lovely singing voice, which he ably demonstrated in sochs such as “You Tore My Heart Out”, “Kick Your Ass”, and “Hot Toxic Love” (a lovely duet with Dalton).

All of the other actors in the show play multiple characters. A particular standout is Shirley Anne Hatton (FB), who we first saw in GPT’s A Man of No Importance. Hatton plays the Mayer, Ma Ferd, and a nun, and just nails all three performances. From her solos in the opening number, “Who Will Save New Jersey?”, her performance with the girls in “All Men are Freaks”, to her over the top duet, “Bitch/Slut/Liar/Whore” — she is just spectacular.

This leaves us with the men and women of all trades: Danny Fetter (FB) and Wesley Tunison (FB). Fetter, the generically titled “Black Dude”, plays Sluggo, Professor Ken, Sinequa, Fred, Lamas, and a number of other unnamed roles. Tunison, the generically titled “White Dude”, plays Bozo, Sal the Cop, Diane, the Folk Singer, Lorenzo, and other roles. This is one of the amazing things about this show: that these two guys play so many characters and constantly switch between them. They work really well together in “Big French Boyfriend”, and Fetter does a wonderful song on “The Legend of the Toxic Avenger”.

The music was under the direction of Corey Hirsch (FB), who also played keyboard on stage. He was joined by Mike Lindsey on drums, Brenton Kossak (FB) on bass, Jeff Askew on guitar, and Dave Thomasson on reed. Orchestrations and arrangements were by David Bryan and Christopher Jahnke.

Turning to the remaining production and creative credits. The scenic design was by Zorro J. Susel (FB), who came up with a very clever design given the limitations of Fringe (load in and out in 10 minutes or so). The scenic design was supplemented by Emma Hatton‘s props. The clever costume design was by Mary Reilly, who did an outstanding job on Toxie’s creative costume, as well as those worn by other characters, which supported rapid quick changes. This was supported by  Zorro J. Susel (FB)’s makeup. Wigs are uncredited. The lighting design was by Katherine Barrett (FB) and the sound design was by Robert Schroeder (FB). We were at a preview performance, and both had problems — which wasn’t surprising — this was their first time being exercised. Both showed the potential of being excellent, so under the fringe-preview-benefit-of-the-doubt, I’m expecting the other performances to be excellent. Katherine Barrett (FB) was also the stage manager, who I’m guessing got the double-duty of holding up the signs and interacting with the characters and generally having a huff when they just expected props to magically go off-stage.Then again, it might have been Rebecca Schroeder (FB), the assistant stage manager. [ETA: GPT clarified on Facebook: “Our sign girl is, indeed, our lovely Assistant Stage Manager, Rebecca Schroeder. Her mother, our illustrious Stage Manager, Kate Barrett, is in the booth!“] Remaining production credits: Logan Allison/FB [Assistant Director], Emma Hatton [Production Assistant];  Kimberly Fox [Marketing Director]; Michael P. Wallot (FB) [Casting Director]; and Oliver Lan [Graphic Designer].

This is a must see at the Fringe. Really. Visit the show’s Fringe Page to book tickets. Remaining performances are: Friday June 10 2016, 9:00 PM; Saturday June 11 2016, 6:00 PM; Monday June 13 2016, 11:00 PM; Wednesday June 15 2016, 11:00 PM; Thursday June 16 2016, 7:00 PM; Saturday June 18 2016, 6:00 PM; Wednesday June 22 2016, 10:00 PM; Friday June 24 2016, 8:00 PM; Saturday June 25 2016, 5:00 PM; and  Sunday June 26 2016, 1:00 PM. Performances are at the Sacred Fools Theater (Main Stage) at  1076 Lillian Way.

* * *

Ob. Disclaimer: I am not a trained theatre critic; I am, however, a regular theatre audience member. I’ve been attending live theatre and concerts in Los Angeles since 1972; I’ve been writing up my thoughts on theatre (and the shows I see) since 2004. I do not have theatre training (I’m 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 Cabrillo Music Theatre (FB) and the  Hollywood Pantages (FB); my subscription at  The Colony Theatre (FB) has gone dormant, and REP East (FB) has seemingly gone dark for 2016. 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’s production, I focus on the positive — 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.

Upcoming Shows: Ah, June. Wonderful June. June is the Hollywood Fringe Festival (FB), and I’ve already written about the shows I plan to see, as well as suggestions to the Fringe regarding viewing the audience as a customer. Our Fringe/June schedule is as follows (for shows in the past, ✍ indicates writeup is in progress; ✒ indicates writeup is complete):

• ✓ Sat, 6/4: ✒ Alien vs. Musical (230p) • ✒ Code 197 DWB (Driving While Blewish) (400p) • ✒ Toxic Avenger: The Musical  (600p)
• Sun, 6/5: ✍ Tell Me On A Sunday (600p) • ✍ All The Best Killers are Librarians (800p)
• Sat, 6/11: Pali Hi All Year Picnic • Einstein (400p) • The Boy from Oz – the Celebration Theatre (FB) (800p)
• Sun, 6/12: Titus Andronicus Jr. (700p); and then the Tony Awards when I get home.
• Sat, 6/18: 30JJ or Bust: The World is My Underwire (1130a) • Lamprey: Weekend of Vengeance (200p) • Mark Twain Answers All Your Questions (600p) • The Old Woman (800p)
• Sun, 6/19: Sweet Love Adieu (100p) • All Aboard the Marriage Hearse (400p)
• Sat, 6/27: Squeeze My Cans (400p) • My Big Fat Blond Musical (830p)
• Sun, 6/28: Temple Israel Reunion • Hamlet (Las Vegas Style) (630p)

Whew. July brings us back to conventional theatre, with Beautiful at the  Hollywood Pantages (FB) and the Western Corps Connection (FB) the first weekend, a HOLD for Grey Gardens at the Ahmanson Theatre (FB); the second weekend, The Little Mermaid at  Cabrillo Music Theatre (FB); the third weekend, Weird Al Yankovic at the Hollywood Bowl (FB) and Operaworks (FB) Opera Re-Constructed at CSUN; the fourth weekend, a mid-week Hollywood Bowl (FB) concert of Wynton Marsalis and Aaron Copeland, and … currently nothing for the weekend. As of right now, August is completely open. One weekend has a bar mitzvah, and there are a few holds for show, but nothing is booked. Late August may see us looking at shows down San Diego/Escondido for one weekend. The best of the shows available — or at least the most interesting — is Titanic from Moonlight Stages. As always, I’m keeping my eyes open for interesting productions mentioned on sites such as Bitter-Lemons, and Musicals in LA, as well as productions I see on Goldstar, LA Stage Tix, Plays411 or that are sent to me by publicists or the venues themselves.

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Well, it has begin. The Hollywood Fringe Festival (HFF) (FB). Over 275 live performance shows spread over 30 or so venues over the month of June.

We have also begun to Fringe (which, yes, is a verb). 15 Fringe shows (plus one regular show and two reunions) during the month of June. Possibly more, depending on if we had to the schedule. We may be sane, but that doesn’t mean we’re not crazy.

Our first Fringe show, Alien vs. Musical (FB),  was nominated for 10 HFF awards in 2015, winning Best World Premiere Production, Outstanding Songwriting, and The Encore! Producers Award. I had wanted to fit it in last year, but just couldn’t rejigger the schedule. Luckily, the show’s producers brought it back this year in a longer version.

How to describe the show? Let’s do it as a theatrical trailer….

In a world where musical theatre characters are real.

In a world where these characters share the same context and are friends.

In a world used to happy endings and tap-dancing dreams.

In such a world, an innocent gift of a pod found at a crash site sets into play a chain of events that reeks bloody havoc on the carefully coiffed character, but introduces a performer the likes of which hasn’t been seen on stage since Little Shop of Horrors.

Yup, that just about says it. The basic conceit of this show is that a bunch of musical theatre characters — Effie (from Dreamgirls), Danny (from Grease), Annie (from Annie), Harold (from The Music Man), Elder (from Book of Mormon), Tracy (from Hairspray), Valjean (from Les Miserables), Elphaba (from Wicked), Maria (from The Sound of Music), and Mark (from Rent) are having a birthday party for Effie. Annie finds a pod at a crash site, but before she can give it to Effie, it attacks Elder. From there the show is off: the Alien (from the titular movie of the same name) is off and bringing chaos to musical theatre land. If you know parody musical, I think you can take it from there.

The show, with book by Erik Przytulski (FB) and Steve Troop (FB), and music and lyrics by Erik Przytulski (FB), falls clearly into the parody musical genre. It cleanly skewers the style, songs, and characterizations of Broadway musicals such as those associated with the characters above, in addition to others such as Hamilton and West Side Story. It provides an opportunity for the audience to see well known theatrical protagonists get skewered — sometimes literally — in front of the audience. It also, in a sense, skewers shows such as Little Shop, with singing and dancing aliens with motivations very different from what a typical human might expect. But then again, we’re not talking normal humans. We’re talking actors and Broadway.

Under the direction of Matthew Tyler (FB), Alien vs. Musical (FB) clearly goes for the fun and the playfulness in the characters. It is clear that he loves these characters, and is having fun bring out there archetypes in the performances. The performances themselves are pretty good for Fringe: there are some strong players, and some that perform well be need stronger voice. There is loads of enthusiasm, channeled into a package that is clearly audience pleasing. The producer (Erik Przytulski (FB)) built upon last year’s successful 60 minute show to create a full 90 minutes that skewers even more musicals.

Lengthing the show permitted inclusion of new material, such as  wonderful rap battle between Harold Hill of The Music Man, and Alexander Hamilton of Hamilton.

The performances from the acting team are good. Some arise from good to the very good to the excellent, others can use a little work. We saw the first performance during preview week, so understand that any problems we may have seen will likely be corrected in subsquent performance.

The acting team consisted of: Levanna Atkinson-Williams (FB) [Effie], Christopher Bunyi (FB) [Danny]; Allie Costa (FB) [Annie], Nick Emmet McGee (FB) [Harold], Taylor Minckley (FB) [Elder], Ally Mulholland [Tracy], Matthew Noah (FB) [Valjean], Suszanna Petrela [Elphaba], Brianne Sanborn (FB) [Maria], and Brad Simanski (FB) [Mark].  Performance-wise, all captured their characters well, believably bringing forward the mannerisms of whomever’s persona they were assuming. Singing-wise, they were a bit more across the board. Some, such as Sanborn’s Maria or Noah’s Valjean, had a good acting voice but really needed stronger projection.  Others were belting their way through their songs from the get-go, such as Atkinson-Williams’s Effie or Costa’s Annie. Others were squarely in the middle, such as McGee’s Harold or Simanski’s Mark. Given this show is performed without amplification, the actors need to belt and project in order for the audience to hear them over the orchestra. One thing is clear, however — these actors are having fun with these roles, and that fun comes across to the audience.

The program does not credit the additional characters the actors portrayed. Most importantly, it does not credit the actors that portray the alien — in particular, the one that does the final performance of the alien. So, Ms. uncredited actor (I have a feeling it was Petrela), I just want to say you gave a stunning performance at the end, a performance that rivals that poser Audry2. Now there’s an epic battle: Audry 2 vs. Alien.

Music, under the music direction and music arrangements of  Emily Cohn (FB), is provided by an on-stage band consisting of Emily Cohn (FB) [Keyboards], Brenton Kossack (FB) [Bass], Taylor Murphy/FB [Drums], and Kyle Scherrer/FB [Guitar]. The musicians seemed to have fun playing along with the actors when required, particular Cohn.

The choreography by Regina Laughlin/FB worked well.

On the technical side: given this is a Fringe production, there isn’t much required in terms of set. After all, you have to be able to load in within 15 minutes, and out just as quickly. What the show does depend upon is the marvelous creature design of Steve Troop (FB), combined with the costume design of Taylor Moten (FB) and the make-up design of Rachel Tyler/FB. The alien puppets were simply great, and for the humans, the costumes mostly conveyed who they were intended to be. Perhaps the weakest was Valjean, who required the 24601 — perhaps because the costumes in that show are less iconic. Remaining creative and production credits: Steve Troop (FB) – Production Design; Beth Wallan (FB) – Stage Manager; Itzel Mendoza-Nava/FB – Assistant Stage Manager; Adam Earle – Technical Supervisor.

Alien vs. Musical (FB, HFF) has four more Fringe performances: Thursday, June 9th @ 7:00pm, Friday, June 17th @ 11:30pm, Thursday, June 23rd @ 8:30pm, and Sunday, June 26th @ 6:00pm. Alien vs. Musical performs at the former Elephant Stages Lillian space, which is now the Sacred Fools (FB) Main Stage at 1076 Lillian. Tickets are available through the Fringe website; buy a Fringe button and save a buck. For the NYC Folks: It looks like the show will be at FringeNYC in August.

* 🎭 🎭 🎭 *

Ob. Disclaimer: I am not a trained theatre critic; I am, however, a regular theatre audience member. I’ve been attending live theatre and concerts in Los Angeles since 1972; I’ve been writing up my thoughts on theatre (and the shows I see) since 2004. I do not have theatre training (I’m 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 Cabrillo Music Theatre (FB) and the  Hollywood Pantages (FB); my subscription at  The Colony Theatre (FB) has gone dormant, and REP East (FB) has seemingly gone dark for 2016. 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’s production, I focus on the positive — 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.

Upcoming Shows: Ah, June. Wonderful June. June is the Hollywood Fringe Festival (FB), and I’ve already written about the shows I plan to see, as well as suggestions to the Fringe regarding viewing the audience as a customer. Our Fringe/June schedule is as follows (for shows in the past, ✍ indicates writeup is in progress; ✒ indicates writeup is complete):

• ✓ Sat, 6/4: ✒ Alien vs. Musical (230p) • ✍ Code 197 DWB (Driving While Blewish) (400p) • ✍ Toxic Avenger: The Musical  (600p)
• Sun, 6/5: Tell Me On A Sunday (600p) • All The Best Killers are Librarians (800p)
• Sat, 6/11: Pali Hi All Year Picnic • Einstein (400p) • The Boy from Oz – the Celebration Theatre (FB) (800p)
• Sun, 6/12: Titus Andronicus Jr. (700p); and then the Tony Awards when I get home.
• Sat, 6/18: 30JJ or Bust: The World is My Underwire (1130a) • Lamprey: Weekend of Vengeance (200p) • Mark Twain Answers All Your Questions (600p) • The Old Woman (800p)
• Sun, 6/19: Sweet Love Adieu (100p) • All Aboard the Marriage Hearse (400p)
• Sat, 6/27: Squeeze My Cans (400p) • My Big Fat Blond Musical (830p)
• Sun, 6/28: Temple Israel Reunion • Hamlet (Las Vegas Style) (630p)

Whew. July brings us back to conventional theatre, with Beautiful at the  Hollywood Pantages (FB) and the Western Corps Connection (FB) the first weekend, a HOLD for Grey Gardens at the Ahmanson Theatre (FB); the second weekend, The Little Mermaid at  Cabrillo Music Theatre (FB); the third weekend, Weird Al Yankovic at the Hollywood Bowl (FB) and Operaworks (FB) Opera Re-Constructed at CSUN; the fourth weekend, a mid-week Hollywood Bowl (FB) concert of Wynton Marsalis and Aaron Copeland, and … currently nothing for the weekend. As of right now, August is completely open. One weekend has a bar mitzvah, and there are a few holds for show, but nothing is booked. Late August may see us looking at shows down San Diego/Escondido for one weekend. The best of the shows available — or at least the most interesting — is Titanic from Moonlight Stages. As always, I’m keeping my eyes open for interesting productions mentioned on sites such as Bitter-Lemons, and Musicals in LA, as well as productions I see on Goldstar, LA Stage Tix, Plays411 or that are sent to me by publicists or the venues themselves.

Share/Bookmark

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)