Joe Straw #9

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Nelson Lee and Julia Cho

By Joe Straw

The details on how I got here, to this theatre, on this night are very sketchy. Someone invited me. Who? I’m not sure. I had to go back in time, look back at my notes. And on this night everything looked dark, as it usually does, at night.

Alas, it was a twitter invitation, a bird, and a chirp from a little blue bird. I responded. Violà! - Narrator.

Artists at Play presents the world premiere of The Two Kids that Blow Sh*t Up by Carla Ching, directed by Jeremy Lelliott and is now playing at the Lounge Theatre through September 04, 2016 in Hollywood.

The play is a remarkable achievement and an ostentatious work of art by Ms. Ching. It is a grand paean, a work in subtlety and nuance, of taking a moment, a cause, and tracing the cause to its brilliant roots. And, to top that off, it is written in a remarkable voice, one that is unpredictable, dramatic, and funny. It is a story, albeit a non-linear gaposis, of love and hate between two best friends at various stages in their lives. One doesn’t get many opportunities to see an original work of art where the relationships are pristine and the dialogue laudable.

Luminously directed by Jeremy Lelliott who manages to capture a significant through line through a very troubling relationship. This production is thoroughly enjoyable from top to bottom.

Dare I say that there was only one thing missing. (More on that later.)

What are the things that hold these two characters together? What are the bonding elements, and the mechanism that keeps this relationship strong? And, why haven’t they spoken in four years?

Age 38

“Hey, it’s me…” – Diana calling from a cell phone.

Diana (Julia Cho), 38 years old, who doesn’t have to say her name, waits at a bar near the Brooklyn Bridge for Max (Nelson Lee), also 38 years old. When they finally see each other, both are wearing black, he wears a hoodie, to hide himself, apropos for the time and moment when the darkness covers most of his faults.

They have things to talks about.

The problem is that no one is speaking to the other, and they have not spoken to each other for the last four years. Perhaps they are all talked out.

Stilted in the moment Max finds it hard to make eye contact, or even express a fugitive grin. Max would just rather flip coasters like a deck of cards not admitting anything while Diana looks on.

Diana takes her coasters and builds a mansion, (well better than his) proving a point about their relationship.

“Why are we here?” – Max

Yes, why are we here? Well to understand the now we have to go back to the past.

Julia Cho and Nelson Lee

Age 9

Maybe they were nine year old when they first met. Snowfall in New York makes for a pristine play space outside an apartment building. And because they are kids their job is to stay away from under the parents and make a snowman.

Diana would much rather build a snowwoman, but Max, head jogging like a bobble toy, snarls like that’s the most ridiculous thing he has ever heard. Still, they build together.

“Your name is kinda messed up, Di.” – Max

This doesn’t sit too well with Diana. She is headstrong and has a mouth on her like a drunken sailor as she curses her parent’s frugality. Image of a ruffled chicken come to mind. Just 9 years old.

Max says he takes judo. He’s a yellow belt. Diana in a game of one up man ship says she’s a green belt.

So now would be a good time for Max to go inside and get some juice. And as he leaves Diana puts breasts on the snowwoman. Max acts like he doesn’t care, or makes out that he doesn’t care when he comes out. And maybe that’s what brings them together at first.

Diana asks Max why he didn’t bring her juice. (The personalities have made their mark.)

“Have you blown up anything today?” – Diana

Max has already gained a reputation as something else explodes around the house. And that’s just the start of things blowing up.

Age 24

“I want Gina.” – Max

Max has fallen in love. Her name is Gina (not seen). She is the main clown in a circus show in Atlantic City. Diana takes in this information in stride; his love for her, but one still sees a little disappointment in her eyes.

Max, as usual, doesn’t have any money, but wants to take Gina out. So, guided by inspiration, Diana takes what few dollars there is between them for gambling money and says they will be having steak by midnight.

Age 15

Fifteen years old and they have a better idea about communicating with each other. Liking each other a little more, expressing their feeling how they feel about their parents, and about themselves.

“You are crazy.” – Diana

“Is that a bad thing?” – Max

Age 28

“ Number 256.” – Announcer

That’s the number they started on. Prenuptials arranged, the couples are now called by a numbering system to get married. A cold and heartless announcer counts up as each couple step up to the marriage plate. Max and Diana are dressed but Max is not getting married on this day.

Diana nervously wonders if she has got everything. Her epilepsy medicine, Max gives that a “check”. Maybe Max doesn’t think marriage, for her, is a good idea, and asks Diana why she loves him. Her response is not definitive, “that he makes her safe.”

Max sees something in that statement. He knows her far better than she thinks.

“Good guys are not what you choose.” – Max

And while he’s on the subject Max tells Diana that he owes the groom $800.00 and would he do a favor and ask him to forgive the debt.

Diana is really not happy about having to do this on her wedding day.

Age 17

Max has got this harebrained idea of becoming an actor and Diana has all the answers because she’s smarter than him. No truer words were spoken. Well, at least, that’s what she always thought.

Carla Ching’splay is a work of art, luxuriously fascinating in the manner in which it is presented moving back and forth in time. In each scene, the audience collects significant bits of information, and then puts the pieces together. No pun intended but the audience are like members of a bomb squad piecing together fragments of a crime scene, while the characters are blowing things up, mostly their relationship.

For example, after going back and forth in age, we think we know the characters. And, out of the blue, we get a piece of information, at the age of 28, that Diana has epilepsy. It is said in a casual way, an intimate acknowledgement the characters know about each, and, in another flashback, we find out more how that became intimate. There are a lot of these moments in this play.

To say more about the play would just be giving the pieces away. At this point you have one day to catch this production, September 4^th2016 being the last day.

Nelson Lee and Julia Cho

Julia Cho (Diana) is excellent in her craft. Cho has a wonderful symmetry in her dramatic manner and style. Diana is a complicated character. She is strong-willed, forceful, and very smart. Sometime her vocal predilection gets into the way of her intentions, what she really wants but is unable to articulate. She is in love with Max, but love always gets in the way in doing the right thing. Cho is a marvelous actor with a unique and powerful presence.

Nelson Lee (Max) is solid in his craft. Max is a character who is not really reliable except where his friend is concerned but then again he only shows up when he wants something. The kind of friend that most people keep at arms length. He does his best to cause havoc, whether it is subtle (the kiss) or instrumental (the theft). Funny, but he never apologized or even admitted to his misdeeds. Lee has a strong and powerful manner on stage.

The moments in Jeremy Lelliott’s direction are very subtle but it is a solid outing. One prefers a play with an emotional outpouring; a feeling that one will lose the other in what ever form that takes. It never goes that far, but it could.

The one missing thing on this night, especially after a very robust applause, was a second curtain call. The work deserved it.

I loved the Brooklyn Bridge painted on the upstage wall. It was just the right touch provided by Se Oh, Scenic & Properties Design, to show that we were near Chinatown in New York.

Other members of this magnificent crew are as follows:

Emily Brown-Kucera & Rachel Stivers– Costume Design

Alexander Le Vaillant Freer– Lighting Design

Jesse Mandapat– Sound Design

Andrew Knight– Dramaturg

Donna Eshelman– Movement Specialist

Jonathan Castanien– Stage Manager

This show had a very short run and deserves a longer run.

Run! Run! Run! And take someone who loves the Brooklyn Bridge!

The Lounge Theatre, 6201 Santa Monica Blvd, Los Angeles, California

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L - R Elyse Mirto, Frances Fisher, Dale Dickey and Travis Johns - Photos: Jeff Lorch Photography

By Joe Straw

I came wanting to laugh hard on this night. It’s not really hard for me to laugh; still I wanted it to be a hard laugh. I did. Mission accom… No, I don’t want to say that. – Narrator

The Geffen Playhouse presents the West Coast production of Barbecue written by Robert O’ Hara and directed by Colman Domingo in Westwood through October 16^th, 2016. The Off Broadway play was presented at the Public Theater in 2015.

Robert O’Hara’s Barbecue is wondrously funny in ways you can or cannot imagine. Joyfully engaging and infinitely enlightening, this is a play that both dramatically reawakens the senses and delights in meaningful ways as it pokes fun at the trials and tribulations of a family in crisis.

Barbecue also speaks an honest truth, exposing the lives of iniquitous characters while also splashing a sudsy dose of our own reality all over our face. It is a comedic two-sided vinyl record, one side is black, and the other side white, but still playing the same great music.

(Bare with me on the colloquialisms.)

The dew had not yet dried off the foliage that morning when James T (Travis Johns), beer in hand, arrived a little early, well earlier than the rest, to grab the spot in the park, just in case someone else had their own plans. One gets the feeling that his sisters, who are set to join him, are not even out of bed yet. When they finally get there, there’ll business to attend to.

James T sets his backside to a wooden park bench claiming the space and other things in the park. An ice chest warns that this spot is taken. So he sits along the two park benches, which are nestled under a wooden awning. The sturdy post, holdin’ up the awning, is a nice place to secure someone should it come to that.

Near the awning is a happy metal sliding board with peelin’ yellow lead paint, something delicious for the kids to enjoy were they’re any, and shrubbery to protect against prying eyes.

(Sibyl Wickersheimer, Scenic Designer, crafted a wonderful space for the actors to create their magic.)

James T (his mother was probably a Star Trek fan.), with his man bun, looked around like he had everything under control and appearing confident as though he had a phaser strapped on his belt.

All okay, but the phone wasn’t working to James T’s satisfaction, talkin’ to his sister Lillie Anne (Frances Fisher), like he’s talking to his mama and not sparing any of the profanity that goes along with it. G*d D*mn this and G*d D*mn that.

James T tells Lillie Anne that he has faith that their sister, Barbara (Rebecca Wisocky), will show up. He just doesn’t know if she’s gonna’ show up all liquored up, cracked up, or something else up, and he doesn’t know if she’s going to be violent.

“We’re not a normal gatdamn family.” – James T.

Well that much is true and there’s a lot more “not normal” coming up.

“‘shorts make me look fat?” Lillie Anne

Lillie Anne shows up with a few nasty lawn chairs and wantin’ to know why no one’s been decoratin’. It’s it a party, for GD sake, and there’s got to be decorations at least to fool the one who needs to be fooled!

But, there’s no decorative ribbon, and it looks like no one has the will to decorate or even try. All this for their sister, Barbara, a.k.a. Zippity Boom, who has major problems, including alcohol, drugs, mental illness, and prostitution just to name a few. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg, or ice chest.

Adlean (Lisa Rothschiller) and Marie (Elyse Mirto) show up, two more sisters to Barbara, James T, and Lillie Anne. (Two of their other siblings are dead and won’t be attending this gathering.) Adlean leaves her kids out in the burning hot car because she knows there’s more to this barbecue and they don’t need kids underfoot.

There’s nothing like watching trailer park trash at a barbecue.

Overweening big sister Lillie Anne says there's going to be an intervention. And as soon as that’s said there is a black out, or black in, depending on your perspective.

Cherise Boothe, Yvette Cason, Omar J. Dorsey, Kimberely Hébert Gregory and Heather Alicia Simms.

All the characters are now black: Lillie Anne (Yvette Cason), James T. (Omar J. Dorsey), Adlean (Kimberly Hébert Gregory), Marie (Heather Alicia Simms) and they don’t miss a beat continuing the same story and exposing everyone’s problems.

“You probably don’t even remember waking up this morning with all them damn pills you poppin.” – Marie

“Heifa, you wait till you get you a disease in yo’ t*tty.” – Adlean

“I was the one who told you not to go eating no damn corn out no damn can. It’ them damn canned goods that gave you that damn cancer.” – Marie

Suddenly quiet, everyone wonders if, during the intervention, Barbara (Cherise Boothe) is gonna get violent. They talk about Barbara as though she was a legend and legend has it that after Barbara lost all her teeth, she’s been known to carry around razors in her gums, and they are worried something like that might happen during the intervention.

They are all terrified at what she might do.

James T, sitting on the lawn furniture, says he has a Taser should things get a little out of hand.

The whole family has got problems and it’s a back and forth blame game as to how they all got into this situation.

Marie, pointing fingers, gulping down a Jack Daniels, looks in Adlean’s bag for all types of pills she’s got. Adlean, despite the cancer, is puffing a cigarette, and doesn’t want Marie looking in her stuff.

“There’s a lot of shit in my purse that ain’t mine.” – Marie

Somebody’s looking to get tased.

Blackout.

White in.

“We love you even though you’re a crackhead.” – Lillie Anne

Lillie Anne has got a plan and it’s a plan about getting Barbara into rehab. She’s serious and she asks everyone if they have written their letters? No, they haven’t since they’re not one for doing homework. Lillie Anne is the smartest of the bunch going back to school to get her G.E.D.

Anyway, Lillie Anne has got Barbara a plane ticket to Alaska for this rehab center that does hypnosis, acupuncture, yoga, and horses. She shows them the fold out pamphlet. To the others, it sounds like a bad idea, and maybe they can ask Siri if there is a rehab center nearby.

A car horn beeps and they all start dancing.

“Get ready, when I do the fish tale dance…” - Lillie Anne

Unexpectedly Barbara is upon them.

One can’t go farther than this without giving too much away.

The splash of reality hits when one cast is replaced with the other. It was at this moment the audience gasped, a great magnificent audible breath, in delight, or horror, I can’t say, but it sure is great to be in the theatre when that happens. Also, for me it is at this time when momentary confusion sets in and there is suddenly a grand visceral, emotional and cerebral engagement, one that locks characters in the respective roles and slowly eases me into another perspective.

Colman Domingo, the director, has a splendid understanding of the material and slips us in and out without missing a beat. The second act moves into material that gives us a sincere truth about who these people actually are and why they behave the way they do. It takes us away from the legends and into a demonstrative reality. There is a deep emotional connect with the characters in the second act. Even reality is never the complete truth. Overall, the execution is superior.

Travis Johns (James T) gives an interesting and credible performance. There’s more to be had with the opening telephone conversation and his relationship with the other person on the phone. Also, strengthening the relationships with his siblings would add to an already fine performance.

Frances Fisher is superior as Lillie Anne and also very funny. Fisher’s craft is excellent especially her relationship with all four of her siblings which is commanding in a traditional big-sister way. She is the organizer who sees value in saving a life worth saving if only she could get the others on board. And getting them all on board is what is amazing about Fisher’s performance.

Lisa Rothschillerdoes justice to Adlean, the one with cancer who has a ravenous appetite for canned corn, cigarettes, and popping pills. This is a role where Rothschiller has multiple opportunities to define the relationship with each sibling showing us the similarities and the differences.

Elyse Mirto also does well as Marie. Marie has a mean streak in her and has to be controlled in one fashion or another. Marie is an alcoholic and in taking part of the intervention, she knows that she has some hard choices to make starting with the bottle she carries around with her, if only she would listen to her inner voice.

Rebecca Wisockyhas a powerful presence on stage as Barbara aka Zippity Boom. Barbara seems to be the sanest one of the bunch. Wisocky brings an authoritative history of the character on stage and one that suggests a woman who is very worldly, a woman who has overcome great adversity to get where she is today. It is, at this point in her life, when she knows who she is, who she was, and what she wants to become. Her craft is subtle and commanding all in the same breath and a privilege to watch.

Cherise Boothewas also Barbara on the night I was there. Without giving too much away, Boothe was solid in her craft switching from one character to another, with a variety of accents, style and grace. She is very funny and holds her own on stage. She is a solid performer.

Yvette Carson as Lillie Anne has a quiet presence during her first moments on stage sometimes giving away what little power she has over to her siblings. But during the course of the play, she manages to secure herself as the head of the family especially during the intervention scene where she is reading of the letter. A lot of love, hard love went into that scene and was very enjoyable.

Omar J. Dorseywas also James T and was wearing a wig, a small fro. Dorsey’s James T was a little low keyed but managed to make his voice heard in the simplest of ways. This James T was methodical on the grill, low keyed, mellowed by the stuff he was smoking in his pipe. And what is it that makes a man want to join another man when he’s grilling?

Kimberly Hébert Gregory also plays Adlean and aside from all the bickering back and forth between her siblings there seemed to be a deeper understanding of her character, a quiet simplicity that struck a tremendous chord, a display that showed a willingness to love and create the best for her sister despite all of her own problems. Gregory’s work was fantastic.

Heather Alicia Simmsshows us a strong resolve as Marie, a woman who will not let go of her bottle of Jack Daniels but will point out the fault of others, namely the sister with cancer. The aftermath of the zapping was about the funniest things I have seen in a long time. Well done!

Dale Dickey(Adlean) and Maya Lynne Robinson(Barbara) did not perform on the night I was there.

Robert O’Hara’splay rings in a solid truth in theatre. It is honest in the way it finds a certain kind of family expressing a familiarity and using that expression to get to the meat of the matter, pun intended for this barbecue. No beating around the bush for this family, they say what’s on their mind and they don’t care who they hurt. You’ve got to wonder, if the drugs lessens the pain as siblings speak the truth. I’m not sure if I got the three million dollars and the sinisterness of Barbara splitting one million.

The Geffen is a special place in Westwood, a wonderful space with generous parking, and plenty of places to dine all around. The Geffen also offers a magnificent space for theatre professionals to continue to work in their craft. Those crew-members that contributed to the magic are as follows:

Randall Arney– Artistic Director

Gil Cates, Jr.– Executive Director

Kara Harmon– Costume Designer

Lap Chi Chu– Lighting Designer

Lindsay Jones– Composer & Sound Designer

Anne L. Hitt– Production Stage Manager

Cate Cundiff– Assistant Stage Manager

Phyllis Schuringa, CSA– Casting Director

Regina Miller– Chief Development Officer

Rhonda Kohn– Assistant Director

Dave Bova– Hair and Makeup Designer

Heather Roach– Associate Wig Designer

Yuri Okahana– Assistant Scenic Designer

Kaitlyn Aylward– Assistant Costume Designer

Rose Malone– Assistant Lighting Designer

Corinne Carillo– Associate Sound Designer

Jenny Foldenauer– Wardrobe Supervisor

Bryce Potter and Danielle Richter– Wig Supervisors

Alex Norkus– Stage Crew

Ashley Nichole Henley– Production Assistant

Hazel Kuang– Properties Assistant

Cami Viand– Properties Artisan

Philip Rossi– Lead Carpenter

Bryce Gill– Lead Carpenter

Lael Osness– Draper

Run! Run! Run! And take your relative from Georgia. You’ll love the GD heck out of this one.

Reservations: b oxoffice@geffenplayhouse.org or at 310-208-5454

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By Joe Straw

A moral imperative is a strongly-felt principle that compels that person to act.

Seth (Martin Thompson) is not known for his quiet ambiguity, he finally gets to his point, in a superfluous academic way. His stories are an amphiboly, sometimes an arduous journey, but he labors to reach his destination. Tonight, the lights are on him as he is giving a speech, a party favor, a titillating bon mot that permeates the room; one suspects this is an intimate gathering, and a party in his home.

Seth continues with his story about a nefarious grade grubber.

“I’ll do anything for an A.” – Student

“Anything?” – Seth

This is a defining moment, one that projects an uneasiness of this crudely jocular professor. He throws a sinister glance and exercises an exaggerated pause.

“Yes.” – Student

Another pause.

“Would you study?” – Seth

Theatre 40 of Beverly Hills presents the World Premiere of Moral Imperative by Samuel Warren Joseph, directed by Howard Storm, and produced by David Hunt Stafford through October 17^th, 2016.

Art is ambiguity and Moral Imperative, in all of its ambiguity, is art.

Moral Imperative penned by Joseph is a delicious morsel of art executed on a theatrical canvas under Storm’s direction, accompanied by a wonderful gathering of thespians on Jeff G. Rack’s beautiful set. Michéle Young, the Costume Designer, sets the tone and place creating a delightful look of this New England town that plays host to the mythical private college, Briarton University.

Math and science are considered precise fields. But theatre, by its very nature, is ambiguous. It written in a voice translated by the actors to make imaginative choices; it is molded by the director’s through line, to guide actors as they sally forth with strong objectives. A play is, by definition, ambiguous. If it were anything else, what would be the point?

But, one can always take a look and decide if a presentation successfully worked. Or, could the direction be slightly altered to solidify moments?

Overall, the night was successful; the actors very strategic, but the moral questions, some behavior issues, and actions had me slightly puzzled. One will speak of choices made on this particular night in due time.

Everyone thought that Seth, a provost and philosophy professor, was in line for the job of President of Briarton University, having been at the University in excess of thirty years. Such was not the case.

Seth is slightly upset, but not demonstratively so. Seth’s wife, Mary (Susan Damante), also thought his chance was excellent.

Seth’s intimate friend, Dean Robert (Ken Kamlet), has a phlegmatic respect for Seth as he joined to commiserate on this rather awkward social gathering.

Seth, gamboling around the living room, says he is fluent in five languages including Latin, if that were criteria for being president. Those words speaks volumes about his character as he neither celebrates nor commiserates.

“My father said I won’t amount to anything.” – Seth

An interesting moment that hits at the heart of the matter and also one that takes a low-spirited turn. And, as the guests are thinking of leaving, Mary holds them there with the smell of a caffeinated drink.

Mary is a doting wife, perhaps that is misnomer as she handles a multitude of duties. She is a professional, a doctor, and, if one must praise, she also makes a great cup of coffee.

The work for the night is not quite done. Academic professionals are known for being extremely inquisitive and this night is no exception.

Robert’s Asian wife, Karen (Kyoko Okazaki), is not academic; she teaches very small children. She is fluent in Spanish after spending time teaching in Central America. She hesitates to speak, knowing little about University life, and is cautious when engaged in small talk amongst the brilliant. Karen has strong Christian beliefs, and while most professionals in the room are skeptical yet polite, Seth silently scoffs at her repeated mention of God and Jesus.

Mary tries to keep Seth in check by making eye contact and politely reminding Seth they are guests in their home.

Still, hardly anyone in the room can blame Karen for her faith considering that she has overcome a great deal of adversity. The trauma of having her daughter die in a tragic automobile accident, of which she was the driver, still rings a memory of horrific sounds.

But, the discussion suddenly turns to Oscar (David Hunt Stafford) of whom the Trustees have appointed to the job of the President. Oscar is brilliant and a conservative savvy operative. He is also an inveterate political figurehead who was responsible for the death of sixty thousands Central Americans. It is a fact that the Trustees willfully ignored when they chose him to be the president.

Academics are noted for talking shop in any intimate gathering and tonight are no exception as Robert reads an article about Oscar wanting to seize control of the University and to get rid of tenure and unwanted professors. In short, Seth believes the institution will be destroyed.

Tired of the conversation, Mary and Karen leave the room to look at some toys Mary wants to give to Karen for her kids.

It is here that Seth sets a disturbing course of action. They joke at first, but then Seth turns to the moral imperative of ridding the world of a deplorable. The pustulous intercourse takes a deadly turn. Spurned on by Seth’s plan of action, he wants Robert along for the ride.

Robert, in pusillanimous mode, says they were only joking about assassinating Oscar. He’s not sure how this discussion has turned into an eristical game.

“You’re not the first professor who had an affair.” – Seth

Ouch, not so much a game anymore. Seth goes pretty low when he mentions Roberts’s marital infidelity and one, in particular, that caused a young woman to commit suicide.

“Can’t believe the trustees made such a bad decision.” - Robert.

Seth, using his words, is persuasive, implementing every trick to get Robert on board.

“Oscar asked that you be at the meeting.” – Seth

“If we did this, can you live with yourself?” – Robert

“Yes!” – Seth

David Hunt Staffordplays Oscar, and about the only thing that I can tell you and still stay in the first act is that an attempt is made on his life, an overly aggressive attempt. Stafford does an excellent job, his execution is done in small increments, and it is magnificent in its final implementation.

Brandee Stegerplays Detective Pauline and she is much like Columbo without the trench coat. It is a marvelous role for Steger who makes the most of an exciting character that manages to get to the bottom of things one way or another.

Kyoko Okazakiplays Karen a hapless character filled with strife and worries, mostly inner struggles of the death of her child and her husband’s infidelities. Karen is strong in her beliefs and is naïve in the way she believes things work. Okazaki’s work incorporates a strong technique especially the personal background story and her relationship with the other characters.

Susan Damantepresents a very strong figure as Mary. Mary puts all the pieces of the puzzle together, although it takes her a while to do so. When she says that her husband was reading her medical book that set off some red flags for me but her husband paid scant attention to that remark. Sometimes I would like to see more of a moment and Mary’s entrance at the end of the first act should play longer for various reasons of what is going on on stage. Delay this entrance and make it excruciating long, for the sake of a moment, drop your keys, have a multitude of bags in your arms, key jam in the door, scream for help, etc. That aside, Damante is excellent in her craft and her work plays to perfection in all of her quiet moments.

Ken Kamlet is Robert and was successful on most fronts. There were problems with his relationship with his mentor that were not clearly defined or illustrated. Most of it had to do with infidelity and the manner in which it is used against him in order to be an accomplice. There is more we need to see in his relationship with his mentor. What is the one thing that makes him want to go along with the plan? Also, faith, conscience, and guilt plays an important part in his being and holding the glass has to be the most terrifying event in his life. They had spoken about it. His back is turned when the drink is poisoned. He is handed the drink. Did he look into the givers eyes? Is he shaking, or having seconds thoughts? These are things he can add to an already terrific performance.

Martin Thompsonis Seth and his motives must be stronger. Without giving too much away, an event toward the end provides a key reason as to why he pushes everyone to the brink. But his actions are not strong enough, not powerful enough, and sometimes plays like a melodrama. Is it the polite academia charm that keeps him from pushing the boundaries? Little is made of Seth reading his wife’s medical journal when in reality she is giving away his secret! Also, the affair remark is said in such a casual way that the intention is lost, the – I’ve got you on this, I’ve kept your secret, so you must help me – intention! Also, Seth must have a fall guy in case something goes terribly wrong so he can throw the spineless Robert under the bus. And all that aside, Seth is holding on to a terrible secret, something has gone wrong within him, and whether that’s what spurns him on, one can’t say, but it would be nice to have those clues.

Also, Seth and Robert must have a stronger relationship and that relationship must defined in a myriad of ways, colleagues, mentor, master, slave, and manipulator. Most were used in various forms but the execution was mild and needed strengthening for a stronger theatrical presentation.

The funny thing about Howard Storm’s direction is that the first act plays like a comedy including the assassination scene but in the second act actions becomes very dramatic. The humor is not wasted in the first act, but action could be more pointed to the dramatic and not lose a thing. I’ve mentioned the poisoning of the drink and that scene could be taken to another level. The same holds true with the scene of the end of the first act. There is a lot more dramatic action to add in this scene. The smoking scenes don’t progress the play, slightly taking away from the objective, and only giving an understanding of a causal link in the end. On another note I had a little problem with the nitroglycerin bottle that Oscar had in his possession, and was later taken from him by Robert. But then where did the bottle go? Who has the bottle? I found it an important question to ask. Others disagreed with me.

Samuel Warren Josephhas written a wonderful play. It rings so delightfully true of academia, of the people, and place. In the end Seth’s motives are heinous, because he is doing it all for himself, not his wife, not for his kids, and not even for his friends. Joseph has created a tragic character who is extremely selfish, and is a very appalling figure of someone who is willing to sacrifice others for the one thing he needs. He gathers little sympathy in the end and he loses everything for the want of that one thing. What more could you ask for in a theatrical presentation?

Run! Run! Run! And take your favorite professor. I did and she loved it!

The other crew members are as follows:

Ric Zimmerman– Lighting Designer

Joseph “Sloe” Slawinski– Sound Designer

Don Solosan– Stage Manager

Jean Sportelli– Assistant Director

Richard Carner– Assistant Stage Manager

Judi Lewin– Makeup/Hair/Wig Design

Ed Krieger – Photographer

Richard Hoyt Miller– Program Design

Philip Sokoloff– Publicity

RESERVATIONS: (310) 364-0535.
ONLINE TICKETING: www.theatre40.org

Casey McKinnon and Ford Austin - All Photos: Rick Baumgartner

By Joe Straw

Casually having coffee in a diner, he let some information slip; as if he knowingly let anything slip in his life.

“The army wouldn’t give me the security clearances I needed to get up to another level – cause of I have distant relatives from the Soviet Union.”

The time, circa 1967, and he was just a corporal, an army office grunt.

He was just the kind of outspoken man, with an I.Q. tested over 175, the army loved to send to Vietnam.

Never mind that he just adopted five kids and needed to remain in the states for a year to finalize the adoption. They don’t care who they send.

And, while there, in Vietnam, some strange eye opening papers brush across his desk. Strange little items like military contracts with Lady Bird Johnson’s holding company name on them.

After Vietnam, he was flown to Alaska for debriefing. He was told not to mention what he had seen and he kept that secret for over 40 years.

Vietnam was very profitable, for some. LBJ, et al. – let’s face it somebody has to win in a war. - Narrator

Walking into the Skylight Theatre in Hollywood is like walking through a cavern with a high ceiling, the vomitorium of no return. After going in you come out a different person.

The Blank Theatre presents the World Premiere of The Tragedy of JFK (as told by Wm. Shakespeare) conceived, adapted and directed by Daniel Henning at the Skylight Theatre through October 29^th, 2016. Produced by Daniel Henning, Bree Pavey and Noah Wyle.

Daniel Henning, the writer and director, stood outside the theatre door, busy as usual, although he took a moment to thank patrons for coming. He is always charming, and a bit thinner than one remembers, possibly from wrangling this large cast. And he appeared appreciably nervous, unable to comprehend of what the night would bring.

The Tragedy of JFK (as told by Wm. Shakespeare) by Mr. Henning is what Los Angeles theatregoers crave. Henning, an ingenious perfectionist, offers a new voice and ties it into the words of William Shakespeare of an event that is etched in our collective memories.

Henning rides his creative theatrical horse on this day bringing nourishment to those who crave more from their 99-seat venues. He does this by conveying his rich ideas and perspectives imploring theatregoers to take his hand and take the ride.

William Shakespeare died 347 years before the Kennedy assassination. One cannot attest to time travel, certainly some men have peaked into the future. But one would guess that Shakespeare, in fact, did not see this coming.

But, then again, there were some strange similarities.

I’ll not tell you on which play Mr. Henning adapted, that would spoil the fun. But, if you are a fan of William Shakespeare you will get it almost immediately.

The lone gunman theory haunts many Americans. Visions of the immaculate pristine bullet in the car shine as bright as the televisions, which broadcast Oswald, being gunned down by Jack Ruby (Rubenstein).

There were too many bad actors covering up on a nonsensical stage in Dallas, Texas. An average Joe could see that visual events did not project a truth, and still don’t. You don’t have to look too far to know who had the most to gain.

Lyndon Baines Johnson (Time Winters) was an honorable man, so were they all, all honorable men.

Aside from LJB, who had the most to gain?

J. Edgar Hoover (Tony Abatemarco) was not a friend of Kennedy as both JFK and RFK wanted him out. Knowing this, Hoover wanted to keep his job, by any and all means necessary.

Carlos Marcello (Jerry Della Salla) was a member of an organized crime family in New Orleans. He pleaded the 5^th under questioning by Senator John F. Kennedy and Robert R. Kennedy’s congressional committee investigating organized crime. Marcello was deported once but found his way back to the states.

Gov. John Connally (Jonathon Lamer) wanted a legacy, more power, and a significant bond with LBJ to achieve that power. Things never turn out the way one wants.

Allen Dulles (Bruce Nehlsen) was the former head of the CIA. Dulles was responsible for the 1954 Guatemalan coup d’état, the overthrow of Iran’s elected government, the U-2 program, the Bay of Pigs Invasion, and the Algiers putsch against Charles de Gaulle. (One catastrophe after another.) Kennedy would have no more and accepted Dulles resignation. Dulles was on the Warren Commission and his job was to steer the investigation in Johnson’s favor.

McGeorge Bundy (Jacob Sidney) had a lot to gain since Kennedy wanted out of Vietnam and Bundy did not. Bundy was considered the chief architect of the Vietnam War.

General Edwin Walker (Johnny Walker) was a man with an ostentatious stare and a chest full of metals, a ranking staunch conservative and responsible for handing out leaflets with JFK’s photo on it titled “Wanted for Treason.”

Did William Shakespeare impart a truth of the events leading to that faithful day in Dealey Plaza? One cannot be sure but I can’t think of a better idea or a better way to spend an evening, than to venture out on this night to receive that truth.

So, watch the flickering light, the sputtering 8mm frames of the Zapruder film and see what this theatrical illumination has to offer.

Dealey Plaza sets the place, a rather ominous place that will live in infamy and it lingers on stage throughout the setting. Set Designer Sydney Russell creates a nice symbolic message that lingers long after the audience has left. It is a place where the memories don’t change and the spirited shadows move from place to space.

The shadows lingering there are JFK (Ford Austin), RFK (Chad Brannon), LBJ, J. Edgar Hoover, Clyde Tolson (Cris D’Annunzio), Jackie Kennedy (Casey McKinnon), Lady Bird Johnson (Susan Denaker), Evelyn Lincoln (Kelie McIven), Allen Dulles, Clint Muchison (again Cris D’Annunzio), Carlos Marcello, Gov. John Connally, Jack Valenti (again Jerry Della Salla), Martin Luther King, Jr. (Brett Collier) Lee Harvey Oswald (Brian Brennan), McGeorge Bundy, and General Edwin Walker.

The actors came out and introduced themselves and each bore a striking resemblance to the character they portrayed. Some wore different hats and explained the characters they would be playing. They spoke in modern day language and there was no iambic pentameter at this moment.

A short while later…

“Beware of Dallas.” Evelyn Lincoln

L - R - Time Winters, Bruce Nehlsen, and Tony Abatemarco

In the world of politics one name sounds just as good as another, “JFK” versus “LBJ” as J. Edgar Hoover would tell it as he moves to the direction of the “aw shucks” Vice President Johnson, a man with open eyes and seething political ambition.

And as the President is giving a speech…

“Can you see your face?” J. Edgar Hoover

The conversation must be handled delicately but the ambitious LBJ is no fool.

“What dangers would you lead me?” - LBJ

J. Edgar Hoover does his best to side with LBJ, to impart his wisdom about a man, JFK, who is only a man and like all men must move onto a ghostly plain. Hoover downplays the President’s life as extraordinary, and offers LBJ a delicious barbeque plate of political fodder.

“Why should that name be sounded more than yours?

Write them together, yours is as fair a name:

Sound them, it doth become the mouth as well;

Weigh them, it is as heavy; conjure with ‘em.” – J. Edgar Hoover

Events play into the hands of the ambitious LBJ. He sees the value of J. Edgar Hoover’s words, knows that Kennedy suffers from a number of ailments, including Addison’s disease, and a rare autoimmune ailment. LBJ is getting old and he knows that he must make his move, or let the others make his move, knowing that he will be too old for the presidency should Kennedy run again.

“Let it be who it is.” – J. Edgar Hoover

“But O grief, where has this led me?” – LBJ

Hoover arranges to come to LBJ’s house late that night with the co-conspirators. Waiting with drink in hand, LBJ steadies his nerves.

The men enter and LBJ asks each one of them for their oath of allegiance.

Lady Bird Johnson quietly steps out of the bedroom to find out what was going on. LBJ brushes her off and tells her to go back to bed.

Chad Brannon as RFK - Center, Casey McKinnon as Jackie Kennedy - Center right

This is really a very remarkable cast. The actors create an enormous life with little props or set pieces. It is an amazing way to create under the symbolic looming image of Dealey Plaza. And each actor, in his or her own little way, brings about a historical naturalness.

Tony Abatemarcois remarkable as J. Edgar Hoover. His voice is strong, his intentions are clear, and he has an instinctual way about the character that is extremely clever. Abatemarco packs a tremendous amount of history into that character.

Ford Austin is John F. Kennedy, a rather robust Kennedy, in public persona, but adding a personal touch that gives Kennedy a hint of the maladies that affects him. (e.g. walking up the steps, gingerly.) Austin displays Kennedy with grand style, charm, and a broad smile. The personal fault with character is that he listens to a stranger interpreting his dreams rather than his wife. That gets him into trouble for which he is never able to recover. Austin is terrific.

Chad Brannon is surprising as Robert F. Kennedy. The voice and mannerism all work to perfection. The play suggests that RFK could do little after the assassination but to play along and that he would be taken care of later in his political career. RFK fell into that trap, gave the “Friends, Romans, and Countrymen” speech and made a number of political enemies after that. Brannon is an astonishing actor with a terrific range to his craft.

One can never get enough of the Zapruder film so when the film was playing I lost sight of Brian Brennan playing Lee Harvey Oswald. I can’t tell you if he picked up the rifle on stage and aimed. And ultimately, it was part of the confusion on that day. Earlier, LBJ gives Oswald the gun, probably a metaphor, while Oswald is asleep in what appears to be the LBJ’s porch. If there was anything needed in this production, it was the cleaning up of this relationship. Was it a metaphor? Maybe we need to take this a little further.

Brett Collierdoes an admirable job as Martin Luther King, Jr. The song and the march were outstanding. How King fits into the Kennedy assassination, one is not really sure.

Cris D’Annunzioplays Clyde Tolson, J. Edgar Hoover’s confidant and Clint Muchinson, Sr., a Texas-based oil magnate and political operative. D’Annunzio has a great look and was superb in the roles offering a wonderful history to the characters. Watching this actor in others plays, this has to be the finest work to date.

In the broad scheme of things, I didn’t get the connection of the character Carlos Marcello, an organized crime boss, portrayed by Jerry Della Salla and how the character fits into the picture. Salla presents a character with strength, someone who would pledge allegiance, and carry out the job. But, how it all fits, is one’s guess. Also Salla played Jack Valenti. His face is clearly on the photo on the plane when LBJ was sworn in. The two characters, both Italian, represent strength and love. Marcello was the muscle and Valenti was the love and making the distinction for both roles would only add flavor to the roles.

Susan Denaker was excellent as Lady Bird Johnson. Denaker provided a rich history to the character and was specific in her characterization. She was the smarter one of the two and the one with the most money. Denaker made the most of Lady Bird Johnson, being an adoring wife, but letting her husband know who controls the strings.

John Knight was an Aide and Pollster. Roslyn Cohnhas a very distinctive look and did well on this very night.

Jonathan Lamer did well as Gov. John Connally filling out his role. It is possible that we don’t see the true nature of Connally’s political ambition in this portrayal. It might be something to an already nice performance.

Kelie McIver was Evelyn Lincoln, Kennedy’s secretary, who warns Kennedy about going to Dallas. Lincoln is the soothsayer. McIver has a wonderful strength on stage, never giving up to reach her objective. Her performance was subtle at times and her craft exhibited wonderful execution.

Casey McKinnon is the apotheosis of Jackie Kennedy, and she is equally stunning. Her craft is evenly exquisite as she executes with a precision rarely seen in a 99-seat venue down to the wisp of hair that falls near her eyes in the burial scene.

Bruce Nehlsenportrays Allen Dulles. Kennedy fired him and later LBJ hired him as one of the commissioners of the Warren Commission. So Dulles was an enemy but had little do on stage.

Jacob Sidney is always delightful and carries a strong presence and sophistication in the character. Sidney is playing McGeorge Bundy considered the Chief Architect of the Vietnam War and also involved in the Bay of Pigs. Good buds with Allen Dulles. Bundy had much to gain from the assassination. It is a marvelous role for Sidney and well done.

John Walker is wide-eyed General Edwin Walker who wanted Kennedy arrested for treason, in fact he handed out leaflets during Kennedy’s final motorcade ride. The purpose of the role, I suspect, was a diversion from the matter at hand, the Kennedy assassination.

Time Winters is excellent as Lyndon B. Johnson. His art is an afflatus to the manner of his craft. One can’t down play the aw-shucks manner in character as the Vice President, the shuffling of shoes, and the inebriated manner with which he conducts business. All part of the business that is inspiring to watch in an actor. Winters provides a character rich in history, a backstory that shows the intimate details of his every flaw, and there were many flaws, and he also included Johnson’s political acumen for which he famously controlled the nation after the assassination. Wow! This was a terrific performance.

L - R Brett Collier and Chad Brannon

Daniel Henning, the director, is a master craftsman; little time is wasted on stage. The characters, mannerism, and objectives play to perfection. But, the Civil Rights protests which played a significant role in the ‘60s moved the production in another direction without seeing how we can tie the additional tragedies the assassination of Martin King, Jr. April 4th, 1968, and Robert Kennedy June 6^th, 1968 to the people who may have been responsible for the death of John F. Kennedy. How do we tie Johnson and Hoover to those deaths as well? (While we are on the subject of doing that.) I enjoyed the haunting figure of JFK over the shoulder to LBJ. It makes for such a nice picture of guilt. Add RFK, and MLK to the mix – center stage during the phone conversation – and that guilt intensifies. It forces LJB to not seek re-election. Mr. Henning gives a hint of what he believes when one wishes for something a little more definitive, but that’s probably something we will never get.

There is an alternate cast that I did not see but everyone who works deserves a mention and here they are:

Stephen Anglin Jr.(Martin Luther King, Jr.)

James Babbin(John Connally/Allen Dulles/McGeorge Bundy)

Dane Bowman (John F. Kennedy)

Elliott Davis(Lee Harvey Oswald)

Vince Donvito(Carlos Marcello/Jack Valenti)

Don Lucas (Clint Murchinson/Clyde Tolson/Gen. Edward Walker)

Stasha Surdyke (Jackie Kennedy)

Greg Winter(Robert Kennedy)

Other crewmembers that did outstanding work are as follows:

Brandon Baruch– Lighting Designer

Naila Aladdin Sanders– Costume Designer Assistant

Judi Lewin– Hair/Wig/Makeup Designer

Warren Davis– Sound Designer

Mike Hawley– Assistant Director/Dialect Coach/Music Director

Ken Werther– Public Relations

Katherine Hunter-Blyden– Marketing Director

Erica S. Bream– Casting Director (Gathering a rush of recognized talent – an outstanding job.)

Cara Chute Rosenbaum– Casting Director (ditto from above)

Cynthia Aquino– Associate Producer

Amanda Faucher– Associate Producer

Shah Granville– Associate Producer.

Run! Run! Run! And take someone who loves the 1960s!

Tickets: www.theblank.com

Or Phone: 323-661-9827

The Skylight Theatre

1816 1/2 N. Vermont Ave.

Los Angeles, CA 90027

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EXTENDED THROUGH SUNDAY DECEMBER 11, 2016!

Charlotte Gulezian - Photos by Ken Sawyer

By Joe Straw

I often wonder why we send probes to lifeless planets. And, if there is life, why do we send slow moving rovers onto their deserts? Why don’t we send a faster rover to the rural areas where there is life and flowers?

I haven’t given up finding meaning on what the universe has to offer. This year has been very bizarre in that I’ve come across people that I have worked with over thirty years ago. In this show it is Joe Hart. I recognized his face right away, went to the bio and there it was The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas circa ‘79 at the Pantages with Alexis Smith, Jeff Calhoun Tommy Tune, et al.

What does this all mean? Am I making my last rounds for that ubiquitous spaceship in the sky? – Narrator

A couple of observations stand out in the press release. There were multiple characters (actors) riding on a spaceship to destinations unknown. That’s odd. Wasn’t this was a one-woman show? And, wasn’t Lilly Tomlin the only person in the show? Who are all these other Revisitedcharacters?

Los Angeles LGBT Center presents The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe Revisited written by Jane Wagner, Originally Performed by Lily Tomlin and Directed by Ken Sawyer and Produced by Jon Imparato/Los Angeles LGBT Center through November 20^th, 2016 at the Davidson/Valentini Theatre.

The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life In The Universe Revisited by Ms. Wagner is a theatrical event for your delectation, often brilliant, and hilariously offbeat. Ms. Wagner’s fictive picture and her literary acumen are awe-inspiring. Search is as unpredictable as theatre gets and inexplicably the reason for theatre on this night, just ask the aliens.

Thinking back on the history of this show, only an extremely physically fit Lily Tomlin could have survived the machinations. One is not sure how she handled the rigors’ of the onerous dialogue, along with the mime, costume changes, and then work within the constraints of the sound cues.

The show, delayed a week, has numerous sound cues with multiple actors executing those cues through mime. Actors, on this night, came off the stage dripping wet with perspiration. For this type of venue, having multiple actors perform in this show is a brilliant ideal.

Search is a show set in the ‘80s and is an unexpected exploration of intelligent life here on planet earth. Who is searching for intelligent life? Do they find it? Or, after observing the characters, do the aliens step on the gas and go home?

Trudy (Charlotte Gulezian) is downright batty but has the ability to tune in to other peoples lives. If the aliens are relying on her to keep them informed about life on earth, then one can only think the aliens are looking for a different type of intelligence. Who can say?

Trudy is likeable. But, have the aliens made a big mistake, or the right choice by landing on top of an eclectic gathering of humanity? No one believes the aliens will willfully go after the daft. One might think, if they are looking for real intelligent life, they should have landed at Washington Square and walked over to NYU.

Fun aside.

Search is a character driven show and everyone has to be on top of his or her game to tie in every aspect of the show. Ken Sawyer, the director, has done a marvelous job and the actors are every bit incredible.

The opening weekend shows the seams and there is theatrical stuff that needs a tuck here and a clip there. My observations are my own but something wasn’t quite working, little things, one observes, and sometimes a few notes help. Relationships are the key, but they are only minor things that one will get to later.

The play is about Trudy a homeless woman negotiating her way along the streets. (And for some reason the setting felt like San Francisco with all the psychedelic new age designs on the upstage wall. Stephanie Kerley Schwartz, Scenic Design) But there is a joke that references Carnegie Hall so the mind set quickly switches to the city of New York.

“Am I crazy? Yes.” – Trudy

Trudy is part of our growing segment of the homeless population. And things are not quite right in her head, not all, just some. She is a former designer and creative consultant who has a large chemical imbalance in her brain that keeps her on the streets. At present, her clothes are tattered, her socks don’t match, and the dirt appears to be a living organism on her being. She pushes her imaginary shopping cart, her reliquary, and waits for aliens to absorb her transmissions from her umbrella hat. The aliens are there, you just don’t see them the way Trudy sees them.

But in the meantime, the populace, connected to her, is under surveillance, Trudy watches and takes notes. How she manages to pass the notes is anyone’s guess. Invisible or real post it notes may just be a figment of her imagination. (Nicely choreographed by Mo Gaffney, Mime Instructor.)

Funny thing about those aliens, they don’t know the difference between “art and soup”.

Charlotte Gulezianplays Trudy and is the liaisons with the aliens and this is where the problems lie, because the audience has to understand the connection, which must be deeply felt. At times Trudy goes off to another part of the set and observes life but doesn't appear to be in a trance, isn’t wearing the umbrella hat, and at times doesn’t connect to the other players on stage. So, there are moments where she is left with little to do. (In a one-woman show this would not be a concern.) But, in this Revisited version, Trudy needs to work when she is upstage, taking notes, mental or otherwise, or we need to know that she is offstage observing when the other characters are onstage. That aside Gulezian presents an interest character, with a wonderful raspy voice, and one that could go off in many different directions.

Julia Aks does a fine job as Chrissy, a woman who is lost in her working life, so she takes aerobic classes, and looks for more answers in the locker room of her gym. She fears being out of work and has a constant fear of being fired. Aks has a marvelous look and a very strong voice.

“But I get these psychic flashes sometimes;” - Paul

Jeremy Luke is outstanding as Paul the jaded lover ranked three on a scale of ten by his now ex-wife. Alcohol and cocaine were his drugs of choice abuse but now he sees life in another fashion, slightly mixed up, but different. Luke does some very nice work on stage, and creates a character that is very unique in manner and deed and kind of quirky, which is what the aliens like.

It’s one thing to tolerate a boring marriage, but a boring affair does not make sense.” – Kate

Ann Nobel

Ann Nobel is terrific as Kate, a woman who is rich and bored to death. But, Nobel makes both attributes funny as she glides into the meaning of life, finding delight in the meaningless, and the twinkle in the trivial to share with her meaningless and frivolous friends. Nobel is so subtle in execution and so grand in delivery.

…last night, my stepmom, she accuses me of leaving dirty fingerprints on the cheese.” – Angus Angst.

Sasha Pasternakgives an interesting performance and Agnus, a performance artist that lives with her Dad and Stepmom but is thrown out and has to take refuge with her grandmother and grandfather. Angus seeks help but will go about her performance artistry despite the conflict in her life. Agnus say she’s “DIF-FER-ENT”. Aliens like “DIF-FER-ENT” and this is possibly Agnus’ connection to Trudy for the aliens. There’s other avenues to be discover by Pasternak in this character something that pushes creative boundaries.

Janet used to beg me, she’d say “Mama, please join a consciousness-raising group.” I’d say, “Honey, what on earth would I do at a consciousness-raising group?” - Marie

Joe Hart and Kimberly Jürgen

Kimberly Jürgenis Marie Speck, a simple homebody but someone who has a little more on the ball and wants to improve herself, if she only knew what needed improvement. Jürgen has a very fine look and makes the character an inquisitive being. She is a character that appears to be void of stress, or sometimes-just void, and one thinks the aliens are looking for that this year.

“You’ve got a brain like a hummingbird.” – Lud

Well, probably not a good thing to say to your wife. Joe Hart is Lud Speck and really has a problem connecting with his granddaughter and getting her on the right track. About the only thing he can come up with to get her in a good mood is recreating chocolate mustaches he used to wear when she was little. Any thing for a smile, but Lud hasn’t got a clue on how to manage her. One is not clear on the relationship to Trudy other than keeping his granddaughter on the right artistic track because, in the end, aliens love the theatre.

L - R Rachel Sorsa and Julanne Chidi Hill

“People don’t need sex so much as they need to be listened to. People don’t realize that’s the secret of our business.” – Brandy

“Yeah, that’s the first thing you learn after fellatio is how to listen.” - Tina

Rachel Sorsa is brilliant as Brandi a prostitute that slips into a car with her partner to tell her life story to a john who only wants to tape record their lives. Sorsa reaches into the character and provides us with a very deep understanding of Brandi. Sorsa is equally funny and nails this character to the core. In a word the work is, outstanding. Julanne Chidi Hall is equally amazing as Tina the other prostitute that slips into the back seat. Hall’s level of concentration is mesmerizing and her manner of telling her story paints a beautiful picture. Wonderful work. Despite the characters current profession, they have dreams of moving their occupation into another hands off realm, telephone sex.

L - R Kristina Johnson, Anny Rosario, Bellina Logan

Kristina Johnsonplays Lyn, a feminist, that explores, via her doctor and her diary, multiple sides of the humanistic equations, both sexes, and is connected to performance artists, Janet (not seen Agnus’ mom) that wants her to explore her non-linear side. It is a garage sale free ride of thoughts, less equations, perfectly suitable for aliens that want to acquire that information. At least, at the end of the day, that’s what I get. Johnson work is well done, but about halfway through, one thinks about her relationship to Trudy and how it all fits.

“I don’t care if I got the cheekbones of an isosceles triangle or the forehead of a Pithecanthropus. I look at myself and I don’t see any flaws; that’s what these consciousness-raising self-examination are all about.” – Edie

Anny Rosarioplays Edie. And Edie is Lyn’s friend but she is partnered with Pam. Paul has given her free sperm, in a turkey baster no less, which must have been fun, for someone. Edie and baster had a son, a prodigy of the violin, who could create a sound that would give anyone goose bumps, especially for the aliens.

Bellina Logan is Marge, another one of Lyn’s friends and also a feminist. Marge takes a fancy to bad men, the kind normal women are attracted to at a particular time of their emotional month. Logan is terrific.

Ken Sawyer, the Director and Sound Designer, manages a pack a wallop in this version of Search. There are many marvelous things going on during the night. There is a line, about the theatre, near the end of the show that strikes a deep emotional cord within me. And to me, represents the through line that ties in all of the characters, and the aliens. But, the night I was there I was slightly bumfuzzled tying the relationships to each other and then to Trudy. I see can see this as a one-woman show and how that one character can tie in to the rest of the characters. But, with this many characters, it’s almost like a tag team match, for which you need to see the tag. And the trance, that is so clear in the play, but not so clear on stage. The umbrella hat may help Trudy when she goes into trance (and she must go into some kind of trance) and is able to see what goes on in the life of the others. She needs to do this to report back to the aliens. Also, Lyn takes us farther down the road into the unknown until we are lost in a wilderness, not understanding how this all connects to Trudy and then to the aliens. Certainly, there is more to be had here especially with Edie and Marge.

Why are the characters extreme in this play? It is possibly because the aliens find them extremely interesting, funny, and wise.

The Original Music in the play was created by Anna Waronker and Charlotte Caffey.

Other members of the creative team are as follows:

Paula Higgins – Costume Design

Matt Richter & Adam Earle – Lighting Design

Ken Sawyer – Sound Design

Eric Snodgrass – Additional Sound

Nicholas Santiago – Production Design

Yusuf Nasir – Chorography

Adam Earle – Assistant Director/Sound Operator

Rebecca Shoenberg – Production Stage Manager/Light and Video Operator

Matt Richter – Technical Director

Patricia Sutherland – Production Manager

Beth Ryne and Jami Rudofsky – Casting

Ken Werther Publicity – Press Representative

Brad Bentz – Master Carpenter

Rene Parras – Set Carpenter

Hillary Bauman – Scenic Artist

Maggie Marx – Assistant Stage Manager; Wardrobe, Drapery Assistant

Kathleen Jaffe, Maggie Marx, Edwin Peraza – Electrics

Eric Babb – Drapery Fabrication

Minta Manning – Draper

Ffaelan Condragh – Rigging and Ladder Construction

Kathleen Jaffee, Maggie Marx, Edwin Peraza – Set Crew

Run! Run! Run! And take an abductee, because there is so much more to understand.

Reservations: 323-860-7300

Davidson/Valentini Theatre

1125 N. McCadden Place

Hollywood, CA 90038

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L - R Paul Plunkett and Eric Normington

By Joe Straw

Sometimes I have a reason for going to theatre. Maybe it’s the author, the actors, the convenient time and place, or possibly an overaggressive press rep. Whatever the case, I go. And just know that I go, willingly, without bonds, shackles, or ropes to pull me.

For this journey we go back to a simpler time and a narrower place, for a ride down a quiet northeastern country road. – Narrator

As I entered the theatre there was a gentleman sitting in front of me with a box of huge white Life Savers on the seat next to him. It’s been a while since I’ve seen Life Savers that big, that white in an open cup for someone’s enjoyment, and perhaps later a note for open discussion.

And, as I turned my attention to the projection on the upstage wall, I mentioned to my partner that the Vonnegut USA projection was “very white”, with white characters, for a whiter, simpler time. I questioned her if this was what one of the candidates was saying when he was referring to “Making American Great Again.”

The Life Saver guy cringed, every so slightly, still it was an observable cringe - like a turtle’s head going back into the shell.

Too late, the show was starting, but at intermission, the gentleman moved to another location.

The Next Arena presents the world premiere of Vonnegut USA based on five short stories by Kurt Vonnegut, produced, adapted, and directed by Scott Rognlien and produced by JR Reed, Maia Peters, and Scott Rognlien through November 20, 2016 at the Atwater Theater complex.

One is at a complete loss as to what to write about this production because there are too many wonderful moments to absorb. The characters were engaging, the stories had a down home feel, and the writings of the short stories are the joyous bubbling and the jocular expressions of Kurt Vonnegut.

You would do yourself a great service to run and see this new work of art. It is here for a limited time only so run, run, run! And, if you are a Vonnegut fan, run even faster.

Scott Rognlien, the director has put together five Kurt Vonnegut post war short stories and created a play that is this short of seamless, is very inventive, and wonderful in execution. It is also very imaginative in ways that you wish all theatre could be. The remarkable cast goes beyond expectation in performance and the stories will give you an emotional lift one way or another.

Rognlien adapts Poor Little Rich Town and Lover’s Anonymous (from Bagombo Snuff Box), Bomar and Hundred-Dollar Kisses (from While Mortals Sleep) and Shout About it From the Housetops (from Look at the Birdie) and in this productions it appears it all takes place in one small rural town, whether this is intentional or not in post war America.

American Forge and Foundry rises from the ground of nothingness in Spruce Falls to become something a manufacturing conglomerate with hundreds of workers or so says Kennard Pelk (Eric Normington), the security guard, who gives us an overview of the characters including Newell Cady (Jason Frost) a man who knows how to save dollars by intuition or simply by common sense.

“Cady could stroll through a plant that had been losing money for a generation, glance at the books, yawn and tell the manager how he could save half a million a year in materials, reduce his staff by a third, triple his output, and sell the stuff he’d been throwing out as waste for more than the cost of installing air-conditioning and continuous music throughout the plant.” – Kennard Pelk

Just the man we need!

Anyway, Cady had his mitts on everything including the right way to sort mail with the rubbery thing that you stick on the thumb. Holding back her temperament Mrs. Dickie (Carryl Lynn) scowls at anyone who thinks better than her.

“I’d like to see anybody teach me anything about this business. I been postmistress for twenty-five years now, ever since my husband passed on.” – Mrs. Dickie

The townsfolk do not appreciate Newell Cady’s frugalness and his way of not moving the town forward.

Bomar

“It had been made clear to both of them that they didn’t have the priceless stuff of which executives were made.”

L - R Rob Chester Smith, Carryl Lynn, and Matt Taylor

Such are the character description of Lou Sterling (Rob Chester Smith) and Bud Carmody (Matt Taylor). They are two blow hard cut ups that try to get a slightly ditzy Mrs. Dickie (Carryl Lynn) into a lot of trouble. She has been an employee for 39 years. But now she is newly working in the department of Stockholders Records.

Sterling and Carmody are practical jokers that want nothing better to pry the dits out of Mrs. Dickie’s cheeky brain. It is no surprise that Sterling and Carmody, for lack of mental capacity, have trouble tracking their tales about the fictitious Bomar Fassenden III (Robert Beddall). But despite Mrs.Dickie’s awkward mental demeanor she is the smartest one of the three sharing the office, and she is on to them.

Poor Little Rich Town (cont’d)

There is a lot of trickery going on in this town, Spruce Falls.

Spruce Falls was known for its mineral baths. Developers envisioned the area as a goldmine. The well to do built lavish homes near there. Visitors would use the falls until people suddenly came down with terrible rashes. A Manhattan dermatologist, in his infinite wisdom, decided to call the rash Spruce Falls disease and subsequently the property values plummeted.

This did not sit too well with the local town folks who watched banks foreclose on lavish homes. So, the local political groups, eager to have people move into the area, were offering to waive a 3-year living requirement to join community organizations, and on this night it was the fire department. This didn’t set too well with Harvard educated Upton Beaton (Paul Michael Nieman), who’s ornamental educated self lost a political advantage.

It wasn’t until later that Stanley Atkins (Darren Mangler), the Fire Chief, reviewing the rules, ruled that Newell Cady did not meet the qualifications.

Hundred-Dollar Kisses

Henry George Lovell, Jr. (Paul Plunkett) has got himself into a mess of trouble by knocking Verne Petrie (Keith Blaney) out cold with the talking end part of the phone. And now he’s talking to Detective Kennard Pelk (Eric Normington).

The frowzy Verne Petrie is slightly misguided viewing his Male Valor girlie magazines in the office with naked centerfolds for all to see. Bright red in the glow of his viewing, Petrie salivates slightly with each turn of the page. He shows his workmates everything in the magazines, including his office companion Henry George Lovell, Jr.

“Verne would open the magazine to the picture of the girl, and he’d say, approximately, “Boy, I’d pay a hundred dollars to kiss a doll baby like that. Wouldn’t you?”

Henry, the not-so-good Unitarian, walked in on Verne. Verne begged him to pick up line three and join in the fun. Others were in on it too, including the janitor, Harry Barker (Robert Beddall) who had an urgent physical need to speak with the pin-up doll Patty Lee Minot (Marjorie LeWitt), who at the time of the magazine shoot is wearing a cellophane bathrobe.

Lovers Anonymous

“I offer another title for our organization, a title in all ways inferior to yours except that it’s about ten thousand times easier to say. Gentlemen, friends, brothers, I propose we call ourselves “Lovers Anonymous.”

Everyone thinks of her, why she left, and why she came back married to that guy.

“Sheila Hinckley is now a spare whitewall tire on the Thunder-bird of my dreams.” – Will Battola

Yes, that’s what they thought of Sheila Hinckley. Older now, this group of men, Lover Anonymous still have thoughts about her, despite the fact they are all married, as they occasionally lament in a local get together – the drugstore.

One day a red book from the lending library peeked their curiosity.

“Woman, the Wasted Sex, or, the Swindle of Housewifery.”

Dave Mansield (JR Reed), a storm window salesman, took notice of the book and Reva Deal (Carryl Lynn) wanted to know if she could help him. Mansield read the title and flipped it back on to her desk.

“You certainly can. You can throw this piece of filth down the nearest sewer.” – Dave Mansfield

There is a lot more here than I can give justice but suffice to say that Vonnegut USA is wonderfully produced by JR Reed, Maia Peters, and Scott Rognlien down to the smallest detail, the books, the magazines, a working well on stage, and the films produced and projected on the backstage wall. All of it is a wonderful delight.

Robert Beddalldoes incredible work as Harry Barker, the long lost husband and father. Beddall’s work is restrained, and if the work has a truly strong objective, I didn’t clearly see it. Certainly adding a little more cause would add to an already very fine performance. Beddall is also fascinating as Lawrence Morgan, a husband trying to find his way through the mishmash of married life.

Keith Blaney

“It was my understanding that Herb’s moving into the ell was a great tragedy of recent times.” – Dave Mansfield

Keith Blaneyshows us a hard side as Verne Petrie with his licentious doctrine and a softer side as Herb White living his hell in the ell. This is a great showcase for Blaney and a performance that deserves to be seen.

Jason Frost does well as Newell Cady, cool, calm, and on point. He manages everything well but has little to show regarding his conflict, the one thing that keeps him from achieving his objective. There may be more to add in character in the way he demands compliance from everyone. (Obey me!) Still Frost has a very good look and does well on stage.

Marjorie LeWitt

Marjorie LeWittshines as Patty Lee Minot, a woman who has left her past behind for good. Other characters she plays is Mary Mansfield and Elsie Strang Morgan a woman who desperately want to save her marriage and will do anything to reach her goal. LeWitt presents a strong character, and she is statuesque and stunning.

The things I most appreciate about this production are the multiple roles actors play. Just getting down to task and making great character choices. One actor, Carryl Lynn, fills her roles with grand dedication as Miss Daily, Mrs. Dickie, and Maid, and Reval Deal.

Darren Mangler is Stanley Atkins and has a great look, a look that would work well in television and films. Accompanying that look is a solid craft. Mangler accomplishes a lot in the time he is on stage.

Paul Michael Niemanhas a broad booming voice and is very articulate on stage as Upton Beaton. The character Beaton wins and loses in Poor Little Rich Town and we need to see more from those choices. The voice is very accomplished as he narrates portions of the show.

Eric Normingtonplays the security guard Kennard Pelk and is very likeable. Pelk is the congenial rogue that roams the unfettered halls of a lonely nightshift, occasionally coming upon some lost soul that needs direction. A chore he happily obliges. Normington’s craft is excellent and his facial expressions are priceless.

Mai Peter is Sheila Hinkley White married to a man that has just changed his disposition moving into the “ell”, an extension to the house. Sheila Hinkley was the reason the other men created Lovers Anonymous, but this beauty has to overcome a lonely existence and seek higher ground. Peter is wonderful in observation, subtle, and has a beautiful core that is also mysterious. It was very nice work.

“I knocked Verne Petrie colder than a mackerel, because it came to me all in a flash that Verne Petrie was what was wrong with the world.” – Henry George Lovell, Jr.

Paul Plunkettplays Henry George Lovell, Jr. and is grill by a detective about what actually happened. Lovell is an observer noticing the players, their faults, and the way they move about their lives. The character he assaults needs a lesson and it must be ingrained in his head, if that’s the only way it happens. Lovell has had enough. Plunkett recreate the scene but maybe there’s more to add in how he feels about the janitors story, the relationship between the two, the things that draws him in and that pushes him over the edge. That aside, there is a lot to like about Plunkett’s very funny performance, very nerdish, and very Unitarian.

I see JR Reed’sface and the one thing I can think of is Monty Python. Reed plays Dave Mansfield a storm window salesman, who by appearance sells from your local television set at all hours of the night, peeking through the windows only for the only purpose of selling you windows, or spying on you. Reed is wonderfully funny in this production.

Rob Chester Smithhas a remarkable presence on stage and does very well as Lu Sterling and Ed Newcomb.

“You give a woman a book like this and you’re gonna have a restless woman on your hands.” Al Tedler

Matt Taylor plays Bud Carmody and Al Tedler and has a grand time playing both. Taylor has a good look, brings and everyman look to this production, and is comfortable on stage.

Also, included in the live presentation, are the actors in the film cast that adds a tremendous amount to the production. They are as follows:

Blaire Chandler– Gloria Hilton

Lori Anne Edwards– Women’s College President

Jacques Freydont– FFF Chairman of the Board

James Mathis III– Know-How Voice Over

Mark McCracken– Gloria’s Husband, Vacuum Voice Over

Zoe, Beau and Tyo Normington– Gloria’s Children

Scott Rognlien– FFF Promo Voice Over

Cavaet, I’m putting on my SAG EEOC hat here, there is not a lot of diversity in the cast. Even the maid is white.

Character study is highlighted in this production with most of the actors hitting the mark. Still, there’s room to add to the presentation. Reading the short stories, one can imagine the conflict, internal or otherwise, but on the presentation one would like to see the conflict played out in all of it’s glory on stage; for example the moment when the town turns on Newell Cady, the exact instant when Henry George Lovell, Jr. decides to pick up the phone, and the internal reasons for Herb White moving into the ell.

This takes nothing away from Scott Rognlien’s remarkable adaptation. It opens a world of theatrical opportunities including a musical. Also, Rognlien’s direction is wonderful with hardly a wasted moment on stage. The production is well thought out and the execution is near perfection.

This show is the reason I go to theatre. The 99 seat venue is a showcase for working talent who are perfecting their craft, and giving it their all.

And then there’s the other level of what makes the creative team run, the crew. The people you don’t see on stage but have contributed mightily. They are as follows:

Kate Leahy – Projection and Lighting Designer

Brittany Blouch – Set Designer

Kimberly Freed – Costume Designer

Becky Hefferman – Stage Manager

Justin Ryan Brown – Technical Director

Ben Durham, Brendan Haley, Kurtis Bedford – Set Builders

Scott Rognlien – Film Director

Darrett Sanders – Director of Photography

Sara Glaser, Lena Alkhatib, and Veronica Zebrocki – Film Audio

Craig Kuchne, Marjorie LeWitt, Scott Rognlien – Film Editors/Post Production

Nora Feldman – Publicist

Joe McCarthy, II, Owen Hammer, Dave Portal – Graphic Designers

Run! Run! Run! And take someone who loves Vonnegut, by gosh.

Reservation: 323-805-9355

Buy Tickets: http://vonnegutusa.bpt.me/

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By Joe Straw

Mariela in the Desert by Karen Zacarias is a beautifully written play that plays upon desperate emotions - giving life to art. Reminding us of love, life, and death, the words are a reflection of life - like staring into a mirroring pool of faultless water and honestly seeing the words that best describe you.

The written words of Zacarias paint both a comedic and melancholy portrait of a family living on a ranch in a Mexican desert. Their lives are similar in the way Anton Chekov’s characters in Three Sisters want to leave for Moscow. Happily listening to the words, understanding the emotions, and feeling the want, Zacarias may be the Latina Chekov of our times.

One comes to realize after so many years that artists are not truthful. The artist’s life is one that has to be an exaggerated actuality, moving the truth meter to the extreme, farther to the right or to the left, but never in the middle because that is left for the heart, the core of truth.

Casa 0101 and Angel City Theater Ensemble presents Mariela in the Desert, written by Karen Zacarias, directed by Robert Beltran, and produced by Emmanuel Deleage through December 11, 2016.

The year is 1951 in a rustic ranch in the Northern desert of Mexico. There is little to show at this ranch, with no running water, and little in the way of electricity. Art is scattered in the home in the way they move the heart, paintings on the walls, and a special easel on display.

A lone bed (stage right) melts into the rustic floor, with bed sheets that may have been white in a previous carnation but are now discolored brown. Jose lies on that bed, drips of perspiration fall into the lines of his face as he waits for the dramatic and the inevitable. It can’t come any sooner for him. He is old with many ailments, and he suffers while waiting for his wife Mariela (Rachel Gonzalez) to return from her errand. He waits for his glorious bath.

Mariela returns and methodically takes the sponge, dips it into the cold water, and squeezes the excess water into the pan beside the bed. She rubs the cold sponge against his aging callus desert skin.

“Damn that’s cold.” – Jose

“The doctor said that cold water…” Mariela

“Damn the doctors.” – Jose

Mariela does well maintaining her composure as she continues to bath Jose, to take care of him, to nurture whatever life is left in him. In her small verbal mentions – she gives him life and then takes it away with another expression of doubt – but never really gives him the truth.

Mariela tells Jose that she sent the telegram to their daughter. Thinking – before it is too late. She has been gone all day on ragged roads, trying to avoid the extreme heat, and making sense of it all before the expected grim reaper arrives with his scythe.

But Jose now lives his life in a furious mode, furious that his younger wife has left him alone all day. Who knows what she was up to. Mariela tells him that his sister Olivia (Denise Blasor) was there to help.

“My sister doesn’t count. You were gone so long the sun must be setting. What color is the sky? – Jose

Impassively Mariela says, “A thin line of crimson—a smear of dirty rose. A winter sky.”

That settles Jose’s mind as he reflects on the desert that he calls “God’s canvas.” But Mariela has had it with the desert, the heat, the way of life, and the isolation she feels living so far away from humanity. In truth - she dreams of Mexico City.

The truth comes slowly to Jose maybe because Mariela is hesitant to tell him. Mariela says she went to town to send a wire to their daughter, Blanca (Vannessa Vasquez). The time for letting go of a small secret nears and gradually she shares.

“I told her you were dead.” – Mariela

“What?” – Jose

“I told Blanca you were dead.” – Mariela

“Mariela!” Jose

“Yes. Dead.” – Mariela

“A little premature, don’t you think?” – Jose

Jose has fun with his unpredictable wife, Mariela. His pains are forgotten for a brief moment as he takes delight in her unpredictability.

And despite finding humor in everyday life, Mariela knows that Jose is going to die. Things are starting to go south and the insulin she injects into his backside seem to be more of annoyance than preventative measure to keep him alive, especially when he eats what he should not be eating. She also knows that Blanca would not have come unless the word was bad, very bad.

That’s not a bad way to get Blanca home in a hurry.

Mariela and Jose had sent their daughter away after the death of their son, Carlos (Kenneth Lopez). Mariela fights with Jose about that; seemingly all of the time, but that is old news. Now they look forward to Blanca coming home and the family reuniting again if not physically, then spiritually. They wait.

“So how do I look?” – Jose

“Pale and flushed.” – Mariela

“That bad? – Jose

“There are thick grooves of gray in your cheeks. And your eyes are so dark and bright. To capture you on canvas right now…” – Mariela

Spoken like the true artist that she is, or was, or still wants to be, Mariela retreats to the bathroom to clean the latrine.

“I dreamt of my large house – of an elegant husband – of children of my own. Now, I live in a dark dress at the edge of the world in a parched house that my brother owns. Forever unmarried. Forever childless. My hands are empty. May heart is idle. I have nothing of my own.” – Oliva

Oliva (Denise Blasor) is Jose’s sister. She is spry but nearing the end of her life and moving slightly toward senility. Oliva has issues with her sister-in-law Mariela. It is not a close relationship. But Mariela has assured Olivia that after Jose dies she will still have a home.

They both know Jose is dying and they want to make him as comfortable as possible, even serving him a little sliver of flan, despite his diabetes.

Oliva brings up the subject of Carlos’s eighteenth birthday had he lived. Oliva wants to celebrate but Mariela doesn’t want to upset Jose. Oliva whispers to Mariela that the people in the town tell stories about the fire and they see a little boy running in the desert.

Mariela laments about her son Carlos. And then her mind races back to an earlier time, a time when Diego Rivera, Frida Kahlo, David Alfaro Siqueiros, Tina Modotti, and Rufino Tamao visited them in Mexico. It is at this party Jose has thoughts of moving to the desert, building a commune, and inviting all of their artist friends to visit and work.

“The desert is God’s Canvas,” – Jose

In the backdrop, Mariela hears her baby Carlos crying while Jose rants about ugly Diego, his ugly paintings, and the coarseness of his brush strokes. Jose fights with Mariela convincing her to pose nude for Diego Rivera. But, Mariela has her own terms in order for that to become a reality and her terms are something that Jose does not approve.

Back to the present, Jose groans with displeasure as he accuses his sister and wife of conspiring to kill him with the flan. But Mariela says it was only a sliver as Jose moans.

“Was it good?” – Mariela

“It was sweet, Very sweet. Creamy.” – Jose

Jose goes to bed but not before stabbing his sister with a fork. Not much of an injury but something and Mariela takes care of before sitting outside Jose’s room to wait for his death.

And as the night takes its toll the Blanca, from the painting, speaks of a horrible truth, about that night when she was sent away. Tonight, she returns like the desert winds with her boyfriend Adam Lovitz (Randy Vasquez) as they both grieve for Blanca’s dead father.

Robert Beltran, the director, does a remarkable job with Mariela in the Desert. There is a sense of reflective truth in the telling of a story based on lies - from the little white lies to the profound untruths. Mariela wants to go back to Mexico City. She lies to enlist her daughter to come home. Whether she is telling the truth, or a case of senility, Oliva is convinced Carlos is haunting the ranch. She tells anyone who wants to listen. Prodded by her mother, Blanca lies and tells her father that she is married. And Jose tells the most profound lie that hurts the true artist in the family.

A couple of notes. The space is huge for a play that plays for an extremely intimate gathering. The bed absorbs the room especially when it is not in use. And, one is very grateful the scene changes were limited to a few changes on stage.

Rachel Gonzalezis wonderful as Mariela Salvatierra who employs a quiet intensity in her craft. Her craft is simple; it is expressive, and wonderful to watch. But for one moment near the end, keep the intensity in the bottle, you hold, until it breaks.

Vance Valencia is Jose Salvatierra. There is a lot to like about his performance especially the moments when he forgets that he is too ill to express a curiosity about a given moment. This character holds onto something dreadful for a number of years and we really need to see that from him from the first moments in his bed. Valencia has a powerful voice, and moderation would be good for my ears when he bellows his hatred to those who have done him wrong. One can see his anger, and feel his fury, but in the end, how is his resolved?

Denise Blasor is Oliva Salvatierra (Jose’s sister). There is more to this character than having her as a comic relief, which, by the way, she does well. Oliva is also a character that falls into the nether land of truth and spiritual imagination to guide her to her destination. Creating a stronger objective would validate her choices and that could make her soar. Also, in conflict with her present day life, Oliva worries about her welfare, doesn’t know what will happen to her, and needs to find friends real fast to straighten out that matter. Also, she realizes the desert is not her home and she must find a way out, if it’s telling lies about a boy walking in the desert, so be it.

Vannessa Vasquezis Blanca Salvatierra. She does well as the daughter, her younger self and her present day self. The character is lost; coming home to find out her father is dead, but not really. The relationship between her and her father requires a stronger bond. The same holds true with her mother and her aunt. Finding the “thing” the one truth that ties her to each individual would add to an already very nice performance.

Kenneth Lopezalso does well as Carlos Salvatierra (the son). Carlos presents as someone who is on the autism spectrum and Lopez does well with that character. Carlos walks around confused and doesn’t understand what is going on around him. Somehow his relationship to his aunt is non-existent especially in the after life (running in the desert). There is a fascinating moment in the second act where Carlos discovers an extreme truth about the painting, The Blue Barn that was superb! Lopez has a strong natural appeal on stage and finding a stronger creative objective would only add to a very pleasant performance.

Randy Vasquez as Adam Lovitz is very appealing on stage and has a remarkable presence. Lovitz, a professor, moves to calm a very artistic emotional family with a strong sensibility. Vasquez performance rings true as a professor and he has a strong emotional commitment. And it doesn’t hurt that he has strong resemblance to Richard Gere. Whatever helps.

Casa 0101 gets better every time I go. Surprised by the talent the first time I went, the work keeps getting better and better despite my railings.

Crewmembers – the creative team are as follows:

Deena Tover – Stage Manager

Marco De Leon – Scenic Design

Kevin Vasquez – Lighting Design

Vincent Sanchez – Sound Design

Yee Euh Nam – Projection Design

Able Alvarado – Costume Design

Jules Bronola – Costume Assistant

Alexander Cooper – Props Master

Steve Moyer – Publicist

Jorge Villaneuva – Light Board Operator

Drake Valencia – Asst. Stage Manager

Ed Krieger – Photographer

Edward Padilla – Casting Director

Soap Studio, Inc. – Key Art/Playbill Design

Run! Run! Run! And take someone who loves little white lies.

Reservations: 323-263-7684

Email: tickets@casa0101.org or buy online: www.casa0101.org

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L - R Nate Golon, Christine Dunford, Brian Drillinger, Michelle Danner, Remy Nozik, Tamika Katon-Donegal - Photos by Teferi Seifu

By Joe Straw

Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike by Christopher Durang was my first Broadway show. I had orchestra seats and was three rows back from the stage (see review on this blog). It was a wonderful New York scene, a wonderful evening, and a wonderful play. Months later, another version played in downtown Los Angeles directed by David Hyde Pierce. I did not see it, so when the chance came to see it at a smaller theatre, The Edgemar Center for the Arts, I jumped at the chance. - Narrator

I usually don’t speak of the second act but Michelle Danner’s performance (Sonia) was breathtaking, so much so that I will remember the moment, forever, with indifference to the passing of time. She stood silently, listening, accepting what was to come, alone in a room, the phone moving from one position of her body to the next. She spoke, now quiet, heeding, and projected a moment in theatre that plays upon an emotion so deep that it hurt, and brought joy, and carried forth unimaginable happiness, all in one unforgettable warm memory. It is that dramatic moment when one wants to rise, vigorously applause, and say, “That’s what I’m talking about!” But for now, it’s about an absorbed moment, and one that I will remember the rest of my life, for the rest of my life!

Edgemar Center for the Arts presents Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, The Tony Award winning play written by Christopher Durang, directed by Barbara Tarbuck, and produced by Alexandra Guarrnieri is playing through December 11, 2016. (but dark on Thanksgiving weekend)

The play opens on Edvard Grieg’s – Peer Gynt – Suite No.1, Op. 46.1, and music for the morning, in a sitting area of a farmhouse in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Vanya (Brian Drillinger), in his pajamas, finds his chair, sits gingerly with a perfect hot cup of coffee, and waits for the blue heron to come to the pond nearby.

Sonia (Michelle Danner) saunters from the kitchen with a coffee cup and a diet soda.

“I brought you coffee, dearest Vanya.” – Sonia

“I have some.” – Vanya

Sonia sees the cup in his hand, glares, and appears perturbed, which might be an understatement, given the proclivity of her mental state.

Vanya and Sonia have been living together for quite some time. They are in their 50’s and are accustomed to each other’s wants and needs. Despite their somber and un-miraculous morning, trouble brews, slightly, beneath the surface of the steaming cup.

“Oh. But I bring you coffee every morning.” – Sonia

“Well, yes, but you weren’t available.” – Vanya

Chekhovian is a term used for a Chekhov character in a mood of introspection and frustration and that is clearly evident here in this house in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, especially in this household, and in particular where coffee is concerned. There is a dramatic weight to their inner feelings, unconsciously, each knowing where the other might be heading.

Sonia insists that Vanya take the coffee she has made especially for him. But, before things get out of control, the docile Vanya accepts the coffee and life continues. For the moment, there is tranquility.

“Has the blue heron been at the pond yet this morning?” – Sonia

It takes just one sip of the coffee for Vanya to realize the cup he gave up tasted better, which he voices. Well, that should not have been said – it makes Sonia feel bad, useless, and slightly pathetic all in one Chekhovian fell swoop.

“I mean I have two pleasant moments every day in my f**king life, and one of them is bringing you coffee.” – Sonia

Sonia then takes the non-preferred cup of coffee and smashes it somewhere near the kitchen (on this night, it doesn’t break and Sonia gives it another go) smashing it into unseen tiny pieces; she returns moments later to share the reason for breaking the cup, is that she hates her life and she hates him.

For now, Sonia has nothing, no one, so, and as a last resort she directs her attention to Vanya. She pines for Vanya. No luck again as Vanya marches to a different drummer. Besides, Sonia is related. She is the adopted sister, and has been with the family since the age of eight.

As the moments tick away, Vanya’s coffee becomes cold again. Politely, Sonia offers to heat it in the microwave, and with a delicate passion, and nimble feet she takes it.

Vanya waits for the curiously inevitable as Sonia smashes that cup against the floor.

Neither one will volunteer to clean it up. They leave it for the maid, Cassandra (Tamika Katon-Donegal), who will join them later, bringing with her visions of doom and broken coffee cups.

“Beware of Hootie Pie.” – Cassandra

Cassandra tells Vanya and Sonia that her psychic powers connect Hootie Pie to them! They will lose the house, become homeless, and they will eventually walk themselves to the poor house.

“Surely someone will give us a ride.” – Sonia

“No, you will walk.” - Cassandra

Moments later. Sonia says that Masha is coming to visit and no sooner does she say it, than Masha (Christine Dunford) and her oversexed 27-year-old boyfriend, Spike (Nate Golon), aka Vlad, arrive for a visit.

“Sweetest Vanya, dearest Sonia. How I’ve missed you. You both look the same. Older. Sadder. But the same. It’s wonderful to see you, Vanya. Oh, and you too, Sonia.” – Masha

Spike ingratiates himself to the family, smothers Masha with kisses, throws off his clothes, and runs to the pond for a swim. There, he meets Nina (Remy Nozik), a lovely would-be actress, whom he invites back to the house to meet a real-life movie star.

Barabara Tarbuck, the director, has put together a pretty amazing cast. Each actor has moments to shine, but really, shine is an understatement, as each actor contributes mightily to a terrific night of entertainment. Lost Chekhovian characters in search an unattainable goal.

For the record though, the first few moments of the opening scene were off in the way that Sonia and Vanya connect and establish a relationship. And it is a relationship that fits with being a Chekhovian family; Sonya is discontent, upset, and regretful while Vanya is resigned to his lonely way of life. It is here, in these first few moments, that one needs to see the actors connect, the relationships established, and the fury in their offbeat sense of self-pity pay off dramatically. There is no need to rush this scene, establishing a relationship will give us a deeper connection between the characters and a stronger sense of self and place.

Also, Vanya needs to be in a nightshirt which projects femininity, or someone who spends his time in bed with little or nothing to do, whereas pajamas give a masculine impression or of someone who has been ill for quite some time. (Also, Durang writes that Vanya should be in a nightshirt.)

Brian Drillingeris Vanya, and is very exited about the birth of his new play. In fact, that is the only thing that excites him, well almost. But most of the time, Vanya is a desultory character, both wry in wit and confused in purpose. He has not had the enthusiasm to get what he wants from life. He is content with doing little or nothing and living with his sister as long as it doesn’t cost him anything. Seeing the blue heron is the highlight of his day. Warding off his sister and her advances is either an annoyance to him or an assault charge in some states. But what does he want aside from living in his nightshirt? He is a budding playwright and maybe he wants his words to save the world, if he only knew how to get started. Drillinger has his moments but needs something extra to complete the character – an additional mannerism or another vocal inflection – all in keeping with his objective. The monologue at the end has a purpose, trying to get your message across, and connecting to make everyone’s life better. Drillinger has a lot of fun and is a pleasure to watch.

Michelle Danneris remarkable as Sonia, a character that stepped out of a Chekov play. Sonia’s backstory is clear – she has sacrificed her life to take care of her adoptive parents. Now, she has nothing to show for it, not even the house. She needs her one true love before all is said and done. Without realizing it, she moves in that direction. But she is saddled with the mental problems of being bi-polar and having a self-diagnosed incipient dementia. She spends her days making references to Chekov about there being no life. Still, there is something very lovable about this woman whose father once called her his little artichoke.

Christine Dunford

Christine Dunfordis brilliant as the aging movie star, Masha, who sends zingers to her siblings and anyone within earshot. She is highly aware of her own self-importance despite the slasher movie roles that have now becoming infrequent. Forced film retirement due to age, Masha dreams of turning her attention to performing on the stage. Masha brings bad news of selling the house and throwing her siblings into the street. She fails to think about her siblings and what their lives would be like without the home. Five marriages later, she is onto her boy toy and not really finding happiness. Finding the one thing that makes her completely happy is the reason she makes the decision at the end. Dunford is a brilliant actor who creates an astonishing physical and comedic life on stage.

Nate Golon

Nate Golon is superior as Spike, a man in his physical prime, if not an emotional one. He is happy to be the boy-toy not only with his girlfriend but also with anyone that may cross his physical unclothed path, which included everyone in or around this household, male or female, gay or straight, as long as they notice, him. Spike is an actor who has not gotten past the audition stage but hopes that one day, one day, he will reach his mercurial destiny. This is a wonderful role for Golon and he fills the bill marvelously.

Remy Nozik has an incredible presence on stage as Nina. She glides effortlessly from one moment to the next and is extraordinary in the way she handles adult conflict in her character’s youthful inexperienced life. Nozik has a very enchanting look suitable for film.

Tamika Katon-Donegalis very pleasant as Cassandra, a woman who has voodoo at her fingertips and the ability to tell the future while missing only some of the details, if anyone would listen. But Cassandra has a pretty good batting average with her predictions. Katon-Donegal has a very nice look on stage and manages to strike into the heart of the character. One believes Katon-Donegal can take Cassandra to another extreme in character and costume and still gets what she wants which I believe is her job.

Christopher Durang, the writer, hit all the marks here and brings forth all of his knowledge of actors, writers, stars, and Chekhov in a wonderful night of entertainment. The Sonia monologue plays to perfection; while I have seen Vanya’s scene at the end, I have yet to figure out what it is about, or what it accomplishes. Can a character go completely Chekhovian and get what he wants?

Alessandra Maniasthe Production Designer has created a wonderful set, a pre-revolutionary style home with semi-modern accouterments, for which the actors can create their magic. There is a bench upstage center that is very peculiar and not used. One supposes it is an outside courtyard.

Other members of the crew who contributed mightily are as follows:

Carly Llewelyn-Ryan – Production Stage Manager

Anna Zak – Directors Assistant

Gianluca Zago – Production Design Assistant

Larae Mychel – Costume Designer

Kyle McAnally – Lighting Designer

DJ Medina – Sound Designer

Rob Riley – Associate Producer and Graphic Designer

Josephine Hies – Associate Producer

Run! Run! Run! And take someone who loves Stanislavsky and his ideas that Chekhov wrote delightful comedies.

EDGEMAR CENTER FOR THE ARTS

2437 MAIN STREET

SANTA MONICA 90405

RESERVATIONS: 310-392-7327

ONLINE TICKETING: www.edgemar.org

By Joe Straw

L - R Troy Dunn, Arlo Petty, and Julianna Robinson

A homeless black woman with untethered eyes occasionally walks down the center of my street, carrying her life in a backpack, treading carefully, one small struggling step at a time moving toward an unknown physical destination.

But on this evening, with the weight of the day on me, moments beyond sunset, I looked up at the moon, and, then glanced down the street; there, I noticed a shadow sitting on the sidewalk, a dark disconsolate asomatous figure that appeared to levitate above the cold and insincere concrete.

This sexless figure was blackened, backlit by the streetlight, motionless in the middle of the sidewalk, legs crossed, yoga style, an indistinguishable faceless shadow, hardly moving, and as I think about the play, I attribute the image to an “undigested bit of beef” or an “underdone potato”.

Curiosity got the better of me, though, but not so much that I called out or investigated, having come across ghostly figures in the past. Try as hard as I might, I could not tell if the silhouette was a man or the homeless woman.

I moved to the comfort of my home steps and when I opened the front door, inquisitiveness beckoned. I turned to look again and the shadow was gone. – Narrator

The way Eric Bloom announced the title made sense; it just rolled off the tip of his tongue but it confused me – A Christmas Carol in Prose Being a Ghost Story of Christmas. This is a slightly elongated title of “A Christmas Carol”. One might suggest the play (in prose form) is actually an adaptation of the book.

Santa Monica Repertory Theater presents A Christmas Carol in Prose Being a Ghost Story of Christmas by Charles Dickens directed by Jen Bloom through December 18, 2016.

Miles Memorial Playhouse is an excellent venue for holding the mansuetude of A Christmas Carol, a book that caresses and warms even the harshest of souls.

In reviewing, I told myself that I would not be harsh, that I would wrap myself with my woolen scarf, place it over my mouth if need be, and not utter grumblings of a disagreeable nature. Grumpy was not on my list of adjectives this night.

And, there are times when it is better to footle, if only to let my imagination run spiritedly! And with that, I will give you what I heard and what I imagined I saw.

“There is no doubt that Marley was dead. This must be distinctly understood, or nothing wonderful can come of the story I am going to relate.” – Dickens

Poor Ebenezer Scrooge (Troy Dunn) – a fragmented man who has lost touch with all of humanity, on this Christmas Eve. Not lost in one fell swoop, mind you, but lost over the course of time, the elements, and the circumstances of his life, lonely as it were.

Scrooge sits at his desk counting money and adding figures for his firm – Scrooge and Marley – Marley being the absentee owner – having died seven years ago - Christmas Eve - on this very night.

Scrooge, concerned with every coin, pays scant attention to his nephew, Fred (Eric Bloom), who interrupts Scrooge in his cold and unpleasant office. Fred, in great spirits, implores his Uncle Scrooge to attend his Christmas party and meet the woman he is madly in love with, his wife Belle (Yael Berkovich), but Scrooge will have none of it.

“…keep Christmas in your own way, and let me keep it in mine.” – Scrooge

“Keep it! But you don’t keep it.” - Fred

“Let me leave it alone, then.” – Scrooge

Scrooge dismisses Fred with hardly a second thought to return to his solitude.

Moments later, two attractive women enter to solicit funds for the desperately poor and the overtly soiled. One (Tanya White) is experienced while the other (Julianna Robinson) has very little training and is pushed into much-needed practice of asking for “slight provision for the poor and destitute”. .

“Are there no prisons? And the Union workhouses? Are they still in operation?” – Scrooge

Not in the position to argue, the ladies make a hasty retreat. Prison and workhouses rings a bell to delicate ears and those words will haunt Scrooge in the coming night.

Watching and working at the warmth of the photocopying machine stands Bob Cratchit (Mike Nedzwecki) who moves himself to gather a modicum of warmth and to garner enough courage to ask Scrooge for Christmas day off. Something he’s repeated for oh-so-many years! All because Cratchit wants to be with Mrs. Cratchit (Julianna Robinson), Tiny Tim (Arlo Petty), and all the assorted Cratchits – if it’s convenient.

“A poor excuse for picking a man’s pocket every twenty-fifth of December! But I suppose you must have the whole day. Be here all the earlier next morning.” - Scrooge

In a facetious mood, Scrooge leaves the office but suddenly feels the weight of time and loneliness, his shoulder are hunched, and he walks a stiffened gait through the piercing cold and deserted impious English streets. He is alone, and no one comes near just to greet him. It’s as if he had the plague.

Arriving home and turning the key, Scrooge perceives Jacob Marley (Bart Petty), a disfigured face shadow, as the knocker in the door. Scrooge thinks nothing of the image - this once being home to Marley – but now it is his refuge – a miserable hovel – a place with little fixtures, a table which doubles as a bed, a chair, dirty bed curtains – sparse furnishing for a man who has everything, and nothing.

Certainly, seeing Marley was something to think about after seven years. One imagines the hairs on the back of his neck standing straight up and chills running egregiously down his trembling spine.

Rather than having unexpected guests, (better to be safe than sorry) Scrooge locks the doors not once, not twice, but three times. Still, Scrooge thought of Marley, shivering as the night got colder. The gruel he made from his minimal fire, got thick and cold. Indeed, there was more to come and everyone understood it, including Scrooge.

The darkness from the marginal candles was a cheaper alternative to light, and in that darkness, Scrooge waits for the light of disturbing images that must come. And given the nocturnal quivering on this night this might just be the time to shiver under the comfort of his stale bed coverings.

Jen Bloom, the director, employs a variety of prodigious theatricals illusions including shadow theatre to make a point of this production and manages to throw all sorts of theatrical devices to keep the play moving at a 90-minute clip. Fezziwig’s party worked to great satisfaction. But the production needed a stronger core with stronger relationships to tie the characters together. (There I go again.)

The shadows show us things, as they were, part of the idea of the past, a hand gesture, a sword, a finger pointing, numbers, and a lonely candle. But making it all work is something else that I will speak to later.

Thinking outside the box, one might want to come inside the box, out of the cold, and cozy up next to the fire of space and relationships. One idea, with the sword shadows, a young Ebenezer Scrooge reads a book of Ali Baba. Separated by space, the shadows should dance from young Charles Dicken’s head, and having him near the shadows would presume the images are dancing thoughts.

I can’t do this, a critique; it is not in my nature to deride A Christmas Carol based on the choices.

There are wonderful performances. All of the actors have moments that shine in one character or another. An interesting device employed in this production is the use of various characters acting as the narrator usually reserved for Charles Dickens (Ewan Chung), instead handed off to members of the ensemble. This may have worked better with additional lighting, giving the speakers a light, and the actors in a performing spotlight – e.g., a spotlight highlighting the action.

I can neither praise nor critique the tremulous light vibration that is the frangible workings of Ebenezer Scrooge (Troy Dunn), complete with his human miseries. But, then again, I can’t help myself.

Troy Dunn employs a powerful voice as well as powerful muttonchops making his character something out of the 1830’s, while almost everyone inhabited the images of various time periods including Tiny Tim (Arlo Petty) who had a backpack with a breathing instrument protruding from it. Gone was the lame Tiny Tim that I so enjoy.

Also, Dunn wasn’t connecting to the other actors (on this night), which means there is a lot to overcome. (The show seemed to be moving at breakneck speed, without some actors, finding the moment to relate and establish a strong relationship). Gone were Scrooge’s monetary wicked doctrine, his behavior from being isolated, and his moral nihilism. He didn’t change much and that’s not what we want from our Scrooge. (I can’t believe I did it again!)

The ghosts did not provide the ghastly intimacy moving Ebenezer in the right direction. Jacob Marley’s grim exultation did not send Ebenezer fearing the next three days. There is a reason Jacob Marley’s head is wrapped. Because the kerchief is holding his jaw in place, and without it Marley’s jaw would fall to his breast and all of his teeth would fall out. The ghosts did not haunt effectively nor did they convince Ebenezer to change his ways. And you can’t have A Christmas Carol with the catharsis.

Also, the narrator’s perspective was in a constant state of flux and that was thoroughly enjoyable if not entirely effective.

Still there are choice words for the things that did go right. And those choice words belong to the actors.

Yael Berkovich is Belle and other ensemble characters. She is a wonderful actor and brings much to the overall feel of the show.

Eric Bloom is Fred and is very natural on stage. One would have preferred a Fred who was a little more cheerful trying to convince his uncle to visit him and to never give up on that objective.

Ewan Chung plays Charles Dickens and Master Peter Cratchit and was also in a fine period piece costume.

One also enjoys the play-making of Sara Mayer as Fan. She has a grand presence on stage and is extremely enjoyable in the quiet moments on stage.

Mike Nedzweckiplays Bob Cratchit, and he is an actor who gets it, plays the moment, and is true to his objective. He is especially true to the task when he says “Christmas Day” with the assorted Cratchits all around him. Nedzwecki, waits for that moment, and wow, this is a solid moment in this play. Nedzwecki is a wonderful actor.

Arlo Petty does a nice turn as Tiny Tim and a member of the ensemble.

Bart Petty is also a member of the ensemble and Marley, the first ghost, who needs to scare the wits out of Scrooge. This is a role in which an actor can find innumerable choices and there is more to add with this performance.

Juliana Robinsonhas a lot going on as Mrs. Cratchit and the other various roles in the ensemble. Each role is different and Robinson adds a slight quirkiness to each character. Robinson is wonderful to watch on stage.

L - R Tanya White, Barbara Urich and Julianna Robinson

Barbara Urich is the Ghost of Christmas Present and does a fine job. Her eyes, that radiance, projects well beyond the seats, and her quiet moments are particularly enjoyable. Notwithstanding, a wonderful job.

Tanya White was particularly enjoyable as the Ghost of Christmas Past. Pleasant is a word for this ghost until she drives the point home. White has a wonderful smile and has a very natural presence on stage.

Ben Landmesserand Sara Patterson are understudies and did not appear the night I was there.

Run! Run! And take a Tiny Tim fan! You’ll have much to talk about on your way home.

Other members of this delight crew are as follows:

Ben Landmesser – Assistant Director

Adrienne Johnson-Lister – Production Stage Manager

Leslie K. Gray – Scenic and Shadows Design

Brandon Baruch – Lighting Design

Maddie Keller – Costume Design

David McKeever – Sound Design

John Mulhern – Associate Producer/Technical Director

David & Choy Publicity, Niki Blumberg – Publicity

Damla Coskun – Assistant Stage Manager

Eric Bloom, Bart Petty, Adrienne Johnson-Lister, Sarah Gurfield, - Co Producers

Sean Kohnen – Production Photos

Yael Berkovich – Program Layout Design

Linda Larson – House Manager

www.santamonicarep.org

Contact Information

ticket or show information: boxoffice@santamonicarep.org

general inquiries: info@santamonicarep.org

To purchase tickets by phone: (844) Hum-Bugg (486-2844)

By Joe Straw

Despite all conflicts, films manage to get made – providing the principals want it made – but the making of each film, a collaborative endeavor, is usually a life and death struggle with death being the operative word. – Narrator

John Morogiello has written a wonderful play that explores a myriad of social, political, and economical issues and does so in dramatic style. His dialogue is taut, specific, and leading in a way in which a play must progress. Without giving anything away of this 90-minute drama, a character caves into the demands of an economic and political nature, and then takes it one horrifying step further.

Theatre 40 of Beverly Hills presents the West Coast Premiere of The Consul, The Tramp and America’s Sweetheart by John Morogiello and directed by Jules Aaron isbrilliantly executed, and elegantly produced by David Hunt Stafford and unfortunately it has closed.

As a theatregoer, one can see the similarities between the characters in this play and the political theatre presently being enacted in Washington DC.

In short, the play explores the realities of allowing politics to censor a work of art, and in this case, allowing a Nazi to goosestep his way into a 1939 United Artist lot.

In real life, Georg Gyssling (Shawn Savage) was a former athlete (member of the bobsledding team in the 1932 Lake Placid Winter Olympics), a member of the Nazi party and part of Hitler’s Hollywood consul, and a man who persuaded Hollywood not to make pictures that criticized Hitler and Nazi Germany. Whether he had any influence is questionable (probably not as much as the Motion Picture Production Code) but on this day and in this play, he was tenacious in his objective.

The color brown prevails in the set (Jeff G. Rack, Set Designer) and the costumes (Michéle Young, Costume Designer) are a gloomy reminder of the Brown Shirts that played a role in Hitler’s rise to power. Whether this was intentional or not remains to be seen.

The Consul, The Tramp and American’s Sweetheart is told from the perspective of an older woman, a personal secretary who, tragically, who looks back on her adventure with fondness. And yet it is Miss Hollombe’s (Laura Lee Walsh) story from which this story emanates. Hollombe paints the picture in the fashion she desires.

Today Gyssling, in a nice brown suite, is a nuisance. He is an Anglo European, a German behemoth with slicked back hair who has the appearance of an athlete out of a Leni Riefenstahl film, Olympia to be precise. Currently in Miss Hollombe’s office, he is a sty in the eye of the personal secretary, with his intrinsically cruel German accent, in a provocative manner of asking questions without any sense of delicacy.

Gyssling insists on seeing Mary Pickford (Melanie Chartoff) and he will not leave until Pickford leaves her office.

“I’m not letting you in.” – Hollombe

“So I understand. Are you letting her out?” – Gyssling

Gyssling, breathing down Hollombe’s neck, has a slight change of tactic. He asks her the origin of her name, whether she is Christian, is a question that inflames his party’s rhetoric – a line of religious hatred. The act is both disruptive and unsettling. Hollombe moves to complete her office duty tasks without answering the question.

But, all in all, Miss Hollombe is not having any luck getting rid of Gyssling, if that is her objective. In fact, he is making her nervous as she tries to type and, at the rate she is going, her words per minute is a minus one. (How did she get this job?)

Frustrated beyond comprehension, Hollombe dials Pickford who, up until this time, has not moved a muscle, quiet as a mouse, as she listened through the walls. Pickford picks up the phone and says she is busy.

“Do your job. He can’t stay here forever. Even Nazis get hungry sometime.” – Pickford

“He’s daring me to call security.” – Hollombe

“Be right out.” – Pickford

Pickford, peeks out of her office door, and wastes little time in trying to dismiss Gyssling by saying that it’s Friday before Labor Day weekend. But, Gyssling stops her with a threat.

“You realize this decision could affect the distribution of all films produced by United Artists in Europe’s second largest market for American cinema.” - Gyssling

Pickford acquiesces. Still, her altruistic impulses kick into high gear as she invites Gyssling into her office. She tells Hollombe to interrupt her as much as possible as she slips the door closed.

Gyssling is effusive, telling Pickford that he has admired her films but Pickford is a businesswoman and wants him to get right to the point.

“You’re threatening to withhold my studio’s films from the German market unless I do what you want. – Pickford

“Not a threat, dear me, no. You shouldn’t feel threatened. I merely ask that Americans be aware of what the German people find acceptable and unacceptable in a motion picture.” – Gyssling

Pickford knows that Gyssling is up to something, and has something on the studio. And she is right, as Gyssling wants to know more about the next Charlie Chaplin (Brian Stanton) movie. Gyssling says Chaplin is doing a film about Hitler. It’s in the trades. Alarmed Pickford asks Miss Hollenby to ask Chaplin to come to her office.

Gyssling leaves and Chaplin charms everyone by just stepping into the room. Pickford works her magic to get the answers from Chaplin and his answer are not entirely forthcoming.

But, once Pickford finds out about Chaplin’s next film (The Great Dictator), she must make a decision about whether to green light the movie. She does so by calling D.W. Griffin (He says, “No.”) and then calling Douglas Fairbanks the other owners of the studio. She also says she has a fiduciary duty to the shareholders.

Jules Aaron, the director, does a fantastic job with this play including throwing Keystone antics of Chaplin as part of the makeup of the play when Gyssling and Chaplin fight. It is brilliantly staged and wonderfully unexpected. That also holds true for the quiet moments caught on stage that was also exceptional. The action, moving in and out of Miss Hollenbe speaking to the fourth wall with the lighting and the characters freezing, worked brilliantly (Lighting Design by Ric Zimmerman.) Without getting into details “the decision” worked less effectively. Chaplin has worked years in pre-production to have this decision come down on him and the audience must really see the emotions coming from him. The same holds true for Hollombe who has worked her entire young life to get to this position. Also, Chaplin and Pickford have owned the studio for 20 years leading up to this moment. What must this say about someone’s true colors once the decision has been made? And, how does this change their relationship forever?

Melanie Chartoffis superb as Mary Pickford, Canadian born and America’s Sweetheart. Chartoff brings the right amount humor to the character, which longs to be in front of the camera again, but is resigned to running a studio. Chartoff brings enough of the backstory to be totally immersed in the daily life of a movie mogul. Chartoff is smooth and unpredictable down to the last capricious moment.

Shawn Savage is also outstanding as George Gyssling, a man of unyielding rigidity with the weight of a political power behind him. A man who believes he can come in and proscribe a dictum - that will have a movie studio bow to his political demands. Savage, complete with German accent, is excellent in the role and the fight scene was excellent.

Charlie Chaplin, wonderfully played by Brian Stanton, is at the top of his game and Stanton plays him as such. Stanton brings an excellent physical life to the character that practically dances on and off the stage. The scene with the globe worked to perfection on this night and Stanton shows us a life of a man who must have been a complete physical specimen. Chaplin is the one character of this show that stands by his values no matter the cost going so far as to not answer the question of his religious makeup. Still, at times Stanton requires a deeper emotional life in Chaplin, one that will show us his humble beginnings when things get really tough in the trenches.

The one character I found problematic was that of Hollombe, a character resembling Mary Wickes, with a loud, lanky, and wisecracking persona. This is Hollombe’s story, however articulate she wants to make it. Hollombe is on her second day at the office with no visible reason for being there. She doesn’t know how to type. She’s hired by the most successful woman ever to run a studio, and can’t find anything to do, except to eat popcorn and listen to the conversation through the office walls. To round out the character, the relationship to Pickford must be unusual, pragmatic, and unique. This character should have more on the ball, should be extremely intelligent, and should be able to multitask any time at any given moment and in any given circumstance. Hollombe’s focus is disoriented with problems involving her boyfriend who has found a job in New York. Laura Lee Walsh’s unconquerable obstinate choices require strength and, at times, she must lift her way from the wallflower status while the other three are on stage. Being young and inexperienced should not hinder this character. Hollombe had neither the beauty nor the talent to justify the position and the relationship with her employer necessitates further exploration by the actor. That said Walsh did some very nice things but needs to add to her performance.

Other members of the remarkable crew are as follows:

Joseph “Sloe” Slawinski – Sound Designer

Judi Lewin – Makeup/Hair/Wig Design

Don Solosan – Stage Manager

Michele Bernath – Choreographer/Asst. Director

Richard Carner – Assistant Stage Manager

Phillip Sokoloff - Publicity

If you have a chance to see this play in another carnation, Run! Run! Run! And take someone who has a gritty side to their political leanings.

This year’s theatrical outings have grown tenfold and are surprising in ways I could not have imagined. They made me laugh, cry, and raised an eyebrow when I saw a moment that just sent me into the stratosphere.

I’m not sure how the changes to the 99-seat rule will affect the current situation of limiting the work by AEA actors. Up until this time the work and production values kept getting progressively better, especially in the 99-seat venue, who are now competing with the big boys that want your dollars.

What is true is that actors need to work. The work is the instrument to their being. They also need to be seen to validate the work.

As long as I write, I will write about the work of the writers, the directors, and the actors and keep it on the level of the work so that others may benefit. I’ll try to tell it in stories, and break some rules while I am at it, with just enough flavor for you to absorb in case you want to produce the play in your own hometown.

The Last Straw Awards 2016 are presented to the Writers, Actors, and Directors whose work I found to be inspiring, unique, and also made the hairs on the back of my neck stand at attention.

Writers:

Evelyn Fernandez – La Olla

Bryonn Bain – Lyrics From Lockdown

Aliza Goldstein – A Singular They

Tommy Nohilly – Blood From a Stone

Carla Ching – Two Kids That Blow Sh*t Up

Robert O’Hara – Barbeque

Karen Zacarias – Mariela in the Desert

John Morogiello – The Consul, The Tramp and America’s Sweetheart

Daniel Henning – The Tragedy of JFK (As told by Wm. Shakespeare)

Actors:

Vieux Carré by Tennessee Williams – Coeurage Theatre Company – Directed by Jeremy Lelliott

Jonathan Kells Phillips

Sammi Smith

Jack & Jill A Romance by Jane Martin – Directed by Jack Heller

Tanna Frederick

Robert Standley

A Singular They by Aliza Goldstein – Blank Theatre Company – Directed by Christopher J. Raymond

Lily Nicksay

Lyrics From Lockdown by Bryonn Bain – Directed by Gina Belafonte

Bryonn Bain

La Olla by Evelina Fernandez – Directed by José Luis Valenzuela

Cástulo Guerra

Esperanza America

Evelina Fernández

Xavi Moreno

Red Velvet by Lolita Chakrabarti – Junction Theatre – Directed by Benjamin Pohlmeir

Nicola Bertram

The Story of Alice Book & Lyrics by Michael Cormier, Music by Scott Hilzik – Directed by Gary Lee Reed

Emily King Brown

Emily Barnett

Blood From A Stone by Tommy Nohilly – LB Production – Directed by Thomas C. Dunn

Joanne Baron

Chad Brannon

Frankie Ingrassia

Jossara Jinaro

Ryan Lahetta

Gareth Williams

La Cage Aux Folles – Book by Harvey Fierstein, lyrics by Jerry Herman – Directed by Tim Dang

Jon Jon Briones

Gedde Watanabe

The Armadillo Necktie by Gus Krieger – The Group Rep – Directed by Drina Durazo

Bert Emmett

All The Best Killers are Librarians by Bob DeRosa – The Establishment – Directed by Alicia Conway Rock

Lauren Van Kurin

Jennifer C. DeRosa

Ajax in Iraq – by Ellen McLaughlin – Not Man Apart – Directed by John Farmaesh-Bocca

Joanna Rose Bateman

Next to Normal – Music by Tom Kitt, Book & Lyrics by Brian Yorkey – Directed by Thomas James O’Leary

Isa Briones

The Two Kids That blow Sh*t Up – by Carla Ching – Artists at Play – Directed by Jeremy Lelliott

Julia Cho

Nelson Lee

Barbeque by Robert O’Hara – Geffen – Directed by Colman Domingo

Frances Fisher

Yvette Carson

Moral Imperative by Samuel Warren Joseph – Theatre 40 – Directed by Howard Storm

David Hunt Stafford

Brandee Steger

The Tragedy of JFK (as told by Wm. Shakespeare) – Conceived, Adapted & Directed by Daniel Henning

Tony Abatemarco

Chad Brannon

Cris D’Annunzio

Casey McKinnon

Jacob Sidney

Time Winters

The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe Revisited by Jan Wagner – Directed by Ken Sawyer

Ann Nobel

Rachael Sorsa

Julianne Robinson

Vonnegut USA by Kurt Vonnegut adapted by Scott Rognlien – The Next Arena – Directed by Scott Rognlien

Marjorie LeWitt

Eric Normington

Paul Plunkett

JR Reed

Mariela in the Desert by Karen Zacarias – Directed by Robert Beltran

Rachel Gonzalez

Vanya, Sonia, Masha, & Spike by Christopher Durang – Directed by Barbara Tarbuck

Michelle Danner

Nate Golon

Christine Dunford

A Christmas Carol in Prose Being A Ghost Story of Christmas by Charles Dickens – Directed by Jen Bloom

Yael Berkovick

Mike Nedzwecki

Julanne Chidi Hill

The Consul, The Tramp and America’s Sweetheart by John Morogiello – Directed by Jules Aaron

Brian Stanton

Directors:

José Luis Valenzuela – La Olla

Gina Belafonte – Lyrics from Lockdown

Thomas C. Dunn – Blood From a Stone

Jeremy Lelliott – Two Kids that Blow Sh*t Up

The Ortiz Award 2016 is given to the play that provides us with a grand presentation of diversity in a theatrical presentation. This year there are four recipients.

La Olla – The Latino Theatre Company

Two Kids That Blow Sh*t Up – Artists at Play

La Cage Aux Folles – East West Players

Barbeque – Geffen

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By Joe Straw

The Motherf**cker with the Hat by Stephen Adly Guirgis and directed by Tony Gatto is now playing at the Lyric Hyperion Theatre through January 28^th, 2017 for a very limited run in Los Angeles.

Stephen Adly Guirgishas written a masterful play of characters in dramatic intercourse – without conjugation. Set in New York, Guirgis captures the essence of these New Yorkers and adds a comedic barrage of obscenities to the mix accentuating their lives according to their own moral codes. This makes for a fascinating theatrical outing where one asks the question: if I were in the same predicament, what values would I identify with?

Tony Gatto, the director, manages to articulate the heart, and create the physical life of Guirgis’ spoken words. And this speaks volumes of his meticulous craft giving the audience an amazing night of precision rarely seen in a 99-seat venue. Gatto guides the characters in a way that highlights each character’s unconquerable obstinacy.

Fayna Sanchez

Veronica (Fayna Sanchez) had three lines of coke next to her second line of offense – a bottle of gin or vodka – sitting on the small table in her dilapidated singles. An unmade mattress on the floor and a catchall love seat, all the unpleasant reflections of a life half lived.

Today, Veronica is speaking to her mother on the phone and going a mile a minute with a Puerto Rican/New York accent – a sensory flavor that can be unquenchable when absorbed in small quantities. When you think about it, it was probably the best time for Veronica to talk to her mother – high on coke – just to get all the words out in the least amount of time - about that man her mother is dating – asking her if she want to f*ck him or fry him.

Folding laundry, wearing only the necessities of clothing, black tights, grey sweat top, not really covering her black bra; she folds, only stopping to run back to take another snort from the neatly trenched lines on the mirror which was possibly lined with her maxed out credit card. Bending down to take a snort, the mirror sadly reflects her eyes half shut. Her single life, on her small table, and in her sparse apartment has got to get better.

Jackie (Jorge-Luis Pallo) appears out of nowhere, he doesn’t even knock, and one suspects a key was pulled from a lining of a forgotten pocket. But there he is, just watching, anticipating the realization of all the fantasies he had in jail.

Oh and just from catching her eyes, there is a relationship here, a strong one, of two lovers who have not seen each other in a very long time. Jackie brings her some flowers, a chocolate bar, movie tickets, and even pulls out a tiny fuzzy white bear for her secondary embraces.

“Got a job.” – Jackie

“You’re sober and got a job.” – Veronica

Veronica gets a little misty-eyed knowing her Mr. man lover is employed.

Jackie downplays his job as a porter in an apartment complex but he says there is a chance for advancement.

Any direction up is a cause for celebration.

They embrace; well technically, they are all over each other like brown on (brown) rice. Jackie wants to make it right now but Veronica says she’s a little gamey and wants to shower first. Veronica runs to the bathroom while Jackie starts to take off his clothes. And not short on words either Jackie shouts through the door, and the running water, so Veronica can hear him. He undresses to his underwear until he sees a pork pie hat – a hat that is not his.

Jackie runs to the bed and smells – “dick and aqua Velvet” – on the sheets and now his mind is racing furiously.

Veronica appears out of the bathroom in a laced bra and panties only to find the room temperature has changed. The mood is now icy cold as Jackie inarticulately accuses, but he is unable to get the words out completely before Veronica volubly lashes out at him for making false accusations. Jackie wants to know about the hat but the Puerto Rican rectification is flying fast and furious.

(Me thinks she protest too much.)

It’s tough battling against her barrage, but in his squinting dumbfounderment, Veronica cuts through the mishmash of confusion, sees his slightly charming taciturn self, is somewhat hopeful, and asks him to go have pie with her.

“You’re so wrong. Put the ghetto on hold. Let’s go to the pie place.” – Veronica

Jackie is not much for thinking but he realizes that he has stepped out of prison and into the discomforting heat of another stockade; clearly he is out of his verbal league with this chick.

After pie, which apparently didn’t go well, Jackie runs to his AA sponsor Ralph D (Nelson Delrosario), a yeasayer, and a yoga man with a comforting health drink in his hands. Ralph D offers Jackie a nutritional drink and shouts to his wife, Victoria (Libby Ewing) in another room to make another one. But Victoria only shouts obscenities, a negative affirmation, something that happens a lot these days.

“She lied to me in the pie place.” – Jackie

“Calm down. Pray with me.” – Ralph D

And so they pray, a little, Ralph D says Veronica is an addict and maybe someone he should avoid.

From first judgment, one suspect that Ralph has got his life together – well, it’s his life, his togetherness – all except for the happy wife part.

Jackie tells Ralph D that he’s got a gun and he wants to get even with the motherf**ker with the hat. Ralph D convinces Jackie to give up the gun and Ralph D commits to stay with him until the task is done.

So, they visit Jackie’s cousin, Julio (Eddie Martinez), a funny top-heavy ambiguously gay man married to Marisol – a woman we never see. Cousin Julio has just rustled up his famous batch of empanadas and Beck’s beer for his new guest. Jackie gives the gun to Julio, who agrees to hide it, as a favor.

“Not doing this for you, doing this for your mother.” – Cousin Julio

Jackie says the gun belongs to Chuy Alvarado. Jackie says he strolled over to the motherf**ker with the hat’s apartment, threw the hat on the floor, and then shot the hat. Jackie says he sorry about how it ricocheted into the television, and then through another man’s apartment.

Jorge-Luis Pallo

Jorge-Luis Pallohas given Jackie a strong voice possibly to emphasize a character that is not heard. Jackie manages to not understand the events of his life with his face constantly scrunched up in bewilderment. But, Jackie, despite going to jail for various offenses, has a newly acquired strong moral code, an unyielding rigidity of being honest and not cheating on his friend. Pallo does a tremendous job encapsulating that moral code; still there’s room for the other side of the coin when engaged with the other players who are not his girlfriend.

Fayna Sanchez is wonderful as Veronica as she gives the character a strong physical life. This is also true when she listens on stage, turning with her back to another character, deciding what she is going to do next, or how to get out of the predicament she is in. Veronica is unsure of her life, where to go, loving the one she is with, rather than the one she wants, if she wants anyone at all. This makes for emotional and conflicted woman when push comes to shove, and there’s a lot of shoving. Also, another thing, I loved the accent!

Nelson Delrosario

Nelson Delrosariois funny as Ralph D, a narcissist who believes the world and its inhabitants are there for his pleasure. He thinks nothing of hurting anyone as long as his pain is minimal. Friend, lovers, it is all a physical game to him for as long at that will last.

Libby Ewing

Libby Ewing is a very enticing Victoria. Her performance is superb and her fluidity on stage displays a very strong craft. At this point, Victoria’s love life is non-existent non-evident with her unreadable stare in her opening moment. Whether that is an intentional choice remains to be seen. Still, there is another choice to create a stronger relationship when she first meets Jackie, who is, after all, a single man, and possibly a future lover. Ewing is a fascinating actor who takes risks with the character in a terrific non-stop performance.

Eddie Martinez

Eddie Martinez is marvelous as Cousin Julio. Martinez employs a strong craft and brings an amazing backstory to his character, Cousin Julio. His story builds in humorous fashion taking us from his childhood to the present day. Cousin Julio is a man with strong emotional bonds and familia ties. It is a role Martinez nails exquisitely. Also, Martinez has a very strong presence on stage. He is an actor for which you want to hear every word.

Okay, I have a couple of notes. Don’t read any further if you can get tickets for this show.

There are times where dialogue gets in the way of intentions, which momentarily stops the action. Those times are rare. But, two scenes come to mind. The first is when Jackie smells another man in his girlfriend’s apartment and when he seeks help he doesn’t notice the same smell in Ralph D’s apartment? Also, when Ralph D sees the gun, it’s unclear why he doesn’t react considering he might be the next victim. The subtext is critical when a scene is moving along.

This show is presented in the round or rectangle. Seating is on all four sides. Some things may have been missed when an actor has his head turned facing the opposite direction. But, the actor’s voices were strong and hardly anything was lost.

Other members of the crew were as follows:

Veronica Roy – Stage Manager

Kimber Pritts – Assistant Stage Manager

Stephanie Rios – Assistant Stage Manager

Run! Run! Run! And take meat eater, someone who likes it juicy and raw!

Reservation: http://motherfker.bpt.me/

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By Joe Straw

When I was a small child, my brothers and I found a lamp at the bottom of a trash heap. It took me a while to get down to it, a slight cliff through some Georgian mud. But I couldn’t resist the light coming from it. And, because I was the one who got it, it was understood that I was going to do the rubbing.

So, we sat there in tattered clothing and bare feet, (the bi-product of a broken home), in the middle of a cow pasture, with the lamp between us.

“Don’t worry, I’ll wish for something for all of us.” I said.

I glanced over to them just to see their reaction - ‘cause they never believed anything I said.

And as I picked up the lamp we could feel the anticipation. I moved the lamp back and forth, catching the sun and shinning it into their squinting eyes, they laughed, and pushed me along. I made sure their fingers, toes, and eyes were crossed as I rubbed.

Well, nothing happened. I ran over to the cliff and threw the lamp back into the trash heap.

We walked away and dreamed for the next encounter, one that would, next time , bring us fame and fortune. – Narrator

The kids need some tap shoes. I said this as I watched a wonderful tap number performed without tap shoes. Well, it seemed like a tap number. It wasn’t jazz, it wasn’t ballet, it wasn’t hip-hop, or soft shoe, and so it must have been tap. I’ll say it again; the kids need some tap shoes. Sí, creo que sería una gran adición a la muestra.

Casa 0101 and TNH Productions present in association with Los Angeles Councilmember, Gil Cedillo, Disney Aladdin Dual Language Edition, Book by Jim Luigs, José Cruz González, Music by Alan Menken, Lyrics by Howard Ashman, Tim Rice, Music Adapted, Arranged and Orchestrated by Bryan Louiselle based on the 1992 Disney Film, Aladdin. Directed by Rigo Tejeda, and Produced by Abel Alvarado, Felipe Agredano, Emmanuel Deleage, Edward Padilla, Rigo Tejeda & Conrado Terrazas.

Walterio Pezqueiramanifested the lyric translations into Spanish, the language of the elite class residing in the castle. The peasantry spoke English. The show was Musically Directed by Caroline Benzon and there were numbers in the show that were recognizable and warmed the heart. Beautifully Choreographed by Tania Possick as one eagerly waited for the next song and dance numbers – all were superb.

Abel Alvarado, Costume Designer, did a terrific job. The costumes were wonderful and gave this production an added boost.

The majestic carpet ride was wonderful in execution. It confirms a specific thought that someone cared enough, and was generous enough to, one, make the carpet fly, and two, to see the production soar.

There is a lot to love about this production of Aladdin. Certainly you’ve got to give it to the multitudinous actors who have put their heart and soul into the execution that will delight patrons of all ages, from the young to the young at heart.

But, this show is not without fault, which I will get to later.

Everyone knows the story of Aladdin. Peasant boy meets girl, boy falls in love, boy loses girl, boy finds a genie, and boy gets everything he wants.

Or, another way to look at this musical, princess meets boy, princess falls in love with boy who doesn’t have a clue, princess sees the boy messing things up and getting arrested, taken into the desert, and thrown into a cave, while princess is left alone to defend herself against unsuitable suitors, the Grand Vizier, and a father who doesn’t understand her.

This particular Aladdin has a twist in that Jafar (Omar Mata) has made it so the members in the castle speak Spanish (the ruling class) and cannot communicate with the loyal subjects who speak the peasant’s English. Jafar has dreams of becoming the Sultan once he marries the lovely princess, Jazmin (Valeria Maldonado). Jafar doesn’t let anyone know of his secrets, only confiding in that wacky bird, Iago (Jason David), who doesn’t know when to keep his beak shut.

Michael Torrenuevawas superb as Aladdin. In fact, he does yeoman work and has a very pleasant voice. Winning the girl as a peasant was an easy task but it was more difficult to win her as a prince. Torrenueva played both actions with a smooth finesse.

Valeria Moldanado,as Jazmín, has a very persuasive delivery in Spanish. There was also an underlying truth to her performance. She was in love when she needed to be, coy when she wished, and full of vitality and strength – on top of that she has a very lovely voice.

Lewis Powell III, as the genie, sets the stage on fire with his incredible entrances and the power of his voice. He might want to add freedom to his objective starting with his entrance on stage and never giving that up. This would give the character want - whether that manifests itself physically, emotionally, or sub textually is up to the performer.

Jason David, Omar Mata

Omar Mata is the tenebrous Jafar. On top of that wonderful height is an equally incredible voice and manner about the stage. He is specific in his movements and his objective and appears at ease on stage. Certainly, this is a performance not to miss.

The Royal Translators, DianaCastrillon, Blanca Espinoza, and Shanara Sanders were lovely in song and dance describing the injustices going on around the castle.

Also, the three princes, who wanted the hand of Jazmin, Alejandro Lechuga, Jesse Maldonado, and Bryant Melton, each presented a unique character, one too soft, one too hard, and one just full of himself. Lechuga and Maldonado have a terrific presence on stage and added nice touches to their roles as members of the ensemble. Maldonado always gives 110 percent.

Henry Aceves Madrid and Valeria Maldonado

Henry Aceves Madridplays the Sultan and presents a fine character.

Evan Garcia played Razul.

Sebastian Gonzalezas Abu, the monkey, was fine but needs to make more of the relationship with Aladdin. Jumping into his arms a few times is not enough to show a relationship. The relationship must be specific to give us an idea of how they work together, or don’t work together, to achieve their objective. At times, he must be the master, the slave, the ultimate thief, the caregiver, the lover, and on.

Jason David is Iago (the parrot) and has some moments that really shine. Ironically, on this night, someone went up on his or her lines, and it was the parrot that squawked them back on track. Iago has an objective; the problem is finding it and then building on that objective to make creative choices. Regarding the nature of using your own voice, I think it’s best to find your own voice and not an imitation of a voice heard from another medium.

Danielle Espinoza is the Magic Carpet and presents a wonderfully wicked smile as she guides the lovers onto the ultimate destination.

Rosa Lisbeth Navarrete was Rajah, the big wise cat that protects Jazmin. There was something very sultry in her performance, a manner of inner beauty, of mysterious modus in her character. Dressed with a pieneta, an ornamental comb, like a flamenco dancer. Her craft works on a number of levels. (I would love to see a flamenco dance from this character.)

Other members of the ensemble, which played terrific supporting roles, are Mariana Rocio Petersen, Jocelyn Sanchez, and Andrea Somera.

L - R Sarah Kennedy, Rosa Lisbeth Navarrete, Sebastian Gonzalez, Daniel Martinez

Other cast member that I did not see perform on this night are Evan Garcia (Razul), Sarah Kennedy (Jazmín), Luis Marquez (Jafar), Daniel Martinez (Aladdin), and Finley Polynice (Genie).

Rigo Tejeda, the director does a fine job with the help of a supporting crew of what seems like hundreds in this production. I have a few notes. The background scenes of the populace should flow supporting the events of the main characters rather than standing away or near the walls, which, at times, stop the action. There is too much pop culture presented rather than having the actors use their creative choices to showcase a moment, move the action, or simply sing a song. This is possibly a perfect fit for this venue but moving it to a larger house will require additional work, especially where the actors are concerned. The execution is not clear about where the actors are at times, the cave, the desert, out of the cave, near the palace, et al., possibly because my Spanish is not that great. But overall I was able to follow the story.This show will only get better with more performances under their belt.

That said, Casa 0101 is a grand showcase for actors who have dreams, for those who want to perform, and for those who want to move a craft into a direction of perfection. The productions at Casa 0101 are moving in that direction, giving hope where there was none, breaking barriers, and encouraging diversity.

The production team played an extremely important part in having the dream come to fruition. They are as follows:

Alysha Bermudez – Sound Designer

Jerry Blackburn – Stage Manager, Asst. Musical Director

Jules Bronola – Costumes

Ramon “Rooster” Cabrera – Assistant Stage Manager

Miguel Carachure – Sound Operator

Cristina “Crispy” Carrillo-Dono – Assistant Stage Manager

Angelique Enos – Spotlight Operator

Luis Gaudi – Photographer

Cesar Holguin – Scenic Designer

Karlo Ishibashi – Prop Master

Steve Moyer Public Relations – Publicist

Sohail e. Najafi – Lighting Designer

YeeEun Nam – Projection Designer

Edward Padilla – Casting Director

Tania Possick – Choreographer – A terrific job! (need to get those tap shoes)

Vincent A. Sanchez – Associate Lighting Designer

Soap Studio Inc. – Graphic Design/Program

Gilbert Valenzuela – Production Manager

Tony Velis – Puppet Designer

George Villanueva – Spotlight Operator

Run! Run! And take someone who loves fantasy.

E-mail: tickets@casa0101.orgor buy online at www.casa0101.org

Through February 29th, 2017

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L - R Marcel Licera, Scott Keiji Takeda, Ryan Moriarty, David Preston

By Joe Straw

Note: Fugu is a blowfish that the Japanese consider a delicacy. Chefs train for years to master its preparations and must be licensed because of the fish’s toxicity. The poison when ingested kills and there is no known antidote.

To plan and prepare Fugu is the way of Fugu.

Furu ike ya

Kawazu tobi komu

Mizu no oto – Matsuo Basho

An old silent pond

Frog jumps into the water

Splash the water’s sound – narrator’s translation

I did not plan to learn Japanese this late in life; it became a necessity when my daughter enrolled in a Japanese language immersion program in grade school.

Learning it I found that Japanese requires a different approach, of viewing and absorbing symbols that adhere to a different part of the brain – it’s almost like flipping on a light switch. Hiragana, Katakana, and Kanji are elements of the language that I have not yet mastered, but hope to some day. – Narrator

Looking back and remembering the haiku in the performance here is my link to what I imagined. (Your interpretation may vary.)

Serene moonlight glosses the surface of a pond. A pond fairy (Kaz Matamura), dances on shallow, like a water spider, and blesses the blended noises of nature’s tranquility, north, south, east and west, unruffled and placid. And, in the bitterest of contradictions, out jumps a frog (Matt Gottlieb), a noisy webbed disturbance that plays upon managed ringlets, creating clatter, without direction, a place to be, in and out, pushing water with webbed soaked feet, until finally there is a quiet unity.

The West Coast Jewish Theatre presents a World Premiere production of Fugu by Steven G. Simon & Howard Teichman and directed by Howard Teichman at the Pico Playhouse in West Los Angeles through March 19, 2017.

Fugu by Steven G. Simon and Howard Teichman is a masterful, timely work of art, blending life, love, and conflict in a compelling narrative highlighting Jews in 1941 Kobe, Japan. Teichman’s directing is superb as he captures very intimate details of life, love, and happiness. The play, wonderfully written in Japanese, German, Yiddish, and English is unforgettable in the way that it both highlights a time and captures the small but significant moments in the lives of human beings.

Scott Keiji Takeda and Rosie Moss

Simply put, Fugu is a love story, a not so tangled web of refugees trying to connect in life, place and political circumstances, defying tradition in the simple act of love, and managing under the harshest of circumstances.

As the play begins, Colonel Nohiro Yasue (Ryan Moriarty), Japan’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, is in preparations for a Shabbat dinner. He enlists his top aide Setsuzo Kotsuji (Scott Keiji Takeda) to help in the arrangements. Both are considered experts in the tradition having spent time in Palestine. Kotsuji quips the guests are coming only to complain. But Yasue will gladly accept their guests all in preparation to implement a plan.

True to form when he arrives, Dr. Avram Kaufman (Warren Davis), leader of the Jewish refugee community, complains about the sirens on Friday Nights and the Rabbi Shlomo Shapira (Peter Altschuler) says it interferers with their prayers. Complaints aside, the Rabbi is concerned about the upcoming meal being kosher. Kotsuji assures them that all the preparations are adequate for the meal.

When they leave, we learn there is more to the meal than was divulged. Captain Yosuke Matsuoka (Marcel Licera) speaks to the Colonel about his “Fugu” plan. The Colonel, hoping to avoid bloodshed to the people of Japan sees the Fugu plan as his only hope to save the Japanese people. But the Captain sees the plan as ridiculous and a waste of time.

Resistance to the plan takes many forms, not just from fellow countrymen and the Jewish refugees, but also from German Colonel Josef Meisinger (David Preston), a Nazi who wants to rid Japan of the Jews residing there. He is a shadow bringing darkness to an area that desperately needs light.

Also, to add diversion to the plan is an unexpected love story between aide Setsuzo Kotsuji and the very lovely daughter of Dr. Avran Kaufman, Sarah Kaufman (Rosie Moss).

At the heart of Steven G. Simon and Howard Teichmanplay is a love story – one that rings true to the core. But the other side of the coin is “Fugu,” a way out that has to be meticulously planned and then implemented. But the plan, presented on stage, is comical, and one that most of the characters believe is downright absurd; no one believes it will work, not even the audience that is gathered for a town meeting. The plan might be better left off stage, leaving us with only the end results rather than the details; this will trim the play, and the ending will be both ambiguous and mysterious. In Japanese culture, beauty lies in the things that are left unsaid and I believe that holds true for the plan. That aside, there are a wonderful thing going on, in particular the moments when the languages shift, from German to English, from Japanese to English, etc., similar in the way Stanley Kramer does it in the film Judgment at Nuremberg. This makes for a very fine theatrical outing.

Teichman, the director, provides us with brilliant flashes of humanity that defines characters in their predicament. It is Teichman’s work of art both as a writer and a director that brings forth a play that everyone should see just to place it in its historical context and then to compare that to our present day life and watching history repeating itself. That said, not everything works to perfection, moments and relationships need tweaking and definition. The relationship of the Colonel and the Captain misses, lacks conviction, and fails to bring forth an intimacy of their historical past. And it is a past when the roles, or rank, were reversed. This gives the Captain a greater choice, a window of opportunity in achieving his objective, and creating a grander physical life on stage.

Kaz Matamura and Matt Gottlieb

Kaz Matamuragives a much-needed authenticity to the play, the language, the Japanese dance and the setting for Shabbat. Her Japanese is wonderful.

Matt Gottliebgives a grand performance as Max Kaminsky, someone who doubts first and then speaks the truth. He is a man that gets to the point quickly because he understands their time in Japan hangs in the balance. There is an extreme reality in Gottlieb’s performance, in his manner, and in the power of his voice. His craft is exceptional.

Ryan Moriartyplays Colonel Nohiro Yasue, the catalyst that sets the plan in motion. But, where are the orders coming from? And, what pushes the Colonel to push this preposterous plan onto his Jewish counterparts? Yasue would work better with a tempered manner, not one that flies off the handle especially with his guests. Insulting your guests for the sake of expediency is not the Japanese way. Anger should not guide the character, proficiency in thought and deed should. If time is an issue, he is fighting against the clock. If outside forces are an issue, we should see that in his manner. This character has a rich history that was not brought to the table on this night; more of that life could be added. Moriarty seems a little uneasy with the languages; his vocal requirements need conviction that would force the others to follow. That said, Moriarty has a terrific presence on stage and is certain to get better with a few more performances under his belt.

Scott Keiji Takedais excellent as Setsuzo Kotsuji, an emissary of sorts that helps in the preparation of the Shabbat. Kotsuji says he speaks five languages—in addition to Japanese, he speaks German, English, and Yiddish. The manner in which Takeda speaks, speaks volumes of this craft and of the character. Rarely do you see an actor take command of the stage but Takeda is strong in his ability to create a time and a place, and he does this so exquisitely. His work was terrific the last time I saw him but now his growth is exponential.

Warren Davis as Dr. Avram Kaufman had some very grand moments. Scared out of his wits of receiving the plan from his Japanese friends, trying to keep his daughter in line, and then revealing the plans to the his community is more than he can handle. Kaufman is caught in a trap, from which he is unable to get out. If protecting his people is his ultimate objective, then he must be stronger in the way he deals with the other conflicts that plagues his life. He must be wise, forceful, and crafty and move in the direction of his own choosing. A stronger objective will only help his character.

Peter Altschuler has some very funny moments as Rabbi Shlomo Shapira, a wise and noble man who seems to be the voice of reason.

Marcel Licera is Captain Yosuke Matsuoka is a Japanese soldier who has very little in common with his colonel. This role is tricky in that his objective is not very clear and needs definition. Matsuoka appears to be a soldier who has lost favor (certainly, it’s true with the colonel) but his attempts to regain a foothold to the power he once had is limited and weak. The successful path to this character is one who brings the weight and the power of the military into the room with him. One needs to see who is pushing his buttons, the details of his own plan, and highlighted by a stronger objective. We see Matsuoka’s faults and that is good work, but the manner in which Licera plays a Japanese soldier requires a stronger conviction.

David Preston is very convincing as Colonel Josef Meisinger, a Nazi who comes to Kobe, Japan to spread the word of the Third Reich. Well, there is more to it than that. He will do anything to convince the Japan military leaders to give up those that are hiding from him. Meisinger is hiding himself for crimes against humanity. Preston’s work is exceptional and he brings a dark presence to the man who has been called in real life “The Butcher of Warsaw”. Preston presents a powerful image on stage.

L - R Rosie Moss and Bryna Weiss

Rosie Moss is wonderful as Sarah Kaufman, a young lady that loves her father, but needs to find other interests before her time runs out. Moss plays daughter, friend, and lover with equal simplicity. Her facial expressions light the stage and her craft is remarkable.

Bryna Weiss is Mrs. Dovitch who doesn’t appear until the second act. Sometimes one catches exceptional work and this is true with her performance, which does not ring a false note. Weiss brings a lot of character work to Mrs. Dovitch; the manner in which she both gives and receives is funny, poignant, and caring.

Set Designer, Kurtis Bedford has created a very functional set of movable walls that reveal and hide the plan. The set is similar to what one will find in a Japanese home, and a temple.

Shon Le Blanc, Costume Designer, highlights the players in time and place with costumes that set a dramatic tone. It would be interesting to know, if a lesson taught came with the costume, because an actor has to fill the costume rather than just wear it.

The understudy for Kiori is Akiko Katagiri, for Setsuzo Kotsuji is Mark Labella, and for Mrs. Dovitch is Caroline Westheimer. They did not perform the night I was there.

Other crewmembers that planned in the creation of a night of theatre are as follow:

Pricilla Miranda– Stage Manager

Ellen Monocroussos– Lighting Designer

Bill Froggatt– Sound & Presentation Designer

Hai Cohen– Choreographer (Chasidic)

Kaz Matamura– Choreographer (Japanese)

Jessica Bennett– Fight Choreographer

Phil Sokoloff– Publicity

Raul Clayton Staggs– Casting Director

Michael Lamont - Photographer

Run! Run! And take someone who is on top of current events. You’ll have much to talk about on your way home about the similarities of the play and our current political dilemma.

RESERVATIONS: 323-821-2449.

ONLINE TICKETING: www.wcjt.org

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By Joe Straw

Maybe, I just didn’t catch it. Then again, maybe I did. - Narrator

“Oh, shit!” - Debora

For lack of a better word. Debora Shaun-Hasting (Ann Hearn) hurries into her dining room and hammers her feelings home. Her husband, Michael Shaun-Hastings (Grinnell Morris), follows like a wayward dog on an unwarranted mission. Their relationship is just a floating fragment of what it once was - much like the bickering going on between them now, even fighting about the choice of music.

Debora, dressing like a willful child of the sixties, scoops the ice with her fingers and releases the ice into the water glasses, on the nicely made table, slamming them, not gently, into the glass. Probably the most important day in Debora’s life and the company is late. Yes, no, they don’t get the ice tongs, just her unwashed fingers manipulating the ice, and throwing them right into the glass of water, serves them right.

Something is not right, feelings between man and wife, a sadness that tears deep into her soul? Do you get that? Debora’s face is weathered, masked by the element of time and tragedy. And Michael wants to put on his protective mask, not to be seen, hiding behind the circumstances of things that were and not yet to be.

“Is she fat?” – Michael

Michael shouldn’t talk, with his perfect hair, his perfect teeth, down to the perfect way he trims his beard, slacks, shinning shoes, sweater, shirt, belt, can anything be more perfect? Him with his loose-fitting urbanity, the fake political smile, the power of noblesse oblige of someone who calls the night, just who is he trying to unimpress?

So, it all comes down to this, her physical description, a put down, these are the guests for God’s sake. There’s only so much one can do, set the table, once, twice, three times, check themselves in the mirror that bears down on them from the wall, complain about the lateness, and suddenly there is a knock at the door.

Is it possible to be over prepared?

And, of course it’s them, forty minutes late. Doesn’t anyone use GPS these days, Google maps for the love of what is just plain right.

Immediately having their coats taken, their shoes come right off so now they are in stocking feet. (I know, that’s what they do in Canada. But, is it right?)

Tamara Dermot (Jennifer Lynn Davis) just makes herself too much at home, says she doesn’t want wine but Debora thinks, in keeping with the occasion, that she should have lots of it. Tamara demurs once, but not twice, and then her glass is filled. Could this be a sign of an alcoholic?

Bill Dermot (Todd Johnson) wears a nasty looking sweater, something you might bring out from the back of the closet but certainly not appropriate for this night. And, not watching his weight, he’s the first one to go for the hors d’oeuvre. Wait!!! There’s shrimp in the cocktail dip, one bite and their son, Curtis (Baker Chase Powell) well, one bite, and it’s fatal.

Eyes around the room – one can’t believe that Debora and Michael would deliberately do this? Not even Debora or Michael. Does anyone check ahead of time? No, it turns out, they had no idea.

As long as Curtis doesn’t eat it, his father Bill is not concerned, not that he was really concerned anyway. More for him as he drops three or four into his mouth, one hitting the floor. No worries let someone else clean it up.

And Curtis ignores the food, the home, and the almost near-death experience because he is so inside his phone that he can’t take a moment to figure out the “why” of the why he is there. Not a young man you would suspect as having a ferocious conscience. It seems. Couldn’t he have gotten a decent haircut? They haven’t seen hair this long since the wayward sixties. Must I repeat myself again that this is an important night.

There’s work to be done tonight, this is what they agreed to, and with all the chitchat not one thing is going to be accomplished, of any significance, not now, and maybe not ever. But oh, you could cut the silent tension with knife and not make headway.

From the beginning, there are differences. The Shaun-Hastings, well, the last names for one should tell you those two are important enough for one not losing one or the other’s last name. They are better educated, more accomplished. Michael is a politician (he had to move in order to win the position) and Debora is an artist. She didn’t “steal” the sculptures sitting on her mantel, she works in steel.

The little things that throw a conversation off – steal versus steel – that makes the moments uncomfortable, as if they don’t have one more obstacle to overcome. They have little in common. Would they finish the night in a manner befitting grown adults?

Not with Debora setting an extra place for someone who won’t be there. The pain from that action is enough to make to guests run out of the room.

I have to pause. Bullying, in the written form, can be so tiring.

Theatre 40 of Beverly Hills presents the American premiere of Late Company by Jordan Tannahill, directed by Bruce Gray through February 19^th, 2017, and produced by David Hunt Stafford.

Late Company by Jordan Tannahill is a wonderful and important play about the subject of bullying, grief and forgiveness. Its rich dialogue digs deep into the psyche of two families that are deep in turmoil. They are in an emotional crevasse so profound they cannot see the opening. So they battle, their warrior like conflict directed between themselves, the offending family, and their own internal struggle. These two families, so far apart in purpose, agree to this night to find conclusion and to ease their infinite suffering. But their meeting to cure turns into an insalubrious miasma and you sometimes wonder, who exactly is the bully?

Bruce Gray, the director, wastes no time in getting into the meat of the matter. His direction is exquisitely and brilliantly executed. This is the finest play I’ve seen this year. Each moment is infinitively enlightening and carefully crafted, bounded together by a meticulous subtext that drives each and every character. It doesn’t hurt that he has a solid cast of characters that defined the ordinary in extraordinary circumstances.

One thing that I had a thought about was the initial meeting, when the Dermots come through the door. The entrance calls for a bold clarification that establishes the relationships. The one that truly counts is the relationship between Debora and Curtis. That meeting must be bold, and it must be one that leaves a lasting impression even after you leave the theatre.

Ann Hearn as Debora Shaun-Hastings is a character that grows during the course of the night. Debora can be a cordial host, but really she is really interested in finding answers where there may be none. Time will cure her emotional outpouring, but tonight she needs conclusion. She refuses to use her art as a release for therapy. Maybe one year is too early to have this confrontation, now she remains mad at everyone, trying desperately to find answers. It is a biting night for Debora in the way the outdoor Canadian weather bites the soul. Hearn is terrific as she fights her way - in the only way she knows how.

Grinnell Morrisis Michael Shaun-Hastings. He is disappointed about what happened but what’s done is done. He has misgivings about the unfortunate event but he was busy with his political career to put enough effort in his family life. Something had to give. In hindsight, he is lost, and trying to find his way. How did he come this far only to be lost in his family life? Morris plays all sides in this character as all politicians might and in the end Michael wins the day. It is a small victory but one that Morris executes with passion.

Jennifer Lynn Davisgives a wonderful performance as Tamara Dermot. Tamara, a mother herself, is very sympathetic, but not so much that she would let another woman torment her son. Through thick or thin, Tamara will live through the unexpectedness of this night, take what is coming, but not have her son dragged through the mud.

Todd Johnson is Bill Dermot, an educated man, but something has gone wrong with his life. Maybe it’s the little things, the not taking care of the small details. He seconds guesses this whole night. “Not sure if it will work.” He does not want to take any of the blame, instead places on the other family. Dermot appears to not learn anything from this confrontation. Dermot is a needle in a sofa cushion causing pain when you least expect it. For Johnson, it is an unsympathetic role, but one that he absolutely nails.

Baker Chase Powelldoes a lot of remarkable things as Curtis Dermot. It not easy being the purported heavy on this night, on his phone, melancholy, and waiting for the hammer to drop. He’s written the letter, and in this room full of adults, wondering if it is good enough to win the night and ease the pain. This is a terrific performance with a terrific ending.

David Hunt Stafford, the producer, manages another triumph at Theatre 40 showcasing theatre in the finest details.

Jeff G. Rack, Set Designer, places the dinning table upstage center right, slightly cold and impersonal, a very uncomfortable space for characters in an uncomfortable situation. And this allows the actors to work their magic in the space.

Other members of this terrific crew are as follows:

Michéle Young– Costume Designer

Ric Zimmerman– Lighting Designer

Joseph “Sloe” Slawinski– Sound Designer

Amanda Sauter– Stage Manager

Brian Barraza– Assistant Lighting Designer

Michele Bernath– Assistant Director

Run! Run! Run! And take someone you have not completely forgiven.

Reservations: 310-364-0535

Online: www.theatre40.org

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Anna Khaja

By Joe Straw

“In England, the moon had seemed dead and alien; here she was caught in the shawl of night together with earth and all other stars. A sudden sense of unity, of kinship with the heavenly bodies, passed into the old woman and out, like water through a tank, leaving a strange freshness behind.” A Passage to India by E.M. Forster

I was looking for a quote about water and India and, I don’t know what happened, but something attacked my computer. It destroyed my entire review and replaced it with unrecognizable inscriptions. The un-do button was rendered useless. Then everything went dark. This was a sign, I believe, to chuck everything I had written, and begin again. This manifestation was a sign, hopefully, a good sign.

Water plays a big theme in this production. How it all connects, I’m not quite sure. - Narrator

The story takes place in a dry and dusty flat in in a residential district of Chennai, India.

The observed utility poles, above the flat, funnels electrical currents into multiple shelters and that is never a pleasant look for the poor. The complexity within this complex will soon be discovered.

But in this particular apartment, the dining room, entertainment, and living room are all in one space. The accommodations are sparse, chairs at the kitchen table, an ottoman covered in bright colors, and dazzlingly colored throw pillows on the couch, a small bookcase with very few books and equal number trophies. The walls are festooned with magazine pictures strewn on the wall. The late father’s photograph is adorned with a wreath, gone but not forgotten. The Torans, an Indian traditional decoration, an honorific gateway, are above each doorway.

And dry as a bone, because water in this apartment is scarce. But a bottle sits on the floor – a third full or as can be best described as two thirds empty.

Any breeze coming into the apartment is filtered through holes in a bolted front door.

East West Players, Artistic Director Snehal Desai presents Free Outgoing by Anupama Chandrasekhar and directed by Snehal Desai through March 12, 2017 at the David Henry Hwang Theatre at the Union Center for the Arts in downtown Los Angeles.

Malini (Anna Khaja), 38 years of age is an attractive single mother of two, a boy age 16 and a girl age 15, she invites her “colleague” over, Ramesh (Anil Kumar) to finish some work and to sell him Super Sparkler – a jewelry cleaner.

Malini sells Super Sparkler for about five or six dollars a box to help make ends meet. She instructs the slightly wayward and nefarious Ramesh on how to prepare the mixture using precious water for a small bath to soak fine textured jewelry.

Married Hindu women wear toe rings but Ramesh, knowing Malini is not married, wants her to put hers in the mixture. There is more on the mind of Ramesh than jewelry cleaner as he hovers over her to get closer look, using all his sensory sensations including making suggestive comments to lure her into his pathetic web.

L - R Anil Kumar, Anna Khaja, and Kapil Talwalkar

Sharan (Kapil Talwalkar), Malini’s son, interrupts; he’s looking for his sister, whom he discovers is not home.

Malini tells Sharan to take off his shoes, to mind his language, and then asks him where he’s been all evening. She then turns her attention to Ramesh.

“These boys! I tell you!...they’re busy watsapping each other, but they can’t find time to send one SMS to their mother. Or call, though their outgoing call to me are all free.” – Malini

Ramesh can’t believe that Malini has grown children. Whether this is flattery or another device to lure her remains to be seen. Suddenly, he is thirsty, for water, and if he has to sneak it, so be it.

Deepa, the daughter (not seen), calls on the phone. She needs to find a way home since Sharan will not pick her up. The lorry carrying water is downstairs. Malini is ashamed that they get water by filling buckets. She motions for her son to take the buckets down without Ramesh seeing him. And Ramesh is distracted as he pays for his Super Sparkler and leaves.

There is trouble brewing because the following morning the principal, Nirmala (Kavi Landnier), calls Malini at work and tells her to come home. Something has happened to Malini’s daughter Deepa who is now waiting in her room and won’t come out. Nirmala tells Malini that Deepa has done something at school and will be suspended from school for a month.

“Your daughter has – how shall I put it? She’s been intimate with Jeevan.” - Nirmala

There is more trouble as Santosh (Dileep Rao), father of the boy Jeevan (not seen) who is also in trouble from that same incident, confronts Malini about how to handle this predicament. But there is more trouble afoot as Santosh says there is a video of the event.

Without giving too much away, I have to stop.

Free Outgoing by Anupama Chandrasekhar is technically about a girl who has made a terrible mistake, just one, and the people who then ostracize her for that mistake. The local community, and as well as the larger Indian society, is patriarchal and seeks to punish this girl for her misdeed. Just one misdeed. While they think nothing about the boy who has done damage. The effect on the family is sad, especially for the mother who wants nothing but the best for her family. She is struggling even within her own being.

Chandrasekhar’s play is in English with Tamil words, which makes me wonder whether anything was lost in the translation. There is a great deal of dialogue about water that translates little in the meaning of the play, the mysticism from the water to start anew. There is the stealing of water and the shame of dragging water up into the apartment from the lorry. The apartment stinks because of lack of water. Water is taken from the daughter’s room to nourish a visitor.

Director Snehal Desai has the actors say the lines but does not provide a significant stamp to the production, a provocative vision that elevates the play. The stakes are not high enough for any of the players. We lose sight of Deepa (not seen) behind the door, or that she is not really there for that matter. At one point she sings and that propels the character, but the others pay scant attention to the small girl who may be in shock at this point. We cannot lose sight of the character, the wonderful creature that made one bad mistake. Also, more has to be done with the lighting, which were both up and down without the nuance of lighting for morning, noon, and night during the course of the play. There is also a very funny moment about Malini desperately calling the United States and being confused with a call-center sales person that goes nowhere. Even Malini and her son do not see the humor in it. This is a play where the dialogue and physical action are not enough. It is a play where the humor must be seen in great detail and the hurt must be felt from across the room. Also, water plays a central theme in the play, which seems to be discarded on purpose.

There was a point in the play where Anna Khaja playing Malini projected a stunning demeanor, a strong force with just a turn of the head. It was a moment that turned my head as I thought there could be more to this role. Malini has to fight everyone to get what she wants, her son, the suitor, the principal and even her daughter to maintain an austere dignity. But, Malini falls into the “old school” trap of believing what men have told her rather than sticking to her guns and on the side of her daughter. Malini can never give up on her daughter, ever, and Kahaja must play to that objective. She must maintain order, get rid of the man, and pull her family together. This is no small task.

Kapil Talwalkerdoes a nice job as Sharan. Sharan objective is confusing. If his role is to help his sister then he must defy tradition and really help her. Sharan seems to thinks that he has lost everything because of his sister’s action. He appears to be mad at her and takes it out on her and his mother. Those actions don’t help his sister and certainly doesn’t get him any farther in his quest for a better life.

Anil Kumar strikes a resemblance to George Clooney with a bad haircut. The bad haircut though is part of the character of Ramesh, a nefarious simpleton, who wants more than a cleaning powder. His intentions are downright evil. But evil doesn’t work if is not completed in character from the moment he enters the apartment to the moment he is thrown out. His money must be scarce; he must dig for that money until he finds every last cent. His caliginous wants must be identified on stage, from the water, to the daughter, to the casual misdeeds of this nefarious character.

L - R Kavi Ladnier and Anna Khaja

Kavi Ladnierplays three roles Kirmala (the principal), Kokila (the neighbor), and Usha (the reporter). Ladnier excels at all three playing three different types of Indian women from the strict disciplinarian to the feminist. Ladnier is a wonderful actress with a superior craft that brings exciting character traits to all three women. One could not believe these women were one in the same and that is a hallmark of a gifted actor.

Dileep Rao plays Santhosh, the boy’s father, who reinforces the country’s patriarchal beliefs. He cares little for the daughter. He mostly looks after his son and doesn’t think she would ever press charges. While Rao is believable in the role one thinks there is more to add to the character, and the conflict.

Scenic Design by Stephanie Kerley Schwartz was very satisfying. Lighting Design by Katelan Braymer needed a projection of time, day and night. Rachel Myers, Costume Design was this short of brilliant.

Other members of the crew are as follows:

Sharath Patel– Sound Design

Glenn Michael Baker– Assistant Scenic Design/Prop Master

Lauren Cucarola– Assistant Costume Design

Brandon Hong Cheng– Stage Manager

Matthew Sanchez– Assistant Stage Manager

Run! And take someone who is fascinated with India!

David Henry Hwang Theater

120 Judge John Aiso Street

Los Angeles, CA 90012

Telephone: 213-625-7000

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L-R Parker Mills and Peter Schiavelli

By Joe Straw

Global situation and trends: Since the beginning of the epidemic, more than 70 million people have been infected with the HIV virus and about 35 million people have died of HIV. Globally, 36.7 million [34.0–39.8 million] people were living with HIV at the end of 2015. An estimated 0.8% [0.7-0.9%] of adults aged 15–49 years worldwide are living with HIV, although the burden of the epidemic continues to vary considerably between countries and regions. Sub-Saharan Africa remains most severely affected, with nearly 1 in every 25 adults (4.4%) living with HIV and accounting for nearly 70% of the people living with HIV worldwide. – World Health Organization

I saw The Normal Heart at the Las Palmas Theatre in 1985 with Richard Dreyfuss as Ned Weeks and Kathy Bates as Dr. Emma Brookner, although, sad to say, I remember very little of her in that performance. But I do remember, at the end of the first half, the audience let out a huge audible gasp when we discovered something about a character, the way it was presented, and the way the audience accepted that information. - Narrator

Every living breathing human being has a heart and that heart beats from 60 to 100 beats per minute. That is considered normal. There is a lot of variation in heartbeats – from 60 to 100 beats – and, as in all lives, extenuating circumstances can affect that normal.

Our reactionary government abandoned the populace when AIDS emerged and, for an unconscionable period of time, ignored the “gay plague”.

Reading about it in the early eighties, it didn’t take a genius (me) to understand that if it could be transmitted from gay contact it could also be transmitted through human sexual contact. It was a very costly mistake that eventually required boots on the ground – a grassroots organization to get the word out and to have the government take action. This essentially is what The Normal Heart is about.

The Normal Heart by Larry Kramer and directed by Marilyn McIntyre is now playing at The Chromolume Theatre February 24 through March 19, 2017. Produced by Sarah Burhardt and Parker Mils.

Larry’s Kramer’s The Normal Heart is a terrific show with exceptional performance by a superb cast in the tiny black box theatre of The Chromolume. The acting is well above par in this intimate setting and overall an enjoyable night of theatre. I do have some thoughts that I will share later.

Kramer, in his play, sets a tone for political activism, which must be unapologetic and loud to make a difference. There was a sense of urgency back in the 1980’s of finding the answers and then finding a cure. This required a lot of help from politicians and from grass roots organizations to make it work. To date there is not cure and the disease is manageable if you can afford the drugs.

On this particular night, the partial walls on rollers lifted almost to the ceiling, hiding the unseen, the black walls darkened the proscenium. And on the facade, were the headlines of the day. July 1981 is the month and the year in which we are placed.

The stagnant dividers opened to reveal a doctor’s waiting room, normal patients anticipating the worse, Craig (Cameron Cowperthwaite) explains what he is feeling, his ragged body tells the story, the heavy heart weigh down by swollen glands already discovered.

“I’m tired all the time. I wake up in swimming pools of sweat.” – Craig

Craig wails for his companion, Bruce Niles (Alan Lennick), a former Green Beret, who did not accompany him to this doctor’s appointment. He is waiting for Dr. Emma Brookner (Carole Weyers), who is examining patients in the next room.

(Brookner is based on Dr. Linda Laubenstein an early HIV/AIDS researcher. She, along with Dr. Alvin Friedman-Kien, published the first article linking AIDS with Kaposi’s sarcoma.)

That patient, now leaving Dr. Brookner’s office has purple lesions covering his face. David (Eric Bunton) walks over to retrieve his jacket and silently stares at the three men waiting to go in. He notices that they are staring at his lesions.

Craig hugs Mickey Marcus (Ray Barnhart), silently ignores the manifestation in front of him, and hesitantly walks away and to the examining room.

“They keep getting bigger and bigger and they don’t go away. (Changing the subject and directing his focus to Ned) I sold you a ceramic pig once at Maison France on Bleecker Street. My name is David.” - David

I don’t remember them shaking hands, or that an attempt was even made.

Nebbish Ned Weeks (Parker Mills) who was melting inconspicuously into the furniture is suddenly called out, pulled out from the chair, from oblivion to prominence, filled with questions without answers about the 28 gay men infected, 16 who have already died.

And as quietly as he arrived, David leaves with little fanfare.

“Mickey, what the f*uck is going on?” – Ned

“I don’t know. Are you here to write about this?” - Mickey

Two writers in the room without focus, Ned who is a successful writer of sorts and Mickey who writes a health column for the health department, each desultory, no one making the first move. Mickey says the city doesn’t have an interest in stories about gay health.

Craig comes out of the Dr. Emma Brookner’s office and says he going to die.

Ned, with a slight call to act, rushes into the doctor’s office to ask questions. He takes little notice that Dr. Brookner is confined to a wheelchair. She immediately tells him to take off his clothes.

“You’re gay, aren’t you? Take your clothes off.” – Dr. Brookner

Doctors!

Parker Mills and Carole Weyers

Through the examination Brookner has an idea she wants to share with Ned. Brookner needs a mouthpiece, someone who will spread the word, and she understands that Ned has a big mouth, is a writer, and will somehow get the word out. She explores the possibility of asking Ned to tell men that they should stop having sex, not only the men in New York City but also all across the country.

This call to duty is an insurmountable task for Ned Weeks, and he is not really sure that he is up for the challenge. He approaches a writer at the Times, handsome Felix Turner (Peter Schiavelli). Ned also tries to get his brother Ben Weeks (Dan Via), a lawyer to donate money and to sit on the board. Ben is not up for the idea, and says he will take it to his committee.

L - R Alan Lennick, Cameron Cowperthwaite (gurney), Ray Barnhart, Carole Weyers, Parker Mills

Marilyn McIntyre, the director, does a terrific job with this very small-scale production. Actors, also scene changers, were flying in and out during the sixteen scene changes, trying not to bump into each other to lay out set and prop pieces. I’m wondering if there is an economical and efficient way of handling those duties, a way of moving actors in character so that it moves with the progression of the play. The walls must also be moved with characters in mind; even the tables can be placed with characters in various stages of the illness.

The opening, on this night, requires attention with Ned finally speaking when he is addressed about the pigs. (About a page and a half in.) Ned needs a better introduction and how that manifests itself is the job for the director. Ned is a frightened person, assaulted with realities, and trying to find a way to help. It is here, in the opening moments, when he steps from the shadows and into the limelight. One thinks of the play as a political drama, a reactionary intrusion into a life bombarded by the unthinkable, so many people dying in a short time span, and a government unwilling to take action. This is where Ned comes in, he sees the light of humanity darkened. (Some stage lighting helping out on the dying would help. A little symbolism goes a long way here.) From first hand account Ned takes aggressive action. Maybe he doesn’t think it’s much but he really must be gung-ho to get this going, not stopping, even through his survival depends on the help from politicians and his friends, both who get in his way.

Also, time is an element that must be accentuated for full dramatic play.

One other thing, this is a play where even the smallest of relationships must work to get the full effect having to do with the advancement of the events, David saying that he is dying, Craig running from the doctor’s office, Felix ignoring Ned, and Ben unwilling to help until someone reaches their eternal perdition.

On this night, I detected a slow start, characters not really connecting, but once the butterflies went away, the production soars, taking us to unconquerable heights. The acting is top notched, a testament to Howard Fine Acting Studio and the number of actors in this production who have gone there.

But again, I have some thoughts.

Parker Mills does fine work as Ned Weeks. Weeks need a better introduction, stepping out of the shadows into the limelight. The conflict is that he never gets the publicity for reasons that are out of his control. He is relegated to being a co-worker of an organization he co-founds when another is chosen to be president. His life as a writer, and its inexhaustible privations, moves him in a way to help humanity. But, Weeks is seen as brash and opinionated and, in his indecorous ferocity, he is a man of action that very few people like. He must overcome those obstacles to get what he wants. Mills does a fine job of giving the character many levels, acting with a sense of urgency because other characters are dying. Mills is impeccable in his craft; his movements are specific, and his objective strong. There is more to add in the way he sees the overall picture, reacts, and then takes action.

Dan Via is Ben Weeks and really does a fantastic job. Weeks is a powerful lawyer that wants nothing to do with his brother’s organization and will not even accept that his brother is gay. Organized, a planner, and one who will not step into a situation that would jeopardize his career. Via excels in this role, his manner is competent, his motives are entirely complete, and he knows his way around the stage.

Alan Lennick, as Bruce Niles, can add more to the Green Beret character that he plays. Once a military man, especially one that carries Special Forces Tab, well, that never leaves you. And how that manifests itself on stage is something that should be brought forward. Still it is a terrific performance, his voice is strong, articulate, the broad shoulders, and the height that carries the day. He regards himself as a leader but will not step out of the shadows to out himself, and that is an interesting conflict for someone who wants to represent a gay organization. Niles relationship to Weeks could be strengthened in the way he rebuffs him and then tries to take over the organization.

Peter Schiavelli is very angular as Felix Turner, in the way that Dudley Do-Right was drawn angular. Schiavelli has a very strong handsome presence on stage and manages to make the most of the character. What is interesting about this character is that he is hiding something from his partner until the end of the first half. It is so subtle on stage as to not be noticeable and maybe should be a part of the character’s internal conflict about becoming involved.

Carole Weyer is Dr. Emma Brookner and played this character with an accent, sounding German at times. One is not sure what that was about as the character is based on someone born and went to school in the United States. It was a choice that was not entirely successful. That said, her craft, and her work presented outstanding choices, the manner in the wheelchair and the way she conducted her examination of the patients were outstanding.

Jeffrey Masters plays Tommy Boatwright, a southern belle, as it were. The southern accent does not take him to unimaginable heights and needs work. That said, he has a very likeable personality and does well for his limited time on stage. But, more specifically, he needs to identify the conflict, and work for a stronger objective.

Ray Barnhart is Mickey Marcus, a man who will help but will not go beyond his limited means. He doesn’t want to be president of the group and is satisfied with stuffing envelopes. He works for the Health Department but is not about to risk his job writing about the gay plague. Barnhart requires a stronger choice for his objective and the conflict that keeps him from reaching his objective. Still, there is something very likeable about this character and this actor.

Eric Bunton plays three different roles, David, Hiram, and the doctor. Bunton has a strong voice and does something very interesting with David, the man with the lesions, he quietly enters from the doctors and quietly exits as a man who presents the disease and then quietly exits the world, as he knows it.

Cameron Cowperthwaite (that’s a name) does well as the sick friend in the first scene, who is a hypochondriac, but turns out that his fears are not mental. One would love to see his face as he is writhing on the gurney. It sets the mood and the action that needs to be taken.

Nicely produced by Sarah Burkhardt and Parker Mills.

Run! Run! And take an activist. There is more to learn and much more for which to take action.

Members of the crew who contributed mightily to the production are as follows:

David Mauer – Set Design

Brandon Baruch – Lighting Design

Chris Moscatiello – Sound Design

Liz Schroeder – Costume Design

Michael Skolnick – Props

Brandon Hearnsberger – Video Editing

Jake Moses – Original Music

Edward Vyeda – Original Artwork

Scott Marshall – Lighting Assistant

Amy Koch – Stage Manager

Ken Werther Publicity – Press Representative

Sarah Burkhardt – Associate Director

www.brownpapertickets.com/event/2816561

Telephone: 800-838-3006

The Chromolume Theatre at The Attic

5429 W. Washington Boulevard

(Between the 10 Freeway and Hauser Blvd.)

Los Angeles, CA 90016

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By Joe Straw

The Lounge Theatre is probably one of my favorite theatres in town. There are plenty of parking spots on Santa Monica Boulevard if you get there after 7:00 pm.

Racquel Lehrman Theatre Planner, Producer, has a knack for finding the small gems.

Transition by Ray Richmond and directed by Lee Costello is now playing at The Lounge Theatre in Hollywood through April 16th, 2017.

Transition by Ray Richmond is a small gem and a delightful night of theatre. It’s not sketch comedy, pointed satire, or a caricature of famous people; rather it is a well-crafted 80-minute topical play about President Obama’s meeting with President-elect Trump to discuss the transition process. Overall, Transition is ingenious and as close to perfection, especially for a new work of art, as one can get.

That said, Ray Richmond’s play has the capacity to expand and certainly there’s plenty to add from the events becoming public on a daily basis. We’ll never really know what the two talked about, but for this particular play, there is room for the Russian connections, double agent Mike Flynn’s payment from Turkey, Manafort’s million dollars deal from the Ukraine, and Trump’s reaction from all of those events. But right now. the events play as a comedy, a very good comedy, and probably should remain so.

That said, Transitionis at times uncomfortable, no matter what side of the fence you sit on. For me, there was the internal struggle to maintain composure. And boy howdy, wouldn’t I have loved to have been a “microwave” in the real meeting.

Pete Hickok, Set Designer, has created the Oval Office and paid careful attention to details in giving us the oval space inside the Lounge Theatre, down to the lettering on the floor, “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice.” – Martin Luther King, Jr. What a very nice touch.

The play opens with Randall, an aide (Trevor Alkazian), showing President-elect Donald J. Trump (Harry S. Murphy) into the Oval Office for a transition meeting with President Barack H. Obama (Joshua Wolf Coleman).

Trump seeks the whereabouts of President Obama.

“What’s he doing? Talking to ISIS?” – Trump

Trump then threatens to deport the aide, which causes concern to the young aide whose skin is not exactly white.

Obama arrives and Trump immediately says he’s hungry and wants some KFC. Obama sets the rules straight to him, says they have world-class chefs at the White House, but they can’t do the KFC thing.

So they settle down with Cuban cigars and bottle water for which Trump says it should have his brand on it.

Obama says the can’t do that “Self enrichment is not good.” To which Trump says the rule don’t apply to him.

Harry S. Murphyapplies his own special vanity to the likeness of Donald J. Trump, always primping, thinking, and talking to himself. This Trump understands little, is profoundly disturbed by his lack on knowledge on any given subject with the exception of pop culture, and really has no aptitude for the presidency. Also, this Trump is also slightly nasty, a button pusher, and willing to concede his own failings all in the privacy of the Oval Office. Murphy provides enough of the character, an imitation of sorts, and an indolent personality of the three dimensional character. Murphy also shows an incredible range in his craft and portrays a different side to the character we know as Trump. And he even makes him likeable, go figure.

Joshua Wolf Colemandoes a remarkable job as President Barack Obama and even sounds like him during the course of the night. The voice is almost spot on. But what make’s Coleman performance different from sketch comedy is the way he thinks and approaches the difficulties set before him. Only once does he lose his cool. That doesn’t pay off except to the appreciative audience. We see little or nothing about the Russian connection of which President Obama was certainly aware, or that he knew anything about it. It might be something to add to his character whether it is in the dialogue or not.

Trevor Alkazianis very appealing as the aide and manages to accept our sympathies given the circumstances he finds himself in.

There is something quite extraordinary in Lee Costello’s direction. She allows the actors to think, to take the moment, to recover and then attack when need be. This happens throughout the play and for all the characters. On the face of things, it looks simple, the approach she uses to move the characters along to their final destination, but those moments are dramatically appealing and the outcome is superb.

After the performance Hip Hop Artist Dylan came out to perform. The performance was pleasant but one was not sure how it fit with the play.

Kate Bergh, Costume Designer, creates a wonderful look to the show.

Other members of the crew that gave a great look to this production are as follows:

Donny Jackson– Lighting Designer

David B. Marling– Sound Designer

Shelia Dorn– Makeup and Wig

Kiff Scholl/AFK Design– Graphic Designer

Fritz Davis– Video Editor

Misha Riley– Assistant Producer

Amber Bruegel– Alternate State Manager

Run! Run! And take a conservative political wonk with you; you’ll have much to talk about on your way home.

RESERVATIONS: (323) 960-4418.

ONLINE TICKETING: www.Plays411.com/transition

L - R Danny Siege, Lucy Walsh, Chad Doreck, Abigail Kochunas - Photos by Mathew Caine @ Studio Digitrope

By Joe Straw

After watching the performance, I wondered; is the material by Renée Taylor and Joseph Bologna from practical experience or is this just hearsay? If it is from experience, they have had a wonderful life. If it is hearsay, they must have had some really intimate and talkative friends. – Narrator

There’s no question, no question that I had a wonderful time at the party, the Love Allwaysparty. I don’t know where to begin, only that I have to begin, somewhere near the beginning. And saying too much would give so much away. You’ll just have to show up and laugh.

Jamaica Moon Prods. And the GGC Players present the Los Angeles Premiere of Love Allways by Renée Taylor and Joseph Bologna directed by Gloria Gifford at the Gray Theatre in North Hollywood through April 23, 2017.

The play is a lot of lovely nuance, cleverly disguised in vignettes, about the truth in relationships. The material by Renée Taylor and Joseph Bologna rings a comedic and sincere genuineness about life and love in intimate settings. There is a lot to enjoy from this outing.

My gosh, it seemed like there were ten thousand actors in this show! Actually, it’s 51 actors. There is a challenge of watching so many actors on a given night. Multiple night viewings would suit the purpose of taking it all in. One will give it my best, but no guarantees.

The characters came down from the door, into the room, and nestled in the comfort of someone’s home. (We’ll have to talk about that opening later.) They were characters all dolled up, the men with shirts opened down to the navel and everyone, I mean everyone, was on the prowl, with hardly a decent refined character in the bunch. That uncomfortable feeling of being single is personified at the party.

So, where do we find ourselves? This is the nightly soiree we have come to know as Eleanor’s Magical Moment.

Eleanor’s Magical Moment

The pushing and moving of singles bodies is the sole objective to attract mates. In this gathering, the pickings appear to be slim, slightly unnerving if one is looking for a sole mate. Watching young married beings on the prowl for single encounters is always appealing because mistakes will be made.

But the thought of hooking up with a single man or woman at this party seems as unappetizing as crackers in bed. That’s where Eleanor (Tejaja Signori) and Herb (Danny Siegel) come in. They are married, but not to each other, and Herb can’t get Eleanor out of his mind. He’s thinking of having that one magical moment with Eleanor, of finding the time, and then consummating the relationship.

So when their marriage partners, Betty (Cynthia San Luis) and Larry (Jeff Hamansaki Brown), suddenly leave the room, Herb makes his move.

Love of Susan’s Life

Stud-ly Nick (Nevada Schaefer) has got everything going for him except his girlfriend Susan (Raven Bowens).

“You’re not the girl for me. It’s all over.” – Nick

To say this hits Susan the wrong way is a bit of an understatement. And so she pleads for their relationship to continue. And in almost chameleon-like fashion, she changes herself into what he wants her to be.

Groveling is not an attractive vocation.

Tony & Madelaine

Hollywood is a lush life lived lasciviously. Oh but it can be so cruel, so cruel when, off the cuff remarks are made, lives are hurt, and relationships are scarred, left to fester, until they are miraculously unscarred again.

Actors!

Tony (Chad Doreck) and Madelaine (Jade Warner) are actors. They are the finest of the fine, the cream of the crop, but now they are down on their movie luck – think Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton after Cleopatra. Sullied words about bad acting are thrown about. But, as long as they are praised by their entourage (Joshua Farmer, Jose Fillippone, Kelly Musslewhite, and Deidra Shanell), they are like luscious crops, but instantaneously wither when criticism punctures their ballooned ego.

Naytheless, they are actors, and they can give just as they receive!

Maureen’s Gift

Two young people can have as much fun on a couch as humanly possible except when there’s some sort of conflict. Two lovers in love, Maureen (Justine Estrada) and Eddie (Marlin Chan), have been dying to make it, to consummate their love, but something always gets in the way. Maybe they were not made for each other.

Michael Barker, Samiyah Swann

Benny and The Woman

Woman (Samiyah Swann) sits quietly on a bench when Benny (Michael Barker) approaches. The two may have much in common, or out of common, depending on your perspective. They connect on a visceral level, neither really communicating with the other, both slightly mentally incapacitated, but willing to accept each other as they are until they don’t.

“It’s hurts to be alone. Goodbye.” Woman

Is this relationship the beginning or the end?

Biff, Dickie, Carmel & Roberta

For the last five years, these happy vacationers have been going on trips. Biff (Danny Seigel) and Dickie (Jeff Hamasaki Brown) have been having the most fun on their vacation but their wives are getting a little tired of their antics. On the face of it, you would think the only happy couple in this resort town were the two inseparable men. Their wives, Carmel (Lucy Walsh) and Roberta (Lauren Plaxco) are tired of not spending enough time with their respective spouses.

The “snorting” thing is possibly one reason Biff would run into the arms of another man.

Act II plays out in a bedroom in a bungalow of a Club Med resort. Director Gloria Gifford should find a creative way to move the actors in and out without having to make the bed each time, which becomes repetitive and unnecessary.

Bungalow 1

Steven (Haile D’Alan) and Loretta (Keturah Hamilton) are married but when Steven comes in, someone other than his wife (Tracey Nelson) is lying on their bed. (Not sure how this scene works in a bungalow but it feels like someone’s home.)

Loretta walks in with a number of bags of items she has bought. They proceed to discuss their relationship and why she is buying all those things, really a lot of things considering her source of income.

Steven then begins to lay out the rules of a successful relationship and I don’t think Loretta is getting anything of his instructions.

L - R Irini Gerakas, Jeff Hamasaki Brown, Joe Filippone

Bungalow 2

Possibly a reality show is being filmed in Bungalow 2 with us as a live studio audience – You Waste Your Life hosted by Eddie (Joe Filippone) featuring an unlikely couple in a role playing situation, Bill Froth (Jeff Hamansaki Brown) and his wife Mary Froth (Irini Gerakas).

I’m a little lost on why this is filmed in a bungalow and why there is a studio audience. That said there were some very nice things going on in this scene.

Bungalow 3

Mario (Nadeem Deeb) is going to get to the meat of the matter and Yvetter (Kasia Pilewicz) has other ideas.

“I’m no good.” – Mario

“I love you.” – Yvette

A man and a woman lost in a relationship, of not knowing who the other is – a “lost cause in Czechoslovakia.”

Bungalow 4

Jimmy (Sam Mansour) and Evelyn (Hayley Ambriz) are caught in bungalow 4 testing their love. They want to know about each other’s past sexual experiences. Jimmy, from another country, is old school and Evelyn is not a saint.

Mansour, Syrian, has an unusual and likeable face. He reminds me a lot of Danny Thomas. This plays well in the scene as an overbearing man trying to take control of something he really has no control over, a woman with a, slightly kinky, sexual past.

Antonio Roccucci and Kelly Musslewhite

Bungalow 5

There is something wrong with Marilyn (Kelly Musslewhite). She is either confused, bi-polar, or thinks this marriage is the worst mistake of her life. The one thing this newlywed is certain is that she is not certain about anything. Her husband, David (Antonio Roccucci), can only listen to her rants, gnaws on Twinkies and relieves her fears.

Although, mostly silent on stage, Roccucci has a very commanding presence which is half of the battle. The other half is; how can you argue with a gorgeous woman in a negligee on your honeymoon when there are other pressing matters at hand. C’est impossible!

Bungalow 6

He (George Benedict) and She (Nancy Vivar). What am I to make of a scene with the characters named “He” and “She”? He was attractive. She was as well. They were in bed having a conversation, wanting something from each other.

Bungalow 7

Intimacy is something learned over the course of a relationship between two people but there’s four people in this bed Herb (Danny Siegel), Stuart (Chad Doreck), Erica (Lucy Walsh) and Joanne (Abigail Kochunas) and Joanne is the only one who has not reached orgasm.

Joanne has got to make her feelings known, first to her husband Stuart, and then to the other married couple in bed.

The performance featured a diverse group of actors putting it all out there, laying it on the line, and giving it their best, in tight fitting, cleavage revealing garments, in all shapes and sizes, and for all occasions. This was truly a night for laughs.

The performances and the direction by Gloria Gifford indicate that there’s more work to be done. It would help to take some of the moments to extremes and making the endings ambiguous so the audience can think what they want to think about the way the relationship ends so we see hope for the next encounter. For example, I am not sure Eleanor in Eleanor’s Magical Moment had that moment. If she did, I missed it.

Also, in Benny and The Woman, the scene ends without a resolution, ambiguous or not.

The “snorting” in Biff, Dickie, Carmel & Roberta scene doesn’t move the characters to react, doesn’t progress the scene, and has no resolution.

This is a play where the actors can create multi-level characters which are bold. It’s really not enough to resemble the character. The characters must be defined in the way they love always, a major through line of the vignettes. Bring the love and give us something different, very different.

And, we really have to work on the opening to set the stage of what we are about to receive. Lights out, have the actors take a position, accentuate the character and Love Always.

The actors in this production are ripe for television. Danny Siegel fits in brilliantly in his scenes and favors Joe Bologna. Others whose work was exceptional were Chad Doreck, Jade Warner, Sam Mansour, Lucy Walsh, Kelly Musslewhite, Antonio Roccucci, Michael Barker, Samiyah Swann, Tracey Nelson and Jeff Hamasaki Brown.

Also, I don’t get Jeff Brown’s middle name “Hamasaki”. Is that a reference to a sandwich and rice wine? Hama mean beach in Japanese. So, is it Saki on the beach, perhaps? (Also, Jeff, new headshots are in order. The one in the program does not look like you. Was this a misprint?)

Other actors who were in the production but may not have been mentioned are Alyssa Brown, Billy Budinich, Aaron Burriss, Leana Chavez, Heather Compton, Yvette De Vito, Sonia Diaz, Lindy Fujimoto, Dylan George, Genevieve Joy, McKenzie Druse, Chirstian Maltez, Maya Moore, Nakta Pahlevan Benito Paje, Gershon Roebuck, Justin Truesdale, Keith Walker, Teagan Wilson and Diva Yazdian. This is certainly a diverse group of actors.

The crew are as follows:

Gloria Gifford and Lucy Walsh – Set Design

Chris Rivera – Lighting

Philip Sokoloff – Publicist

Kasia Pilewicz and Gloria Gifford – Costumes

Kasia Pilewicz – Hair/Makeup

Tracey Nelson and Samiyah Swann – House Manager

Keith Walker & Justin Truesdale – Stage Management

Tahlia McCollum – Box Office

And just a note about the outside crew. They were marvelous in the way they were welcoming to the Gray Theatre

Run! Run! And take someone who likes a little conflict under the sheets!

RESERVATIONS: (310) 366-5505.

ONLINE TICKETING: www.tix.com

By Joe Straw

He would fade into something impalpable under her eyes and then in a moment he would be transfigured. Weakness and timidity and inexperience would fall from him in that magic moment. – James Joyce – A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man

On this evening, the audience coming to see the scenes was an eclectic bunch, off centered, old and young, tat’s and lace, venturing to see actors preforming. There is an excitement in the air and you just never know who is going to show up.

Sal Landi, who directed the scenes, appeared to take the job of directing a little more seriously. On this night the direction had a strong through line, a well-defined theme, of strong women overcoming obstacles in various situations, and always having or getting the upper hand. The performances on this night were totally engaging and it was a complete success.

The Pan Andreas Theatre is a wonderful theatre and just the kind of venue to showcase actors in their environment. There was not much in the way of sets and props. The night was for the actors to create. The actors were outstanding on the stage, their environment, and their time. Although the scenes were short (around 7 minutes), the actors provided a glimpse of defined and strong characters. And seeing that makes one want to go to theatre again and again.

Cellini – John Patrick Shanley

She was beautiful but troubled. Life model, Caterina (Angelique Pretorius), was wearing an outfit that resembled playful bedroom attire. She was a model posing for Cellini (Francisco Ovalle), an artist with a questionable reputation.

Caterina was beautiful in a way models are not supposed to be, voluptuous and hungry, with a desire to get what she came for. She wanted more money.

Cellini—poor and bare-footed—wanted to create art. But without money, little was going to get done. “Whore”, he called her, taking her head and moving it against her will.

Touching was not part of the bargain, not now and, in Caterina’s mind, not ever. Her strength was to find a way to live, feed herself, and enjoy life.

Angelique Pretorius spoke her first few lines. There was a trace of an accent from this South African native. It was subtle at first, quiet, softly spoken, but then she moved on from there and created a startling life, a few feet in front of me, and it was there that I discovered a surprising range, of one who is sure in her moves, and capable of giving in extraordinary circumstances. Pretorius is a marvelous actor.

There was a lot to enjoy in Francisco Ovalle’sperformance. He also had an accent, Spanish, which suited the character, Benvenuto Cellini, an Italian artist known for his relationships with his models, female and male. Cellini enjoyed the chase with a touch of conflict and sometime treated his subjects unfairly and with distain. Ovalle commanded strength in the manner he held the art stick and the way he sought to control his subject. It was beautiful work.

Before It Hit Home by Cheryl L. West

Wendal (Jahking Guillory) is lying under the blanket on his mother’s floor. He has lived his life precariously, on the edge, playing jazz in seedy dives, and mixing with the wrong kind of people. He awakens this night sweating and takes some pills, when his mother Reba (Veronica L. Ocasio) walks out into the living room.

Reba stares at her son in a purple housecoat and defined pink slippers giving color to her flat which is not much to look at on this given night, still it is her home.

There is an edge to her relationship with Wendall but this moment in time reveals little. But why is Wendal there? And why this night?

Wendal is unable to rid himself of the smell of nightly sweats. He comes home for a human anodyne and needs the comforting arms of his mother. If only he could get the words out.

There is some good work going on here but there are things about character that could have been brought to the forefront. Taken from the 1989 play by Ms. West, Wendal is a saxophone player who comes home to tell his family that he has AIDS, despite the stigma associated with it, and the negative reaction he’ll encounter. Revealing that life, and that relationship, is what is needed in this scene.

Dinner With Friends by Donald Marguilies

Don’t remember much about this scene with Beth (Elena Ghenoiu) and Tom (Jay Duncan) maybe it was a mental block of having gone through a similar situation.

Tom is almost on the way out with Beth. Beth is not forthcoming and Tom knows she is not forthcoming based on how she avoids even the simplest of questions. And the questions get harder as they get closer to their kids.

It hard to figure out who is running this show, Beth or Tom. In the end, Beth gets her way. I think.

This scene requires dramatic intimacy to get at the truth. It needs two actors standing toe to toe, starting in rehearsals and, once that connection is made, on to a blocked scene to keeps the connection. Ghenoiu and Duncan are fine in the roles but this should be a comedy of intimacy, of subtle discoveries, and of a hurt that tears the lining of an already broken fabric, their marriage.

Four Dogs and A Bone by John Patrick Shanley

Shaking off the movie-making blues of the day, Colette (Sara Drust) and Brenda (Autumn Rusch) meet somewhere in the night, a trailer perhaps, a dressing room, each coming in with killer instincts, one to do the other one in in whatever form that takes. The words sting when two of their kind come together for treacherous reasons.

But in this particular scene, there are no props, little in the way of costume and wig, just two actors going toe to toe. I found it stimulating that they were hitting their marks, making the point, and moving from one moment to the next. But for this scene, a little bit of symbolism would go a long way in terms of who they are, where they are, and how they reach their objectives.

Still, this was very fine work by actors, knowing their strengths, and completing their objectives.

Boys Next Door by Tom Griffin

Norman Bulansky (John Reno) invites Sheila (Kelley S. Park) into his home. Norman is mentally challenged, as is Sheila. Besides working in a donut shop, the special thing about Norman is that he is in the procession of a set of keys that he wants to give to Sheila for reasons known only to him.

Sheila is a little concerned about what might happen there. She says she has to leave soon to catch a bus. That means Norman has to work fast to get what he wants and, if that includes flowers and chocolates donuts, so be it.

Reno displays enormous work in character, voice, and mannerism as he parades around his home in padding that makes him look obese, the side effect of a character working in a donut shop. This gives Reno the appearance of a 3-D bop bag which works wonders when he falls to the floor and rolls in pain. Reno provides a dramatic truth in Norman Bulansky – one that rings a sympathetic chord in this observer - right down to the last kiss.

Park also provides comic timing with a neck brace and a pair of small binoculars. (I’ve seen this woman ushering at the Pantages in the late 1970s!). Park gives a very honest portrayal of someone trying to find her way in life.

Venus in Fur by David Ives

Thomas (Yoshi Barrigas) has had it up to here trying to find someone to cast in his new production, a period piece. He needs someone with an accent and is sick of what everyone has to offer.

Lucky, or unlucky for him, Vanda (Ashley Liai Coffee) shows up. By all accounts, Vanda is the wrong woman. Wrong in shape, wrong in size, and wrong in beauty and skin color. Besides she is so ditsy that she doesn’t have her act together; she is frazzled, costumes in one bag, lipstick in another.

Thomas tells her to leave but Vanda will not take no for an answer. He decides to let her read and gets a very pleasant surprise and one that may not be so pleasant at the end.

One is fascinated with Barrigas’ work, the manner in which he executes, and the voice that carries throughout the theatre. The work is simple, concise, and shows an exciting dramatic range.

Coffee is excellent as well moving from one extreme to another and giving life to another being other than her original character. Coffee provides depth in character and a rich history to go along with that.

Four Dogs and A Bone by John Patrick Shanley

A production of a movie is extremely stressful when actors are vying for more screen time, better lines, and a longer career. After a long day, Victor (Bryan Zampella) and Collette (Jovita Trujillo) retreat to a bar. Victor is looking for Brenda (not seen).

Collette, the actress, is certainly a mad dog looking for the bone which essentially has no meat on it. Victor, the writer, knows it, and tries to make the best of a bad situation. He’s not in a great mood especially since his mother recently died.

“I love your script. It’s so chunky.” –Collette

Victor is not taking the bait and tries to leave, but stays just long enough to find out what Collette is up to and it ain’t pretty.

Zampella and Trujillowork well together in this scene, their voices are fine, and the words of the play are well executed and funny. Still there is more work to be done with character and backstory that will add nicely to what they have already done.

The Old Rugged Cross – author unknown

Sweltering Ophelia (Koda Corvette) sweeps a country porch. She is bare footed and wears a dress that outlines the shape of her young body. Ophelia sweeps the crumbs from the sugar butter biscuits, along with the dog hair, cat mess, and other stuff than manages its way onto a country porch. All is swept away into the garden except her daydreams.

Billy (Jadon Fitzpatrick), probably a neighbor from up the street, appears while no one is home and intends to do her no good. He gets to know her, cajoles her, and wants her to go with him.

But Ophelia, says she can’t go out with him, talks a lot about her Christian values without making a negative mark on his masculinity. And then something hits home with him and he leaves her alone.

Fitzpatrick, slight and muscular, wearing no shirt and a leather jacket, is excellent as Billy, a man up to no good. The manner in which he approaches her and attempts to convince her to go with him was really fine work. But what are the exact words, or the emotional connection that make him leave her alone? Something had an effect but what was it?

Corvette is sultry on the porch, not paying attention, singing a song, and totally unaware of strangers approaching. She sees him, is enticed by his good looks, projects a tremulous glow, and wants to make a connection of some kind. There are the two sides of her passion, one that wants, and the other that doesn’t. Corvette’s acting is subtle and very effective.

Fresh Horses by Larry Ketron

Larkin (Nick Machado) has gotten himself into a lot of trouble by hooking up with high school dropout, Jewel (Chloe Wu), a young woman who is not quite all there.

Larken has plans of being something other than a factory worker like his dad. Jewel is so out of it, she doesn’t know if she is coming or going. Larken truly doesn’t believe the relationship is going to work.

Jewel has taken his car and doesn’t know what happened to it, or doesn’t let on that she knows. Her manner is to speak volubly without saying anything or without giving away information critical to where she was the previous night.

There is a lot going on in this scene with Machado and Wu, possibly there’s too much information in this short scene. We never really get into the meat of the story but are left floundering around for answers that may or may not come. Still, I enjoyed the work and the scene.

This type of venue is a meet and greet venue. The key things here is to have your work seen. Secondly, it’s best to have time to meet at the end of the performance and to have a resume available just in case job opportunities comes a knocking.

Sal Landi has created a venue for an audience to see the work and what happens after that is anyone’s guess. Hopefully, the work will lead to paying jobs and a fulfilling career. This definitely was a night for being seen.

The Two Kids That Blow Sh*t Up – by Carla Ching

Barbecue by Robert O’Hara

Moral Imperative by Samuel Warren Joseph

The Tragedy of JFK (as told by Wm. Shakespeare) – Conceived, Adapted & Directed by Daniel Henning

The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe Revisited by Jan Wagner

Vonnegut USA by Kurt Vonnegut adapted by Scott Rognlien

Mariela in the Desert by Karen Zacarias

Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike by Christopher Durang

A Christmas Carol in Prose Being A Ghost Story of Christmas by Charles Dickens

The Consul, The Tramp and America’s Sweetheart by John Morogiello

The Last Straw Awards 2016 by Joe Straw

The Motherf**ker with the Hat by Stephen Adly Guirgis

Aladdin – Book by Jim Luigs, José Cruz Gonzáles, Music by Alan Menken, Lyrics by Howard Ashman, Tim Rice

Fugu by Steven G. Simon & Howard Teichman

Late Company by Jordan Tannahill

Free Outgoing by Anapama Chandrasekhar

The Normal Heart by Larry Kramer

Transition by Ray Richmond

Love Allways by Renée Taylor and Joseph Bologna

An Evening of Scenes by various writers and directed by Sal Landi