cahwyguy | Entries tagged with pasadena-playhouse

A number weeks ago, I was listening to backed up podcasts, and this episode of This American Life came on. It was titled “You’ve Come to the Right Person“, and the first act was about a dark comedian whose skill seems to be asking the question that would break up marriages. The central premise was along the lines of:

The theory went like this– our life is like a jigsaw puzzle. And as we grow up, we slowly piece the puzzle together, bit by bit. But the thing is, we’ve all lost the box to our individual jigsaws, so none of us know what image we’re trying to make.

So we start with the four sides– our family, friends, job, hobbies. And then we’re all taught that the piece at the very center of the jigsaw, the one we need to complete the puzzle, is our partner. And– this is the important part– people are so desperate to find their missing puzzle piece that, sometimes, they try to cram a piece that obviously doesn’t fit or strip out other parts in order to make room for that center piece because they believe that to be better than being alone.

I thought about this last night while watching A Doll’s House, Part 2 at the Pasadena Playhouse, when the lead character, Nora, goes into this monologue about the worthlessness of marriage, how it is an outdated institution, and how it holds no value to her. She seemingly holds onto this view throughout the entire play, despite what the others around her seem to say.

Perhaps I should go back to the beginning.

A Doll’s House, Part 2, surprise-surprise, is a sequel to the 1879 play, A Doll’s House, written by Henrik Ibsen. In A Doll’s House, we have a married couple in Norway in the late 1800s. EBSCO summarizes that story as follows: “A groundbreaking play, centered on the life of Nora Helmer, who navigates the complexities of marriage and identity in a patriarchal society. Set during the Christmas season, the play opens with Nora preparing for the holidays, reflecting the constraints imposed on her by her husband, Torvald Helmer, who views her more as a cherished possession than an equal partner. The narrative unfolds as Nora grapples with a secret from her past—she forged her father’s signature to secure a loan to save Torvald’s life. As tensions rise due to the threat posed by Krogstad, the moneylender, Nora’s situation becomes increasingly precarious, leading her to confront the inequalities in her marriage. After a series of dramatic events, including a fancy dress ball and the revelation of her forgery, Nora challenges Torvald’s self-centered views and ultimately declares her independence. This culminates in a powerful decision for Nora to leave her husband and children in search of her own identity, symbolized by the iconic slamming of the door. Ibsen’s play is often seen as a critical examination of gender roles and the quest for self-actualization, making it a significant work in the realm of modern drama.”

A Doll’s House, Part 2 picks up 15 years later from the closing door slam. Nora has returned to Torvald’s house as a successful writer, whose breakout book was a thinly-veiled version of what happened in A Doll’s House (similar to the way that the original play was a veiled version of what happened to one of Ibsen’s friends). However, Nora has a conundrum hanging over her head: a judge did not like what she wrote, investigated, and discovered that Torvald never filed divorce papers. So Nora has returned to ask Torvald for a divorce.

If this were a sitcom, one would now insert “Hilarity ensuses.”

Although there are humorous moments, the play comes off much more as a lecture by Nora against patriarchy and the institution of marriage. These lectures are what made me think of the This American Life piece: they could easily convert someone who is at the edge in a bad marriage to “slam the door” and leave. But it is also very one side. Although Nora’s daughter, Emmy, does make some points regarding the advantages of marriage, they come across as half-hearted. Perhaps the point the play is trying to make is to ask (and answer) the question: Setting aside the legal and financial benefits granted to married couples in the eyes of the state, what is the benefit of the marriage? Is that benefit equal to both parties?

Certainly, the answer has been changing since the late 1800s when Ibsen wrote his play. Certainly, we are not at the envisioned Utopia that Nora sees in a world without marriage, a world without strong binding ties between people. But I’m not sure that Nora’s utopia is all that much of a utopia. Admittedly, I’m not the best to speak: I’m guessing I’m somewhere on the spectrum because I have no real idea of what the strong romantic love and attraction that writers write about is. But just as on Survivor there’s value to a mutual aid and support pact, there’s value to an arrangement between a small number to be there for each other in good and in bad times. That’s really what marriage is: A public commitment to aid and support each other. That’s not a bad thing, and I think that’s what Nora misses for all of her arguments. She says it herself at the end: she discovered that she’s happiest when she’s by herself. But that doesn’t mean the answer that is right for her is right for all, and I think that’s the failure of her pontification.

This play also suffers from a common malady amongst sequels — especially stage sequels (which are rarely successful): it attempts to repeat the structure and pattern of the original. In this case, we again have legal complexities and lying on both sides that is coming back to bite characters: Nora’s earning money and signing contracts without her husband’s approval; Torvald’s letting the world believe Nora was dead when she wasn’t. This really isn’t a “Part 2”, it is just a “2: Die Harder and Stronger”. Part 2s, and true multipart stories, are continuations of the original story without repeating the structure. Sequels are essentially repeats attempting to duplicate the fire of the original. The writers of Part 2 should have had the courage to really continue the story, as opposed to cloning the story. What happened to Torvald and Nora in their separate lives, without a forced attempt to bring them back together. Have them bump together in a street somewhere, as opposed to a contrived legal situation.

I will say that the performances were strong: Elizabeth Reaser made a strong Nora, although she seemed to be affecting an accent that was incongruous with the other performers. Kahyum Kim mad a spirited Emmy. Jashon Butler Harner’s seemed a bit too young for the part of Torvald (that could be said to an extent for Reaser as well, although it is likelier that Torvald married young in those years). One expects Torvald, as the father of children in his twenties and a seemingly senior official at the bank, to be somewhere in his 50s. The performance was good, but he needed more gravitas.

More problematic was the production and staging. The audience was on stage, as if in a jury box. Why? It added nothing to the story, and there was no trial going on. Nora was wearing a seemingly period dress … and white tennis shoes. There was vernacular and cursing — certainly not language one would hear in the early 1900s, when this piece would take place. The set was overly simplified: A house frame, some chairs, a table. None of this made sense, and none of this particular enhanced or supported the story, other than to provide some moments of levity due to the incongruity of them all.

This bring us to the question: Should you see this? In some ways, it is like Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows: It makes much more sense if you have seen the first part. I think for those that have seen A Doll’s House somewhat recently, it is worth seeing. For others? It’s certainly interesting and well-acted. I don’t agree with its conclusions, and the pontificating may make some uncomfortable. It is certainly thought provoking, and perhaps that’s just the job of theatre.

A Doll’s House, Part 2 continues at The Pasadena Playhouse through June 8, 2025. Tickets are available through the production’s webpage. I’ll note that the playhouse has done something innovative, and had a performance where there is childcare and a children’s theatre program while the adults attend the matinee. We need more of this innovation.

As an aside… In May 2025, the Pasadena Playhouse turned 100, and announced that for the first time since the mid-1970s, the Playhouse actually owned the historic campus. No more renting space. As the playhouse envisions what this can mean…

Hopefully it will mean more productions in the Carrie Hamilton Theatre, which would be an ideal space to use to support multiple small local companies producing intimate black box productions.
Hopefully it will mean more ADA compliance, and perhaps some way to add elevator accessibility to the Carrie Hamilton.
Hopefully it will mean better use of the courtyard restaurant. If it is to be successful, it needs to be more than a venue for nights the theatre is open. It needs to be there to provide lunch to neighborhood workers (including me, who for what’s left of June works in our Pasadena office on Fridays at Los Robles and Cordova), as well as decent dinners on nights the theatre is dark … and that means something affordable.
Hopefully it will mean potential guest productions on the mainstage for those periods where Playhouse productions are in development

Owning the campus can provide the potential to use it to its full capacity to ensure not only the survival of the Playhouse, but the growth of theatre in that region of the San Gabriel Valley.

Credits

A Doll’s House, Part 2. Written by Lucas Hnath. Directed by Jennifer Change. Based upon A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen.

Cast: Elizabeth Reaser Nora; Jason Butler Harner Torvald; Kimberly Scott Anne Marie; Kahyun Kim Emmy. Understudies: Adam J. Smith Torvald U/S.

Production and Creative: Wilson Chin Scenic Design; Anthony Tran Costume Design; Elizabeth Harper Lighting Design; John Nobori Sound Design; Heidi Scheller Vocal Coach; Ryan Bernard Tymensky CSA and RBT Casting Casting; Alyssa Escalante Stage Manager; Brian Semel Asst Stage Manager

Support Your Local Theatres

One last note: Under the 47 administration, arts are in peril. We’re seeing cuts to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and the National Endowment for the Arts. Many theatres are seeing NEA grants pulled, putting at risk productions already budgeted and started, and also putting at risk future seasons and potentially the existence of companies. Pleading emails have gone out to supporters, for without government support is it up to us, the audience, to support the theatres. And before you say government shouldn’t be involved, remember that Queen Elizabeth was a patron of William Shakespeare, and enabled his art to be produced. The Theatre Communications Group had a nice article on this titled “Unkindest Cuts: How Theatres Are Managing the Loss of NEA Funds“, in which they note:

But the arts are a public good. They inform conversations, they teach empathy, they both tell us where we are in the world and yet somehow cause us to step away from where we are and travel somewhere else in our minds. They also contribute economically to their communities.

An easy thing you can do to show you care about the arts is contact your congressional representative, your senator, and the president. Complain to them about the terminations and about Trump’s plan to eliminate the NEA entirely. If you are pressed for time, click here for a form letter that will go to your representatives urging them to support NEA and NEH funding for next year. You can even add in a line about the grant cancellations.

You can also donate to the companies or programs in this story by clicking on the theatre names. Donate to other organizations you are attached to. Thankfully, some communities have been responding in exactly this way to the immediate cries of theatre companies.

[…]

Clearly, the fundraising needs of the American theatre go beyond just making up for the NEA grants terminated. We’re not going to save the world by making up for one $10,000 grant, but that will help.

If you can’t donate yourself, encourage others to do so. Post about a theatre company on social media. Encourage businesses to back theatre. Local businesses have recently been turning away from the arts, but if they know how important the arts are to their community, they might change course. It’s good business. I plan to go to Columbus in the fall, and I’m totally going to see if The Kitchen has a public event during that time.

There is talk about changing the funding and production infrastructure, sure, and those talks should continue, but right now we can raise money to assist struggling companies. There is, of course, the concern that raising money privately proves that the NEA isn’t necessary. But that fear can’t be as great as the need to help these companies.

[…]

Every little thing is a step in the right direction. Some terminated Institute for Museum and Library Services were already reinstated. That is because of some type of pressure.

Theatre will always happen, with or without federal money. But we’ve already seen tremendous downsizing in recent years, as a substantial number of theatres have shuttered since the pandemic. In just the last week, two theatres in major cities have announced “do or die” campaigns, and everywhere companies are doing fewer shows—and that hurts the creative landscape. Each blow stings. Just because one show or program can continue without a specific NEA grant doesn’t mean that funding isn’t necessary. We all need to work together to make sure theatre remains plentiful and accessible. Funding is needed.

Consider this message my part. Donate to your local theatres. Buy tickets. Attend shows. Spread the word about the fact you attend live theatre on all of your social media. Demonstrate that attending live performance is not a Democratic or a Republican thing. It is something that we as human beings need to nourish our souls, and that theatre artists must be free to express themselves, even if it puts itching powders in the clothing of the leadership. Theatre has long served as a commentary on society, whether it be Showboat in the 1920s, South Pacific in the 1960s, Chicago in the 1970s, Hairspray in the 2000s, or Hamilton in the 2010s. Mr. President, theatre is much more than Cats.

Administrivia

I am not a professional critic. I’m a cybersecurity professional, a roadgeek who does a highway site and a podcast about California Highways, and someone who loves live performance. I buy all my own tickets, unless explicitly noted otherwise. I do these writeups to share my thoughts on shows with my friends and the community. I encourage you to go to your local theatres and support them (ideally, by purchasing full price tickets, if you can afford to do so). We currently subscribe or have memberships at: Center Theatre Group/Ahmanson Theatre; Broadway in Hollywood/Pantages Theatre; Pasadena Playhouse; The Soraya, and 5-Star Theatricals. We’re looking for the right intimate theatre to subscribe at — it hasn’t been the same since Rep East died (it’s now The Main, and although it does a lot of theatre, it doesn’t have seasons or a resident company), and post-COVID, most 99-seaters aren’t back to doing seasons (or seasons we like). I used to do more detailed writeups; here’s my current approach.

Upcoming ♦ Theatre / ♣ Music / ◊ Other Live Performance – Next 90ish Days (⊕ indicates ticketing is pending).

June: ♦ Parade at CTG/Ahmanson; and possibly some Hollywood Fringe Festival shows. I’ve looked through the Fringe schedule. Over 420 shows throughout June. Some of interest. I might pick a weekend and see what I can see.
July: ♦ Hamlet at CTG/Taper; ♦ A Beautiful Noise at BIH/Pantages; ♦ Puppet Up at CTG/Kirk Douglas; ♦ Frozen at 5-Star Theatricals
August: ♦ Some Like It Hot at BIH/Pantages; ♦ & Juliet at CTG/Ahmanson
September: ♦ Shucked at BIH/Pantages; ♦ Fiddler on the Roof in Yiddish at The Soraya

This entry was originally posted on Observations Along the Road as She's Leaving Home | "A Doll's House, Part 2" @ Pasadena Playhouse by cahwyguy. Although you can comment on DW, please make comments on original post at the Wordpress blog using the link to the left. You can sign in with your LJ, DW, FB, or a myriad of other accounts. Note: Subsequent changes made to the post on the blog are not propagated by the SNAP Crossposter; please visit the original post to see the latest version. P.S.: If you see share buttons above, note that they do not work outside of the Wordpress blog.

Just under two months after disastrous Eaton Fire that devastated the Pasadena-adjacent community of Altadena, leading to the Pasadena Playhouse’s cancellation of the Jinx Monsoon concert version of Anything Goes as the venue (Pasadena Civic Auditorium) was in use as an evacuation center, we were back to the Pasadena Playhouse for theatre in the almost 100 year old structure that continues to survive and support its community with art. This time the production was Topdog / Underdog, a play by Suzan-Lori Parks that explores the relationship of two brothers who are hanging in there by their fingertips, abandoned by their support systems and doing their best to make it along.

The play revolves around two brothers—Booth and Lincoln—who live in a one room basement apartment with no running water or toilet facilities. Booth is unemployed, and wants to make a living hustling 3-card monte. Lincoln used to be a 3-card monte hustler, but after one of his hustling team was killed, he left the cards behind. He is now making his living wearing whiteface at an arcade, dressed as Abraham Lincoln, allowing players to shoot him. Booth has an unseen girlfriend, Grace, who he thinks is into him but never shows; Lincoln has an ex-wife who cheated on him with Booth.

In other words, these two have no luck.

The play itself is about their life: About Booth trying to become the 3-card monte hustler and getting the girl; about Lincoln losing his job, and losing his way. As this is explored, we learned about the family that brought them there: parents that cheated on each other and abandoned them. A life just barely skating by and on the edge. A life that is a mixture of optimism that they will find a better life, and the crushing reality of where they are.

But what is missing is the point.

In going from the beginning of a play to the end of a play, what makes the story is movement. I don’t mean movement in the choreography sense, but movement in the character sense. By the end of the play, we want the leads to be in a different place. They should have learned something. They should have gained something. They shouldn’t be where they were when the play started, at least in some sense (i.e., they can be in the same locale, but they should be smarter, better, perhaps able to do more). Something.

Here I’m not sure. Looking at Booth at the beginning of the play and Booth at the end of the play: What change is there? He’s still a poor 3-card monte hustler, with little hope in his life. In fact, at the end of the play, he arguably has less than he had in the beginning.

Perhaps it is the audience that had a learning arc? Perhaps watching the lives of Booth and Lincoln taught the audience something. Other than learning a bit about 3-card monte, I’m not sure what. The story was interesting, but I didn’t walk out with some deep new knowledge. What was the point of this story? Learning that life is gamble, a game? Learning that life is rigged?

Did the story say something about “topdogs” and “underdogs” at large? Lincoln was hardly a topdog: he was in a slightly better position, but it didn’t last. So I’m not sure the point of the story.

In summary: This was an interesting play and enjoyable to watch, but I left wondering about the point of it all.

———

Topdog/Underdog. Written by Suzan-Lori Parks. Directed by Gregg T. Daniel.

Cast: Brandon Gill Booth; Brandon Michael Hall Lincoln.

Production and Creatives: Tesshi Nakagawa Scenic Designer; Angela Balogh Calin Costume Designer; Jared A. Sayeg Lighting Designer; Jeff Gardner Sound Designer; Tru Original Compositions; Maritri Garrett Guitar Composition and Musical Performance Coach; Joyce Guy Movement Consultant; Sasha Nicolle Smith Intimacy and Fight Coordination; Sheila Dorn Hair & Makeup Consultation; Whit “Pop” Haydn Card Consultant; Ryan Bernard Tymensky CSA RBT Casting; Alyssa Escalante Stage Manager; Brian Semel Asst. Stage Manager.

♦ ♦ ♦

Administrivia: I am not a professional critic. I’m a cybersecurity professional, a roadgeek who does a highway site and a podcast about California Highways, and someone who loves live performance. I buy all my own tickets, unless explicitly noted otherwise. I do these writeups to share my thoughts on shows with my friends and the community. I encourage you to go to your local theatres and support them (ideally, by purchasing full price tickets, if you can afford to do so). We currently subscribe or have memberships at: Center Theatre Group/Ahmanson Theatre; Broadway in Hollywood/Pantages Theatre; Pasadena Playhouse; and 5-Star Theatricals. We’re looking for the right intimate theatre to subscribe at — it hasn’t been the same since Rep East died (it’s now The Main, and although it does a lot of theatre, it doesn’t have seasons or a resident company), and post-COVID, most 99-seaters aren’t back to doing seasons (or seasons we like). I used to do more detailed writeups; here’s my current approach.

Upcoming ♦ Theatre / ♣ Music / ◊ Other Live Performance – Next 90ish Days (⊕ indicates ticketing is pending).

March: ♣ Nefesh Mountain at McCabes; ♦ Fake It Until You Make It at CTG/Taper; ✡ MRJ Man of the Year Dinner at Temple Beth Tikvah (Fullerton); ✡ MOTAS Poker Tournament at TAS; ♦ Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812 at UCLA TFT; ♦ 44 at CTG/Kirk Douglas; ♣ Musique/Ray Charles at CTG/Taper; ♦ Cabaret at 5-Star Theatricals; ♦ Drat the Cat at Group Rep; ✡ MoTAS/MoTBH Mens Seder at TAS
April: ◊ Ren Faire (Southern); ✡ First Night of Passover; ⌬ California Science and Engineering Fair; ♦ All The Devils Are Here at the Broad;
May: ♦ Life of Pi at CTG/Ahmanson; ⊕ ♦ Spitfire Grill at Actors Co-Op; ♦ A Dolls House, Part 2 at Pasadena Playhouse.
June: ⊕ ♦ Flower Drum Song at East West Players; ♦ Parade at CTG/Ahmanson; and possibly some Hollywood Fringe Festival shows.

This entry was originally posted on Observations Along the Road as Watch the Two of Hearts | "Topdog/Underdog" @ Pas. Playhouse by cahwyguy. Although you can comment on DW, please make comments on original post at the Wordpress blog using the link to the left. You can sign in with your LJ, DW, FB, or a myriad of other accounts. Note: Subsequent changes made to the post on the blog are not propagated by the SNAP Crossposter; please visit the original post to see the latest version. P.S.: If you see share buttons above, note that they do not work outside of the Wordpress blog.

La Cage Aux Folles (Pasadena Playhouse) Sometimes, I’m not sure what other reviewers are smoking. Last night, while attending La Cage Aux Folles at the Pasadena Playhouse, I attempted to figure out when I last saw the show on stage. I searched for a writeup of the show on my site, and came up empty (and I started writing up shows on Livejournal around 2004). I did find this other reviewer’s writeup of the PP version of the show, and he thought it was an ill-conceived take on the show — and this is a reviewer that seems to love everything. I did discover that the revival of La Cage toured in 2012 (and I seemingly skipped out on attending that), and the original was in LA through the LA Civic Light Opera in 1984. This could actually mean that the last time I saw this show on stage was way back in 1984. Forty years. Wow!

Reading through this other review, the reviewer’s opinion is that this production was essentially overdone, overacted, and ill-conceived. This reviewer didn’t like the interpretation, which is completely their prerogative. I disagree, and hopefully in this writeup I can explain why.

Hopefully, you’re someone familiar with La Cage Aux Folles. Perhaps you read the original story. Perhaps you saw the original film. Perhaps you saw the American remake (“The Birdcage”). Perhaps you’ve even seen the musical, which is based on the original story, not the movie. The basic plot is as follows — and it is essentially a sitcom. You know that because you can end it with “Hijinks ensue”

Two gay men operate a nightclub in the south of France: one is the star drag performer (Albin/Zaza), and the other serves as the non-drag emcee (Georges). Albin is a bit of a Diva, and a bit of a force of nature; Georges is the more sedate of the two. Their son comes home and tells them he’s found the girl he wants to marry. Her family is coming to dinner. However, her father is a right-wing politician who wants to get rid of all gay nightclubs, so they need to degay the place. Oh, and Albin, who service as the son’s mother, needs to disappear for the night, and they will invite the son’s real mother whom Georges had a one-night-stand with 24 years ago. Insert the first hijinks ensue. The ultimate conclusion is to masculine-ize Albin into “Uncle Al”. But when the mother skips out on attending, Albin becomes … yup. Add to that the press discovering that the politician is at a gay club, and, well. Hijinks ensue.

The show itself is surprisingly timeless. It was written in the 1980s, and came out during the AIDS epidemic. There was lots of anti-gay sentiment. Pivot to today: And there is still a lot of anti-gay, and especially anti-drag, sentiment. There are right wing politicians that want these folks to go away. The response from the gay community: PRIDE. The anthem at end of Act I says it all: “I Am What I Am”. We must be proud of who we are, and be out about who we are, not matter who we are.

I’ll also note that this is one of those rare shows that does not play the “man dressing as a woman” trope for humor. It is simply who these people are, and the costumes are not the humor in the show. Contrast that the recent shows that never learned the lesson: Tootsie, Mrs. Doubtfire, Some Like It Hot, and others.

The original production of this did a traditional Broadway take on the show. The nightclub was a classy joint, and the Cagelles were dressed as French showgirls, making it hard to tell, as they say, who was who and what was what. The actors didn’t overplay their characters, although one can’t say that they played them straight. [I’d say “rimshot”, but even that has a different meaning]. But it was a big singing and dancing extravaganza with Jerry Herman tunes. The 2012 Revivial, with Doug Hodges and Kelsey Grammer, I’ve only heard. But the album makes it clear that Hodges hammed it up as Albin, and Grammer overplayed it. That’s likely why I skipped that version.

In this version, the director, Sam Pinkleton, takes a very different take on the show. Instead of being in a high-class nightclub, this show is more of a very seedy, low-rent, drag review. Think the quality of the club you see in Caberet. It has seen better days, and the quality of the performers isnt’ the best. In many ways, that works better (and would be even stronger if the leads were visibly older). But some reviewers can’t get past their conception of the club.

Another change made by the director — and one that bothered me a bit more — was changing the characterization of the son, Jean-Michel. In this production, he is differently-abled (and the actor that portrays him really has C.P.). His fiancée is also not the typical beauty that you find playing the character — she is larger and my guess from the portrayal is intended to be slightly autistic. This is a truly different take, but it also makes some of the songs actually have more meaning (especially “Anne on My Arms”). Think about the following lyrics when the guy is disabled and can’t walk too well unaided: “Who else can make me feel like I’m handsome and tall? / Who else can make me feel I’m on top of it all? / I found a combination that works like a charm: / I’m simply a man who walks on the stars / Whenever it’s Anne on my arm! / Life is a celebration with you on my arm / Walking’s a new sensation with you on my arm / Each time I face a morning that’s boring and bland / With you it looks good, with you it looks great / With you it looks grand!”. This directorial choice: It surprisingly works.

The production also retains the over-the-top nature of Albin. Grating at first, it grows on you and now I can see its charm that must have been there in the 2012 revival. It certainly adds to the hilarity of the show. And believe me: this show is laugh-out-loud funny. I tend not to laugh at shows, and I was laughing at this one.

Some of the changes made I didn’t like, and these are likely due to the limitations to the Playhouse and budget: The Cafe scenes seemed to be more randomly at the beach, which made no sense at all. There was far too much glitter flying everywhere, which bothers me as I’ve become more aware of plastic pollution. We don’t need glitter cannons in every show, folks.

A lot of credit in this show goes to the performers, and especially the leads. Cheyenne Jackson is charming, with a wonderful singing voice and incredible comic timing (which you likely saw on Call Me Kat). He’s also an incredibly good looking hunk, and I say this as a straight guy. He is just a delight delight to watch, and appears to be having the time of his life with this show. When actors are having fun, it comes through in their performance. Kevin Cahoon was not a super feminine Zaza, but was a great over-the-top comic Albin. Ryan J. Haddad, as I’ve noted, gave a very different interpretation of Jean-Michel, and Shannon Purser was (in my eyes) an extremely beautiful Anne. Additional comic chops go to Michael McDonald and Nicole Parker as Anne’s parents. You only see them in a few scenes at the end of Act II, but they are just hilarious.

So, in summary, if you are expecting a traditional take on La Cage, then this show probably isn’t for you. The low rent conception of the nightclub, combined with the changes in portrayal of some of the characters, will likely turn you off. But if you go into this show with an open mind and open heart, you can really believe that perhaps this is what Jerry Herman meant all along: a show that really emphasizes being who we are, and being proud of who we are. Straight or gay. Differently-abled or not. Sedate or over-the-top. We are who we are. We are our own special creations. We should be proud of that.

La Cage Aux Folles continues at the Pasadena Playhouse through December 15. Go see it. Tickets are available through the Playhouse Box Office.

———

La Cage Aux Folles. Book by Harvey Fierstein. Music and lyrics by Jerry Herman. Based on the play by Jean Poiret. Directed by Sam Pinkleton. Choreography by Ani Taj.

Cast (^æx indicates Actors Equity): Cheyenne Jackson^æ Georges; Kevin Cahoon^æ Albin/Zaza; Ryan J. Haddad^æ Jean-Michel; Shannon Purser^æ Anne; El Beh^æFrancis; Michael McDonald^æ Edouard Dindon/M. Renaud; Nichole Parker^æ Marie Dindon/Mme. Renaud; Shea Diamond^æ Jacqueline; George Salazar^æJacob; Key Bebe Queue^æ Cagelle; Cody Brunelle-Potter^æ Cagelle; Salina EsTitties (Jason De Puy) Cagelle; Rhoyle Ivy King Cagelle; Ellen Soraya Nikbakht^æ Cagelle; Suni Jade Reid^æ Cagelle; Paul Vogt^æ Cagelle

Music Department: Darryl Archibald Music Director / Keyboard; Abdul-Hamid Royal Assoc Music Director / Keyboard; Damon Zick Reed 1 (Flute, Clarinet, Soprano Sax); Joe Di Fiore Reed 2 (Clarinet, Bass Clarinet, Alto Sax); Erick Jovel Trumpet; Devon Taylor Trombone; Jonathan Richards Bass; Dominick Anzalone Drums / Percussion; Eric Heinly Orchestra Contractor.

Production and Creative: David Zinn Scenic Design; David Reynoso Costume Design; Stacey Derosier Lighting Design; Daniel Erdberg Sound Design; Ursula Kwong-Brown Sound Design; Alberto “Albee” Alverado Wig and Hair Design; Ryan Bernard Tymensky, CSA / RBT Casting Casting; Chris Waters Stage Manager; Sam Allen Asst Stage Manager; Lydia Runge Asst Stage Manager.

♦ ♦ ♦

Upcoming ♦ Theatre / ♣ Music / ◊ Other Live Performance – Next 90ish Days (⊕ indicates ticketing is pending). We’re a bit light on theatre while my wife is recuperating from her knee replacement.

December: ♦ Wicked at Broadway in Hollywood/Pantages; ♦ Once Upon a Mattress at CTG/Ahmanson;

January: ♦ Anything Goes (Concert) at Pasadena Playhouse (Pasadena Civic);

February: ♦ Stephen Sondheim’s Old Friends at CTG/Taper; ♦ Harry Potter and the Cursed Child at Broadway in Hollywood/Pantages; ⊕♦ Desperate Measures at ICT Long Beach;

March: ♦ Top Dog/Underdog at Pasadena Playhouse; ⊕♣ Nefesh Mountain at McCabes; Fake It Until You Make It at CTG/Taper; MRJ Man of the Year Dinner at Temple Beth Tikvah; ⊕♦ Drat the Cat at Group Rep; MoTAS/MoTBH Mens Seder at TAS.

This entry was originally posted on Observations Along the Road as Finding Your Pride | "La Cage Aux Folles" @ Pasadena Playhouse by cahwyguy. Although you can comment on DW, please make comments on original post at the Wordpress blog using the link to the left. You can sign in with your LJ, DW, FB, or a myriad of other accounts. Note: Subsequent changes made to the post on the blog are not propagated by the SNAP Crossposter; please visit the original post to see the latest version. P.S.: If you see share buttons above, note that they do not work outside of the Wordpress blog.

Cyrano de Bergerac (Pasadena Playhouse) I’d wager a guess that almost everyone is familiar with some aspects of the Cyrano de Bergerac story. Perhaps you know it is is story about a man with a really big nose. Perhaps you know instead the story of someone who was incapable of speaking to the opposite sex, so they get a friend to ghost-write their words for them (without secretly knowing that friend had longing for the same person). Perhaps you recall it turns out badly when the truth is found out. Perhaps you recall a moral from the story: Seeing beyond a person’s appearance to true beauty within. These elements have been excerpted for many stories throughout the years.

Perhaps you’ve seen the movie Roxanne with Steve Martin. That’s based on this story. Perhaps you’ve seen or heard of the musical Calvin Berger. Again, same story. Perhaps you’ve seen The Truth about Cats and Dogs. Again, same story.

Suffice it to say that we’re all familiar with the outlines and basic tropes of the Cyrano story. But most of us probably haven’t seen the original, or something that hews closely to the original. So I was intrigued when the Pasadena Playhouse announced Cyrano de Bergerac as the first show of their 2024-2025 season. By this point, you should be able to guess where we were last night.

First, a slight digression to a different play, about a slightly more modern historical figure: Alexander Hamilton. I must note that last weekend was our first outing to the theatre since my wife’s knee replacement surgery in August. We went to see Hamilton at the Hollywood Pantages. It was my third time seeing the show; my wife’s fourth. I didn’t have the strong urge to do a full write up, as my notes would align with my first viewing thoughts from 2017. I did have four observations on the show that I posted on FB:

Burr seems almost Trump-like, with his never taking a stand on something. This parallel comes out really strong in the Election of 1800, where Hamilton, like traditional Republicans today, endorses his long-time opponent Jefferson because it was better to support someone with positions than someone who was just in it for himself.
I wonder how this show will be done in regional theatres, especially when there is no turntable. The turntable is the key to the choreography that moves the show forward.
Kudos to the Pantages for being able to change where we were sitting at intermission so my wife could be in her wheelchair, as her new knee was still giving her a lot of pain.
Is it time to have a revival of Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson, if only to highlight the dangers of populism. Do our Presidential shows highlight how we view the presidency and the nation, running from 1600 Pennsylvania Ave to Ben Franklin in Paris to 1776 to Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson to Hamilton to Soft Power?

In any case, let’s return to Cyrano.

As I noted above, we’re all familiar with the story tropes of Cyrano de Bergerac. Guy with big nose, who can write really well. Guy who can’t write gets Cyrano to write love letters for him. Girl falls in love with both guys: the outside of one, the inside (not “insides”, which would be yuk) of the other. But I’ll also willing to bet that most of us aren’t familiar with the original play from 1897 by Edmond Rostand, nor the life of the real Savinien de Cyrano de Bergerac, upon whom Rostand based his story. I certainly wasn’t. I didn’t know the original was written in lyric poetry; I didn’t know about the military aspects of Cyrano’s story, nor did I recall how it ended. I certainly didn’t know about the real Cyrano and the fact that he was one of the first science fiction authors, having written L’Autre Monde: ou les États et Empires de la Lune (“Comical History of the States and Empires of the Moon“, published posthumously, 1657) and Les États et Empires du Soleil (The States and Empires of the Sun, 1662), which are purportedly classics of early modern science fiction.

To be clear, what we saw last night was not Rostand’s original play. Rostand’s story was freely adapted by Martin Crimp in 2019 for the Playhouse Theatre in London; it is that version that was produced by the Pasadena Playhouse. Crimp’s version keeps almost all of the story elements of the original: the setting in France in the 1600s; the original characters; the lyric poetry; the relationships between the characters. It updates the language; it updates some of the mores to reflect the increasing gender fluidity of the times (although not with the primary characters). One might argue that it updates the style of the lyricism: the rhyming sounds less like pre-French-revolution, and more like today’s hip-hop rhythms. It also moves the action of the play from the traditional proscenium setting and historical dress to one that interacts with the audience more, and the characters in modern style and dress (while still supposedly in France in the 1600s). It updates references: the play Clorise in Act I becomes Hamlet; the proprietor of the Cafe Ragueneau changes from a man to a woman. There is also plenty of commentary added on gender roles, and the datedness of those roles in early France.

The juxtaposition of the 1600s and the early 2000s is jarring, but suspension of belief quickly kicks in and your brain adapts to the dissonance. At least it does for most people; there were some audience members (such as the older folks sitting in front of us) that didn’t return from intermission.

The Pasadena Playhouse version also dispenses with a lot of props and accoutrements of a traditional Cyrano. I’ve already noted that the costuming is mostly modern, with characters in street clothes, and even the military uniforms being more suggestions of uniforms than anything else. They also dispense with the usual prosthetics; indeed, there is no visible evidence that Cyrano is actually disfigured in any way at all (other than being portrayed by a black actor, but I think that is more color-blind casting than intentional for the story). Could Cyrano’s disfigurement be entirely in his mind? That’s never made clear. The play also starts with the actors out in the audience, seemingly sharing space with the playgoers (which does fit better with the first act, which takes place in a theatre).

When the play started — and especially as I’ve never seen the original Cyrano — I wasn’t sure what to make of it. The poetry was coming fast and furious, and it was hard at times to keep up. But the story and characters quickly drew me in. The dissonance, while initially annoying, disappeared into the background and just became another novel aspect of the story. It was helped by the staging of the story by the Pasadena Playhouse, which was very abstract (which emphasized the timelessness of the story and the disconnect from realism of the presentation).

Now that I’ve seen a near-Cyrano, I understand the tropes a lot better. One can also see why the story became a timeless one, constantly being excepted for new adaptions. The divide between the handsome non-talents and the plain talented will always exist. We always wish that those we are attracted to could see the beauty and talent within us, and not fall for the handsome tasteless Wonder Bread™ standing next to us. But they almost always do, and they are the worse for it. The point of Cyrano is the importance of seeing through the bullshit and finding the truth and the talent.

#insert your election observation here. I know who the handsome tasteless Wonder Bread™ is in this election, and I’m sure you know where I stand.

The leads of the show were strong: Chukwudi Iwuji was a believable poet/soldier as Cyrano, and Rosa Salazar was a beautiful Roxanne. Will Hochman was an appropriately handsome non-poet Christian. I also enjoyed the casting of some of the smaller roles: Kimerly Scott’s Madame Rageuneu was delightful, and I grew to like Aaron Costa Ganis’ Le Bret. But the Baby Boomer in me loved seeing Barry Livingston on stage in the small role of Theatre Owner/Priest. Why? C’mon: Barry was Ernie in the classic My Three Sons, with his brother Stanley playing his older brother Chip. It’s the little things, folks.

By the time this gets posted, the last (or next to last) performance of Cyrano de Bergerac at the Pasadena Playhouse will have started, as this is the closing weekend. You might still be able to get tickets. There are shows today at 2pm and 7pm. It is well worth seeing.

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Cyrando de Bergerac. Written by Edmond Rostand; freely adapted by Martin Crimp. Directed by Mike Donahue. Cyrano de Bergerac in this adaptation was first performed at the Playhouse Theatre, London, on 27 November 2019.

Cast: Chukwudi Iwuji Cyrano; Rosa Salazar Roxane; Will Hochman Christian; Kimberly Scott Madame Ragueneau; Larry Powell Lignière; Jens Austin Astrup Alastair / Act 3 Soldier; Aaron Costa Ganis Le Bret; E. M. Davis Usher / Denise / Medic; Christine Lin Woman Sent by Roxane / Marie-Louise; Barry Livingston Theatre Owner / Priest; Michael Nathanson De Guiche; Kila Packett Fencing Referee / Sentry; Sawyer Patterson Valvert; Jonathan Slavin Montfleury / Armande; John Garet Stoker Annoying Person.

Creative and Production: Afsoon Pajoufar Scenic Design; Carolyn Mazuca Costume Design; Josh Epstein Lighting Design; Edward Hansen Lighting Design; Veronika Vorel Sound Design; Rachel Lee Flesher Fight Director / Intimacy Coordinator; Christine Adaire Voice / Text Coach; Ryan Bernard Tymensky, CSA Casting; Colleen Danaher Stage Manager; Jessica Keasberry-Vnuk Asst. Stage Manager; Kimberly Sanchez Garrido Asst. Stage Manager.

Favorite Credit: John Garet Stoker Annoying Person. Can you imagine putting that on your resume?

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Upcoming ♦ Theatre / ♣ Music / ◊ Other Live Performance – Next 90ish Days (⊕ indicates ticketing is pending):

October: ♦ Little Shop of Horrors at 5-Star Theatricals; ♦ Kimberly Akimbo at Broadway in Hollywood/Pantages.
November: ♦ American Idiot at CTG/Taper; ♦ Back to the Future: The Musical at Broadway in Hollywood/Pantages; possibly ♦ Fiddler on the Roof ⊕ at La Mirada PAC; ♦ La Cage Aux Folles at Pasadena Playhouse; possibly Santa Claus Conquers the Martians ⊕ at Maverick Theatre
December: ♦ Wicked at Broadway in Hollywood/Pantages; ♦ Once Upon a Mattress at CTG/Ahmanson;

On the Theatrical Horizon:

Bruce Kimmel will be bringing the rarely done Drat! The Cat! to Lonny Chapman’s Group Rep in March 2025.

This entry was originally posted on Observations Along the Road as Its Reputation Proceeds Me | "Cyrano de Bergerac" @ Pasadena Playhouse by cahwyguy. Although you can comment on DW, please make comments on original post at the Wordpress blog using the link to the left. You can sign in with your LJ, DW, FB, or a myriad of other accounts. Note: Subsequent changes made to the post on the blog are not propagated by the SNAP Crossposter; please visit the original post to see the latest version. P.S.: If you see share buttons above, note that they do not work outside of the Wordpress blog.

Jelly's Last Jam (Pasadena Playhouse) Some will argue that the true first Broadway “jukebox” musical was Ain’t Misbahavin’ back in 1978. It was certainly the first one I saw, back when I was 19 in Los Angeles (at the Aquarius Theatre, later Nick on Sunset). It celebrated the music of Fats Waller, and brought syncopated jazz to a new audience. This was followed by other jukebox musical celebrating seminal black artists, such as the music of Duke Ellington in 1981’s Sophisticated Ladies; and the music of Louis Jordan in FIve Guys Named Moe in 1992 (and I would be remiss if I didn’t mention The Louis Armstrong Musical which begins previews on Broadway in October 2024). 1991 was a particularly interesting year, as it saw the premiers of Five Guys Named Moe in London’s West End, and a musical celebrating the music of Jelly Roll Morton at the CTG’s Mark Taper Forum, Jelly’s Last Jam. I mention this all because although I’ve long had the cast album to Jelly’s Last Jam in my collection, I had never seen the show—that is, until last night, when I saw the show at the Pasadena Playhouse as part of their ongoing Great American Musicals series.

Jelly’s Last Jam purports to tell the story of Jelly Roll Morton; it does this through the device of opening the show with Jelly’s death, and having to retell history to “The Chimney Man” in order to justify where he will end up. Throughout the show, the Chimney Man attempts to get Morton to admit the truth, but Morton prefers his story … until the end. Morton’s story emphasizes his origin from a Creole family (which is true), how his origin led him to look down on what he viewed as dark music, and how he viewed himself as the inventor of Jazz. The latter is really a claim made by Morton, and many believe that it posthumously damaged his reputation. It roughly covers his history, starting with his living with mother’s parents and later being kicked out for playing piano in a bordello; his time in New Orleans; his time in Chicago and environs, where he meets Anita; his time in New York, and his ending in Los Angeles.

The musical book does correctly capture the attitudes of the times, where lighter-skin blacks with less African backgrounds (such as the French Creoles) viewed themselves as above those taken from Africa. Those attitudes (and the accompanying language) feel off today. This book has also problems when viewed in the light of misogyny and the treatment of women: what was acceptable in the 1910s and 1920s is much less acceptable 100 years later. This, and the darker nature of the story, make the book a bit more problematic today. It won some performance-based Tonys back in the 1990s, but would it be received the same today. It is important when watching this show to remember that Morton was the product of his times, even as uncomfortable as they are today. We can’t chance the past.

Then again, perhaps we can change the past. As with many musicals, Jelly’s Last Jam conflates many facts and rearranges things. In getting ready to write this up, I did some internet research on Morton, and although the general timeline matches up with the musical, the people often do not. The musical implies he met Anita outside of Chicago and later started a club. Rather, he was with her in Los Angeles, and wasn’t later involved with her. There wasn’t a Jack the Bear who was mentioned at the biographical level, although he did mention Jack the Bear in the Alan Lomax interviews (which also weren’t mention). They fudged with how he died (he was actually knifed in a club in Washington DC, giving him lung problems. Those later took him down in Los Angeles. There are more discrepancies. The bottom line is that this musical shouldn’t be taken as authoritative history. What it does capture accurately is the character of Jelly Roll Morton: his outsize ego, his talent, his pride, his racism towards other blacks, and the chips on his shoulders.

Unlike the horrid Girl From The North Country a few weeks ago, the book problems don’t bring down this show. They just weaken it a bit; they are offset by the tremendous performances in the show. The singing and dancing here are remarkable, especially the tap work of John Clarence Stewart (Jelly Roll Morton) and Doran Butler (Young Jelly/Ensemble). There was also a trio ensemble (the Hunnies) that was remarkable; in fact, the ensemble was quite strong in terms of overall song and dance. The talent of Jasmine Amy Rogers (Anita) should not be overlooked—I particularly enjoyed her humor and attitude in the bedroom scenes with Jelly Roll. Cress Williams made a strong Chimney Sweep.

The staging and set clearly showed the time and funds that the Pasadena Playhouse put into this. Danny Feldman emphasized, in his opening statement, how much the Playhouse puts into locally mounting and casting these musicals (and how tickets don’t come near to covering the cost). It shows here. This was a spectacular staging, especially in how it was used to establish locale. The only real problems were the downlights into the audience: the moving light made it really hard to read the programs.

We left the show with conflicting views about Jelly Roll Morton the person, and a new appreciation for the music of Jelly Roll Morton. This show is well worth seeing, especially as it is not frequently mounted. Tickets are available through the Pasadena Playhouse, discount tickets may be available through TodayTix. The show runs through June 23, 2024.

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Jelly’s Last Jam. Book by George C. Wolfe. Music by Jelly Roll Morton. Lyrics by Susan Birkenhead. Musical adaptation and additional music composed by Luther Henderson. Directed by Kent Gash. Choreography by Dell Howlett. Produced on Broadway by Margo Lion and Pamela Koslow. Jelly’s Last Jam premiered at the Mark Taper Forum, Los Angeles, California, in March 1991. Directed by Wolfe, Obba Babatunde played Jelly Roll.

Cast: John Clarence Stewart Jelly Roll Morton; Cress Williams Chimney Man; Jasmine Amy Rogers Anita; Wilkie Ferguson III Jack the Bear; Karole Foreman Gran Mimi / Ensemble; Eric B. Anthony Three Finger Jake / Ensemble; Doran Butler Young Jelly / Ensemble; Chante Carmel Ensemble; Cyd Charisse Glover-Hill Hunnie; Summer Nicole Greer Miss Mamie; Janaya Mahealani Jones Hunnie; Grasan Kingsberry Buddy Bolden / Ensemble; Amber Liekhus Ensemble; Davon Rashawn Ensemble; Joe Aaron Reid Foot-In-Yo-Ass Sam / Ensemble; Naomi C. Walley Hunnie; Hannah Yosef Too Tight Nora / Ensemble.

Music Department: Darryl Archibald Music Director / Conductor; Abdul Hamid Royal Assoc. Music Director / Piano; Rickey Woodard Reed 1 (Alto Sax / Tenor Sax / Flute); Louis Taylor Reed 2 (Tenor Sax / Clarinet / Bass Clarinet); Frank Fontaine Reed 3 (Clarinet); Aaron Smith and Fernando Pullum Trumpet / Flugelhorn; Bobby Murray Trombone / Tuba; Peter Cho Banjo; Jonathan Richards Bass; Dominic Anzalone Drums / Percussion; Eric Heinly Music Contractor; Tan Onwimon Music Assistant; Brent Crayon Rehearsal Pianist.

Production and Creative: Edward E. Haynes Jr. Scenic Design; Samantha C. Jones Costume Design; Rui Rita Lighting Design; Danny Erdberg Sound Design; Ursula Kwong Brown Sound Design; Shelia Down Wig Design; Joy DeMichelle Intimacy Coordinator; Cyd Charisse Glover-Hill Asst. Choreographer / Dance Captain; lark hackshaw Stage Manager; David S. Franklin Asst. Stage Manager; Miriam E. Mendoza Asst. Stage Manager; Jessica Keasberry-Vnuk Asst. Stage Manager; Ryan Bernard Tymensky CSA RBT Casting;

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Upcoming ♦ Theatre / ♣ Music / ◊ Other Live Performance – Next 90ish Days (⊕ indicates ticketing is pending):

June: ♦ A Strange Loop at CTG/Ahamanson Theatre; ♦ Mrs. Doubtfire at Broadway in Hollywood/Pantages; ♦ Come Blow Your Horn at Canyon Theatre Guild; ♦ Radium Girls at Stage Left Productions (Surprise AZ).
July: ♦ Peter Pan at Broadway in Hollywood/Pantages; ♦ The Sound of Music at 5-Star Theatricals;
August: ♦ Clue at CTG/Ahamanson Theatre; ♦ Company at Broadway in Hollywood/Pantages; ♣ Postmodern Jukebox at The Magnolia, El Cajon.
September: ♦ Hamilton at Broadway in Hollywood/Pantages; Cyrano de Bergerac ⊕ at Pasadena Playhouse;
October: ♦ American Idiot ⊕ at CTG/Taper; ♦ Little Shop of Horrors at 5-Star Theatricals; ♦ Kimberly Akimbo at Broadway in Hollywood/Pantages.

On the Theatrical Horizon:

Season renewals are in process: Center Theatre Group/Ahmanson Theatre; Broadway in Hollywood/Pantages Theatre; and Pasadena Playhouse are all renewed. We’re looking to see what Chromolume Theatre (which is returning) and Canyon Theatre Guild are planning. Other than that, Jason Alexander will be doing Fiddler on the Roof , directed by Lonny Price, at La Mirada in November.

This entry was originally posted on Observations Along the Road as Racial Music | "Jelly's Last Jam" @ Pasadena Playhouse by cahwyguy. Although you can comment on DW, please make comments on original post at the Wordpress blog using the link to the left. You can sign in with your LJ, DW, FB, or a myriad of other accounts. Note: Subsequent changes made to the post on the blog are not propagated by the SNAP Crossposter; please visit the original post to see the latest version. P.S.: If you see share buttons above, note that they do not work outside of the Wordpress blog.

One of the Good Ones (Pasadena Playhouse) As the World Premiere of the new play One of the Good Ones (which we saw Saturday night at the Pasadena Playhouse) started, I was cringing. The dialogue and interactions of a white woman overplaying an encounter with a Hispanic worker was just.. uhhhhh. With that opening, I’m sure you’re expecting me to say that this play was completely cringe-worthy, a trainwreck.

But, no, that was my opinion of their last show, Kate.

One of the Good Ones is harder to characterize. At time, there was dialogue that was completely cringeworthy. At other times, the show was hilariously funny. The thought that kept coming to my mind was that this really was an extended situation comedy. Many of today’s sitcoms are like that. I’ll be watching The Neighborhood or even Abbott Elementary and there will be dialogue and situations that are completely cringeworthy—the “this is stupid and I want to turn this off” level. But then the show redeems itself.

This is that sort of a comedy, which with its length (80 minutes, no intermission) is very much an extended sitcom. This isn’t a theatrical classic. It is just a funny evening in front of the TV. In fact, thinking about this even more, I could see this being a real sitcom. The family presented here is set up and established and could result in many very funny story lines. TV executives down the freeway in Burbank (home to NBC, ABC, and a little down the road, CBS Radford): Are you listening?

So here’s the setup. Father, Enrique (Carlos Gomez) is a slightly hot-headed Cuban American, 2^nd generation. Mother, Ilana (Lana Parrilla) is a Mexican-Puerto Rican American, also 2^nd generation, who does not speak Spanish. Daughter, Yoli (Isabella Gomez) is bringing home her boyfriend … make that serious boyfriend … make that very serious boyfriend, Marcos (Nico Greetham). So you’ve got intergenerational conflict, and parents who don’t accept their daughter growing up. And Marcos is claimed to be Mexican… after all he was born in Mexico City.

But then the secrets and truths start to come out, and the meat of the comedy comes out as well. I don’t want to spoil the jokes, but some of them are a bit predictable. Some I didn’t see coming at all. And yes, there were cringeworthy moments, such as the aforementioned opening where the mother, who doesn’t speak Spanish, completely over reacts to a Hispanic delivery person.

As I said: A sitcom. Actually, it would be a great sitcom, once the ensemble settled into the family that sitcom ensembles do.

Should you see this? I’d ask: Do you like sitcoms? If you do: If you (like me) find shows like The Neighborhood funny, go for it. I think you would enjoy this.

I should note that this play—just like some sitcoms—actually makes some deeper points in all of its comedy. In this case, the point is made about the problem with the whole American “Melting Pot” model. For all of the broad ethnic groups, our significant cultural and ethnic past as we melt into the larger group: Italians and Irish and English and … become “White”; “Mexicans” and “Spanish” and “Cubans” and … become “Latinx” (and there are some good jokes about that). Many different African and Caribbean and …. heritages become “Black”; Japanese and Chinese and Korean and …. become “Asian”. We lose the value of those identities. They then get further subsumed when we become the lump label “American”. Further, is what makes you your label dependent on your heritage or where you were born? Is a son of English and German immigrants, born in Mexico and speaking fluent Spanish, Mexican? These are deep and relevant questions today, and they are buried in the humor of this play.

But this isn’t new for a sitcom. Archie Bunker was making us think as he was making us laugh, and as he was saying things that were very cringeworthy. It’s an honored sitcom tradition. It isn’t the days of Leave It to Beaver or Ozzie and Harriet anymore.

One of the Good Ones continues at the Pasadena Playhouse until April 7. Tickets are available through the Pasadena Playhouse website; they may also be available through the usual discount outlets.

One note for completeness: Last weekend we saw the folk music group Emma’s Revolution at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Long Beach. Great show, but I don’t always write up concerts. Here is their future show schedule.

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Cast: Lana Parrilla Ilana; Carlos Gomez Enrique; Isabella Gomez Yoli; Nico Greetham Marcos; Santino Jimenez Pedro. Understudies: Abel Garcia, Anna LaMadrid.

Production and Creative Credits: Written by Gloria Calderón Kellett. Directed by Kimberly Senior. Other credits: Tanya Orellana Scenic Design; Denitsa Bliznakova Costume Design; Jaymi Lee Smith Lighting Design; Jeff Gardner & Andrea Allmond Sound Design; Rachel Lee Flesher Fight & Intimacy Coordinator; Ryan Bernard Tymensky CSA Casting; David S. Franklin Stage Manager; Brad Enlow Technical Direction / Production Supervisor; Davidson & Choy Publicity Press Representative; Jenny Slattery Associate Producer; Miriam E. Mendoza Asst. Stage Manager.

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Administrivia: I am not a professional critic. I’m a cybersecurity professional, a roadgeek who does a highway site and a podcast about California Highways, and someone who loves live performance. I buy all my own tickets, unless explicitly noted otherwise. I do these writeups to share my thoughts on shows with my friends and the community. I encourage you to go to your local theatres and support them (ideally, by purchasing full price tickets, if you can afford to do so). We currently subscribe or have memberships at: Center Theatre Group/Ahmanson Theatre; Broadway in Hollywood/Pantages Theatre; Pasadena Playhouse; Geffen Playhouse (Mini-Subscription); 5-Star Theatricals. We’re looking for the right intimate theatre to subscribe at — it hasn’t been the same since Rep East died (it’s now The Main, and although it does a lot of theatre, it doesn’t have seasons or a resident company), and post-COVID, most 99-seaters aren’t back to doing seasons (or seasons we like). I used to do more detailed writeups; here’s my current approach.

Upcoming ♦ Theatre / ♣ Music / ◊ Other Live Performance – Next 90ish Days (⊕ indicates ticketing is pending):

March: ♦ One of the Good Ones at the Pasadena Playhouse; ♦ Million Dollar Quartet at 5-Star Theatricals; ♦ Chicago at Broadway in Hollywood/Pantages; ♣ Go Jazz Big Band at The Main; ♦ Fat Ham at Geffen Playhouse.
April: ♦ Funny Girl at CTG/Ahamanson Theatre; ‍◊ Renaissance Pleasure Faire; Xanadu at Canyon Theatre Guild; ♦ Spongebob Squarepants – The Musical at CSUN Theatre; ♣ Gordon Goodwin and the Big Phat Band at BofA/Kavli Theatre in Thousand Oaks. Possible: ♦ Head over Heels – The Musical at Santa Clarita Performing Arts Center – COC.
May: ♦ Hands on a Hardbody at Charles Stewart Howard Playhouse; ♦ Girl from the North Country at Broadway in Hollywood/Pantages; ♦ The Play That Goes Wrong at Canyon Theatre Guild (⊕)
June: ♦ Jelly’s Last Jam at the Pasadena Playhouse; ♦ A Strange Loop at CTG/Ahamanson Theatre; ♦ Mrs. Doubtfire at Broadway in Hollywood/Pantages; ♦ You Can’t Take It With You (⊕) at Group Rep; and potentially some ♦ Hollywood Fringe Festival shows, although June is pretty well booked already.

On the Theatrical Horizon:

Morgan-Wixson Theatre in Santa Monica has announced their Mainstage 2024 Season, and it includes Bat Boy the Musical running Sept 28 through October 18. We saw Bat Boy back when CSUN did it in 2014; it is a wonderful musical about how a society treats outsiders. I also just learned about a theatre company in Fullerton, Maverick Theater. They are doing Evil Dead: The Musical , which is a hoot if you’ve never seen it (we’ve seen it twice). They also have some interesting other stuff on their season, and we might drive down for Santa Claus Vs The Martians in November.

This entry was originally posted on Observations Along the Road as 🎭 Family Dynamics | "One of the Good Ones" @ Pasadena Playhouse by cahwyguy. Although you can comment on DW, please make comments on original post at the Wordpress blog using the link to the left. You can sign in with your LJ, DW, FB, or a myriad of other accounts. Note: Subsequent changes made to the post on the blog are not propagated by the SNAP Crossposter; please visit the original post to see the latest version. P.S.: If you see share buttons above, note that they do not work outside of the Wordpress blog.

Kate (Pasadena Playhouse) Color me unimpressed. Color me confused.

I guess I should have been warned when Kate’s name was everywhere around the theatre, and her image was everywhere, and she was posing the lobby wanting people to ignore her. Her image was all over the men’s room, ferrchristssake. Then there’s her “Statement from the Artist”, which includes this: “The theatre requires a sacred corporal exchange – a sense-based modality of transference that demands physical presence.” WTF?

This was an exercise in a person wanting to be on display, who was seemingly in love with her own image.

On display she was, for 85 long minutes.

Perhaps I wasn’t her audience. Perhaps I just don’t get her humor. There were folks in the audience laughing uproariously. I laughed about 3 times, overall. She reminded me of Conan O’Brien, someone else who I don’t find funny at all. She was all exaggerated facial expressions, self-examination, and pointless dialogue. It is a form of humor I don’t understand.

The NY Times wrote of this show, when it was in New York,

Impatient, stylized, cerebral, Berlant’s comedy has never been for all markets. Nearly a decade ago, my colleague, Jason Zinoman, an early champion, described her as “not to everyone’s taste.” Marc Maron, on a recent episode of the WTF podcast, introduced her this way: “She’s an odd presence. But funny.” Her comedy resembles an infinite recursion, a hall of mirrors in which the reflections rarely flatter.

Note: The NY Times link is one of my “Gift Article” links, so you can read the whole thing. It does a good job of explaining what she is doing, although not everything mentioned is in the Pasadena Playhouse lobby. As they put it:

…she is a comic for all the girls out there who think too much… The confessional solo is a hallowed form downtown; Berlant desecrates it from every side. She plays with its creeds the way that a cat might toy with a mouse — teasing, batting, swiping, mauling. […] how you respond to “Kate” may have to do with how much you enjoy seeing theatrical tropes savaged. … The accents, the miming, the assumption of multiple characters, the buildup to some terrible trauma, all are satirized here.

So I understand now what she was trying to do. It still didn’t land with this audience goer. Listening to some of the folks as we left, we weren’t alone. Yet there were others for who it landed in a way they understood. I just don’t get what they saw.

But there are many things in this world I don’t get. #include <political-reference>

Kate certainly wasn’t for this theatregoer, who tends to prefer traditional stuff. I’m not a standup comedy person (I don’t go to comedy clubs). I’m not into the avant guard or overly expressionistic comedy. I just don’t know what to make of this, other than it wasn’t something I liked, or would care to see again. Sometimes, theatre hit it out of the park. Sometimes, they get a base hit. Sometimes, they swing and miss, and swing and miss, and swing and miss, and ….

If Kate Berlant and her style is your thing, enjoy. We didn’t.

One additional note: The program for Kate is a similarly narcissistic, with her picture plastered everywhere. But the cast and creative team bios? Those are relegated to a QR code. That’s really poor form; a trend I don’t like. Websites go away or are reorganized away; printed program are a record of shows forever. I pay for my tickets; I should get a program with bios. There’s an Equity logo on this show; Equity shouldn’t put up with this. As a side note: The code takes you to https://pasadenaplayhouse.ihub.app/c/kate/feed?postTypeId=whatsNew .

Second note to the Pasadena Playhouse: That’s the other problem with QR codes: You have no idea where you are going — and unless you have your scanner set up to not automatically take you there, they are a cybersecurity nightmare. Well, even if you do, they are, because you can’t assess whether is a website is safe based on a URL alone. You also disenfranchise your audience (in that it is difficult to scan a QR code that is embedded within an online program) , and QR code programs encourage audiences to play with their phones during a show. Traditional printed programs, please.

Warning: There is an intense strobe light sequence in this show. Be forewarned if insist on going to this show, and you are at all sensitive.

Kate. Runs until February 11. Tickets available through the Pasadena Playhouse, and likely through your favorite discount source.

Cast: Kate Berlant (Kate).

Above the Line Production: Kate Berlant (Writer); Bo Burnham (Director)

Below the Line Production and Creatives: Dots (Scenic Design); Amith Chandrashaker (Lighting Design); Palmer Hefferan (Sound Design); Lindsay Jones (Stage Manager); Brad Enlow (Technical Director / Production Supervisor); Davidson & Choy Publicity (Press), David S. Franklin (Asst. Stage Manager).

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Administrivia: I am not a professional critic. I’m a cybersecurity profession, a roadgeek who does a highway site and a podcast about California Highways, and someone who loves live performance. I buy all my own tickets, unless explicitly noted otherwise. I do these writeups to share my thoughts on shows with my friends and the community. I encourage you to go to your local theatres and support them (ideally, by purchasing full price tickets, if you can afford to do so). We currently subscribe or have memberships at: Center Theatre Group/Ahmanson Theatre; Broadway in Hollywood/Pantages Theatre; Pasadena Playhouse; Geffen Playhouse (Mini-Subscription); 5-Star Theatricals. We’re looking for the right intimate theatre to subscribe at — it hasn’t been the same since Rep East died (it’s now The Main, and although it does a lot of theatre, it doesn’t have seasons or a resident company), and post-COVID, most 99-seaters aren’t back to doing seasons (or seasons we like). I used to do more detailed writeups; here’s my current approach.

Upcoming Theatre – Next 90ish Days:

January: POTUS, or Behind Every Great Dumbass are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive at the Geffen Playhouse; Sukkot at Sixth Act/Skylight Theatre.
February: Matthew Bourne’s Romeo and Juliet at CTG/Ahmanson; Marvelous Wonderettes – Dream On at Canyon Theatre Guild; The Wiz at Broadway in Hollywood/Pantages.
March: One of the Good Ones at the Pasadena Playhouse; Million Dollar Quartet at 5-Star Theatricals; Chicago at Broadway in Hollywood/Pantages; Fat Ham at Geffen Playhouse.
April: Funny Girl at CTG/Ahamanson Theatre; Renaissance Pleasure Faire; Xanadu (🎫 Pending) at Canyon Theatre Guild; Gordon Goodwin and the Big Phat Band at BofA/Kavli Theatre in TO.

This entry was originally posted on Observations Along the Road as A Narcissistic Exercise | "Kate" @ Pasadena Playhouse by cahwyguy. Although you can comment on DW, please make comments on original post at the Wordpress blog using the link to the left. You can sign in with your LJ, DW, FB, or a myriad of other accounts. Note: Subsequent changes made to the post on the blog are not propagated by the SNAP Crossposter; please visit the original post to see the latest version. P.S.: If you see share buttons above, note that they do not work outside of the Wordpress blog.

Sanctuary City (Pasadena Playhouse) What does the word “sanctuary” mean to you?

Perhaps you come at the word from the religious sense: it is a place with holy relics where you worship. If so, you might think the play Sanctuary City, which we saw last night at the Pasadena Playhouse, is about a city filled with churches, mosques, and synagogues. You would be wrong.

Another meaning of the term refers to a safe space — a space were you are protected and safe from those who might do you harm. Recall from The Hunchback of Notre Dame that Quasimodo seeks sanctuary in the Sanctuary, as a church is viewed as hallowed ground where the clergy will protect you. We often see religious institutions treated in this manner: those who reside there are protected by a higher power.

More recently — and especially during the Trump administration — the notion of a “Sanctuary City” arose. This was a city where undocumented immigrants were safe. If the police encountered them, they wouldn’t be asked immigration status or reported to ICE. They were safe — for varying values of safe.

People find sanctuary — safe space — in many places. As noted above, some find it in church. Some find it in laws — and law enforcement that officially might not see things. Some find it in relationships: your house is a sanctuary where you are loved and feel safe.

Sanctuary City, by Martyna Majok, directed by Zi Alikhan, explores the notion of sanctuary in many ways (although never in the way the title of the play might lead you to believe). This is a one act play that has two distinct acts (and, in some ways, it really could use that intermission). I should also note that this takes place in 2006, after 9/11, and long before DACA or the other changes that came about during the Obama administration.

During the first half — which takes place in an abstract metal structure that could be the bones of a house, we meet a boy (B) and a girl (G). These two have been friends since they were toddlers, ever since their families brought them across the border in various fashions for a better life in America. G’s mother is now with an abusive guy, and so G finds sanctuary with B — constantly coming over and crashing with him. B’s mother plans to return to Mexico before they catch her, and B can come along or not. She’s fine leaving him in American — and he wants to stay because that’s where his life is. The first act is told in a distinctly non-linear fashion, with flashes between timelines that fill in the details of the story. We do learn, by the end of the first half, that G’s mother has been secretly studying to be naturalized, and has gotten her naturalization papers — and before G turned 18, meaning G was a citizen as well. G comes up with a plan to save B by marrying him, and they prepare for the eventual ICE questioning. G also gets accepted to a university in Boston.

The second half is three years later, and abandons that abstract house for a realistic apartment. Three years in, B and G’s plans are on the rocks, called off by … well, let’s just say there is a reason that B never truly “slept with” G during those earlier years. There is now a love triangle, wherein we meet B’s lover, Henry (a pre-law American). It is within the tensions created by this triangle that the other aspects of sanctuary — safety — come into play. G has come to realize that if she marries B, she isn’t safe if they are ever found out, but there is Henry in the equation. B has to decide between the safety with respect to ICE, vs safety with respect to love. And Henry — who can’t marry B at this time because of the law — is stuck in the middle. How this all resolves is the focus of the second half.

This is a story that drew me in. Initially, it was the question of who these people were, and what was their story. The non-linear flash device used is a novel story telling approach, and you quickly saw the strong friendship and figured out the backstory. You wanted them to become more, yet they never quite did. The second half was fascinating, raising all sort of ethical and legal questions. Some of the situations portrayed in this play are no longer a concern (but then again, may be a concern again, given the current Supreme Court). Some, such as the question about undocumented immigrants and what to do about children who were raised as American (but who aren’t Americans), still remain. It was a really interesting, entertaining, and still relevant play. It makes you think, as you leave the theatre, what makes you truly feel safe — and what are you willing to do and give up to get that safety?

The performances were strong. Ana Nicolle Chavez (G) was believable as the teen dealing with an abusive step parent, seeking sanctuary in the home of her friend. Miles Fower (B) was believable as her friend. The two had strong chemistry together, and you could see them capturing well the tension in the relationship. The third point in the triangle was Kanoa Goo (Henry). He was believable as someone who loved B, and there was a strong tension shown with G who was on the verge of taking B away from him.

Chika Shimizu (Scenic Designer) created an interesting scenic design. The first half was a very abstract metal structure, which combined with Solomon Weisbard (Lighting Designer)‘s lighting allowed the non-linear story telling to occur. The second half was a more conventional design of an interior of an apartment. John Nobori (Sound Design) established the mood and place through appropriate ambient sounds; the actors amplification was sufficient for my currently degraded ears. Jojo Siu (Costume Designer) rounded out the design team.

The remainder of the production team consisted of Amanda Rose Villarreal (Intimacy Coordinator), Brad Enlow (Playhouse Technical Director/Production Supervisor), Brandon Hong Cheng (Stage Manager), and Lydia Runge (Asst. Stage Manager). Casting was by The Telsey Office.

Sanctuary City continues at the Pasadena Playhouse through October 9. Tickets are available through the Pasadena Playhouse box office, and they even have a free ticket initiative for those who cannot afford it. Discount tickets are available through Goldstar, and it also appears there is a GroupOn.

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Ob. Disclaimer: I am not a trained theatre (or music) critic; I am, however, a regular theatre and music audience member (modulo the COVID break). I’ve been attending live theatre and concerts in Los Angeles since 1972; I’ve been writing up my thoughts on theatre (and the shows I see) since 2004. I do not have theatre training (I’m a computer security specialist), but have learned a lot about theatre over my many years of attending theatre and talking to talented professionals. I pay for all my tickets unless otherwise noted (or I’ll make a donation to the theatre, in lieu of payment). I am not compensated by anyone for doing these writeups in any way, shape, or form. I currently subscribe at Actors Co-op (FB), 5 Star Theatricals (FB), Broadway in Hollywood (FB), the Ahmanson Theatre (FB), and we have a membership at The Pasadena Playhouse (FB). We were subscribing at the Musical Theatre Guild (FB) prior to COVID; they have not yet resumed productions. We have also been subscribers at the Soraya/VPAC (FB), although we are waiting a year before we pick that up again. Through my theatre attendance I have made friends with cast, crew, and producers, but I do strive to not let those relationships color my writing (with one exception: when writing up children’s production, I focus on the positive — one gains nothing except bad karma by raking a child over the coals). I believe in telling you about the shows I see to help you form your opinion; it is up to you to determine the weight you give my writeups. Note to publicists or producers reading this: here’s my policy on taking comp tickets. Bottom-Line: Only for things of nominal value, like Fringe.

Upcoming Shows:

For right now, we’re pretty much sticking with shows that come as part of our subscriptions or are of interest through our memberships. Looking ahead for the remainder of 2022:, the rest of October will bring Ghosts at the Odyssey Theatre Ensemble, The Addams Family at 5 Star Theatricals (FB), and To Kill a Mockingbird at Broadway in Hollywood (FB). November brings 2:22 – A Ghost Story at the Ahmanson Theatre (FB). Lastly, December will bring Annie at Broadway in Hollywood (FB).

As always, I’m keeping my eyes open for interesting productions mentioned on sites such as Better-Lemons, Footlights, as well as productions I see on Goldstar, On Stage 411 or that are sent to me by publicists or the venues themselves. Want to know how to attend lots of live stuff affordably? Take a look at my post on How to attend Live Theatre on a Budget (although I know it is outdated and need to update it). Want to learn about all the great theatre in Southern California? Read my post on how Los Angeles (and its environs) is the best area for theatre in the Country (again, I need to review this for the post-COVID theatre landscape)!

This entry was originally posted on Observations Along the Road as 🎭 When Do We Feel Safe | "Sanctuary City by cahwyguy. Although you can comment on DW, please make comments on original post at the Wordpress blog using the link to the left. You can sign in with your LJ, DW, FB, or a myriad of other accounts. Note: Subsequent changes made to the post on the blog are not propagated by the SNAP Crossposter; please visit the original post to see the latest version. P.S.: If you see share buttons above, note that they do not work outside of the Wordpress blog.

This has been a busy but strange summer. The combination of my Cholesteatoma, getting the podcast off the ground, working on the highway pages, and taking care of my wife has left my weekends pretty full. I’ve seen a bunch of shows over the end of June and into July, but haven’t had the time to do the full write ups of the show (in case you didn’t know, each writeup — including all the linking to the people involved — takes 3-4 hours). So I decided, while I was on vacation this week, to do some shorter write ups of the shows. These will get across my general impressions of the shows and perhaps highlight a performer or three, but they won’t list all of the folks involved. I’ll try to include a link to the programs for the shows, which these days are often online.

So, with that said, let’s begin:

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Ann (Pasadena Playhouse) Back in February 2020, I was visiting my daughter in Madison WI. Tickets had just gone on sale for a show my wife really wanted to see, Ann, at the Pasadena Playhouse. Ann was a one-woman show that told the story of Ann Richards, Democratic Governor of Texas from 1991-1995. Richards was a political firebrand known for speaking her mind, which was well demonstrated at the 1988 Democratic National Convention (where we first learned about her). It was Richards who came up with the line I’m sure you’ve heard: “After all, Ginger Rogers did everything that Fred Astaire did. She just did it backwards and in high heels.”

We had been planning to see the show in May 2020. But then COVID happened. The show was cancelled; we had a credit at the Playhouse that we rolled into their new membership program. The new season was announced. Guess what was on the season? Yup. Ann was back.

We ticketed it as soon as we could, and coordinated the handicapped seating for my wife.

The story of the show’s origins is best described by the LA Times. It is a play that Holland Taylor (who folks probably remember best as the mother in Two and a Half Men, but whom I remember from It’s a Living) was compelled to write. Taylor was a regular on “Two and a Half Men” when the desire to write “Ann” seized hold of her. She dropped to a visiting role, and started to write and research (starting in 2006). She did extensive research, and seemingly channeled Richards. The play started its life at a venue we knew well, the NoHo Arts Center (the executive producer is married to James Mellon, who ran NoHo ACE). It played in Texas in 2010, on Broadway in 2013, and was recorded for Great Performances. Taylor has indicated this is the last time she’ll be putting on the wig and playing the role.

(and, yes, I’m writing this review a week late. Last Sunday was really busy with preparations for a new podcast I’m starting, and I didn’t get to the review)

The presentation of the show is simple, and best divided into three parts (it runs just under two hours, plus an intermission). It opens with Richards giving a graduation speech at a Texas university I didn’t recognize, where she reminiscences about her life and her origins, include her life with her parents, her marriage, and her entry into politics. It then transitions to the Texas Governor’s office, where we get to see Richards at work playing the political game. The third part is after she’s left office, talking about her post-governor life.

The show was laugh-out-loud funny, which isn’t a surprise given Richards opinions and lack of a filter. It was also a reminder of how politics has changed — especially in places like Texas. Texas used to be a Democratic stronghold — remember they gave us LBJ — and even their Republicans were often moderates (when you look back at the Bushes, you can see that). I’ll note Richard’s didn’t have a high opinion of Bush — she’s the one that said “Poor George, he can’t help it. He was born with a silver foot in his mouth.” She also said of Republicans, “You have to be against government interference in business until your oil company, corporation or Savings and Loan is about to go broke and you beg for a government bailout.” So her attitudes are refreshing, and very far away from where Texas is today. Texas really needs someone who can speak the truth and be listened to; which is very far from the current leaders who toe the Trumpublican line. Perhaps Beto will be that person.

Hopefully the few Conservatives in Southern California can go to this play and enjoy it. But it really works well given the progressive nature of the area. We really enjoyed it.

Supporting Taylor, but not seen, was Julie White as the voice of Nancy Kohler (Richards’ office professional)

Turning to the production side: The production was directed by Benjamin Endsley Klein, who directed the show on Broadway and kept the pace lively and the performances believable. The simple scenic design (a podium in front of a drape; the governor’s office) was by Michael Fagin (no relation), who also designed the Broadway production. The production team connections with this show continued with the sound and light: Ken Huncovsky Sound Design; Sarah Ec Maines Lighting Design. Costume design was by Julie Weiss; and Hair and Wig design was by Paul Huntley. This was probably one of Huntley’s last productions; he passed away in July 2021. Both costumes and wigs were simple but critical: a light blue pantsuit, and Richards’ signature Beehive hairdo. Projections were by Zachary Borovay. Other production credits: Kevin Bailey Executive Producer; Bob Tolaro Stage Manager; Kevin Bailey Asst Stage Manager; TJ Norton Production Assistant. There was no credit for a COVID safety officer. Although it wasn’t in the Playbill, writing this up I discovered that Bailey was in a production at the Pasadena Playhouse we fondly remember, Heartbeats.

Ann continues at the Pasadena Playhouse through April 24. Tickets are available through the Playhouse’s website. Discount tickets may be available through Goldstar or through TodayTix. It is well worth seeing.

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Upcoming Shows:

For right now, we’re pretty much sticking with shows that come as part of our subscriptions or are of interest through our memberships. That may change later in 2022. Looking further into 2022: Next weekend brings the Southern California Renaissance Faire; and Tootsie at Broadway in Hollywood (FB). May brings Hadestown at at the Ahmanson Theatre (FB). June will see Come From Away at the Ahmanson Theatre (FB) and Pretty Woman at Broadway in Hollywood (FB), as well as Tom Paxon at McCabes plus as much of the Hollywood Fringe Festival as we have the energy for. July brings Moulin Rouge at Broadway in Hollywood (FB) [Pantages], Dear Evan Hansen at the Ahmanson Theatre (FB), Newsies at 5 Star Theatricals (FB), and Freestyle Love Supreme back at The Pasadena Playhouse (FB). August is quieter, with just The Prom at the Ahmanson Theatre (FB). Lastly (for this look ahead), September brings Oklahoma the Ahmanson Theatre (FB) and Jagged Little Pill at Broadway in Hollywood (FB), although they are on the same day so I’ll be shifting one show. September may also bring Andrew Lippa’s version of The Wild Party at the Morgan Wixson Theatre. This was a show I had been planning to see before the COVID shutdown, so I’m putting it in the “part of our subscriptions” list. There may also be some Hollywood Bowl stuff, depending on how my wife is doing.

This entry was originally posted on Observations Along the Road as 🎭 A Political Firebrand | "Ann" @ Pasadena Playhouse by cahwyguy. Although you can comment on DW, please make comments on original post at the Wordpress blog using the link to the left. You can sign in with your LJ, DW, FB, or a myriad of other accounts. Note: Subsequent changes made to the post on the blog are not propagated by the SNAP Crossposter; please visit the original post to see the latest version. P.S.: If you see share buttons above, note that they do not work outside of the Wordpress blog.

Head Over Heels @ Pasadena Playhouse Back in late 2018, I happened to listen to the Little Known Facts podcast episode with Bonnie Milligan. Bonnie, at the time, was starring in a new Broadway musical, Head Over Heels. Head Over Heels tells the story of … well, we’ll get to that later. The podcast interview impressed me a number of ways; most particularly, it made me curious about a musical where one of the main leads was being played by a larger woman. The musical was built around the music of the LA band The Go-Gos, so the music was fun and bouncy and it just sounded like it would be a great show. I got the cast album, and looked forward to it eventually going on tour.

Then it closed quickly on Broadway after 36 previews and 164 performances. This made a tour unlikely. This would be another musical like Big Fish, Tuck Everlasting or Bandstand that had great music, but no official tour. I resigned myself to probably not seeing it. But, like with Big Fish and Bandstand, I happened to luck out. In this case, the Pasadena Playhouse announced a regional reimagining and remounting as their first show, post-pandemic. Just like with Big Fish (Musical Theatre West, 2014) and Bandstand (Broadway in T.O., 2019), I’d get to see it. Tuck Everlasting, I’m still waiting for you.

Head Over Heels is primarily a jukebox musical, as noted above. The story they chose to pull the songs together Book 1 is The Arcadia, a prose pome by Sir Philip Sidney. Here’s how Wikipedia summarizes the original Book 1:

In Book I, the Duke of Arcadia, Basilius, journeys to the oracle at Delphos and receives a bleak prediction: his daughters will be stolen by undesirable suitors, he will be cuckolded by his wife, and his throne will be usurped by a foreign state. Hoping to preempt this fate, Basilius entrusts the Arcadian government to his loyal subject, Philanax, and retires to a pastoral lodge with his wife, Gynecia, their attractive daughters, Pamela and Philoclea, his boorish servant, Dametas, and the latter’s repulsive wife and daughter, Miso and Mopsa. In a nearby city, Pyrocles and Musidorus pass the night; they are cousins, princes, and best friends, and are famous throughout Greece for their heroic exploits. Pyrocles, upon seeing a picture of Philoclea at a gallery, is overwhelmed by a passionate desire to see her in person. To that end, Pyrocles disguises himself as Cleophila, an “[Amazonian lady] going about the world to practice feats of chivalry,” and heads for Basilius’s pastoral lodge, accompanied by the skeptical but loyal Musidorus. Deceived by Cleophila’s feminine disguise, Basilius falls in love with her, and invites her to stay with the family. While Musidorus covertly observes this meeting, he is overwhelmed by a passionate love for the elder daughter, Pamela, and decides to disguise himself as a shepherd, Dorus, in order to gain access to her. When everyone congregates in an arbor to hear the shepherds sing, a lion and bear attack the party. Cleophila kills the lion, saving Philoclea; Dorus kills the bear, saving Pamela. Cleophila’s manly puissance leads Gynecia to suspect her secret male sex, while Philoclea forms an intense “sisterly” affection for Cleophila.

As I said, that’s the original story. As transformed by Jeff Whitty‘s conception and original book, and then adapted by James Magruder, the story takes on a decidedly modern feel. This was made clear in the original casting by a number of ground-breaking and gender-bending selections beyond the casting of Milligan — most notably, the casting of a non-binary performer, Peppermint, as the oracle. You can find a synopsis of the Broadway production on the wikipedia page; but it is essentially the same story.

For the Pasadena Playhouse production, Jenny Koons and Sam Pinkleton Direction, Choreography, Updated Conception reimagined the show a bit more. They knew that, post-COVID, audiences wouldn’t want to sit for 3 hours in a small building. So they cut the story down to a single 80-minute act, mostly by cutting extraneous story bits. They knew the audiences wanted fun, so they moved the show from a standard proscenium presentation to an immersive presentation (similar to what was done for Pirates at the Playhouse in 2018). They covered the orchestra seats with a dance floor, making it level with the existing stage. They put bleacher seating on the stage, and organized the audience into three groups: one group standing and dancing on the dance floor, interacting with the actors; one group in the stage seating; and one group up in the balcony as an upper mezzanine. They encouraged the audiences to dress up and dance and have fun (although no open bar, as with Pirates); I think a lot of the fun of the show was watching the audience. This, of course, while making sure EVERYONE was vaccinated and had their masks on.

They then cast the show in the manner of the original production: gender bending all the way. What a shock that must be for the Pasadena Blue Hairs, but it was fabulous. The cast consisted of Alaska 5000 Gynecia, the Queen; Lea Delaria Basilus, the King; Yurel Echezarreta The Player; Freddie Pythio, the Oracle; Tiffany Mann Pamela, the elder daughter; Shanice Williams Philoclea, the younger daughter; George Salazar Musidorus, the sheperd; and Emily Skeggs Mopsa, the handmaiden. If you just look at the cast, you’ll see a number of drag performers; this element of cross-dressing continues into the show and — I’m pleased to say — isn’t being used to play up the laughs in a Bosom Buddies sense, but as an integral part of the characters and the stories. So in Head over Heels, it is appropriate and it works.

The performances themselves were strong. It is clear that the cast is having a hell of a good time and that sense of joy is clear in their performances and audience interactions. Every show will be a bit different because of the interactions — they dance with the audience, they pull them on stage. The singing is strong, and the performances are stellar. Personally, I was most impressed with Skeggs look and voice, Mann’s singing, the playfulness of both Williams and Salazar, the wow factor of Echezarreta, the voice of Freddie, and the … everything of Alaska 5000.

I think the most telling thing about the show was that the mood was infectious — and in a good way, not a COVID way. I went into the show feeling a bit down. My wife (who was supposed to go with me) fell last Saturday and broke her kneecap, tibia, and fibia, and has been in the hospital for the last week — and she’ll be there at least two weeks more for in-patient rehab. Finding someone to go with me made me realize how few friends I had (luckily, a friend from my synagogue’s mens club joined me). So I was down. But I left this show happy and feeling good. Especially right now, this is what theatre needs to do. We need shows that bring us joy, and Head Over Heels at the Pasadena Playhouse certainly does that.

Music for the show was provided by an on-stage all female band: Laura Hall Assoc Music Director/Keyboards; Nikki Stevens Guitar 1 (Electric / Steel-String Acoustic / Mandolin / Ukulele); Hisako Ozawa Guitar 2 (Electric / Nylon & Steel-String Acoustic / Banjo); B. B. Kates Bass; and Nicole Marcus Drums / Percussion. Eric Heinly was the contractor that assembled the band. Kris Kukul was the music director. Simply put, the band rocked!

Turning to the production side of the equation: David Meyer Scenic Design warped the playhouse. He transformed the physical space into a dance club, with an upper mezzanine, lower bleachers, and a dance floor with risers (including the names of the Go-Gos painted here and there), with a metal structure surrounding the sides and in front of the balcony for the actors. It was remarkable, and must give the actors quite a workout. But it made for a fun show. This was augmented by the work of Hahnji Jang Costume Design, who had this odd modern mix of costumes: classic 50s style for the Queen, suit and cigars for the King, playful sweatpants and dresses for the daughters, and just real imaginative stuff for the rest. The costumes were supported well by the work of Christopher Enlow Hair and Wig Design , some of which were classic (like Alaska 5000), some were playful (such as the Players or the daughters), and some were so unique to the character (like the King’s). About the only weak point was Stacey Derosier Lighting Design design that at points left the actors in a deep shade, making them hard to see. This may have been an artifact of the warping of the space screwing up the possible lighting lines. Danny Erdberg and Ursula Kwong-Brown‘s Sound Design sound was generally clear, although on the lower bleachers a bit of the volume was lost. Other production credits: Jenny Slattery Assoc Producer; Brad Enlow Technical Director / Production Supervisor; Sara Sahin Stage Manager; Lydia Runge Assist. Stage Manager; Davidson & Choy Publicity Press Representative; The Telsey Office, Ryan Bernard Tymensky Casting. The program does not give a credit for a COVID safety officer; that’s too bad, as that role deserves acknowledgement right now. However, the production team does deserve credit for strong back-stage diversity that mirrors the diversity on-stage. Danny Feldman is the Producing Artistic Director.

Note: You don’t get the program for the show until you are leaving, and — starting what is sure to be a trend — there are a limited number of printed programs. They encourage you to visit an online interactive program instead via a QR code. This, in my eyes, is poor. Twenty-five years from now, will this online site be available? I still have programs from when I started at the Playhouse back in 1988 (Down an Alley Filled With Cats … I’m looking at you). Yes, it saves paper, but they could just as well print on recycled paper without as much color or clay.

Head Over Heels continues at the Pasadena Playhouse until December 12. Tickets are available through the Playhouse; discount tickets may be available on Goldstar.

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Ob. Disclaimer: I am not a trained theatre (or music) critic; I am, however, a regular theatre and music audience member (modulo the COVID break). I’ve been attending live theatre and concerts in Los Angeles since 1972; I’ve been writing up my thoughts on theatre (and the shows I see) since 2004. I do not have theatre training (I’m a computer security specialist), but have learned a lot about theatre over my many years of attending theatre and talking to talented professionals. I pay for all my tickets unless otherwise noted (or I’ll make a donation to the theatre, in lieu of payment). I am not compensated by anyone for doing these writeups in any way, shape, or form. I currently subscribe at 5 Star Theatricals (FB), Broadway in Hollywood (FB), the Ahmanson Theatre (FB), and we have a membership at The Pasadena Playhouse (FB). We were subscribing at Actors Co-op (FB) and the Musical Theatre Guild (FB) prior to COVID; they have not yet resumed productions. We have also been subscribers at the Soraya/VPAC (FB), although we are waiting a year before we pick that up again. Through my theatre attendance I have made friends with cast, crew, and producers, but I do strive to not let those relationships color my writing (with one exception: when writing up children’s production, I focus on the positive — one gains nothing except bad karma by raking a child over the coals). I believe in telling you about the shows I see to help you form your opinion; it is up to you to determine the weight you give my writeups. Note to publicists or producers reading this: here’s my policy on taking comp tickets. Bottom-Line: Only for things of nominal value, like Fringe.

Upcoming Shows:

For right now, we’re pretty much sticking with shows that come as part of our subscriptions or are of interest through our memberships. That may change later in 2022. December brings The Bands Visit at Broadway in Hollywood (FB) and A Christmas Carol at the Ahmanson Theatre (FB). Turning to 2022: January brings Everyone’s Talking About Jamie at the Ahmanson Theatre (FB). February brings Something Rotten at 5 Star Theatricals (FB); lastly, March brings The Lehman Trilogy at the Ahmanson Theatre (FB), and Ann at The Pasadena Playhouse (FB).

This entry was originally posted on Observations Along the Road as 🎭 A Joyous Break | "Head Over Heels" @ Pasadena Playhouse by cahwyguy. Although you can comment on DW, please make comments on original post at the Wordpress blog using the link to the left. You can sign in with your LJ, DW, FB, or a myriad of other accounts. Note: Subsequent changes made to the post on the blog are not propagated by the SNAP Crossposter; please visit the original post to see the latest version. P.S.: If you see share buttons above, note that they do not work outside of the Wordpress blog.

I’ve enjoyed the music and the story of Gilbert and Sullivan‘s The Pirates of Penzance ever since I saw the Los Angeles production of the New York Shakespeare Festival version in 1981, with Pam Dawber, Andy Gibb, Barry Bostwick, and Jo Anne Worley in the roles made famous in New York by Linda Ronstadt, Rex Smith, Kevin Kline, and Estelle Parsons. I’ve listened to the New York cast album of that show until it was etched in my brain. So when I learned that the The Pasadena Playhouse (FB) was presenting Pirates, my interest was peaked — peaked enough to overcome a slight bias I’ve had against going to the Playhouse since the bankruptcy in 2010 and the style of the Sheldon Epps era (note: this wasn’t against the few shows I’ve seen; more against just getting tickets and potentially subscribing). So I started exploring tickets…

… and I quickly discovered that, just as the NYSF version of Pirates was very much unlike your father’s D’Oyly Carte operetta ; this version of Pirates was going to be very much unlike my generation’s NYSF version. Oh, the basic story was the same, but the staging — it was staging for a non-traditional generation. This was made clear when booking tickets, and I learned that this wasn’t a proscenium show (and the Playhouse is a proscenium theatre). This show was being advertised as a beach party; all of the traditional seats in the theatre were not being used. The action would take place in the audience, and there would be seating in and around the stage, with bleachers around the action. What?!?!?!?‽‽‽ Totally unsure of where I might be sitting, we booked tickets in what was being called the Promenade. We even got tickets with a seat number and everything. You can see the warped seating chart a little lower down in this writeup. The top is the back of the actual stage; the bottom is the entrance to the auditorium.

We saw the show yesterday afternoon, and discovered what they had done to the theatre. They had erected a platform over most of the normal seating and the stage. There were bleachers on the side and on the stage, with a dock structure and a raised platform with a kiddie pool over what would be approximately rows L-N of the audience. There was a tiki bar serving drinks throughout the show, and a few benches surrounding ball pits filled with beach balls. The atmosphere was fun and frivolity, and … yes … this was a beach party. That “Promenade” seat? Those seats were around and on the stage — yes, you could sit anywhere that wasn’t a formal seat with a back. On a bench. On the dock. On the floor. In a kiddie pool. You just had to be prepared for an actor to point and you and move you out of the way, and you could just go and sit anywhere else. It was organized mayhem, unlike anything I’ve ever seen at the Pasadena Playhouse (which is normally quite staid) — and almost unlike anything I’ve seen in any other theatre (we’ll we did sit on the stage in La Mirada’s Carrie, but that was very different). During the show, the actors were in and around you, standing directly in front of you, interacting with the audience, playing with the kids, making audience part of the actors at times. Before the show, they were wandering around, playing all sorts of songs (including TMBG), and throwing balls at the audience, and generally having a fun time.

So as the show started we had no idea what to expect. We were sitting on a bench next to a ball pit near the dock (essentially, just to the right of the words “The Dock” on the image to your right, near the L of the dock). There are times we moved. There are times the performers were right next to us. It was non-traditional, and it was a hoot.

The performance itself stuck to the traditional Pirates narrative; which is summarized in a shorter form here; and which R&H licensing summarizes as “When the hero of THE PIRATES OF PENZANCE was but a boy, his father instructed his nurse to have him apprenticed as a pilot. She thought he said ‘pirate’ and thus the zany troubles began.” Some songs were converted to recitative; and of course the songs added from other shows for the NYSF version weren’t there. The performance ran just about 80 minutes, with one one-minute (yes, one-minute) intermission. There were a few interpolations of modern songs that worked really, really well.

This truly was organized, improvised, mayhem. But the best mayhem is well-planned, and so credit here goes to Sean Graney (FB), the director (and artistic director of The Hypocrites (FB), who developed this show); Andra Velis Simon (FB), the musical director; Katie Spelman (FB), the choreographer; Miranda Anderson (FB); the production stage manager; and Nikki Hyde (FB), the assistant stage manager. I include the latter two because they were on stage, dressed as life-guards, making sure the action went where it was supposed to go. This team kept the show on focus and moving forward, in and around the great distraction that an unpredictable audience could be.

As for the actors, they had an even harder job, for they were also the orchestra — using almost any instrument you can think of. Guitars, banjos, ukuleles (I don’t think a ukulele has been on stage at the Playhouse since Radio Gals in 1992), spoons, clarinets, flutes, mandolins, fiddles, saws, accordions …. you get the idea. There was also sharing of roles: the actress playing Mabel also played Ruth, and both the daughters and the pirates, at times, became the police officers. The cast consisted of Doug Pawlik (FB) [Freddy]; Shawn Pfatsch [Pirate King, Major General_US]; Matt Kahler (FB) [Major General]; Dana Omar (FB) [Ruth / Mabel]; Leslie Ann Sheppard (★FB; FB); [Daughter, Ruth/Mabel_US]; Amanda Raquel Martinez[Daughter]; Tina Muñoz-Pandya (FB) [Daughter]; Lauren Vogel (FB) [Pirate]; Mario Aivazian (FB) [Pirate, Pirate King_US, Freddy_US]; and Eduardo Xavier Curley-Carrillo (FB) [Pirate]. All of them were great and clearly having the time of their life (and loving the interaction with the audience). A few notes and thoughts: Pawlik gave Freddy just the right amount of youthful naivete and bravado to make things work; Pfatsch kept evoking Bostwick/Kline in my head, but he played with the role in a very different way that was a joy to see. Kahler handled Modern Major General well, and I loved the interstitial from the daughter. I liked Omar’s dual characterization and her switching back and forth; she had a lovely voice — plus, she played the banjo and the accordion — a skill that will earn her tens and tens of dollars (and she better keep her car locked). The daughters were cute (especially with the moustaches), and I wish I had known that Sheppard was a knitter (my wife had her knitting there). Of the pirates, my eye was drawn to Vogel both for her voice and musical skills, as well as how she was having fun playing with her role. But all of these actors were just great and a joy to watch.

I’ll also note that this is one of the few productions I’ve seen at the Playhouse that didn’t have a 100% Equity cast; I don’t know if they are getting Equity cards from this show. AEA is a bit controversial here in Los Angeles with what they did to the intimate theatre scene, and I’m hearing rumblings they are going after membership companies next (with plans to have local minimum wage laws take precedence over AEA agreements/codes). I’m glad I’m not an actor trying to decide what to do about my union.

Finally, turning to the technical and production side: Tom Burch‘s scenic design transformed the Playhouse, and was remarkably inventive with the docks, benches, pools, and everything else. I can’t think of a similar transformation of the venue in all the years we were there (going back to 1989). Incredible. This worked well with Maria DeFabo Akin (FB)’s properties design — not only all the beach balls and other set accouterments, but clever little tricks to signal characters, the cigarette holders, the rubber ducks, and such. Also supporting this was Alison Siple (FB)’s costume design; no credits were provided for the wig design that transformed Mabel. From down where we sat, Kevin O’Donnell (FB)’s sound design worked well; the LA Times indicated there might be a sound problem in the rafters of the bleachers. We didn’t see that. Heather Gilbert (FB)’s lighting design established the mood well. This version of Pirates was adapted by Sean Graney (FB), and co-adapted by Kevin O’Donnell (FB). Other credits: Joe Will [General Manager]; Chris Cook [Production Manager]; Brad Enlow (FB) [Technical Director]; and Davidson & Choy Publicity (FB) [Press Representative]. Pirates of Penzance was presented/produced by The Pasadena Playhouse (FB) , Danny Feldman (Producing Artistic Director) in association with The Hypocrites (FB).

Pirates of Penzance has been extended at The Pasadena Playhouse (FB), now closing on February 25. Tickets are available through the Playhouse box office. Discount tickets may be available through Goldstar, TodayTix, or LA Stage Tix. This show is a lot of fun and you’ll have a wonderful time — just don’t expect your father’s stuffy old theatre. Bring the kids and they’ll have a lot of fun as well — it is a great introduction to theatre in an environment where they don’t have to sit absolutely still.

This show has certainly made me rethink what I think about the Playhouse; I think we’ll be back more often. Certainly, with the dormancy of the Colony Theatre, we’ve been trying to find an affordable mid-size theatre. When we left the Playhouse, tickets were over $1000 per season, which was ridiculous. Their new options for membership certainly look more affordable; now they just need a reliable show mix.

Speaking of show mixes: The Ahmanson has added Ain’t Too Proud, a musical on the Temptations, to their 2018/2019 season, and they still have two shows to announce (see the end of the paragraph). It is looking even more likely that we’ll add that subscription, if we can get the cheap seats. As for the Pantages, they announce on Tuesday. As I wrote in my Aladdin writeup: We already know that Dear Even Hansen, Come From Away, Falsettos, and The Play That Goes Wrong will be going to the Ahmanson Theatre (FB). What does that leave for the Pantages, as they don’t produce their own. Here are my guesses: Bandstand, Anastasia, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory are highly likely; so is the Miss Saigon revival. So would Groundhog Day, except they just cancelled their tour. If A Bronx Tale had announced a tour, it would also be likely. Ditto for Hello Dolly. Lesser possibilities are Amazing Grace, or A Night with Janis Joplin. In terms of potential retreads, I could see them bringing in the current Les Miz tour, and possibly the Fiddler on the Roof, Lion King or Wicked tours, if they are still on the road. Also known to be going on tour/on tour, and thus possibilities for retreads, are Cats and Phantom, as they will draw in crowds and haven’t been in LA recently. Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812 has announced a tour, but I think the Pantages is too large for them. I could see them doing the Ahmanson. As for the Ahmanson Theatre (FB), which has two slots to announce, I predict that one will be a show in development, and the other will either be Natasha, Pierre, … , or some form of dance or ballet, like the Matthew Bourne stuff that they’ve done recently.

***

Ob. Disclaimer: I am not a trained theatre (or music) critic; I am, however, a regular theatre and music audience member. I’ve been attending live theatre and concerts in Los Angeles since 1972; I’ve been writing up my thoughts on theatre (and the shows I see) since 2004. I do not have theatre training (I’m a computer security specialist), but have learned a lot about theatre over my many years of attending theatre and talking to talented professionals. I pay for all my tickets unless otherwise noted. I am not compensated by anyone for doing these writeups in any way, shape, or form. I currently subscribe at 5 Star Theatricals (FB) [the company formerly known as Cabrillo Music Theatre (FB)], the Hollywood Pantages (FB), Actors Co-op (FB), the Chromolume Theatre (FB) in the West Adams district, and a mini-subscription at the Saroya [the venue formerly known as the Valley Performing Arts Center (VPAC)] (FB). Through my theatre attendance I have made friends with cast, crew, and producers, but I do strive to not let those relationships color my writing (with one exception: when writing up children’s production, I focus on the positive — one gains nothing except bad karma by raking a child over the coals). I believe in telling you about the shows I see to help you form your opinion; it is up to you to determine the weight you give my writeups.

Upcoming Shows:

February starts with the Cantor’s Concert at Temple Ahavat Shalom (FB). The following weekend brings our first Actors Co-op (FB) production of 2018: A Walk in the Woods. Mid-week brings opera: specifically, Candide at LA Opera (FB). That is followed the next weekend by the first production of the Chromolume Theatre (FB) 2018 season, Dessa Rose. The month concludes with James and the Giant Peach at the Chance Theatre (FB) in the Anaheim Hills, and tickets for Dublin Irish Dance Stepping Out at the Saroya (the venue formerly known as the Valley Performing Arts Center (VPAC)) (FB).

March was supposed to start with the MRJ Man of the Year dinner, but that shifted back a week, so we’ll go to it after our first show in March, the LA Premiere of the musical Allegiance at the Japanese American Cultural and Community Center (FB). This is followed by a HOLD for Steel Pier at the UCLA School of Television, Film, and Theatre (FB). The penultimate Friday of March was to bring Billy Porter singing Richard Rodgers at the Saroya (the venue formerly known as the Valley Performing Arts Center (VPAC)) (FB), but that has shifted to June and that weekend is currently open. The last weekend of March is open for theatre, but there will be the Men of TAS Seder.

April looks to be a busy month. It starts with Love Never Dies at the Hollywood Pantages (FB) [as an aside, there was just a great interview with Glen Slater, the lyricist of that show, on Broadway Bullet that is well worth listening to]. The second weekend brings A Man for All Seasons” at Actors Co-op (FB). The third weekend brings The Hunchback of Notre Dame at 5 Star Theatricals (FB) (nee Cabrillo Music Theatre (FB)), as well as our annual visit to the Original Renaissance Faire. The last weekend of April sees us travelling for a show, as we drive up to San Jose to see friends as well as Adrift in Macao at The Tabard Theatre Company (FB). Currently, we’re booking all the way out in mid to late 2018! We may also be adding an Ahmanson Theatre (FB) subscription, given their recent announcements regarding the next season.

As always, I’m keeping my eyes open for interesting productions mentioned on sites such as Better-Lemons, Musicals in LA, @ This Stage, Footlights, as well as productions I see on Goldstar, LA Stage Tix, Plays411 or that are sent to me by publicists or the venues themselves. Note: Lastly, want to know how to attend lots of live stuff affordably? Take a look at my post on How to attend Live Theatre on a Budget.

This entry was originally posted on Observations Along the Road as Organized Confusion | "Pirates of Penzance" @ Pasadena Playhouse by cahwyguy. Although you can comment on DW, please make comments on original post at the Wordpress blog using the link to the left. You can sign in with your LJ, DW, FB, or a myriad of other accounts. Note: Subsequent changes made to the post on the blog are not propagated by the SNAP Crossposter; please visit the original post to see the latest version. P.S.: If you see share buttons above, note that they do not work outside of the Wordpress blog.

Cabrillo Userpic userpic=colony userpic=repeast I’m three for three.

All three of the theaters at which I subscribed at the end of 2015 have gone dark or belly up.

REP just went silent; there have been no newsletters or messages to subscribers since December. A 2016 season was never announced. An old message on the grapevine said they might be back in August. We’ll see.
The Colony Theatre announced they were cancelling the last two shows of their seasons, and there was no prognosis for the future. One could “donate” the remainder of the tickets for a tax write-off, or wait to see if something emerges. No offers of refunds. At least the Colony had the decency to tell subscribers before the media.
Cabrillo Music Theatre announced today that they were closing up shop at the Civic Arts Plaza at the end of this season. The next season was cancelled, and the future is unknown. The TO Civic Arts Plaza will be refunding subscriptions and donations. They informed the media and Facebook before they sent the mail to subscribers.

First, someone better warn the Pantages — we just subscribed there. It also makes me think twice about subscribing at the Pasadena Playhouse: it looks like companies that have come out of financial problems remain shaky and unsteady. and Pasadena is only a few years out.

So here’s my question: We traditionally have had three subscriptions: one intimate, one mid-size, and one large. Arguably, the large is now the Pantages. So where should we consider for the intimate and the mid-size? I’ve got my ideas, but I’d like to hear your suggestions.

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userpic=pasadena-playhouse In the last two years, we’ve seen remarkable strides in the acceptance arena. We’ve seen homosexuals get the right to be married; we’ve been able to observe the transformation of Wheaties Box Heroes from one gender to the other. We’ve seen acceptance of a wide range of sexual preference in society, from no preference at all (asexual) to traditional preference to non-traditional preferences. We’ve seen similar understanding (perhaps not full acceptance yet) of the full range of gender identities. But this hasn’t been comfortable for many; arguably, many wish for those simpler days when the roles and nature of the sexes were much more separate, and those roles and orientations that went against “what nature intended” were best hidden from sight.

The play Casa Valentina by Harvey Fierstein (FB), officially opening tonight for a run through April 10, 2016 at the Pasadena Playhouse (FB) (which we saw last night) explores those days. It is based upon the true story of Casa Susana, a resort that existed in the Catskill Mountains of New York in the 1950s and early 1960s. The resort catered to men who wanted to release the girl within; in other words, it provided heterosexual men a place where they could endulge their desire to dress as women. This is an era when homosexuality was firmly in the closet, and any inkling of transvestism except as humor tended to be an offense that could land you in jail. The genders, for the most part, were clearly distinct (and God meant them to be that way).

In the play, George (Valentina) and his wife Rita are the proprietors of Chevalier d’Eon, a resort in the Catskills catering to men who like to dress as women. We meet them when a first-timer, Jonathan, arrives for the weekend. He is greeted by Rita and Bessie (Albert), a large friendly girl. Both welcome him, and Bessie helps him get over his fear of transformation into his alter ego, Miranda. We shortly learn that this is a weekend when most of the regulars are present, because there is another special first time guest: Charlotte (Isadore). George arrives home, and during his transformation into Valentina provides more information. Charlotte is from California and is the publisher of a transvestite magazine for which Valentina regularly writes articles. Charlotte has an announcement that could be the savior of George, Rita, and the resort. George also discusses with Rita the reason he arrived late: he was being questioned by the postal inspectors about an envelope of pictures of naked cross-dressing men that had been addressed to him. This worries Rita, and she asks him to discuss it with another of that weekend’s guests, Amy (The Judge).

Soon the other guests have arrived — Gloria (Michael) and Theodore (Terry) — and it is time for the announcement. Their informal sorority was going legit. Charlotte had incorporated it as a non-profit in California, and he just needed their legal (birth names) on a form to sign as officers. Discussion of the risks of this uncover that they are signing a second statement: that they are not homosexuals. It turns out that Charlotte is a strong advocate for transvestites and wants them to be accepted in society. To do this, he believes, they must disassociate themselves from the homosexual cross-dressers. He says something to the effect of: in 50 years, society will broadly accept the cross-dresser, while homosexuals will still be on the outside. Quite a telling line. This requirement — to disavow homosexuals — essentially splits the group. I won’t go into the dynamics from there as it would spoil the story.

This notion — of hetrosexual transvestites — provides some of the most interesting discussions and characters of the story. Much of this centers around Rita, the wife of Valentina and the only GG (genuine girl) on stage for much of the show. What is her relationship to George? What is the relationships of the other characters with their wives? Through exploration of those questions, we begin to see the nature of transvestite relationship: the distinction between the relationship between the man and “the girl within” and their spouses.

All of this is told — as would be expected from Firestein — through loads of extremely humorous lines. This is a very funny play, as humor often comes from great pain. I should note the humor is not from the cross-dressing (as those who recall Milton Bearle or Flip Wilson might recall), but from commentary on life itself.

As I left the play, I had quite a few observations and “compare and contrasts” going through my head. The first was with the musical Dogfight, which we had seen earlier this year. In the first half of Dogfight, the notion of Marines competing to find the ugliest woman, and possibly bed her against her will, just grated against today’s mores against non-consensual sex and how we treat women. Similarly, the notions expressed in Casa Valentina against cross-dressing and homosexuality grate against where society is today: where gays are accepted, and transgender has come out of the closet into something closer to a cultural norm.

The second comparison, which was related to the first, was seeing Casa Valentina in a triangle with two other shows: Feirstein’s Kinky Boots and the reality show RuPaul’s Drag Race. Unlike what was hypothesized in the play, homosexuality has not remained on the outside. In much of the country, homosexuals are completely accepted. It is out in the open and dramatized on commercial TV. As for transvestites: although some still hold the view that many are gay, the efforts of the transgender movement has brought out into the open that some see themselves as female: women trapped in a male body. But this play doesn’t concern either of those: it deals with men with a clear male gender identity and clear heterosexuality just wanting to dress as women. In society today, there’s only one way such men are accepted: as drag queens. Does society accept men who just cross-dress and pass? Have we reached the To Wan Foo, Thanks For Everything, Julie Newmar level? I’m not sure were there yet. Places like Casa Valentina no longer need to exist… or do they?

A final observation has to do with the ending, which is somewhat sudden and on an odd note. The play ends with a discussion between Rita and George about the nature of their relationship, and how it might differ from the relationship between George and Valentina. Rita knows she is George’s wife, but what is she to Valentina. The answer disturbs her, and we end the show with Rita slumped at the table, head in her hands. It raises the question about how all this looks from the wives of such men: there is acceptance, but what is the relationship. Could be an interesting character study.

Overall, what is the impact of the story of Casa Valentina? On the surface, this is a very funny show. It is possible that the surface level is all that was meant. But I think the show has a deeper takeaway: it makes a statement about how society has grown and changes, and how what we predict might be the direction of grown might be very different from what actually happens. It demonstrates the power that fear of discovery can have, and makes us realize that we still have a ways to go for full acceptance. Lastly, it raises wonderful questions about the nature of our relationships: our relationship to the facets of our personality, as well as our relationships to our spouses and our friends.

Director David Lee leads the actors to a very natural performance. He lets the actors draw the humor from the words, and doesn’t draw humor from the costumes. This leads to a very easygoing and humorous show. He has also worked to design the show around a gigantic house as opposed to a flat stage. I believe this amplifies the closeness of the quarters and the closeness of the men. It is a different way of staging the show from the pictures I have seen of other productions.

The actors themselves are excellent. I think the most interesting was Valerie Mahaffey (FB)’s Rita. There was some hidden depth to her character that came off through her performance that was fascinating. Just seeing her in relationship with the men and their girl alter-egos was fascinating. She was part wife, part sister, part confidant, part girl friend. A multilevel complex character, well portrayed.

I also enjoyed the performance of Raymond McAnally (FB; FB Actor Page) as Albert/Bessie. When compared to the other actors, I think he inhabited his girl most completely. There was no sense that there was a man under the frock: this was a loving, open girl who was having fun and just being herself. This was a very open portrayal that made the character very accessible to the audience.

Christian Clemenson‘s Charlotte/Isadore perhaps did the best “crossing”: her portrayal of Charlotte was seamlessly female, and was a fascinating character to watch in her portrayal and her passion.

As for the other “girls” in the cast — James Snyder (FB)’s Jonathan/Miranda, Robert Mammana (FB)’s George/Valentina, Mark Jude Sullivan (FB)’s Michael/Gloria, Lawrence Pressman (FB)’s Theodore/Terry, and John Vickery (FB)’s The Judge/Amy — I’m trying to think if there are any portrayals that stick out in my mind… and there aren’t. They generally came across as men dressing as women and playing their characters. They were good, but none had that special something that transcended the line between the man and the girl.

Rounding out the cast was Nike Doukas as Eleanor, the Judge’s daughter, who only appeared in one scene. The understudies are Matthew Magnusson (FB) (Michael/Gloria, Jonathan/Miranda), Mark Capri (FB) (The Judge/Amy, Theodore/Terry, Albert/Bessie), and Sean Smith (FB) (George/Valentina, Charlotte/Isadore).

Turning to the production and creative team: The small amount of choreography in the show was provided by Mark Esposito; what was there worked well. The scenic design by Tom Buderwitz was mentioned previously: a gigantic house on a turntable that rotated to bring to the fore various rooms and locations. It worked well, but it was interesting following the actors through the rooms. The costumes (by Kate Bergh (FB)) and wigs (by Rick Geyer) were a key to this show: they worked well on their characters and did an excellent job of creating the illusion of femininity (or at least men dressing as women). The lighting was by Jared A. Sayeg (FB) and was up to his usual excellent standards. The sound design was by Philip G. Allen and consisted primarily of sound effects and recorded music, which worked well. Remaining technical and production credits: Mike Mahaffey (FB) — Fight Choreographer; Jeff Greenberg Casting — Casting; Jill Gold — Production Stage Manager; Julie Ann Renfro — Assistant Stage Manager; Joe Witt — General Manager; Christopher Cook — Production Manager; Brad Enlow — Technical Director. Sheldon Epps is the Artistic Director of the Pasadena Playhouse.

Casa Valentina continues at the Pasadena Playhouse (FB) through April 10. Tickets are available through the Pasadena Playhouse website. Discount tickets may be available through Goldstar. I think this show is worth seeing.

The Pasadena Playhouse has announced their 2016-2017 season, and I’ve gone over it here. It may be worth subscribing, but I need to see their pricing. In the past, Playhouse season pricing has been expensive, and Goldstar has been the better option.

* 🎭 🎭 🎭 *

Ob. Disclaimer: I am not a trained theatre critic; I am, however, a regular theatre audience member. I’ve been attending live theatre and concerts in Los Angeles since 1972; I’ve been writing up my thoughts on theatre (and the shows I see) since 2004. I do not have theatre training (I’m a computer security specialist), but have learned a lot about theatre over my many years of attending theatre and talking to talented professionals. I pay for all my tickets unless otherwise noted. I am not compensated by anyone for doing these writeups in any way, shape, or form. I subscribe at three theatres: The Colony Theatre (FB), Cabrillo Music Theatre (FB), and I just added the Hollywood Pantages (FB). In 2015, my intimate theatre subscription was at REP East (FB), although they are reorganizing and (per the birdies) will not start 2016 shows until August. Additionally, the Colony just announced that the remainder of their season has been cancelled, so the status of that subscription is up in the air. Through my theatre attendance I have made friends with cast, crew, and producers, but I do strive to not let those relationships color my writing (with one exception: when writing up children’s production, I focus on the positive — one gains nothing except bad karma by raking a child over the coals). I believe in telling you about the shows I see to help you form your opinion; it is up to you to determine the weight you give my writeups.

Upcoming Shows: The third weekend of March takes us back to the Pasadena Playhouse (FB) on March 19 to see Harvey Fierstein’s Casa Valentina, followed by Bach at Leipzig at The Group Rep (FB) on March 20. The last weekend of March brings “A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder” at the Ahmanson Theatre (FB) on Saturday, followed by A Shred of Evidence at Theatre 40 (FB) on Sunday. April will start with Lea Salonga at the Valley Performing Arts Center (VPAC) (FB) on April 1 and an Elaine Boosler concert at Temple Ahavat Shalom on April 2 (this concert is open to the community; get your tickets here). We’re also considering the Voices/Rising concert from Muse/ique on April 3 in Alhambra. We have a mid-week concert of the Turtle Quintet at the Valley Performing Arts Center (VPAC) (FB) on April 7, followed by “Children of Eden” at Cabrillo Music Theatre (FB) on April 10. The next weekend’s theatre is on Thursday, because the weekend brings our annual visit to the Renaissance Faire (Southern). The Thursday show is Stella’s Last J-Date at the Whitefire Theatre (FB). The fourth weekend in April is is Pesach, but the Indie Chi Productions dark comedy Dinner at Home Between Deaths at the Odyssey Theatre (FB) sounded so interesting I’ve booked Sunday tickets. The last weekend of April has a hold date for The Boy from Oz at the Celebration Theatre (FB). May starts with a hold date for Endgame at the Kirk Douglas Theatre (FB). We then run off to the Bay Area for our daughter’s graduation from Berkeley. While there, we may squeeze in a show: the Landmark Musical Theatre (FB) is doing The Boy from Oz (if we miss it at the Celebration), but otherwise the pickings and concerts are bare. May 21 has a hold for Los Angeles: Then and Now, a new musical at LA City College (FB) from Bruce Kimmel. The last weekend of May has holds for the MoTAS Outing to the Jethawks, and Armadillo Necktie at The Group Rep (FB). As for June? It’s the Hollywood Fringe Festival (FB), and I’ve started to hold dates for the following shows: All Aboard the Marriage Hearse ✨ All The Best Killers are Librarians ✨ Qaddafi’s Cook — Living in Hell, Cooking for the Devil ✨ Squeeze My Cans ✨Tell Me On A Sunday ✨ Toxic Avenger: The Musical ✨. As always, I’m keeping my eyes open for interesting productions mentioned on sites such as Bitter-Lemons, and Musicals in LA, as well as productions I see on Goldstar, LA Stage Tix, Plays411 or that are sent to me by publicists or the venues themselves.

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userpic=theatre2 Some weeks the news chum doesn’t theme, and you get stew at the end of the week. Other weeks, you get a multicourse tasty meal. This week is the latter. For our first course, some theatre news:

🎭 Pasadena Playhouse 2016-2017 Season 🎭

The Pasadena Playhouse (FB) has just announced their 2016-2017 season, and it looks quite interesting. In fact, with The Colony Theatre (FB) going dark, we might just switch back to the Playhouse (if they can do a decent payment plan). Let’s look it over together, shall we?

The Fantasticks by Harvey Schmidt and Tom Jones, directed by Seema Sueko. Sept. 6, 2016 to Oct. 2, 2016. I’ve seen two productions of The Fantasticks: a great Theatre West (FB) production and an even better Good People Theatre (FB) production. This is a very touching show which I’m growing to love. It should be interesting to see what the Playhouse can do with it.
M. Butterfly by David Henry Hwang, directed by Bart DeLorenzo. Oct. 25, 2016 to Nov. 20, 2016. Winner of multiple Tony Awards including “Best Play” in 1988 and a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, “M. Butterfly” is David Henry Hwang’s fictionalized account of an actual French diplomat who carried on an affair with a Peking opera star for twenty years, only to discover she was actually a man. I remember when this won the Tony and missed seeing it when it was at the Ahmanson.
Shout, Sister, Shout! conceived and directed by Randy Johnson, book by Cheryl West. Jan. 31, 2017 to Feb. 26, 2017. A World Premiere musical conceived and directed by Randy Johnson, the creator of A Night With Janis Joplin. The musical depicts the life and music of legendary gospel singer Sister Rosetta Tharpe, whose hits include “Down by the Riverside,” “This Train,” and “Strange Things Happening Every Day.” Given the style of music, this could be very interesting.
Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare. March 28, 2017 to April 23, 2017. No director stated. The press release states “a great way to return to the tradition of the Bard on our stage as The Pasadena Playhouse enters its 100th year.” One of Shakespeare’s most beloved comedies, “Twelfth Night” features mistaken identities, gender confusion and separated twins, all obstacles to be overcome on the quest for true love. If they don’t muck with it, this could be good.
ARTISTIC DIRECTOR’S CHOICE. May 30, 2017– June 25, 2017. Sheldon Epps, Artistic Director of The Pasadena Playhouse, is on the hunt for the show he will direct for the last production of his final season as Artistic Director. Could be good, could be …

I’m not bothering to list the Pantos — I don’t care about those. I’ll explore subscribing when we’re there later in March.

🎭 New Jersey at the Fringe 🎭

The good folks at Good People Theatre (FB) have announced their Fringe musical:

We have exciting news! GPTCo is teaming up with Producer Alejandro Patino to bring you The Toxic Avenger Musical this June at Fringe! We will be at The Sacred Fools Space on Lillian Way. More info to come!

Posted by Good People Theater Company on Thursday, March 3, 2016

I’ve heard the music from this, and it is great. Should be a hoot, and I’m looking forward to it.

🎭 Yiddish Theatre in LA 🎭

Inside LA Stage History has a wonderful article up on the history of Yiddish Theatre and cabaret in LA. This includes the fact that the New Beverly theatre on Beverly Blvd (now owned by Quentin Tarentino) used to be a Yiddish Theatre, and is credited with the LA debut of Dean Martin & Jerry Lewis, as well as Phil Silvers, who worked there as an emcee.

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userpic=pasadena-playhouse Did you ever look at a painting, and wonder about the story behind the painting? That was the question that Kulap Saipradit asked in his novel “Behind the Painting“, a story that is required reading in Thailand (from what I have seen on the Internet). It was subsequently adapted into two Thai movies (1985 and 2001), and supposedly into a musical in Thailand (Khang Lang Parp). Richard Maltby. Jr. (Book and Lyrics) and David Shire (Music) have adapted this classic Thai story into a new musical, Waterfall, at the Pasadena Playhouse (FB) (which we saw in a preview performance on Sunday night (May 31, 2015)). According to the program, the ultimate plans are for this musical to continue on to Broadway; it was in New York in early 2014 for a lab development reading. PS: The Jewish Journal has a great article on how this show came to America.

The original Thai story dealt with two Thai aristocrats in 1930s Japan and Thailand, who wrestle with their love for each other, and their duty to their family. The two protagonists are both involved in arranged relationships which they entered into out of duty to family and social class. Maltby and Shire’s adaptation keeps the basic elements of the story, but tweaks the story for American audiences to have a young Thai student fall in love with the young American wife of a senior Thai diplomat. This occurs at the time when Siam was transitioning into Thailand, and becoming a democracy (which, alas, didn’t last). The senior Thai diplomat, who had been about to retire, was enticed to stay by an assignment as an envoy to America (where he married his wife). He was then presented with an opportunity he couldn’t pass up: negotiating an alliance between Siam/Thailand and Japan, in the years just before World War II.

In Maltby’s adaptation (I can’t speak to the original), there are two distinct threads: a political threat and a romantic threat; these two threads are tightly interwoven. The political thread I just mentioned; it primarily concerns Noppon, a young Thai student who starts out idolizing America; the older Siamese diplomatic envoy, Cho Khun Atikarn; and his younger wife, Katherine Briggs Atikarn. Noppon, upon graduation from Thai educational system, has been awarded a scholarship to study politics at a prestigious school in Japan. At the same time, Atikarn has been directed by the Siamese government to negotiate the first ever alliance treaty with Japan. Atikarn arrives in Japan, and Noppon is requested (because he speaks English) to escort Katherine during her visit to Japan. More on that later. The political negotiations start to get testy as Foreign Minister Takamota becomes increasingly anti-American, and Japan starts to exhibit its expansionist side. This creates difficulty in the negotiations; the negotiation break off completely when Atikarn is recalled to Siam to help stabilize the government.

Parallel to this story is the story of Noppon and Katherine. This is the big romantic story that is at the heart of the musical (and, indeed, the Thai variations of it have been at the heart of all productions based on the novel). Noppon, upon seeing Katherine, starts to fall in love. Katherine enjoys the attentions of a younger man, and continues to flirt with him as Atikarn’s work brings them to Kyoto. Noppon and Katherine see the sights in the city: the Tanabata Festival, the Taiko Display. Eventually, they take a tour to Mt. Mitake. There, in front of the waterfall, they dance (mmmm, and a little bit more).

This is where Act I ends. In Act II, we see Katherine and Atikarn leave abruptly for Siam, with Noppon left behind to be groomed for the diplomatic corps. He is head over heals with infatuation, and the sudden departure fractures him and forces him into his work. Katherine, on the other hand, is pragmatic. Flings are flings, and her duty is to her husband, the Ambassador. Noppon’s infatuation leads him to send a set of paints to Katherine, as she had mentioned she had painted when she was young. A few years later, Noppon is posted back to Thailand — and we get the reunion. It it what you might predict, or something else? I’ll leave the story there so as not to completely spoil it.

This brings us to where we started: a painting. Going back to the opening of the musical, we see this painting being hung in a new house by Noppon. His wife comes by and says she doesn’t see what Noppon sees in the painting, which is a watercolor of the waterfall at Mr. Mitaki. In particular, she doesn’t understand why the title refers to dancers, when there are none in the picture. This is where Noppon smiles, indicates that he sees the dancers, and starts to relate to the audience the story above.

When dealing with a new musical — and the first big staging of a new musical — a number of areas require analysis: the book, the libretto, the performances, and the technical aspects of the presentation. I’ve described the story above; here are my thoughts on the book:

First and foremost, my mind kept contrasting this to The King and I. There are some parallels. The King and I takes place in the 1860s in Siam — less than 100 years before this story. In The King and I, we see some of the first stirrings of modern thinking struggling against Thai tradition. It is in these areas that Anna clashes with the King, but the King holds fast — it is his son that starts to bring in change. In Waterfall, we have a similar theme being echoed: Noppon (representing Siam’s youth) wants to be all things American. This clashes with Japan, which in the ramp up to WWII was rejecting the modernities of America in favor of the preservation of Japanese culture. When Katherine enters the picture, we begin to see the clash of American attitudes with Thai culture and traditions. We see this first in the reactions of Katherine’s servant, Nuan, to American outspokeness — and we see how Katherine wants to be more Thai. This, in turn, moves Noppon to place greater value in Thai culture… which then clashes with the new Thailand values, which wants to discard Thai culture in favor of the modern world and its Western approaches. This, then, is the culmination of the effort begun with the King’s son in The King and I.

I found the political side of the story fascinating (and I find myself seeing echoes of Pacific Overtures). I have never given much thought to the other countries in East Asia during WWII: were they on the side of Allies, or allied with the Axis? Here we see how Japan was growing ready for WWII, and had significant territorial ambitions. We also see how Thailand tried to straddle the middle (at least according to Noppon); it is unclear how what was presented near the epilogue jives with the truth.

This brings us to the romantic story. My wife found it mostly predictable. I didn’t. I thought it was going to go a particular direction (which the first act makes you want to happen), but then you see how a change in the characters changes that direction, and brings the romantic story to a different, but equally touching conclusions. However, I’m unsure how well this romantic story will play on the Broadway stage. It is certainly more interesting than Light in the Piazza, but given the current nature of Broadway I’m not sure that a romantic story would have a long run. This could be one of a string of Pasadena Playhouse musicals that make it to Broadway, only to have their runs fizzle out. The track record speaks for itself: Baby Its You, Sister Act, A Night with Janis Joplin. I still think they should have brought the excellent Mask to Broadway.

But overall, I liked the book. It wasn’t the immediate grab of a Hairspray or The Book of Mormon, but it wasn’t a failure either.

Next, let’s look at the liberetto — the music and lyrics. I tend to like Maltby / Shire musicals — Baby has a wonderful score, and despite it’s problems there are some great songs in Big. Maltby and Shire also know how to write great story and romantic songs — just look at the revue Closer than Ever. The score for Waterfall is one of the most integrated scores I’ve seen from the team. There are a number of songs I liked as I heard them (alas, it is hard to remember them afterwards — I’d need a cast album). They also had songs that were primarily sung in other languages, both Japanese and Thai. I cannot speak to how well they preserved or captured traditional Thai or Japanese musical stylings. But the songs were beautiful, and well executed by the performers. One thing I did notice was that there were just a few musical motifs; they kept being repurposed for similar songs with similar themes (this is best illustrated by the series of “I Am” songs: “I Am Not Thai”, “I Will Be Thai”; or the “I Like” songs: “I Like Americans”, “I Like the Japanese”, “I Hate the Siamese”).

This brings us to the performances. Before I go into the individual performances, I must comment on what this show says about the lack of diversity in the American theatre, and the lack of suitable dramatic vehicles for Asian actors. In reading the credits, the same shows tended to be listed — shows that are (almost stereotypically) Asian: The King and I, Flower Drum Song, Miss Saigon, Pacific Overtures. I think there need to be more shows that provide the opportunity for Asian actors. What East-West Players does is just a start. Of course, things are not helped by the set of Equity actors, which tend to be overwhelmingly of a common hue. This leads to the next casting complaint: Casting directors that seem to think that all Asians look alike. For those who know, there are distinct differences between the various Asian ethnicities, and the Asian casting here was a mix of Thai, Chinese, Japanese, Filipino, and probably some I couldn’t distinguish. I find this demonstrates a commentary on the acting pool: it indicates there are insufficient actors of a particular group to properly staff the show. This is something the theatre community needs to combat: we need to encourage more diversity in the acting pool (and diverse stories to employ them). [This is where 99 seat theatre demonstrates its importance: it is that stepping stone for non-traditional actors to grow in their craft; the large paying productions cannot employ sufficient ethnic actors and tend to create a high bar to entry.]

In the lead positions were Bie Sukrit (FB) as Noppon and Emily Padgett (FB) as Katherine. This was Sukrit’s first appearance on an American stage — he is evidently a pop star in Thailand — and he came across as the equal to the other Equity actors sharing the stage. I initially found his accent required close listening, but as I got used to it there was no problem. He did, however, need greater amplification to equal Padgett and to overpower the orchestra (hopefully, this will be fixed by opening night). As for Padgett — what a lovely voice, almost operatic. It was well suited for the music, and blended well with Sukrit’s lighter voice. Both did a great job of bringing the characters to life in a way that you believed they were who they were, and that they were reflecting the emotions that the story required. I’d try to name particular songs that they excelled at, but they were all great.

In major supporting positions were Thom Sesma (FB) (Chao Khun Atikarn), J. Elaine Marcos (FB) (Nuan), and as Noppon’s college friends, Jordan De Leon (FB) (Santi, Ensemble), Colin Miyamoto (FB) (Surin), and Lisa Helmi Johanson (FB) (Kumiko, Ensemble). Again, all were excellent. I was particularly taken with the presence that Sesma had as Atikarn — he gave off a wonderful diplomatic flair, and had a lovely singing voice. Marcos, as Nuan, captured the culture clash well and was particularly enjoyable in the number “I Will Be Thai”. Lastly, of Noppon’s college friends, I particularly enjoyed Johanson’s Kumiko, who captured well both the joy and angst of being an Asian who was an American in the period before WWII. This came across extremely well in the song “America Will Break Your Hear”, as well as “Music to my Ears”.

Notable smaller supporting characters were Steven Eng (FB) (Foreign Minister Takamoto) and Marcus Choi (FB) (Thai Minister, Japanese Attaché, Ensemble), both who were great in their songs “I Like Americans” and “I Hate the Siamese” (respectively). Eng was particularly menacing in his role; this is a good thing given the nature of the role. Rounding out the cast were: Eymard Cabling (FB) (Siamese Ambassador, Ensemble), Rona Figueroa (FB) (Yamaguchi Sister, Ensemble), Kimberly Immanuel (FB) (Pree, Yamaguchi Sister, Ensemble), Kenway Hon Wai K. Kua (FB) (Taiko Drummer, Ensemble), Leon Le (FB) (Taiko Drummer, Ensemble), Koh Mochizuki (FB) (Taiko Drummer, Ensemble), Celia Mei Rubin (FB) (Ensemble), Darryl Semira (FB) (Ensemble, Dance Captain), Riza Takahashi (FB) (Yamaguchi Sister, Ensemble), Kay Trinidad (FB) (Ensemble), and Minami Yusui (FB) (Ensemble). I’ll note that Figueroa, Immanuel, and Takahashi sounded lovely together in “Music to my Ears”.

As previously noted, the show featured lyrics by Richard Maltby. Jr. and music by David Shire. Music supervision and additional arrangements were by John McDaniel (FB), with orchestrations by Jonathan Tunick (FB). Mark Hartman (FB) was the associate conductor. McDaniel and Hartman conducted the 13 piece orchestra consisting of Christian Regul (FB) [Keyboard 2], David Witham (FB) [Keyboard Swing], Greg Huckins (FB) [Reed 1], Sean Franz (FB) [Reed 2], Bill Wood (FB) [Bassoon], Nathan Campbell [French Horn], Marissa Benedict (FB) [Trumpet], Mark Converse (FB) [Percussion], Trey Henry [Bass], Carrie Holtzman-Little and Jody Rubin [Viola], and Rebecca Merblum (FB) and Stan Sharp [Cello]. The orchestra produced a lovely sound, which was notable for its inclusion of traditional Thai and Japanese instruments, such as the Ranat Ek, a curved, xylophone-like instrument.

Movement was choreographed by Dan Knechtges (FB), assisted by Jessica Hartman (Associate Choreographer). Dance music arrangements were by Greg Jarrett. The movement and dance was visually delightful, especially the numbers that incorporated traditional Thai and Japanese dance movements and motifs. There were also a number of moments of traditional ballroom and modern swing dancing (reflecting 1930s style) that were great. I will note that the kneepads were visible in a number of dance numbers; that could be visually distracting for some. Darryl Semira (FB) was the Dance Captain.

Waterfall was directed by Tak Viravan (FB); Dan Knechtges (FB) was the co-director, and Kenneth Ferrone (FB) was the Associate Director. I’ll note that Viravan, in conjunction with the producer, Jack M. Dalgleish, were the primary drivers on bringing the show to America, and the Dalgleish was the one who reached out to Maltby/Shire to adapt the show for an American audience. I’ve noted before how I have difficulty seeing where the director stops and the actor begins, and so I tend to credit the actor. I’ll credit the director here for the vision that was realized, and for capturing the little things from that culture. This was particularly apparent in the interactions with Nuan, who was very deferential and submission, which made her hesitancy later on speaking up much stronger. Management was provided by the following team: Andrew Neal (FB) [Production Stage Manager], Lucy Kennedy (FB) [Assistant Stage Manager], Heather “Red” Verhoef [Production Manager/Assistant Stage Manager], Joe Witt [General Manager], Kristen Hammack (FB) [Producing Associate / Company Manager].

Lastly, let’s consider the technical side. The Pasadena Playhouse is blessed with a large flyspace, large wings on both sides, and a deep stage. Sasavat (Ja) Busayabandh, the scenic designer made good use of this space for scenic elements that flew down (Christine Peters was the Associate Scenic Designer). However, the main scenic elements were walls with rough jagged edges that slid left and right, seemingly like textured stone walls. Against these walls, projections designed by Caite Havner Kemp [Projection Designer] were used to establish locale. I recently listened to a Producer’s Perspective podcast with director Scott Schwartz where he opined that he didn’t like heavy use of projections; he felt they were a cost-saving crutch and preferred real theatrical designs. Yet these projections worked against the walls; they were particularly noteworthy during the painting scene of the Waterfall where you could see how the watercolors interacted to form the picture. Most of the other scenic elements were a bit simpler; I’ll note that the set piece for the waterfall was notable in its use of real running water on stage that was splashed around (something you rarely see). Overall, the scenic design worked well for the Playhouse space. It also interacted well with Ken Billington‘s lighting design. This design was noteworthy for its used of the color palette, in particular the washes used against the rear cyclorama. The costumes (designed by Wade Laboissonniere) and hair, wigs and makeup (designed by J. Jared Janas) seemed appropriately period; I don’t have the expertise to speak to whether the traditional Japanese and Thai costumes were correct (they appeared correct to my Western eye, but what do I know?). I particularly enjoyed the dresses worn by Katherine (Emily Padgett (FB)) and Kumiko (Lisa Helmi Johanson (FB)), which were both beautiful, flattering to the actors, and fit in the late 30s time period. Lastly, the sound design by Dan Moses Schreier was mostly clear; there were a few microphone static problems that I presume will be corrected by the official opening (this was a particular problem in the waterfall scene). As noted before, Bie needed some additional amplification. Additional design and related credits: Brad Enlow [Technical Director], Stewart/Whitley (FB) [Casting].

According to the main credit page, Waterfall was produced by the Pasadena Playhouse (FB) under the artistic direction of Sheldon Epps, in association with the 5th Avenue Theatre (FB) in Seattle (which will present Waterfall in the fall of 2015). Articles on the show indicate that eventual producers will be the director (Tak Viravan)’s producing business, Scenario Company, in conjunction with Jack M. Dalgleish.

Waterfall continues at the Pasadena Playhouse (FB), formally opening on June 7, 2015 and running until June 28, 2015. If you’re a fan of new musicals, or of Maltby/Shire musicals, or of Asian culture, this is especially well worth seeing. Tickets are available online through the Pasadena Playhouse website. Discount tickets may be available through special Pasadena Playhouse programs, Goldstar, LA Stage Tix, and other common outlets.

One last note regarding Waterfall — in particular, about the Waterfall audience. Sheldon Epps, the Artistic Director of the Playhouse, is well known for pushing diversity on stage. When we were subscribing at the Playhouse, this meant that there were a fair number of African-American themed plays. I always bemoaned the fact that the complexion of the audience would change for those plays; there was a distinct color shift I found disturbing. My disturbance wasn’t due to the black audiences — I want diverse and younger audiences discovering and coming to theatre. My disturbance was more the absence of the typical audience of non-color — why were they avoiding the play (I’m similarly disturbed about the fact that the audiences of color don’t come to traditional plays). The same shift was notable in the Waterfall audience — it skewed much more Asian than the typical Playhouse audience. As a result, I must make the comment I always make: Theatre is like music — it is either good or bad. It is not “Asian”, it is not “Black”, it is not “White”. It reflects and comments on situations that are set in a wide variety of communities. Audiences must make an effort to go to a wide variety of theatre that reflects diverse experience, and not only the shows that reflect their particular ethnic experience. This permits theatre to do its job, moving people to learn and think about how people react in various situations. End soapbox.

Ob. Disclaimer: I am not a trained theatre critic; I am, however, a regular theatre audience. I’ve been attending live theatre in Los Angeles since 1972; I’ve been writing up my thoughts on theatre (and the shows I see) since 2004. I do not have theatre training (I’m a computer security specialist), but have learned a lot about theatre over my many years of attending theatre and talking to talented professionals. I pay for all my tickets unless otherwise noted. I believe in telling you about the shows I see to help you form your opinion; it is up to you to determine the weight you give my writeups.

Upcoming Shows: June will be exhausting with the bounty that the Hollywood Fringe Festival (FB) brings (ticketing is now open). June starts with a matinee of the movie Grease at The Colony Theatre (FB), followed by Clybourne Park (HFF) at the Lounge Theatre (FB) Camenot at the Complex Theatres (FB) (Clybourne Park was cancelled) on Saturday, and a trip out to see the Lancaster Jethawks on Sunday. The second weekend of June brings Max and Elsa. No Music. No Children. (HFF) at Theatre Asylum (FB) and Wombat Man (HFF) at Underground Theatre (FB) on Saturday, and Marry Me a Little (HFF) by Good People Theatre (FB) at the Lillian Theatre (FB) on Sunday. The craziness continues into the third weekend of June, with the Nigerian Spam Scam Scam (HFF) at Theatre Asylum (FB) and Merely Players (HFF) at the Lounge Theatre (FB) on Saturday, and Uncle Impossible’s Funtime Variety & Ice Cream Social, (HFF) at the Complex Theatres (FB) on Sunday (and possibly “Matilda” at the Ahmanson Theatre (FB) in the afternoon, depending on Hottix availability, although July 4th weekend is more likely). The Fringe craziness ends with Medium Size Me, (HFF) at the Complex Theatres (FB) on Thursday 6/25 and Might As Well Live: Stories By Dorothy Parker (HFF) at the Complex Theatres (FB) on Saturday. June ends with our annual drum corps show in Riverside on Sunday. July begins with “Murder for Two” at the Geffen Playhouse (FB) on July 3rd, and possibly Matilda. July 11th brings “Jesus Christ Superstar” at REP East (FB). The following weekend brings “Green Grow The Lilacs” at Theatricum Botanicum (FB) [and may also bring The History Boys at the Stella Adler Lab Theatre (FB) (I’m considering it)]. July 25th brings “Lombardi” at the Lonny Chapman Group Rep (FB), with the annual Operaworks show the next day. August starts with “As You Like It” at Theatricum Botanicum (FB), and is followed by the summer Mus-ique show, and “The Fabulous Lipitones” at The Colony Theatre (FB). After that we’ll need a vacation! As always, I’m keeping my eyes open for interesting productions mentioned on sites such as Bitter-Lemons, and Musicals in LA, as well as productions I see on Goldstar, LA Stage Tix, Plays411.

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userpic=theatre_musicals Time for another post looking at theatre season announcements. Today’s post is triggered by the recent announcements of the Pasadena Playhouse (FB) season and the Theatricum Botanicum Seasons.

Pasadena Playhouse

We used to be long-time subscribers at the Pasadena Playhouse (FB). We weren’t treated well during the bankruptcy itself, and choose to move our mid-side theatre subscription to The Colony Theatre (FB) in Burbank. We’ve enjoyed the productions at the Colony, although they are not that adventurous or likely to move on to bigger and better things (you want adventurous productions that may move on, explore LA’s 99 Seat Theatre scene — which is threatened by AEA — learn more at http://ilove99.org). As for the Pasadena Playhouse, we haven’t much liked Sheldon’s programming — and especially the TBA slot. Still, we’re planning on one show this season there. So let’s see what they are proposing:

Real Women Have Curves. Written by Josefina López. Directed by Seema Sueko. September 8 – October 4, 2015. This is taking a movie and moving it onstage. This can work (and draw audiences), but isn’t that particularly exciting to me… especially as a straightforward drama.
Breaking Through. Book by Kirsten Guenther. Music and Lyrics by Cliff Downs and Katie Kahanovitz. Directed by Sheldon Epps. October 27 – November 22, 2015. A new musical from a team that hasn’t done musicals before. That may or may not be bad — sometimes it works, sometimes it fails miserably. The story is about a young, talented singer/songwriter, as she tries to navigate the treacherous shark-‐filled waters of the music business with a a compelling journey to find her way back to her authentic self and in the process rediscovers the music that truly makes her alive. Isn’t that Beautiful or any of a myriad of other shows? Not a compelling story.
Peter Pan and Tinkerbell: A Pirate Christmas. By Kris Lythgoe. Directed by Bonnie Lythgoe. Musical Direction by Michael Orland. Choreography by Spencer Liff. December 9, 2015– January 3, 2016. British Christmas Panto. I’m sorry, but I’m generally not into Christmas-specific shows.
Fly. By Trey Ellis and Ricardo Khan. Directed by Ricardo Khan. Produced in Association with Crossroads Theatre Company. January 26 – February 21, 2016. Fly tells the story of the first African-‐ American Army Air Corp fighters known as the Tuskegee Airmen who flew over the skies of Europe and North Africa during World War II. Sigh. This is one of Sheldon’s shows designed to bring in an audience of color. I used to see these every year, and was disappointed that the audience didn’t remain around for other shows (or that the white audience disappeared for these shows). Potentially interesting, but not a must-see. All depends on what else is out around then.
Casa Valentina. By Harvey Fierstein. Directed by David Lee. March 15 – April 10, 2016. Per the description: this moving and insightful play is nestled in the Catskills in 1962 -‐ land of dirty dancing and borscht belt comedy. But an inconspicuous bungalow colony is more than a place to escape the sweltering summer heat. For a group of heterosexual men it is a place to escape something else entirely: being men. Interesting for the director and the playwright. Not sure that it draws me in fully, but this might be good.
ARTISTIC DIRECTOR’S CHOICE. To Be Announced. May 31 – June 26, 2015. Otherwise known as the Sheldon CYA slot. I’m not going to commit myself if he can’t.

Not a season that excites me.

***

Theatricum Botanicum

We’re not subscribers here, but we tend to see a show here and there, if it is interesting. As Theatricum Botanicum (FB) wrote:

The upcoming ‘Americana’ season includes William Shakespeare’s As You Like It, re-set in the Reconstruction-era South with live music of the period; To Kill A Mockingbird, Christopher Sergel’s stage adaptation of Harper Lee’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel; August: Osage County, Tracy Letts’ biting portrait of the dysfunctional American family at its finest — and absolute worst; and Green Grow the Lilacs, the play by Lynn Riggs that inspired Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Oklahoma. Finally, what could be more American than an outing to experience Theatricum’s signature production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, back for the ninth year in a row by popular demand? Audiences flock to this annual family favorite, a beguiling romantic comedy set in Theatricum’s own Topanga forest.

These all run in repertory through the summer. My thoughts:

As You Like It. Seen a number of adaptations of this, including a disasterous one at the Pasadena Playhouse (the only show I’ve walked out on). The era and setting of this sound interesting.
To Kill a Mockingbird. Great play, but I just saw it within the last couple of years at Repertory East. Given how crowded the summer is, I’m not sure it is worth squeezing in.
August: Osage County. A classic play, worth seeing if I can squeeze it in.
Green Grow the Lilacs. This is one I’d really like to see — the basis for Oklahoma. I’ve always heard about it.
A Midsummers Night Dream. This one will be around again, so I’ll skip this time.

They only have seasons subscriptions up, so I’ll either have to remember to put HOLD dates or watch Goldstar.

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userpic=pasadena-playhouse Recently, Carla Laemmle died. She was one of the last living links to the first era of motion pictures — the silent movie era. Most of today’s youth can hardly imagine the impact of these short, black and white, soundless (but for a piano accompaniment) images on the screen, but in their day… they defined and created stars. There were romantic and dramatic stars, but some of the best known were the comedians: Charlie Chaplin, Harold Lloyd, Mabel Norman, Roscoe Arbuckle, and Buster Keaton. Some big stage shows have been made for some — there have been at least two musical version’s of Chaplin’s life story, and Norman’s romance with Mack Sennet was the basis for Mack and Mabel. Others have languished in obscurity. Recently, Sacred Fools Theatre had a well-received production of a play with musical accompaniment about the life of Buster Keaton. This play was written by Vanessa Claire Stewart (FB), as a birthday present for her husband, French Stewart (FB), of 3rd Rock and Mom fame, who has the lead role as Buster Keaton (his idol). For the 2013-2014 season, the Pasadena Playhouse announced a remounting of this show, and it was the only show in their season I found interesting. So guess where I was last night? Yup, we were back at our old haunt, the Pasadena Playhouse, seeing Buster Keaton on screen and stage.

So who is Buster Keaton. Many may remember him from his last role: He played Erroneous in the screen version of “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum“. But he is best known for his long string of silent movies with well-timed gags starting in 1917, and he made (on average) at least one movie a year until 1966. But all weren’t successes. He had two unsuccessful marriages and a significant drinking problem that derailed his career in the mid-1930s, and his career limped along until he was rediscovered in the 1950s for the genius that he was. His bio at IMDB makes interesting reading.

“Stoneface” attempts to tell much of Keaton’s life story. It begins with Keaton at his first drug rehab in 1933 when he is with his second wife, Mae. His story is then told in flashbacks: his marriage to Natalie Talmadge (sister of Norma Talmadge), his friendship and professional relationship with Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle, his relationship with Joseph Schenck (his producer) and his long line of successful films, the disastrous financial failure of “The General“, the sale of his contract to MGM and his poor relationship with Louis B. Mayer. It also explores his battle with alcoholism, his failure at relationships with his first wife (Natalie) and the loss of his children, and the scandal related to his friend, Roscoe Arbuckle. It shows the period where he had lost his timing and made horrible shorts just to survive. But it also shows his sobering up, his successful relationship with his third (and final) wife, his comeback with Chaplin in 1951′s “Limelight”, and his receiving a special Oscar for his life’s work in comedy. In general, the story worked — although I wish they had mentioned that his final speech actually was at the Oscars, and mentioned his final role in Forum.

The way the production was done was very interesting. There were many scenes that were, essentially, silent movies on stage. There was the occasional projected subtitle, but all the action was silent (often with Keaton’s style of comedy) with piano accompaniment. These scenes were excellent, and Stewart seemed to have quite a bit of fun with them, capturing Keaton’s style quite well. Other scenes were more expositional — conventional scenes in which the story played out. These scenes were a bit more problematic — not because of the writing, but because Stewart seemed a bit off with the occasional line hesitation and restart that impacted his timing. His supporting players, however, were excellent.

This production started at the Sacred Fools Theatre, an under 99-seat venue in Hollywood. At the Playhouse, it was in a 686 seat auditorium. There are those who claim that the production lost something in the transfer to the larger venue. Having not seen it in the smaller venue, I can’t speak to that assessment. I can see, however, how the magic and the performance would have had more oomph in a more intimate venue. I found the production worked at the Playhouse for me; however I think a production like this would be lost at the Ahmanson or Pantages. If it wasn’t for the difficulty in working the scenery, the Colony would be a great venue.

As noted above, French Stewart (FB) had the lead position as Buster Keaton. He captured Keaton’s persona and mannerisms quite well, especially in the silent and physical comedy scenes, but had the occasional line problem in the expositional scenes. Looking at his Facebook, this could be the four-show weekends getting to him; this was near the end of the run. But this does seem to be a character that he really enjoys playing and inhabiting, and it is worth seeing for his performance.

The remaining cast members are strong, but there are some worthy of particular note. Tegan Ashton Cohan (FB), as Natalie Talmadge (as well as part of the ensemble), has an extended sequence with Stewart where she attempts to get him sitting in a chair. The physical comedy in this sequence is spectacular. There is a similar sequence with Daisy Eagan (FB) as Mae Scriven, his second wife. There is also some good physical comedy with Joe Fria (FB) as the young Buster Keaton; Scott Leggett (FB) is great as Roscoe Arbuckle in the opening sequence of Act II. The rest of the actors handle their roles well, and are remarkable in their interactions with the special effects — in particular, the effect of walking behind a screen and suddenly being in the silent movie. Rounding out the cast were Jake Broder (FB) (Joseph Schenck), Rena Strober (FB) (Norma Talmadge / Eleanor Keaton), Pat Towne (FB) (Louis B. Mayer), Conor Duffy (FB) (Edward Sedgwick / George Jessel), and Guy Picot (FB) (Charlie Chaplin).

The production was directed by Jaime Robledo (FB), who was very clever at providing the production a silent-movie feel, including the aforementioned scenes where the actors go behind a screen and are suddenly in the projected image, or longer scenes that are done entirely as silent movies. These were extremely clever and enjoyable. I’ll note the entire production was helped by the great rinky-tinky piano accompaniment of Ryan Johnson (FB).

This is one show where the technical makes the show. The scenic design of Joel Daavid (FB) was spectacular and truly brought the silent film era of the 1920s to life. This resurrection of the period was aided and abeted by the costumes of Jessica Olson (FB) and the wigs of Jessica Mills (FB). As for the lighting, Jeremy Pivnick (FB) did some things I’ve never seen before, including a moving light on a track in the upper fly space that itself had a moving mirror. The sound by the wonderful Cricket S. Myers (FB) was mostly wonderful — in particular the silent movie projector sound during the projections. However, the music behind Keaton and Arbuckle in the bar scenes was just loud enough to be distracting — in fact, I thought it might be coming from the bar outside. As noted before, projections make this show, and much of the credit goes to Ben Rock (FB) and Anthony Backman (FB) and technical director Brad Enlow. Mike Mahaffey (FB) was the fight director. Susie Walsh was the production stage manager; Hethyr “Red” Verhoef was the stage manager, and Kristen Hammack/FB was the company manager.

“Stoneface: The Rise and Fall and Rise of Buster Keaton” continues at the Pasadena Playhouse (FB) through June 29. Tickets are available through the Playhouse box office, and discount tickets are available through Goldstar.

The Pasadena Playhouse is promoting their 2014-2015 season, but I’m not biting. The season consists of a variation of “Kiss Me Kate” transporting to the mileau of black vaudeville of the early 20th century (umm, no); “Stop Kiss” by Diana Son, a holiday Panto of Sleeping Beauty, “Two for the Seesaw” by William Gibson, “Pygmalion” by George Bernard Shaw, and Sheldon’s favorite show, “TBD”, which he does every season. Of these, the only one interesting me is “Two for the Seesaw“, and that’s primarily because it is the closest I’ll ever come to seeing the musical “Seesaw“, which was based on that play.

[Ob. Disclaimer: I am not a trained theatre critic; I am, however, a regular theatre audience. I've been attending live theatre in Los Angeles since 1972; I've been writing up my thoughts on theatre (and the shows I see) since 2004. I do not have theatre training (I'm a computer security specialist), but have learned a lot about theatre over my many years of attending theatre and talking to talented professionals. I pay for all my tickets unless otherwise noted. I believe in telling you about the shows I see to help you form your opinion; it is up to you to determine the weight you give my writeups.]

Upcoming Theatre and Concerts: We finish off June with “I’m Not Just a Comic Genius” at Secret Rose (FB) on June 27. July will be busy: “Ghost” at the Pantages (FB) on 7/5, “Return to the Forbidden Planet” at REP East (FB) the weekend of 7/12, “Once” at the Pantages (FB) on 7/19, “Bye Bye Birdie” at Cabrillo Music Theatre (FB) on 7/26, and “Family Planning” at The Colony Theatre (FB) on 8/2. August then remains quiet as we work around vacations and such (but I’m eyeing a number of productions in Escondido, including “Two Gentlemen of Verona” at the Old Globe, and “Pageant” at the Cygnet in Old Town. What they have at the Welk (“Oklahoma“), Patio Theatre (“Fiddler on the Roof“), and Moonlight Stage (“My Fair Lady“) are all retreads. Things start to get busy again in September and October, with “The Great Gatsby” at REP, “What I Learned in Paris” at the Colony, and “Pippin” at the Pantages. More on that later. As always, I’m keeping my eyes open for interesting productions mentioned on sites such as Bitter-Lemons, and Musicals in LA, as well as productions I see on Goldstar, LA Stage Tix, Plays411.

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Observation Stew You know you want to take your mother to dinner. But what will you talk about? Here’s a bunch of news chum stew items, accumulated over the last two weeks (I’ve been busy, what can I say) that might just do:

Size Matters. Here’s a great discussion topic for your mom… or for “Wait Wait, Don’t Tell Me”. A recent study has shown that, the larger your penis, the greater the likelihood that your wife will cheat on you. In particular, according to this study, every one inch longer penis increased the likelihood of women being involved in extra-marital partnership by almost one-and-half times. I think I’ll leave the subject at that and go on to the next subject…
Got Gas? Here’s some more useful information. Remember “Beans Beans They’re Good for the Heart”. Well, it turns out that lots of gas is a sign of a healthy biome in your gut. This reminds me of a joke from Jason Alexander. It seems there was this long married couple whose sex life was in the dumps (see item #1). The wife went to a sex counselor, who suggested they try 69. She came home and explained it to her husband. They got in bed and in the position…. and she ripped a good one. After the air had cleared, they tried it again… and she ripped another one. They were about to try it again when the husband said, “you think I’m going to do this 67 more times, you’re crazy”.
It’s the Place To Be. Yup, that Farm Living is the life for me. If this makes you think of Green Acres, you’re not along. There are plans for a Broadway stage play adaptation of the hicksville TV show originally starring Eddie Albert and Eva Gabor. The rights to the property were acquired by director Richard L. Bare, who was one of the most prolific helmers on the original series, and by producer Phillip Goldfine through his production company Hollywood Media Bridge.
Cramming It In. Sony is working on new technology that will cram 3,700 blue-rays into a single cassette tape. Actually, that’s a little misleading — we’re not talking here about a C-60 or a C-90, but a specially designed cartridge. Still, the technology is intriguing: a whopping 148 GB per square inch, meaning a cassette could hold 185 TB of data. Sony uses a vacuum-forming technique called sputter deposition to create a layer of magnetic crystals by shooting argon ions at a polymer film substrate. The crystals, measuring just 7.7 nanometers on average, pack together more densely than any other previous method. The result is that three Blu-Rays’ worth of data can fit on one square inch of Sony’s new wonder-tape.
A Touching Story. Here’s a very touching story about a late night encounter in a supermarket, told by Mark Evanier.
Anything But Starbucks. A touching obituary for Herman Hyman, founder of the Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf chain. This chain, which roasts its beans in Ventura County, started in a small store on San Vicente Blvd in Brentwood in the 1970s. I think, in fact, that it started not far from my first condo.
Buildings Up, Buildings Down. Two interesting buildings in the news. First, the plans have been announced for the former furniture store space across from the Pasadena Playhouse. Should be an interesting project; it will be interesting to see how it changes the character of that area. In Las Vegas news, approval has been given to finally take down the Harmon. If you aren’t familiar with the Harmon, it is the oval blue-glass coated skyscraper next to the Aria and Vdara, across from Planet Hollywood and the Cosmopolitan. It was built wrong and is unstable, but they can’t implode it because it is too close to other stuff. They have to take it down piece by piece. Now if only they could do something with the Fountainbleau, which is an even bigger eyesore on the N end of the strip (where the Thunderbird once was).

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userpic=fountain-pen It’s Saturday, and you know what that means — time to clear out the saved links for the week. As always, these links are usually discovered through my reading of the papers and by what comes across my RSS feeds (which I’m now reading via Newsblur):

Fountain Pens. Those who know me know I do fit the stereotype in some ways and not in others. Yes, I carry a pocket protector. However, I use it to protect my pocket as it is full of fountain pens. Thus, I found this Boing-Boing article about the Namiki Retractible Fountain Pen quite interesting. It would really depend on the quality of the nib. I’ve actually found that Schaeffers — especially the cheap Shaeffers — work the best for me. Parkers occasionally work, but I’ve never been able to get the fancier pens — especially Cross Fountain Pens — to work well for this left-handed writer.
Knitting. Whereas I love fountain pens, my daughter loves to knit. This article made me think of her: a mobile knitting truck that serves as a locally sourced store for lovers of yarn.
Theatre. The Pasadena Playhouse has announced their 2013-2014 season, and my response is a big yawn. Perhaps their bankruptcy soured me on them, but I haven’t been that impressed with their season announcements, which usually change by the time the show is presented. They may have the occasionally good show (I’ve heard good things about the Janis Joplin concert currently there, but I’m not into Joplin); however, overall their seasons are predictable. The chestnut. The black show. The new musical. The TBA. The 2013-2014 season is no different. It starts with the musical jukebox tuner “Smokey Joe’s Cafe” (Sept. 18 to Oct. 13). That’s followed by a new play, “Stoneface” (Nov. 5 to Dec. 1), with French Stewart portraying silent film star Buster Keaton. “Stoneface” might be interesting. After that is the play for African-American audiences, Weinraub’s “Above the Fold” (Jan 28 to Feb. 23)–a fictional story of a female African American reporter who travels to a Southern university where four white fraternity boys have been accused of raping a young African American woman. Next up is the chestnut, Noël Coward’s “A Song at Twilight” (March 18 to April 13, 2014). Closing the season, as usual, is the “To Be Announced” production (May 27 to June 22, 2014), directed by playhouse artistic director Sheldon Epps. One potential show of interest.
Las Vegas. Those who know me know that I find Las Vegas History interesting. Here’s an interesting story from the LA Times on a man who is trying to get out of Nevada’s infamous Black Book that bars people from casinos for life. No one has ever done that, except by dying.
Los Angeles. Lastly, you all know I love LA. Here’s a fascinating map of power consumption across Los Angeles by neighborhood. We’re in a lower-use neighborhood, except during the hot summer months. Other neighborhoods are much much worse. However, some neighborhoods in LA, for some reason, are simply not mapped.

Music: Zorba (1983 Broadway Revival Cast): “The Crow”

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