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Jun 26 2013
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“Labayen Dance/SF 18th Year: A jewel in the Bay Area dance scene”

By Guest Review

“Labayen Dance/SF 18th Year: A jewel in the Bay Area dance scene”


By Dr. Jacoby Racher, Ph.D

Labayen Dance/SF celebrated the company’s 18th anniversary at Dance Mission Theater March-15-17 with a plethora of different styles of dance from ballet to aerials to contemporary to dance theatre. Five young choreographers with the potential of greatness as Labayen mentors and guides them through the intimate art of choreography. Master Labayen’s is like aged wine compared with homemade beer the others presented. Choreographer Labayen’s work has layers of story lines while others have visual dancing.

Victor Talledos’ inebriated Desde lo mas Profundo del Corazon hasta el Limite de la Razon  from the moment it began told me a story and it was a rich well thought out emotional tangle! From the moment Ms. Leda Pennell was onstage I knew her entire story – she danced it out with such powerful music –  how incredible that piece affected me and Mr. Talledos  reminds me a great deal of a young Enrico Labayen!

Mr. Talledos as a dancer  is immense on stage – the other dancers need to consider themselves very greatly to have him as a fellow dancers as he is so generous giving them spotlight and I can see why as jealousy must exist when anyone sees what this man is capable of!  Amazing performer!  But you can see from him he is also amazingly generous man. His work is not fully aged as the Enrico!  Labayen’s work seems to have all the seeds and edges completed whereas you can see Labayen’s influence in his work as one notices that Talledos admires Labayen so greatly…but what a complex man he is and glad I only know of him peripherally on stage and the theater.

Viktor Kabanaiev Broken Strings danced fluently and beautifully by Hannah Hapin and the dynamic Eric De Bono, reminded me of the smelting process where they melt iron as it felt like a volcanic, strong, explosions

Laura Bernasconi’s Nourishment was like a mystery box as when a side opened to reveal the details it led to another mystery.  Ismael Acosta and the modern day Shiva of dance, Laura Bernasconi both incredible performers of course.

Malu Rivera-Peoples Organic performed to perfection by her young but serious Westlake School of Performing Arts Modern Dance Company. The choreography was true to form…sculptural groupings, generous unison work and the dramatic intensity was organic, dynamic movements grew out like grapevines from seed to blossoming.  The lighting for this work was so effectively as one struggles to see how an organism grows, underground, in the dark but seen and the breathtaking ending has Kira Fargas-Mabaquiao suspended to eternity in her last developee’ ala second. Tangerine Dream I knew the music added to the pace – Fabulous and I want more!! May I have more please?

Desolation – the dancers were great and the story Victor Talledos telling style was thrown off by the music – better music perhaps?  The choreography was great and was danced impeccably by the porcelain beauty of Ana Robles and her chivalrous partner Ismael Acosta.

French choreographer/dancer Sandrine Cassini’s Treize was clever in it’s choreographic inversion. Chopin’s Prelude #13 romantic music opened the duet between Cassini and Talledos responded with such intimacy and then radically changed both in it’s physicality and intent when the Radiohead music came on. A brilliant touch of seeing same choreography in another angle and looked entirely different. It is neither Kilyan-esque nor Forsythean but authentically Cassini.

Chrysalis with red dressed woman and her dog? Interesting art work and of course great choreography from Daiane Lopes da Silva? Jury out on totally understanding any of it though, dance-theater work can be random and absurd but clarity of intention is key and as abstract as the story line is, the title is deceiving. Michelle Kinny as the woman in red dress has her moments of hilariousness, the goggle ladies Keon Saghari, Courtney Russel, Karla Quintero performed the difficult movements with fluidity but it’s about the renaissance beauty of Ildiko Polony and the almost boneless and  exotically beautiful Yuko Hata were clearly a stand-out in Chrysalis.

Mr. Labayen’s Awit ng Pag-Ibig ( Love Songs) while it said it was for all the women abused and such was really about why women get into those affairs as well as an in depth introspective analysis of the abuser! The first part with the beating was just setting the stage for Labayen’s comments on those who beat as well as those beaten who then stay in such a relationship as to what that truly means.  Labayen have had personal experience here and it shows in the work.  The women: Jaidah Terry, Karen Meyers, Ms. Saghari and Ms. Hata painfully understood the symbolism of the work. Ms. Pennell and Talledos reminded me of Blanche Dubois and Marlon Brando characters in Streetcar Named Desire, both sexually and romantically involved but sure the violence was some sort of foreplay till you see Ms. Pennell touched her husband’s heart in the ending tableau, is it to make sure the perpetrator is dead or still hopeful?  Labayen’s final solo for Talledos in this piece was profoundly mournful, sorrowful and painful,  the use of the piano bench as home base/bar for Talledos became his tombstone with the cross imbedded on it.  An act of genius as only a master craftsman Labayen can think of.

Labayen’s Tears with the beautifully haunting score and cherubic vocals by Gabriel Goldberg was like a sonnet, as soon as I saw the cloth just hanging there I took it to be the door to beyond and at the end that seemed appropriate as well when all performers gazed to it as the lights came down. Once I saw Victor as the Angel of death pulling her silver white cord of life out of her belly I knew what the piece would be – and it didn’t disappoint when the Virgin Mary ( appropriately characterized by Ana Robles) in shimmering blue appeared.  She floated as did Victor’s angel. Ms. Cassini in the leading role went through a whole gamut on emotions, from serene, to struggle to the final surrender and ascension.

This is the only dance that I have seen in a long time that the use of aerial dancing on a tissue (expertly and pliantly executed by Ms. Hata) made sense. It gave the work a heigtened sense of drama and metaphor specially in last scene where Ms. Hata ended in a cross, Jesus like…flying and omnipresent.

 Now I see how Labayen processed his tears and his sister’s life as well as passing. It was immense! Thank you for letting us view you so emotionally exposed, vulnerable and naked. It was my favorite piece for the evening even though each of your other pieces were so beautiful to watch – ballet inspired for sure!

True to Labayen’s radical and imaginative nature, Rites of Spring was brilliant it it’s reading of the music, composed by Stravinsky in 1913, it is as modern and contemporary even now.  Rites of Spring was envisioned by Labayen as a baseball game. You can feel the diamond field, but it was an all female SF Giants team danced sur le pointe by three of Labayen’s strongest dancers, Sandrine Cassini, Leda Pennell and Jaidah Terry’s pointe work was seamless but the more experienced Cassini was flawless. Victor Talledos as the young man clamoring to get his baseball bat from the ladies danced with phenomenal abandon. He has grown so much with Labayen Dance/SF in two years and I expect to see him internationally and in the cover of major dance publications, soon!

The use of silhouette backdrop in Harry Rubeck’s inventive lighting was so effective as the top rows couldn’t see the male baseball player just the image on the backdrop. A perfect imagery to start the work.  It took me time to find where the image came from. I know with Rites of Spring I need to see it again and again to get it all – it was very mystical while the bat was wonderful symbolism and I must mention nice touch to put green on the red chairs. the color did not go unappreciated.

The words genius, radical, inventive, imaginative, refreshing and alive almost and most of the time used in describing Master Labayen’s choreography and ideas…it’s all true. No hype here, just saying and describing his work the way it is.

Now, I am wondering what Labayen Dance/SF, a jewel in the Bay Area dance scene and  Enrico Labayen can come up with to surprise us in the Fall Season 2013. Trek on down to ODC Theater in September for more of this company’s magic.

Dr. Jacoby Racher, Ph.D in Greek & Hellenic Studies and Performance Art at Yale University.

He is an independent writer/contributor /critic for art & politics publications in EU and North America

Dec 04 2012
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Rhinoceros’ Slugs and Kicks Goes Behind the Scenes of College Drama

By Guest Review

Rhinoceros’ Slugs and Kicks Goes Behind the Scenes of College Drama

John Fisher’s comedy about college drama students rehearsing a play mixes personal intrigues with play rehearsals. Student actor Rory intermittingly narrates his role in a current college play along with his reactions to his house mate Anis, stage director Jerry, and other characters. Fisher’s youthful cast offers an irresistible freshness and spirited character interpretations that entice spectators into becoming accomplices to their decisions and actions…We empathize with a naïve Rory (Ben Calabrese), fearful of unlashing his emotions and sensual desires and unable to choose either a male or a female partner but rather subtly submitting to a kind and considerate Marty who understands and cares for him. We feel for Anis (Alexandra Izdebski) in her plaintive attempts to attract Rory, and even sympathize with stage director Jerry ( Zachary Isen) and his tough demands on his actors, with Marty (Robert Kittler) and his sophisticated indifference, and with Cynthia,(Asali Echols) and her flirtatious sensuality. The slugs and kicks that these characters provide for one another make for a delightful potpourri of youthful traits that quickly win over the audience.

Fisher’s Slugs and Kicks vividly evokes souvenirs of one’s college days in school plays.intermixed with personal drama as we,too, once sought to find ourselves through artistic expression..

Scenic Design (John Fisher and Anthony Powers) is minimal. An empty well lit stage, except for a stone like piece that resembles a long bench down stage works well for group movement and change of locale. Excellent stage movement and bodily expression enhances the verbal expression throughout.

Slugs and Kicks plays until December 9th. For information for this play and for the Rhino New Year’s Eve Spectacular starring Lea

DeLaria and Tennessee William’s Something, Cloudy Something Clear in January call 800-838-3006 or visit www.The Rhino.org.

 

Oct 11 2012
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A Poignant MTC Topdog/Underdog

By Guest Review

A Poignant MTC TopDog/Underdog

Pulitzer Awardee Suzan-Lori Parks portrays the compelling and touching relationship between African American brothers Lincoln and Booth manifestiing their brotherly love and fraternal resentment as they live miserably in room without water and a toilet. The audience feels compassion for these brothers who have only themselves to find their way through the poverty they face as well as share their sense of humor throughout. Abandoned first by their mother and later by their father at an early age, younger brother Booth (Biko Eisen-Martin), a clever, swift moving thief, looks after older brother Lincoln (Bowman Wright), a tricky three card monte hustler who is divorced and without means to rent a place. Booth looks up to Lincoln, an addicted card hustler fighting to lose his addiction by wearing Lincoln’s top hat and cape to enact the main events in Abraham Lincoln’ life at a store front. His struggle to obliterate his addiction by playing a moral Lincoln helps him feel good but intensifies his conflict with going back to hustling the card tricks.. Booth’s relationship with girlfriend Grace menaces to have Lincoln find a place of his own. There are less tense moments when the brothers look back at the happier times in their early family life. But these moments are soon buried by the realization that first their mother and then their father left them to their own destiny. “Then it was you and me against the world,” says one brother to the other.
Can they survive if they give up making illicit money or robbing? And when Booth succeeds in getting Lincoln to show him the card moves Lincoln’s requires they play for big money. This leads to one brother losing his only savings given to him by one of his parents that will bring the action to a stirring melodramatic climax.

Expertly directed by Timothy Williams, the actors’ use of physical movement is well utilized in this piece consisting for the most part in a dialogue between two actors.

Stage sets by Mikiko Useugi and costumes by Callie Floor display the poverty surrounding the brothers and play an essential role in the dramatic action

Along with the realistic and gripping portrayal by Wright and Eisen-Martin of two poor jobless brothers presented in colorful street slang with lyrical rap during the card playing scenes., the piece is a heart wrenching presentation of fraternal warfare and love as well as a revealing testimony of the hardships of the African American struggle for economic and social survival.

TopDog/UnderDog plays until October 28st. For info call 415-388-5208 or visit www.marintheatre.org

Oct 09 2012
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A Forceful “Strange Case of Citizen de la Cruz” at Bindlestiff Studio

By Guest Review

A Forceful Strange Case of Citizen de la Cruz at Bindlestiff Studio

The world premiere of poet, essayist, and literature and language professor at Hunter College and New York University Luis H. Francia’s first full length play depicts the demise of Bayani de la Cruz, a Philippine patriot during the Marshall Law under the Marcus Regime. Francia describes the events of this period with authenticity and a talent to bring to the stage the horrors of the human abuse that took place.in his country. Strengthening this portrayal of the dehumanization of the country’s inhabitants is the description of the loss of virility on the part of those subjected to this severe regime.

Quack Doctor Mang Kiko (colorfully created as an eccentric character role by Percival Arcibal) is kept busy selling a potion to cure impotent husbands. One spectator queried as to whether Mang Kiko’s potion symbolized the revolution as a cure against the regime. And psychiatrist Dr. Santiago is receiving requests from wives (emotionally well portrayed by Christine Jugueta as Nena de la Cruz) to help their husbands uplift their morale or regain their potency. Meanwhile militant Captain Rivera (performed with the use of violent physical tactics by Tasi Alabastro) is willing to save the doctor from the regime’s condemnation of his revolutionary views if he can cure the Captain’s own impotency.

We also witness several scenes of violent and brutal physical and mental torture. The overly patriotic De la Cruz (believably played by Ryan Morales),who once kept numerous flags of his country in his bedroom, is caught stealing passports in his work place and viciously tortured by Captain Rivera and his staff before our eyes. There are also some excellent combat fight scenes.

Directed by Jeffrey Lo with an able cast handling the high points, the production grasps the audience’s attention in an intimate stage space with well chosen musical selections accompanying the action.

This play depicts the extremist forces under the Marcus regime that served as a tool to strengthen the ruling class and demoralized the country’s citizens. The author also subtly warns of the dangers of extreme patriotism that forces citizens into blind submission.

The Strange Case of Citizen de la Cruz reveals a candid and forcefully dramatized account of the events that the citizens underwent in the Philippines during the Marshall Law.

Bindlestiff Studio is the epicenter for Pilipino and Filipino performing arts that provides Filipino Americans access to diverse artistic activities and engages artists of different arts and disciplines to evolve community theatre that offers creative new works and talent.

The Strange Case of Citizen de la Cruz plays until Oct. 13th. For information call 415-255.0440 or 800.838.3006 or visit www.bindlestiffstudio.org..
Annette Lust

Sep 29 2012
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A Timely Classical Hamlet at Cal ShakesTheatre

By Guest Review

A Timely Classical Hamlet at California Shakespeare Theatre
California Shakespeare’s final play this season offers a spirited and meaningful Hamlet that takes hold of spectators from beginning to the tragic end of what probably is Shakespeare’s most emotionally charged and morally challenging work.

Cal Shakes’ Hamlet depicts a rich number of emotional states such as betrayal, treachery, deception, tyranny, political ambition, injustice, dementia, sexual desire and motherly and parental love. All of these emotional states are over ridden by Hamlet’s drive for revenge for his father’s unjust death. This version (directed by Liesl Tommy) centering upon a son’s avenging a father unjustly killed progresses briskly and elegantly through five acts as though happening in the twenty first century.

In Act One, after we learn of the death of King Hamlet, the ghost of Hamlet’s father appears to Hamlet to inform him he was poisoned by his brother Claudius (performed with authority by Adrian Roberts) in order to replace him as king and marry his widow Gertrude (interpreted by Julie Eccles with maternal grace and dignity).

In Act Two, Hamlet hesitates to kill his uncle and then thinks of a plan to confirm his uncle’s guilt by requesting actors to play a scene of the poisoning of a king before him. The actors’ scene, played as a farce, is somewhat overextended.

In Act Three, a guilty Claudius sends Hamlet to England with a plan to have him killed that fails. Hamlet meets with his mother and in one of the plays’ most stirring scenes rebukes her for marrying so rapidly after his father’s death. At one point when he hears Polonius (Dan Hiatt) hiding behind a tapestry, thinking it is his uncle eavesdropping, Hamlet stabs Ophelia’s father.

In Act Four, Ophelia goes mad after the loss of her father and Hamlet in a powerfully dramatic scene a bit overplayed by Zainab Jah.
Act Five contains philosophically deep reflections on mortality as a gravedigger (Dan Hiatt in a strong character role creation) digging Ophelia’s grave speaks about death as he pulls out skeleton heads from the earth. At the end of this act Hamlet duels with Ophelia’s brother Laertes (performed by Nicholas Pelczar ) for having argued with Hamlet about his sister’s death being a suicide.
In the play’s tragic end the duel is accomplished with a poisoned sword that Laertes prepared to kill Hamlet and wine containing poison meant for Hamlet that Hamlet’s mother accidentally drinks. Hamlet’s dying words are to Horatio (Nick Gabriel) requesting he tell Hamlet’s story.

California Shakespeare’s Hamlet is as philosophically and morally rich as it is dramatically and lyrically moving. It offers a blend of classicism, through the use of Shakespeare’s text, combined with semi stylized 20th century movement, and a performance in modern dress and on unadorned sets (Clint Ramos) that harmoniously bring human relationships and the dramatic action into our present century.
California Shakespeare Theater’s Hamlet plays until October 21. For information call 510.548.9666 or visit www.calshakes.org
Annette Lust

Sep 26 2012
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Hot on the Trail of a Tropical Treat

By Guest Review

Hot on the Trail of a Tropical Treat

By Judith M. Wilson

It was hot, just two days before the first day of summer in the southern hemisphere, and although it was mid-December and well into the countdown to Christmas, chocolate was the last thing on our minds. The tropical temperatures would have made it a gooey mess in our bags, and água-de-coco – coconut water — was far more refreshing in the heat. Besides, Brazil is more famous for bikinis, the slinky rhythm of samba-swaying hips, strong coffee and exotic animals than it is for chocolate, so it really wasn’t a consideration — until the very end of the trip, when we discovered Kopenhagen, a distinctly Brazilian confeitaria despite its European name.
The wait in São Paulo-Guarulhos International Airport was a long one. My travelling companion Armelle and I had killed a fair amount of time indulging in one last snack of Brazilian pastel and fresh juice before our departure and admiring each larger-than-life Papai Noel (Santa Claus) mannequin we encountered. Now, we were down to the stores. We spotted Kopenhagen with its distinctive red storefront and gold lettering and decided that stocking up on some chocolate for the holidays was a good plan.
With unfamiliar choices galore in a crowded shop, it was difficult to choose, but I finally settled on some bars of dark chocolate that were sturdy and would be easy to tuck into the tiny space left in my carry-on. Armelle was a little more daring and declared that we needed a treat. And so she picked a large confection, sight unseen but carefully wrapped in paper, and her selection was probably because she’s French, and the presentation appealed to her Gallic sensibilities. I took note of the name, Nhá Benta Maracujá — maracujá is Portuguese for passion fruit and always gets my attention. It was our last purchase before checking in for our flight to the United States.
By the time we were airborne, it was after 10 p.m., and we were hungry, so somewhere over the interior of Brazil we decided to break out the chocolate. “You do it,” said Armelle, instructing me to split it into two. I carefully unwrapped what turned out to be a conical confection and did the honors, then, after handing over half, I shamelessly started to lick my sticky fingers so as not to lose a single bit.
Now, while it might place below fine chocolate on my index of taste favorites, passion fruit is right up there near the top, so pairing the two flavors struck me as brilliant, a taste sensation to be sure. The chocolate shell was silky milk chocolate, not the dark variety that we usually opt for, and inside, on top of a thin wafer, was a fluffy marshmallow filling delicately flavored with passion fruit. Wow! It had the taste buds tingling. This was one marvelous creation. We both gasped in dismay. We’d bought just one solitary chocolate to share. All we wanted to do was turn around and go back to get more.
Shorty after arriving home, I headed to the computer to find Kopenhagen’s website. After all, we can order just about anything online, right? The word “disponível” appeared next to Nhá Benta Maracujá. Unavailable. My heart sank.
I did eventually find a recipe for something similar on the Internet, but it required passion fruit-flavored gelatin, which seemed to be a mysterious and unattainable item in North America. Experimentation with frozen passion fruit pulp and concentrated juice yielded recipes for a wonderful passion fruit chiffon cake, cookies and delicious ice cream, all of which lend themselves well to pairing with chocolate of any kind, but nothing close to the elusive Nhá Benta Maracujá.
It was more than three years before I returned to Brazil, and the memory lingered. The first thing I did after checking into my hotel in Rio de Janeiro was to seek the location of the nearest Kopenhagen. With a wave of her hand toward the side door, the desk clerk said that the closest shop was down the street, just a couple of blocks from the beach in Copacabana. In fact, Kopenhagen, which Latvian immigrants Anna and David Kopenhagen founded in 1928, has been keeping sweet-toothed Brazilians happy with quality chocolate products for three generations and has 283 shops in 60 cities, so it’s fairly easy to find one.
On my first visit to the store, I learned that Nhá Benta, Kopenhagen’s signature chocolate, comes in several flavors, and although my personal favorite is maracujá, friends on this trip swore by coconut. Tradicional (vanilla), moranga (strawberry), chocolate and canela (cinnamon) are other options. This time, with lots of space in my bag, I returned home with a variety of chocolates for everyone and treated myself to one individual chocolate as well — passion fruit, of course — savoring it with gratitude for Mother Nature’s wisdom in giving us fabulous flavors and the skill of chocolate aficionados in using them creatively.
Finally, for good measure, I visited the local supermarket, Pão de Açucar, to stock up on passion fruit-flavored gelatin. I’ve decided not to try to replicate Nhá Benta though, suspecting that trying to match something that’s already perfect is doomed to disappointment. Instead, a vision of handmade passion fruit marshmallows dipped in rich, dark chocolate has taken shape in my mind, and I might just try making such a confection now that I have the requisite ingredients in my own kitchen. As for the treasured Nhá Benta, I’ll reserve it for another trip to Brazil.

Sep 18 2012
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Albee’s Challengiing Absurdist “Play About the Baby” at Custom Made Theatre

By Guest Review

Albee’s absurdist “Play About the Baby ” premiered on the West Coast at San Francisco’s Custom Made Theatre to bring a stark caricature of young marriage, the birth and loss of a baby, and an older couple’s lessons. The  action includes vaudeville and commedia style acting in a farce like approach that heightens the cruel caricatured tone and sharpens the irony of the message that life brings loss and wounds that nonetheless show us that we are alive and who we are.

Masterfully directed by veteran director Brian Katz, the role of the Woman is performed with gracious charm and command by Linda Ayres Frederick and with vivacity and wit by Richard Aiello. Anya Kazimierski and Shane Rhodes bring youthful freshness and innocence to their roles of Girl and Boy.

Kudos to Custom Made’s efforts and perserverance to produce thought provoking absurdist theatre inciting query.

“The Play About the Baby”  plays until Oct. 7th followed by Tracy Letts’ “Superior Donuts”. For info call 415-798-2682 or visit www.CustomMade.org.

Annette Lust

 

 

Sep 12 2012
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S,F,Fringe Cheesecake and Demerol

By Guest Review

S.F. Fringe’s Cheesecake and Demerol. A Female’s Journey to Freedom

At the S.F. Fringe’s 21styear, hosted in San Francisco’s downtown Exit Theatre, among the over forty independent new creations was nurse Gene Gore’s story of her life time journey to female freedom. Her storytelling piece is a well constructed work that reveals Gore’s’s life from childhood during the Depression to nursing school and career, marriage, children, divorce, caring for aids patients, and female emancipation all of which is seasoned along the way with pathos and humor. Gene Gore’s testimony of a life of female growth toward liberation is a rare experience narrated with heartfelt simplicity and intimacy as though our storyteller is openly confiding in each one of us.

Cheesecake and Demerol plays through Sept 16 at the Exit Left ,156 Eddy St. For info visit www. 2012 San Francisco Fringe Festival

Sep 09 2012
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Indulge for a Cause! a benefit for Project Open Hand

By Guest Review

This years Ghirardelli’s Chocalate Festival, held annually for 17 years, is the biggest yet. Tomorrow, Sunday, Sept 9 is the final day – so go! You can Indulge for a Cause. At today’s event Bay Area chocolate lovers sampled delicacies ranging from chocolate vodka, cupcakes and ice cream. Entry includes lots of fun events, the best of which – for me – was watching the ice cream sundae eating contest with NO HANDS allowed. Chocolate sauce and ice cream erupted as faces were buried in the treat – audience quickly developed favorites – cheered them on. The competition was fierce! But everyone had a great time.

Many events going on at the same time – sampling – live entertainment – belly dancers – a chef’s demo – the bake off – live auction – a hunt – test ride the new Cadillac – what to do? It will be enjoyable…so almost doesn’t matter where you start. The people and views added to the excitement and the pleasure of the day. The Ghirardelli Chocolate company is celebrating its 160 years of creating irrisistable premium chocolate with this festival benefitting Project Open Hand. Since 1985 POH has provided “meals with love” to people living with serious illnesses and to seniors in San Francisco and Alemada Counties.

Tomorrow you can lend a hand and indulge for a cause. Go early, don’t miss a minute of the fun.

Sep 03 2012
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Whither the Willows: Why Did This Theatre Die?

By Joe Cillo

By now, most people in the Bay Area theatre community are aware that The Willows Theatre Company, after a run of 35 years, is out of business.  The Willows Board filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy on August 16.

Cast members of The Willows latest (and last) production, Ibsen’s A Doll’s House, were notified on August 13 that the final week of the show, August 15-18, had been cancelled.  Cast members reported receiving a phone call giving them thirty minutes to remove their belongings from the theatre in Concord.

I am, that is, I was the publicist for The Willows, on and off, from 2004 until the sudden closing two weeks ago.  The first I heard of the shut-down was when I read Lisa White’s Contra Costa Times online article, “It’s Curtains for the Willows Theatre,” on Monday afternoon, August 13.  Thank God for Google Alerts.

Many people knew that The Willows was on shaky financial ground, but what theatre isn’t?  The Willows had been through serious money problems before, closing its 210-seat Concord mainstage in 2009 and moving everything to its second space, the 150-seat Campbell Theatre in Martinez.  A new artistic/managing director team took over in 2010 and reopened the Concord stage in 2011.  The shows, as they say, went on – in both venues.

And then the lights went out.

How could this have happened?  Potential culprits abound: declining and ageing audiences, hard economic times, misjudging audience preferences, cannibalizing the same base of supporters with two theatres, fiscal mismanagement and overspending, corporate funding drying up, lukewarm community support, a board beset by too many problems coming at them too fast, perhaps even a publicist who couldn’t build a case for 9 to 5, the musical version of a 1980s Dolly Parton film – you can choose any or all of them all of them.

It’s probably too early for the autopsy, but in my view, at least right now, the demise of The Willows was caused by a series of Big Ideas that proved to be unsustainable.

“A Brief History of the Willows Theatre,” which appeared in each printed program for many years, recounts that “in the spring of 1977, Theatre Concord, a program of the City of Concord, began producing plays and musicals in the new Willows Theatre.  Nine years later, Theatre Concord became CitiArts Theatre, the first company in Contra Costa County to operate under a seasonal contract with Actors Equity Association.  In 1994 CitiArts Theatre became an operation of The Benefactors, a non-profit corporation organized in 1974 to support quality live theatre in Concord, and the company is now known as The Willows Theatre Company.”  In later years, The Willows estimated that it served over 70,000 patrons annually.

The Willows was dedicated to developing and producing “contemporary American plays and musicals,” although it extended its reach to include works originating in the U.K., as well.  It was, therefore, a real stretch for them to stage Ibsen’s A Doll’s House, the only non-US/UK show in their history.

As for Shakespeare, records indicate a production of The Taming of the Shrew in 1987. Former artistic director Richard Elliott once told me, “there are enough companies in the Bay Area doing Shakespeare.  We leave the Bard to them.”

The Willows’ stated mission was to “strive to perpetuate the art form of live theatre by creating relationships with playwrights, designers, actors, students and other theatre artists whose work will impact current and future audiences.”

The next part of the mission hints at why the Willows’ demise hurts the theatre community: “We provide a valuable opportunity for first employment for many developing theatre artists.”  In addition, since the Willows was an Equity house, many actors over the years were able to work their way toward their Equity card by performing there.

My wife and I became Willows subscribers in 1994, not long after moving to Clayton.  The Willows was, in essence, our local theatre, and we found the shows well cast, well directed, and quite simply, fun.  For my money, four or five of the best pieces of theatre I’ve ever seen were at The Willows, thanks to excellent casts and direction by Andy Holtz (Cabaret), Richard Elliott (On Golden Pond), Jon Marshall (Avenue Q), and Eric Inman (Chicago).

In our early subscriber days, my wife and I volunteered at the theatre. I read through stacks of unsolicited manuscripts, looking for the next blockbuster in the rough.  Kathy organized the mailing lists, using floppy disks that Rich or Andy would drop off at the house.  That was the state of technology then: no email, no Zip files, and disks that were truly “floppy.”

In 2004, after I’d started Rising Moon, Andy Holtz, the managing director, and Rich Elliott, the artistic director, contracted with me to do publicity for the revival of the theatre’s outdoor musical, John Muir’s Mountain Days, at the amphitheater in Martinez.  I was asked to stay on to publicize the next show, the musical version of The Night of the Hunter.  Both were stretches for a small East Bay theater – Mountain Days was a huge undertaking, with more than 50 in the cast, along with a team of horses. Hunter was based on the very creepy film that starred Robert Mitchum as an itinerant preacher who menaced two children and killed their mother. It’s the movie where Mitchum has the words “Love” and “Hate” tattooed on his fingers – hardly a show for the Hello, Dolly! Crowd, but it showed The Willows wasn’t afraid to take chances on a show that its Los Angeles producer was planning to take to New York.

In 2008, I was again contracted to do publicity for The Willows.  By this time, Andy Holtz had left for the Arizona Theatre Company in Tucson, and I worked with Rich Elliott and general manager Chris Marshall, the lady who wore a dozen hats and held the place together.  I was there from Brighton Beach Memoirs and Pageant, to the closing of the Concord theater in 2009, the restructuring under David Faustina and Eric Inman, the reopening of the mainstage in 2010…to what would be the last shows, Vaudeville at the Campbell and A Doll’s House at the original Willows Theatre.

So, The Willows is gone, joining the now defunct American Musical Theatre of San Jose, which died in 2008.  SF Chronicle critic Robert Hurwitt points out that, “a few years earlier AMTSJ had more subscribers than either A.C.T. or Berkeley Rep.” More recently, we’ve seen the departure of the Hapgood in Antioch, Arclight in San Jose, and Woman’s Will in Berkeley.

For many theatre companies, survival is day-to-day, show-to-show.  As one artistic director I know told me, “you’re only one flop away from closing the doors.”

Why did The Willows close?  Earlier, I listed a series of “culprits” that might have led to its going under, and to varying degrees, they are all probably to blame.  But I see the major problem as more than just running out of money.  That’s a symptom, not the cause.  In my opinion, The Willows went under because it was too ambitious, perhaps even too creative, and certainly too willing to follow a Big Idea.

The first Big Idea was getting a theater space of its own.  The Willows had for years been leasing its space in Concord’s Willows Shopping Center and grew tired of paying rent, along with all the associated issues renters face.  (Side note:  one positive for a theatre in a suburban shopping center – it solves the parking problem.)  As early as 2006, they were negotiating to move to the YMCA building in Danville.  While that idea remained on the back burner, Willows management looked north to Martinez and made plans to convert the old train station into a theatre, a plan that at the time found favor with the city of Martinez.  The Willows got as far as hiring an architect, developing blueprints and renderings, and starting a fundraising drive.  Why Martinez?  Rich Elliott and Andy Holtz lived there, liked the town, and thought it –and the train station – would be the ideal place for a theatre.

After the train station idea stalled, the Big Idea focused on another location – an unused auto parts warehouse on Ward Street. Thus, the Campbell Theatre came to be, thanks to a raft of donors led by the very generous Campbell family.

Every successful theatre has (or should have) a guaranteed moneymaker, a “Christmas Carol,” a “Nutcracker,” a “Sound of Music.”  Or an “Annie,“  the show that guarantees that every parent, grandparent, aunt, and uncle of the kids in the cast will buy tickets – and twice that number if you double-cast.

For The Willows, it was the Nunsense series, seven slapstick musicals by Dan Goggins (Nunsense, Nunsense Jamboree, Mushuga-Nuns, etc.) featuring five loony nuns. Ending the season with a Nunsense show pretty much paid for the rest of the year.  Nunsense became part of the Big Idea – the original proposal for the Campbell Theatre was for it to showcase nothing but Nunsense, year ‘round.  It would make money.

The all-Nunsense idea was soon abandoned, but the cabaret concept at the Campbell remained.  Was Martinez the right town for it?  Would Willows’ subscribers attend both theatres?  Or would the finite audience pie be divided in two?  Would a cabaret concept have to be marketed differently than a standard theatre?

As the theatre’s fortunes spiraled downward in 2009, the board and management decided the only way to save the company was to close one of the theatres – they chose to shutter the mainstage and move everything to the Campbell.

This turned out not to be a solution.  By 2010, a new management team was in place, led by managing director David Faustina and artistic director Eric Inman.  They saw that the only hope for sustaining the company was to return to Concord and reopen the theatre there, where the bulk of their patrons were.  Which they did, thanks to a fundraising campaign and a lot of volunteer hours, along with a big boost from the local IBEW, who donated the rewiring of the entire mainstage venue.

But for many reasons associated with the city of Martinez, the company wasn’t able to leave the Campbell behind; it had to sustain both theatres.  The Campbell was starting to find its audience, but it was too late.  What began as a Big Idea ended as Too Big a Task.

Another Big Idea was the amphitheater in Martinez, which was planned to be home to a whole series of outdoor historical musical dramas.  John Muir’s Mountain Days was only the first, and at first it was extremely successful.  It attracted a large audience when first staged at the amphitheater in 2005, but it was very expensive to produce.

Nevertheless, plans took shape under Andy and Rich for a series of seven musicals that would play in repertory at the amphitheater.  The next was Sacajawea, the tale of the Lewis and Clark expedition centering on the Native American woman who was their guide.  The book and lyrics for Sacajawea were by New York playwright  Mary Bracken Phillips, with music by San Jose native Craig Bohmler, the same team who had done Mountain Days.  Sacajawea was staged in 2008, but at the Alhambra Arts Center in Martinez, because the amphitheater was in disrepair.

The next in the amphitheater series was to be about the “Big Four,” the industrial barons (Leland Stanford, Collis P. Huntington, Charles Crocker, and Mark Hopkins) who brought the railroads to California.  However, the script for it and the other four shows in the series was never commissioned.  The amphitheater remained, however, as a continuing burden.  The upkeep was too much for the Willows, and the city of Martinez shied away from pumping municipal funds into the venue.  Another Big Idea foundered.  In retrospect, the historical drama project would have needed a Disney Corporation to make it work.

A third Big Idea is banking on a show to be a hit, or even artistic triumph that will lift the company to new heights and at least break even…and then seeing the show fail.  The Willows suffered its share of “one flop away from closing” events. The Kentucky Cycle, a two-part, six-hour production asked the audience to come to the theatre twice to see the story work out.  It was a wonderful piece, but it asked too much of its audience.  On another level, there was the afore-mentioned 9 to 5: the Musical – Dolly Parton brought no cachet.  Neither did two other musicals based on movies, The Night of the Hunter and The Wedding Singer.

Ironically, two weeks before The Willows closed, it was named one of the “Best Theatre Companies in the East Bay” by critic Charles Kruger in the Examiner.com and the CBS-5 web site. Kruger placed it in the company with Berkeley Rep, Shotgun Players, Aurora Theatre, and Central Works. Indeed, The Willows has, over the years, won more than its share of Drama-logue, Shellie, and Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle awards.

Kruger praised the theatre for “specializing in the great American tradition of the Broadway musical…delivering the old razzle dazzle with grace and style, presenting both classics and new musicals…constantly trying to take theatre to the next level.”

But it’s difficult, if not impossible, to rise to a new level when you’re tied to three very disparate venues – a proscenium house, a cabaret, and an outdoor amphitheater – at a time when the political and economic cards are stacked against you.

It will be interesting to see what rises from the ashes of The Willows…which shards will be reassembled, and by whom.

Like Ishmael in Moby Dick, I am only here to tell the tale from my perspective.  Others with deeper experience on the voyage of the good ship Willows are welcome to add their comments, corrections, and insights. – GC

Contact: Gary Carr, (925) 672-8717, carrpool@pacbell.net.  Learn more about Rising Moon Marketing & Public Relations at www.risingmoonarts.com.