Joe Straw #9

L - R - Kem Saunders, Dwain A. Perry, Jah Shams - Photos Tomoko Matsushita

By Joe Straw

Still, the Dunbar Hotel stands, the white stone fenestration around the windows and entryways are welcoming, while the red brick and masonry blazes majestically at 4225 S. Central Avenue in Los Angeles.

On the first floor, the lanterns are perched like hungry birds staring through the arch windows. And the “Hotel Dunbar” sign, perched a rusty red brown, is still visible on the northeast corner between the melancholy third and the jazzy diabolical fourth floors.

Magnificently built by skilled African Americans tradesmen in the year 1928 and financed by the black community leaders – John and Vada Somerville, this was a hotel where “Negros” could stay in segregated Los Angeles.

Today the wayward branches of a ficus tree limit the view of the inhabitants peering down on South Central Avenue. The branches propagate gloriously where once the rich and famous came to see and be seen. Nowadays the sightseeing is all but a silent idea from bygone days and only ghostly images from the past haunt the stairwells. You can see them if you were born with a veil over your face.

At one time, the hotel had 115 rooms, now there are 72 apartments for senior citizens. The inhabitants keep the rooms quiet, a suspenseful silence, waiting for the inevitable that comes to all things and places. The current events matter little nowadays. What matters is how this was done, how they got here, and where it will all end. And to that end, the story continues.

The Robey Theatre Company in association with The Los Angeles Theatre Center presents The Magnificent Dunbar Hotel written by Levy Lee Simon and directed by Ben Guillory now extended through December 28, 2014.

The play, The Magnificent Dunbar Hotel, is a wonderful historical time capsule, opened in a theatrical setting, giving startling revelations of stories and events of famous people in fleeting moments of time. There is a magnificent history here and where the Dunbar will end no one really knows. By all means – and in this standing room only performance – this was an exceptional night of theatre. The play was filled with music, conflict and comedy and I couldn’t help but think: Is there is a bigger show here, a film, possibly a musical?

They stand together, Minnie Lomax (Tiffany Coty) and Lucius Lomax (Dwain A. Perry), embracing in barely breathable space. She is in her bright red dress, pearl necklace, and white shoes and he elegantly dapper in a tailor made suit.

Lomax hardly comprehends their recent purchase of The Summerville Hotel. But in that space, there is conflict as to the name of the hotel. “The Summerville Hotel” is done. Minnie wants the name to be “The Dunbar Hotel” in honor of Paul Laurence Dunbar, an American Poet.

Minnie takes a moment to read Dunbar’s poetry and seduces the name into Lucius’s collective consciousness until the words congers up the spirit of Paul Laurence Dunbar (Julio Hanson) who decides that inhabiting the hotel for the eternal time being might not be such a bad idea.

The year is 1931, in the not so early morning hours of the day, when Leonard Lennox Jones (Melvin Ishmael Johnson), the assistant manager of the Dunbar Hotel, is wondering why the new girl, Gloria Ann Pedigrew (Ashlee Olivia), is always late. And when she finally arrives, he lets her have it. Not to be outdone, Pedigrew gives it right back.

“Old crow!” – Gloria Ann Pedigrew

“Old crow? You can’t call me an old crow.” – Leonard Lennox Jones

Jones threatens her with a dismissal and then looks for the boss.

Meanwhile, in the diner, Paul Robeson (Jah Shams), in fine attire, flirts with Vera Cunningham (Vanja Renee), the waitress. Or is it the other way around? Vera unbuttons the top button of her waitress uniform, making sure there’s enough to entice this famous entertainer should things swing her way. She asks if he would like his eggs “hard”.

Robeson opens the paper and is immediately troubled by an article. He sneers at the contents and sets the paper aside when Lomax sits with him at the table. They discuss the article, written by Charlotta Bass (Cydney Wayne Davis), about the KKK in California. Lomax says he carries a weapon to even things out around the hotel should the need arise.

Lennox Jones interrupts Lomax and says that Pedigrew is always late and that she called him an old crow to boot. Lomax responds that Pedigrew must need a raise and Jones should bring her to his office. Jones grumbles his way up the stairs to get her.

Meanwhile Maybell Smith (Rhonda Stubbins White), a longtime hotel housekeeper, tells Pedigrew that she has got a very nice job, with a nice employer who pays on time. But, suddenly Jones interrupts them. Jones tells Ms. Pedigrew that Lomax wants to see her immediately.

Maybell sees where all this is going and she threatens Jones.

Pedigrew walks into Lomax office expecting the worse and Lomax asks her about her outside relationship. She says she’s in love and wants to marry Pee Wee (Kyle Connor McDuffie) who is now in Louisiana.

“You think you need more money?” – Lucius Lomax

“Yes sir, I sure do!” – Ms. Pedigrew

Lomax says that if she can get to work on time he will more than double her salary. Pedigrew hugs him happily and runs back up stairs.

Jack Johnson (Kem Saunders), boxing heavyweight champion, arrives with cigar in hand and declares that he will open a nightclub in the hotel. He also takes a fancy to Vera.

“Vera’s enough to come back to black.” – Jack Johnson

Later, upstairs, a smooth talking man, John Kinloch (Jason Mimms), Charlotta Bass’ nephew, tries to seduce Ms. Pedigrew and this is not the first time. Ms. Pedigrew says that Pee Wee is coming and she wants to break it off, but oh so delicately as she waffles into his arms. Maybell catches them purring about and John Kinlock leaves the room.

“That boy likes anything. Is he the reason you can’t get to work on time?” – Maybelle

Vera, making her move, gets Paul Robeson to sing for her and the others sing as well but that doesn’t sit too well with Dr. Vada Somerville (Elizabeth June) and her husband Dr. John Somerville (Doug Jewell). They think turning the Dunbar Hotel into a nightclub is a grave sin.

John and Veda will start a protest against the hotel to stop all devious thoughts and transgressions that come with music and especially jazz, insinuating the hotel will become a brothel, like the one that Lucius Lomax’s sister is running in San Francisco.

“Negros, I swear.” – Lucius Lomax

W.E.B. DuBois (Tommy Hicks), sitting quietly at a table, stands and addresses the confused in the lobby.

“What would the Negro be without music? As long as the Negro has music, the Negro has hope.” – W.E.B DuBois.

And with that statement, a blessing has been given to the Dunbar Hotel.

Levy Lee Simonhas written a marvelous play that everyone should go out and see. Simon writes about the creation, the selling of the Dunbar to white investors, and then the making of the historical monument that is the hotel today. But the play ends on a sad note, the downbeat, rather than the lively, jazzy, smoking’ hot remembrances that is recalled. Take the last scene, move it to the first scene, add a little bit of theatrical magic, and keep it smoking’ from there on out. Have your highs and lows but always leave them happy and wanting more.

Ben Guillory, the director, has done an equally amazing job with the actors and the words. This was a glorious night of theatre! The Dunbar is more than a hotel; it is a place that has been created by the thoughts and deeds of the characters as though they have built the hotel one brick at a time. And moving in that direction with that idea in mind I think would elevate the play.

This is an amazing cast for which I have a few thoughts relating to the “one brick at a time” idea.

Jovan Adepo is Reverend Donovan Clayton Russell, an articulate gay man who loves to diffuse conflict. Russell is an interesting character in that he has two things working against him, his color and being gay. But this bothers him little. Adepo gives Russell a lot of bravado but missing a strong conflict that keeps him from his objective. What stops Russell from getting what he wants? And, how does his way of life fit with what is the Dunbar today?

L - R Elizabeth June and Tiffany Coty

Tiffany Coty does a superb job as Minnie Lomax and Lena Horne. Coty gives Horne a lot of grit and power as though she owned the hotel. Horne stands tall and proud. Coty has a marvelous voice, performs the songs superbly, and does a grand impersonation of Ms. Horne.

Cydney Wayne Davisplays Charlotta Bass and Ivie Anderson and I could watch her all night long. She has a very lovely voice to top everything else off and a lot of life on stage. (But you all knew that.)

Eddie Goines does some fantastic work as Duke Ellington, Joe Louis, and Officer Tom Bradley. One especially liked the voice of Duke Ellington, funny and odd all in the same moment. There is something missing in his objective and how that all fits in the end. For example, here is a man that made the Dunbar, made it his home and, in the end, he is the first to leave without the appearance of giving it much thought. More should be given to that moment.

Julio Hansonplays Paul Laurence Dunbar, the ghost who only appears to one person. Hanson does a fine job, but having the poetry relate to what is going on, on stage, has its own peculiarities. Hanson would do better to find a way to make the poetry work as it relates to the overall piece of the play. And how does the poetry build the Dunbar and move the play along?

Tommy Hicks give a marvelous performance as W.E.B. Dubois. The characterization is subtle and true. And Hicks movements on stage portray not one false note. And to top that off his voice is inspiring. It is through his words, his personal poetry, that the bricks remain strong today.

Doug Jewell plays Dr. John Somerville, complete with a Jamaican accent and a fantastic bowler.

Melvin Ishmael Johnson is Leonard Lennox Jones and was by far the audience’s favorite and the work on stage was very fine indeed.

Elizabeth Juneplays Dr. Vada Somerville, and has a great time as Ethel Waters, saucy, sassy, and not giving one inch of her vocal prowess to her counterpart. Waters gave the hotel a structural legacy. June also plays Jan Perry.

Kyle Connor McDuffiecomes in as Pee Wee and as certainly not a peewee because he is in fact against type, a tall statuesque actor. Pee Wee enters as a country bumpkin and in the end has grown in manner and style. McDuffie has a strong voice and a strong presence. There must be more to this character and his relationship to the Dunbar that I’m not quite getting.

Jason Mimms plays John Kinloch with a commanding dignity and a very strong voice. There is a lot of larceny in his character and it is visible with some very nice character traits in his performance.

Ashlee Olivia plays Gloria Ann Pedigrew. Olivia is a fantastic actor that shows us her subtle thoughts one minute and glorious physical actions the next. She is a complete actress that I could watch her every moment that she is on stage. It is another performance not to miss.

Dwain A Perrygives a very strong performance as Lucius Lomax a man that appears to have complete control over his domain. This is a grand role for Perry as it shows his strengths in voice, movement and character. That said, there might be room for doubt in the mind of the character, doubt about the music, the people that frequent his establishment, and doubt about losing ownership. Something happens to the character with which we are not privy to, how he lost the hotel, why he lost it and what he does to get it back.

Vanja Renee plays Vera Cunningham and is an incredible actor who provides us with wonderful lovely moments onstage. Renee has a wonderful way about her on the stage and the hotel needs her beauty and humor.

Kem Saunders as Jack Johnson has a very strong charisma on stage. More could be made with his desire and ability to get the music up and running at the hotel. After all, it is his strength and power that puts the music in the hotel.

Jah Shams has an eerie resemblance to Paul Robeson and does a nice job with the character. Robeson’s voice was very powerful and Shams should try to match that power. He also plays a police officer.

Petal d’Avril Walkerplays Almena Davis Lomax with grace.

Sammie Wayne, IVhas a great opening moment in Chester Himes, a writer. It is a very somber but menacing look of one who is about to strike with any remark that could be considered rank. Himes is at the Dunbar, but Wayne doesn’t give us the reason why he is there. The why needs to be incorporated into the character and that will help us to discover why he is one of the bricks of the Dunbar. Wayne appears, at times, to be searching for the words, which could be a natural affectation or a character choice. If it is an affectation, Wayne should find a way to make it part of this character. Naytheless Wayne is very interesting and growing as an actor – always a good thing.

Rhonda Stubbins Whiteis very fine as Maybelle Smith. It’s the little things she does that make her shine. She is the rock that keeps them all together. It is a very fine performance.

Vanoy Burnoughplays Minnie Lomax and Lena Horne but did not perform the night I was there.

Other members of the production team are as follows:

Assistant Director – Robert Clements

Production Stage Manager – B’ANCA

Set Design – Michael D. Ricks

Lighting Design – Michael D. Ricks

Costume Design – Naila Aladdin Sanders

Music Composer – Michael McTaggart

Sound Design – Kimberly M. Wilson

Graphics Design – Jason Mimms

Multimedia Design – Harold Sylvester

Production Photographer – Tomoko Matsushita

Prop Master – Robert Clements

Publicist – Phillip Sokoloff

Marketing/PR Director – Camille Wyatt

Development Director – Judith Bowman

Youth Outreach Coordinator – Noreen McClendon

Youth Outreach Coordinator – Millena Gay

Youth Outreach Coordinator – Sheila Dorn

Vocal Coach – Cydney Wayne Davis (oh yes!)

Choreographer – Kellie Dantzler

Archival Photographer – Michael Blaze

Video Technicians

Luis Quintero – Director of Photography, A-Camera Operator, Editor

Ronald Ateman – B-Camera Operator

Harold Sylvester III – Best Boy, Camera Assistant

Nicole Honore – Continuity, Montage Manager

Kenneth Brown – Lighting Vendor

Run! Run! Run! And take a friend who loves the rich history of Los Angeles.

RESERVATIONS: (866) 811-4111.

ONLINE TICKETING: www.thelatc.org

L - R Rob Elk and Pat O'Brien - Photo Ed Krieger

By Joe Straw

I’ve got a list of things to do or see for the holidays. Let’s see It’s a Wonderful Life, A Christmas Carol (Alastair Sims), The Homecoming, A Charlie Brown Christmas, and the new one on the list is Bob’s Holiday Christmas Party.

Boy howdy is this fun!

L.A.’s smashed hit is back! Bob’s Holiday Office Party written by Joe Keyes & Rob Elk and directed by Craig Anton is playing at the Pico Playhouse Theater in Los Angeles and is now in it 19^th season in a very short run through December 21, 2014.

I love it when a packed house laughs in unison. And there is so much laughter, it’s no wonder this holiday show is in its nineteenth season! I saw it last year and I think it’s funnier this year under the magnificent direction of Craig Anton.

And like It’s a Wonderful Life I can hear the sound of prayers: “Somebody please help Bob Finhead (Rob Elk). He can’t make up his mind.”

Bob must have left the decorations in his office up all year because nothing has changed. The small still life town of Neuterberg lies peacefully now, with soft snowflakes on the windows. The big bulbed lights warms the pine tree needles causing the dripping of small disgusting bits of sap onto the old record player. And, inanimately, the record player begs for someone to make up their mind and drop the needle on some Christmas music from a scratching, popping, vinyl 45 or a 78 rpm. Yes, nothing has changed in Neuterberg.

Bob Elk is outstanding in his insurance office but one look and we know that he wants out. He has bigger dreams. He wants out so badly he can taste it, smell it, drink it, and deep-fry it. Time in his life for becoming an inventor, going to college, and saving mankind is running out. He’s wasted nineteen years, playing it safe selling insurance, and all he’s got to show for it is this darn Christmas party.

Oh, but what a Christmas party.

Sheriff Joe (Joe Keyes) is the first to join the festivities. He’s out of uniform, because of an unexpected expulsion incident, which cause him to change into what looks like a car mechanic’s outfit. But, other than that, and because of the snow, it’s a slow day for law enforcement.

“One of these days, I will make money on one of my inventions.” – Bob

If Bob could only fix the door to the bathroom life would be a lot easier. Joe has to move the door and sit on the pot, full view, and not a pretty sight. Not even bothering to find the handle, Joe walks away from the excessively filled toilet and over to tub of ice to wash his hands.

Bob tells Joe that he might be going to inventing college. He claps his hands, flushing the toilet, which is another invention, the crapper clapper, for which he proudly beams.

“Change is not good.” – Joe

Joe says he’s been hearing voices lately about Margie (Andrea Hutchman) meeting Bob in the backroom of the store, unbeknownst to her gay husband Roy Mincer (David Bauman). Another slight dig before Joe leaves to have a drink before the party.

Speaking of the devil Roy, wearing white and looking a lot like Roy Rogers, drops by with a small token, flitters about and says he must attend to his male house guest but will be back later.

Wearing on Bob is the idea that he is still in the insurance business, that his life will not get any better, and that his dream of being an inventor is slowly dying. Suddenly, a stranger, perhaps a savior, enters his door. It is Elwin Bewee (Nelson Ascencio) a successful businessman, television actor, and former humiliated stuttering classmate arrives in town to buy the insurance company. Bob is chomping at the bit.

The arrival of the Johnson twins in elf like costumes makes the party official. LaDonna (Maile Flanagan), and LaVoris (Johanna McKay), two George W. Bush lovers, take parting shots at Obama and call him a “Muslimnist”. The two express their dying devotion to Sarah Palin and Ted Cruz and blame Obama for “taking away our freedoms”. But the thing they take keen interest in is Bob’s relationship.

“How’s Margie? How’s her husband, Roy? Huh? Huh? Huh?” – LaDonna/LaVoris

It seems that everyone knows Bob and Margie’s not so well kept secret.

Margie joins them a short time later, face red as a beet, and looking like she’s been an observer on a nuclear test range.

Trouble comes through the door as wacked out, drugged out, beer-ed out Marty (Mark Fite) has just had another automobile accident in his van. This makes the 16th time, more than half were not his fault, including the one time he was asleep at the wheel.

Carol (Sirena Irwin) joins the party fresh from a mental institution with lyrics that cause the party to halt immediately. She doesn’t know where she is and her tight lips “pop” continuously before she is relieved of her partying duties.

Brandy (Sirena Irwin), a sex-crazed woman joins them late much to the enjoyment of Sheriff Joe.

I liked last year’s party but I liked this year’s party even more. From a practical standpoint Craig Anton’s direction flowed and made a lot more sense. Everything worked and I had a great time.

Nelson Ascencioas Elwin Bewee does a nice turn. His character was specific and his objective perfectly clear. Bewee has left the town and become rich. But, the town has not left him.

David Bauman is Roy Mincer and is marvelous in his process.

Rob Elk as Bob Finhead does another fine job. Finhead is a progressive clear thinker who takes everything in stride. And it would be safe to say that everything in the party office is fair game. Elk is also the co-author of this wonderful play that has changed from last year’s version and I would suppose the play changes every year. I mean who heard of Barak Obama in 1995?

Mark Fite is Marty. I didn’t see him last year but I think his version of the character makes a lot more sense, is a lot funnier, and in the context of the play serves a greater purpose. It is a great performance.

Maile Flanagan is LaDonna and is a wonderful performer. Do not miss this performance!

Andrea Hutchmanis Margie and does a marvelous job. Hutchman is an actress that could fit many roles. Margie is a social climber and stops at nothing to get what she wants, when she wants it, including sex. (Except with her husband.)

Sirena Irwin is Carol and Brandy and is marvelous in each role. Irwin is a physical actress that is extremely funny and this is also another performance not to miss.

Joe Keyes is the other Co-author and Sheriff Joe. Keyes is terrific as Sheriff Joe and does some wonderfully amazing physical actions on stage. Keyes is wonderful in the role.

Other members of the cast are Dawn Brodey (Margie), Cody Chappel (Marty), Pat O Brien(Elwin Bewee), Ann Randolph (Carol/Brandy), and Pat Towne (Roy Mincer) who did not perform the night I was there.

Amanda Knehansdid a very nice job as the Set Designer. Paige Stanley was the Lighting Designer. And Marissa Drammissi was the Production Stage Manager.

Other member of the production staff are as follows:

Kriss Meier – Assistant Stage Manager

Plays411 - Publicity

Fred and David at Ultra Creative – Graphics

Sam McCay – Web Design

Jeff Fontelera – Program Graphic Design

Eddie G. – Show and Pre-Show Music

Rob Elk – Santa’s Breaking In

Rudy Casoni – S’no Balls

Run! Run! Run! And take someone who can get you tickets!

Reservations: 1-800-838-3006

By Joe Straw

Watching Piñata Dreams by Josefina Lopez is like revisiting movies. There are similarities to The Wizard of Oz with the theme of getting back home, to Pinocchio where the piñata boy become real life boy, toslipping into Neverland in Alice in Wonderland, to a lesser degree with A Clockwork Orange, and to the non-scary parts of Nightmare on Elm Street.

All of this is good as Piñata Dreams is a play for children. Actually adults of all ages or anyone who enjoys a fantasy will delight in the undertaking of this production. But is this a fantasy or a dream?

Casa 0101 presents Piñata Dreams by Josefina Lopez directed by Corky Dominguez and produced by Sherrie Lofton and Anisa Hamdan through December 28, 2014.

Piñata Dreams is a very, very likable play that needs another 30 minutes to appropriate a full-length genre. But for now, it is very pleasant fare. Corky Dominguez, the director, does an impressive job creating the fantasy and the dream. It could benefit from a slight focus but I will get to that later.

J.J. (Noah Logan Martinez) has a problem and it’s mostly about school. He has a touch of a learning disability and not being able to concentrate on his studies. But he has a highly active imagination and more than anything else wants to make beautiful piñatas for his father’s piñata shop, which already has an impressive collection dangling from the ceiling. Colorful piñatas, beautiful piñatas, and all are wonderfully priced to boot.

J.J.’s mother (Evy De La Cruz) has died for reasons not entirely clear.

Then a party supplies store moves in across the street and tries to steal the piñata business by having a two-for-one sale. J.J’s father (David Guerra) finds this news distressing and hopes that will not ruin his business.

And while the little boy loves piñatas, J.J. is more enamored of the alebrije– sculptures that are compositions of two or more animals. And try as he might with his studies, J.J. works in the shop because he finds it more fascinating.

Don Chelo (Jose Garcia) saunters into the shop and throws more fuel into the fire by announcing that the new piñata shop has Iron Man and helicopters. Don Chelo falls into that category: friends you don’t reallyneed.

But J.J.’s father has other ideas for his only son while his kindhearted grandmother (Evy DeLa Cruz) watches.

“Do your homework! Artists have a hard life.” – Father

“But you make people happy.” – J.J.

At night, working by candlelight in his father’s shop, J.J. falls asleep. When the candle spills, and a fire burns the shop to the ground.

What are the other theatrical expressions that used masks?

The Japanese had a type of theater called Noh, which originated in 612 A.D. It is a style of theatre that takes traditional tales in which supernatural creatures are transformed into human form. Generally it is the main character that wears the mask while the supporting characters do not.

In Piñata Dreams is similar in that the main character wears a mask. Different from Noh, the supporting players also wear masks. The only time we see them is when they step back from their characters and narrate the story.

So J.J. is all too real.

In Commedia dell’arte, literally meaning – comedy of craft, the actors are in exaggerated masks or heavy character makeup. (The Actors Gang, in Culver City, teaches this method on their stage in Los Angeles and extends their reach to prisons throughout the state.) It is a form of theatre where professional actors perfect a specific role or mask. They generally used props rather than extensive scenery.

J.J.’s prop is his magnificent piñata stick.

Josefina Lopez’s play is called Piñata Dreams but we never actually go into the dream in the way Alice does by falling asleep, or for that matter the way Dorothy does in The Wizard of Oz where the fantasy is created by a jar on her noggin. Is it possible the entire play is a dream? And if so, why are we immersed in J.J.’s real life with supporting characters that wear masks?

This is something different.

Corkey Dominguez, the wonderful maker of the masks, and director, has provided us with his style, his own rhythm, encapsulating moments with an actor’s sharp turn to the fourth wall. This style is very effective and adds to the dream. The expressions we don’t get from the mask are made up for with the characters’ creative use of hands, which define the space they occupy in the dream.

Dominguez presents the play in a way that the boy hears the blended noises of other characters as possibly one would hear and view them in a dream but doesn’t see the faces and can’t make them out. It makes for fascinating work.

But here is where there is a slight problem.

In the opening and the ending of the play when one really needs a cold dose of reality, the characters, with the exception of J.J., are in masks. The audience never gets the impression that this is a dream or where that dream begins. Real life, or what we perceive as reality, has faces, rather than masks, and we never get a taste of the real life from the other characters in the way we were introduced the characters in The Wizard of Oz. Everything is a fantasy, a dream, an adventure and a conflict that J.J. – the only one without the mask – must overcome.

J.J. is a real life boy, with real life problems, making real piñatas. When we hear him say “But you make people happy” it is wonderful and heartbreaking and it would have been best to see the emotion on his father’s face, rather than the mask. But again, is it all a dream?

Josefina Lopez, the writer, does some marvelous work providing us with a rich assortment of Latino characters making their way through life. It is a simple life but one which means so much to the characters and their community. It is a story of caring, loving, and sharing. And it is also a story of unspeakable menaces that ride the back of a small helpless human being. But, the night I saw it, the execution was not that specific, the elements of the story lacked the physical progression to bring the boy to an emotional fever pitched homecoming. That aside, there’s something wonderful here. I saw it on the second week; some problems may have been ironed out, but maybe not all.

Sherrie Lofton & Anisa Hamdam terrifically produced this play.

Noah Logan Martinezplays J.J. He is a cute young man and does well on stage with his brand of humor. There is a lot more to learn about acting should he decide to pursue his craft.

Isaiah Cazaresplays a variety of characters the Party supply store promoter, Itzali, Firefighter, Young Great Grandfather, Scary cave alebrije #1, Huitzilipochli, Store Customer #3. There is probably more to be had with the Young Great Grandfather part because it is in underworld (or a dream). The relationship to his great grandson requires strengthening and his knowledge of the place requires awareness.

Evy De La Cruzplays Grandmother, Piñata #4, and Cave Child. She is a fine actress and does remarkably well with the Grandmother. And a little more mollycoddling with her grandson would add to a nice performance.

Jose A. Garciaplays Don Chelo, Piñata #1, Cave Child, Diablo #1, Big Diablo #2, and Monster at the window. Garcia gives a terrific performance as Don Chelo complete with a slight speech impediment due to two terrific protruding front teeth on the mask. But I’m wondering if there is more to had with this character that sets lives in motion simply by his annoying appearance.

Sophie Goldsteinis the Daughter Customer, Piñata #2, Cassie, and Store Customer #1.

David Guerra is impressive as J.J.’s father; his hand movements and way about the stage are specific and true to life. This was a job well done and effectively done. Guerra also played the Grandfather and Great-Grandfather.

Suzanne Santosplays the Mother Customer, Piñata #3, Halipi, Scary cave alebrije #2, Man tied to tree, and Store Customer #2.

Other members of the production team are as follows:

Stage Manager: Alyssa Champo

Set Designer: Cesar Holguin

Costume Designer: Dori Quan

Sound Designer: Vincent A. Sanchez

Lighting Designer: Sohail e. Najafi

Light Board Operator: Jorge Villanueva

House Manager: Suzanne Linares

Production Photographer: Ed Krieger

Assistant Stage Manager: Julius Bronola

Pinata Maker: Andrew Cervantes

Asst. Set Builder: Angel Perez

Graphic Design: Josefina Lopez

Social Media: Sylvia Cortes

Mask Makers: Beth Peterson & Corky Dominguez

Webmaster: Mark Kraus

Gallery Curator: Margaret Garcia

Art Image: Crystal De La Torre

Publicist: Steve Moyer

Co-Producer: Jennifer Madrid

This show has closed. But please check with Casa 0101 for future show. The theatre is a delightful venue for Boyle Height and you are always welcomed.

Phone: 323-263-7684

www.casa0101.org

By Joe Straw

Some of these productions were not supposed to be that good, the actors were unknown, the talent in the small houses are suspect, and the stages were small and run down.

And I keep hearing this time and time again. “Hardly anyone goes to theatre these days.”

Well, you can believe that if you want, but for the most part the houses were full, the audiences receptive, and audiences come away from the production with a great sense of satisfaction.

You can believe anything anyone wants to tell you. But, that is my not my impression of what's going on in theatre today.

This is what I experience when the lights go down.

My interest lies in an emotion, an aesthetic impression from an actor that projects a life, giving as much as a audacious gestures to an unfathomable silent glance. It matters little as long as it is an emotional outpouring created from the bottom of the soul. Take me to the place that means so much, in little time, and lift me. Send me out of the theatre soaring.

These are my picks of outstanding performers, writers, and directors that I have seen this year. Congratulations!

Michael Dempsey– RX by Kate Fodor – at The Lost Studios

Darrett Sanders, Christian Levatino– Sunny Afternoon by Christian Levatino at Theatre Asylum

Ricco Ross, Shawn Savage– The Whipping Man by Matthew Lopez at The Pico Playhouse

Robert Craighead– Inherit The Wind by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee at The Grove Theatre Center

Ashlee Olivia– Knock Me A Kiss by Charles Smith at The Robey Theatre Company

Chris L. McKenna, Benjamin Brand– Taste by Benjamin Brand at The Sacred Fools Theater Company

Lucy Rodriguez– Premeditation by Evelina Fernández at The Los Angeles Theatre Center

Bill Charlton, Burl Moseley– The Memorandum by Václav Havel – Santa Monica Rep

Julio Hildago– Enrique VIII de William Shakespeare – The Broad Stage

Peter James Smith, Peter Larney, John Dennis Johnston, and Katherine Cortez– Land Line by Stephen Dierkes at The Ensemble Studio Theatre

JoDyRaY, KT Thangavelu, Amelia Yokel– Bliss Point by Shishir Kurup at The Odyssey Theatre

Jeremy Crutchley– Sacred Elephant by Heathcote Williams – The Odyssey Theatre

Ted Barton– Andronicus by William Shakespeare – Coeurage Theatre Company

Paul Witten, Ann Nobel– The Goat or, Who is Sylvia? by Edward Albee at Los Angeles LGBT Center’s Lily Tomlin/Jane Wagner Cultural Arts Center

Rhonda Lord– Affluence by Steven Peterson at Theatre 40

Tanna Frederick, Mike Falkow, and Kelly DeSarla– Train to Zakopané a True Story of Hate and Love by Henry Jaglom

Ashlee Olivia, Dwain A. Perry, and Jason Mimms– The Magnificent Dunbar Hotel by Levy Lee Simon

And I almost forgot Sirena Irwin and Maile Flanagan - Bob's Holiday Christmas Party by Joe Keys and Rob Elk. I never laughed so hard!

The "Ortiz" award for outstanding theatrical achievement this year goes to "Premeditation” by Evelina Fernandez and directed by Jose Luis Valenzuela.

This award represents a grand achievement for diversity in a theatrical production. It is something I worked for as the SAG Hollywood President of the EEOC and continues today through this blog.

Starring:

Evelina Fernández

Sal Lopez

Geoffrey Rivas

Lucy Rodriguez

Outstanding Achievement in Direction:

Howard Teichman – The Whipping Man

Christian Levatino – Sunny Afternoon

Stuart Gordon – Taste

Jen Bloom – The Memorandum

Jose Luis Valenzuela – Premeditation

Outstanding Achievement – Writing:

Christian Levatino – Sunny Afternoon

Evelina Fernandez – Premeditation

Henry Jaglom – Train to Zakopané

Levy Lee Simon – The Magnificent Dunbar Hotel

Thank you Los Angeles Theatre and congratulations to all of those who have received The Last Straw Award 2014.

L Chris Marquette - Amanda Brooks

By Joe Straw

My recent circumstances have me in contact with a number of Ph.D. students who answer both “yes” and “no” in response to a question, all in the same sentence. The students are at times emotional and confused, but extremely bright. All are in need of that one extra push by an equally bright professor to get them focused, over the hump, and on to their Ph.Ds.

There are a lot of tissues expended in this process. – The Narrator.

The Moth Theatre Company presents Proof by David Auburn, directed by John Markland, and produced by John Markland and Brenda Davidson. Proof is the winner of the Pulitzer Prize, Tony Award, Drama Desk Award for Best Play, New York Drama Critics Circle Award, and the Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Play and will be playing through February 15, 2015.

Proof at the Moth is an outstanding play, featuring an equally exceptional cast, giving us moments of brilliance, all in the name of mathematics. But there are other themes in David Auburn’s carefully crafted play, such as caring for the infirmed, dealing with depression, a competing sibling rivalry, and gender bias, which are also addressed in grand fashion.

Maneuvering a mathematical life in the sacred name of reckoning while trying to connect the arithmetical dots of life is a grand theme in this play. (Puns intended) And proof is an unwritten test from which all lives must pass. In this case, it is proving you are brilliant, and proving you aren’t insane. In either case, this proves to be an extremely difficult and problematic obstacle for our main character to overcome.

As our play begins on the back porch of a Chicago home, he just appears, from the middle of nothingness, as a bright glowing being with a purpose, watching his clement daughter, sitting in his chair, in a daze or in a dream, in the late hours of the evening thinking, always thinking, for a reason that will become clear, or not.

“Can’t sleep?” – Robert

“Jesus, you scared me.” – Catherine

And so we begin, near the end, almost near the end in this non-linear play, where Robert (John Cirigliano), a brilliant mathematician and former University of Chicago professor, interrupts his daughter, Catherine (Amanda Brooks), in the dead of night.

Catherine’s despairing reflections embraces her like the comfortable family chair in which she sits this late evening as she waits outside on her porch for Hal (Christopher Marquette), a recent Ph.D. and now a professor, to finish his work and come downstairs.

But something’s a little different tonight. Robert has got a little surprise for his daughter.

“Happy Birthday.” – Robert

“Dad.” – Catherine

“Do I ever forget?” - Robert

Robert presents Catherine with a champagne bottle and asks if he should pop the cork but given their present circumstances, Catherine takes matters under her control. Robert mentions getting glasses but Catherine takes a swig from the bottle. She offers Robert some bubbly.

“Do you” – Catherine

“No, go ahead.” – Robert

And there Catherine sits, disheveled, sitting like she hasn’t slept or bathed in quite a while, and there is not one single friend to comfort her on this night. Robert has some lame idea about a inviting a friend over, someone who moved away a number of years ago.

“What about Claire?” – Robert

“She’s not my friend, she’s my sister. And she’s in New York. And I don’t like her.” - Catherine

Claire (Felicity Price) is scheduled to arrive the following day, coming to recombine with her sister in their time of need.

Well, why this night?

Robert says the best thing to do, when one is up late at night, is mathematics. Catherine isn’t keen on the idea. Suddenly Robert gets a little upset with her - saying that she is throwing her life away.

But after a little coaxing, Robert gets Catherine to do a little math and we see she has a bright mathematical mind. But, Catherine has a hard time believing in herself and at the age of 25, she believes she is beyond her prime (a positive integer that is not divisible without remainder by any integer except itself and 1, with 1 often excluded) while her father had already done his greatest work by the age of twenty-four. It was about that age that Robert first showed signs of losing his mental faculties, something Catherine worries about now, speaking to her dead father.

“The simple fact that we can talk about this together is a good sign.” – Robert

“ A good sign?” – Catherine

“Yes!” – Robert

“How could it be a good sign?” – Catherine

Yes, it is a bad sign given Catherine’s present circumstances, and Catherine is wondering now if she losing herself or is deplorably insane.

Robert mysteriously leaves and Hal enters moments later saying he needs another week to go over Robert’s notebooks. Of course, Catherine is exasperated but Hal says he’s got everything in order. He tells her that Robert dated his notebooks, and he can take some home, read it, and bring it back if it’s okay with her.

Catherine is not having any part of it. She says there’s nothing in all of the 103 notebooks. She says her father was a graphomaniac, someone who has an impulse to write, and he wrote nothing but gibberish near the end of his time.

Not to be undone Hal says he’s willing to go through all of the notebooks.

“I’m prepared to look at every page. Are you?” – Hal

“No, I’m not crazy.” – Catherine

Hal, with amatory speculations, changes the subject and invites Catherine to hear his band of merry math geeks. He plays the drums and promises he won’t sing. Catherine is not interested since it’s late at night.

Hal lets it slip that if he could produce one-tenth of what her dad produced, “I could write my own ticket.”

Catherine is suddenly suspicious, demands to see his backpack as proof that he is not stealing any of her father’s work. Her search of his bag comes up empty. But when Hal grabs his jacket one of her father’s notebook drops from his coat.

Catherine immediately runs to the phone and calls the police. Hal tries to calm her down and gives her a reasonable explanation why he is doing what he is doing. She hangs up and, as Hal is leaving, a police siren is heard in the background.

Later, the following morning, Claire, Catherine’s sister, has arrived with her brazen sincerity in tow and is making breakfast, well – she bought stuff at the local market. Claire, taking charge, has an agenda and is deliberate when pouring milk into Catherine’s coffee moments after Catherine said she wanted hers black.

“How are you feeling about everything?” – Claire

“About “everything”? – Catherine

“About Dad.” – Claire

Obviously Claire is overly concerned about Catherine’s well being, her mental status, her altercation with the police, and the strange unidentified being called “Harold Dobbs.” She has already taken steps to sell the house and move her sister to New York where she will be in good hands.

Catherine is not hipped to the idea and is slightly disturbed, slightly being an understatement.

L - Amanda Brooks - Felicity Price

John Markland, the director, is exceptional when dealing with the small intimate moments, the coming of two in the heat of passion. It is during those moments that this production soars. The opening moment is spectacular and this production is filled with those moments. But there are slight problem with the first scene, the dead father and daughter scene that provides little mysticism and offers us little more than a typical father/daughter scene. Strengthening the father/daughter relationship as well as the teacher/student relationship are in order. In a metaphorical manner of speaking, they need to find a way for the little daughter to crawl into her father’s mathematical lap. There are two scenes that speak loudly to me. One is Catherine leaving for Northwestern without her father knowing about it, which presents the emotional moving on with life; and two is Catherine reading Robert’s theorem that is gibberish when Catherine realizes that her life, as she knows it, is over.

Amanda Brooksgives a wonderful performance as Catherine with a vocal texture that is alluring and exciting. As the character, Catherine is weary having spent the last five years taking care of her father before his death. And as she speaks to him the night before his funeral, she casts internal doubt on her own sanity. Catherine is lost, not knowing which direction to turn. She knows she is brilliant, questions her sanity, and has to fight off her sister and friend to prove herself. Elegantly dressed in a beautiful black dress, compliments to her sister for buying it, Catherine is now an alluring force to be reckoned with. Brooks gives an outstanding performance.

Felicity Price does some amazing work as Claire. Claire is a currency analyst and believes in firmly controlling her life. She offers herself as the sibling who is mentally stable and willing to take care of her indolent sister. Claire wants her sister to move to New York City. Her objective is to get her to New York first, get her an apartment, and have her looked at by some of the finest mental doctors in the land. Hard to do when the sister is an emotional roller coaster. But Claire keeps her composure through the chaos that is her life right now. Claire has a different look than what I imagined a currency analyst to look like (e.g. blouse, blazer, pearl necklace, skirt, and shoes with not-so-high heels). Instead she wears a thin summer dress and stiletto heels from which she negotiates a back porch and a gravel walkway, with ease. Price, an Australian, has a spot on American accent and a natural rhythm to her movements on stage. Negotiating the trash on the back porch – I’m not sure what that was or how that moves the play – but it all seemed so natural.

Chris Marquetteis exceptional as Hal. We first see him as a professor, and then as we go back in time as a doctoral student in which he excels. Although a professor, he has a lot to learn about accepting truth and not being so clueless and biased toward women in mathematics. Marquette is wonderful in the world of small intimate moments and catching his truth in those moments is what every theatregoer hopes to see. His objective is strong and clear, and his inner conflict is his own worst enemy.

John Ciriglianoplays Robert the brilliant mathematician and father. There are moments that ring true to his performance but there is more to add in character development and shoring up the relationship with his daughter. A professor, and particularly one of this caliber, is the smartest person in the room. In his lucid moments, his voice commands the space; his thoughts express a clear understanding of his expertise, and include an extreme desire to teach. The opening scene does not ring true to the relationship with his daughter and it slightly misses the humor of it all. Getting out of the chair several times is not specific to the action. The character needs to strengthen his objective. His daughter leaving him is an emotionally charged scene that does not strike to the heart of the matter. It is devastating for him and possibly sends him on a downward spiral.

Brenda Davidson does a fine job as the producer.

Justin HuenScenic and Lighting Design work wonderfully in this space. Upstage center is a lamp, which serves at the professor’s office, and reminds me of The Blue Room, also on this stage. The best vantage point to see the production is near downstage far right where you are able to flow right into the home.

Daniel Coronel is the Stage Manager.

Ken Werther Publicityis the Publicist.

Max Barsness is the Graphic Design.

The Moth Theatre is newly remodeled and looks wonderful.

Run! Run! Run! And take a professor with you.

www.moththeatre.com

Reservations: 323-609-3676

Moth Theatre

4359 Melrose Avenue

Los Angeles, CA 90029

(Entrance is behind the theatre on Heliotrope)

By Joe Straw

Normally, there’s a sizeable crowd at Casa 0101, but on this particular night, there were oodlesof patrons. In fact, the lobby was almost bursting shoulder-to-shoulder, and suddenly, in the theatre, it became standing-room-only. This was the opening weekend of a world premier play. Rarely do you get a packed house - so something was a little out of the ordinary. The tarot cards could not have predicted this outcome.

Am I out of the metaphysical/witchery loop here?

Casa 0101 Theater presents the world premiere of Clean Start, a new comedy written by Kathy Fischer & Josefina Lopez and directed by Kathy Fischer through February 15, 2015.

This is Casa 0101 at its best. There is so much fun in this presentation of Clean Start, a raucous, snappy, and fast-pace comedy. You had better run fast and reserve your tickets because Casa 0101 shows do not have a long theatrical run.

In a very modest home, where the tile does not meet the grout, somewhere in East Los Angeles, are the incessant sounds of helicopters flying overhead, police sirens, and Chihuahuas barking angrily.

Doña Maria Rodriguez (Marina Gonzalez Palmier) sits actively, watching a novela, and is getting downright upset by the smooth dialogue from a charming gigolo-like male on the show. Her forward inclination means to take it out on this terribly despicable character. To that end, she pulls out a reasonable facsimile, a Ken doll, lays him on a mocajete bowl, and chants for his blond hair to fall out, in clumps. (She has some male issues!)

Rosario Rodriguez (Ingrid Oliu), Maria’s daughter and homeowner, comes home early from her job secretly holding a plant while she puts her stuff away. Something has happened at her maid cleaning job in Beverly Hills and she was told to go home.

“Never trust a gringo.” – Doña Maria Rodriguez

Rosario responds that Mrs. Parker Reed (Kim Chase) has been good to her and that it has been all a terrible misunderstanding. In the meantime, she can work a swap meet or something to earn money.

And while she is out of work, Blanca (Maria Russell), her sister, can get a job and help the family out, the way some families do.

Maria, with little regard to her daughter’s active slumber, says that Blanca hasn’t even gotten out of bed yet. She needs her fourteen hours of beauty sleep.

Rosario has had it and starts the vacuum cleaner.

“Ma, you woke me!” – Blanca Rodriguez

Blanca, an out-of-work aspiring model/actress, runs into the living room and, looking in the mirror, checks for any wrinkles in, on, or around her face. Nope. Enchanted by her reflection, the stunning creature stares at her voluptuous beauty. Not a wrinkle anywhere, upstairs good, downstairs even better.

Maria asks Rosario if she got her last paycheck. No, because as it turns out - and here is where she is living in her own novela - Mr. Reed (not seen) was the mastermind of a Ponzi scheme and the authorities have taken swift action to freeze his accounts. In a gracious bit of action, Mrs. Reed told her employees to take anything out of the house as payment of their last paycheck.

Rosario opted to take a plant – and not even the kind you can roll and smoke – groused her mother.

“Mrs. Reed was good to me.” – Rosario

So now there’s a problem. Blanca has been waiting for her Quinceañera party for twenty years and she wants it, despite being thirty-five years old. This former Miss Rosarita Bean model is on the edge of the age precipice, in a time where nothing has dropped or cracked, she definitely needs her Quinceaña, and the husband can wait, but not too much longer.

Vladimir (Robert Jekabson), a Russian, wearing socks, underwear, and a utility belt, emanates from the basement where he lives to plug a leak in the bathtub. Blanca ogles his half naked body and molds herself into a half dozen provocative poses.

Maria looks at Vladimir with distain. She’s decided that Vladimir is not a good match for Blanca. She had this dream that Blanca would marry a “Juan”. And just like “no I in team” there’s no way you can get Juan from the name, Vladimir. But there is no Juan within a suitable marriageable range on the horizon, or even in this universe.

And aside from Vladimir, there is no man within a puffy dress range for all of these ladies. Rosario is divorced from her French husband, Blanca is looking, and Doña Maria Rodriguez has given up entirely.

Every single moment at this point is turning into a disaster for this family so Maria is forced to go to the tarot cards to foretell their future. She pulls one and up, and just their luck, the devil appears.

And wouldn’t you know it, the doorbell rings and in walks Mrs. Reed, a gratuitously impertinent rich woman, with her suitcases in tow. Mrs. Reed, who does not travel east of Robertson, tells Rosario she needs a place to stay until things around her home settles down. And this quaint little home, reminiscent of a third world country home, fits the bill. Rosario, true to her spirit, offers her the master bedroom, draws her a bath, and a Tanqueray to calm Mrs. Reed’s raw nerves.

Vladimir steps back into the living room now that the bathroom is unplugged. He is introduced and has a private conversation with Mrs. Reed, speaking in his native Russian tongue, emphasis on the tongue. Now Blanca wants Mrs. Reed out!

The Quinceañera is not looking too good for Blanca right now. With no money, she will need to put her Quinceañera dress back in the box, ship it back, and have Rosario make her a dress from the used picnic tablecloths.

Casa 0101 has pulled out their A-List actors for this one. They blend and work magnificently with each other. The actors are true to the spirit and their objectives.

Kim Chase as Parker Reed provides us with a very physical character on stage. She is slightly despicable, commanding the house as though she owned it, and she does so very well. There is a turn in character when we find out who and what she is and what she is made from. Chase is wonderful in the role.

Ingrid Oliu as Rosario Rodriguez is the older sister and, for the most part, the straight woman to everyone else’s character. The words did not come easily on this night, possibly due to opening week jitters. Still it was a wonderful performance by a woman who really cares for her family and will do anything for them, and anyone else who walks in, so that they have a home. The plant, especially its role at the end, reminds me of “A Raisin In The Sun”.

Maria Russell as Blanca Rodriguez does a fine job with her character that desperately wants a Quinceañera. Russell is an extremely funny and gifted actor who pulls no strings to get what she wants. Gambolling playfully seems to be the order of the day for Blanca and all of it is all in good fun.

Marina Gonzalez Palmier plays Doña Maria Rodriguez, the matriarch of the family. She has got a sharp quip for anyone who ventures within her earshot. Maria’s relationship with her two daughters appears the same and could use additional treatment. Palmier is a wonderful actor who is always in the moment.

Robert Jekabsonis Vladimir and does a nice job as an unsuspecting, or suspecting, love interest. There is more fun to be had with this character, in his manner, and his off stage antics. Jekabson, a former golden gloves boxer and personal trainer, totally fills the bill for this character.

Josefina Lópezand Kathy Fischer, the writers, must have had a great time writing this play, which is filled with humor throughout. No laugh track needed as the actors gave a lot of life to the characters. The dialogue is supremely filled with a discourse that rings true to both east and west of Robertson Boulevard. And there’s just enough social conscience in a humorous way to give regular theatregoers that which they have come to see. That said, the Quinceañera scene needs work. The offstage antics, possibly because of the character’s costume changes, is a bit odd and does nothing to further the play along. It might work better to have the dressed-up actors walk out of the door to the party, change lights, then walk back in.

Kathy Fischer, the director, has done a marvelous job keeping the pace moving briskly along. There is a lot of strong physical comedy work here. Because of Fischer’s background as a situation comedy writer, the play looks and feels much like a situation comedy. Nothing wrong with that, in fact this a very strong beginning for possibly a new show, and for more Latinos working in television. The dancing maids work wonderfully during the scene changes.

Dandi Dewey does a delightful job with the costumes and props.

Celina Lee Surniakis the Stage Manager.

Sergio Leal is the Choreographer.

Other members of this crew are as follows:

Vincent Sanchez – Sound Designer & Casa 0101 Facilities Manager

Kay McCarthy – Associate Sound Designer

Chris Clary – Graphic Designer

Suzanne Linares – Co-Producer

Rees Pugh – Set Designer

Sohail e. Najafi – Lighting Designer & Casa 0101 Technical Director

Catalina Adragna – Stage Hand

Julius Bronola – Stage Hand

Emmanuel Deleage – Casa 0101 Executive Director

Mark Kraus – Webmaster, Casa 0101 Administrator

Jorge Villanueva – Casa 0101 Maintenance

Ed Krieger – Production Photographer

Steve Moyer Public Relations

Run! Run! Run! And takes someone who loves to have a good time!

Reservations: 323-263-7684

Email: tickets@casa0101.org

Buy Online: www.casa0101.org

Photos: Andy Coon

By Joe Straw

The kids work hard while their cerebral mass tries to keep up.

They work to focus. Small minds racing all over the place, hither and yon, but physically coming together as a cohesive whole for a common good, period.

The small things usually done around Christmas and New Years are put on hold because they are in a musical and, of course, working hard to concentrate in tiny increments.

Annie, Jr., well, she says it’s really Annie with some stuff left out – except the heart – and the lovely things – mostly all of the unexpected awe-inspiring intangibles.

Bounce, bounce, flitter, bounce, and off she goes.

Oh, they grow, on the nightly stage. Not taking a minute to think so.

(Okay, a slight exaggeration, but yesterday I was holding my daughter in my arms, crying at the loveliness of this tiny little bundle of joy.)

Yes, and now, after just crawling right out of our arms, they are up on center stage, performing, and screaming loud when it is all over, which has become a tradition of sorts at dee-Lightful, and hardly manageable for my sensitive ears.

(“…And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make.” – The End – from the album Abbey Road - The Beatles)

But, in the end, when the curtain closes and their little eyes get really big, it’s almost like Beatlemania all over again, or dee-Lightfulmania, signifying a right of passage, hands to little cheeks, and the screams do fly.

Do they really have to scream?

dee-Lightful Productions presented Annie, Jr., Music by Charles Strouse, Lyrics by Martin Charnin and Book by Thomas Meehan January 15-17, 2015 at the Robert Frost Auditorium in the Culver City High School, directed by Allegra Williams and Produced by Dolores Aguanno.

So the higgledy-piggledy thoughts flutter about their heads, hardly unable to control their limbs. But their physical lives, trained in this production, are their first point of entry into this world of art, in a manner of speaking.

dee-Lightful teaches the actors the songs, the physical actions, and the necessary tasks to complete the show. And the scattered minds that first enters the rehearsals, find time to focus, to move from one moment to the next before the rehearsals end and everyone flitters home.

There is a lot of talent here in Culver City, where kids work at their craft, making their objectives clear, their nuance subtle, (very subtle at times), all in the hopes of making their mark.

The interesting thing is watching them work on voice, movement, and character – the sum of which features some very strong voices and accents – and a craft, because they take pride in their craft. And on that proper observation, one has to take a deep breath and watch it all happen.

dee-Lightful has a huge following. I was there to see the Subways Cast on Thursday evening and the Taxicabs Cast on Friday night along with 200 of my closest friends.

Each night got progressively better. And each cast had their own uniqueness. The Taxicabs soared onto stage and never gave up, but it was a night fraught with minor mistakes, a flashlight left on stage, an apple tray left backstage, an imaginary bite of an invisible apple, an arm or a leg of a doll left downstage center for someone to pickup. All minor but memorable mistakes that put a big smile on everyone’s face and a solid memorable stamp on the night.

Mistakes happen all the time and everyone learns from their mistakes. Still, there were some terrific performance and moments that would lift you right out of your seat.

Allegra Williams, the director, did a fitting job of putting this all together. And with Ben Ross did some outstanding work on the choreography. The servants number was excellent as well as the dance numbers with Warbucks and Annie.

With a cast of about 40 actors, there are tremendous amounts of people working behind the scenes to help in the production. It is a community effort, a lot of hard work, and a boatload of people wrangling actors.

Aine Lee and Isabella Veale both gave pleasing performances as Annie and each had their vocal métiers.

(But my younger daughter groused that one Annie had brown hair. I mentioned Annie, in the newspapers, had black hair Monday through Friday and red hair only on the weekends. A little matter lost in its nuance.)

Katelyn Coon as Miss Hannigan has a wonderful voice and Jessie Grimaldo gave a grand performance as Miss Hannigan as well, each creating a wonderfully functional and emotional life for the character.

Max Lianos was Oliver Warbucks, a Republican with a serious purpose in mind. Lianos gave Warbucks a lot of flair and the dance scene with Annie was a magnificent moment in the musical. Merrick Padilla also played Oliver Warbucks and has a very strong stage presence especially as FDR. Both gave Lt. Ward a very strong New York/Brooklyn accent.

Mirabel Armstrongdid a great job as Grace Farrell and looked to be in the moment throughout. And Samantha Spector gave Grace Farrell another type of grace and marvelous poise.

Lindsay Gross and Joe Call each played Rooster Hannigan the evil-minded brother to Miss Hannigan. Both were exceptional in the song “Easy Street”.

Both Jules Hendersonand Charlotte Ceugniet played Lily St. Regis and each had their own version of the character and wasn’t that nice.

Other members of the fantastic cast are as follows first by Character and then Subway Cast actor and Taxicabs Cast actor.

Molly – Ruby Addie – Elliana Lilling

Pepper – Socorro Park – Evyn Armstrong

Duffy – Renee Story – Uma Kolesnikow

Toughie – Martin Pentchev – Cosette Okker

April – Ava Allred – Maya Gonzalez

Kate – Izzy Kessner – Cate Schilling

Tessie – Mia Story – Camille Ceugniet

July – Cali Kimura – Brooke Rosenbloom

Drake – Ben Sanderson – Ian Warfield

Cecille – Elena Hilger – Emma Snyder

Annette – Bella Hilger – Samantha Spector

Mrs. Greer – Sophia Martin-Straw – Olivia Andrews

Mrs. Pugh – Jessie Grimaldo – Katelyn Coon

Featured Servant – Lindsay Gross – Lindsay Gross

Bundles McClosky – Joe Call – Sophia Martin-Straw

Appleseller – Arden Malsin – Taye Reiss

Dogcatcher – Aili Poinsett-Yoshida – Olivia Andrews

Sandy – Ayla Moses – Martin Pentchev

Lt. Ward – Merrick Padilla – Max Lianos

Star-To-Be – Charlotte Ceugniet – Socorro Park

Usherette – Jessie Grimaldo – Katelyn Coon

Radio Announcer – Mirabel Armstrong – Lindsay Gross

Burt Healy – Arden Malsin – Jules Henderson

President FD Roosevelt – Merrick Padilla – Max Lianos

Louis Howe – Ian Warfield – Ben Sanderson

dee-Lightful Production needs a home. They also need updated sound equipment to smooth the edges when the sound doesn’t work as it should. dee-Lightful works in collaboration with Culver City Department of Parks, Recreation & Community Service and is a service we desperately need for the sake of our community.

www.dee-Lightful.org

By Joe Straw

“Is he just a left-winger? Is that his problem?” – President Richard Nixon

“I guess so.” – H.R. Haldeman

“Is he Jewish?” – Nixon

“I don’t know; doesn’t look it.” – H.R. Haldeman

“We’ve complained bitterly about the Cavett show.” – Charles Colsen

“Is there any way we could screw him? That’s what I mean. There must be ways.” – Nixon – The White House Tapes

With few honest humans left in media and print these days, Dick Cavett can be considered one of the most trusted men in America.

I mentioned to someone that I was going to see Dick Cavett in a play. My uninformed confrère thought Cavett was dead. I assured this individual that I wasn’t in the habit of watching deceased actors work on stage – what with the smell and lack of movement.

Theatre 40 of Beverly Hills and Michael J. Libow present Dick Cavett in the West Coast Premiere of the Acclaimed New York Production of Hellman v. McCarthy written by Brian Richard Mori, directed by Howard Storm, and Produced by David Hunt Stafford through February 28^th, 2015.

Dick Cavett has lost the golden locks and the long sideburns that once accompanied him back in the day but he has not lost his appeal, affable wit, and timing. One might call him nimble at this point in his career.

There is no mistaking Cavett’s dulcet voice along with his dapper appearance. The green sports coat suits him well this night. He is nicely tailored, and except for that little tuff of hair protruding from the back of his scalp, he was perfectly coiffed. That must a comedian trick, serious but funny in the front, and slightly offbeat in the back.

A quick casual observation about Cavett is that he listens, or appears to listen to everything others have to say, without judgment, and then provides his own commentary with a nice little glib and blithe remark. It is certainly a trademark of his character that we have come to thoroughly enjoy over the years.

Cavett brings his fine acting chops on stage doing a few impersonations, narrating the story, and telling a few jokes along the way. The night was a very pleasant evening.

“I hope they don’t clap when he enters the stage. That would be so sit-com and really not the rules of theatre in Los Angeles.” – Narrator

Okay, so this cue card guy comes out, begging us to applaud as Cavett from The Dick Cavett Show strolls out on stage to tell a few jokes. It is in the moment, I tell myself, and I can live with that, so I break all my rules and begrudgingly clap.

Following Cavett’s wonderful opening monologue, the play starts in earnest with a couple, upstage right, sitting at a small dinning table. A cantankerous old bird, Lillian Hellman (Flora Plumb), and her too-eager-to-please gay nurse Ryan (M. Rowan) are in a stirring game of Scrabble. Despite Hellman’s egregious cheating, with lettered tiles flying here and there, Ryan manages to get the best of her.

And, oh my, Hellman hates losing, at anything, so she unceremoniously quits the game, tiles dropping off her every being. She turns to find out what is on TV but there’s not much except The Dick Cavett Show on PBS, and with guest author Mary McCarthy, a woman Hellman personally knows and holds exiguous regard.

Already stewing from the recent Scrabble loss, Hellman wants to see what that “witch”, Mary McCarthy, is doing.

Cavett goads McCarthy into some reckless gossip about good writers and bad writers. McCarthy latches onto the bad writers bit and mentions Hellman. Suddenly, Hellman is horrified by the slander spewed forth from McCarthy’s lying Irish lips.

“Every word she writes is a lie, including “and” and “the.” - Mary McCarthy

Repulsed violently, Hellman’s ceremonious inclination is to dial her attorney, Lester Marshal (John Combs). If only she could pick up the phone and dial. Shaking the thick black receiver of the telephone, she demands that Marshal sue Cavett, WNET-TV, and McCarthy.

Marshal doesn’t think it’s a good idea and tells her so because they “are friends.” And she should listen to her friends.

“I don’t pay my friends.” Hellman

Ouch.

Despite McCarthy’s stinging remarks Marshal does what he is paid to do and employs the argument in court that Hellman is not a public figure.

Notwithstanding, there is a great deal to like in Brian Richard Mori’s play. At first glance one wonders about the complexity of the drama. But looking back, after taking a deep breath, one finds a fascinating play dealing with the gradations of truth; moments that are part of the record, moments that may have happened, and moments that are outright fabrication.

One of the finest parts of this play is the scene when Hellman and McCarthy meet. Hellman is looking for an apology but verbally dukes it out with McCarthy. Moments later, Cavett, the most trusted man in America, says that scene never happened.

It is with certitude that playwriting can only give us a fair representation of the actual truth. That’s fair to say. But what are we to make of an entire scene that is completely false but so much fun? And while Mori’s drama does not take us deep into the psyche of the characters, there is enough here to make it an enjoyable evening. Yes, it most certainly was.

Dick Cavett does an impressive job this night. And it’s really not much of a stretch to play Dick Cavett if you are, in fact, Dick Cavett. There is also that mischievous grin of his when he is caught in an erratic boat of comment unpredictability, floating in unchartered waters, without a paddle, now leaking like a sieve, and wondering how he is going to get out. He takes everything in stride, comments with a wry sense of humor, and exits, stage left. Mostly, he brings the background of his character and with him that rich history of his entire being. Also, Cavett is also open for a few questions after the performance and I enjoyed every minute of it.

Flora Plumb is delightful playing Lillian Hellman. The truth plays out in grand fashion in her portrayal. Her performance moved in the direction of her dying which was the overriding characterization of her persona. But Hellman finds enough life in her bite to rise above her current ills and sue her counterpart. And watching McCarthy squirm must have delighted her to no end but we see little of that choice in Plumb on this night. Fighting the pain of age, a subdued stoicism was a part of her character but offers her little opportunity to do anything else. Also, the Betty Davis slap to her nurse does not progress the scene, the relationship, or the play, and seems slightly out of character for a woman who let her words devour her enemies to death. On this opening weekend, Hellman’s relationship to the nurse needed work and hopefully a happy medium will be found by the time you see the play. Hellman’s reposeful expression should not be evident until the final victory is hers. The character work is excellent. One wishes she wasn’t dying through the course of the night. Also, and as an aside, Plumb is much too attractive to play Hellman who wasn’t known for turning heads.

Marcia Rodd, as Mary McCarthy, has a very strong voice and commanding presence that she maintains throughout the play. McCarthy, a former Vassar College student, writer, critic, and educator, kept her on-camera persona throughout. Giving her an off-screen persona will have provided Rodd with more nuances to the character. Finding ways to bring her history on stage would help to define her character. Also, McCarthy must be in the lawyer’s office for a reason, maybe she is running out of money or she is trying to find a way out without losing her sanity. The suit is destroying her life, and her way of life. She says it in words, but the pain in Rodd’s performance does not appear deep, and she is not desperate to end the lawsuit, even though it is killing her character emotionally and financially. That aside, Rodd has an incredibly strong voice and is very likeable on stage.

John Combs plays Lester Marshal, Hellman’s attorney and does a fine job. Combs is affable and in the moment. As Marshal, he finds a way to attack giving his client a reason for being. Marshal can be sinister in the ways he deals with others around him and maybe he could go a little farther with the intimate details of the character.

Martin Thompsonis enjoyable as Bert Fielding, McCarthy’s attorney. He is the low-budget attorney of the group but really doesn’t get much mileage in the relationship to the high power attorney counterpart. Still, there were some nice little exchanges between the two.

M.Rowan Meyer is very likeable as Ryan, Hellman’s nurse. Other than taking care of Hellman, Meyer’s approach to the character didn’t find the right connection on this particular night. There must be a reason that he is there, that he puts up with her, that he stays with her through thick and thin and it just can’t be the money. The difficult task for this actor is to find out why he is there and why he is attracted to stay in the relationship. Finding a creative objective would give him more mileage. Love is a great equalizer and Ryan must find way to love her, despite the fact that he is gay, to care for her emotionally, physically, and mentally. And Ryan being gay didn’t move the play in any direction. He could have easily been straight, another race, female, transgendered, and that would not have changed the objective of the character on this particular night. That said Meyer is a very engaging young man with a very strong appeal and in the emotional moment. His scene with Cavett was spot on and extremely funny.

Howard Storm, the director, gives us the moments we so desperately need when venturing out into the theatre night air. The “slap” is a moment that needs reworking. There is a little bit of creativity and ingenuity needed for the scene when McCarthy and Hellman discuss their previous relationship with each telling the exact story. Having them intertwined, and in each other’s space, would have brought more life into that scene. Also in the apology scene, having them on opposite ends of the table lessened the degree of the dramatic conflict needed in that scene. Also, I don’t think I’ve ever seen two attorneys in a room who haven’t exhausted civility, and are on the edge of trading blows, in words or in emotional deed.

David Hunt Staffordis the wonderful Producer of this show and a guiding light at Theatre 40.

Other members of the valuable crew are as follows:

Rhonda Lord – Assistant to the Director

Bill Froggatt – Stage Manager

Richard Carner – Assistant Stage Manager

Jeff G. Rack – Set Designer

Michele Young – Costume Designer

Ric Zimmerman – Lighting Designer

Joseph “Sloe” Slawinski – Sound Designer

Run! Run! Run! And take someone who loves talk shows.

Theatre 40

In the Reuben Cordova Theatre

241 S. Moreno Drive

Bevely Hills, CA 90212

Reservations: 310-364-3606

Online Ticketing: www.theatre40.org

Nicholas Guest - Photo Ed Kreiger

By Joe Straw

I told my 11-year-old daughter that I met an actor who was in “Frozen”. Her face turned a bright pink, her eyes got really big, her mouth formed a circular “O” shape before she uttered the words “Who? Who? Who? Who? Who!?, Who!!!!?” – Narrator

An actor travels many places, lives many lives, and absorbs what the creator sends their way. Coming into the hallowed halls of the Zephyr theatre on this night were Francis Fisher, Ed Begley, Jr., Fred Willard, and, I believe, Alan Rachins, all working actors venturing out this night finding Nicholas Guest finding himself in his new play “finding Nick”.

The Zephyr Theatre, currently owned by Lee Sankowich, also the director of “finding Nick”, is one of my favorite theatres for several reasons.

Upon entering the theatre, there is a little ramp that forces one gingerly onto the stage before finding a seat. Looking around, one notices little in the way of set design, but there is enough here to accompany the storyteller for a one-man show. Certainly the coat rack upstage right plays an important part. There is a small desk littered with songbooks and a French book. A chair sits comfortably near the desk and guitar stand begs for center stage. Upstage center are screens for projections that will later project the beautiful images in Nick’s life. And upstage left are two chairs, music stands, a place for two professional musicians, the stunning cellist (Hillary Smith) and guitarist (Tony Carafone) who employs a full head of curly hair and a wry smile.

One sees Nick, offstage, before the play begins, holding a guitar and standing behind the curtain, in the wings, ready to come on. A theatre patron pulls back the curtain and waves. Nick gives her a thumbs up sign before venturing onto the stage singing “Last Night I Had The Strangest Dream” by Ed McCurdy and, as funny as it may seem, Nick takes us back into his past, starting in New York City 1967, and off we go into the story of his young life as though it were a dream, relived, replayed, rewound, all for the purpose of giving us a sample of a moment, played back in his precise humanistic details.

The Zephyr Theatre presents “finding Nick” written and performed by Nicholas Guest, directed by Lee Sankowich, and Produced by Racquel Lehrman, Theatre Planners through March 28, 2015

“finding Nick” is an exceptional one-man show about a young man who is lost as he tries to find his way in the world. The music is fabulous; the impersonations genuine, and the passionate moments will lift you out of your seat craving for more. Certainly, and especially for fathers with daughters, the night ends on a very emotional high note.

The play starts in 1967 and ends, one might say, at the end of the performance 2015 because in reality Nick is still finding Nick.

There are people who say, or maybe I saw it in a movie, maybe “City Slickers”, that life is about finding that “one thing”. I guess the trick is knowing the moment when that “one thing” is discovered. But, the one thing we discover in the play is that Nick, as a young man, is adrift, the product of an abiding faith in his immature youth.

And as the play begins, we find that Nick is a bad student. Geometry is not his strong suit. That seems to make little difference in this private progressive school in the upper west side of New York City.

“That’s okay. Write poetry.”

Nick is in high school and not having a grand time. But dressed in his corduroy jacket, without the elbow patches and protesting the war, he watches beautiful girls marching along side him and really gets into the make love not war theme without having experienced the love part, or the war part for that matter.

But Nick’s urbane father, creating an inviolable sanctuary for his son, tells Nick they are moving to Switzerland and politely orders Nick to brush up on his French. Nick, in protest, shoves the French book with his fingertips and says he knows French. (Typical teenager.)

But when in Switzerland, Nick finds himself at the Ecole Internationale de Geneve under the tutelage of a Russian history teacher, with a very thick accent, who is aware of his spotty transcript.

“Nicholai, tell me about the Russian Revolution.”

The best Nick can do is to tell him about the French Revolution using the modern day vernacular of it was “heavy” and a “trip”.

At school, Nick meets Isabelle who takes him to the park and sings him a song and about not leaving him.

Ne me quitte pas

Il faut oublier

Tout peut s’oublier

Qui s’enfuit deja

Oublier le temps

Des malentendus

Et le temps perdu

A savoir comment

Oublier ces heures

Qui tuaient parfois

A coups de porquoi

Le coeur du bonheur

Ne me quitte pas

Ne me quit pas – Jacques Brel

And then she leaves him. Infatuated, Nick tries to find her again but only gets as far as Isabelle’s father and only on the phone. Ultimately it is a project lost in its futility.

There is more to be learned from an American teacher with a crew cut who wants to discuss America’s involvement in Vietnam but thinks that Nick should write poetry.

(One detects a theme here.)

Now Nick’s time in Switzerland takes another dramatic turn when his family moves back to New York, Greenwich Village, and MacDougal St., next door to Bob Dylan.

Nick, still doing terribly in school, gets a glimmer of the acting world.

His counselor, Carol, looking at Nick’s record, see no math, no science, ergo no hope, but does recommend two colleges, one in St. Louis, and the other in Paris, France.

Nick chooses Paris, where his French instructor notices something about this peculiar student.

“You are lost.” – Teacher

Nick, as a young man, was lost and every moment from then on was an awakening of sorts. And as the play progresses, the moments find their sweet spot, and the production soars.

Guest has a strong voice and a special knack for mimicry and imitation. He creates strong characters of the people from his past especially his father, the Russian Teacher, The French Teacher and Bill Hickey to name only a few. The imitation of Eldridge Cleaver had the hair standing on the back of my neck. His objective here is very simple, finding Nick, the conflict is mostly an inner conflict, and the other characters are there to help Nick find the way. So how does Nick find Nick? Simply by osmosis, which is absorbing the lessons learned from the instrumental people in his life, the ones who have focused a great deal of their time turning Nick’s life around. The trick here, or with any actor in the theatre, is having the character engage in the lesson, taking that extraordinary piece and creating a change in the relationship, at that moment, that instant, in that time, and then carrying that forward. If there is one thing learned here is that finding Nick is a lifetime event but, in the immediate world of theatre, one would like to see all of that play out on stage as the younger Nick matures.

All right that said, there is something to be said about one-man shows and Lee Sankowich, the director, gives a lot inspiration to this play. One quibbles about a moment, a stamp from both the director and the actor. The wonderful imitation of Nick’s father needs a reaction from Nick. Isabella’s relationship with Nick is a sexual awakening without the intense hormones begging for her to come back. And the scene in the villa, the Jimi Hendricks scene, needs further exploration, between the older son, the father, and Nick that I didn’t quite get. But these are little things to add to an exceptional body of work.

The music by Guest, Tony Carafone and Hillary Smith will bring you to tears. Other songs not mentioned are “Tomorrow is a Long Time” by Bob Dylan, “Le Plat Pays” by Jacques Brel, “Song of Automne” by author unknown, “Ma Liberte” by Georges Moustaki, “L’Internationale” Lyrics by Eugene Pottier (1871) and Music by Pierre Degeyter (1888), “Bandiera Rosa” Lyrics by Carlo Tuzzi (1908), “Le Temps De Vivre” by Georges Moustaki, “A Rainy Night in Paris” by Nicholas Guest, and “The Hobo Song” by Woody Guthrie.

Also, making a special appearance on this night was Elizabeth Guest putting an exclamation point on “finding Nick.”

Racquel Lehrman,Theatre Planners was the Producer of the show and Victoria Watson, Theatre Planner was the Associate Producer.

Other members of the production crew are as follows:

Donny Jackson– Lighting Designer

Norman Kern– Projection Design

Davidson & Choy Publicity– Press Representatives

Kiff Scholl, AFK Design– Graphic Design

Angelica Estevez– Stage Manager

Pamela Guest– Muse

Run! Run! Run! Bring someone you lost but recently found.

Reservations: 323-960-4420 www.plays411.com/nick

Thursday & Fridays at 8 p.m.

Added shows: Saturdays on March 21 and March 28th.

Zephyr Theatre

7456 Melrose Ave

Los Angeles, CA

By Joe Straw

In the late seventies, right after finishing college in Tennessee, I came to Hollywood and found work as the doorman at the Pantages Theatre. How I got there, I’m not quite sure.

One of the first shows playing at The Pantages was “A Chorus Line” and, on most nights, I watched from the wings, always watching. Now that I look back on that time, well, I have great memories. Wanda Richert, Tony Teague, Scott Plank, and others - good memories - a flood of memories and one can’t help but get emotional at the sound of:

Step, kick, kick, leap, kick, touch...Again!

Step, kick, kick, leap, kick, touch...Right!

That connects with...

Turn, turn, out, in, jump, step,

Step, kick, kick, leap, kick, touch.

Got it?... Going on. And...

Turn, turn, touch, down, back, step,

Pivot, step, walk, walk, walk.

Right! Let's do the whole combination,

Facing away from the mirror.

From the top.

A-Five, six, seven, eight! – Zach

I have not seen a high school production of “A Chorus Line”.

My college professor scoffed when someone suggested we perform it, possibly because of the inherent rigorous demands of this show. Such a production needed trained dancers, actors, and an orchestra working very hard to get this show on its feet, and he didn’t think we had the chops.

Well, Culver City High School does a terrific job of satisfying those of us who want to relive “A Chorus Line” and get emotional. This is an excellent production with a lot of heart, exceptional performances, and that one that will have you feeling good all over again.

Culver City High School Academy of Visual & Performing Arts (AVPA) presents A Chorus Line, Music by Marvin Hamlisch, Lyrics by Edward Kleban, Book by James Kirkwood, Jr. and Nicholas Dante, directed by Jill Novick, March 6, 7, 13, 14 at 7:00 pm and March 8 at 1:00 pm at the Robert Frost Auditorium in Culver City, California.

A Chorus Line, if you are new to the planet, is about a group of hungry dancers vying for eight positions in the chorus of a major Broadway show. The dancers chosen will be the backing the star or the leads of the show.

A white line stretching across the stage is there to remind the dancers of their objective, to get a place on the line no matter what, using charm, voice, legs, and other accouterments.

But Zach (Simon Johnson) isn’t going to make it easy for these dancers. He’s going to put them through the mill to see which one fits the bill.

“A, five, six, seven, eight!!!” – Zach

And so, as Zach is weeding out the dancers, everyone is giving it their all. Through the course of the audition we get to find the dancers strengths and weaknesses.

“Any Broadway shows?” - Zach

The weak are weeded out. The answer to that question is the death knell for a dancer trying to make it.

Zach calls the numbers to the first dancers who have made the cut, and instructs them to get their pictures and resume out and stand on the white line.

“Who am I anyway?

Am I my resume?

That is a picture of a person I don’t know.

What does he want from me?

What should I try to be?

So many faces all around, and here we go.

I need this job, oh God, I need this show.” - Paul

One doesn’t expect an orchestra in a high school production, but Tony Spano, Jr. the Music Director and Conductor does a remarkable job using students and a few professional musicians playing the music and making the night a glorious event.

Singular, or the collective whole one might call this group of thespians who worked well together.

Sensationis a term describing the night.

And while we’re on the subject, one initial observation is the young women have had more dance training than the high school young men. But what the men lacked in skills made up for it in character development and “personal flair”.

Emma deZarn does a fantastic job as Cassie. Her acting is superb and her dancing is first rate. To quote someone after the show “Emma deZarn nailed it!” “The Music and the Mirror” dance is wonderful.

Adriana Romero is tremendous as Diana and gives a lot of life to the song “Nothing”. The song is moving in many ways and Romero is up to the task of finding a character that is fully developed.

Khamiya Terrell towers over the rest of the cast giving us the idea that she is much older as Sheila is supposed to be. She is funny and sassy all in the same breath. “At the Ballet” is one of the highlights of the show and Terrell, Claire Skellyas Maggie, the product of an unhappy marriage, and Isabel Parra as Bebe, the unattractive daughter - all have wonderful and strong singing voices, creating a sense of being at ballet classes and dealing with their parents.

Carly Shiever plays Val who sings Dance: 10; Looks: 3 is another highlight of the show. Shiever has a very strong voice and a nice stage presence.

Elisa Spear plays Judy one of the toughest roles of this musical to get just right. She is kind of clumsy, forgetful, and sometimes scatterbrained, but a gifted dancer. Spear is exquisite in the role.

Sonya Broner and Angel Salas play the husband and wife team Kristine and Al respectively as they form a duet to sing “Sing”. Salas does a great job with the relationship and has a very nice presence on stage. Broner does well singing off key but could go even farther off key.

Courtney Lundy plays Connie to perfection and has a very nice way about her on stage.

Raegan Harris has a superior voice playing Reggie, usually the character is reserved for a male dancer Ritchie, but Harris did a fantastic job and it worked perfectly.

Others rounding out the outstanding female cast were Sarah Toutounchain as Vicki, Mikaela Barocio as Tricia, Rachel Gonzales as Rachel, Paxton Amor as a dancer, and Katy Engel as Lois who has a very nice presence and lovely dance skills.

Samuel Petersen plays Mike Costa and has a great tap number in “I Can Do That”. I always thought this number was too short in the musical and way too long in the movie. Still Petersen gives it the right amount of time it deserved.

Oliver Berliner is Don Kerr from Kansas City. Berliner has a wonder face for theatre and manages his role with aplomb.

Ryan Gacula does a respectable job as Paul and manages to convince us that he has done all that he has done in his young life.

Reno Behnken is Gregory Gardener. Reno is another actor with a great character face and appeal.

Andrew Alvarenga is Bobby Mills a dancer from upstate New York who believes committing suicide in Buffalo is redundant. Alvarenga is extremely amusing in the role and has a natural ability on stage.

Ben Hilsberg is Mark Anthony, a first timer who will work very hard to get on the line.

Simon Johnson is wonderful as Zach. His voice is strong and he could give more emotional life to “A – five, six, seven, eight!”

Henry Farfan is Tom, Owen Jones plays Butch, Gabe Lobet is Frank and Nicholas Freeson is Roy.

Jill Novick, the director, did a great job of getting this musical onto The Robert Frost Auditorium stage. There is a rich history with Novick and this show and the love just comes pouring through in every singular moment. This is a tremendous job and Culver City High School is lucky to have her.

Julie Carson, The Choreographer, also did a tremendous job with the look of the show.

Jacky Jung did a marvelous job with the Chorus Line costumes – not sure where she got them, of if they were tailored made, but they just looked fabulous in the closing number, “One”!

Members of the orchestra, and I especially love the trombones were:

Judy Gottesman – accompanist

Peter Marcus – keyboards

Patrick Gardner – bass

Josh Zucker – percussion

Bella Rivera – flute

Sadushi De Silva – flute

Alberto Cruz – clarinet, bass clarinet, alto sax

Kent Seeberger – clarinet

Niko Vlahakis – flute, alto sax

Milo Bechtloff Weising – bari sax, clarinet

Paul Witt – trumpet

Mikael Nida – trumpet

June Satton - trombone

James Tingle – trombone

Other members of the creative team are as follows:

Lighting & set design – Kristen Opstad

Sound design – Will Schuessler

Stage Manager – Cricket Cary-Green

Relive the dream once again and take someone who has seen it a number of times.

Alyson Renaldo - Photo: Kristin Lau

By Joe Straw

The Santa Monica Playhouse is celebrating its 50^thanniversary! Wow! Presently, the theatre is an intimate house for eclectic one-person shows: Stogie Kenyatta’s “The World is My Home – The Life of Paul Robeson”, “Jamaica, Farewell” by Debra Ehrhardt, “A Child Left Behind” by Alan Aymie; all great nights of entertainment which have been reviewed on this blog.

Lately, there’s been a charming Caribbean crowd at the Santa Monica Playhouse. The lovely woman to my immediate right was from the West Indies. She yelled “Panama” to a woman in a black hat sitting near us. “Panama! (blowing three air kisses), catch you later and we talk about tings, and tings, and tings.”

Alyson Renaldo, the actor/writer of Guyanese parentage, came onstage and disrobed. Well, she took off her shoes. I’ve seen this before. Now she is going to rub her tired feet, I said to myself.

But, that didn’t happen. Instead she put on her “flip-flops” and walked over and read a couple of handwritten messages. At that moment, I could see a truth, a very simple truth, honest and forthright.

“What are you doing here?” – Renaldo

Renaldo is a stunning statuesque woman, with beautiful teeth and a warm smile. How she got to be thirty years old and a virgin is her emotional dialogue, her inner conflict, and the thrust of her entire emotional being that she delivers in an intimate theatrical setting. All this makes for a delightful evening as well as funny in a most unusual way.

The journey begins when Renaldo says she has RSVP’d to a wedding reception.

“An RSVP is an iron clad contract.” – Reynaldo

And in order for us to get the now, we must go back to the beginning and understand how this attractive, unattached, “Virginator”, and “Virgin-esque”, woman gets to the ball (no pun intended).

In her case, consummation was an unlearned developmental skill, but by happenstance, Reynaldo was interrupted so many times in her youth, she was questioning if it was ever going to happen at all. Forget coitus interruptus, Renaldo is a woman skilled in the art of interrupted outercourse.

What is outercourse? Well, everything that is not intercourse, and Renaldo will take you on that journey, to that special place, where she discusses her virginity with the characters that hold a special place in her heart.

TDN Theatre presents Virgin written and performed by Alyson Renaldo and directed by Chris DeCarlo and Alyson Renaldo at the Santa Monica Playhouse through Sunday April 19^th, 2015.

“And he shall take her wife in her virginity.” – Levitucus 21:15

The journey for Renaldo starts when she’s young and kept in a state of chastity as the result of her religion, her mother, and the amusing insanity that trolls upon her synapses.

The characters in her life are specific, especially her mother, who tells her that having underage sex is like driving a Jaguar without a license. Good idea when one thinks about it. But Renaldo uses the sage advice as a license to get her car moving on the journey to the glamorous life of youthful sex-capades and ravenous interests.

And now near the end, and at the wedding reception with Reggae music in the background, Renaldo says you don’t have to have a partner, you just dance, and eventually somebody will hop up along side of you and grind into you without asking. (This truth played out much to the delight of the audience on this night.)

But in the end, Renaldo, the writer and actor, sends us out into the cold night air with a resounding genuineness about virginity and what that word means. The ending strikes to the heart and gives us one more story that restores our faith in humanity. In short, the writer takes us on an very intelligent journey and throws in a grand, funny, and physical life to boot.

Chris DeCarlo, the co-director, finds the moments, keeps it all honest, and gives us a night of enjoyable theatre.

James Cooper is the Lighting Designer, George J. Vennes III is the Production Stage Manager and Sandra Zeitzew is the Public Relations Director.

Run! Run! And take someone who likes to whisper sweet little nothings in your ears.

L - Herbert Siguenza, Richard Montoya, Sabina Zuniga Varela, and Ric Salinas

By Joe Straw

The sea of Latino patrons were visiting this night, Friday February 27, 2015.

Crossing the street, I was introduced to Luis Valdez (The writer of “La Bamba”, “Zoot Suit”, and “I Don’t Have to Show You No Stinking Badges”) and his lovely wife Lupe. Where else does this happen except in Los Angeles?

Our seats in the center, I squeezed by a standing sneering Caucasian woman to take my seat immediately to her left. And in this sea of Latino patrons, she seemed to be the only Caucasian in the crowd (a slight exaggeration). That’s not necessarily a bad thing, my mother was Caucasian. (Let’s pause for a moment on the word “bad” and “Caucasian” in keeping with the theme of the play.)

My ears pick up when this woman began to make disparaging remarks, first she commented about Fernando Valenzuela’s weight and his puffy cheeks, and then she suggested that he should go back to Mexico where he belonged. Her vitriolic gibbering and her indecorous charms were offensive and not in keeping with the respect of nearby patrons. One was mentally tuning her out, turning her down, historically, like an old 1930s Philco radio with a busted knob.

At one point, in the play, when the police were evicting homeowners from Chavez Ravine – “Get ‘em out of there!” she bellowed. I let most of the distractions go. But at the end of the curtain, a young Latina woman behind her said, “Lady, what is your problem?” “Go away! I can say whatever I want!” The man with our Latina friend said: “Honey it’s really not worth the effort. Let’s go.” “No, I really want to know what her problem is.”

The rows of seats kept them separated. There were no physical thrashings. You just never know where you are going to find your drama, most of the time it’s on stage, and other times, it’s right next to you. – Narrator.

“Chavez Ravine An L.A. Revival” by Culture Clash, which has now since closed, was a beautiful production about the insidious treatment of human beings that lived along that stretch of Los Angeles. Beings that were forced out, with funds from the Federal Housing Act of 1949, by a process called eminent domain. The buyouts were a progression of shady backroom deals and intentions of an iniquitous nature.

Center Theatre Group, Michael Ritchie, Artistic Director, Stephen D. Rountree, Managing Director, Douglas C. Baker, Producing Director, Gordon Davidson Davidson, Founding Artistic Director presents Chavez Ravine An L.A. Revival by Culture Clash and Directed Lisa PetersonJanuary 27 – March 1, 2015 at the Kirk Douglas Theatre.

L - Ric Salinas, Herbert Siguenza, Sabina Zuniga Varela, and Richard Montoya

Culture Clash – Richard Montoya, Ric Salinas, and Herbert Siguenza – are obsequious in their presentation – to do something unique. And I’m not so sure I want to give it a name but I might try before all is said and done. They come together in abstractionism, huddled together to go out to present a historical message, a post card of Los Angeles if you will in their art of creation. And even if you didn’t get all of the jokes and all of the historical references, you come away an enlighten human being trying to get a grasp on man’s heartlessness to fellow man.

The year is 1981, opening day at Dodger Stadium, young phenom pitcher Fernando Valenzuela (Herbert Siguenza) takes the mound as Vin Scully (Richard Montoya), Dodger radio announcer, watches and projects his infinitesimal colorful commentary.

Fernando winds up, eyes reaching for the heaven, and throws his left-handed screwball, standing feet wide, perpendicular to the plate, he stares down opposing batters, or so one thinks.

But now Valenzuela, on the pitchers mound, has a problem. Scully, along with 50,000 of the Dodger faithful observes Valenzuela staring off into space and of course Scully notices the distraction by way of his sardonic comments.

Valenzuela’s stare is not directed to the game, the dugout, or the catcher but to the surreptitious Latinos walking toward the mound, the ghosts of Chavez Ravine as it were. Henry Ruiz (Ric Salinas) and Maria Ruiz (Sabina Zuniga Varela), Henry’s sister, former inhabitants of the area have something to work out before they leave the earthly plain called Dodger Stadium.

Traveling back in time to 1944, Henry Ruiz is greeted by Father Thomas (Richard Montoya), complete with a welcoming brogue, embraces Ruiz for his duty to the war effort.

This is home to Ruiz for the time being. But not for long as an unsettled Henry tells his sister Maria, and his mother, that he wants to sell the house to make way for the new housing complex, Elysian Park Heights.

Elysian Park Heights was a grand idea of affordable housing, proposed by Frank Wilkinson (Richard Montoya), site manager of the City Housing Authority, and conceived by Richard Neutra, architect.

The inhabitants set the stage for the long protracted battle in order to keep their home on what is now Dodger Stadium. (And you can guess who won that fight.)

L - Herbert Siguenza, Ric Salinas, and Sabina Zuniga Varela

Lisa Peterson, the incisive director, leads a show that plays into the designed disorder of Culture Clash’s delightful play. The 1940s noir setting is set around Frank Wilkinson, his predicament, and those bent on his ultimate destruction. And in this setting, neatly played, Wilkinson is a man cornered and pinned down by the worthless souls that would sell their mother for a limp cracker and a stale piece of cheese. The action is a theatrical form of expressionism that ridicules the linear and highlights the insanity of excavating women and children from their homes and taking it a step further by discrediting people through the use of the McCarthy hearing, smearing FBI files, and bringing forth shadowy vibrations of individuals bent on throwing people out into the street. Munching on popcorn, singing “Take Me Out to The Ballgame”, and reciting Abbott and Costello’s, “Who’s on First?” is a form of Dadaism that rides and ridicules the thought that baseball, in the end, will make everything okay. Oh say can you see.

Richard Montoyadoes a grand job as Frank Wilkinson as well as host of other characters. His voice is strong, and the characterizations were powerful, each and everyone. There was only a slight bit of forgetfulness when he was hoisted in midair, practically by his cajones, projecting a steady stream, a conscious stream of human insanities, bulging thoughts of ISIS, and laying into a local critic’s view on meretricious theater. Montoya’s duty on this night was to make us think, to make change, and to piss off the bad Caucasian lady if only to make a difference. And to that end, the wretched little Prometheus succeeded in dramatic fashion.

Rich Salinasprojects himself as someone who practices Commedia dell’arte, always with a mask of sorts, and exaggerated physical expressions that works well for each character portrayed. He is a very physical comedian; dancing at times to make a statement. His characters are very specific and the manner in which he breaths life into a character seems effortless.

Herbert Siguenzainhabits a character completely in the way Constantine Sanislvaski might have. There is a lot of depth and characterization in each role and a profound seriousness of each moment. Siguenza appears to take pleasure in feeding off the audience - that give and take enjoyed by actors everywhere – making sure that each moment of his physical and emotional life projected out to the audience is just right.

Sabina Zuniga Vareladoes a fine job as Maria, a compilation of strong Latina women that struggles in the good fight, despite their collywobbles. Certainly Maria’s role is to intenerate the backbiting hearts of the men fighting to destroy her way of life. Varela is funny, strong, and makes her point grand in this production.

The band members and background actors are presented in a manner that works tremendously well in this production. They are Vaneza Mari Calderón, Mandy Rodarte, Scot Rodarte and John Avila, Music Director/Arranger. Their music was fabulous!

Rachel Hauck, Scenic Design, gave us a really nice look to the production.

Christopher Acebo, Costume Design, did a fantastic job with the costumes. One can only imagine the changes going on backstage to back onstage.

José López, Lighting Design, was responsible for the noir lighting that gave the night a particular look and transported us back to the days of noir films.

Other members of the production are as follows:

Paul James Prendergast– Sound Design/Additional Composition

Jason H. Thompson– Projection Design

Kirsten Parker– Production Stage Manager

Brooke Baldwin– Stage Manager

Michael Ritchie– Artistic Director

Stephen D. Rountree– Managing Director

Douglas C. Baker– Producing Director

Nausica Stergiou– General Manager

Gordon Davidson– Founding Artistic Director

John Glore - Dramaturg

Also Lindsay Allbaugh, Associate Producer, who gave us brilliant work at The Elephant Stages for many years, now moves her glorious talent to The Center Theatre Group!

D' Lo - Photos by Ken Sawyer

By Joe Straw

Los Angeles LGBT Center’s Lily Tomlin/Jane Wagner Cultural Arts Center presents D’Lo D’FunQT A dedication to Queer and Trans Lives of Color written and performed by D’Lo , directed by Ken Sawyer and Produced for the Los Angeles LGBT Center by Jon Imparato, through May 3^rd, 2015.

What make D’Lo so different? Is it the haircut? No, that’s not it. The slight Mohawk is pretty normal, and might even be a little blasé in Hollywood these days. Is it the color of his skin? No that’s not it either; there are plenty of brown people walking around Los Angeles who are just as dark, darker, darkest. Pretty, in a manly sort of way, dressed up in a Dodger cap, blue t-shirt, black shirt, jeans, black adidas, and strutting around like he owns the joint. Yep, pretty normal stuff.

On this night, the set is eccentric. Robert Selander’s Set Design/Scenic Artist/Master Carpenter sets the stage projecting the events of the night. Stage right, handwritten jottings – inscribes a life – “Tamil pride” – and young photos of D’Lo as a young girl in a argyle like sweater – littered thoughts splayed out like a diary page and fulsome annotations - descriptions of the photos plastered across the scrapped filled wall. And small lights, improperly laid out, that illuminate the diary, placing shadows on things that were, are, and might have been. Birthday cakes, king’s crown, little red heart above “#Tamil Pride,” parents and loving family embraced in that one special moment.

D' Lo

Upstate center, more writing, but now projections, looking like scratches on a medical professional tablet, except for

“1) folly… (Good thing I’m single),

2) …. I ≠ in 8 w Mass, I’m in.”

“? Masculinity Beautiful in

– Dick – Transition”

And all around there are words, thousand of words that make a life, but only for someone willing to stop a moment and read. Which leads us to stage right, of baby pictures, pictures of sisters, beautiful loving sisters, and an obtrusive mic suspended and ready to be reached, to project, and make a point.

From the skylight above, peacefully, soft lights hang from the ceiling and burn like wickless candles, a faint flicker of something that was, that might have been, that moves on to another stage.

These are all a marvelous accouterment to a brilliant evening of theatre of a life, from a person who will not give up to tell his part of a wonderful story – all in a somewhat linear fashion – divided by thoughts that flash from the edges of a steady stream of consciousness.

And there D’ Lo stands, telling us his life, a life, one life, of being someone special, different, but the same as you and me, all told from another perspective, his perspective.

“D’Lo is a queer/transgender Tamil-Sri Lankan-American interdisciplinary artist…” – The program.

The night starts out with D’Lo coming out like a rock star with a hoodie draped over his head, styled as an urbane hip hop artists ready to shout lyrics to this capacity crowd.

But that was not to be as D’ Lo explains: “I don’t talk like that.”

Now, D’ Lo’s voice is calm and in a higher range, his face clement, an ethereal beauty, in his manner and presentation. He tells us this night is going to be different, here on the stage, he is going to do this, this part of the stage is slam poetry, and this part is his family.

And overall, the night is filled with rhyme, fun filled dramas, heartbreaking intense events in his life. The night, in short, is an emotional story of color and light of how one is treated after a lifestyle is presented in full living color.

Little is said about D’ Lo’s relationship to other women, they come, they have a relationship, and then someone is thrown out, usually D’ Lo. One would like a few more details to even out the night.

That said, D’ Lo is a splendid performer who manages to bring his entire family to full light. The father and mother are both marvelous characters richly portrayed complete with faults of their own. One scene, with her sister, has her kissing her “girl doll” a little too long and being embarrassed by it.

“Only bad people have sex!” – D’ Lo

Ken Sawyer, the director, does a fantastic job turning bit of pieces of D’ Lo’s life and giving it a structure, a movement, a time and a place saying don’t be alarmed this is a story of a man with a different perspective, but in another reality, normal, a new normal.

Other members of this delightful crew are as follows:

Matt Richter– Lighting Designer

Patricia Sutherland– Production Manager

Adam Earle– Board Operator

Kathleen Jaffee– Stage Manager

Caitlin Rucker– Electrics

Ken Werther Publicity– Press Relations

Norman Cox– House Manager

Jon Imparato– Director, Lily Tomlin/Jane Wagner Cultural Arts Center

Katie Poltz– Program Manager, Lily Tomlin/Jane Wagner Cultural Arts Center

Matt Walker– Coordinator, Lily Tomlin/JHane Wagner Cultural Arts Center

Norman Cox, Giorgis Despotakis, Dominic Fury, Josh Goldman, Sofia Varona– Box Office Staff

Jon Imparatomakes it a point to welcome everyone to the Lily Tomlin/Jane Wagner Arts Center and particularly to The Davidson/Valentini Theatre. This is one of the best intimate theatres in town.

Run! Run! Run! And take someone with a wild imagination who likes to dress up.

Tickets: www.lalgbtcenter.org/theatre or call 323-860-7300

Davidson/Valentini Theatre

1125 N. McCadden Place

Hollywood, CA

D' Lo

James O'Halloran and Amanda Correia

By Joe Straw

Sometimes, I want to see actors - on a bare stage - in just a black box theatre. I hunger for the thespian to bring the place, to live in the space, to feel Tennessee William’s imaginary “transparent jaded portieres” brush against their body. I want the actors to listen to the wind, shiver from the imaginary morning dewdrops, and show me they are connected in time and space in that black box. And then there are other times that – I want more. – Narrator

After reading James Grissom’s

“The Follies of God

Tennessee Williams and the Women of the Fog” *

- the time was perfect time to see “The Glass Menagerie” by Tennessee Williams, in its entirety, to get a full and complete perspective of each character’s moral imperfections.

The Renegade Theatre presents The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams directed by Wilson Better, Produced by Richard Baker, Theodora Greece & Emily O’Meara April 9^th through May 17^th, 2015.

There is something off in the Wingfield family what with the peculiarities of every member of that household. Tom, an aspiring writer with no girl friend to speak of, runs off nights, not coming home until late in the evening, the early morning, doing, who knows what. And Laura, well, she’s a little touched and slightly “crippled”. And it’s a pretty sure bet that if something doesn’t happen soon with Amanda Wingfield’s family, like getting her kids married and having grandchildren, that will be the end of her line. With no husband for emotional and financial support this family is barely hanging on. Right now, this is a family on life support.

Tom (Wilson Better) introduces us to the Wingfield family. He is merchant marine now dressed in a pea coat and a skullcap, looking back at things that were, and describing a life that no longer exists. It is Tom’s vivid recollection of events that were, or were not, depending on the days recalling abilities, or possibly his truths that have been slightly altered.

“This play is memory. Being a memory play, it is dimly lighted, it is sentimental, it is not realistic.” – Tom

Despite their poverty – Tom is the only breadwinner and makes little money - they sit at a sparse dinner table, in ridiculous confabulation, and just to get through it without Tom, in burning silent rage, exploding.

Tom fed up with Amanda’s (Katherine Cortez) exquisitely obtuse dinner language, leaves to smoke a cigarette.

Laura (Amanda Correia), in an effort to help around the house, clears the table.

“Resume your seat, little sister – I want you to stay fresh and pretty – for gentlemen callers!” - Amanda

Amanda, in story form, enlightens her children with the telling of her younger days when she entertained 17 gentlemen callers. A story she has re-told many times and still Tom humors her.

“How did you entertain those gentlemen callers?” – Tom

“I understood the art of conversation.” - Amanda

Amanda has this idea that gentlemen callers are going to rush to Laura’s doorsteps right after dinner, but there are no gentlemen callers on this night, and possibly never will be unless extreme action is taken.

It is quite clear the objective in the first act is for all to work to get the gentleman caller into their home.

But, there is a problem. Laura is a loner and unwilling and unable to better herself in any capacity. To placate her mother, she practices on the typewriter at night and pretends to go to business school during the day.

And when Amanda finds out that Laura has not attended classes, she angrily confronts her daughter.

“How old are you, Laura?” – Amanda

“Mother, you know my age.” – Laura

“I thought that you were an adult; it seems that I was mistaken.” – Amanda

Laura negotiates her way around Amanda with tiny little crippled steps, finding solace in the records her father has left her and finding comfort in her glass menagerie.

Meanwhile Amanda sets her sights on Tom’s unruly library collection in an effort to change him.

“I took that horrible novel back to the library – yes! That hideous book by that insane Mr. Lawrence.” – Amanda (One suspects Lady Chatterley’s Lover by D.H. Lawrence)

Amanda views Tom in a different and possibly suspicious light. But she treads very lightly because he is the only means of support for the Wingfield family. Still Amanda thinks he is jeopardizing his job by going to the movies and staying out late nights to satisfy his crazy adventurous spirit.

Amanda has this dreadful curiosity that all is coming to an end.

“What are we going to do, what is going to become of us, what is the future?” – Amanda

And just when you think all is hopeless, the gentleman caller arrives, Jim O’Conner (James O’ Halloran) to give us more insight into the human condition and a lot of sub-textual life through his intercourse with the entire Wingfield family.

Wilson Better, in his directorial debut, brings a very worthy “…Menagerie” to Los Angeles on this night, negotiating an extremely fine ensemble, to highlight Williams’s true to life foibles growing up in Missouri. There are a thousand ways to stage The Glass Menagerie, but this particular production is an actor’s venue. One in which the actors create more than what is available on the stage. Set pieces in this grand black box theatre indicate budgetary constraints whereas a little more imaginative symbolism could go a long way. There is no set design, or anyone credited for that task. The title cards and the flash projections are not a part of this version. So, we really have to rely on the actors to bring it all when they perform. And they do for the most part.

Part I of this play is called Preparation of a Gentleman Caller and the conflict of the first act should include not only the words but also the subtext and dramatic inner life of getting the gentleman caller through the door. This leads us to Part II, The Gentleman calls.

This family is dying right before Amanda’s eyes and she really has to work hard to change things fast. In the first act, the conflict needs strengthening. In the second act, the scene opening the door for the gentleman caller is meant to be humorous and filled with life – on this particular night, more could have been added. Still, these are only minor problems that would only add to a very well directed play by Mr. Better.

Wilson Better, playing Tom, is a fantastic actor. The words ring true; his voice is a fine instrument that promises precise poetic license, and his manner on stage quite remarkable. The lights went out on him on the night I was there, and Better recovered nicely. Still, there are moments that could have been better defined. Tom is hiding something he doesn’t want his mother or anyone else to know. This falls with inviting an unmarried man over to his place for dinner without telling that man his mother and sister will be there. However this relationship manifests itself, a richer inner life, transparent feeling, would only help to create a dramatic relationship between the two. There is more to be made of the scene when the lights go out, especially since Tom did not pay the bill. And there is also more to be had by the unexpected leaving of the gentleman caller. Tom is a writer, a poet, and more than likely, gay. (Reading James Grissom’s book and given the playwrights proclivities and his religious beliefs, this fits with Tom’s character.) Those small tidbits aside, Better does an exquisite job with the character in a performance that should not be missed.

L - Katherine Cortez and Amanda Correia

Amanda Correiaplays Laura Wingfield. There is more life to be had with this character. Instead the character reads tedious, lifeless, and cripple. More creative thinking is in order for a stronger physical and emotional life. In one scene, Laura falls. There must be a reason for falling, yet the reason was not evident on this night. Laura should be in heaven dancing, having been kissed and then totally destroyed from what happens next. There is a different life to be had, and one that will probably be changed by the time you see it. That said Correia has a good look and does nice things on stage.

Katherine Cortezplays Amanda Wingfield and does so in fantastic fashion. In this superb role, Cortez manages to capture the essence of Amanda and in one outstanding moment in the play, the part where she is showcasing the dress, there is a sudden realization that the dress does not do justice to her now aging body. It is a moment wonderfully captured by this actress. Cortez also has a fine voice and a very comfortable way on stage.

James O’Halloranplays Jim O’Conner, the gentleman caller, and one would not expect that he is from Australia. His American accent is perfect; he fills the role nicely, and manages himself on stage effortlessly. Jim O’Conner is an interesting character. He is a man who six years earlier was engaged. He is unbetroth now, at least that’s what he makes himself out to be with Tom. He has a fondness for Tom. And with his delicate raillery, has even given him a nickname, “Shakespeare” and yet, that life does not appear on stage and something O’Halloran needs to bring, however slight or accentuated.

Other members of the creative team are as follows:

Chick Vennera– Founding Director of The Renegade Theatre Group

Theodora Greece– Assistant Director

Samuels www.samuelsadvertising.com- Poster Design

Michael Healy’sLighting Design had a few problems on this night. The opening dinner scene was lit very softly making it hard to see the actors. This is an extremely important scene that establishes character and creates the financial circumstances of the household that we really need to see. A little more imaginative lighting is in order.

The costumes were excellent but no one was credited in the program for that job.

Run! Run! And take a friend who is pretty and has a slight limp.

· * A very interesting book about the women in Tennessee Williams life and how those women (Maureen Stapleton, Eva Le Gallienne, Miriam Hopkins, Lillian Gish, Jessica Tandy, Laurette Taylor, Tallulah Bankhead, Julie Harris, Kim Hunter, Geraldine Page, to name a few) influenced his writing. It also includes the men in his life.

Reservations: www.renegadegm.eventbrite.com

L - Adams Brooks, Heather Merthens

By Joe Straw

There was a time I couldn’t find my keys, well at least, not right away. The morning ritual of getting out the door became a long and drawn out process, sometimes lasting twenty or thirty minutes. Near the end of my search, sweat was pouring out of every known orifice in my body and left me completely drenched. The cats, aware of my predicament and shivering in the corner, did their best to stay out of the way. So, after finding the right life partner, I have resolved that issue. But it took some help. – The Narrator.

There were a lot of men at the opening of this show, men who by all appearance spent a lot of time working out. And they were kissing, hugging, introducing themselves, and greeting each other.

Three women sat in the row in front of us. Oddly, these women brought take-out to eat before the show started. (Giving the show an extra added aroma). One thought it was, in part, an all-encompassing experience. But, a gentleman appeared and confiscated their dinner.

“I’ll put it on the piano. You can get it there after the show.” – The gentleman.

The Pied Pipers of The Lower East Side has a program but I couldn’t find it on my messy desk. Not in the usual spot, in the back of the note pad – instead all I could find was a green menu.

Oh! Wait a minute! That’s it.

THE PIED PIPERS

of the

LOWER EAST SIDE

Organic * Vegan * Cuisine

WE DELIVER

Stanton Street (at Orchard)

New York, NY 10002

Tel (212) 662-6609

Fax (212) 662-6610

OPEN 7 DAYS!

FREE DELIVERY

Minimum Order $15

Alex Zoppa, Henry Reno & Joey Tuccio present “The Pied Pipers of The Lower East Side” written and directed by Derek Ahonen, an RZT Production Produced in Association with Mumblecore, Todd Mendeloff and David Goldman through May 24^th, 2015 at the Matrix Theatre.

Manic, is probably the best word to describe this play because it starts that way and never lets up.

When one enters the theatre, we observe a roommate setting,created by Ron Blanco, Stage Designer, that has the inhabitants living a carefree life, what with soda or beer cans all over the floor and the general feeling of unkemptness. A sofa bed, badly worn and in need of cleaning, sits center stage. A likeness of Che is painted on the upstage right wall and the Anonymous mask is painted on the upstage left wall. “Globalize Resistance” is spray painted two sides of the upstage wall, an “Easy Rider” poster is on one bedroom door, and spray painted on the other bedroom door is the phrase “When the rich wage war, it’s the poor that die.” It is a sight without the effluvium one associates with a gym locker-room.

Billy (Adam Brooks), in the opening moments appears to have a drug problem whether he is snorting, smoking, or drinking he is on task and not concerned with anyone else in the room.

That’s not sitting to well with Wyatt (Jordan Tisdale), a man at this point in time who desperately wants Billy to give him his scratch “Cash Words” lottery tickets. But Billy is too busy and ain’t coming clean.

So Wyatt takes Billy’s vintage records (e.g. Elton John and others) out of the sleeve and throws them against the wall missing Billy by inches and breaking some until Billy tells him the “Cash Words” are in the socks.

Billy is a revolutionary and activist organizer. Although in and out of a fog, he is trying to run a business that he seems to do offsite via the use of his cellphone.

Dawn (Heather Merthens) starts watering the plants in the apartment, barely noticing the two men. She pays scant attention to the two, one getting high, the other is scratching, until Wyatt gets very close to scratching the correct name. But it’s no good, the last letter scratched is a disaster. Now Wyatt is frustrated and turns his attention to Billy.

“I’m sorry, Billy.” – Wyatt

Billy has the knack to dulcify Wyatt’s explosive issues. And there’s a lot of “I love you.” thrown about. Dawn jumps into the act and all three start kissing and fondling.

Dear (Agatha Nowicki), the fourth roommate, bursts into the apartment and tells them the health inspector is downstairs inspecting The Pied Pipers restaurant. Wyatt throws on an apron and bolts downstairs to take care of business, coming back momentarily for a spoon to use as a fly swatter.

Billy receives a call from Eugene (not seen) from Oaxaca telling him to come down and join the fight but Billy is not ready to die for that cause. Billy gets a call from his brother who has arrived in the city for a visit and is waiting at Stanton and Ludlow.

Dear, the only levelheaded one, questions Billy about his brother, Evan (Ben Reno) – wondering if Evan knows their sexual situation and living arrangements. Billy says he doesn’t and will break it to him gently as he goes out the door to pick him up.

Dawn is now worried about her living arrangement with her roommates and confides to Dear about her fear of being thrown out. Dear, hot and sweaty, doesn’t want to be touched by Dawn.

“Not now Dawn, I’m sweating all over my body.” - Dear

An undeterred Dawn, always in an amorous mood, leads the both of them to the bathroom to shower together.

Inspector gone, Wyatt is back upstairs shouting to Pepe (unseen) to hold down the fort. Hearing the shower, Wyatt knocks on the bathroom door and asks if he can join the ladies. Wyatt eases in.

Evan, plugged in and tuned out, enters the apartment with his brother. He is studying journalism in college, but all that serious stuff aside, he is now looking for action, drinking and “whores”, and wants to starts the party now. Evan tells his brother that their parents will not pay for any more rehab, that they are done. Again Evan says he wants to get the party started, to which Dawn obliges by coming out completely naked followed by Dear, and then by Wyatt, all soaking wet, and looking for a towel.

Evan is suddenly uncomfortable with this newfound sexual expression but does not resist when Dawn, slipping on her panties, takes him into the bedroom for a quick roll.

When he comes out, Evan finds his brother and Wyatt making out which disrupts his intimate social being. Billy is uncomfortable with the information about their sexual family being revealed this way.

Then Donovan (Patrick Scott Lewis), the owner of the building, drops by for a visit bearing gifts and money.

The Pied Pipers of The Lower East Side by Derek Ahonen is an exceptional play, exquisitely absurd, with equivocal characters that have a grand sense of their intellectual selves, not aware that they haven’t got a clue. They are an entangled mass of humanity posing as a loving family. And in this family’s disorderly formality, they are on a precipice, two steps away from the edge that is precipitously collapsing.

The three-act play is enjoyable from beginning to end. Still I have some thoughts about the production and the actors.

Ahonen’s opening requires patience. Manic is a term used to describe the opening, which leaves us nowhere to go. A gradual opening with highlighting Wyatt and Billy’s intention, without being maniacal, would give us a few seconds to absorb the characters and their idiosyncrasies.

Also, Ahonen’s direction lacks a definitive stamp, the message, and from his perspective. It is a tricky to have the director and writer rolled up in one neat little package. The horrible imprecation, usually expressed from those two during the rehearsals process, is part of the progression of theatre. But because they are one, that fight is unresolved and some things are left stagnant and impotent in the wings. That aside, this is a well directed play that needs a little more and by the time you see it things will have worked themselves to perfection.

L - Agatha Nowicki, Adam Brooks, Jordan Tisdale

Adam Brooks plays Billy and is probably the healthiest drug addict you have ever seen until he suffers from some form of alcoholic polyneuropathy then things get a little dicey. But before that he sits around in his underwear getting very little done despite the signs of him being an activist/organizer, a call here, another call there, they seemed to be real, but we never see him doing that job except for a few phone calls. That aside, he is the one that holds the group together, or appears to, but we really never see the drugs getting in the way of what he is trying to accomplish. And while Brooks did fine job on stage, one is not really sure what the character is trying to accomplish, his objective to the end.

Jordan Tisdale is Wyatt, a man that has many phobias including thanatophobia, the fear of dying. That phobia devours his every waking moment and sends him to places no one wants to go. This is one reason he stays in the relationship because there is only one person that can help him. Tisdale brings a manic energy to the character, some moments possibly forced, but there has to be a bigger meaning to his overall objective, something that requires another level from his creative channel. That aside, this is a very fine performance.

Heather Merthens plays Dawn, a person who loves the situation she is in, but ultimately knows that it has to end somewhere down the road, that it cannot last forever. The character is young and unaware and has much to learn, her heart is in the right place, and she is capable of learning from her mistakes. That said, Merthens really needs to play one character off another so that in the end she gets what she wants, and she really has to want it.

Agatha Nowicki is the character, Dear. And if the group as a collective is the body, Dear is the brains, in a metaphysical, fifth dimension, weird sort of way. Dear always has the answers. She runs The Pied Piper Restaurant and she is reliable to a fault. So what does she want? Good question, hard answer from Nowicki on this night. She’s got everything she wants, two men, one woman in a gratifying post apocalyptical-like sexual relationship. Her every need is at her fingertips, and there’s a job in the future if she accepts the married man even though it means the end of her life as she knows it. So, what fuels her fire?

Ben Reno plays the younger brother, Evan. Evan is an arrogant, cocky college kid, majoring in journalism, who knows it all and wants to party hard while he’s there in New York visiting his older brother. He’s also there to bring a message from their parents. Reno gives a wonderful performance of a young man who knows little, learns a lot, and then is worldly to a fault at the end. Actually the worldly part didn’t ring true to me but the other parts shows an actor who is gifted. It is an exceptional performance.

Patrick Scott Lewis is Donovan the owner of the building and appears late in the show. Suffice to say that he comes bringing gifts and bad news. Lewis gives the character a grand physical life of a crazy mixed up man who has one motive in mind when he comes. The character never gives up and repeats himself until he gets what he wants. Conflicted about what is to happen, the sweat pouring from his brow, he repeatedly dabs himself with his handkerchief to get through the moment. The funny thing about this character is that he is as whacked out as the rest of the characters, but he's the one with the money. So, that makes him the wisest, or the smartest person in the room? Or does he just have chrometophobia, the fear of money. This is a grand wildly comedic performance that should not be missed.

Alex Zoppa, Henry Reno, and Joey Tuccio, the Producers did a great job.

Tiffany Thomas is the Production Stage Manager.

Dan Red is the Lighting Designer and everything worked to perfection.

Amelia Gray is the Assistant Director.

David Goldman is the Associate Producer/Publicist.

And Todd Mendeloff is the Associate Producer.

Run! Run! Run! And take someone who has allegrophobia, the fear of being late. Get there early and have a cheese sandwich at Greenspan’s Grilled Cheese.

Reservations: www.PiedPipersLA.com

Abigail Vega (l.), Elizabeth Nungaray, Pili Valdes, Kelley Williams, Khanisha Foster - Photo Joy Sequina

By Joe Straw

Yipes, there are a lot of writers on this show, and all women. Good thing because I was looking for another perspective, a female perspective, a Latina perspective.

Teatro Luna (Moon Theatre), the nation’s only All-Latina theatre troupe (Really?) from Chicago, presents “Generation Sex”, a world premiere engagement of a new comedy directed by Alexandra Meda and developed by Abigail Vega at the Los Angeles Theatre Center, through May 17^th, 2015.

The show time varies 7:00pm and 9:30pm and Sundays at 3:00pm. Please check with the box office for show times.

“Generation Sex is about sex: straight sex, same-sex, androgynous sex, rough sex, sweet sex, romantic sex, celibacy, virginity, promiscuity, hooking up, feminist sex, but especially Millennial sex and the impact that new technology has had in the search for and acquisition of sex and hopefully, connection.” - The press release.

Dear Mom,

I saw a show on Saturday night with six lovely women in this All-Latina comedy troupe. Except I think they were four Latinas and one African American woman. Their names were Khanisha Foster, Elizabeth Nungaray, (she looks a lot like Mickie), Pili Valdés, Abigail Vega, Kelley Williams, and Denise Walls (who did not perform the night I was there).

Elizabeth Nungaray

They came out and… you know, here’s the thing… we never spoke about sex while I was growing up in the South. And these women let all of this information out like it was on the tip of their tongue. They weren’t embarrassed by it – not in the least.

I remember riding back in the car from grandma’s house when you spoke about of woman who was raped; it was kind of disturbing for us as well as for you.

Certainly, this show was an eye-opening experience and there were some things that I just didn’t quite get. Some things worked really well, others not so well. I suppose you could consider this show a series of vignettes, not linear as usual in a play. And yet, the performers in this show are very open, they want to be heard, and they want to give you a story. Some of it was like a Latina Chorus Line without the songs.

Pili Valdes, Khanisha Foster, Kelley Williams

There was this one scene where Australian women are in the outback chasing down the elusive clitoris. Sorry, I didn’t mean to be so out there.

Kelley Williams

And then there was a woman who was raped and her circle of friends told her that it wasn't really rape. I’m 100% sure they weren’t her real friends.

I loved the one about this old lady, in the Deep South. Being a Georgia girl, I thought you would like this one too. Her voice was so rich and southern. I wanted it to go all night long. That sounds kind of weird, a double entendre, and no pun intended. And no, I’m not talking about sex, but she was. Lord have mercy.

This was one of them shows that you could participate in and take snap shots if you wanted to. No flash though, or some lady was going to come down and take your camera away. And you could whop and holler all you wanted during the performance. Some did. Some didn’t. I had a bad cough, so no hollering for me. Don’t worry, I’m okay.

This was a user-friendly theatrical experience where they took you out at one point in the show to buy drinks and then escorted you back in, after you were a little high. And while those folks left, we got to play some games. But that didn’t work so well on this night.

I still didn’t understand why sex was such a mystery in our household. Remember when you told Jim to tell me about the birds and the bees? He took me out on the front steps and talked about corn. Wow that was confusing – I hope that got a laugh out of you.

I always loved your laugh.

Anyway, I got the show, I got what they were trying to say and I learned a lot, not a lot about sex, but about women’s lives and their day-to-day living. And here’s a reality, I really cared about these women, each and every one of them.

Overall some things worked to perfection, others, well, no so well.

I’ll tell you what I really liked was the thing that looked like a film, a woman and her diary. The character was a 40-year-old virgin (oops, an unmarried lady) looking for the right person and wasn’t that the ideal way to find love. It was a movie that was a book, about a girl and a guy, and getting naked. Sorry.

Alexandra Meda was the director and there were so many things that were right about this production.

I get it and it made me think. I think I understand what you went through, being a single mother with five kids. And the writers of this show tackled a lot of issues including domestic abuse and overcoming adversity in the face of grave dangers. And, you know, I don’t have to remind you about that. Family secrets.

I’m going to send you some pictures I took. The women were really pretty and they were smart too and, in the end, I can’t help but wish them the best, in the same way that I wish my girls the best.

Ysaye McKeever did the choreography and was also an important part of the show, I mean look at those women dance!

Elizabeth Nungaray

Sorry, I didn’t write more often. You know me and letters.

Anyway, I hope this letter finds you. I miss your laugh, the way you’d throw your head back. I catch myself doing that too.

And I hope you can hear me whisper, “ I love you,” this one last time.

Joe

Run! And take someone, well why not make it your mother.

Reservations: 866-811-4111

www.thelatc.org

Mike Burstyn - Photos by Michael Lamont

By Joe Straw

“Lo he goeth by me, and I see him not: he passeth on also, but I perceive him not.” – Job – The Book of Job, Chapter 9:11 – The Holy Bible – The King James Version.

West Coat Jewish Theatre presents an American Premiere starring Mike Burstyn in “O My God” by Anat Gov directed by Howard Teichman and produced by Howard Teichman & Jean Himmelstein through June 7^th at the Pico Playhouse.

I am not familiar with Mike Burstyn, or his career, but there was a point in the show when he spoke emphatically as God. I heard his voice, I felt it in my chest cavity. It was an inspired voice and one that nearly lifted me from my seat. Instead I raised my eyes from my notepad and took note of the actor before me. Surely, I have missed something. And I soon realized that I needed to catch up on my knowledge of internationally acclaimed American/Israeli actors. – The Narrator.

After a successful run of “The Whipping Man,” also directed by Howard Teichman at the Pico Playhouse, I really had to see what Mr. Teichman was doing next. And because I had recently been inundated with “God” at the Unitarian Universalist Church (go figure) and other places, God kept appearing in disquieting peculiarity. I pondered the notion that someone, some being was trying to tell me something.

Lior (Joseph Rishik) sat and played his cello. All decked out in drabbed New Balance sneakers, black socks, brown shorts, and a worn brown Hawaiian t-shirt. His face projected little emotion. The notes, the fingerings, were just there. The vibrations from the music affected little of his soul, and his expressions were mechanical at best. On the chair, in his quaint living room, with an enormous blue sky projected through the window, Lior played on. What was bothering him? Why wasn’t he connected to the passionate moments of the notes?

Ella (Maria Spassoff), Lior’s mother, throws off her enormous garden hat and attends to her son. She doesn’t ask, and doesn’t expect certain words to come from his lips. At this moment Ella is beaten by the heat, complains little about the lack of rain, and life in general.

And Lior says little – no, that’s not right – he says nothing, not even hello mom, mother, mama, nothing. He utters only guttural sounds, muttered squeaks and thrusts of vocal nothings. Not being understood, he resorts to being an obstreperous child by throwing toys – too old for him to play with – and then throwing Orson Welles’s “The Third Man” poster to the floor, which Ella calmly repairs and hangs back on the wall.

Moments later, Ella gets a call from someone saying that he needs to see her right away so she hustles her son out of the room, with cello in hand, and prepares for the appointment. When there is a knock on the door, Ella opens it and finds no one. Strange.

Not thinking much of it, Ella returns to her desk. Behind her, the door magically opens, and a figure in a dark hat and suit enters It is God (Mike Burstyn), an enigmatical tranquil being, with a problem.

Ella, the psychologist, is all business. She methodically grabs her note pad and asks the gentleman to sit down before she starts the disquisition.

“Name?” – Ella

“You can call me, G.” – God

“What is your age?” – Ella

“Five thousands years old.” – God

“What do you do?” – Ella

“I’m an artist.” – God

“Father?” – Ella

“None.” – God

“Mother?” – Ella

“None.” – God

After more questions, Ella realizes this man knows everything about her and she suggests he might be a part of the Israel intelligent agency. But this man claims he is God.

“How long have you felt like this?” Ella

“I don’t feel like, I am.” – God

An exasperated Ella is not having any part of this discussion. Slightly frightened, she steps back and says she has the name of a good psychiatrist. She wants this man to leave her home right now.

But God has a few tricks but his robes, um sleeves, and freezes Ella.

Lior comes back in and God unfreezes Ella and, by this time, Ella has gotten the message and starts listening to God. She takes a drink of water, the glass rattling on her teeth.

God tells Ella that she has talked to him for forty years and he can remember her prayers from the age of four. Ella says that she doesn’t believe in God.

“You talk, but you don’t ask.” – God

But God reveals a little vicious streak in him when he tells Ella that she believes that her autistic son will call her mother one day and that her husband will come back to her. The words stab at the heart of her entire being.

Anat Gov, the writer, has written a very moving play which was voted Best Play in Israel in 2012, the year of her death, at the tender age of fifty-five, after a long struggle with cancer. This is the American Premiere and a translated version of the Hebrew text. (Translations between languages are tricky and hopefully nuances were not lost in the translation.)

“God hath delivered me to the ungodly, and turned me over into the hands of the wicked.” – Job 16:11. The Holy Bible

Howard Teichman, the director, does a nice job putting it all together, nice show, nice evening with remarkable talent. But there more to be had in the moments that should collectively make the production soar. On this night, they struggled to make the emotional connection that one hopes to get in the theatre. And that connection is the one thing that causes a reaction, an emotional moment, that keeps you in your chair long after the light come up. And also, I have to be hit over the head of “Why this woman? Why today? Why now?” One is not sure these questions were answered in the execution. Also, G appears dressed in the manner of the Orson Welles character in “The Third Man” in a moment that isn’t fully realized. There is a reason “The Third Man” poster is on the wall and a reason that G enters Ella’s home dressed like Orson Welles, coming in as the wind in one moment and Orson Welles in the next. Comedy, and this is a comedy, is best served on a cold plate of pain. And the pain is inside all of the characters who are reaching for the one thing they truly want. There is more to be had here. Still, it is early in the run and tweaks will make it that much better.

Maria Spassoff and Mike Burstyn

Mike Burstynplays G and does a tremendous job. G has a problem and he comes to get counseling. He is still feeling guilty about the way he treated Job. He needs help and he needs it right now or else he will die and take everyone with him. There is a time element here in which the character, God, must feverishly pursue his objective and there is little time to lose. Burstyn is an amazing actor, his moments are carefully constructed, and there is a delightful simplicity to his work, and I’ve already mentioned his great voice, but I’ll say it again, great voice!

Maria Spassoffdoes some amazing work as Ella, a strong vibrant professional woman who will do anything to help her clients. Ella is at the end of her rope. Her son will never get better and that part of her life is a daily struggle. She needs her husband to come back but more than anything she needs to move on. She needs her son to call her mom. She needs inspiration. But what she gets instead is more trouble. Ella suddenly finds herself in a position of trying to save the world; the weight of humankind is on her shoulders. Her job is to help God and in doing so save humankind.

Joseph Rishikplays Ella’s son Lior. His playing of the cello is fine, with some very lovely music coming out of his instrument. But his role as an autistic son requires a better-developed character and a clear and meaningful objective.

Jean Himmelsteinand Howard Teichman are the Producers, and once again have done an outstanding job.

Other members of this outstanding crew are as follows:

Bill Froggatt– Associate Producer & Sound Designer

Kurtis Bedford– Set Designer

Gil Tordjman– Stage Manager and Lighting Designer

Michael Lamont– Photographer

Ken Werther Publicity– Press Representative

Run! Run! And take someone who likes to read The Holy Bible.

Tickets: www.wjct.tix.com

Reservations: 323-821-2449

The Pico Playhouse

10508 W. Pico Boulevard

Los Angeles, CA 90064

By Joe Straw

Money is the foulest thing that lithers between your outstretched members. And the smell, although not sickening, severely coats your olfactory organs. It is filthy, go ahead, take a whiff, paper or coin, it makes no difference.

The underlings usually handle all the money once they get their sweating mitts on it. Those with a conscience worry about doing the right thing, knowing that with every misstep, they might be flushing the fruits of someone else’s grunts down into an unending cesspool. And, that is not a good thing.

But most men, like the men in the play, don’t have a conscience. They put up a brave front as the coins start trickling away, through no fault of their own, of course. – Narrator

"63 Trillion" is about loyalty. But loyalty is not evident among of this devilish group of sycophantic men who only worship the almighty dollar. Backbiting, double crossing, and undercutting are their good traits. They live and survive this deep dark world of wealth management because their humanity dial is set on “Predatory” mode. And let’s face it; they are all implacable in looking out for number one.

The New American Theatre in association with Mud Bay Partners presents “63 Trillion,” a world premiere comedy by John Bunzel, directed by Steve Zuckerman, and produced by Jeannine Wisnosky Stehlin through June 7^th, 2015 at the Odyssey Theatres in Los Angeles.

Frank (Robert Cicchini), pouring himself a cup of coffee, asks about dogs, his dog in particular.

“Do you know anything about dogs? Are dogs supposed to be nice?” – Frank

Of course Tom (Ken Lerner) is taken aback by the question and asks for more details.

It is seven o’clock in the morning at the brokerage house where Tom is a partner. Frank has a separate office somewhere down the hall and only comes into Tom’s office when he really wants something, like eating his sausage sandwich in the conference room or getting a cup of coffee, or maybe just looking for information.

Frank and Tom are throwing small talk around. It’s a rather strange discussion this morning - talking about Frank’s dog, which bit his mother, salivating all the while, and with a raging hard-on, to boot. And to top it off his mother is an invalid, in a wheelchair, probably unresponsive and salivating as well.

Tom says you can’t train the dog because it’s in his DNA.

Hmmm, this is an interesting thought. One wonders if certain attributes of the men in this brokerage house are connected because of their DNA.

Jonah (Noah James), an underling in the firm, runs to his desk, in a worried state, and tells the guys the stock market is down. But Frank, Tom and Kenny (Jack Stehlin) are not troubled, not in the least. They have war stories about the 2000 crash and the 2008 crash, which they came through with flying colors and seem unperturbed about this impending crash, believing that the market will correct itself within a day. They know this world; it is in their DNA.

But, what does concern them is that Peter Black (Jordan Lund) is coming to visit the firm that very day with 10 million dollars in the bank. It just so happens that his name is Black coming in on a “Black Friday” type of day. The quest is to get him to sign the papers and hand over the nasty coins.

They need to talk to Dick (Jeffery Jones); he is the man, the savant, a brilliant wealth manager, and a one time financial advisor to the Dali Lama. He also has an elevator in his one story ranch house and an ATM in his bathroom.

Dick enters, the seas part, and they bow to his reverence. (Not really, but thinking this could be a grand staging idea.)

“Do you have an ATM in your bathroom? Why?” – Jonah

Dick, the savant, provides anecdotes but his answers are not clear. Fatuously jostling with coffee mug in hand seems to be the order of his day. Still, he is a very likeable fellow who isn’t interested in the small money details but keeps his eyes wide open to seize every opportunity and chance he gets.

Peter Black arrives with cash in hand, figuratively. He is a huge man with fists of steel willing to break anyone who doesn’t do right with his money. He is the son of a circus man who has worked hard for every penny. He is not ashamed that he has stepped on a lot of toes, and he is a little hesitant about turning over his money on this dark day in the stock market.

Later we learn that things did not go well. Money has been flushed that day and Nancy (Megan Gallagher), the firm's lawyer, arrives to dismiss a few employees. But when the feds arrive downstairs, ready to come up and to take action, Nancy regroups and changes tactics for the time being and this is the point in the play where we find where the true loyalties lie.

The world premier of the play “63 Trillion” by John Bunzel is like a soup. The elements of this soup have to settle a bit before we know we’ve got the right taste, feel, texture, and that’s the way it is with this production. What is not clear is Frank’s relationship with the firm. Also Peter Black takes it in stride when Kenny says his money is missing. Further development is needed to take the characters to extremes so that this comedy works. Each character has to be different, and that difference needs to be accentuated. Sure, the characters are cut from the same cloth, they all speak the same lingo. The savant is different somehow but we don’t really see it. A little diversity in character would greatly enhance character differences and possibly motives. Still, there is a lot of very clever dialogue and we never know what is going to happen until the very end, which makes for an overall delightful evening.

Steve Zuckerman, the director, keeps the pace moving along briskly but we might want to have the actors doing their work, in their job space as they are speaking their dialogue just to get a true sense of the workplace, rather than having the characters at times speaking downstage center.

There’s enough here for this exceptional cast of names and faces to have you smiling at the end of the performance.

The grand thing of small intimate 99 seat theatres is that it places you in the same room and in some instances a few feet away from actors you’ve come to know over the years. Jeffrey Jones was the reason I came, and he did not disappoint. His facial expressions, exquisitely absurd, are every bit the price of admission and this is a performance not to miss.

Robert Cicchini plays Frank and gives it his all, the instrument, the voice, character, are all fine attributes of this actor. Only there doesn’t appear to be a reason why he is in the office other than to eat, tell stories, and have coffee. To come in the room and chat about money doesn’t really creatively work. Finding a reason will give the character a lot more viability.

Megan Gallagher plays Nancy the lawyer. Nancy is a strong vibrant woman, with a lot of smarts who is caught off guard at the most inopportune moments. Gallagher is wildly funny and the most rounded character in this play. She appears to come in to dismiss a couple of employees and finds herself throwing a barrier between the men in the room and the feds. Her work is delightful.

Noah James gives an impressive performance as Jonah an intern who works hard to get what he wants. Jonah will man the phones, watch the market, talk to the headcheese, and schmooze with the best of them all in the name of the all mighty dollar. In the end, they should all bow down to him, literally. Without giving anything away, they might put him on a pedestal.

Ken Lerner plays Tom, one of the partners in the firm, who finally gets fed up and has to punch someone. By the way, that little action, played to perfection. But we really need a creative objective from the character especially when he is trying to solve a problem and turning down all sorts of calls with just a wave of the hand with each call. That scene needs a lot more action, taken to extremes, to find the grand definitive moment.

There is a very interesting scene when Jack Stehlin who plays Kenny convinces Black to give him the money. This was the moment when this character justifies his existence. It was like stepping up to the plate and hitting a home run and Stehlin is marvelous when he completes that moment. Funny, but the moment passed with hardly any reaction from the other characters. Stehlin's work is a job well done.

Jordan Lund plays Peter Black. And Black is not a man you want to mess with because he is physically imposing. When he has money he is mean, vicious, and vile and not someone you want to be nose to nose with. But Lund has to make a creative choice as to the kind of character he becomes when his money is lost. That aside, Lund had some very exciting moments, has a grand voice, and is very believable in the role.

Jeannine Wisnosky Stehlin, Producer/Managing Director, New American Theatre, does a fantastic job bringing all of the elements together.

Jeffrey R. McLaughlin’s set was impressive – a multi-layered design that ran true to life of an office environment, and the hills outside the window, somewhere on the west side gave us a grand idea of where this is all taking place. The Lighting Design on this night was slightly confusing in that some of the actors were in deep shadows when speaking down to someone sitting in a chair.

Other members of the crew are as follows:

Christopher Moscatiello– Sound Design

Florence Kemper– Costume Design

Roger Bellon– Composer

Caitlin Price– Stage Manager

Michelle Briddell– Production Assistant

Judith Borne – Publicist

Run! And take someone who likes to spend a lot of your money, like an ex.

Reservations: NewAmericanTheatre.com

Or: 310-477-2055 Ext 2

Preston Acuff

By Joe Straw

I watched this marvelous play envisioning it as set in Chicago knowing full well that Hells Kitchen is in Manhattan. What confused me, well, the first thing, it was dark with hardly any light. Secondly I was slightly caught off guard by the accents emanating from the actors. One of the actors was from the Midwest, the other from Arkansas, the other from Moscow, Russia, a potpourri of characters I could only imagine living in Chicago. Or maybe it was the light of mental images from the last play at the Moth which was set in Chicago. But, and there’s a big but here, never mind, I’ll get to that later. – Narrator

Justin Huen, Scenic Design & Lighting Design, presents a dramatic set in a shanty Hells Kitchen apartment in Manhattan. A filtered light seeps through the upstage wall. (An abiding theme in every one of Huen’s creations) The windows have not been cleaned since the occupants moved in and there is possibly nothing to see outside except other shanty apartments buildings and the occasional dead body littering the streets. A bathtub sits near the sink, hardly ever used, especially since it’s filled with un-cashed checks, newspapers, and other junk mail. This place is one notch above a pigsty and one can only imagine the stench.

Light Sensitive by Jim Geoghan and directed by John Markland, produced by John Markland and Brenda Davidson is now playing through May 31, 2015 at The Moth Theatre in Hollywood.

In short, Light Sensitive is breathtaking production. John Markland’s meticulous staging of meritorious actors brings a remarkable light to Los Angeles theatre. Just when you thought the craft of acting is lacking in local productions comes an astonishing production of life and depth of character. This marvelous production at The Moth should not be missed! Seats are limited and time is running short, so run!

In the opening moments, and in its perfect quietude, “Light Sensitive” starts with an unfathomable shadow of a contumacious man, unwilling to allow a single shard of light to enter the tatterdemalion apartment.

Tom Hanratty (Preston Acuff) sits alone in his home nursing a bottle of whiskey. The bitterness of being blind weighs upon his worth. He is a pathetically mendacious man who offers little of his self-appeal to anyone who would walk through the door. And his past life as “the most dangerous cabdriver in New York City” had not been fruitful—thanks to his use of alcohol and an unfortunate accident that left him completely blind.

Now, on this day, Tom sits alone, waiting for his best friend to come and temporary save him from his miserable day. He sits in a chair, a reposeful expression of a man holding a glass in profound darkness, waiting. Only a trace of light highlights this lone figure sitting, wishing more, to have someone come to him.

Not that anyone could get through the door, with the latch on, and the multiple bolts unlocked. Still, Tom waits—halfway—an obsequious trait of his morbid curiosity.

Why should a helpless blind man worry about intruders on the day before Christmas Eve?

And in this dark, dank, lightless venue, Tom waits for his friend, Lou D’ Marco (Ned Liebl), who is the life of his own party. Lou arrives at the anointed time but cannot get in through the front door with the latch on. Urging Tom to open the door, Lou pushes to get in.

“Go ahead.” – Lou

“Don’t push.” – Tom

“I’m not.” – Lou

“Don’t push. I’ve got to close it.” – Tom

“I’m not pushin’”! – Lou

Lou seems to be blinded by his intelligence, or lack thereof, but might also be playing a game they always play when he arrives as he struggles to get through the door. Lou senses that something’s wrong. Oh yeah, it’s dark, in Tom’s apartment. The lights have burned out, and there are no bulbs under the sink, so Lou “borrows” a light from the hallway.

Now Tom’s upset about stealing a light from the hallway; he worries about the landlord and the fat Puerto Rican guy with his eight kids all on welfare. And to top that off, this guy’s dog pees and poops in the hallway causing Tom to use extreme caution when he comes and goes to the bathroom that is down the hall.

Lou tries to calm Tom’s pugnacious instincts a little bit knowing how his friend gets. No need to go ape stepping in dog excrement on the eve of the eve of Christmas.

With the lights on, Lou presents Tom with a Christmas card.

“What’s the card say? What’s it look like?” – Tom

“Well, there’s this chick on the cover with really big tits.” - Lou

Of course it’s just a dime store card with a reindeer on it, or some such nonsense.

Whether Lou’s being honest or just playing along, the two get along great. But one gets a little queasy by the act of dishonesty one minute and Lou exchanging cash for checks with a blind man the next minute.

There is now a slight problem. Lou has met a woman, a lawyer, and he is moving to Vermont with her. He met her while taking a college class and didn’t really have to say or do much to get her. Lou hints that Tom should start getting out.

“You need to get out more, Tom.” – Lou

“I get out plenty.” – Tom

“Out to Smiler’s the liquor store… You should, I dunno, just get “out” more. Go places, do things.” – Lou

Lou says the place is starting to look real bad. (And he’s right.) Lou suggests that the “blind place” people are willing to help. Tom is finally getting the jest of what Lou is saying and now wants to throw Lou out of his apartment. And just has he opens the door, Edna Miles (Sasha Kapustina) is at the door waiting to come in and change his life.

Edna is bundled from top to toe—it’s cold outside—and she plans on staying to help. But that’s going to take some doing because Tom is not hip to the idea. Lou throws her back outside, tells her to give them a minute while they talk. But Edna is now wailing outside, about the cold, and the dog running around in the hallway.

This show has been in a workshop for about a year (for God’s sakes, don’t tell Equity!) and the work shows. Under John Markland’s direction, there is a rigorous simplicity, a respectful sleekness for much of the hard work displayed on stage. Given how shows are usually thrown onto the boards with a limited rehearsal schedule, it is refreshing to see so much life, subtext, and characterization on display. In short, Markland’s work is a theatrical triumph that manages to capture the subtle nuances of each character’s objective. Markland also has a knack for finding fantastic actors time and time again and presenting them in all their glory at the Moth Theatre.

Strangely, one has to cudgel my brain to comprehend the title “Light Sensitive”, how that relates to the three characters. And while one character may be blind one suspects the other two are sensitive in ways they must overcome personal conflicts. Jim Geoghan’s play is marvelous and stands the test of time because the characters are real and in real life or death situations. This all makes for a delightful night of comedy.

Preston Acuffdoes a marvelous job as Tom, a man who has lost hope of being able to overcome his blindness. Tom is not doing the things he’s supposed to be doing; he is not moving on with his life or taking steps to make his life simpler. He’s stop taking baths, he relies on his only friend for help, and he has given up on women. There is a lot of great work, physical characteristics, and digressions that make up this remarkable character. Acuff does an amazing job.

Sasha Kapustina is remarkable as Edna. Edna has something she wants to hide and it’s her disability. She walks on the side of her right foot and there is also something wrong with her right side, as she is unable to use her right arm and hand. Edna is looking for a relationship, which is obvious in the performance. Kapustina is marvelously funny in a clever dry fashion and takes her time letting the moments play out. One loves watching this actor, with fine strong Russian features, think on stage and then quietly taking the time to tell her story. (Although, I think there could be more to the raccoon story, how it defines the relationship, and how it manages to bring the two together.) There is hardly a trace of an accent from Kapustina who came to Los Angeles from Moscow on a Fulbright Scholarship four years ago. In short, her work is astonishing.

Ned Liebl fills the role of Lou. Liebl is a marvelous actor that brings a lot of depth to the character. Liebl throws us a few curves in his character where we are not really sure of his motives, which could be sinister, or something about the character Liebl does not want you to see until the time is right. Who would hang his hat on top of his best friends Christmas tree? Liebl does the small things that create a solid character and we are never really sure of his motives until final moments of the play. It is outstanding work that contributes to making this production soar.

Wonderfully produced by Brenda Davidson. Daniel Coronel is the Stage Manager. Max Barsness creative the Graphic Design and Michael Roth was the Composer/Soundscape.

Run! Run! Run! And take a friend with a slight disability who loves to laugh!

www.moththeatre.com

Tim Cummings and Joey Nicole Thomas

By Joe Straw

Tim Cummings came out at curtain call, a slow methodical walk, and took his bow. He grasped the hand of his fellow actors, and with no smile, he bowed once again to the very appreciative sold-out-standing-room-only audience.

This is probably something that I should not make too much of, after all actors are still in character and sometimes they slowly come down and out of character. Also, demanding roles take a while to come back to ones self, before they step out of the theatre and go on with the night.

What Cummings was thinking during the curtain call, I couldn’t know. But knowing actors, he probably thought the night did not come off as expected, that moments did not play out this night as in other nights. Possibly he was still thinking about the one crucial event that did not hit the mark.

The smile of satisfaction is a hard thing to bring when you work for perfection. And maybe that is why the smile did not emerge this night. If those were his thoughts, the events of the night couldn’t be any farther from that truth. – The Narrator.

Tim Cummings, John Klopping, Gregor Manns, Katie Pelensky, Cesar Ramos, Joey Nicole Thomas, and director Jeremy Lelliott can all take another bow for an amazing night of theatre.

The Coeurage Theatre Company presents The Woodsman by Steven Fechter and directed by Jeremy Lelliott through June 13, 2015 at the Lyric-Hyperion Theatre & Café.

Deep within a forest of thought, a man emerges from a lonely spot only to find that his mind is in the thicket of wicked feelings. The imagined soughing and rustling of the trees contribute to the cluttering thoughts racing through his mind. He is imprisoned, unable to move, mentally wedged by the boscage that surrounds his limbs and traps his very being. He is in the wildernesses of mental anguish that tears at his ability to survive in a normal environment.

Walter (Tim Cummings) is mortared to the chair in a therapy session. Walter, the woodsman, is uncomfortable in his plaid shirt, his kaki pants, and his tan shoes. Ira Rosen (John Klopping) sits opposite him, a faceless man (looking upstage), speaking to him, as his therapist.

“So, How are you adjusting?” – Rosen

“I’m adjusting okay.” – Walter

“And the new apartment?” - Rosen

“The apartment’s okay.” - Walter

Well, Walter is not really okay; he is still in the forest of bad thoughts; and the medication he is taking gives him headaches. And to top that off, Rosen’s personality makes Walter’s skin itch.

Rosen, in an accusatory tone, says that maybe it’s because of his name.

Caught slightly off-guard, Walter says that anti-Semitism is not his problem and then turns the tables on Rosen.

“Are you okay, Rosen?” – Walter

“I’m fine.” – Rosen

“Honest?” – Walter

Rosen has been trying to connect with his Jewish identity and has found out that his Aunt died in Auschwitz. She was just a little girl. (The mental battles fought everyday).

They are both caught in the little known path of the forest. Walter moves away from this subject. They both do.

Naytheless, Rosen wants Walter to keep a diary, to paper a personal journal, but Walter has his reasons for not wanting to put pencil to paper; it has sent many men to prison by way of evidence.

Rosen, understanding slightly, tells him to think about it.

Wanting to get better, Walter warms to the idea of writing. And so he writes to his friend, Kirby, if only he knew where to place the letters knowing that: one, the letters would not get sent, and two, Kirby is dead, a voice silenced six feet under.

Later, by happenstance, Carlos (Cesar Ramos), Walter’s brother-in-law, brings in a nice cherry wood table.

Tim Cummings and Cesar Ramos

Walter lovingly appreciates this table. He had foraged lumberyards to find the perfect cherry wood and built the table from scratch for the perfect wedding present.

“The wood still pulses with life. It’s like when you look at this table you don’t see a piece of furniture… you see a living thing.” - Walter

The drawer would be a great place for the letters to Kirby.

Walter made the table for his sister, Annette (not seen)—the one with the nice smelling hair, as a wedding present. But because of bad memories, Annette wanted to throw it out. Carlos saved it, put it in the attic, and now brought it over as a gesture of goodwill, to give him a piece of furniture for his sparse apartment.

But now Carlos moves over to the window and pointing to the obvious he mentions the grade school down below. He stares at Walter and doesn’t think it’s a good idea for him to be here. There is too much temptation. Walter says that he is supposed to be 100 feet away from children. His new third floor apartment is 135 feet away. Still, it is extremely close in Carlos’ mind.

“I’m just thinking that maybe it’s not so healthy being this close. You know, to a school.” – Carlos

Carlos says his girl is turning twelve the following week but he can’t invite Walter to the birthday party. He is still working on getting Annette to come around.

After Carlos leaves, Walter is enmeshed in the forest again, looking beyond the window into the schoolyard. He writes to Kirby about a man in his twenties, hanging around the playground, talking to boys, giving them candy bars. And his mind goes back into the forest, to the young girl (Katie Pelensky), backlit by the moon, who temps him, in a dressing gown, a terrible figment of his imagination.

Things take a dramatic turn when Nikki (Joey Nicole Thomas), Walter’s co-worker takes up the Walter’s invitation to have a drink at his place. Nikki can see something in his personal makeup and will stop at nothing to get the information.

“You’re damaged. Something happened to you.” – Nikki

This is by far Jeremy Lelliott’s finest work as director. The moments play out to perfection, the acting is as natural and compelling as any theatre in Los Angeles, and it all works to such a degree that it is a riveting ninety-minutes of pure theatre. This is certainly the finest drama I’ve seen this year.

Tim Cummings is outstanding as Walter. Walter is torn because of his past and the emotions that plague him today. And there are enticements all around him. Bringing those thoughts under control is almost too much to handle, his secret is too much to keep to himself, he is at his mental end, and all along wanting to do the right thing. Cummings gives the character the right balance, of trying to find the right thing to do, when the images in his intellect are telling him something else. Cummings journey of character is an emotional tour de force and a performance that should not be missed.

“…this girl. I see…this girl. Not a real girl. She’s in the back of my brain…just out of sight.” – Walter

John Klopping as Rosen provides the right balance, brings the right measure to a sometimes-out-of-control patient. But he has problems of his own. He worries about his past, his life, and family and has little patience for the dregs of humanity. He doesn’t care if the patient gets better or worse. But, in the end, there is remarkable change where Rosen turns the corner and allows himself to help. Klopping is wonderful as Rosen.

Tim Cummings and Gregor Manns

Gregor Manns is also outstanding as Lucas, an out-of-control cop, with an affinity for Al Pacino movie lines. Lucas is part of the social fabric of policing determined to keep his streets clean. He will go after anyone and is willing to put him or her back in prison for one little mistake. Oddly, he wants that person to make the mistake but he doesn’t want to dig any deeper than his front pockets. There are a lot of wonderful subtle moments in Manns’ performance. And he is a cop who is watching every move just for the sake of a collar and his job security.

“What’s your badge number?” – Walter

“My badge number is shut the f**k up!” – Lucas

Katie Pelensky is the girl (played by an adult) that plagues his memories, wearing an almost transparent nightgown, in the moonlight. She is the memory of confused girl, a somnolent figure of sorts, or a stalking nightmare that Walter cannot shake. Pelensky also plays Robin, a little girl, alone in the park watching and knowing a lot about birds. She is in the park alone for a reason and after releasing the information she quails inwardly. It is heartbreaking. Pelensky is fantastic in the role.

Occasionally one runs across an actor that by outside appearance doesn’t look like much but when he speaks he gives a profound nuance to the words. And in the manner of presentation, there is change in the relationship between actor and audience. (I rarely see this.) Cesar Ramos as Carlos is that kind of actor who is very specific in his choices, mannerism, and his objective. There is also something very sinister about this character in the way he interacts with Walter. He is an enticer, an Iago to Othello, and someone who wants to cause a great deal of trouble in very subtle ways. Ramos is terrific in the role.

Joey Nicole Thomasis pretty incredible as Nikki, a smart woman that comes off manly to overcome the talk in the shipping warehouse. She is a strong silent type in a gothic manly sort of way. That aside, what really comes off in Thomas performance is her sincerity, and the total commitment to the role. She has to know about the man before she stays with him and she displays dogged determination to get that information no matter the cost. When she finds out, she is shocked beyond comprehension. This is an absolutely wonderful moment in the performance. And also, this was a remarkable performance that I will carry with me for a long time.

I’ve run out of words to describe The Woodsman by Steven Fechter only to say it is a wonderful play where the words mean so much to each character. Shelly Winter is known to have said “If it ain’t on the page, it ain’t on the stage.” The words and actions were definitely on the stage on this night.

Other members of this production in a dual cast are Julianne Donelle as Nikki, Mark Jacobson as Rosen, Nardeep Khurmi as Lucas, Christopher Salazar as Carlos, Erin Sanzo as Girl/Robin and Venny Carranza as Walter alternate.

Other members of this wonderful crew are as follows:

Costume Designer: Emily Brown-Kucera

Sound Designer: Joseph V. Calarco

Lighting Designer: Michael Kozachenko

Stage Manager: Emily Goodall

Assistant Director: Ken Werther

Fight Director: Tyler Vaughn

Press Representative: Ken Werther Publicity

Graphic Design: Ryan Wagner

Production Photographer: Nardeep Khurmi, John Klopping

Wow! Two shows in a row that have absolutely blown my socks off!

Run! Run! Run! And take someone who has done his or her time in prison and is really trying to change. You’ll have an interesting ride back home.

Also, grab yourself a cheese sandwich at the café. It was delicious.

www.coeurage.org/tickets

Reservations: 323-944-2165

The Magnificent Dunbar Hotel by Levy Lee Simon

Bob’s Holiday Christmas Party

Piñata Dreams by Josefina Lopez

The Last Straw Award 2014

Proof by David Auburn

Clean Start – by Kathy Fischer & Josefina López

Annie, Jr. Music by Charles Strouse, Lyrics by Martin Charnin, Book by Thomas Meehan

Hellman v. McCarthy By Brian Richard Mori

finding Nick by Nicholas Guest

A Chorus Line – Music by Marvin Hamlisch, Lyrics by Edward Kleban, Book by James Kirkwood, Jr. and Nicholas Dante

Virgin by Alyson Renaldo

Chavez Ravine an L.A. Revival – by Culture Clash

D’ Lo: D’FunQT (defunct) by D’Lo

The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams

The Pied Pipers of the Lower East Side by Derek Ahonen

Oh My God by Anat Gov

63 Trillion by John Bunzel

Light Sensitive by Jim Geoghan

The Woodsman by Steven Fechter