Kedar Adour reviews

BECKY SHAW at SF Playhouse a winner

2012-01-29T17:57:00.000-08:00

In SF Playhouse staging of Becky Shaw, Becky breaks down at the family house. Featured: Liz Sklar, Brian Robert Burns, Lorri Holt, Lauren English and Lee Dolson

Regional Premiere BECKY SHAW by Gina Gionfriddo, directed by Amy Glazer. SF Playhouse, 533 Sutter Street (one block off Union Square, b/n Powell & Mason), San Francisco, CA 94102. 415.677.9596 or www.sfplayhouse.org . January 24th through March 10^th, 2012

This review is being written from a very personal standpoint and is unfairly biased. Having attended the mesmerizing world premiere of Becky Shaw at the 2007 Humana New American Play Festival at Actors Theatre in Louisville, expectations for SF Playhouse’s production were high and would not have been missed. You too should not miss their stunning, superbly acted and directed staging but there is a caveat.

It is the perfect vehicle for the cutting edge philosophy espoused by this top-notch group and they obviously have lavished a great deal of ardor in mounting the show. Artistic director and designer Bill English is a master at creating fantastic, intricate sets that have often received honors. The set(s) for this multi-scene play is a marvel of moving walls that seamlessly change depicting the diverse locales. And here’s the rub: Those scene changes with entire walls being moved on and off stage detract from the intense interaction of the characters and compete with the story line.

That viewpoint was not universal since half the audience rose to their feet at the end of the play. That response, rather than the usual standing ovations for previous shows, may have been triggered by the ambiguous ending written into the script.

Dysfunctional characters and relationships abound in Becky Shaw and it is what you could expect from Gina Giofriddo who is a main-stay writer/producer for TV’s Law and Order. The play was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize having an extended run Off-Broadway and a similar run in London before this West Coast premiere. The title character Becky Shaw does not make an appearance until late in the first act. It is a jaw dropping entrance that Lauren English handles with assurance depicting Becky’s insecurity and reticence on meeting her blind date Max (Brian Robert Burns).

Before that spectacular entrance Gionfriddo masterfully sets up the other characters with consummate skill and line by line clearly defines the interactions but never suggesting the bizarre complications that are to come. In the tightly written first scene we meet psychologist Suzanna Slater (Liz Sklar) who is still bemoaning the death of her father four months earlier. Max, her adoptive brother is a successful investor looking after the dwindling family estate of the widowed mother Susan Slater (Lori Holt) who, very shortly after her husband death, has taken on an unseen unsavory lover even though she is in the early/later stages of multiple sclerosis.

When the scene shifts it is 4 months later and Suzanna has married would be writer Andrew (Lee Dolson) who supports them (sort of) working in a dreary office. Becky happens to be working with do-gooder Andrew who arranges for Becky and Max to meet even though Suzanne knows that Max is a “part-timer, meaning that after three months he dumps his girlfriends. It just happens that Becky who has screwed up at her Ivy League University scholarship, been dumped by two black boyfriends and cut off by her racist family is desperately looking for true love. Thus it is when Becky arrives in a red seductive, strapless, mini-dress for the first date. Wow! The audience gasps.

It is a disastrous date that gets short circuited by a holdup involving a gun, then a trip to the police station and an eventual sexual tryst in a hotel room even though Max dislikes her. Further complications ensue and the play just gets better with the unraveling of true feelings leading to unsettling consequences that Gionfriddo mines with her consummate writing genius.

And there you are with the story, but that is only the framework on which Gionfiddo hangs her brilliant thoughts on morality and our responsibility to strangers with one line F-laced zingers that explode across the stage apron. The line that Bill Clinton’s sexuality cost Hilary the Presidency created an explosion in the audience. All actors play their roles flawlessly and they clash with vigor yet work as an ensemble.

The evening is thoroughly enjoyable with delicious wisecracks, tense drama, sharp acting and spot on directing by Amy Glazer. Liz Sklar gives a tour de force performance as the emotionally damaged Suzanna and is equally matched by Brian Robert Burns’ portrayal of the brutally honest, non-politically correct Max. Lee Dolson makes the most of the passive personality written into his role and Lorri Holt’s acting ability shines through in the role of a physically challenged individual maintaining a strong personality.

Running time is about two hours plus a 10 minute intermission.

Kedar K. Adour, MD

Courtesy of www.theatreworldinternetmagazine.com

BROADWAY BOUND is buffo at the Masquers

2012-01-28T15:02:00.000-08:00

Brothers Stanley (Chris Dewey, left) and Eugene (Zac Schuman, right) desperately search for an idea they can develop into a comedy sketch that will launch their careers as comedy writers in The Masquers Playhouse production of Neil Simon's "Broadway Bound. Photo by Jerry Telfer.

BROADWAY BOUND by Neil Simon, directed by Phoebe Moyer. Masquers Playhouse. The playhouse is located off of Highway 580 (Richmond Parkway exit) at 105 Park Place, Point Richmond across from the Hotel Mac. 510-232-4031 or www.masquers.org.

January 29 – February 5, 2012

Those living in the San Francisco Bay Area are fortunate to have a plethora of small non-equity theatres that mount high quality productions to supplement the handful of larger professional theatres. The Masquers in charming Point Richmond is one of those 99 seat community venues that consistently receive accolades. For their first production in the 2012 season they have engaged professional theatre jack-of-all trades Phoebe Moyer to direct Neil Simon’s play Broadway Bound.

Broadway Bound (1986) is the last play in Neil Simon’s semi-autobiographical trilogy that includes Brighton Beach Memoirs (1983) and Biloxi Blues (1985). In all the plays the family name is Jerome and Eugene is the personification of Neil Simon. From top to bottom the cast includes Grandpa Ben (Avi Jacobson), married daughters Kate (Marilyn Hughes) and Blanche (Georgie Craig), Kate’s husband Jack (Timothy Beagley) and their sons Stan (Chris Dewey) and Eugene (Zac Schuman).

The younger Eugene and Stan his older brother and mentor have ambitions to become famous comedy writers. They still live at home in the post-World War II Brighton Beach neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York. Their mother Kate is the stay at home stable influence in the play while the others come and go. Husband Jack is mysteriously absent and this is the clue that will switch the emphasis of the play. The all out hilarious opening comedy sequences by Eugene and Stan’s interaction with almost senile Grampa Ben switches seamlessly into a family drama.

At the time Eugene and Stan are seeing their careers take off their parent’s marriage is falling apart. Comedy and drama collide when the boys use the family situation to write a successful comedy sketch that receives national attention on CBS radio showcasing new writers. When the Jerome family has gathered around the radio to hear the sketch, parental pride quickly turns to accusations as the older Jeromes realize they are the brunt of the humor. It is no longer a joking matter and mirrors Jack and Kate’s crumbling relationship.

Simon uses the device of breaking the fourth wall with cogent and often hysterical asides to the audience by Eugene and is a master at mixing the drama with his comedy lines that keep the totality of the play in balance. Every actor is given lines that define character without ever requiring exposition.

It may be inappropriate to single anyone out of the cast for special mention but Avi Jacobson who was trained in Israel is absolutely believable and superb with his pitch perfect timing and demeanor. Although Zac Schuman as Eugene and Chris Dewey as Stan are marvelous ensemble performers unto themselves, it is Marilyn Hughes as mother/wife/ caretaker who is the dominating force with her spectacular under playing of her role. Director Phoebe Moyer’s directorial skills are on display as she never allows the interrelationships to get out of hand with her perfect pacing and unobtrusive stage directions.

Director Moyer also has the luxury of having a charming two level set on which to move her actors about. Oddly, there is no mention of a set designer, just a listing of 10 set construction workers. Bravo to them and the entire production crew who have added greatly to the fine acting making Broadway Bound well worth the trip to Point Richmond.

Kedar K. Adour, MD

Courtesy of www.theatreworldinternetmagazine.com

SHE STOOPS TO CONQUER a barrel of fun at RVP

2012-01-27T14:38:00.000-08:00

(Left) Alex Ross & Maureen O'Donoghue as the Hardcastles. (Left below) The Cast. (Right) Jocelyn Roddie as Kate Hardcastle who "stoops to conquer." Photos by Robin Jackson.

HE STOOPS TO CONQUER by Oliver Goldsmith. Adapted and directed by Judy Holmes. Ross Valley Players, Barn Theatre, Marin Art & Garden Center, 30 Sir Francis Drake Blvd., Ross, CA. 415-456-9555 x1 or www.rossvalleyplayers.com

January 20 – February 19, 2012

Ross Valley Players (RVP) are greatly admired in the Bay Area and have no qualms about undertaking adventurous journeys with their selection of plays. This time around, for the second half of their the 82^nd (count them) season they have mounted Oliver Goldsmith’s 18^th century comedy She Stoops to Conquer adapted and directed by Judy Holmes on another marvelous set by the always inventive Ken Rowland. They have also pulled out all the stops with period costumes that are a tribute to the versatility of Michael A. Berg. The plethora of styles in the play are very problematic, and can be treacherous to any production, yet the talented cast avoids many of the pitfalls and give delightful performances.

It is difficult to categorize the author’s style, since the elements suggest a comedy of manners, social satire, class distinction, mistaken identities, love run amok and farce. These elements require a director to balance this multiplicity to give unity to evening. Director Holmes has all the credentials to helm Goldsmith’s opus from page to stage and has done a masterful job of adapting a five act play into a tight two hour and 20 minute well paced evening. She begins by dropping the opening prolog, dispensing with multiple characters, selecting only pertinent and impertinent scenes. For inexplicable reasons she has cast an overacting neophyte in a pivotal role that emphasizes farcical at the expense of a polished performance. That being said, RVP’s production is clever, joyous, stylish, charming and funny enough to satisfy the most jaded theatre goers.

The majority of the action takes place in the countryside Hardcastle Manor where Mr. and Mrs. Hardcastle (Alex Ross and Maureen O’Donoghue) are expecting the arrival of Charles Marlow (Sean Mirkovich) as the potential suitor for the hand of his daughter Kate Hardcastle (Jocelyn Roddie). It is the second marriage for both the Hardcastles. Her ne'er-do-well son Tony Lumpkin (don’t you love the name?) is notorious for his wastrel life and time spent at the rowdy Three Doves Tavern. He has a penchant for tom-foolery. All this comes to light in the charming first scene that Ross and O’Donoghue nail with pitch perfect acting, completely as ease dressed in their voluminous costumes, setting the tone for what is to come.

What are to come are Charles Marlow and his chum George Hastings (Adam Roy), who get lost. They meet the notorious Tony Lumpkin (the miscast, misdirected Josh Garcia-Cotter) who convinces the two foppish Londoners that Hardcastle Manor is a country Inn and the Hardcastles are merely innkeepers and they treat them as such. Throughout all this the perplexed Hardcastles maintain their cool with oft made journey to the stage apron to reveal their true feelings. This breaking of the fourth wall is used by all the major characters to great effect allowing the audience to share in the confusion.

There is a secondary plot involving cousin Constance who lives with the Hardcastles and is promised to the reluctant Tony while she is secretly in love with the soon to arrive “commoner” Hastings who is secretly the heir to a fortune. Within this unfolding scenario is a box of jewelry that is intricately (well sort on intricately) worked into the plot and really belongs to Constance.

It also seems that Marlow has a psychological aversion to courting well mannered ladies but feels completely at ease and sexually attracted to common women. He is unable to look at elegant Kate, his potential wife, but is fascinated by Kate whom he thinks is a barmaid at the “Inn.” This is the origin of the play’s title. She will go along with this charade as “she stoops to conquer” Marlow.

All these entanglements get untangled with an obligatory restoration comedy scene involving those who need to know hiding behind a screen hearing the real truth. Roy and Mirkovich are two handsome gentlemen who handle the tricky dialog with professional skill matching the fine acting of Jocelyn Roddie and Kushi Beauchamp, the objects of their affection.Kedar K. Adour, MD

Courtesy of www.theatreworldinternet.magazine.com .

FOOD STORIES at Word for Word a feast of the senses.

2012-01-18T15:25:00.000-08:00

Left to Right: Patricia Silver and Delia MacDougall in Enough share the addiction of ice cream. Soren Oliver as the Chef mesmerizes Molly Benson as the restaurant critic in Sorry Fugu in Word for Words production of Food Stories: Pleasure is pleasure at Theatre Artaud Zspace.

FOOD STORIES:Pleasure is pleasure. Sorry Fugu by T.C. Boyle and Enough by Alice McDermott. Directed by John Fisher. Word for Word Performing Arts Company, Z SPACE at Theatre Artaud, 450 Florida Street, (Near 16^th Street BART), San Francisco. (800) 838-3006 or www.brownpapertickets.com. Through February 4, 2012.

FOOD STORIES at Word for Word a feast of the senses.

The name of the theatrical group “Word for Word” is so much more than an expanded Reader’s Theatre. Yes, in true Reader’s Theatre manner, they use all the words on the printed page including “he/she said” “she showed complete dismay” etc. but this fantastic performance ensemble is so creative one does not want the evening to end. They take word for word concept further by acting out the story and adding theatrical staging without changing the interpretation. Their productions of the Tobias Wolff stories are unforgettable and there has always been a sense of expectation and trepidation when attending every opening since then.

Trepidations were dispensed with and expectations were met on opening night of Food Stories being given a fun, thoughtful and should not be missed staging on the voluminous Theatre Artaud stage with the action taking place within a few feet of the first row. They have brought aboard John Fisher, artistic director of the Rhino Theatre, to direct and gathered an ensemble that work together with precision each being individualistic characters in a symbiotic whole.

In the first offering, Sorry Fugu by T.C. Boyle is set in a restaurant kitchen and dining room, and Alice McDermott's New Yorker story Enough, brings to life one woman’s sensual relationship with food that carries over into social/sexual life cycle. Both are more than appropriate for the plethora of food groupies that populate the narcissistic world of San Francisco. Be assured there is no necessity to be a “foodie” to be smitten by the on stage shenanigans.

Have you ever wondered about the personalities of restaurant critics and the effect of their reviews on chefs who own their establishments? Wonder no more. T.C. Boyle has created Chef Albert D’Angelo (a multitalented Soren Oliver), his faithful assistant and paramour Marie (the one and only Delia MacDougal) and a staff with personal traits that all will recognize. With the exception of Oliver and MacDougal the other four cast members double in 20 distinctly different characters. To mention a few of them, they include a bitchy sexy critic Willa Frank(the gorgeous Molly Benson) her kindly co-worker (Patricia Silver), a self-proclaimed food expert called “The Palate” (Gendell Hernandez), a waiter Eduardo (Rudy Guerrero), and proverbial non-English speaking Mexican dish washers.

The story takes place in mid-1980s Los Angeles and revolves around the anticipation of three visits and the arrival of the tough restaurant reviewer. The hectic kitchen activities and responses in the dining room are brilliantly staged by Fisher and acted by the cast. Set Designer Mikiko Uesugi has created a full professional stainless steel kitchen and a moveable swinging door frame that seamlessly moves the action form the work space to the dining room. The denouement will have you chuckling throughout the 15 minute intermission in preparation of an entirely different switch on food and its life consequences.

In Enough Delia MacDougal and Patricia Silver have the honor of being the ones without character changes. MacDougal plays the younger woman with an insatiable lust for ice cream and Silver the older woman who compounds that lust into a life time of social/sexual behavior well into her 90s insisting that “pleasure is pleasure” no matter where in originates.

The ensemble cast is incredibly skilled, talented, clever, with perfect timing, often outrageously funny and handle Fisher’s energetic directions without missing a beat. Sorry Fugu runs about 45 minutes Enough about 30 minutes. The evening is a feast of the senses.

Kedar K. Adour, MD

Courtesy of www.theatreworldinternetmagazine.com

GHOST LIGHT at Berkeley Rep is opaque and abstruse.

2012-01-17T16:46:00.000-08:00

At Berkeley Rep, Tyler James Myers (left) and Peter Macon star in the world-premiere production of Ghost Light, written by Tony Taccone and directed by Jonathan Moscone.Photo courtesy of kevinberne.com

GHOST LIGHT: Drama. By Tony Taccone. Directed by Jonathan Moscone. Berkeley Repertory's Thrust Stage, 2025 Addison St., Berkeley. (510) 647-2949 or www.berkeleyrep.org. Through February 19, 2012

GHOST LIGHT at Berkeley Rep is opaque and abstruse.

Having missed the world premiere of Ghost Light , a combined production by Oregon Shakespeare Festival (OSF) and Berkeley Rep as part of “American Revolutions : The United States History Cycle“, a special trip to the Bay Area was undertaken from Palm Springs to see the play. The trip was not rewarding, the production confusing and fragmented giving a strong feeling of being a “play in progress.”

Ghost Light is the inspiration of two celebrated Bay Area Artistic directors, Berkeley Rep’s Tony Taccone and California Shakespeare Company’s (CalShakes) Jonathan Moscone. In November 1978, a week after the murder of Congressman Leo Ryan and the mass suicide of the People’s Temple at Jonestown, San Francisco Mayor George Moscone and gay Supervisor Harvey Milk were assassinated by homophobic Dan White. It caused a cataclysmic outcry from the gay community and apparently a long lasting internal conflict within Moscone’s 14 year old son Jonathan. Using that as its postulate the author weaves a convoluted a bizarre tale of father and son relationship through actual fact, added fiction and physical non-ghostly apparitions.

The over dramatized assumption is that young Jonathan (hereby referred to as Jon) showed early signs of emotional trauma when he refused to leave the coffin of his slain father. Jon carries this turmoil over into his adult life as a director when struggles to stage the Ghost scene in Hamlet. (As a side note, CalShakes is mounting Hamlet at the Bruns amphitheater as part of their 2012 season. Moscone will not be the director) The first act is composite series of real actions and unconscious dream ramblings accentuating not only Jon’s inner demons/turmoil but also the actual turmoil his screwed up psyche induces in those around him. The battles within him are hardly that of good and evil, rather the battle of mind over matter in deciding his future personae.

As written, and under Moscone’s direction, Jon’s character as an adult stage director takes a verbal /visceral beating from the overly gay gyrations of actor Christopher Liam Moore. Those overlong scenes emphasizing Jon’s fixation on the Ghost father in Hamlet ineffectively beats to a pulp the obvious metaphor of living in the shadow of his dead father. Taccone is listed as the author (in collaboration with Moscone) and the writing shows the weaknesses of a first play and surely will be revised.The scenes involving teenage Jon (Tyler James Myers) and imaginary lover (the hunky Danforth Comins) are well handled. The dream (ghosts) antagonists played by Peter Macon and Bill Geisslenger do not add depth and are actually confusing.

Berkeley Rep has had a string of fantastically successful home grown and imported productions. Their quality production values are legion and once in a while they do “deserve” a faux pas. Running time is 2 hours and 40 minutes but it seems longer.

Kedar K. Adour, MD

Courtesy of www.theatreworldinternetmagazine.com

THE TWO-CHARACTER PLAY a smash hitat Rhino

2012-01-10T16:32:00.000-08:00

Pictured from left to right: Ryan Tasker as Felice and Alexandra Creighton as Clare in The Two-Character Play by Tennessee Williams. A Theatre Rhinoceros production at The Eureka Theatre. Costumes by Christine U'Ren, photo by Kent Taylor.

THE TWO-CHARACTER PLAY: Drama. By Tennessee Williams. Directed by John Fisher. Theatre Rhinoceros, Eureka Theatre, 215 Jackson St., San Francisco. (800) 838-3006 or www.therhino.org. Through January 15, 2012.

What a difference three hours can make. Due to personal time constraints it was necessary and convenient to see rarely produced, and diametrically opposite genres of two of Tennessee Williams’ plays. For the matinee there was the pleasure of SF Playhouse’s production Period of Adjustment and for the evening there was the engrossing dramatic revival of The Two-Character Play by Theatre Rhinoceros at the Eureka Theatre.

Period of Adjustment opened in 1960 and was Williams’ only comedy and six years later, he had to undergo his period of adjustment due to severe depression after the death of Frankie Merlo, his longtime partner and a late loss of critical acclaim for his plays. The two character play suffered at the hands of the critics when it opened in London in 1967. Since that time it underwent multiple revisions with a successful San Francisco staging in 1975 directed by Lyle Leverich.

The characters are Felice ( Ryan Tasker) actor, playwright and company manager and his drug dependent temperamental sister Clare (Alexandra Creighton). Felice is constantly peeking through the non-existent curtain at a non-existing audience. They are without money and the play they continue to perform is probably the re-living of their lives in memory. Their unnamed insane father was an astrology who shot his wife (their mother) and committed suicide with the youngsters watching.

When the play opens it is 40 years later and the memory is still with them and they re-enact that fateful scene. They cannot move past that mind altering event. Felice is working on his great masterpiece, a play called “The Two-Character Play” – where they act out the trauma inflicted during the aftermath of their tragedy. The two characters in the play within the play are brother and sister actors who have been abandoned by their traveling company in an unnamed town. They are continually, performing, rehearsing and rewriting “the two character play” because they are trapped in the story of their lives. Neither of them want the play to end and because they are unable to accept the reality of the past. There are multiple layers of intrigue, mystery, fantasy, devastating memories, fear and sexual innuendo within the story line that is sometimes confusing but always riveting.

John Fisher’s direction is painstakingly marvelous and the fine performances by Alexandra Creighton and Ryan Tasker create depth to Tennessee’s poetic, tortured lines. Running time 2 hours and 20 minutes with intermission.

Kedar K. Adour, MD

Courtesy of www.theatreworldinternetmagazine.com

PERIOD OF ADJUSTMENT a minor Tennessee Williams play

2012-01-10T13:57:00.000-08:00

Patrick Alparone (George) fights with wife MacKenzie Meehan (Isabel) as Johnny Moreno (Ralph) looks on.

PERIOD OF ADJUSTMENT: Comedy. By Tennessee Williams. Directed by Bill English. SF Playhouse, 533 Sutter St., San Francisco, CA. (415) 677-9596 or www.sfplayhouse.org.Through January 14, 2012.

In the 100^th year since Tennessee William’s was born the Bay Area and beyond have done homage to his works. Marin Theatre Company did a fantastic job with a re-imagining of The Glass Menagerie and SF Playhouse has mounted an almost brilliant staging of his only comedy Period of Adjustment. The story line is the stuff that TV soap operas are made of but under Bill English’s sharp direction on Nina Ball’s superb two-level set the excellent cast invest their roles with verisimilitude. Although written in 1960, the affliction of a major character, post traumatic stress syndrome, remains eerily relevant in 2012.

The afflicted character is George Haverstick (perfectly played by Patrick Alparone), a Korean War veteran recovering from an undefined “nervous condition”, has impetuously married Isabel (MacKenzie Meehan), whom he met while in the hospital. To her chagrin, they drive to Nashville on their honeymoon in an old Cadillac hearse. During that time, incompatibility rears its ugly head and they end up visiting George’s war buddy Ralph Bates (deftly underplayed by Johnny Moreno).

As luck, actually bad luck would have it, Ralph’s wife Dorothea (Maggie Mason) has walked out on him, taking their son with her. Alas, it is Christmas time thus making the split even more traumatic. Ralph’s over simplistic answer to the Haverstick’s problems is that everyone needs a period of adjustment.

In classic Williams’ fashion, he has given his woman protagonist a long first act monolog defining character while carrying forward the story line. During the excellent delivery of that monolog by Meehan, Moreno’s minimal oral and non-verbal responses make him the perfect sounding board without intrusion.

There is a well balanced mixture of humor and tension that lifts the atmosphere beyond the sit-com level. The fact that Bate’s home is built over an abandoned mine and is slowly sinking into the chasm stretches one’s imagination but does add a touch of metaphor to the story line.

We also learn, much later in the second act that Ralph has married the boss’ “homely” daughter as a ploy for professional advancement. There is great animosity between Ralph and his in-laws that creates a sharp but farcical confrontation. The fact that it is Christmas eve adds a touch of poignancy to the action.

It is understandable that this play was not well received but the SF Playhouse staging makes it a must see show for its fine acting and as a historical look at a different Tennessee Williams. Running time about 2 hours with intermission.

Kedar K. Adour, MD

Courtesy of www.theatreworldinternetmagazine.com

GOD'S PLOT at Shotgun a Hit

2012-01-10T12:02:00.000-08:00

GOD’S PLOT: Written and directed by Mark Jackson. Ashby Stage, 1901 Ashby, Berkeley, CA. (510) 841-6500 or www.shotgunplayers.org. Through January 29, 2012

Mark Jackson burst onto the Bay Area theatrical scene in 2003 with his The Death of Meyerhold, produced by the Shotgun Players. Since that time Jackson has become a frequent contributor to the Shotgun Players. His latest contribution is a commissioned work titled God’s Plot, capping Shotgun’s 20th anniversary season of world premiere new work. Attending a production where the name “Mark Jackson” appears on the program, you are assured of seeing a quirky, intelligent, stimulating play replete with directorial physicality. And so it is with God’s Plot that has been extended through the end of January.

This time around Jackson moves from the Russia of Meyerhold to the American colonies, in the Pungoteague settlement on the eastern shores of Virginia. It is a place with strict moral and religious codes where deviation from those codes and being a Quaker or any other religion can lead to the stockade or even to hanging. His inspiration for his latest opus is the first known play to be produced in the “New World.” The title of that play, Ye Bare and Ye Cubb, a political satire, was written in 1665 and no script has survived. Thus Jackson allows his fertile mind to conceive of a play within a play. He populates the landscape with distinctive characters, and brought aboard Daveen DiGiacomo to write original music.

The story revolves around the preparation and performance of Ye Bare and Ye Cubb and the legal fight that ensued from this satire of Charles II of England’s heavy handed control of the colonies. Jackson seems bent on defining and separating art from politics and does so with humor and a touch of drama obviously making an analogy of this early “rebellion” to the present day Occupy USA movement. There is the playwright William Darby (Carl Holvick-Thomas), who has entered the colony with a false name and identity. He is actively romantically pursuing the headstrong Tyral Pore (Juliana Lustenader) while teaching her the “art” of giving public confession. Darby enlists the services of formerly indentured men Phillip Howard (Will Hand) and Cornelius Watkins (Anthony Nemirovsky) to play the Bare and the Cubb.

Darby, Howard and Watkins become known as the “Accomack Three” and are brought to trial after the closeted Quaker Edward Martin (John Mercer) files a complaint against them for performing a licentious play, especially on the Sabbath. When the trial takes place, the Accomack Three put on a sanitized version for the visiting judge and are acquitted.

Julianna Lustenader gives a vivacious magnetic performance as the brave, outspoken Tryal Pore. She alone breaks out in song to the accompaniment of Josh Pollock on banjo and Travis Kindred bass. Carl Holvick-Thomas exudes a bravura persona as Darby the playwright while the humor is shared by Will hand and Kevin Clark. The entire cast is strong and handle Jackson’s physical direction adroitly.

Nina Ball’s atmospheric church like set with 2 rows of benches for the audience on stage right and left accentuates the feeling of being a voyeur on a chapter of history. Running time 2 hours and 20 minutes with an intermission.

Advice: Well worth a visit. It is almost Jackson at his best and will be with eventual rewrite(s).

Kedar K. Adour, MD

Courtesy of www.theatreworldinternetmagazine.com

6 ONE ACTS at College of the Desert are student directed

2011-12-17T13:57:00.000-08:00

(Above Right)The six student directors clockwise from left directed: SOAP OPERA by David Ives; A KNIGHT'S DRAGON by Earl T. Roske; THE MAGIC TOWER by Tennessee Williams; SOMEBODY FAMOUS by D.M Larson; CHECK PLEASE by Jonathan Rand; SPIKE HEELS by Theresa Rebeck.(All lower photos are student rehearsals)

SIX ONE ACT PLAYS. Directed by Students in the Drama Department at College of the Desert (COD), Palm Desert, California. December 15-2011.

Deciding to attend the one night only of six one act plays produced by members of the Drama Department at College of the Desert was a fortuitous decision and I was fortunate enough to be given a seat to the sold out performance. It is a pity that the plays are only on the boards for one evening. Surely, the 120 seat black-box theater would attract another full house once word of mouth spread the news about this quality production. The two hours without intermission was well worth the time spent and was mostly pleasurable. Three cheers for the efforts of the up and coming directors, thespians and stage crews who made this eclectic production humorous, thought provoking and entertaining.

The plays were all student directed with only a modicum of input from Tres Dean the Director of Theatre instruction. The evening was designed to give drama students experience in directing plays. A semi-contest took place when 15 COD drama students submitted a play they would be directing. The six that were selected were given the green light for production.

Fortunately, four of the six were comedies and they stole most of the accolades. One offering was not a one act play but a scene from a two act drama, SPIKE HEELS by Theresa Rebeck . The final play THE MAGIC TOWER is an early effort by Tennessee Williams that is rarely produced and requires professional actors and directors. It is interesting only from a historical perspective to those interested in the growth of Tennessee’s craft.

The curtain raiser was the charming, well-acted two hander A KNIGHT'S DRAGON by Earl T. Roske and directed by Jennifer Kiehl. Actually, there is a third character, the dragon (Todd Silverberg) but he is off stage until the final (there is only one) curtain call. It seems that Lady Kandhor (Ashton Loyo) has placed herself in harm’s way asking the dragon to eat her. This is preferable to marrying a nerd in court and living out her life unhappy. Along comes Sir Glahdly (Anthony Gomez) to the rescue and will free the Lady and slay the dragon. The lady will have no part of this and her scathing justification dialog brings raucous laughter. Alas, the dragon does not want to eat plump females (she calls herself that it and thatis not the observation of this reviewer) but prefers knights in shining armor. And you probably can guess the rest of the story. (Crew: Sally Kudroshoff, Cio Rodriguez, Elvis Rivera).

With a quick scene change, two small round tables each with two chairs appear and CHECK PLEASE by Jonathan Rand and directed by Danika Valenzuela begins. It is the true hit of the evening. Eight actors play 14 parts in 13 black out vignettes that you must see to believe. Consider a first date and what could possibly happen and it does. The two actors that don’t change characters are Girl (Hannah Seals) and Guy (Paul Barba) who have hilarious first dates. She with a self-centered male, a sports nut, a nauseating lothario, an infantile man who is still in his childhood, a gay actor, a nut with every phobia in the book, someone too quiet to make conversation and a man who is dressed in paper bags. Guy meets with a sports addicted woman, a constantly talking women who wants to marry him and ”we just met 30 second ago”, a kleptomaniac stealing the plates and silverware, an older woman, a member of his mother’s bridge club (?) with a walker and her knitting, and a non-talking mime. Some of the others are just as hilarious. Other cast members are Matthew Reyes, Jennifer Kiehl, Pedro Mora, Megan Noble and Arturo Noble. (Crew Kay Still, Carmen Garcia, Vanessa Gonzales).

The most difficult play to direct for a first time director is probably SOMEBODY FAMOUS by D.M. Larson. And director Diana Valle gives it a good shot but has the disadvantage of following Check Please. Consider four women prisoners who have to clean up a theatre under a harsh Captain and a loveable guard. The reason for the cleanup is in preparation for the arrival of Melinda (Paulette Bartlett) who just happens to be a famous actress who in her murder mystery play has actually killed the entire cast. The prisoners are to be involved in “drama Therapy.” It is a take-off on the musical Chicago and on the incarceration of Martha Stewart and 'Queen of mean' Leona Helmsley. The actors do not have much to do except move brooms around the stage and the laughs are written into the dialog. Professional directors never dare give a seasoned actor “line direction” but in this show with fledgling actors, line direction would have been appropriate. Cast: Nicole Whitenight, Ani Mikaelian, Eduardo Rodriguez , Amber Perez , Paulette Bartlett, Chad Arnold ,Megan Camacho. Crew: Israel Adape & Paul Barba

The cast of Somebody Famous did a great job cleaning the stage and the crew of Spike Heels adeptly set the stage for a scene from Theresa Rebeck’s early play that is tightly directed by Murray Wine. Wine gives an introductory capsule synopsis of what has occurred up to this scene and it is confusing rather than explanatory. However, his two actors do a fine job with Rebeck’s sharp dialog defining their roles as two upscale, intelligent women seeking true love and good sex in a man’s world. Their solution to “stand tall” in a male chauvinistic world is to wear spike heels that give a woman a feeling of empowerment while making their legs look great. Cast: Natasha Garcia and Jennifer Kiehl. Crew: Kenneth Williams Sr., Kenneth Williams, Jr., Jayke Stump.

Humor and satire return to the stage with Soap Opera by David Ives and directed by Florentino Carrillo. You don’t need to remember lonely Maytag Washing machine repairman who was a big hit in his TV commercials, you still will get a laugh and a giggle and maybe even a whirl. Why a whirl? Because a main secondary character is a picture-perfect washing machine and the repairman (Ramon Martinez) falls in love with her/it. Did I mention that the entire play is a long running TV soap opera? Well it is with the entire cliché situation one would expect. Should he tell his girlfriend Mabel ? Is the washer two-timing him with a dryer? Stay tuned for the next episode. This one act is extremely funny with play on words and metaphors that will keep you chuckling. Cast: Ramon Martinez , Liridona Leti, Aundrea Noffsinger, Hannah Seals , Luis Salazar,Felipe Anzures , Brooke Blumenthal , Zeus Ley.

In the San Francisco Bay Area Tennessee Williams is being honored on this 100^th anniversary of his birth with many of his well-known plays being produced. One group has even resurrected his only full length comedy Period of Adjustment and surprisingly it has been well received. Tennessee’s lesser known one act plays often are only are mounted for their historical value. It is probably the reason director Will Rian selected THE MAGIC TOWER written very early in Tennessee’s career. From this reviewer’s observation, it seems apparent that director Rian subjugated the poetry in the script to emphasize the plot line. Further he has unbalanced the fragility of a love relationship that thrives in a rundown tenement flat that is perceived by the romantic minded Linda (Rebecca Rowley) as her “magic Tower” by having a blustery Mitch (Daniel Ybarra) almost brow beat Linda into making a life changing decision. (Additional cast: Doug Newton, Nicole Whitenight, Katrina Banos. Crew: Chris Melendrez, Zachary Johnson, Allison Feist, Lance Martinez, Jordan Potesta.

Three cheers for this ambitious endeavor by the entire drama department at the College of the Desert. It is certain that some of the names in this review will be appearing in print or on line in future years.

Kedar K. Adour, MD

Courtesy of www.theatreworldinternetmagazine.com

THE WILD BRIDE amplifies on “The Devil made me do it.”

2011-12-10T10:24:00.000-08:00

Left: Stuart Goodwin and Patrycja Kujawska perform at Berkeley Rep in the American premiere of The Wild Bride. Photographer: Steve Tanner. Right: (l to r) At Berkeley Rep, Audrey Brisson, Patrycja Kujawska and Éva Magyar portray the title character in The Wild Bride, the American premiere of a new show from the creators of Brief Encounter.Photo courtesy of kevinberne.com.

THE WILD BRIDE Adapted and directed by Emma Rice. Berkeley Repertory Theatre
Roda Theatre, 2015 Addison Street @ Shattuck, Berkeley, CA 94704. (510) 647-2949 or toll-free at (888) 4-BRT-Tix – or simply click www.berkeleyrep.org. December 2 , 2011 – EXTENDED TO JANUARY 22, 2012

THE WILD BRIDE amplifies on “The Devil made me do it.”

Last year England's Kneehigh Theatre brought a brilliant multimedia production of Brief Encounter to the American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco and then moved on to receive further accolades in New York City. This year it is Berkeley Rep’s turn to host Kneehigh’s latest work The Wild Ride. Great expectations were evident from the buzz in the lobby before curtain time and the audience was not disappointed giving the show a spontaneous standing ovation at the end of the one hour and forty minutes that it graced the stage. The 15 minute intermission gave those in attendance time to digest the technical aspects and story line before being re-seated for the short act two denouement.

For this latest offering, Artistic director Emma Rice has put together an international cast of actors who double as musicians, dancers and acrobats retelling a frightening Brothers Grimm tale that is a collaborative effort of the Cornwall company. The nightmarish twists and turns of the plot are softened by original blues music, jovial demeanor of some of the characters who break the fourth wall addressing the audience, comic timing of athletic routines, musical interludes and semi-intricate technical flourishes. All is not original blues music and they unabashedly repeat passages from the up-tempo “Dem Bones” spiritual when a laugh is needed.

The key descriptive words are fantasy and fantastical. Fancy meeting the Devil (Stuart McLoughlin) at the crossroads of a rundown American Southern rural area where a not too bright, moonshine swigging father (Stuart Goodwin) makes deal with the Devil. You know that that is not a good idea since it inadvertently involves the Devil “owning” the darling young daughter called ‘The Girl’ (Audrey Brisson). The girl is so pure she is unacceptable to the Devil who orders that she be “dirtied up” and when that is not enough he orders her hands be cut off and is sent into the wilds (that part played by Patrycja Kujawska) to fend for herself.

Not very pretty is it? Never fear a happy-go-lucky Prince (Stuart Goodwin again) comes along, falls in love, has “hands” made for her by a blacksmith, become happily married and eventually they become King and Queen.

Happy ending? No way, the Devil will have none of this and in the second act he sends letters in a magical manner from his dominant position in the apple tree to characters on the stage apron. Oh yes, the apple tree constructed of bare wood branches and skewed ladders takes up center stage rear. It is a great place for the Devil to hang out while ordering his dastardly deeds be carried out. Another technical innovation is a pear tree dangling fruit that resemble light bulbs. Director Rice gets a lot of mileage out of that one stage prop.

The second act is the more interesting part of the evening with lights flashing, bombs bursting including a hilarious/raunchy sex scene that even grandmother would like. The actors play all the musical instruments that include banjos, violins, guitars, accordions and bass fiddle. It all is very impressive, with very little dialog to complement the fine singing, dancing and acting.

It is apparent that Kneehigh has usurped the Faust legend and factored in a feminist theme in amongst the admonition that you never make a pact with the Devil, especially if you have a pure young daughter that he covets. One can visualize director Rice giving the clueless father the infamous line by comedian Flip Wilson, “The Devil made me do it!”

Kedar K. Adour, MD

Courtesy of www.theatreworldinternetmagazine.com

A CHRISTMAS CAROL at A.C.T. a smash hit

2011-12-07T10:20:00.000-08:00

(L) James Carpenter as Ebenezer Scrooge (Above) Omoze Idehenre as the Ghost of Christmas Present confronts Scrooge.

A CHRISTMAS CAROL by Charles Dickens. Adapted by Carey Perloff and Paul Walsh. Music by Karl Lundeberg. Choreography by Val Caniparoli. Directed by Domenique Lozano based on the original direction by Carey Perloff. Designed by John Arnone (scenic designer), Beaver Bauer (costume designer), Nancy Schertler (lighting designer), Jake Rodriguez (sound designer), Robert Rutt (musical director). American Conservatory Theater, 415 Geary Street, San Francisco, CA 94108. 415.749.2228 or www.act-sf.org .

December 1 – 24, 2011

For the past 35 years A.C.T. has traditionally rolled out a production of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. The original shows were reminiscent of the black and white movie featuring Alistair Simms. Seven years ago, artistic director Carey Perloff and Paul Walsh re-imagined the classic story, adding music by Karl Lundberg and choreography by Val Caniparoli of the San Francisco ballet. Together with the brilliant input of John Arnone’s scenic design, Beaver Bauer’s costumes, Nancy Schertler’s lighting and Jake Rodriguez’s sound design the total package is a charming, touching, heart-warming perfect evening for the Holiday Season that received a spontaneous standing ovation. If you walk one block to Union Square you can add further awe to trip down town to view the magnificently decorated Christams tree while cheering the skaters on the ice rink.

A large part of that ovation was generated by Bay Area favorite James Carpenter as Ebenezer Scrooge. His transition from the initial “Bah, Humbug” personae to the generous philanthropist converted by his dealings with the ghosts who take him on an journey of enlightenment, strikes a real cord because he is the consummate actor who becomes the character his is playing. He breathes humanity into the role and has the great support of a multi-generational cast.

That cast includes 25 member of the A.C.T. Young Conservatory, the entire third-year class of the Master of Fine Arts Program, the core acting company and the addition of local luminaries. The children are charming performing very professionally and occasionally, very occasionally up-staging the adults.

Amongst those adults is a dominating Jack Willis, decked out in gray with real chains clanking and dangling from his body as he rises from the depths of the stage to admonish Scrooge about what is to happen. The impending happenings, as we all know, will be the visit of the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future. The visits are extremely individualistic with Ghost of Christmas Past a charming young man (Ben Kahre) entering the stage on a swing to introduce Scrooge to himself and acquaintances as youths.

The Ghost of Christmas Present appears on a second story balcony, dressed in a costume resembling a fully decorated Christmas tree, is played with an authoritarian flourish by Omoze Idehenre and is obviously the audience favorite. She has no competition from the Ghost of Christmas Future that is a frightening three story puppet decked in black and gray flowing robes, without a face with an echo-chamber voice that believably makes Scrooge (pardon the pun) a believer.

Whereas the scene of Christmas Future, complete with grave stones and wicked men is performed in black, the remainder of the show is a marvel of color and festivity with many of the props gliding on wheels moving effortlessly on and off stage. The intricate technical aspects of the scenery add awe and wonderment without interfering with the actors lines and are an adjuvant to the story line.

It is unfair to single out individual performers since they all deserve accolades . . . even the children dressed as vegetables (Spanish Onions, Turkish Figs and French Plums) doing a take-off on The Nutcracker. One cannot neglect scene stealer Sharon Lockwood as Scrooge’s maid Mrs. Dilber and as the vivacious Mrs. Fezziwig. However, Jarion Monroe in a flaming henna wig keeps pace and garners more laughs as the generous Mr. Fezziwig. Delia MacDougall and Tony Sinclair are captivating as Mr. and Mrs. Cratchit with Tiny Tim often carried on their shoulders. Yes, the Christmas Turkey ( not a goose) purchased by the repentant Scrooge is larger than Tiny Tim.

The entire production is larger than life yet has that personal touch to bring a tear to your eyes while you stand and applaud.

Kedar K. Adour, MD

Courtesy of www.theatreworldinternetmagazine.com

THE SECRET GARDEN at TheatreWorks a brilliant technical production but

2011-12-06T10:15:00.000-08:00

The cast of THE SECRET GARDEN at TheatreWorks. Photo credit: Mark Kitaoka

THE SECRET GARDEN: Musical Drama. Book & Lyrics by Marsha Norman. Music by Lucy Simon. Based on the novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett. Directed by Robert Kelley. TheatreWorks at Lucie Stern Theatre, 1305 Middlefield Road, Palo Alto, CA. (650) 463-1960 or visit www.theatreworks.org.

November 30 – December 31, 2011

THE SECRET GARDEN at TheatreWorks a brilliant technical production but . . .

Never having read and being only minimally aware of the writings of Frances Hodgson Burnett, the author of much ballyhooed novel The Secret Garden, this review is probably biased. Rumor has it that the musical version appearing in 1991 has become a staple production for the Holiday Season. One must wonder why since it is a dark, moody play, populated with emotionally and physically crippled characters and the uplifting ending seems contrived. With 27 songs, often sung it operatic style, much of it in recitative it hardly qualifies for it for Holiday fare.

However, once again TheatreWorks has produced a brilliant technical offering that earns a “must see” rating, with the caveat that it is for adults and hardly for children. The symbiosis between director Kelley, set designer Joe Ragey, costume designer Fumkio Bielefeldt and lighting designer Pamila Z. Gray is stunning. Those factors do not fully compensate for the two hours and 30 minute running time and one would wish for more stage time for the household/garden staff with Dickon (Alex Brightman), the magical gardener leading the way.

It all begins in 1906 India with “Opening Dream” as 10-year old Mary Lennox (Angelina Wahler/ Rachael Sue) dreams of England while a Hindu chant swirls around her bed. On awakening she discovers that her parents and nanny, Ayah (Mrigendra Steiner) have died in the cholera epidemic. She is sent back to England to live with her only living relatives, Archibald Craven (Joe Cassidy) and his brother Dr. Neville Craven. Archibald’s wife Lilly, sister to Mary’s mother, died in childbirth and he is so overcome with grief he is unable to function leaving the running of “The House Upon the Hill”, called Misselthwaite, to Neville. We learn, rather dramatically that that was not a good idea, since Neville covets ownership and will do nefarious things to assure that he will inherit it.

The house with its many hallways is haunted with ghosts, including the dear departed Lily. Throughout the show, most of the songs are sung by a chorus of ghosts who act as a Greek chorus to carry the plot forward. The interesting characters who take Mary under their wings are the aforementioned Dickon (he speaks to and understands “animal talk”), his chambermaid sister Martha (Courtney Stokes) and the gardener Ben (Daniel Olson). She meets them in front of a wall hiding the neglected “secret garden”. Ben and Dickon assure her that the plants only need some of attention and “A Bit of Earth” to make them blossom.

Inquisitive Mary, against the admonition of the keepers of the mansion, roams those halls, coming upon the bedridden Colin (Charles Ibsen/Andrew Apy), Archibald and Lilly’s son. Conflict arises between Neville and Mary as he tries to send her away while he “treats”, actually ill treats, Colin’s infirmity. You can guess “the rest of the story” as the garden comes to life there is a parallel coming to life of Colin and the banishment of Neville.

This is an impressive musical with excellent acting, talented singers, and superb direction with every aspect of the staging worthy of a Bay Area Critics Award with the re-emphasis it is not really for children.

Kedar K. Adour, MD

Courtesy of www.theatreworldinternetmagazine.com

THREE SISTERS an American Premiere of a 1934 Musical

2011-12-04T10:53:00.000-08:00

(L-R) Bill Fahrner (George), Kate Paul (Tiny), Danny Cozart (Gypsy Hood), Riley Krull (Mary Barbour) Song: "Now That I Have Springtime".

Below:
Dorrie Barbour (Brittany Danielle) and Sir John Marsden (Michael Kern Cassidy) sing “I Won’t Dance” . (Photo by DavidAllenStudio.com)

THREE SISTERS: 1934 Musical Comedy. Music by Jerome Kern. Book and Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. Directed by Greg MacKellan. 42^nd Street Moon, Eureka Theatre, 215 Jackson Street, San Francisco. 415/255-5207 or www.42ndstreetmoon.org .

December 3 through December 18, 2011

THREE SISTERS an American Premiere of a 1934 Musical.

It is a long journey and a labor of love for 42^nd Street Moon’s full production of the 1934 musical Three Sisters (not the Chekhov story) receiving its American premiere to an appreciative audience at the intimate Eureka Theatre. Written by the team of Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II it opened in London’s Theatre Royal starring the soon to be famous Stanley Holloway and Charlotte Greenwood. However, it was not well received, lasting only two months before the libretto and musical disappeared into dusty archives.

Through generous support from the National Endowment for the Arts and the diligence of Artistic Director Greg MacKellan and Musical Director Dave Dobrusky the musical is receiving a spirited if lengthy (two hours 40 minutes) reincarnation with a thoroughly professional cast, competent production crew and music provided by Dobrusky (who wrote the vocal/instrumental arrangements), Nick Di Scala on reeds and David Reffkin on violin. The cast, including nine members of Actors Equity, is a veritable who’s who of the local musical stage scene with a couple of new faces added to the 42^nd Street Moon family. “Old timers” include Bill Fahrner, Michael Patrick Gaffney, and Michael Kern Cassidy.

You will recognize the story that follows the lines of Ferenc Molnar’s Liliom that Rogers and Hammerstein a few years later morphed into the inspiring Carousel. The three sisters Tiny, Dorrie and Mary (Kate Paul, Brittany Danielle, Riley Krull) are daughters of Will Barbour (Michael Patrick Gaffney) who makes his living following the local fairs in their horse drawn living quarters taking and selling photographs of the attendees. In the course of their travels they meet up with singing and dancing buskers Gypsy Hood (Danny Cozart) and George Purvis (Bill Fahrner). Mary the youngest of the trio falls in love with the lothario Gypsy who actually partially reforms and they eventually marry. But alas, on the wedding night Gypsy has second thoughts and George easily convinces him to desert the pregnant Mary and return to life on the road. Riley Krull is the perfect ingénue and her duet “Funny House” with Cozart is a charmer. (If you listen closely that song will bring back memories of “When I Marry Mr. Snow” from Carousel).

Before all that happens we have to catch up with the other sisters. Kate Paul as Tiny will certainly bring back memories of the gangling, limber-limbed Charlotte Greenwood and her “love interest” Eustace Titherley (Christopher Reber) has a touch of Stanley Holloway in his humorous specialty routines. That leaves the adventurous middle sister Dorrie (Brittany Danielle) who latches on to Sir John Marsden (Michael Kern Cassidy). The gorgeous Brittany and knock-out handsome Cassidy exude a charming charisma and trip the light fantastic to the memorable “I Won’t Dance.”

Excepting the song “I Won’t Dance” there are no memorable numbers that will whet your appetite to hum them on your way out of the theater. That does not denigrate from the many rousing production numbers interspersed with the sentimental ballads that sometimes carries the plot along but more often than not are inserted for effect. Even with a simple request by a character “Do you have a song for us?”

The first act takes place in 1914 before the war and act 2 (originally it was a 3 act musical) takes us to 1915 through 1917. The ensemble numbers that open the show with gusto are given even better renditions with the male cast dressed in WW I khaki outfits preparing to entertain the troops at the front. This brings us to the obvious fact that this production does not stint on costumes (Scarlett Kellum). They seem to change with every scene.

All the cast are in excellent voice and many have their chance to be in the spotlight. Once again Bill Fahrner, with his sly grin and infectious stage presence steals every scene he is in. From a historical perspective this is a must see production.

Kedar K. Adour, MD

Courtesy of www.theatreworldinternetmagazine.com .

Cinderella is a fun kick and a holler.

2011-12-03T22:55:00.000-08:00

Antonette Bracks has the lead role in the African American Shakespeare Company production of CINDERELLA.

CINDERELLA Buriel Clay Theater at the African American Art & Culture Complex 762 Fulton Street (at Webster), San Francisco, CA.1-800-838-3006 or visit www.African-AmericanShakes.org. Plays through December 18, 2011

Cinderella is a fun kick and a holler.

If you are looking for a great holiday treat for your youngsters and a barrel of fun for yourself, get thee hence to the San Francisco’s African-American Shakespeare Company’s (AAFC) production of Cinderella at the Buriel Clay Theater at the African American Art & Cultural Center. Sherri Young, AAFC’s Executive Director, announced that this the 10^th year anniversary this show has graced the boards and each year it has gotten better and better.

I cannot vouch for her accolade but I can tell you that this production is an enjoyable evening that even had my jaded guest in stitches and clapping at the right times. Yes, there is a modicum of professional talent but that deficiency is overshadowed by the infectious enthusiasm of the cast. It even includes audience participation as the Duke (E. “Alx”Alexander ) and his young sidekick try to find the proper foot to fit the glass slipper amongst audience members! Yes, no foot was found in the audience but rest assured the right (or was it left) foot of Cinderella fit (pardon the pun) the bill. . I meant the shoe!

It all begins when two rather rowdy young girls fight over a single doll and are taken in tow by the charming Grandmother (Belinda Sullivan) who proceeds to tell Cinderella’s (Antonette Bracks) sad tale with the happy ending. Grandma even gets to become Cinderella’s Fairy Godmother decking her out in a gorgeous white ball gown and creating a beautiful carriage for her trip to the palace.

Before all that happens we meet the nasty Evil step-mother (Marjorie Crump-Shears) and her two Evil daughters (Martin Grizzell & James Martin). No that is not a typo. Martin and James create the ugliest Evil step-sisters you will ever see. But those two pros also steal many of the laughs and there are many, many laughs throughout the short 95 minute evening that will leave you wanting for more.

Handsome David Moore as Prince Charming has a regal presence to match the beauty of Antonette Bracks. Our little scullery maid is not the only transformation to greet the eye. The Royal Masquerade Ball is populated with four attractive couples dressed to the nines who perform admirably under the direction of choreographer Patrik Gallineaux.

Needless to say virtue is rewarded and evil vanquished before the curtain descends. They didn’t really say so but I guess the goodie, goodie two shoes guys/girls live happily ever after and the evil sisters learn how to be scullery maids.

Note: The young talents in this show are not credited and change from night to night.

Kedar K. Adour, MD

Courtesy of www.theatreworldinternetmagazine.com

Glass Menagerie with a twist at Marin Theatre Company

2011-12-03T12:19:00.000-08:00

Top Left: Nicholas Pelczar (Tom) and Sherman Fracher (Amanda),Top Right: Craig Marker (Gentleman Caller) and Anna Bullard (Laura), Lower Left: Sherman Fracher (Amanda), Anna Bullard (Laura) and musician Andrew Wilke in Tennessee Williams’s The Glass Menagerie, now through December 18 at Marin Theatre Company. Photos by Alessandra Mello

The Glass Menagerie: Drama. By Tennessee Williams. Directed by Jasson Minadakis. Marin Theatre Company, 397 Miller Ave., Mill Valley. (415) 388-5208 or www.marintheatre.org .

December 1- 18, 2011.

Concept performances of Shakespeare’s plays are more common than traditional productions with artistic directors skewing the time and place of the original settings to keep the ancient plays relevant to modern and especially younger audiences. The last time a straight forward Elizabethan version tread the boards was a brilliant Henry VIII at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival three years ago. There is no record of any director taking liberties with a Tennessee Williams play but that has changed with Jasson Minadakis and the Marin Theatre Company’s present staging of The Glass Menagerie.

It would be sacrilege to fiddle with the time and place of the play and Minadakis emphasizes that it was his desire to capture the entrapment the characters endure during the height of the Great Depression. In doing so scenic designer Kat Conley has framed the stage in claustrophobic three storied metal fire escapes and walkways without solid walls eschewing the use of props. Minadakis even has the characters mime the use of props with eating, writing etc. This conceit rather than underscore their meager existence, is very disconcerting often detracting from Williams’ lines that define character. Added to this, using the famous introductory lines “this is a memory play . . . it is not realistic” to justify the addition of an ethereal trumpet player (Andrew Wilkie) as a fourth character to stand in throughout the play on the top level catwalk, as a replacement for the photograph of the departed father who worked for the phone company “and fell in love with long distance.”

Oddly enough the riffs of the trumpet (original music written by Chris Houston) acutely underscore the action of the actors. Those actors make the evening tremendously engrossing. With all the mentioned distractions you may wonder how that can be. It just is.

The play is semi-autobiographical. Before Tennessee Williams became “Tennessee” he was Thomas Lanier Williams and Tom, the observer, narrator and character in the play, is obviously the author’s alter ego. It is eerily uncanny how Nicholas Pelczar captures the Tennessee William’s personae both in looks, with a thin mustache, unruly hair and just the right touch of fey. Whereas it is universally noted that the play “belongs” to the mother Amanda beginning with Laurette Taylor in the 1940s production to a who’s who in the female acting world, Minadakis’ direction makes this Tom’s play. He never allows Tom to leave the stage and always making him an astute observer by moving him to various levels of the set. Pelczar gives a Tony Award winning performance.

This is not to say that Sherman Fracher's Amanda Wingfield takes a back seat to Pelczar’s Tom. She does not. As she recalls in exquisite youthful detail the 17 gentleman callers who sought her hand and now as nagging, chattering martyr who maintains her Southern charm, Fracher gives a nuanced performance at every turn.

And then there is Anna Bullard’s heart wrenching performance as the shy, crippled Laura. She seems as fragile as her glass menagerie. Amanda will not allow anyone to use the word “cripple” but Laura is not only physically but also emotionally crippled that is reflected in her face, posture and hesitant speech patterns. Her silence speaks volumes especially in her reaction to her mother’s unexpected outburst near the end of the play and to the discovery that her “gentleman caller” is already taken.

And finally, that euphemistic “gentleman caller”, are words that have become a main stay in our lexicon. Craig Marker makes his entrance in the final scene and could not play the role better. The blustery, self confident former high school all around boy who finds that his reality has not matched his expectations radiates across the footlights.

The two hour and 15 minutes, including the intermission, will keep you riveted and even provide a few unexpected light moments making the evening well worth the trip across the Bay to Mill Valley.

Kedar K. Adour,MD

Courtesy of www.theatreworldinternetmagazine.com

THE TEMPRAMENTALS at New Conservatory a lesson in Gay History

2011-11-16T23:24:00.000-08:00

L to R: Steven Salzman,Jeffrey Hoffman, Seth Thygesen and J. Conrad Frank in the regional premiere of Jon Marans' "The Temperamentals" at New Conservatory Theatre Center. Photos by Lois Tema

THE TEMPERMENTALS by Jon Marans. Directed by F. Allen Sawyer. New Conservatory Theatre Center (NCTC), Walker Theatre, located at 25 Van Ness Ave. near Market St. in San Francisco. (415) 861-8972, or online at www.nctcsf.org.

November 4, 2011 - December 18, 2011

Ten to 15 years before the Stonewall Riots earned a rightful page in gay history, a group of gays in Los Angeles formed the Mattachine Society. That secret Society was the first organization to champion gay rights and they braved public approbation and police prosecution. The driving force behind Jon Marans’ semibiographical play The Temperamentals is an attempt to give historical significance to that seminal gay event. Sadly it is being given a spirit but lack luster west coast premiere at the New Conservatory Theatre Center (NCTC).

It was during the 1950s that Harry Hay (Steven Salzman) started organizing the Mattachine Society. At that time prosecution of communists and homosexuals (the “gay” designation was not yet in vogue) by the McCarthy inquisition was in full swing. The code word for the gay members was “temperamentals.” Secrecy was imperative and Harry Hay, an avowed communist, planned the meetings and wrote the by-laws in complete secrecy, as they did in the communists cells. The first to be initiated was his new Viennese lover Rudy Gernreich (J. Conrad Frank) a talented Jewish designer who had escaped from Nazi Europe.

The play is written with 25 or more short scenes with characters and significant incidents introduced as the star crossed love affair of the protagonists unfolds. One of the more notable characters is Vincent Minnelli who exemplifies the concept that there is no dichotomy between being both gay and married. The difficulty of recruitment plays a major role in the story line and many of the original conscripts were communists.

The personal inner and external turmoil of the members has all the potential for drama, especially the 1952 trial and acquittal of Dale Jennings (Seth Thygesen) a young recruit entrapped in a Los Angeles police sting in a public urinal. The director F. Allen Swyer wastes a great opportunity to make those scenes convincing.

So it is with the entire play and it just not click although the historical events are informatively fascinating. To jazz up the evening Ravel’s bolero is played between scenes and there must be significance attached to that conceit, but it is obscure. The entire cast that also includes Justin Gillman and Jeffrey Hoffman all play multiple roles and all give it their best. Salzman as Harry Hay starts out strong but his conversion to an Oscar Wilde type personality after divorcing his wife does not ring true. J. Conrad Frank gives the best performance when he is playing Rudi Gernreich but seems out of place with his minor roles.

Toward the end of the two hours with intermission running time there is a rousing song that will remind you of Nelson Eddy singing “Give Me Some Men” (who are stout hearted etc.) from the 1940 movie New Moon.

Kedar K. Adour, MD

Courtesy of www.theatreworldinternetmagazine.com

ANNAPURNA, the play, climbs a mountain and wins.

2011-11-10T12:19:00.000-08:00

(Upper) Rod Gnapp as Ulysses in one of his favorite outfits--an apron (Lower) Denise Cormier as Emma confronts Rod Gnapp in the living room of the "middle of nowhere" dilapidated mobile home set of ANNAPURNA playing at the Magic Theatre. Photo by Jennifer Reiley

ANNAPURNA by Sharr White. Directed by Loretta Greco. Magic Theatre, Building D, Fort Mason Center, 3rd Floor, San Francisco, CA 94123. 415-441-8822 or www.magictheatre.org November 2 –December 4.

ANNAPURNA, the play, climbs a mountain and wins.

If you’re into metaphors, Shar White’s latest opus is your cup of tea. Annapurna, in the Nepalese Himalayas is considered the most dangerous mountain in the world to climb. Plus the power of poetry to heal and a character named Ulysses are the metaphors that drive the author in this taut 90 minute two-hander being given a pitch perfect production in its world premiere at the intimate Magic Theatre. On the other hand, you can forget the metaphors and become engrossed in the earthy, taut dialog/confrontation of the two characters with brilliant acting by Rod Gnapp and Denise Cormier.

White’s construction of Annapurna makes it worthy of being a model for fledgling playwrights and is a proof that Magic’s commitment to produce new, adventuresome plays is on solid ground. There is an underlying mystery that unfolds, scene by scene and line by line as we learn why his ex-wife Emma (Denise Cormier) has sought out Ulysses (Rod Gnapp) 20 years after stealing away in the night with their five year old son.

Ulysses, a published formerly respected poet, is dying and has retreated from the world living a rundown trailer parked in the remote “ass-crack” of the Rocky Mountains. With the unexpected and unwanted arrival of Emma the drama of early love and cataclysmic ending unravels. He describes his incapacitation as C.D.S. (Can’t Do Shit) yet adamantly refuses help. Emma handles his vernacular language and reticence to be helped with determined strength and is not about to, as he suggests “Get the f..k out!”

Since there is a mystery deeply ingrained in the story-line and the reason for her bolting will kick you in the gut, relaying more information would not be fair. You will have to attend the show to assuage your curiosity. It truly is a seminal production.

Speaking of the production, all the elements of great theatre are on display from the marvelous creative set by Andrew Boyce, sound design by Jake Rodriguez who aids Jason Stamberger with the music and Jacquelyn Scott’s prop design. Boyce’s set is the skeleton of a multi-room dilapidated mobile home that exudes claustrophobia yet conveys the open space Ulysses seeks in his withdrawal to the shadow of the Rockies.

Director Loretta Greco is at her best as she moves her actors within the tight confines of a single unit trailer and stresses a complete balance between Cormier and Gnapp even though Gnapp’s powerful personae could dominate the show.

This show surely will be a sellout reviving the previous fortunes of the Magic Theatre that is a landmark in San Francisco and acclaimed nationally.

Kedar K. Adour, MD

Courtesy of www.theatreworldintermagazine.com .

OH, KAY is OK at 42nd Street Moon

2011-11-08T08:48:00.000-08:00

L to R, Lisa-Marie Newton (Constance), Teressa Byrne (Kay), Skye Violet Wilson (Gilda Grant), Amie Shapiro (Molly), Erica Kimble (Billie). (Photo by DavidAllenStudio.com)

OH, KAY! (1926). Music & Lyrics by George and Ira Gershwin. Book by Guy Bolton and P.G. Wodehouse. Directed by Maureen McVerry. Eureka Theatre, 215 Jackson St., San Francisco. Box Office: 415/255-8207 or www.42ndstmoon.org. November 5 - November 20, 2011.

42nd Street Moon again takes us back to the 1920s with their rousing production of Oh, Kay that starred Gertrude Lawrence and Victor Moore on Broadway. Set during the height of prohibition it takes direct aim at the stupidity of the Volstead Act that, amongst other restrictions, tried “to regulate the manufacture, sale, or transport of intoxicating liquor.” It was the time of the “flappers” and resourceful ways were invented to by-pass that law. Guy Bolton and P. G. Wodehouse ingeniously concocted a cock-a-maney story that the Gershwin’s populated with a couple of their best songs and they are on display, with raucous laughs emanating from the Eureka Theatre stage.

This time around, it is the ensemble of attractive flappers (Skye Violet Wilson, Kathryn Han, Alanna Fox, Amie Shapiro, Erica Kimble and Christina Ingram) and their gorgeous 1920-30s costumes (Stephanine Finander) that are knock-outs and with the supporting cast steal the show. The leads played by competent professional newcomers to the 42^nd Street Moon, Teressa Byrne and Tyler McKenna just do not generate the necessary chemistry needed to make their love interest unambiguous.

A band of bootleggers includes the British Duke of Durham (Stephen Vaught), his sister Kay (Teressa Byrne ), and two Americans Larry Potter (Zack Thomas Wilde) and “Shorty McGee (Brian Yates Sharber). They have used the Duke’s yacht to “import” the contraband liquor stored in the cellar. Into this setting a plethora of farcical tomfoolery is interspersed between the marvelous Gershwin songs with energetic choreography (Staci Arriaga)including an ensemble tap number lead by Zack Thomas Wilde to the strains of “Fidgety Feet.”

You know you’re in for a fun evening from the opening ensemble number “The Woman’s Touch” followed up with the trio suggesting “Don’t Ask” is the way to avoid trouble. All the voices are commendable and Tyler McKenna has the matinee idol look to match his tenor voice. Teressa Byrne’s operatic soprano does not blend well with that of McKenna in their duet of “Maybe” but is spot on with their “Do, Do, Do.” Her vibrato voice does not match well with the charming love song of “Someone to Watch Over Me.”

The strong supporting performers each has a chance to strut his stuff and 42^nd Street Moon regular Jackson Davis steals a few scenes with multiple entrances and exits as garishly dressed no nonsense “I’ll be watching you revenue officer.” Bryan Yates Sharber as “Shorty” McGhee has all the one line zingers displaying his usual comedic ability. He leads the entire cast in the rousing show stopping “Clap Yo’ Hands” that is the hit of the evening. Craig Jessup adds a touch of class as Judge Appleton protecting the interest of his jilted daughter.

Maureen McVerry directs with a deft hand emphasizing the farcical enthusiastic elements partially at the expense of the love story. The slam bang finale of “Heaven on Earth” with Brandon Adams on the piano and Nick Di Scala on reeds is a perfect ending to a fun evening. Running time twos and ten minutes with an intermission.

Kedar K. Adour, MD

Courtesy of www.theatreworldinternetmagazine.com

TOTEM: CIRQUE DU SOLEIL is breathtaking

2011-11-02T15:13:00.001-07:00

(Left) Russians and their fantastic acrobatics on the bars.

TOTEM CIRQUE DU SOLEIL written and directed by Robert Lepage. Musical score by Marc Lessard and Guy Dubuc's. Sets and props by Carl Fillion. Projections by Pedro Pires. Costume design by Kym Barrett. Choreography by Jeffrey Hall. WHERE: Under the big tent at PacBell Parking lot, San Francisco.

It is always a pleasure to attend a Cirque du Soleil performance under the big blue tent. This pleasure is obviously shared by all ages with many attendees making it a family affair. For the opening night performance the friendly staff circulated with finger food while the crowd visited the food bar and souvenir kiosks. This convivially atmosphere continues after you enter the stage area as roaming performers jovially interact with the audience inducing chuckles with their minor high-jinks. This sets the mood for an awe inspiring evening.

All the Cirque shows have a theme and Totem takes us on a journey exploring the origins of man rising from the primordial water to eventual soaring into the heavens. Although there are unambiguous segments portraying that intent most of the acts are there to thrill us with the superb athleticism of the performing acrobatics. The key word is ‘soar’ and they brilliantly do so, above the stage and at times across the audience.

The overall look is beautiful with Pedro Pires’ projections on an upstage circular disk that morphs into breaking waves, calm waters, lava flow and whatever is needed. That disk opens up to reveal fantastic props and is a viaduct for entrance and exits. The show depends greatly on technology and the onstage gymnasts must have a great deal of trust in the behind the scene manipulators.

There are many stunning performances beginning with the opening when, after the turtle shell is removed, Olympic quality acrobats fly between parallel bars placed about 10 feet apart while tumblers dive in and out of the half-dome shell. As always, the acrobatics are impressive. When the shell is removed it is time for the trapeze experts to show their stuff before five Chinese unicyclists maintain their balance while flinging golden bowls from and to each other’s heads. Two women spin limp circular carpets on every available hand and foot while one woman hand balances on the other’s head.

There is a courtship ballet on the trapeze with breath-taking falls, contortions and catches, ancient art of hoop dancing, acrobats flying high from flexible bars held on shoulders ( and even the forehead!) while the smaller one executes astonishing feats on similarly balanced towering poles. As always, marvelous jugging acts abound. Add to that the precarious roller skaters who do their stuff on a relatively small circular platform as he spins her faster and faster never allowing you to catch your breath.

Comedy acts balance the hectic non-stop acrobatics with clowns racing with speed boats, a moving tableau of Darwin’s theory of evolutions with apes morphing into Neanderthals and finally into an astonished business suited man. The best humor involves a modern (??), no too bright, man in a row boat fishing in the surrounding projected water.

The number of vignettes taking place with a live on stage band hidden behind inflatable swamp reeds are to numerous to elucidate adequately. However the few listed above should be stimulus enough to send you out to the big blue tent for a amazing evening. Running time for each of the two acts is about one hour with a 30 minute intermission for you to peruse the goodies in the foyer.

Kedar K. Adour, MD

Courtesy of www.theatreworldinternetmagazine.com

RACE at A.C.T. a sterling production.

2011-10-28T18:10:00.000-07:00

Law firm associate Susan (Susan Heyward) and law firm partners Jack Lawson (A.C.T core acting company member Anthony Fusco, left) and Henry Brown (Chris Butler, second from right) prep their wealthy client Charles Strickland (Kevin O'Rouke) for questioning. Photo by Kevin Berne

RACE by David Mamet. Directed by Irene Lewis. American Conservatory Theater, 415 Geary Street, San Francisco, CA 94108. 415-749-2228 or www.act-sf.org. October 21—November 13, 2011

RACE at A.C.T. a sterling production.

There was a conflict of opening nights this week and the decision to select the opening of the national tour of Hair rather than attend David Mamet’s Race could have been a mistake. It has been bandied about that seeing a play the night after its official opening can be problematic since the actors often have a let down diluting the effectiveness of an adrenaline high performance the previous night. A.C.T.’s sterling production of Race proves that axiom wrong.

Mamet has proven his mettle as a chronicler of male-female, political and sexual conflict. This time around he tackles a dual problem of white sexual privilege intertwined with racism and the three scene 85 minutes with no intermission is peppered with his usual street-wise words that oddly do not shock and often enough produce laughter. This is not bad, since this play needs breaks to puncture the tension that inexorably builds to one of the best dagger-thrust curtain lines heard in recent years. It matches the brilliant second act curtain line from August Osage County, “I’m in charge now!”

The ending will not be revealed here, advising the reader to attend the show to make his/her own decision. The he/she conflict is a major sub-text in many of Mamet’s plays and he continues that trend intertwined with the primary plot that on the surface is a legal story ripped from the headlines before appearing on TV’s Law and Order. Mamet’s play will certainly bring to mind the recent problems of Dominique Strauss-Kahn accused of raping a Hispanic hotel employee.

The client in Mamet’s play is, like Straus-Kahn, Charles Strickland (Kevin O’Rourke), an affluent white respected giant in the world of finance accused of raping a black woman. He has been “tried and convicted in the court of public opinion” through the news media. He has enough dirty linen in his personal life to make it difficult for any defense attorney(s) to mount a credible defense. He seeks the services of a two partner group, one Henry Brown (Chris Butler) is black the other, Jack Lawson (Anthony Fusco) is white. They have recently hired a third Harvard grad black female Susan (Susan Heyward) into their group. Knowing Mamet’s predilection for predatory females who appear to be members of the ‘weaker sex’, so it is with Susan. I would suspect that he attempts to give universality to that idiosyncrasy by not giving Susan a last name.

Strickland, insists that he is innocent, sex was consensual sex and that they were lovers. Another law firm has dumped the case absolutely certain it was not winnable, especially since creditable witnesses, a preacher and his wife have overheard him use vile racist’s remarks during the alleged sexual attack. The astute Jack Lawson during the investigative phase has discovered an overlooked missing link involving a red sequin dress that indicates the sex act was, as Strickland described it, and he is not guilty of the crime.

The storyline is just a framework for Mamet to indulge himself in airing social injustice, defining malfeasance in all and skewering accepted or hidden mores of his characters. His signature style of dialog is a pleasure to hear and hides the abrasive foul language interspersed with his philosophical passages cruelly suggesting that most agendas are rife with self-interest and betrayal. Race, of course is the main theme but he also impales the legal profession, both the prosecutorial and defensive sides of the law.

Mamet’s dialog is extremely difficult for actors but all four actors do a yeoman job and create a dynamic thoughtful evening. The twists and turns of the case will keep you somewhat riveted to your seat even if you disagree with the dark, rough nature of Mamet’s plays.

Kedar K. Adour, MD

Courtesy of www.theatreworldinternetmagazine.com

A WEEKEND WITH PICASSO at CenterRep a great 85 minute solo show

2011-10-26T17:35:00.000-07:00

Photo: Herbert Siguenza as Picasso at CenterRep, Walnut Creek.

A WEEKEND WITH PABLO PICASSO: Written and Performed by Herbert Siguenza. Directed by Todd Salovey. Center REPertory Company 1601 Civic Drive in downtown Walnut Creek. 925-943-7469, or www.CenterREP.org. October 21 – November 19, 2011

A WEEKEND WITH PICASSO at CenterRep a great 85 minute solo show

For their third offering of the 2011-2012 season the ambitious Center Repertory Theatre has imported A Weekend With Pablo Picasso that had successful runs in Houston and Los Angeles. They wisely imported the entire show intact with the original production team who have a mounted a stunning, entertaining, visually eye-popping 85 minutes of theatre.

The accolades are being placed up front of this review since this critic’s companion, himself an artist who had the good fortune to have met Picasso and spent time in his Paris studio, was a bit critical regarding some of Picasso’s idiosyncrasies especially with the disparaging remarks of Jackson Pollock. He insisted that Picasso would never be critical of a true artist. However, he agreed that the totality of the evening, although it is a superficial glance at the life of a physically diminutive man (five feet five inches tall) who was a giant in the world of art.

Herbert Siguenza, well known as a co-founder of Culture Class the internationally famous Latino comedy group, has all the qualities to take on a solo performance of Pablo Picasso the most influential artist of the 20^th Century. Siguenza who at an early age wanted to emulate the bare-chested older man, dressed only in shorts that he had seen in a black and white photo. After years of research, Siguenza who is an accomplished painter, writer, actor and musician has created a fictional weekend with Picasso that takes place in Picasso’s home and studio, Le California, outside of Cannes, France in 1957.

The audience immediately knows that they are in for an evening of fun when the lights come up on Picasso in a bathtub happily scrubbing away, playing with a rubber ducky and discoursing on his personal philosophy of life including “Everything’s a miracle. It’s a miracle that one does not dissolve in one’s bath water like a lump of sugar.” Once out of the bath, a telephone call reminds him that he has accepted a commission for six paintings that must be finished over the weekend. He bellows into the telephone at his art dealer, “Who do you think I am — Dali?”

He reluctantly informs the audience that he will make an exception and allow us to witness his creations, “But no interruptions!” Siguenzas, a very good artist in his own right, is able to create paintings in the “style of Picasso” and some six paintings come to life before our eye while others have been completed in advance. His production crew use ingenious rear projections and video montages to pull together past milestones in Picasso’s life and in one sequence include a dream sequence.

Siguenza’s unique acting ability is a marvel and the support of scenic designer Giulio Cesare Perrone’s artist’s studio and Todd Salovey’s intricate staging are symbiotic and wondrous. Although throughout the evening there is a laudatory image of Picasso, his egotistical demeanor is also on display. He bemoans, “I don’t wish my celebrity on anyone” and makes no apology for referring to women as either “goddess or doormats.” Without apology, “I have lived my life in broad daylight” and sex was in integral part of his nature.

The entire show and performance fit all the adjectives used in the first paragraph. If there is a valid criticism, the dark side of Picasso’s persona is given a white wash. The evening was so stimulating for this reviewer that it is time to dust off and re-read John Richardson’s two volume biography The Life of Picasso.

Kedar K. Adour, MD

Courtesy of www.theatreworldinternetmagazine.com

`MASTER HAROLD'...and the boys fly high at the Phoenix Theatre.

2011-10-17T20:50:00.000-07:00

Upper (l -r):Anthony Rollins-Mullens as Willie, LaMont Ridgell as Sam.Adam Simpson as Hally
Lower (l -r): LaMont Ridgell as Sam, Adam Simpson as Hally in `MASTER HAROLD'...and the boys by Broadway West at the Phoenix Theatre. Photo credit Barbara Michelson-Harder

`MASTER HAROLD'...and the boys: Drama by Athol Fugard, directed by Richard Harder. Off Broadway West Theatre Company, The Phoenix Theatre, Suite 601, 414 Mason Street (between Geary and Post), San Francisco, CA. (800)838-3006 or www.offbroadwaywest.org.

October 15 – November 19, 2011

`MASTER HAROLD'...and the boys fly high at the Phoenix Theatre.

Athol Fugard’s stunning play ‘Master Harold. . . and the boys is solid proof of the truism that writers should write of what they have experienced. Fugard who is the premier playwright of South Africa is one of the early champions of dismantling apartheid and his plays were instrumental in aiding that goal to be reached. The basic story is autobiographical but the play’s construction brilliantly compresses the years of abuse into a taut 90 minutes of riveting theater by combining action in the present and poetical references to past events.

Written in 1982 the time is 1950 and place is a St. George’s Park Tearoom with a storm raging outside. Hallie (short for Harold) is a white teenager who is the son of the owners and two black waiters, Sam (LaMont Ridgell) and Willie (Anthony Rollins-Mullens) are long time employees with a congenial relationship masking underlying enmity. Although the major theme is the unjust separation of blacks and whites, there are layers of proximate inhumanity including parental abuse and man’s interpersonal humanity to man no matter whether white or black. The metaphor of kite flying and ballroom dancing are beautifully integrated into the story, as gentle Sam continues his raison d'être as protector and instructor of the internally damaged Hallie.

There is a joyful passage that defines the bond between a 10-year-old Hallie and Sam, his surrogate father, as they recollect the meaning of Sam’s homemade Kite for Hallie. Later, the full devastation of why Sam could not share that moment since Hallie was sitting on a “white only” bench claws at the heart.

The calm balanced relationship begins to disintegrate when Hallie learns that his one legged alcoholic father is to return home from the hospital. His rage is unsettling and only becomes explicable after a vitriolic outburst by Hallie almost pushes Sam to violence.

Lamont Ridgell is perfect for the role and his rise to anger is palpable as he abandons physicality and inflicts his wounds with words of understanding. Anthony Rollins-Mullins makes the most of his minor role and is a perfect foil as the subservient black who knows his place and always refers to “Master Harold.” Adam Simpson shows true hate in his externalizing his violent inner nature. It is so real, that one wonders if there ever will be reconciliation with Sam.

All this unfolds on an almost all white perfect tearoom set (Bert van Aalsburg) with symbolic black and white flooring that is surrounded on three sides in the minuscule Phoenix Theatre that allows the audience to be at an intimate 3 to 6 cubits from the action on stage. Highly recommended.

Kedar K. Adour, MD

Courtesy of www.theatreworldinternetmagazine.com

DAY OF ABSENCE and ALMOST NOTHING at the Lorraine Hansberry

2011-10-17T20:42:00.000-07:00

The new location of the Lorraine Hansberry Theatre just off Union Square.

DAY OF ABSENCE and ALMOST NOTHING; Two one-act plays by Douglas Turner Ward and Marcos Barbosa (translated by Mark O’Thomas) both directed by Steven Anthony Jones. Lorraine Hansberry Theatre, 450 Post St., San Francisco, CA. (415) 474-8800 www.lhtsf.org October 16 - November 20, 2011.

A few years ago the Lorraine Hansberry Theatre (LHT) on Sutter Street hosted, the leading African-American theatrical group in the Bay Area. Then disaster struck with the loss of their lease and the death, just months apart of their two founding leaders, Stanley E. Williams and Quentin Easter last year. They were nomads in the ensuing years, moving from space to space and sharing productions with other local organizations. Now for their 31^st season they have acquired the re-furbished spacious Post Street Theatre, taken on the respected Steven Anthony Jones as their artistic director and have scheduled a four play season: Rejoice! (A world premiere musical) by Ron Stacker Thompson, 12/4/11 – 12/31/11; Blue/Orange by Joe Penhall, 2/5/12 – 3/18/12; and Blues for an Alabama Sky by Pearl Cleage, 4/1/12 – 5/12/12.

Artistic director Jones has elected to celebrate this new beginning honoring Douglas Turner Ward, the author of the 1965 Days of Absence, who was one of the leaders in the African-American theatre movement. Ward and others founded the groundbreaking Negro Ensemble Company in New York where Days of Absence had a long run despite the fact it was criticized for its construction as a white-faced minstrel show. Consider the concept of an all white-faced cast in an unnamed Southern town bemoaning the “absence” of all the negros (pronounced ne- gras with a broad Southern boy accent) from the town and they could not be found. The dependence on the lack of cheap labor for the smooth daily activity of the townsfolk is a scathing satire buffeted with slapstick humor and mime routines (a number of the cast has experience with the SF Mime troop). Each member of the cast plays multiple roles and they are often accompanied by the ear-piercing sounds of a disco player. Jones throws in immediacy by starting the show with recent radio news clips of the effect of Hispanics leaving Alabama caused by restrictive immigration laws. But there is a problem: the activity goes on for one hour and 30 minutes and becomes repetitious thus loosing its mordacious bite.

The tedium/hyperactivity of the first play is replaced by the tightly written and superbly acted Almost Nothing. Brazilian author Marcos Barbosa is obviously greatly influenced by Harold Pinter and uses sparse dialog with gut wrenching pauses giving full meaning to the adage silence speaks louder than words. This play that saw the light of day at the Royal Court Theatre in London in 2004 also was part of the Lisbon production of At Play In Harold Pinter’s Field.

As the play unfolds many unknowns arise that are unanswered questions creating a mystery with unsettling twists and turns. The mystery is enhanced by David Molina’s sound design. An upscale couple Antonio (Rhonnie Washington) and Sara (seductive Kathryn Tkel) have just returned from an evening out and Antonio has killed, in ‘self defense’, a young boy who approached their car. But was it self defense? Days later the unnamed boy’s mother Vania (marvelous Wilma Bonet) knocks on the door seeking revenge or is it money for her silence? Antonio hires a private detective Cesar (beautifully underplayed by Rudy Guerreo) to learn more about Vania suggesting she might not be the boy’s mother. There is a problem as Cesar casually suggests it is “almost nothing.” However that requires an unspoken solution.

Rhonnie Washington gives an Emmy winner performance as a controlling individual in his married life and in his approach to Vania and Cesar and is temporarily upstaged by seductive Kathryn Tkel (dressed to the nines by Michelle Mulholland) and diminutive Wilma Bonet who holds center stage in her encounters with Antonio. Running time is a tense, engrossing 60 minutes that is perfect ending to LHT re-emergence in their new venue.

Kedar K. Adour, MD

Courtesy of www.theatreworldinternetmagazine.com

HOW TO WRITE A NEW BOOK FOR THE BIBLE a Jesuit/secular sermon

2011-10-14T12:15:00.000-07:00

(l to r) Linda Gehringer, Leo Marks, Aaron Blakeley and Tyler Pierce star in the world premiere of Bill Cain’s How to Write a New Book for the Bible at Berkeley Rep.Photo courtesy of kevinberne.com

HOW TO WRITE A NEW BOOK FOR THE BIBLE by Bill Cain, directed by Kent Nicholson. . Berkeley Repertory Theatre’s Thrust Stage, 2025 Addison St., Berkeley. (510) 647-2949. www.berkeleyrep.org

HOW TO WRITE A NEW BOOK FOR THE BIBLE a Jesuit/secular sermon

Author Bill Cain the winner two years in a row of the prestigious Sternberg Award for the brilliant Equivocation and the gripping 9 Circles, both performed at Marin Theatre Company (MTC) graces the boards this year with a very personal How to Write a New Book for the Bible. Berkeley Rep has mounted a stunning production of Cain’s “How to” play on the intimate Thrust Stage that certainly will garner rave reviews. Oddly, the play received a delayed standing ovation unlike the instantaneous eruption that greeted Anna Deavere’s Let Me Down Easy.

Both Cain’s play and Deavere’s monolog with visual projections had their origin in diaries dealing with death. Deavere’s diaries consisted of a 10 year journal interviewing people and recording in their own words how they handle the inevitable euphemistic “last days.” Cain’s diary is a record of his personal experience of moving in with his mother who has six months to live and one may feel like a voyeur thus explaining the delayed accolade of a standing ovation.

The play is an unabashed love story that he has dedicated to his older brother Pete. It is also an extended sermon defining the Bible as a series of stories about families and the author insists that any new book for the Bible should be a family oriented one. Unlike the dysfunctional families in the Bible, he gives examples of a few; his new book will be about his “functional family.” And so it is.

Jesuit Priests are noted for their work in education as well being evangelistic. Cain, himself a Jesuit, threads the fine line between the two, and comes out a winner with his balanced scenes when he, at times dons his robes and quickly returns to a secular mode. His superb cast is the epitome of ensemble acting and the marvelous direction by Kent Nicholson (who directed 9 Circles at MTC) is astounding. The brilliance of the cast and direction are matched by the stunning impressionistic set (Scott Bradley) with atmospheric lighting (Alexander V. Nichols) and sound (Matt Starritt). This world premiere is a co-production with Seattle Repertory Theatre and they would be wise to import it intact, including the actors.

Tyler Pierce as Bill Cain the narrator radiates humanity, frustration and piety with equal professionalism giving a well rounded performance. One might suggest the number of times he stretches his arms in a Christ-like pose could be limited. Linda Gehringer as the independent minded mother, a closet cigarette smoker with an addiction of TV sports will steal your heart as she fights through pain and infirmity. She alone is worth the price of admission.

The play is non-linear as the narrator moves back in forth in time to round out the motivation and characteristics of the father Paul (Aaron Blakely) and brother Pete (Leo Marks). They play multiple roles, with various ages, of those friends surrounding the family including the doctors. They display great acting ability when they do switch characters giving verisimilitude to each role.

Bill Cain’s writing is a marvel and he is the shining star of present day playwrights. I am almost certain How to Write a New Book for the Bible will be a finalist for this years American Critics Association’s Sternberg Award. Running time two hours and 20 minutes including and intermission.

Kedar K. Adour, MD

Courtesy of www.theatreinternetmagazine.com

BELLWETHER at Marin Theatre Company is a hit

2011-10-13T11:55:00.000-07:00

Rachel Harker (Maddy), Arwen Anderson (Jackie Draft) and Gabriel Marin (Alan Draft) in the world premiere of Steve Yockey’s Bellwether, now through October 30 at Marin Theatre Company.
(Photo byDavidAllenStudio.com)

BELLWETHER: Drama. By Steve Yockey. Directed by Ryan Rilette.. Marin Theatre Company, 397 Miller Ave., Mill Valley. (415) 388-5208 or www.marintheatre.org.

October 11- October 30, 2011

BELLWETHER at Marin Theatre Company is a hit

If you have ever wondered where the bogeyman (also spelled bogieman, boogeyman or boogieman) resides, other than under beds and in closets, go to Marin Theatre Company’s (MTC) stunning production of the world premiere of Bellwether. If you want to see a scary Steven King type of plot laced with scathing satire on how TV media ghoulishly covers the abduction of a child, go to MTC. If you are desirous of seeing top-notch actors perform as a perfect ensemble, yet have individual actors standout when it is their turn on stage, go to MTC. If you want to cheer spot-on direction (Ryan Rilette) with dramatic writing go to MTC. If wish to admire a brilliant set (Giulio Ceare Perrone)and staging with disregard for many unanswered questions and plot twists, go to MTC. You will be witness to all of this in the brief 100 minutes, including a 15 minute intermission, running time.

The term “bellwether”, non-capitalized, refers to the leader of the pack or sheep that leads the herd often wearing a bell. In Yorkey’s play the leader is intrusive news media and the bell is the TV camera. Bellwether with a capital “W” is the name of a place, a suburban gated community where the ensemble of residents led by Maddy (Fantastic performance by Rachael Harker) in the opening scene informs us, is a “nice” idyllic place to live and bad things do not happen here. That is going to change.

Alan Draft (Gabriel Marin) and wife Jackie (Arwen Anderson) have moved with their seven year old daughter from a city apartment to Bellwether. When their daughter is missing from her room, deep recriminations arise between the two, most of which involves assigning blame. Marin and Anderson are perfect in the roles, adding nuance to the histrionic writing that pulls the pair apart yet never breaking the tie of love, even when they become suspects by the police and community.

The three TV reporters (Liz Sklar, Marissa Keltie, Mollie Stickney) intrude and comment on the ongoing storyline and add a much needed touch of humor while fomenting distrust of the Drafts. They double as neighbors along with Danny Wolohan and Patrick Jones who also play the unyielding detectives assigned to the abduction case. The emotional change in the ensemble of neighbors from their goody-goody demeanor in the opening scene to a mob mentality is appropriately frightening.

To tell more of the story would be unfair. When you do go, and you should, you will be thoroughly entertained even though there are loose ends that will probably be tied together in future productions.

Kedar K. Adour, MD

Courtesy of www.theatreworldinternetmagazine.com

CLEMENTINE IN THE LOWER 9 a study in survival at TheatreWorks

2011-10-10T12:41:00.000-07:00

(Upper l-r front): Jayne Deely, Laiona Michelle, Jack Koenig, and Matt Jones. Photo credit: Tracy Martin (Lower l-r) Jack Koenig as "Jaffy," Laiona Michelle as his wife "Clementine," and their son Matt Jones as "Reginald" in the World Premiere of CLEMENTINE IN THE LOWER 9 at TheatreWorks.

CLEMENTINE IN THE LOWER 9: A Blues Riff on Aeschylus’ Agamemnon. New Post-Katrina Drama by Dan Dietz and music by Justin Ellington, who will also be the Musical Director . Directed by Leah C. Gardiner. TheatreWorks at the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts, 500 Castro Street (at Mercy), Mountain View, CA. (650) 463-1960 or visit www.theatreworks.org. October 5 - 30, 2011

CLEMENTINE IN THE LOWER 9 a study in survival at TheatreWorks

Any playwright fortunate enough to have his play produced by TheatreWorks, is guaranteed a top-notch production. So it was on opening night at the world premiere of Clementine in the Lower 9, that is ostentatiously subtitled A Blues Riff on Aeschylus’ Agamemnon. The action takes place in New Orleans Lower 9^th section months after Hurricane Katrina has devastated the area. J. B. Wilson’s stunning set that uses every inch of the stage captures the devastation with ramshackle housing replete with holes everywhere and strewn with debris. The atmospheric lighting by Steven B. Mannshardt uses multiple actual lit candles and one hopes the props are fireproof.

The candles are not only actual but symbolic of the joy that Clementine (read Clytemnestra) an African American nurse, harbors for the impending return of long absent trumpet playing husband Jaffy (Agamemnon?) who was sent to Houston in the evacuation after the hurricane. She and educated son Reginald ( ? Orestes?) are resisting relocation and staunchly putting the place in habitable order. Jaffy returns with a young mute drug addict named Cassy (short for Cassandra?), he claims is a prophet and repeats the one word “Apollo.”

Before the modern day mythic tale unfolds a Greek chorus of one (Kenny Brawner) the leader of the onstage blues band, struts his stuff with a tale of how the gods of Olympus left their lofty perch and took up residence in New Orleans. The reason of course is they became addicted to blues music that is a New Orleans birthmark. He introduces us to the band, drummer Kelly Fasman, Bass Richard Duke, trumpet John Worley and Brawner on the piano. The music is adroitly integrated into the story line and one might wish for more.

With the return of Jaffy (Jack Koenig) and Cassy (Jane Deely) the jealousy of Clementine (Laiona Michelle) flares. Father and son Reginald (Matt Jones) must emotionally/physically reconnect as they actually connect the electricity and water supply. The water plays a pivotal role in the final scenes that is usurped from Aeschylus’ tragedy. Laiona Michelle, Jack Koenig and Matt Jones give bravura performances and Kenny Brawner dominates the stage as Chorus and leader of the blues band. Jayne Deely’s role, that is pivotal to the resolution of tragic (not tragedy) tale is under written requiring her to approximate petit mal seizures, that seem real. But she does get to say the last line imploring Clementine to move on.

Running time two hours and 20 minutes with intermission.

Kedar K. Adour, MD

Courtesy of www.theatreworldinternetmagazine.com

"Steel Magnolias" given a solid Jerseyville High School performance

2011-10-06T15:22:00.000-07:00

Jerseyville High School cast of "Steel Magnolias" (l to r) Madie Stotler as Clairee, Amanda Wilderman as Annelle, Sarah Siemer as Truvy, Jaelyn Hawkins as M’Lynn, Brittney Blackorby as Shelby and Kristen Maher as Ouiser (pronounced “Weezer”).

STEEL MAGNOLIAS by Robert Harding, directed by Brett Beauchamp. Jerseyville Central High School, Jerseyville, Illinois.

Theater is alive and well in Mid-America.

Many in the theatre world bemoan the fact that the legitimate theatre is experiencing a decline in attendance especially by the younger generations. Solutions have been suggested and the most visible trend is to produce concept productions of Shakespeare. Locally we have seen Marin Theatre Company's The Tempest, CalShakes' Taming of the Shrew and Oregon’s Shakespeare Festival (OSF) has a National grant to make Shakespeare more palatable to younger audiences. This has been very successful in OSF and on any day the youngsters out number the adults. Sadly, many High Schools are dropping art programs targeting drama groups. That is not the case in Mid-America, specifically in Jerseyville, Illinois.

On the most recent visit, my host said he had a surprise for me. It was a ticket for the Jerseyville High School play. It truly was a surprise to find that an active and dedicated group had undertaken two productions on the same weekend that included the drama Steel Magnolias. The other was a farce /comedy A Black Comedy on alternate nights. One might question the decision to take on the difficult Steel Magnolias that requires six strong female characters with action that takes place over three years. The cast included Sarah Siemer as Truvy, Amanda Wilderman as Annelle, Madie Stotler as Clairee, Bittney Blackorby as Shelby, Jaelyn Hawkins as M’Lynn, Kristen Maher as Ouiser (pronounced “Weezer”).

The play is a true ensemble piece where a close knit group of “Southern magnolias” demonstrate their daily fortitude with steely resolve. Director Brett Beauchamp selected the play as a dedication to those with diabetes and because of his personal an intimate family experience with the disease. When the diabetes strikes young Shelby the group forgets their petty personal differences and unites as one. The cast does a creditable job of demonstrating their true concern for each other inducing more than a few wet eyes in the audience. There is a great deal of humor written into the script that is well handled and all deserve accolades. It is unfair to single out any one actor but Kristen Maher as “Weezer” bursts on the stage as if shot out of a heavy artillery cannon giving more than a dollop of good old fashioned much needed laughter that she carries over into other scenes.

If one wonders if this theatrical experience will carry over into adult life, the answer is probable resounding yes. This observation is supported by a local newspaper item: Edwardsville [it is just down the road from Jerseyville] – “Last April a bunch of Edwardsville High School theater kids from the 1970s had a grand reunion. That gathering was the genesis for the formation of Alumni Players and their inaugural production, “We’re Still Here,” a musical comedy revue.” Thus proving that theater is alive and well in Mid-America.

Kedar K. Adour, MD

Courtesy of www.theatreworldinternetmagazine.com

ONCE IN A LIFETIME a hit at A.C.T.

2011-09-29T23:49:00.000-07:00

May Daniels (Julia Coffey), George Lewis (A.C.T. Master of Fine Arts Program graduate Patrick Lane, center), and Jerry Hyland (John Wernke) on the train to California. Photo by Kevin Berne.

ONCE IN A LIFETIME by Moss Hart and George S. Kaufman, Directed by Mark Rucker. American Conservatory Theater, 415 Geary Street, San Francisco, CA. 415.749.2228 or www.act-sf.org September 22–October 16, 2011

ONCE IN A LIFETIME a hit at A.C.T.

They just don’t make them like that anymore. What you may ask? Plays written in three acts with a distinct beginning/set up in act one, a second act racing to a climactic problem and a third act solution. That is the way Once in a Lifetime was written 81 years ago and although it showed its age in a few spots, it has been given new life in Mark Rucker’s fun filled, campy, clownish, comical, madcap (take your choice of adjectives) staging that seem to thrill the audience for most of the 2 1/2 hour running time (two intermissions).

It is the 1930s and a singing/dancing trio playing in second-rate theaters see the end of vaudeville with the advent of “taking pictures” when Vitaphone’s The Jazz Singer hit the screen. May (Julia Coffey), the brains of the outfit, her love interest Jerry (John Wernke) and not too bright but loveable George (Patrick Lane) devise a money making scheme to teach the silent screen stars how to talk. You do remember those elocution scenes from Singin’ in the Rain? They hop the first train to Hollywood in a knock-your-eye-out parlor car set (George Ostling) arriving in Hollywood where they meet and mingle with innumerable zany characters. Fifteen actors play 70 parts and there is no way you will keep them straight.

The play as written is a lampoon with broad cutting satire on the foibles of the denizens of the kooky world that was early Hollywood. First up is Helen Hobart (marvelous Rene Augesen) a gossip columnist that is a knockoff of Hedda Hopper and a ditzy no talent actress Susan Walker (Ashley Wickett) who is traveling with her mother (versatile Margo Hall who takes on five other roles, four of whom are men). There is the money-grabbing producer Herman Glogauer (Will Lebow), his sycophant Weisskoff, egotistical German director Rudolph Kammerling (Kevin Robins) and officious “no one gets by me” receptionist Miss Leighton (scene stealer and audience favorite Nick Gabriel).

The action is non-stop frenetic farce that moves with breakneck speed, at times at the expense of a delicious punch line. Director Mark Rucker and his staff pull out all the stops with gorgeous sets and old movie clips to match 1930s period costumes (Alex Jaeger) that abound. Of the three who invade Hollywood to make their fortune in teaching elocution Julia Coffey is great as the level-headed one but Patrick Lane earns the most accolades with his deadpan delivery of innocence personified.

Rucker throws in a superbly choreographed (Amy Anders Corcoran) curtain call that will broaden that grin you will have held through most of the show. The technical aspects will not have you forgetting the Knee-High production of Brief Encounter but it is a memorable evening not to be missed.

Kedar K. Adour, MD

Courtesy of www.theatreworldinternetmagazine.com

The Underpants at Custommade slips a bit

2011-09-28T12:24:00.000-07:00

(Upper r to l) AJ Davenport and Riley Krull. (Lower l to r) Riley Krull, David Vega and Gabriel A. Ross in Steve Martin's The Underpants at onHector Zavala's attractive set at Custommade Theatre playing through Oct. 22.

THE UNDERPANTS: Farce an adaptation by Steve Martin of Carl Sternheim’s 1910 Die Hose. Directed by Herb Gelb., Custommade Theatre at Gough Street Playhouse, 1629 Gough Street in San Francisco. (510) 207-5774, www.custommade.org.

Custom Made Theatre Company Extends Run of Steve Martin’s The Underpants through October 30.

KEEP YOUR (UNDER) PANTS ON

Prior to World War I, German Expressionism blossomed not only in the visual art but also in the written word and on stage. The core of Expressionism was (is) the basic and primal instinct of. . . sex. And uninhibited sexuality was the Bohemian lifestyle shunning ideas about women being the polar opposite of men with no creativity/intellect serving only to nurture the men. In this milieu, a farce titled Die Hose (in translation The Underpants) by Carl Sternheim was a big hit. Comedian Steve Martin, turned writer refashioned Sternheim’s farce and Custommade Theatre has mounted a raucous/ribald/romp.

Whereas French farce that also relies on intricate sexual shenanigans needs a minimum of four doors to keep the action flowing and hysterical, the Germans are content with physical activity to wring laughter from the audience. So it is with the present production directed Herb Gelb in an over-the-top format. If you are looking for an evening of non-intellectual fun laced with inoffensive sexual innuendo, wrapped in physical comedy creating a traffic jam on stage, go to the compact and attractive Custommade venue on Gough Street.

Theo (David Vega) and Louise (Riley Krull) are a respectable, cash strapped German couple. To balance the budget they have placed a “Room for Rent” sign in their window without takers. No takers, until (“Horrors” Theo shouts) Louise has physically, though unintentionally (??), dropped and quickly retrieved her underpants while standing in a crowd waiting to see the King appear in a downtown parade. Apparently they were not retrieved quickly enough since a “parade” of would be renters start to appear.

Versati (Paul Stout) an unpublished poet arrives complete with black cape, and we later learn dyed hair. The underpants have stimulated, among other things (“I want to go to sleep with you. It will only take a minute.”), his creative juices and his desire to make Louise his Muse. Add frills to his shirt cuff, have him flounce on stage and it would be a better set up for Theo’s line, "Why would a woman want a man who is like a woman -- a man should be at his desk". Martin sets up his zingers as a trademark of his writing style.

Next to enter is the smitten Cohen (Gabriel A. Ross). “Jewish?” Theo asks. “No. It’s Cohn. . . with a K.” “OK.” Theo splits the room in two and rents to both, thus setting up the competition between Cohn and Versati to get another look at the underpants . . . or is to get into her underpants?

Gertude (AJ Davenport) the sensual, full-bodied upstairs occupant has heard the goings on. Her visceral juices flow thinking about what Versati and Louise could be doing. She does her damnedest to aid Louise in getting the dastardly deed done.

Late in the second act one more potential renter, Klinglehoff (charming Michael Moerman in his Custommade debut) an old repressed scientist arrives. This sets up another Martin tongue-in-cheek truism, “Water still runs though rusty pipes.” I won’t tell you who the last potential renter is. Just think Deus Ex Machina of Greek tragedy.

Add a mask to Versati’s costume and Zorro is resurrected. Play a tango and images of Jose Greco appear. Stout as Versati isn’t quite up to Zorro or Greco but his exaggerated mannerisms as he throws his cape about while coming to grips with his poetic inspirations does bring raucous laughter.

Coleman as the meek and protective Cohen. . . sorry, that’s Kohen with a K. . . upstages the other members of the cast with his mobile face, puppy-dog eyes, unexpected pratfalls and rubbery legs reminiscent of Scarecrow from the “The Wizard of Oz .”

Vega’s physical presence as Theo can be described as Dom Deluise with muscle but without the comic timing. AJ Davenport as Gertrude often dominates the stage with her entrance and exits conveying her sexual suppression in a series of hot flashes.

Krull adequately portrays the subservient manner of the much put upon wife as Theo admonishes her, “Because you are much too attractive for a man in my position.” Throughout the play her reticence should ,but does not, build to rebellion level that would be an exclamation point to and give great meaning to her last line when she is ordered to put the rental room in order, “In my own time!”

Director Herb Gelb unsuccessfully attempts to wrest every ounce of humor from the lines but there is plenty of physical comedy to cover most of the deficiencies creating an evening of ribald fun.

Kedar K. Adour, MD

Courtesy of www.TheatreWorldInternetMagazine.com

PHAEDRA a WOW at Shotgun Players

2011-09-26T13:24:00.000-07:00

Catherine (Catherine Castellanos) is given a kiss on the cheek by her husband Antonio (Keith Burkland) in Shotgun Player's Phaedra now through October 23.

PHAEDRA written by Adam Bock and directed by Rose Riordan. The Shotgun Players, The Ashby Stage, 1901 Ashby Avenue, Berkeley. 510-841-6500 or www.shotgunplayers.org. September 24 – October 23, 2011.

PHAEDRA a WOW at Shotgun Players

Adam Bock and the fledgling Shotgun Players wowed San Francisco with a production of Swimming in the Shallows in the minuscule cellar stage at the Rhino Theatre back in the year 2000. Thus began the love affair between Bock and Shotgun who have done it again with of Bock’s modern day version of Racine’s Phaedra that opened as part of Shotgun’s 20^th season. Get thee hence to see this stunning staging and be transfixed for 90 minutes (including an intermission) of brilliant theatre.

Whereas Swimming in the Shallows had a set created of “wooden box and a tarp”, this time around they have a magnificent set by the talented Nina Bell that alone is worth the price of admission. Bock’s script deserves nothing less and is an absolute gem given a splendid performance by a dedicated cast.

There is no need to know the Greek legend to appreciate Bock’s adaptation, except to know that human nature has not changed since the time of the ancient Greeks. He uses minor form Greek choruses by having each player give a monolog externalizing their inner thoughts that are specific to the action and blend seamlessly into the timeline of the plot. Olibia (Trish Mulholland), the long-time and trusted maid, is first to set the scene and she has bee assigned the play’s humor. Yes, the play is a tragedy (not in the classic sense) but Bock always seems to balances his plays with humor intertwined with the drama.

Antonio (Keith Burkland) a prominent judge is in a loveless second marriage to obsessive compulsive Catherine (Catherine Castellanos). Paulie (Patrick Alaprone), the son/stepson is returning from a drug rehab center back into their home and inexplicably is to have the room of his sister who is away at a private school. Catherine’s rigid resistance to the return of Paulie becomes terrifying evident when the real reason for the animosity is her hidden love for her stepson. Paulie returns with Taylor (Cindy Im) whom he has met and bonded with at the rehab center stirring jealousy in his stepmother. His father is adamant that Paulie not associate with her, further driving a wedge between father and son. The scene is set for the build-up of events that are to explode with the certainty of the coming dawn.

Every actor performs with skill but it is Castellanos who is absolutely brilliant as her character descends into emotional hell with complete destruction of her compulsive behavior. Bock amplifies on William Congreve’s line from the play called "The Mourning Bride" (1697), "Heaven has no rage like love to hatred turned / Nor hell a fury like a woman scorned." Keith Burkland’s interpretation of a bigoted, unyielding individual without compassion is pitched perfect. Patrick Alparone almost matches the torment found in Castellanos’ acting and his scenes with the lovely Cindy Im are touching. Trish Mulholland’s wry delivery and brisk entrance and exits are just right for the humor written into the part.

Written as a series of temporal scenes the staging (Rose Riordan), lighting (Lucas Krech) and sound design allow the action to flow without a break in the continuity. Between scenes, depicting passage of time there is the quiet ticking of a clock with atmospheric light cues that keep the audience riveted awaiting the coming action.

At the risk of being redundant, once again Adam Bock and Shotgun Players have put a capitalize WOW into the Bay Area theatre scene.

Kedar K. Adour, MD

Courtesy of www.theatreworldinternetmagazine.com

TAMING OF THE SHREW at Calshakes a raucous romp

2011-09-26T10:33:00.000-07:00

Erica Sullivan is Katherine and Slate Holmgren is Petruchio in Shana Cooper ’s production of The Taming of the Shrew; photo by Kevin Berne.

THE TAMING OF THE SHREW. : Comedy. By William Shakespeare. Directed by Shana Cooper. California Shakespeare Theater, Bruns Amphitheater, 100 California Shakespeare Theater Way, Orinda. 510-548-9666 or www.calshakes.org .

September 21- October 16, 2011

TAMING OF THE SHREW a raucous romp.

In our generation of political and social correctness there are two Shakespearean plays that require deft handling since one includes antisemitism (Merchant of Venice) and the other misogynistic chauvinism (Taming of the Shrew). For their final show of the 2011 season, California Shakespeare Theatre (CalShakes) has accepted the challenge and won the day with their staging of Shrew that is political/socially correct, absolutely hysterical and somewhat true to Shakespeare.

To start they hired director Shana Cooper, whose staging of Love Labor Lost at this year’s Oregon Shakespeare Festival was a smash hit. Then they rounded up three of their top-notch associate artists and mingled them with competent/superb regional and national actors to fill out the roster, gave fight director Dave Maier free reign and allowed costume designer Katherine O’Neill go wild.

The associate artists are (alphabetically) Dan Hiatt, Joan Mankin and Danny Scheie. They as well as the ensemble cast have to do double duty and at times you may wonder who is who but it makes no difference. Slate Holgren’s virile/athletic/raunchy Petruchio meets his match in physicality and acting ability with Erica Sullivan as “Katherine the curst.” Statuesque Alexandra Henrikson’s Bianca, in purple stiletto shoes gives the proper impression of the empty-headed object of her suitors. Dan Clegg, Rod Gnapp, Nicholas Pelczar and Liam Vincent round out the cast. The tone of the evening is set and the fun begins with entire cast doing a disco dance at a beauty contest with Bianca as the winner.

All actors were well advised to heed the advice of W.C. Fields to stay off the stage with children. The modern version of that aphorism is to beware of being on the stage with Danny Scheie. His distinctive voice, sly stage presence and comedic vocal and physical timing are legion and he has the audience in stitches even when he as Gremio, loses the battle of wealth and the hand of Bianca to Traino/Lucentio.

To further keep the play in a light hearted mood, there is the addition of the songs of “Tom, Dick or Harry” from Cole Porter’s Kiss Me Kate, “Get Happy” [chase all your woes away] and a soft rock riff of “You Give Me Your Love [will you still love me still love me in the morning].” It is rare that you see Dan Hiatt and Rod Gnapp in humorous roles but they are just as adept at comedy as drama. Dan Hiatt will never live down the ridiculous costume designed for a second act entrance.

The shenanigans seem to fizzle in the early second act during the problematic scene with the tailor (Scheie again) that is played on the modernistic elevated platform on center stage but rapidly regains its momentum for the final scenes. Erica Sullivan under Cooper’s perfect direction gives the final monolog with shrewd innuendo suggesting to all women “we will get our way” while extolling submission to the married Bianca and the rich widow. The astonished look on Petruchio’s face is the perfect ending to a riotous evening, actually a balmy Sunday matinee. Running time two hours and 30 minutes.

Kedar K. Adour, MD

Courtesy of www.theatreworldinternetmagazine.com

GYPSY a solid hit at Broadway By the Bay

2011-09-24T11:55:00.000-07:00

Heather Orth as Mama Rose in Broadway By The Bay's Gypsy. Photo by Tracy Martin

GYPSY: Musical Comedy. Music by Jule Styne. Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. Book by Arthur Laurents. Suggested by memoirs of Gypsy Rose Lee. Directed by Amand Folena. Musical director Rick Reynolds, with choreography by Robyn Tribuzi. Broadway By the Bay (BBB), The Fox Theatre, 2215 Broadway Street, Redwood City, CA 94063. (650) 579-5565 or www.broadwaybythebay.org. September 23 –October 9, 2011

GYPSY a solid hit at Broadway By the Bay

For their penultimate show of the 2011 season Broadway By the Bay (BBB) has mounted a solid hit with a cast of talented singers and performers. The star is Heather Orth exuding all the chutzpah that defines stage mothers. She backs up that image with a superb voice that fills the Fox Theatre and never misses a note. She brings the house down with her plaintive finale “Rose’s Turn.” It also helps that her major supporting cast is amazing starting with the youngest on up to Walter M. Mayes who as Herbie, fresh from an award winning performance in Curtains at Foothill College, is perfect match for Orth.

The original Broadway production of Gypsy opened in 1959 with Ethel Merman as Rose, Jack Klugman as Herbie and Sandra Church as Louise. Based on the memoirs of famous striptease artist Gypsy Rose Lee, it is story of Mama Rose’s attempts to fulfill her drab life through dreams of making her daughter June a star on the vaudeville circuit while neglecting daughter Louise who eventually blossoms into the beautiful Gypsy Rose Lee. Along the way, Herbie falls in love with Rose, despite her faults and there are many, eventually becoming the manager for the children’s act.

The score is to die for with Jule Styne and the then young Stephen Sondheim at their best. It is definitely a show where you come out humming the tunes (In order of their appearance): “Let me Entertain You”, “Some People”, “Small World”, “You’ll Never Get Away From Me”, “If Momma Were Married”, “Everything’s Coming Up Roses”, “Together Wherever We Go”, “Gotta Get A Gimmick” and “Rose’s Turn.”

The fun begins with the hilarious first number as Baby June (Claire Lentz)) and Baby Louise (Lindsay Ragsdale) audition for a spot on the vaudeville circuit in the 1920s with “Let Me Entertain You.” This is the first inclination we get of Mama Rose’s aggressive behavior and Heather Orth is perfect for the part. One wonders where BBB recruits their seasoned youngsters. Lentz and Ragsdale are attractive, charming with great singing voices and have backup young (even tiny) singers and dancers with professional aplomb. The 30 plus cast members, accompanied by the up-tempo 14 member band directed by Rick Reynolds, sing and dance their hearts out for two and half hours deserving the rousing applause when Heather Orth belts the finale “Rose’s Turn.”

The kaleidoscopic lighting (Michael Ramsaur) deserves a bow as the “babies” morph into young adults with Samantha Bruce as Louise, Mary Kalita as June and Patrick Ball as Tulsa who performs a competent soft-shoe/tap routine later in the show. Bruce and Kalita are great singers with very competent acting skills. The amazing Samantha Bruce’s transformation from tom-boyish Louise into the lovely, sexy Gypsy Rose Lee is a marvel. Her simple line just before she makes her debut as a stripper in a second rate burlesque house, “Momma I’m beautiful” is a heart wrencher. Walter M. Mayes has a touch of Karl Malden (from the movie) as the much put upon, love smitten Herbie. He holds his own with the magnetic Heather Orth and is to be admired for his acting especially in his final split with Rose.

And accolades for one of the best scenes, is the show stopper burlesque queen number “You Gotta Have a Gimmick” with Tessia Tura (Karen DeHart), Electra (Lisa Cross) and Mazeppa (Robyn Tribuzi) should be given a second and third encore. This is a must see show.

Kedar K. Adour, MD

Courtesy of www.theatreworldinternetmagazine.com

THE EXECUTION OF NANCY DREW IN WACO TEXAS

2011-09-21T15:35:00.000-07:00

THE EXECUTION OF NACY DREW IN WACO TEXAS by Joe Besecker and directed by Meredity Meeks. Was presented at the San Francisco Fringe Festival, EXIT Theatre: 156 Eddy St on Wed. Sept. 7, Sept. 10, and Sept. 13, 2011.

It may be that Joe Besecker’s luck has run out even though he was extremely lucky to have his latest absurdist political opus selected for presentation at the San Francisco Fringe Festival. For the uninitiated to the workings of the SF Fringe, all plays and performance pieces are strictly by lottery. This is Besecker’s seventh straight (I use the word “straight” advisedly) year to have won the Fringe lottery. This time around, he does not disappoint although his extremely complex murder mystery did not grab the brass ring as previous offerings did.

Take a young woman named Nancy who grew up being addicted to Nancy Drew Mysteries and (horrors) she marries a Republican with the name of Ned Drew in order to get her jollies by becoming her heroine if in name only. Before continuing, be advised that the play would be more cogent to older members of the audience. For those who are younger, there is a plethora of contemporary names scattered about to hold your interest. Also you can go to www.nancy-drew.mysterynet.com for more information.

Joe Besecker is a master of play construction and rarely relies on exposition to define on or off-stage characters. Nancy Drew never appears on stage; after all she is in prison for murdering Ned and scattering his remains around town (or somewhere) and is to be executed in three days. This is reason enough for Texas, specifically Waco (read wacko), former home of David Koresh and the Branch Dividian religious sect, to do her in.

Nancy has confessed to the crime she did not commit and two of her best friends with their kooky husbands have arrived to find out the truth and get Nancy released. They are Lacy Roosevelt (Andi C. Trindle), a political speech writer, her straight laced lawyer husband Jeremy (Wayne Roadie) and Alyssia (Melisa Keith) and Lucas Ferrell (Jeffrey Crawford) who own a goat ranch in Vermont and just happen to fabulously rich but keep that hidden.

Into this mix, Besecker has thrown in a gay couple (you knew he would) Scott (Michael Sally) a detective and Ryan (Christopher Geritz) a mystery writer who has aspirations of being the next Truman Capote writing a novel similar to In Cold Blood, after he has interviewed Nancy in prison. It just happens that Ryan’s former lover died under suspicious circumstances with an accidental hanging due to his sleep disorder. Don’t ask.

There are 12 scenes with the final scene taking place in “The Moss Covered Mansion”. . . oh yes, there is the proverbial almost deserted mansion ala Nancy Drew Message in a Haunted Mansion. Did I mention there is a twisted candle that leads to the message? The twists and turns to the plot are legion and just when you think Besecker has given us a clue, think again, another solution rears its ugly head.

Every mystery must have a denouement and Besecker does not disappoint. His twisted mind-set for this play (and for a couple of others) is in overdrive and his denouement is a document to outclass all denouements. Did I mention that the author is a name dropper? He likes to write plays about flawed artist including Tennessee Williams (Tennessee in the Summer),Edward Albee (Bee-Eye), Sylvia Platt (The Way Water Strikes Filled Mason Jars [a fringe winner])and John Cage (The Dance Atop the Glorious Red Fez). He outdoes his previous plays throwing in the names of the possible or abetting suspects, including the deceased David Koresh: The Winklevoss twins, Omar Sharif, Mahatma Ghandi, Barbara Bush, Margaret Thatcher, Rahm Israel Emanuel, The Secret Service and of Course the CIA.

Besecker is not known for subtle satire and for this play he abandons subtly and reverts to no-too-subtle sarcasm that he swings like a baseball bat that should have the audience in stitches but does not. Much of this is due to the uneven casting for this extremely clever play. Melissa Keith is much too brassy and Wayne Roadie is much too bland thus unbalancing the cast. Apparently Besecker is experimenting with theatrical construction testing whether an expository performance piece can be a meaningful theatrical event. With a professional cast, the answer is yes.

Kedar K. Adour, MD

DON’T DRESS FOR DINNER at RVP funny but flawed.

2011-09-18T09:46:00.000-07:00

( l tor) Sondra Putman, Melissa Claire, Casey Bair and Marianne Shine in the hectic finale of Don't Dress For Dinner at the Ross Valley Players

DON’T DRESS FOR DINNER: Sex Farce by Marc Camoletti, adapted by Robin Hawden. Directed by Richard Ryan. Ross Valley Players (RVP)Barn Theater, Marin Art & Garden Center, 30 Sir Francis Drake Blvd., Ross, CA. 415-456-9555 or www.rossvalleyplayers.com. September 16 through October 16, 2011.

DON’T DRESS FOR DINNER at RVP funny but flawed.

The opening scene of Ross Valley Players Don’t Dress for Dinner that begins their 82^nd (count them) season of continual operation has a marvelous gimmick (not to be mentioned here) built into Jay Lasnik’s French farm house set that brought laughter and spontaneous applause from all of the audience as the “Marseilles’” played. It was signal that fun was to come in this French sex farce romp that played for seven years in London. I guess the French and The English have something in common . . . they love sex farces.

The play is by Marc Camoletti a Parisian transplant from Italy whose claim to fame is the hilarious sex farce Boeing, Boeing that is still making the rounds at community and professional theaters. For this play, Camoletti uses two of the characters, Bernard and Robert, from that play. This time around Bernard (David Kester) is married to Jacqueline (Sondra Putnam) and has a mistress Suzanne (Marianne Shine) and once again Robert comes to visit.

Jacqueline is about to go on a trip to see her mother and sophisticated, sly manipulative Bernard has planned a birthday shindig for Suzanne and unsophisticated Robert has been invited to the party. The cook has been hired from the agency and her name is Suzette. That is sure to cause confusion and it does with both respond to the diminutive “Suzi.” Further complications are about to occur when Jacqueline intercepts a telephone call discovering that Robert is coming and she, come hell or high water, is not about to go visit dear mama because Robert is her lover.

Camoletti carefully contrives a series of misunderstandings that pile up like the multiple pillows on the two sofas that are constantly being shifted about. Director Ryan, with insistence of supervising producer Robert Wilson, does not use French accents for all but the sexy Suzanne and statuesque Marianne Shine does a great job with an occasional miscue during the hectic antics that ensue.

When the cook Suzette (Melissa Claire) arrives Robert assumes she is Suzanne and in short order (she is Cordon Bleu trained) she is conned, for a price, to go along with the charade. Alas, that means sexy Suzanne now has to pretend to be the cook and she is more of a short order cook rather than a Cordon blue chef.

There are the obligatory four doors needed before a play can be a farce. The country house is actually a converted barn with the two spare bed rooms that were formerly a cow stall and piggery. Camoletti gets a lot of laughter, really only guffaws, out of that detail but it is necessary when decisions must be made as to who would sleep where or with whom.

David Kester creates a sufficiently priggish and aloof Bernard who gradually uses all those around him to cover up his misdeeds and is deserving of the fate he is to suffer. He is well matched by Sondra Putnam playing Jacqueline with perfect control hiding her own peccadillo with consummate composure and she becomes completely believable when it is time to play the “wronged wife.” Melissa Claire is the audience favorite morphing from a frumpish ordinary girl to a seductive actress, model etc when she is stripped of her maid costume to play the role of mistress. She deserves all the money proffered her by the two timing men. Tavis Kammet is completely miscast or has been overly directed to play the dunce that is not written in the script. Casey Bair plays his brief but pivotal role as George with strength.

Director Richard Ryan has elected to use broad comedy verging on slapstick removing any touch of directorial sophistication and intricate timing to obtain maximum humor from the script. However, there are more than enough laughs to make the evening entertaining and worth seeing. Running time two hours and 10 minutes with intermission.

Kedar K. Adour, MD

Courtesy of www.theatreworldinternetmagazine.com

FINIAN’S RAINBOW a charmer at Woodminster Amphitheater

2011-09-12T10:33:00.000-07:00

Center Gene Brundage as Finian McLonergan. Clockwise from upperleft: Tom Reardon as Woody and Juliet Heller as Sharon; Meg Jaron as Susan; Jayson Lamb, Kelly Houston, Rod Voltaire Mora, Michael LeRoy Brown as the Gospeleers; children and leprechaun L to R, Lino Goggins-Rendon, Sophia Tuma, Tyler Kent as Og, Jana Chism. Truman Ports. All photos by Kathy Kahn.

FINIAN’S RAINBOW: Musical Comedy. Music by Burton Lee, Lyrics by E.Y. Harburg, Book by E.Y. Harburg and Fred Saidy Woodminster Summer Musicals by Producers Associates, Inc. Woodminster Amphitheater in Joaquin Miller Park, 3300 Joaquin Miller Road, Oakland. 510-531-9597, or www.woodminster.com September 2 - 11, 2011.

FINIAN’S RAINBOW a charmer at Woodminster Amphitheater

Woodminster Summer Musicals ends with a real crowd pleaser as 50 or so dedicated thespians tread the huge stage singin’ and dancin’ up a storm that will have you leaving the amphitheater humming the many “hummable” tunes. But alas you won’t have the marvelous 13 piece orchestra with local favorite Brandon Adams at the piano to accompany you. You will have difficulty deciding which tune to hum first with such great songs "How Are Things in Glocca Morra?", “Look to the Rainbow”, and “Old Devil Moon," to name just three of the nine or so show stoppers.

Although the play is a bewitching fantasy, it is also a scathing political satire that ran afoul of McCarthy’s House Un-American Activities Committee when it trod the boards in1947. FDR’s Tennessee Valley project (TVA), that plays a major role in the plot, was a socialistic project bringing low cost electricity to the down-trodden Southern rural areas. Never-the-less it ran for 725 performances, has had several revivals even becoming a film version with Fred Astaire, Tommy Steele and Petula Clark.

It all begins with two intrepid visitors from Ireland arriving in Missitucky (no it is not a misspelling), U.S.A. Finian McLonergan (Gene Brundage) has stolen the leprechaun’s pot of gold and is going to plant it near Fort Knox, mistakenly believing that it will grow into many more pots of gold. Daughter Sharon (Juliet Heller) has been brought along in hopes of finding her a suitable husband. Hot on their heels is leprechaun Og (Tyler Kent) to retrieve the gold informing Finian that if he gets the three wishes promised in the legend, the gold will turn to dust. So beware of what you wish for. Gene Brundage is a charmer with more than a touch of Fred Astaire in his step and Tyler Kent, the audience favorite, matches well with Tommy Steele and Juliet Heller has a fine voice. Her love interest, and savior of the community Woody (Tom Reardon) performs admirably and their duets “Look to the Raibow”, “If This Isn’t Love” and “That Old Devil Moon” are delightful. Tyler Kent should take advice from W.C. Fields and never perform with a children. Tiny Sophia Tuma and Jana Chism almost stole his thunder in the second act in the reprise of one of his songs. But Tyler is not to be upstaged and has the audience in the palm of his hands with “Something Sort of Granish” and in his finale “When I’m not near the Girl I Love” sung to the beautiful and fine dancer Meg Jason in the role of Silent Susan.

There are too many fine performances in the cast to single out individuals but the Gospeleers ( Rod Voltaire Edora, Kelly Houston, Jason Lamb) lead by Michael Leroy Brown jivin’ to “The Begat” deserve special mention. The ensemble of 40 or more make up in energy for any missteps and their rousing “When the Idle Poor Become the Idle Rich” is a colorful gem with outrageous costumes (Alison Morris and April Sorensen) that must be seen to believed. All in all Woodminister comes through again with a family fun professional evening.

Kedar K. Adour, MD

Courtesy of www.theatreworldinternetmagazine.com

Why We Have a Body not attracting an audience at Magic

2011-09-12T08:15:00.000-07:00

(Right upper) Lorri Holt as Eleanor. (Right lower)Lauren English & Rebecca Dines as Lili & Renee, (Below left) Maggie Mason as Mary in Why We Have a Body playing at the Magic Theatre, Fort Mason, San Francisco Photos by Jennifer Reiley.

WHY WE HAVE A BODY by Claire Chafee, directed by Katie Pearl/Jessica Holt. Magic Theatre, , Building D, Fort Mason Center, 3rd Floor, San Francisco, CA 94123. 415-441-8822 or www.magictheatre.org August 31 – October 2, 2011-09-11.

Magic Theatre in San Francisco has started their 45th season with a revival of Why We Have a Body by Claire Chafee that graced their stage in 1993 and was a smash hit or so they tell us in the PR info sheet. It is understandable that they would select a play that might replenish their coffers if, and that is a big “if” it were successful. The Sunday matinee attracted only 19 people other than me suggesting they have made a financial blunder even though it is an artistic gem.

There are only 4 actors, Lauren English, Rebecca Dines, Lorri Holt and Maggie Mason who represent the who’s who in Bay area theatre. The construction of the play is disjointed amounting to a series of monologs interspersed between a few very dramatic interludes. If there is a protagonist it would be Lauren English in the role of Lili, a lesbian private eye who specializes in tracking down wayward husbands while she herself is searching for an ideal mate.

That ideal mate turns out to be the married Renee (Rebecca Dines) a ), a paleontologist- or that could be a neurophysicist searching for her true sexual identity. The extended embrace scene between English and Dines is the stuff that would whet a voyeur’s desires. It was so real as to be embarrassing.

Mary (Maggie Mason) is Lili’s younger sister. Mary thrives on holding up 7-eleven stores and that keeps her in and out of jail. When free, or is it after she has escaped, she works directing traffic. Her maniacal actions give this 80 minute show a good dollop of humor. It needs it.

Then there is Eleanor (Lorri Holt) mother of Lili and Mary, a Scarlatti romantic who has taken off exploring the world, traveling through jungles, crossing rivers and even finds sanity in fly fishing. I guess she read Izaak Walton’s The Compleat Angler. Before she got hooked on angling she was a brain researcher discovering the female brain is larger than that of the male. The reason for this it has to store more memories. This is even more so in the lesbian brain than the straight brain because they have no future. Really?

There is no fixed set since the actors bring along the furniture that include a chais lounge, tables, a row of airplane seats and even a canoe. This works very smoothly and co-directors Katie Pearl and Jessica Holt do a fine job of keeping the time between scene changes minimal. If you wish to read anything into the script, there are many astute lines and many metaphors to invite intellectual conjecture. What you will walk away with is the marvel of the acting ability of all four accomplished actors.

Kedar K. Adour, MD

Courtesy of www.theatreworldinternetmagazine.com