Observations Along The Road... at Dreamwidth

“All children, except one, grow up. They soon know that they will grow up, and the way Wendy knew was this. One day when she was two years old she was playing in a garden, and she plucked another flower and ran with it to her mother. I suppose she must have looked rather delightful, for Mrs. Darling put her hand to her heart and cried, “Oh, why can’t you remain like this for ever!” This was all that passed between them on the subject, but henceforth Wendy knew that she must grow up. You always know after you are two. Two is the beginning of the end.” — The Adventures of Peter Pan, J. M Barrie.

Growing up is on my mind in many ways. First, my daughter has just completed her first year at UC Berkeley, and is no longer the little girl. My wife is up in Berkeley picking her up and bringing her home. This led directly to the second thing that put growing up on my mind: while they were out I took the chance to go to Hollywood and see the Ovation-recommended play “Peter Pan: The Boy Who Hated Mothers” at the Blank Theatre in Hollywood.

Most people are familiar, yet not familiar, with J. M Barrie‘s Peter Pan. First and foremost, forget the Disney adaptation. I’ve actually never seen it, but I’m pretty sure it was Disney-fied and lost some elements of the story. My familiarity with Pan comes from the 1954 musical with book by J. M. Barrie, and music by Jule Styne, Moose Charlap and lyrics by Carolyn Leigh, Betty Comden, and Adolph Green. The story in Peter Pan: The Boy Who Hated Mothers hewed very close to the story in the 1954 musical (no surprise, as both used Barrie’s book as the basis) — in face, there were points where Michael Lluberes‘s script almost seemed word for word with the older musical (this was especially true in the opening nursery scenes). But there were also some significant differences — the major one being the catalyst in the story. In both the Disney version and the 1954 musical, there were three children who go off with Peter: Wendy, Michael, and John. In this version, there is only Wendy and John; Michael had died some unspecified time earlier at an ambigous age (the script makes you think 5-6, the props make you think it was while he was an infant). Michael’s death is the reason for discussing Peter Pan: Does Peter take the souls of children who die too early? Is he a real boy?  Is he a boy lost in childhood? It is never made clear.

This Peter Pan, unlike many of the other versions (and I’m intentionally ignoring the prequel Peter and the Starcatchers and the sequel Hook), is a drama and is not played either for laughs or for the children. That’s not to say there isn’t humor in the piece; rather, it means level of the story is not simplified for children. Peter is petty and mean; he is an immature little boy thinking only of himself. Whereas the musical and the Disney version leave one with the message that one grows up only if one wants to, and that you need to embrace the child in you… this play leaves a very different message indeed. This is where the subtitle of the play comes in.

This play is titled Peter Pan: The Boy who Hated Mothers. The subtitle is important. One might ask: why, if Peter hated mothers, did he go to the effort to bring Wendy back as a mother for himself and the lost boys? Why does the period in Neverland revolve around the presence of Wendy as the mother… even to the point of where Capt. Hook (who is the reflection of the grown Peter) talks about the importance of the mother and as the mother as Peter’s weakness? The answer is that Peter’s relationship with mothers was that of wanting one, but of making choices that always seemed centered around himself and hurting mothers. This becomes especially poignant at the end of the play. We all remember how the musical ends: Peter comes back annually to Wendy to bring her back to Neverland for a week in the Spring; as Wendy grows up he does the same thing with Wendy’s daughter, Jane. In fact, the play ends exactly as the book ends:

“As you look at Wendy, you may see her hair becoming white, and her figure little again, for all this happened long ago. Jane is now a common grown-up, with a daughter called Margaret; and every spring cleaning time, except when he forgets, Peter comes for Margaret and takes her to the Neverland, where she tells him stories about himself, to which he listens eagerly. When Margaret grows up she will have a daughter, who is to be Peter’s mother in turn; and thus it will go on, so long as children are gay and innocent and heartless.”

The last line of the play mentions how this is heartless — and just think about this: Having someone come in and take your daughter away — every year, unthinkingly — is the act  of someone who doesn’t feel the pain of a mother, and essentially hates them. Peter also takes away from Jane Darling and the children the last physical reminder of Michael — and I’m sure there are some aspects of hatred in that action as well.

The play also has a number of commentaries about growing up. Peter refuses to grow up, even though he is clearly a man in a physical sense (although with a baby’s skin and teeth). I saw this as saying that although Peter may grow up someone physically, he remained mentally and emotionally immature — and there are far too many men today who are the same. All the other “lost boys” eventually found their way to maturity (and Lluberes script actually describes how they matured)… but not Peter. Whereas other versions portray remaining a child as a good thing, this play gives the impression that it is somehow wrong — that remaining immature can hurt the others around you, and in your immaturity you won’t see the pain it causes (for when you are immature, you think only of yourself … in fact, a sign of maturity is starting to think and care about others around you). Wendy, although a little girl, is mature before her age. John is maturing with the help of Wendy. Peter never grows up. It’s not something to crow about.

The play does retain the one thing that always made me uncomfortable: the involvement of the audience in the saving of Tinkerbell after she drinks the poison. This time, it is having the audience shout out their belief in fairies with the lights out, but it is a hook that is also present in the musical version. Perhaps I don’t like it because I’ve never had the imagination to truly believe in fairies (which is why I’ve always been in the role of fan-at-a-distance, not the fanboy fanaticism many get. I’d love to be able to believe in fairies again; alas, I think I’m too grown up.

This version of Peter Pan works especially well because of the excellent direction of Michael Matthews and the excellent performance of the cast. Matthews kept the cast small, forcing most of the background players (the lost boys) to double as pirates and other characters. When combined with the limitations of the black box theatre, this plays up the emphasis of the Neverland side of the piece as being a large effort in Make Believe — pretending many things that are not real are fully real. One comes out asking the question: Was Peter real? A true question for the ages. LA Stage Week has a nice writeup on the genesis of this version.

The cast does an excellent job at making this all become real. In the lead positions are Daniel Shawn Miller as Peter Pan and Liza Burns as Wendy Darling. Miller’s Peter is childish and angry, strong and unthinking, and decidedly not mature. He doesn’t play Pan with the spritish-nature that most of the actresses has given (Peter is traditionally played by a woman); he is that mean little boy who only thought about himself. Still, Miller’s Peter does have his tender side, especially when playing father to the Lost Boys. Burns’ Wendy is much more mature. In fact, you can sense that she wants to do more with Peter and have a deeper (perhaps adult) relationship with him, but he never understands what she is hinting in. A typically clueless man-boy! Wendy’s pretend mother highlights the disciplinary aspects of being a mother, but you can see that underlying love and concern for the Lost Boys. Burns’ portray of Wendy does a great job of bringing out both the mature and the childish, often turning from one to the other on a time (as children growing up will do). At one moment she is playing; at the next, she’s remembering her mother and thinking about the pain she is causing. Contrast this with Peter: he never thinks about the pain he causes — he happily takes actions that hurt adults.

Miller and Burns are supported by an excellent ensemble. As John Darling, Benjamin Campbell mostly blends in with the Lost Boys,but especially in the closing scenes he shines as you can see his maturity beginning. Trisha LaFache doubles as both Mrs. Darling and Capt. Hook. This casting creates a different impression than the traditional approach (which has Wendy’s father doubling for Hook): the notion of a female captain lusting after little boys is very disturbing, especially with some of the implications the script creates. LaFache is versatile as both characters, bringing out both the mother and the devious Captain. The remaining ensemble members double as both Boys and Pirates, as well as other Neverland characters. Amy Lawhorn plays the lost boy Nibbs, the pirate Bill Jukes, as well as Tiger Lily and (essentially). Tinker Bell. Each comes off with a clearly different persona, and you get the sense that Amy is having fun with all the different characters. You see the same thing with Jackson Evans (Tootles/Smee) and David Hemphill (Slightly/Starkey). Evans’ Smee is particularly fun — you can see that he has a very different attitude towards Hook than does any of the crew. All of the actors were just remarkable, and appeared to truly be having fun with their roles. They are also very creative and versatile, switching from character to character with ease.

Technically the production is a very clever hoot. The set design by Mary Hamrick was remarkably clever, making great use of the Blanks’ black box space. She created a raised floor with compartments underneath, simple bedroom furniture that with imagination easily became places on the island or the ship, and wonderful use of flowing silk for water or blood. Her creative approaches to the crocodile were also fun. She was aided in this with the property design of Michael O’Hara. Kellsy Mackilligan‘s costume design was equally clever, creating the run-down clothing of children lost on an island, yet still retaining the echo of Victorian bedclothes. Rebecca Kessin‘s sound design was particularly noteworthy — usually sound design focuses on amplification, but I really noticed Kessin’s design in the sound effects and ambient noise. This was particularly emphasized during the ship scenes where the stereophonic effects and the creaking made my mind think we were actually on a ship. The lighting design by Tim Swiss and Zack Lapinski was also strong — both in the use of overhead lights to create the mood and establish scenes, but even more in the use of floor and prop lighting to create the magic, and the use of lighting to create Tinkerbell in a way I haven’t seen before. Dialect coaching was by Coco Kleppinger and was mostly good, creating the British flavor of the story. However, at one of two points the heavy accent combined with fast narration made it hard to follow the words. Sondra Mayer provided the fight choreography, and it is always fun to see swordplay on stage. The production was stage managed by Rebecca Eisenberg (who also served as assistant director), assisted by Jillian Mayo. It was produced by Noah Wyle, Sarah A. Bauer, Stephen Moffatt, and Matthew Graber; Dawn Davis, Emily Mae Heller (who we know from Temple Beth Torah); Even Martin, and Noelle Toland were associate producers. Daniel Henning is the founding Artistic Director of the blank; Ed Murphy is the Managing Director, and Noah Wyle is the Artistic Producer.

Peter Pan: The Boy Who Hated Mothers runs through June 2 at The Blank Theatre and is well worth seeing. Tickets are available through the Blank Box office, and may be available through Goldstar.

Seeing this production reminded me of how impressed I am with the productions at the Blank. If the Colony subscription dies (we still don’t know), the Blank is on my short list of places that might replace that subscription (other places include the Falcon Theatre in Burbank or the Odyssey in West LA). However, none of these has the mid-size feel we got with the Colony or its predecessor, the Pasadena Playhouse. I’ve considered the Playhouse if Colony dies, but their season just doesn’t excite me. I am open to suggestions.

Dining Notes: Dining out before the show was at Eat This Cafe, which is across the street from The Blank and part of the building that houses the Hudson Theatre.  It is a simple place, but very good and very nice. If I’m attending theatre at the Hudson (they are soon doing Rent, which is a possibility), the Blank, or any of the theatres nearby on Santa Monica, I will be back to Eat This.

Upcoming Theatre and Concerts:   Sunday brings “Falling for Make Believe” at The Colony Theatre. The last weekend of May brings “To Kill a Mockingbird” at REP East and The Scottsboro Boys” at the Ahmanson Theatre. June brings “Priscilla – Queen of the Desert” at the Pantages, and (tentative) Sweet Charity“ at DOMA (although DOMA may be replacing it with “Nine“). June will also bring a Maria Muldaur concert at McCabes.  I’m also considering Rent at the Hudson Theatres or A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum at the Hillcrest Center for the Arts in Thousand Oaks. July is currently more open, with “9 to 5 – The Musical” at REP East in the middle of the month, and “Legally Blonde – The Musical” at Cabrillo at the end of the month. August is currently completely open due to vacation planning. I’m also keeping my eyes open as the various theatres start making their 2013 season announcements. Lastly, what few dates we do have open may be filled by productions I see on Goldstar, LA Stage Tix, Plays411, or discussed in the various LA Stage Blogs I read (I particularly recommend Musicals in LA and LA Stage Times).

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

(Click Here to Comment)

I’ve never been the rock concert type. In fact, I can only recall one rock concert that I’ve been too — in the early 1980s (perhaps 1982), a girlfriend took me to see Dan Fogelberg. Other than that, it has either been concerts at McCabes, the Greek, the Hollywood Bowl, the Universal Amphitheatre, VPAC, or similar venues…  and with artists that are decidedly not rock stars — PP&M, Tom Paxton, Judy Collins, BBVD, or various theatre artists. But when our daughter found out we were going to Las Vegas, she insisted that (a) we get tickets to Elton John at Caesars, and (b) we fly her out to join us for the concert.  As she has me wrapped around her finger, guess where we were last night? Yup. We were watching Elton John and his Million Dollar Piano last night at Caesars… and it was worth every penny!

I’ve always enjoyed Elton’s music. After all, I was in high school in the 1970s when his music was growing in popularity, and my college years were the height of the “Elton John in glasses” persona. I remember the stories of the flamboyant man, his glasses, and his costumes. But at the time, I only had one of his albums (“Blue Moves“). As I’ve gotten older, I’ve grown to like his music a lot more. I’m not a fan at the level my daughter is (but then again, I’ve never been the type to go fan-boy for anything, so it may just be me), but I do now have a sizable collection of Elton’s music, and I enjoy it all — both the older and the newer stuff. I think he is one of the best artists of my generation, and is a truly talented musician. All of this was demonstrated last night — the man and his music were just great. This wasn’t the flamboyant Elton of old; this was a man comfortable with where he is in life and truly enjoying entertaining his audience. It created a level of comfort and family in the concert hall, and led to a perfect evening.

Let’s set the stage, at the center of which is Elton and his $1,000,000 piano. This piano is fully visual; it can show live or recorded video, animations and colors that follow the music being played using 68 LED video panels.  It is named “Blossom” after the late jazz singer, pianist and cabaret performer Blossom Dearie. Behind the piano on risers is the rest of Elton’s supporting band and his backup singers. The front of the risers are covered with more LED video panels, and the backdrop for the stage consists of even more LED panels. These all light up during the songs to reinforce the songs thematically, and sometimes all the panels were coordinated to provide stunning visual effects.

Unlike the early days of Elton, the man himself was not a visual effect. By that I mean that Elton did not have a flamboyant costume (just a suit with sequined shoulders, although he entered in a gold cape), nor did he wear outlandish glasses. He has moved beyond the need for such things — his music and lyrics more than make up for the lack of sequins.

The music he chose was primarily a rehash of his hits from the early days. I don’t believe he did any songs from the more recent side of his catalog. This made the audience happy as many of their favorites was there; still it would have been nice for him to introduce the audience to what he is working on these days. My supposition is that this is due to the venue — a concert stage in Vegas leads to a 90-minute intermission-less show designed to please the audience. Vegas — at least in Strip venues — is not conducive to a 3-hour two-act show that provides an in-depth review of the artists catalog, along with new unfamiliar songs. So what songs did Elton sing? Here’s the set list, along with my comments:

#	Song	Comments
1.	The Bitch Is Back	The graphics behind this number were an abstract walk down a castle corridor, with never ending curlicues and such. I’m not sure they added to the song.
2.	Benny and the Jets
3.	Rocket Man (I Think It’s Going to Be a Long, Long Time)	This song had spectacular space graphics.
4.	Levon	Elton noted that this song was gospel-inspired.
5.	Tiny Dancer	The background graphics for this song were of a ballerina.
6.	Your Song
7.	Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters	This was done as a tribute to 9/11, and the background had all sorts of images of people (presumably reacting or survivors).
8.	Better Off Dead
9.	Indian Sunset	This is a song I like quite a bit; it was covered by Mary Travers on her 1971 album “Mary”. The percussion for this song (by Ray Cooper) was just incredible.
10.	Empty Garden (Hey Hey Johnny)	This was one of the songs I hadn’t heard before. It is evidently rarely done in concert. It was done as a tribute to John Lennon and the projections included images of Lennon and the times he played with Elton.
11.	Goodbye, Yellow Brick Road	This song featured a fantastic back project that summarized Elton’s career (and included hat tips to his Broadway and movie scores). In doing so, it created the sense for me that the point he wanted to make was constrasting his life today with his life on the “Yellow Brick Road” of the flamboyant lifestyle and the drug life. He has put that behind him, and has moved to a new portion of his life.
12.	I Guess That’s Why They Call It The Blues	This was one of those songs that had abstract growing background graphics that I just couldn’t understand.
13.	Don’t Let The Sun Go Down on Me
14.	Philadelphia Freedom	This song had spectacular graphics of Philadelphia, it’s people, and animated vinyl records. A very 1970s disco feel.
15.	I’m Still Standing	This song also had great graphic, providing a good video retrospective of Elton in concert over the years.
16.	Crocodile Rock	This included audience participation on the refrain, and people dancing in the aisles. The video on the backscreen included live video of the performers and the audience.
17.	Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting	During this song, Elton invited the first few rows of the orchestra to join him on stage.
18.	Circle of Life	Stunning graphics (looking like CGI) of elephants in Africa.

Elton was backed by an excellent backing band and singers. The band consisted of Stjepan Hauser and Luka Sulic (who are the group 2Cellos) on cello; John Mahon on percussion; Kim Bullard on keyboard; Matt Bissonnet on bass; Ray Cooper on percussion; Nigel Olsson on drums; and Davey Johnstone on mandolin and guitar. The backup singers were Rose Stone, Tata Vega, Jean Witherspoon and Lisa Stone.

Technically, a lot of well deserved kudos go to the lighting designer, Patrick Woodroffe, and the screen content producer, Sam Pattinson. This is on top of all the technical work that brought the tour together. The linked article provides a detailed description of the set design, its meaning, and how all the elements came together for this particular show.

Elton John The Million Dollar Piano plays for one more weekend at Caesars, and then returns in September and October for more shows. Tickets are available through the Caesars box office.

Lastly, one note on observed theatre etiquette. We come from a background of attending live theatre — musicals, plays, opera, and such. As such, we have one behavior we know in the theatre — we watch and focus on the performance, we applaud appropriately, etc. The concert-goer etiquette appears to be different — there is a lot more screaming at the stage, and (despite the warnings from the ushers) there was loads of flash photography and video recording. As usual, the culture clash can be a bit jarring.

Upcoming Theatre and Concerts:   Currently, the rest of May is relatively quiet. Mother’s Day weekend has nothing scheduled. The following weekend brings “Falling for Make Believe” at The Colony Theatre. The last weekend of May brings “To Kill a Mockingbird” at REP East and The Scottsboro Boys” at the Ahmanson Theatre. June brings “Priscilla – Queen of the Desert” at the Pantages, and (tentative) Sweet Charity“ at DOMA. July is currently more open, with “9 to 5 – The Musical” at REP East in the middle of the month, and “Legally Blonde – The Musical” at Cabrillo at the end of the month. August is currently completely open due to vacation planning. I’m also keeping my eyes open as the various theatres start making their 2013 season announcements. Lastly, what few dates we do have open may be filled by productions I see on Goldstar, LA Stage Tix, Plays411, or discussed in the various LA Stage Blogs I read (I particularly recommend Musicals in LA and LA Stage Times).

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

(Click Here to Comment)

Most people are familiar with the musical “Grease“. You’ve seen the movie or you’ve heard the music; perhaps you’ve even seen a production. I know that I am — I’ve seen the movie, have three different versions of the cast album on my iPod (1972, 1994, 2007) … plus the movie, and have seen increasingly professional productions over the years (including the excellent Nobel MS production and the less excellent Van Nuys HS production). Last night we added to our roster the strong regional production at Cabrillo Music Theatre. This production was very good, but it also illuminated some things about Grease that I hadn’t noticed before. Let me elaborate.

One problem with being so familiar with the property is that they all start to blur in one’s head. This isn’t helped by the various versions out there blurring things. The production at Nobel MS, for example, combined a number of scenes and songs from the movie with cuts and edits from the school version. Stage productions over the years have rearranged songs or added movie songs (notably the 2007 revival). Add to this that many people are overly familiar with the movie version, and expect that to be the stage version (I heard that from people sitting around me). Cabrillo’s version was the official licensed version, which is the original 1972 production without any of the revival changes. There are a number of things that worked well in Cabrillo’s production — and a few that didn’t. So let’s look at the production in four areas: book, direction, performance, and technical.

As I alluded too above, most people believe they are familiar with Grease, but that familiarity is with a blurred version in one’s head. Wikipedia provides a good synopsis of the original story, which concerns two groups of quasi-gangs in a 1950s-era Chicago high school. One, the “Pink Ladies”, consists of Betty Rizzo, Frenchy, Jan, and Marty (Beauty); the other, the Burger Palace Boys, consists of Danny Zuko, Kenicke, Doody, Sonny, and Roger. The story concerns the relationship between Zuko and Sandy Dumbroski, a girl Danny met over the summer at the beach. Sandy shows up unexpectedly at Rydell High, and Danny must balance being cool with his friends and the “good girl” he wants. Sandy, meanwhile, is integrating into the Pink Ladies, and dealing with the clash of lifestyles and morals. Other characters in the story include Patty Simcox, the cheerleeder; Eugene, the nerd; and Miss Lynch, the English teacher. I should note that the book, music, and lyrics for Grease are by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey; Jacobs was in the audience last night.

When Grease premiered on Broadway, it was not received well by the critics, but was loved by audiences. Last night while watching the show, I could see why critics at the time didn’t like it. The music in Grease is an amalgam between traditional musical music that moves the story along and illustrates the inner thoughts and motivations of the characters, and more novelty numbers that serve as a backdrop for something else. Critics hate those backdrop numbers, and last night they screamed out at me as well. For example, if one was to drop “Magic Changes” from the story, not a whit of meaning is lost. Similarly, “Freddie My Love” introduces an aspect of Marty’s character that is never mentioned again, and one could replace “Hand Jive” with a generic 1950s song without the loss of story. On the other hand, some numbers (such as “Sandra Dee” or “Summer Nights” are critical to the plot. One thing that all the music has, however, is fun. The score is something that is just fun to listen to (and Cabrillo’s production is strong in this regard, as they always have an excellent orchestra). However, the book is beyond our ability to change — and I know that many of the changes that have been done to integrate movie material haven’t significantly improved the book.

Normally, one is not aware of the direction of a show. The skills of the actors combine with the skills of the directors to make the portrayals realistic; just like the sound design, the direction blends into the background and the show becomes a harmonious whole. Occasionally characters will burst out into song, but this is part of the suspension of disbelief one sees in the musical theater (and something directors fight when turning a musical into a movie). This production of Grease was directed by Barry Pearl and choreographed by Kelly Ward. For the most part the direction and dance worked well, but there were some puzzling choices. The first — and the most jarring for me — was the decision for many of the musical numbers to have the actors grab large wired microphones for the musical numbers. These were unnecessary for either sound design or the story, and their use served only to distract. It would be much better — and more realistic — if the use of such microphones would have been only where they would be used in real life. The second jarring decision was the casting for Cha Cha. Not the actress — who was great — but the decision to make the character (described in the script simply as “homely “) be fat and slovely. I don’t recall this choice from any version I have seen — usually Cha Cha is more homely in spirit and behavior and not particularly overweight. When this choice for Cha Cha is combined with the script’s behavior for Jan and Roger, there is a bit more size-ism in the production than I feel is necessary.

Other than those choices, the direction and movement worked reasonably well. I particularly liked how the various couples were highlighted during the “Hand Jive” (although I wish Cabrillo had augmented this number with more dancers — I’m sure they had teen kids that would love to be on stage, and it would have made it more of a real high school dance). I also enjoyed the enthusiasm brought out in the cast during “We Go Together”, and the emotion brought out during both “Alone at a Drive-In Movie” and “There Are Worse Things I Could Do”.  The staging of “Beauty School Dropout” (the Teen Angel number) was cute, although not all of the irony of the words of the songs came out in the angel’s performance.

As usual, the cast was very very good. In the lead positions were Michael Cusimano (FB) and Natalie MacDonald/FB as Danny Zuko and Sandy Dumbrowski. Both were great performers and had strong singing voices, and this made a wonderful Cabrillo debut for both. The remainder of the “Burger Palace Boys” consisted of Harley Jay* (FB) (Kenickie), Nick Tubbs/FB (Doody), Ryan Quick/FB (Roger) and Nick Bernardi/FB (Sonny). All were good; there were standout performances by both Jay and Quick. I particularly enjoyed Jay’s voice, and the personality of Quick in his interaction with Jan. Speaking of Jan, the “Pink Ladies” consisted of Katherine Malak* (FB) (Betty Rizzo), Tessa Grady (Frenchy), Claire Bermingham (FB) (Marty), and Kimmy Zolozabal (FB) (Jan). Malak’s Rizzo was very strong in all her numbers, and was particularly touching in “There Are Worse Things I Could Do”. Grady’s Frenchy was also very good; Grady is always fun to watch on the Cabrillo and she did her best to bring some fun to Frenchy. Particularly fun to watch was Zolozabal’s Jan — she brought a lot of fun and enthusiasm to the role, and one’s eye was just drawn to her.

Notables in the remainder of the cast were Veronica Dunne as Patty Simcox, who brought an extreme amount of enthusiasm to the role (including doing cartwheels during the final bows) and Francesca Barletta/FB as Cha-Cha DiGregorio, who projected a memorable personality in what is a small role.  Also notable was Adrian Zmed* (FB) as Teen Angel. Admittedly a cameo role, Zmed had fun with the camp aspects of the song and role, although I wish he had paused a little more for emphasis after some of the musical phrases. Rounding out the cast were Michele Selin (Miss Lynch), Adam von Almen/FB (Eugene Florczyk), Travis Dixon (Vince Fontaine), and Jon Robert Hall (FB) (Johnny Casino).
[* indicates members of Actors Equity]

The music was under the direction of David O, who conducted the 7 piece on-stage band. As always, the band was excellent. The band consisted of David O (Keyboard, Conductor); Gary Rautenberg (Tenor Sax 1, woodwinds), Matt Germaine (Tenor Sax 2, woodwinds), Brian Lafontaine (Electric Guitar), Steve Bethers (Electric Guitar II), Shane Harry (Electric Bass, Double String Bass), and Dave Lotfi (Set-drums).

Lastly, let’s look at the technical aspects of the program. The set was designed by Valley Youth Theatre in Phoenix, AZ, with additional scenic design by Hana Kim. The set left me a little baffled — I couldn’t understand why there was an odd keyboard platform near the top of the stairs, nor why a high school in 1959 would have a big picture of James Dean. The sound design was by Jonathan Burke and (aside from the previously mentioned hand-mic problem) was reasonably good, although there were a few problems during the “Mooning” number with the actor’s mics. Lighting was by Design Partners Inc and Kim Killingsworth, and was for the most part OK. There were some odd transitions, particularly during the opening number when the spot would move from one side to the other (note: the problem wasn’t the switching of the spot; it was the effect during the transition). Christine Gibson was wardrobe supervisor, using costumes from the FCLO Music Theatre. Cassie Russek provided the hair and makeup design. Gary Wissmann was technical director, and the everpresent Allie Roy was the production stage manager (assisted by Morgan Zupanski).

A few notes about the audience at this show. First, the balcony was about half full — this is the best I’ve seen at a Cabrillo show in a long time and was a great thing to see. Alas, much of the audience was addicted to their smart phones. The minute intermission started — boom — out came the phones and there were these little squares of light everywhere. Also, Cabrillo appears to have changed their policy and was allowing food and drink in the balcony. I don’t mind this for the occasional candy bar or cookie or water bottle, but these were bags of chips (crinkling during the 2nd act) and open cups of beer (worries about spillage). I’m not sure this is a wise policy, and I hope last night was an aberration.

The last performance of “Grease” at Cabrillo is this afternoon. Tickets are available online or at the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza Box Office.  Cabrillo has also announced their 2013-2014 season: Kiss Me Kate (October 18-27, 2013); Forever Plaid (January 31-February 9, 2014); In The Heights (March 28-April 6, 2014); and Bye Bye Birdie (July 18-27, 2014). Prices run from $229 for Orchestra to $100 for balcony, with special kids rates. Contact Cabrillo for more information.

Upcoming Theatre and Concerts:   April concludes with a winetasting at Temple Ahavat Shalom. May is busy in a different sense, with two concerts — Elton John in Las Vegas on May 4, and (tentative) Michael Feinstein at VPAC on May 11. May also brings “Falling for Make Believe” at The Colony Theatre and “To Kill a Mockingbird” at REP East. Lastly, continuing the look ahead, June will bring (tenative) “The Scottsboro Boys” at the Ahmanson Theatre, “Priscilla – Queen of the Desert” at the Pantages, and (tentative) Sweet Charity“ at DOMA. July is currently more open, with “9 to 5 – The Musical” at REP East in the middle of the month, and “Legally Blonde – The Musical” at Cabrillo at the end of the month. August is currently completely open due to vacation planning and the potential Nottingham Faire. I’m also keeping my eyes open as the various theatres start making their 2013 season announcements. Lastly, what few dates we do have open may be filled by productions I see on Goldstar, LA Stage Tix, Plays411, or discussed in the various LA Stage Blogs I read (I particularly recommend Musicals in LA and LA Stage Times).

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

(Click Here to Comment)

Listen, children, and gather around while I tell you a story of the past. No, not the exodus from Egypt. That’s Monday night. Today’s story concerns a different type of transportation. You see, once upon a time there were these things called “timetables”. They covered all forms of transportation: buses, railroads, and airplanes. In fact, there was a special book published called the Official Airline Guide, that had the timetables for every flight by a commercial airline. In the days before personal computers, this is how you determined what flights were where. Schedules were very static, and tended not to change all that much unless new aircraft were introduced. In fact, one could build a life around the schedules.

Last night, at Repertory East Playhouse (FB), we saw the 1965 French farce “Boeing Boeing“, written by Marc Camoletti, revised by Francis Evans, and translated by Beverley Cross . “Boeing Boeing” is the story of a man who has built his life around timetables — in this case, airline timetables. This man — Bernard — is living and working in Paris, and is engaged to three women, all flight attendants. Fiancee #1 is Janet, a Pan-Am stewardess flying across the Atlantic regularly. Fiancee #2 is Jaqueline, an Air France stewardess regularly flying to the Middle East. Fiancee #3 is Judith, a Luftansa stewardess. Helping Bernard manage all of this is his long suffering maid, Bertha. For a number of years, Bernard successfully manages this juggling act. However, the balls all start to get confused just as Bernard’s long time friend, Robert, comes to visit and stay for a few days. Why? Pan Am has moved to a faster variant of the Boeing 707, one that produces almost 3,000 lbs more thrust… and is moving Janet to the route.  Air France is also upgrading aircraft, and is moving Jacqueline to the new Caravelle jet. The net effect of all of this is that Bernard’s timetables are ruined. After seeing Janet off to New York, and while having lunch with Jacqueline, Judith shows up to Bernard’s apartment early — and has a changed assignment where she can stay three days. This is the first in a series of timetable changes that leaves all three girls going in and out of the apartment, where juggling occurs only thanks to the help of Bertha and Robert. I won’t spoil the details of the farce, but suffice it to say it is very fast and funny.

My first thought upon seeing this was synchronicity with other recent shows. Just last week we saw “Catch Me If You Can“, a story with a large emphasis on tall, leggy, Pan-Am stewardesses. Two weeks ago we saw “Company“, a story about a man named Robert who is juggling three girlfriends and who wants to get married, if he can ever figure out why he wants to get married. There are themes in both of these plays common with our main character: someone who is pretending to be something he is not, someone who wants to find love, but doesn’t have the strength to settle for just one until life decides to get involve and force him to consider the choices he has made. However, this is probably too much analysis. After all, the original story was clearly defined as farce, not something this is intended to have deep meaning or to resonate in various ways.

From what I understand (as I haven’t seen them), the original play (and subsequent movie) treated Bernard and Robert straight. Both were more sophisticated characters (in the movie, Bernard and Robert were Tony Curtis and the suave, not comic, Jerry Lewis, respectively), letting the farce and the situation provide the humor. At REP, the director, Christopher Chase (FB), took the story in a more physical direction — much of the humor came from physical comedy and physical reactions of the two primary male leads (Macleish Day* (FB) as Bernard and Nick Ruth/FB as Robert) and the long-suffering Bertha (Nikki Jacobs (FB)). I was initially unsure about Day’s Bernard — I didn’t think he had the looks to be the playboy type (but often that seems to be the case in farces). However, Day won me over with his physical comedy, which was spectacular. His long-limbed rubbery body reminded me of Jim Carry in the early days, and worked very well with the direction that Chris Chase took this comedy. Ruth’s Robert was more a reactive partner-in-crime: facilitating the subterfuge, thinking quick and reacting as the situation rapidly goes south. A third comic gem as Jacob’s Bertha, who reminded me of a sardonic Nancy Walker (in writing this up, I discovered that the role of Bertha in the past has been played by Rhea Perelman and Christine Baranski). Jacob’s comic timing and experience served her well in this role, and also permitted her to find the funny as various things happened due to the nature of live theatre.

Serving as both the beauties of the story, as well as catalysts for the action in the story, are the three flight attendants. The first one we meet is Melanie Wahla* (FB) as the American, Janet (Wahla also helped with costumes and the set development).  I was initially unsure about Wahla, simply because she didn’t have the Pan-Am stewardess look I saw the previous week in “Catch Me If You Can“. However, Wahla won me over and shone in the second act with great comic timing and agressiveness. On the other hand, I instantly fell in love with the look of the Air France attendant, Jacqueline, played by Alana Marie Cheuvront (Etsy) (FB); I could easily see why Bernard would want to marry her. Cheuvront was also strong both comically and emotionally, and had a wonderful French je ne sais quoi. Lastly, as our Luftansa attendant, Judith, was portrayed by Carole Catanzaro (FB). Catanzaro had the stewardess look: long, leggy, powerful. But Catanzaro’s Judith didn’t just project beauty; she also projected the strong Germanic power needed for a German attendant — that “you will do what I say… or else” attitude that proved a great instigator for the comic side of the story.

In short, the REP nailed it on casting yet again. (* indicates members of Actors Equity).

Production-wise, “Boeing-Boeing” had the usual excellent job by the REP regular team. The scenic painting and design were by Ovington Michael Owston/FB, Mikee Schwinn/FB, Melanie Wahla* (FB), and Christopher Chase (FB). Lighting was by Tim Christianson/FB, and Steven “Nanook” Burkholder/FB handled the sound with his usual expertise. Costumes were by Melanie Wahla* (FB), and Christopher Chase (FB), with additional costumes from Tonya Nelson of NSA Costumes. According to the program, Christina Aguilar/FB was the production stage manager and Levanna Atkinson-Williams (FB) was the stage manger; however, at the production we were at, Mikee Schwinn/FB and his brother Johnny/FB were ably holding down the fort.

“Boeing Boeing” continues at REP East Playhouse until April 13. If you friend REP East on Facebook, you can often learn of discount tickets (and how to get discount drinks from the Hydeaway Lounge).  Tickets are available through the REP Online Box Office or through Goldstar.

Upcoming Theatre and Concerts:   March ends with “End of the Rainbow” at the Ahmanson on March 30. April has less theatre — so far, only one show is scheduled. The first weekend of April is open. The next weekend brings with the Southern California Renaissance Faire.  Following that is “Grease” at Cabrillo Music Theatre, and April concludes with a winetasting at Temple Ahavat Shalom. May is busy in a different sense, with two concerts — Elton John in Las Vegas on May 4, and (tentative) Michael Feinstein at VPAC on May 11. May also brings “Falling for Make Believe” at The Colony Theatre and “To Kill a Mockingbird” at REP East. Lastly, continuing the look ahead, June will bring (tenative) “The Scottsboro Boys” at the Ahmanson Theatre, “Priscilla – Queen of the Desert” at the Pantages, and (tentative) Sweet Charity“ at DOMA. July is currently more open, with “9 to 5 – The Musical” at REP East in the middle of the month, and “Legally Blonde – The Musical” at Cabrillo at the end of the month. August is currently completely open due to vacation planning and the potential Nottingham Faire. I’m also keeping my eyes open as the various theatres start making their 2013 season announcements. Lastly, what few dates we do have open may be filled by productions I see on Goldstar, LA Stage Tix, Plays411, or discussed in the various LA Stage Blogs I read (I particularly recommend Musicals in LA and LA Stage Times).

Music: The Captain & The Kid (Elton John): “Old 67″

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)

Getting out of your comfort zone. This is something I’ve been discussing with my daughter of late, as she (a History major) has been taking an Astronomy class. This is also something most of us do in life when we get into a relationship and take a leap of faith when we commit to a lifetime relationship when we get married. Getting our of his comfort zone is the question ultimately faced by the lead character, Robert, in that classic Stephen Sondheim / George Furth musical-comedy “Company“, which we saw last night at the Crown City Theatre in North Hollywood. In short, this is an excellent production of the musical, and is well worth going to.

Before I go on, I’d like to note that this is a write-up, it is not a review. I am not a trained theatre critic, and I pay to attend every show I go to, just like most other audience members. I share my opinions on the shows I see with my friends, because I believe the best way to grow live theatre is to spread the word. This is in response to an editorial by Peter Finlayson on Footlights that was in our program, lambasting the “hacks” (untrained critics) who post their opinions about shows in blogs. I’ll have a separate post on that later, but that editorial served to insult this “hack”.

Luckily, the show more than made up for that insult. For those not familiar with it, “Company” is one of those seminal musicals (Sondheim has a lot of those). When it premiered in 1970, it was a flop. Critics and audiences at the time did not appreciate or connect with its music and found its books confusing. The music was Sondheim at his best: a mix of dissonance, clever patter numbers, tender numbers, and exceedingly complex numbers that served to illuminate the characters, as opposed to being an integral part of the plot or moving story forward. George Furth’s book was not necessarily linear, presenting a series of vignettes about marriage and relationships. It also made a point that did not necessarily sit well.

Given this structure for the story, describing it is difficult. “Company” is really the story of Robert (Bobby). Bobby is turning 35, and all of his married friends want him to get married. These friends — Joanne and Larry, Peter and Susan, Harry and Sarah, David and Jenny, and Paul and Amy — all believe that being married is the desirable state, and that by 35 one should be married. As for Bobby… well, he wants to get married, but not really, well he’s unsure. Through a series of scenes we see how Bobby views the marriages of his friends, as well as Bobby’s relationships with the single girls in his life. All of these propel Bobby into a deeper understanding of why he might want to get married, and what marriage really is. Sondheim has indicated this is one of those musicals where he had trouble getting just the right song for the ending, and the one he chose, “Being Alive”, worked well to capture the final point being made.

The director, Albert Alarr (FB), updated the story slightly, incorporating modern communication devices and modern dances. These updates worked very well, especially during the opening where Bobby is simultaneously playing a video game while dealing with email, messages, phone calls, texts, and chats from his married friends. Alarr also did an excellent job in bringing out the characters from the actors — one of the things I was impressed with in this production is how well performed it was. That’s a sign of a director in synergy with his acting ensemble. This was just a well well performed performance.

It was also great to see this musical up-close in a small venue. I’ve begun to realize that many “Broadway” musicals shine when given the small treatment — when the creative energy is used to make the big show up close and personal. I’ve seen this in the under-99 seat version of Gypsy, and it truly shows in this small theatre production of Company. The performances amplify — you get a close-up sense of the people and the couples, and the small space makes the show even more New-York-ish than a large gigantic stage would do.

Let’s now look at the cast and the couples, and in doing so, I’ll highlight two of my favorite performances; the rest I’ll hit as I go through the cast. [* indicates members of Actors Equity or one of the other 4A unions for actors]

In the lead position was Ben Rovner* (FB) as Robert. Rovner’s Robert was comfortable and accessible, and just seemed like the type of person you would like to be around — a good friend always there when you need him. You could see why these couples liked him and wanted him to be what they perceived as happy. Rovner’s signing voice was delightful, shining in numerous numbers such as “Marry Me a Little” and “Being Alive”, and he danced wonderfully.

Moving from the lead to one of the smaller roles, equally impressive was Julia Black*’s Marta. Marta is one of the girlfriends of Bobby, and is the lead singer for  “Another Hundred People”. Black impressed me in two ways. First, she had a wonderfully powerful singing voice that you could hear in the background of a number of songs, and which shone in “Another Hundred People”. Further, she had a wonderfully expressive face that reacted to the story going on around her — again, this was seen in “Another Hundred People”, as well as in the interplay with Peter and Susan, the married couple who divorced but are still living together for the children. She was also a standout in “You Could Drive a Person Crazy”.

In the Broadway original, one of the standouts was Elaine Stritch as Joanne. In the production, Joanne was played by Sonja Alarr* (FB), playing off of her stage husband Larry (Mike Hagiwara* (FB)). Both were excellent. Alarr’s Joanne wasn’t quite as hard and cynical as the original, but came across as a lovely older lady with a sardonic view of life and an incredible capacity for alcohol. Her two main numbers — “The Little Things You Do Together” and the “Ladies Who Lunch” were just great. Hagiwara was one of the best male performers on the stage, with a great voice and wonderful movement.

During Joanne’s first number, we meet the couple of Harry (James Calvert* (FB)) and Sarah (Libby Baker* (FB)). The two worked well together, and Baker had a very lovely singing voice.

The couple of Amy and Paul were portrayed by Amy Albert* (FB) and Christopher Davis Carlisle* (FB). Albert’s Amy was spectacular, and I was blown away by her comic timing, expressions, and vocal capacity during “Not Getting Married”. Carlisle shown less in the singing and more in the reactions during the same number.

Peter (Zeffin Quinn Hollis* (FB)) and Susan (Lena Gwendolyn Hill* (FB)) were mentioned earlier — they are a married couple who decided the best way to preserve their relationship was divorce.  I was unsure about Hill’s Southern portrayal at the beginning, but it ended up working quite well and both performers were fun to watch.

The last couple is David (Jon Hand* (FB)) and Jenny (Beatrice Crosbie* (FB)). Both were a delight to watch, especially in the pot scene where seeing Jenny high was a treat.

Rounding out the cast were Robert’s other two girlfriends — and the remaining parts of the trio for “You Could Drive a Person Crazy”. April, the flight attendant, was played by Emma Degerstedt* (FB). She was spectacular in “Barcelona” and “Drive a Person Crazy”, with a delightful look and wonderful comic timing. The other remaining girlfriend was Kathy (Katy O’Donnell* (FB)).

As I indicated at the beginning, the entire cast was fun to watch, and the large number of people conveyed the New York feel quite well. Also working well was the set design by Jack Forrestel (FB), which integrated well with the props from Joanne McGee (FB) and the projections by Zeffin Quinn Hollis*(FB) to turn the long black-box Crown City space into an effective New York apartment. It is this creativity that shows small theatre at its best — these things are easy to do when you have lots of fly and wing space, but when you are limited and you make it work it is just remarkable. The lighting design by Anna Cecelia Martin worked well to convey the mood, and the sound design by Mark Duggar/FB worked well to provide that ambient noise of New York well. The costumes by Tanya Apuya (FB) worked very well, especially the lovely outfits for all the female characters.  Serving as music director (and on the piano) was William A. Reilly/FB, and the delightful choreography was by John Todd/FB. Gary Lamb/FB was the Technical Director, and Kimberly Bullock/FB was the production stage manager.

“Company” continues at Crown City Theatre at least through the end of March. Tickets are available through Brown Paper Tickets, and note that shows seem to be selling out.

Upcoming Theatre and Concerts:   Next weekend takes us to the Pantages and Hollywood for  “Catch Me If You Can”on March 16. The fourth week of March brings “Boeing Boeing” at REP East on March 23, and March ends with “End of the Rainbow” at the Ahmanson on March 30. April has less theatre — so far, only one show is scheduled. The first weekend of April is open. The next weekend brings with the Southern California Renaissance Faire.  Following that is “Grease” at Cabrillo Music Theatre, and April concludes with a winetasting at Temple Ahavat Shalom. May is busy in a different sense, with two concerts — Elton John in Las Vegas on May 4, and (tentative) Michael Feinstein at VPAC on May 11. May also brings “Falling for Make Believe” at The Colony Theatre and “To Kill a Mockingbird” at REP East. Lastly, continuing the look ahead, June will bring (tenative) “The Scottsboro Boys” at the Ahmanson Theatre, “Priscilla – Queen of the Desert” at the Pantages, and (tentative) Sweet Charity“ at DOMA. We were originally planning on the Western Corps Connection at the end of the month, but their collection of corps this year is poor. I’m also keeping my eyes open as the various theatres start making their 2013 season announcements. Lastly, what few dates we do have open may be filled by productions I see on Goldstar, LA Stage Tix, Plays411, or discussed in the various LA Stage Blogs I read (I particularly recommend Musicals in LA and LA Stage Times).

Music: NEO: New, Emerging…Outstanding! (Concert Cast) (Darius De Haas): “Field Flowers (Based On Text By Thomas Campbell)”

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’s hard to be middle-aged. It’s even harder if you’re middle-aged and female and looking for love. Well, at least that’s the premise of Kathryn Graf‘s new play, “The Snake Can“, which we saw last night at The Odyssey Theatre Ensemble in West Los Angeles.

“The Snake Can” tells the story of three women, all in their early 50s: Nina, an artist, who recently separated from her husband Paul; Meg, who is twice divorced; and Harriet, a writer, widowed 7 years ago after a number of years of a loving marriage. All are navigating the rocky relationship waters, attempting to find both themselves and relationships in the modern world. The play concerns this questions. Each of the women’s story is somewhat separate, except where the women get together to talk to each other about their relationship problems. Harriet, a homemaker and stay-at-home mom from the suburbs, has finally decided to go after new relationships, and is doing it through a website called matchmaking.luv (ummm, yes… it seems authors don’t always understand the domain naming system). She has met a man named Stephen, and has to overcome both his past and his reluctance to commit. This past, mind you, includes a number of bisexual years that included a man named Brad. Nina is less navigating dating than navigating separating from her long-time actor husband, Paul. She’s had her bootie calls, but is flinging herself into her art (literally) more than dating. Meg, who is perhaps the smartest of them all, has had a series of relationships but nothing seems to work. All three seem to love to drown their sorrows with copious amounts of wine (hmmm, they would fit really great into Cougartown). By the time the play ends, all have learned something about themselves, and have found some sense of closure in their relationships.

The direction by Steven Robman is smart, and the situations presented by the women draw you into the story well. As for being realistic — well that I’m unsure of, but then again, I haven’t dealt with the dating scene since the 1980s! If anything, they gave me the sense of being a little too earnest, and the resulting story had a bit of a sitcom feel to it. That could also be the side effect of having to squeeze all the character growth and driving situations into 120 minutes. The types of women portrayed did feel right, and I’ve certainly seen men like that before. One got the sense that these were people who wanted the relationship for the comfort of the relationship, not particularly for anything physical. The play also resonated well with the older middle-aged audience found in the theatre today. All in all, it was an enjoyable evening.

Much of this came from the performances of the acting team. In the lead positions were Diane Cary* as Nina, Jane Kaczmarek* as Harriet, and Sharon Sharth* was Meg. All came off as realistic, and I particularly enjoyed the performances of Sharth and Kaczmarek. Sharth, as Meg, as beautiful and accessible, and exuded a wonderful air of confidence. Kaczmarek, as Harriet, gave off the suburban wife vibe well, although drinking a bit much (I hope that was stage alcohol, or those actresses might need a driver at the end of an evening). Cary was a little bit colder as Nina, but I also enjoyed her character.

In the two main male roles were Paul Lieber as Paul and James Lancaster* as Stephen. Lieber’s Paul struck me as a bit of a looser Malcolm McDowell, but that could be a look thing. You could tell from Lieber’s performance that this was a man having trouble navigating the relationship waters as well. He wanted to be with his wife, who no longer wanted him, and really didn’t want to date. He just wanted the comfort of what he had. Lancaster’s Stephen was different — a character who wanted a relationship with a women and who had been bisexual in the past, who could never seem to make relationships of either type work in the long run. He was scared of having relationships work, and portrayed this quite well.  Rounding out the male cast was Joel Polis* as the boyfriend Jake and Stephen’s former lover, Brad.
[*: Member of Actors Equity]

Turning to the technical: The set, which was designed by Jeffery P. Eisenmann, worked reasonably well. The apartment side of the set worked well, although the textures on the wall interfered with the excellent projections of Hana S. Kim. The props by Lorely Trinidad worked well. The set was well lit by Adam Blumenthal, and the sound design and sound effects of Cricket S. Myers were (umm) effective. The costumes of Miguel Montalvo were appropriate to my eye and conveyed the period well. Liana Dillaway was the Production Stage Manager, assisted by Priscilla Miranda. “The Snake Can” was produced by Racquel Lehrman.

“The Snake Can” continues at The Odyssey Theatre until March 2. Tickets are available through the Odyssey; discount tickets may be available through LA Stage Tix. It is worth seeing. Upcoming productions at The Odyssey include “Rank” by Robert Massey (3/23 – 5/12) and “Annapurna” (by Sharr White). Other productions listed that intrigue me include “Ionescopade: A Musical Vaudeville“, built around th eplays, playlets, and poetry of Eugene Ionesco (6/8 – 7/28/2013); an all-female casting of “Hamlet” featuring Charlayne Woodard as Gertrude (8/17 – 10/13/13), and a “Waiting for Godot”-esque play called “Old Clown Wanted” about three out-of-work circus clowns marking time in a deserted office.

Dining Notes: As we were on the Westside and had just hit Record Surplus (where we scored with loads of music, including a French-cast-album of Hair), we decided to explore nearby restaurants. We ended up at an excellent Oaxacan Mexican restaurant on Santa Monica called Monte Alban. Yummy and different. We’ll be back.

Upcoming Theatre and Concerts:   March starts with “I’ll Be Back Before Midnight” at the Colony. The following weekend sees us in North Hollywood for “Company” at the Crown City Theatre. The third week of March takes us to the Pantages and Hollywood for  “Catch Me If You Can”on March 16. The fourth week of March brings “Boeing Boeing” at REP East on March 23, and ends with “End of the Rainbow” at the Ahmanson on March 30. April has less theatre — so far, only one show is scheduled. The first weekend of April is open. The next weekend brings with the Southern California Renaissance Faire.  Following that is “Grease” at Cabrillo Music Theatre, and April concludes with a winetasting at Temple Ahavat Shalom. May is busy in a different sense, with two concerts — Elton John in Las Vegas on May 4, and (tentative) Michael Feinstein at VPAC on May 11. May also brings “Falling for Make Believe” at The Colony Theatre and “To Kill a Mockingbird” at REP East. Lastly, continuing the look ahead, June will bring (tenative) “The Scottsboro Boys” at the Ahmanson Theatre, “Priscilla – Queen of the Desert” at the Pantages, (tentative) Sweet Charity“ at DOMA, and the Western Corps Connection at the end of the month. I’m also keeping my eyes open as the various theatres start making their 2013 season announcements. Lastly, what few dates we do have open may be filled by productions I see on Goldstar, LA Stage Tix, Plays411, or discussed in the various LA Stage Blogs I read (I particularly recommend Musicals in LA and LA Stage Times).

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

(Click Here to Comment)

Comic strips — especially those regularly published in the newspapers — are interesting things. At one level they are aimed for children, but at another level they are something completely different. One of my favorite examples of this is the webcomic “Garfield minus Garfield“, which takes the regular Garfield comic and simply subtracts Garfield. This turns what is often a childish strip into a wonderful portrait of existential angst, sadness, and loneliness. I got to thinking about Garfield last night at Cabrillo Music Theatre in Thousand Oaks, while we were attending their latest production, “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown“.

“You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown” (henceforth, YAGMCB) is a simple piece — a series of vignettes (very much like a series of comic strips) that illustrate incidents from the Peanuts comic strip written by Charles Shultz, where most of the vignettes are punctuated with simple musical novelty numbers. I’ll note it isn’t the only stage show about Charlie Brown; there is also “Snoopy! The Musical” (which I’ve heard but never seen), and the unauthorized “Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead” (which visits the characters (or close facsimiles thereof) as teens, which we saw in 2010). It features only six characters: Charlie Brown, Lucy, Linus, Schroeder, Sally Brown, and Snoopy. It’s inherent simplicity and small cast make it work wonderfully off-Broadway (where it ran for over 1,500 performances in early 1970) and in smaller theatres; that is also what works against it in larger Broadway venues (as demonstrated by the first Broadway run, which lasted only 32 performances, or the revival, which ran longer at 149 performances). This size problem is one thing that works against the show in the Cabrillo production — the show is simply dwarfed by the cavernous Kavli stage and theatre space. The inherent smallness and beauty of the piece is lost. This is no fault of the actors, writers, or directors, but of the producers. YAGMCB is simply not an appropriate piece for large theatres.

As I noted at the beginning, YAGMCB is a series of vignettes, with original book, music, and lyrics by Clark M. Gesner. The Cabrillo production is based on the 1999 revival, which replaced the original Patty with Sally Brown, and featured additional dialogue by Michael Mayer  and additional music and lyrics by Andrew Lippa. The vignette approach mirrors the comic strip nature very well, but it also means that it inherits another characteristic of many comic strips that make them bad for the stage: no through story. In the Peanuts strip, the characters never age, they never grow, they never learn. They never have crises to overcome along the path. That works well for gag-a-day strips; however, it works poorly for much live theatre. In the theatre, such productions are often enjoyable but ultimately empty, marshmallows that are sweet going down but mostly empty. What YAGMCB does have for depth — if you are looking for any — is the ultimate angst and depression (and yet continuing optimism, which will be torn asunder in his teens) of Charlie Brown when faced with the characters around him. You see these character traits (which were magnified and amplified in the unauthorized and aforementioned Dog Sees God) well in this show. With the adult side of your mind, they are fun to watch.

With the kid side of your mind, however, you see the simple strip. Here is where YAGMCB works quite well. It does bring the nature of the strips to the stage well. The universal humor, featuring situations we’ve all faced, works well. The director, Lewis Wilenfeld, does a great job of bringing out the kid in the adult actors. Although initially jarring, the fact that these are adults playing kids eventually fades  away, and you are left seeing the characters you love so well. The situations present reflect the best moments of the comic strip: Linus and his blanket, Schroeder and his piano, Charlie Brown and his kite, Snoopy and his food, Snoopy and his Sopwith Camel, Snoopy and his birds, Lucy and her crabbiness, and so on. The songs in the production, for the most part, are not deep. They are amusing and they often tell the story, but they don’t have complexity. There is one exception — the standout song from the show: “Happiness”. This is the closing song of the show, and it touches on everything it means to be a child, to be a friend, and it cements the relationships between these comic strip characters.

So let’s look at the characters… and the actors, who performed them very well. Although the production may have been dwarfed by the Kavli stage, the performances did a great job of filling the theatre.

As Charlie Brown, Dane Biren (FB) is appropriately youthful, but didn’t fully strike me as Charlie Brown. Still, especially as the show went on, he worked quite well. He had a delightful singing voice, and was particularly notable — both in performance and acting — in his numbers “The Kite” and “T.E.A.M.” (The Baseball Game). I also enjoyed him in the closing finale of “Happiness”.

Lucy, as portrayed by Natalie Storrs (FB), was more problematic. For me, her look was off — she looked too old for the character, and her costuming was off (I never recall Lucy wearing bloomers in the strip, and this production put both Lucy and Sally in bloomers, as seen in the image to the right). However, her comic timing was wonderful, her performance was very strong, and her singing was great (and very much like the cast album). Storr particularly shone with her comic performance in “Schroeder” and “The Doctor is In”, and her vignette about crabbiness. Ultimately, I was won over by Storr’s Lucy despite the problems, and truly enjoyed her performance.

Linux, Lucy’s younger brother, was well played by Jeffrey Scott Parsons* (FB). Linus represents the philosophical viewpoint (he becomes a pothead in Dog Meets God), and Parsons portrayed that well. He was exceptional in “My Blanket and Me”, and touching in the aforementioned crabbiness vignette. In the 1999 revival, Linux was cast (for whatever reason) as Asian. I’m not sure how this would have affected the character’s reception.

Schroeder was cast with a black actor, following the model of the revival. As Schroeder, Todrick Hall* (FB) worked reasonably well. He sang a bit softer than I expected, but performed quite well. He also gave off — to me — a gay vibe to the character. It was just something in the mannerisms and vocal style. This aspect of Schroeder has been picked up by others (and is a major plot point in Dog Meets God, although it turns out there’s something darker, which is the conceit of Dog Meets God). In YAGMCB, however, it was a little odd. Hall was particularly great in Beethoven Day, one of the new numbers introduced for the revival, as well has his interactions with the other characters.

Sally Brown is a character that was new to the revival. Her character replaced the original Patty of the strip (not Peppermint Patty). Reba Buhr (FB) did a great job with her, channeling Kristen Chenowith, the original Sally Brown, quite well. Buhr moved well and sang well, and was a standout in her number “My New Philosophy”. She also captured Sally’s mood swings very well. She was very fun to watch.

Lastly, we have Snoopy, as portrayed by Zachary Ford* (FB). As any Peanuts reader knows, although Charlie Brown is the center of the strip, Snoopy is the star and lead character. That definitely comes across in this show. Although costumed somewhat poorly (a white jumpsuit with no indications of dog), Ford still came across as a dog pretty well, especially in numbers such as “Suppertime”. He was also great in his acting, as shown in the Red Baron number, and his comic performances (as seen during the rabbit chase).

Tessa Grady and Bear Maneschalchi/FB were the understudies.

YAGMCB was directed by the aforementioned Lewis Wilkenfeld, who did a good job bringing out the “kid” in the performances, although some of the movements seemed out of place. Choreography was by Kirsten Chandler, and for the most part was very good, although there were a few spots where it didn’t seem kid-like. Chandler was hindered by the very large Kavli stage and the lack of significant set pieces, providing very little for her to choreograph against. Dean Mora did a wonderful job of music direction and led the spectacular Cabrillo orchestra.

For this production, Cabrillo used the sets by Off-Broadway West, LLC, with additional props by Anna Grijalva/FB. These sets worked, but they were dwarfed by the facility. I did appreciate the fact that they attempted to use perspective to make the actors look like children — extra large props, sofas, pianos, and other set pieces made the actors seem smaller. Sound design was by resident Cabrillo designer Jonathan Burke (FB), and was particularly notable in the high quality of sound effects used. The lighting by Coby Chasman-Beck also worked quite well in establishing the mood, which was supplemented by the excellent projections of Kaitlyn Pietras. Costumes were provided by The Theatre Company in Upland, and worked well for Charlie Brown, Schroeder, and Linus, less so for the Lucy, Sally, and Snoopy. Tim Schroepfer (FB) was the technical director. Allie Roy* (FB) was the production stage manager, assisted by Taylor Ruge. Cabrillo Music Theatre is under the artistic direction of Lewis Wilkenfeld.

One of the things I like about Cabrillo is their family nature. Last nights show included a raffle to have the Kabrillo Kids serenade your sweetie before the second act (which was cute), interactions with local dog rescue organizations, and their usual wonderful support of the Naval Base in Ventura County. This is what makes Cabrillo a very special organization.

The last performance of Cabrillo’s “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown” is today at 2pm. Tickets are available at the box office. There are two productions left in the Cabrillo 2012-2013 season: “Grease” on April 12-21, 2013, and the regional premiere of “Legally Blonde: The Musical” (July 19-28, 2013). There will also be a fundraising singalong to Grease-The Movie at Movico Theater in Thousand Oaks. Information on the Cabrillo Website. Cabrillo has also announced their 2013-2014 season: Kiss Me Kate, October 18-27, 2013; Forever Plaid, January 31-February 9, 2014; In The Heights, March 28-April 6, 2014; and Bye, Bye, Birdie, July 18-27, 2014.

As for us…

Upcoming Theatre and Concerts:   Today brings a British sex farce, “Run for your Wife” at Canyon Theatre Guild. The last weekend of February is “The Snake Can” at the Odyssey Theatre (based on an ad that caught Karen’s eye in the latest Footlights). Karen (but not me) will be seeing “When You’re In Love The Whole World is Jewish” at the Greenway Court Theatre on Feburary 21. March starts with “I’ll Be Back Before Midnight” at the Colony. The following weekend sees us in North Hollywood for “Company” at the Crown City Theatre. The third week of March takes us to the Pantages and Hollywood for  “Catch Me If You Can”on March 16. The fourth week of March brings “Boeing Boeing” at REP East on March 23. March may also bring “End of the Rainbow” at the Ahmanson, most likely on March 30. April will bring the Southern California Renaissance Faire , “Grease” at Cabrillo Music Theatre, and a winetasting at Temple Ahavat Shalom. May is also busy, with two concerts — Elton John in Las Vegas on May 4, and (tentative) Michael Feinstein at VPAC on May 11. May may also bring “Falling for Make Believe” at The Colony Theatre, “To Kill a Mockingbird” at REP East. Lastly, continuing the look ahead, June will bring (tenative) “The Scottsboro Boys” at the Ahmanson Theatre, “Priscilla – Queen of the Desert” at the Pantages, (tentative) Sweet Charity“ at DOMA, and the Western Corps Connection at the end of the month. I’m also keeping my eyes open as the various theatres start making their 2013 season announcements. Lastly, what few dates we do have open may be filled by productions I see on Goldstar, LA Stage Tix, Plays411, or discussed in the various LA Stage Blogs I read (I particularly recommend Musicals in LA and LA Stage Times).

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

(Click Here to Comment)

Can you give me a definition?

To bring back, to revisit.

Can you use it in a sentence?

“Bobby, there used to be ducks on the mantle but they’re gone. Shit. Now I’m going to have to redux it.”

Last night we went to the “Parent-Teacher Conference” (i.e., “adults-only”) version of “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” at REP East. As we were just there on Saturday night, I’m not going to do a full re-review. Rather, I’m just going to give a few additional observations:

• We were sitting in a different location in the audience, which afforded a good view of the cast on the bleachers. It was quite interesting to watch them and their reactions to the other spellers.
• The adults-only version wasn’t that risque, or perhaps we’re just not shocked by that much. A few cuss words thrown around, a number of sexual terms given to people to spell, and some mildly adult definitions and introductions. Then again, to go to a more “adult” (skin) version would have been creepy — after all, the spellers are supposed to be in elementary school… and this isn’t Carson.
• What was more interesting, however, was the reaction of the other students when the sexual terms came out. They were totally confused by the words. Good playing there.
• I did notice that some of the song references to India were changed to refer to Tom Cruise and Scientology. This created in me the totally odd thought: What if the REP mounted “A Very Merry Unauthorized Children’s Scientology Pageant“. Yes, there is such a musical — I even have the cast album!
• My wife was particularly enamored of Jason J. Lewis (FB) [Mitch Mahoney]‘s vocal performance at this production — he was in particuarly fine form. We also enjoyed meeting and talking to Jason and his lovely wife Annie Ramsey Lewis/FB [Logainne Schwartzandgrubenierre] after the show. Jason recommended we look into Glendale Center Theatre (which is near a great used bookstore). We haven’t been there before, but I’ll add them to my Goldstar watch list.

As I’ve noted before, this is a great production — one you should really go see if you can figure out how to get to Santa Clarita. The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee continues through February 23 at REP East Playhouse. Tickets are available through the REP Online Box Office, and are usually available on Goldstar.

Upcoming Theatre and Concerts:   This weekend, on February 9, is “Backbeat” at the Ahmanson. February 16 brings “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown” at Cabrillo Music Theatre on Saturday, and “Run for your Wife” at Canyon Theatre Guild on Sunday. The last weekend of February is “The Snake Can” at the Odyssey Theatre (based on an ad that caught Karen’s eye in the latest Footlights). Karen (but not me) will be seeing “When You’re In Love The Whole World is Jewish” at the Greenway Court Theatre on Feburary 21. March starts with “I’ll Be Back Before Midnight” at the Colony. After a break for Fogcon (although I may do something here), theatre picks up with “Catch Me If You Can” at Broadway LA/Pantages on March 16 and “Boeing Boeing” at REP East on March 23. March may also bring “End of the Rainbow” at the Ahmanson, most likely on March 30. April will bring the Southern California Renaissance Faire , “Grease” at Cabrillo Music Theatre, and a winetasting at Temple Ahavat Shalom. May is also busy, with two concerts — Elton John in Las Vegas on May 4, and (tentative) Michael Feinstein at VPAC on May 11. May may also bring “Falling for Make Believe” at The Colony Theatre, “To Kill a Mockingbird” at REP East. Lastly, continuing the look ahead, June will bring (tenative) “The Scottsboro Boys” at the Ahmanson Theatre, “Priscilla – Queen of the Desert” at the Pantages, (tentative) Sweet Charity“ at DOMA, and the Western Corps Connection at the end of the month. I’m also keeping my eyes open as the various theatres start making their 2013 season announcements. Lastly, what few dates we do have open may be filled by productions I see on Goldstar, LA Stage Tix, Plays411, or discussed in the various LA Stage Blogs I read (I particularly recommend Musicals in LA and LA Stage Times).

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

(Click Here to Comment)

I’m always on the lookout for new and offbeat musicals. Many years ago, this led me to the hills of Anaheim (~64 miles away) to the Chance Theatre for their production of “Brain from Planet X“, a delightfully-kooky science fiction musical. Since then, there have been a number of productions that have intrigued me at the Chance (Jerry Springer-The Opera, Rooms: A Rock Romance, Anne of Green Gables), but either timing or the distance has led me to miss them. So when I read last November that Chance was bringing out “Triassic Parq: The Musical“, I started monitoring Goldstar Events for discount tickets. Luckily, some performances did show up, and even luckier, the first preview performances were the weekend after my birthday. So it was off to the Hills of Anaheim… and I must say, it was well worth the drive!

“Triassic Parq: The Musical” falls into the category of quasi-parody musical. It isn’t a true parody musical like “Silence!” or “Toxic Avenger: The Musical” that follow the original storyline closely, exaggerating the humor. But it also isn’t a serious musical as one sees on the Broadway stage, with a deep storyline and earnest seriousness behind it.  It is a musical that uses the theatrical Jurassic Park as a starting point (similar to the way Brain from Planet X used Plan 9 from Outer Space) to have a good time and perhaps make a point or two along the way. Luckily, Triassic Parq has grown since its first outing at the NY Fringe Festival; it has moved from a collection of sketches to a reasonable storyline with good character growth. In fact, one might say that unexpected growth is a main point of the story.

Triassic Parq (book by Marshall Pailet (FB), Bryce Norbitz (FB), and Steve Wargo (FB); music by Marshall Pailet) tells (roughly) the story of Jurassic Park… from the point of view of the dinosaurs. After a singing and dancing rollcall opening, the background exposition is provided by Morgan Freeman, who relates the story of the island of the dinosaurs, how the dinosaurs were created from prehistoric DNA of an insect mixed with a little DNA of a frog, and how the population is kept under control by being all female. Freeman also notes that the frog used for the splicing has the capability to change genders when necessary to keep the community alive, but indicates that fact isn’t important. Freeman’s character is quickly dispatched afterwards, and we’re left with our primary characters — T-Rex 1 (Kaitlyn), T-Rex 2, the Velociraptor of Innocence, and the Mime-a-saurus — all female. The two T-Rexes are best friends, and Innocence (the lead protagonist) is, well, innocent and curious.  When the lab provides the food for the day (a cute baby goat, wonderfully portrayed through puppetry), the Velociraptor of Faith has a prayer service to give thanks to the great Lab for their food. This celebration is interrupted by changes happening to T-Rex 2. She is having these funny feelings, and there is this strange growth in her body. Faith, recognizing it for what it is, expels her to beyond the electric fence, just like the previously expelled Velociraptor of Science. This provokes Innocence into action: she decides to go beyond the fence to find Science, and learn the true story of what is happening. Innocence goes on her quest, together with her cuddly cow companion, and eventually finds Science. Science knows well what is happening to T-Rex 2, and gives Innocence a book on Human Anatomy. This is where Innocence learns about the Dinosaur-Stick that T-Rex 2 is growing. Later, when T-Rex 2 comes across Innocence in the forest, she learns what is used for. Unfortunately, T-Rex 1 discovers them, and goes mad. This leads to the inevitable conclusion.

This story has hints of the original Jurassic Park story: you can see it in how the Dinos were created, through occasional touch points in the story, and how they go crazy at the end. During the discussion after the show, one of the authors pointed out that the closest parallel is Wicked — using the basic characters as a framework to tell a slightly different backstory from a different point of view. For Triassic Parq, when you strip away all the stereotypical jokes about men and their behavior, what you have is a story about family, the importance of survival, and how families will do what is needed to survive. We see this in the growth of Innocence, who moves from a young girlsaur to being a leader, as well as in the growth of the other dinos, who learn to accept their sexuality. What the story lacks (and perhaps what keeps it in the quasi-parody camp, although it doesn’t hurt the fun) is a depth of character: we see the lead characters as more broad archetypes as opposed to deeply realistic characters with which we identify.  This may improve as the show continues — we saw the 2nd preview and changes were still being made… on top of the large number of changes since the recent off-Broadway staging and the extensive changes from the original version. Translation: it keeps getting better and better. [ETA: Note that this also means that the Triassic Parq cast album may not agree with the show; the authors should consider doing a Kickstarter for an updated cast album, as they did with Now. Here. This.]

The staging of the show is very creative. The dinosaur aspects are conveyed through hints of costuming (as can be seen in these photos). Puppets are used to good effect, and the dancing uses the stage space well. I also liked the creative use of the electric fence. The score was a rock score and was enjoyable; I would need a few more listens to determine how well it holds up. Another creative aspect was the gender bending — all of the male characters were portrayed by females, and the female characters were mostly played by men. This allowed the audience to not bring in external stereotypes to their interpretation of the characters. However, there was another bending problem in the show: my mind couldn’t grok the species-bending aspects of T-Rexes mating with Velociraptors. Oh well, I guess all dinosaurs look alike in the sack.

Under the direction of the author, Marshall Pailet (assisted by Christopher Renfro/FB), the performances were great. In the lead position was Keaton Williams (FB) as the Velociraptor of Innocence. Williams brought a delightful (shall I say girlish :-)) energy to the ensemble: he danced well and sang wonderfully. Playing off of Williams were the two T-Rexes: 1 and 2. T-Rex 1 (Kaitlyn) was played by Micaela Martinez (resumé, FB) , and T-Rex 2 was played by Kellie Spill (resumé, FB). Both were strong singers and dancers, and Spill had some wonderful gender-bending scenes. The two also had a lovely duet.

Leading the dinosaur group was the Velociraptor of Faith, Jackson Tobiska (FB).  Tobiska had a bit more of a malevolent presence, for some reason — you weren’t quite sure of his motivations or why, but there was something he was hiding in his actions (note: I’m never sure what pronouns to use here, for you had male actors playing female characters). This was the mark of a good performance. Rounding out the cast were Alex Bueno (resumé, FB) as Mime-a-saurus and Camryn Zelinger (FB) as Morgan Freeman, the Velociraptor of Science, and various unnamed dinosaurs.  Bueno performed well, although (a) I couldn’t figure out why there was a particular dinosaur that was a mime, and (b) I couldn’t always figure out what she was miming. Other than that (which was more of a book flaw), Bueno was fun to watch on stage, especially in her final scenes. Zelinger was also fun. This was especially true in her Freeman introductory exposition, as well as her wonderful rap number with Innocence.

Movement and music-wise, the production was excellent. The production was choreographed by Kelly Todd (FB), who designed  creative dances that used the stage — including the fences and the poles — to good effect. Musical direction was by Taylor Stephenson (FB), who also led (as Pianosaurus) the three-piece band consisting of Stephenson on keyboard, Ryan Navales (FB) (Guitarodactyl) on guitar, and Jorge Zuniga (FB) (Percussodon) on percussion. The band provided great sound (I’ve always liked the live music at the Chance), and I particularly enjoyed the interactions between Pianosaurus and the remainder of the cast.

Turning to the technical (and I’ll note there were a few glitches I’ve written off to it being a preview performance): The scenic design by Joe Holbrook (FB) [assisted by Karrah Marie Spitznagel/FB] was relatively simple: a cave-like structure, some electrified fencing, with the musicians at the top of the structure. It worked well, although I couldn’t figure out the purpose of the ropes at various places. Lighting was by Matt Schleicher (FB) was very effective — it made good use of what I think were scrollers, as well as a number of LED lights and conventional lights. The sound design by Ryan Brokdin (FB) worked well, modulo the preview glitches. I particularly liked the deep-bass dinosaur roars. I’ll also note that Ryan worked on one of my recent faves, A Mulholland Christmas Carol, although he didn’t list it in his bio.  The costumes, which I’ve previously mentioned (and you can see here), were designed by Anthony Tran.  We’ve seen Tran’s work previously at the Colony for Year Zero. He did a great job here, with costumes that provided the suggestion of saur-i-ness without being overly limiting. Stage (or should I say Satge) Management was by Christopher Ramirez (FB), assisted by Jules Fugett/FB. The Executive Producer of Triassic Parq – The Musicalwas Mary Kay Fyda-Mar (FB).

“Triassic Parq-The Musical” continues at The Chance Theatre through February 24. It is well worth seeing, whereever you live in Southern California.  Tickets are available through Ovation-Tix, and may be available through Goldstar and LA Stage Tix. Chance has an interesting season this year with good pricing (as low as $45 for all 4 mainstage shows); alas,  they are a bit far away for us to subscribe). Their 2013 season consists of Triassic Parq (1/25-2/24), The Laramie Project/The Laramie Project: 10 Years Later (4/18-5/19), Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson (7/5/8/4)*, and Time Stands Still (9/27-10/20). The Holiday series is The Secret Garden-The Musical (11/15-12/29) and The Eight: Reindeer Monologues (11/25-12/23). [*: Note: BBAJ was just announced the 2013 season of DOMA, running 10/18-11/24, if you don’t want to drive]. As for us…

Upcoming Theatre and Concerts:   Next week sees us back at REP East for the “25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee“.  February 9 is “Backbeat” at the Ahmanson. February 16 brings “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown” at Cabrillo Music Theatre, and the last weekend of February is “The Snake Can” at the Odyssey Theatre (based on an ad that caught Karen’s eye in the latest Footlights). March starts with “I’ll Be Back Before Midnight” at the Colony. After a break for Fogcon (although I may do something here), theatre picks up with “Catch Me If You Can” at Broadway LA/Pantages on March 16 and “Boeing Boeing” at REP East on March 23. March may also bring “End of the Rainbow” at the Ahmanson, most likely on March 30. April will bring the Southern California Renaissance Faire (huzzah for the $15 Holidazzle sale), “Grease” at Cabrillo Music Theatre, and a winetasting at Temple Ahavat Shalom. May is also busy, with two concerts — Elton John in Las Vegas on May 4, and (tentative) Michael Feinstein at VPAC on May 11. May may also bring “Falling for Make Believe” at The Colony Theatre, “To Kill a Mockingbird” at REP East. Lastly, continuing the look ahead, June will bring (tenative) “The Scottsboro Boys” at the Ahmanson Theatre, “Priscilla – Queen of the Desert” at the Pantages, (tentative), Sweet Charity“ at DOMA, and the Western Corps Connection at the end of the month. I’m also keeping my eyes open as the various theatres start making their 2013 season announcements. Lastly, what few dates we do have open may be filled by productions I see on Goldstar, LA Stage Tix, Plays411, or discussed in the various LA Stage Blogs I read (I particularly recommend Musicals in LA and LA Stage Times).

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

(Click Here to Comment)

Last year at this time, a little play was running at the Pasadena Playhouse that asked the question, “What is art, and why do we consider it art?” The art in question then was a painting that consisted of a white background, upon which there are some faint white diagonal lines. Last night at the NoHo Arts Center the play “One November Yankee” (1NY) by Joshua Ravetch asked a similar question. The difference is that in “Art“, the focus was on the reaction to the artwork.  In 1NY, the focus is more on the history behind the artwork, and the relationship between brothers and sisters. We enjoyed the production, and it was a nice change of pace from the musicals we usually see. Alas, you won’t be able to see it, as last night was the final performance ; but the good news is that the film rights have been acquired, so you might see it on the big screen.

1NY tells the story of an aircraft, a bright-yellow Piper Cub with tail number N241NY. The play opens at the Museum of Modern Art, where Ralph has been commissioned by his sister, Maggie (a museum board member) to produce an art installation. His result is a reproduction of the hypothesized nose-first crash of N241NY. He based the work on the story of a brother and sister pair that had such a crash five years earlier. Their story of that brother and sister  appealed to Ralph because it paralleled his relationship to his sister. In that story, the brother was a novelist and the sister was a librarian; in the real world, Ralph was the artist, and his sister acquired and arranged the installations of art. Upon seeing the installation, Maggie was disappointed and upset because she thought that a crashed Piper wasn’t art, even if the artist saw it as a metaphor for the crashing of society into destruction and ruin.

The second scene paralleled the first by telling the story of the real crash five years earlier. Margo and Harry were on their way from New Hampshire to their father’s wedding in Florida. Only Margo was going through a divorce and forgot to ensure the fuel tank was full. Shortly after leaving the airport, the airplane took a nose dive into the woods. Harry was injured and unable to walk out. Their discussion after the crash explored the relationship of these two siblings  — their childhood growing up, their hopes and desires, the relationship with their parent. As the scene ended we knew that Harry would not make it out of there alive, and Margo was determined to stay with her brother.

The third scene occurred shortly before the art installation. Another pair of brother and sister hikers, Mia and Ronnie, are hiking in the woods when they come across the wreckage of N241NY. The hike was a way of restoring their relationship after the loss of their older brother, Daniel, in an airplane crash upon takeoff 22 years earlier. Upon discovering the wreckage, Mia and Ronnie start to piece together the story of the crash. Findings include Margo’s wallet, Harry’s remains, books, glasses, watches, etc. Simultaneously to discovering Margo and Harry, they are telling their own story and their relationship to their deceased older brother. As with the previous two scenes, there are loads and loads of parallels between the stories of the siblings. I also had a problem with this scene: namely, would random hikers start taking things from the wreckage and moving it around (including human remains), or would they preserve the scene and just report it to authorities? They did the former, which seems odd to me.

As the play ends, the last scene returns us to the art museum, where the preview has ended and the critical reaction is coming in. Ralph and Maggie are ecstatic, as the reaction has been very positive and the critics saw the meaning Ralph intended. Further, the report of the hikers has come in, and this has magnified interest in the exhibit of the aircraft sculpture. Suddenly there is no question that this is art… but then Ralph discovers a final review that takes the contrary view, lamenting that anyone can throw anything on exhibit, slap a label on it, and call it art. As the play closes and Ralph is turning the lights off on the display, we see Margo enter from stage left, and look wistfully at the play. Is this Margo in real life or Margo as a ghost? We never find out, and the lights go out.

As you can see, this is an interesting story (and perhaps an odd subject for a comedy). At points the writing was rough and unrealistic, and I found the continual parallels between the three pairs of siblings to be a little forced and overdone. Still, I liked the basic story and the rough parallels, and thought the numeric assessment of Bitter Lemons was quantitatively correct–this was a mostly positive production with a few rough spots. It will be interesting to see how this translates into a screenplay.

What made this play work (and what made me originally want to see it) was the acting team. This was a two-hander performed by stage and screen veterans Harry Hamlin and Loretta Swit. These two possessed a wonderful ability to make the three siblings distinctly different characters — from middle ages hikers full of energy, to crash victims, to art student and art buyer. Their performances transcended their age (as did their looks: Hamlin is still as ruggedly handsome as he was in the days of LA Law, and Swit looks nowhere near her actual age of 75 — she looked closer to her late 40s). The two were a joy to watch, and raised the story well above the pedestrian.

Basically, you believe these actors were the characters they were portraying. This was likely helped by the direction provided by the playwright, Joshua Ravetch, who also served as director. However, this may also have been what hurt the play, for the playwright being the director also leads to the situation where it is unlikely the rehearsal and mounting process will results in cuts, trims, and modifications that will improve the show. It didn’t affect the great performances, but did result in the end script probably not been as good as it could have been.

The set design by Dana Moran Williams was simple: a Piper Cub nose-down into the set. I couldn’t tell if it was a fabricated Cub or a real aircraft, which I guess was a good sign. The program made you think it was real, telling the story of how the author and production designer stood on the tarmac at the Santa Paula airport looking at a yellow Piper Cut, and that it was delivered to the theatre on November 1. If real, (a) I wonder how the hell they got it into the NoHo Arts Center; (b) N241NY is not the registration, as N241NY is a Cessna. Surrounding the plane were a few black cubes, augmented by various props. Near the end of the production, I found myself imagining the Pasadena Playhouse producing this and seeing (in my head) how the Playhouse would have set the stage. I mention this because I was surprised to learn while writing this review that this play originated at the Pasadena Playhouse in the Hothouse series. Set construction was by Red Colegrove, with properties coordinated by Janet Fontaine. The lighting design by Colony regular Luke Moyer was also very strong; I particularly liked the oranges and golds in in the Mia and Ronnie scene, and the effective projection background for the Margo and Harry scene. Costumes were by Kate Bergh; they were effective and conveyed the characters very well. Jeff Gardner‘s sound was also noteworthy — not only the flight-themed inter-act music, but the background sounds during the actual crash scenes. The one thing I didn’t get was the odd “pinging” that was playing before the production.  Diana Copeland was the production stage manager. 1NY was produced by Jay Willick and Kevin Bailey. The artistic director for the NoHo Arts Center is James Mellon.

Alas, you can’t get tickets to “One November Yankee“, as last night was the last performance, and there is another production scheduled for the space (“As The World Goes Round”, a Kander/Ebb jukebox musical). It may pop up at another theatre in the future or as a movie.

Upcoming Theatre and Concerts:  Next week is open, and we’re likely taking a break for a week. January 26 take us to Orange County for Triassic Parq–The Musical at the Chance Theatre (Goldstar). February will start with the first play of the REP season, “Putnam County Spelling Bee“.  February 9 might be “Backbeat” at the Ahmanson, but I’m unsure about the show, and Karen is getting theatre-ed out (is that possible?). February 16 brings “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown” at Cabrillo Music Theatre, and the last weekend of February is currently open. March starts with “I’ll Be Back Before Midnight” at the Colony. After a break for Fogcon (although I may do something here), theatre picks up with “Catch Me If You Can” at Broadway LA/Pantages on March 16 and “Boeing Boeing” at REP East on March 23. March may also bring “End of the Rainbow” at the Ahmanson, most likely on March 30. April will bring the Southern California Renaissance Faire (huzzah for the $15 Holidazzle sale), “Grease” at Cabrillo Music Theatre, and “To Kill a Mockingbird” at REP East. I’m also keeping my eyes open as the various theatres start making their 2013 season announcements. Lastly, what few dates we do have open may be filled by productions I see on Goldstar, LA Stage Tix, Plays411, or discussed in the various LA Stage Blogs I read (I particularly recommend Musicals in LA and LA Stage Times).

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

(Click Here to Comment)