Judy Richter

There’s nothing quite like young love, especially as depicted by William Shakespeare in “Romeo and Juliet.”

Focusing on that aspect of the play for California Shakespeare Theater, director Shana Cooper streamlines her production, starting with the title, condensing it to “Romeo & Juliet.”

She then reduces the cast to seven actors, all of whom, except for the two leads, play multiple characters. Some  characters are eliminated, and others are combined. Finally, she pares the text to mostly good effect, speeding the action while holding the audience rapt.

The familiar story takes place inVerona,Italy, where two families, the Capulets and the Montagues, have been feuding for generations. Street brawls are common.

Hence when young Romeo (Dan Clegg), a Montague, and not-quite-14 Juliet (Rebekah Brockman), a Capulet, fall in love at first sight, there’s not much hope for their romance. Nevertheless, they marry immediately, but because Romeo has killed one of Juliet’s relatives, he’s banished.

They have one night of bliss before Romeo must leave. When plans for them to reunite go awry, their next meeting leads to tragic death for both.

Both Clegg and Brockman embody the youthful impetuousness of their characters. Brockman is outstanding as her Juliet experiences a torrent of emotions.

Also representing the younger generation are Nick Gabriel as Tybalt and Paris, Joseph J. Parks as Mercutio and Arwen Anderson as Benvolio. Donning glasses, Anderson also appears as Lady Capulet, Juliet’s mother.

Representing the older generation are Dan Hiatt and Domenique Lozano. Hiatt plays the kindly Friar Laurence as well as Capulet servant Peter and Lord Capulet, Juliet’s father. Lozano plays Juliet’s caring nurse and Escalus, prince of Verona.

Although Romeo’s parents, Lord and Lady Montague, are relatively minor characters in Shakespeare’s play, they don’t appear in this version. Therefore, a short but crucial scene at the end is eliminated. In that scene, Lord Capulet and Lord Montague discover Romeo and Juliet’s bodies and finally reconcile. They see how much their enmity has cost them.

Design elements enhance the production, starting with Daniel Ostling’s spare set, which is open to the scenic vista behind the stage. Christine Crook’s modern costumes require only minor changes as the actors switch characters. The sound and mood-setting music are by Paul James Prendergast. Lap Chi Chu’s lighting is impressive. On opening night, for example, lights surrounding the stage and beaming upward during the tomb scene bounced off low clouds to create a brightly glowing circle overhead.

Dave Maier deserves credit for his ingenious, scary fight choreography.

For people seeing the play for the first time, this production is crisp, easy to follow, yet full of drama. Those who have seen the play many times will find much to enjoy and even discover because of director Cooper’s insights and creativity as well as a first-rate cast.

“Romeo & Juliet” will continue in Bruns Memorial Amphitheater, 100 California Shakespeare Theater Way (off Highway 24), Orinda, through July 28. For tickets and information, call (510) 548-9666 or visit www.calshakes.org.

Judy Richter

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An already shaky marriage is shaken even more when a third person enters the scene in Neil LaBute’s searing “This Is How It Goes,” presented by Aurora Theatre Company.

The marriage is between Belinda (Carrie Paff, whose character is called Woman in the program), a white woman, and Cody Phipps (Aldo Billingslea), a black man. The third person, called Man (we never learn his real name), is a white man played by Gabriel Marin.

The three of them were in high school together 15 years ago, but Man left their small Midwestern town after graduation, served in the Army, got married and became a lawyer. He returns after losing his job and wife. By chance, he runs into Belinda at a shopping mall and winds up renting an apartment over the Phipps’ garage.

Man also serves as the narrator. Introducing the play, he cautions that his descriptions aren’t necessarily reliable. He even has Cody and Belinda enacting two versions of a scene for which he wasn’t present.

That first meeting between Man and Belinda is understandably awkward, but there’s a spark of attraction that for him began in high school. When he asks Belinda about her marriage, her vagueness signals that all is not right.

The reason becomes apparent when Cody first appears. One of the few blacks in town, he’s a successful businessman who’s proud of his status. He also has a chip on his shoulder and becomes jealous and suspicious of Man.Soon racism becomes a major issue that brings out even more negative behavior and volatility.

This 2005, one-act play runs a swift 100 minutes, thanks to ATC artistic director Tom Ross and his outstanding cast. Along the way it takes numerous twists and turns, some predicated on something as seemingly mundane — in the larger scale of things — as a rare Jackie Robinson baseball trading card.

With his imposing stage presence as Cody, Billingslea embodies the character’s ability to intimidate others, keeping the audience on edge, too. Paff’s Belinda does her best to try to placate him and cater to Man as their guest, but Cody will have none of it. Marin’s Man comes across as garrulous and not always sure of himself, but he does a great job of propelling the story and action.

Kim A. Tolman’s set for the intimate space consists mainly of a back wall covered by sheets of writing, augmented by a few pieces of furniture such as a bench. Kurt Landisman’s lighting design differentiates between Man as narrator and Man as participant. Costumes by Laura Hazlett are notable for Belinda’s attractive outfits. The sound is by Chris Houston.

This is not a play for the faint of heart. It deals directly and sometimes profanely with thorny issues, but it’s also an intelligent, provocative examination of those issues.

“This Is How It Goes” will continue at Aurora Theatre, 2081 Addison St., Berkeley, through July 28. Tickets and information are available by calling (510) 843-4822 or visiting www.auroratheatre.org.

Judy Richter

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By Judy Richter

A husband who deeply loves his wife and who believes his marriage is secure finds his belief shaken by a much younger man who also professes to love his wife.

That’s the premise of “A Minister’s Wife,” a 2011 musical based on “Candida,” a relatively early play by George Bernard Shaw.

In this West Coast premiere presented by San Jose Repertory Theatre, the husband is the 30-something Rev. James Morell (Christopher Vettel), who has become renowned for his eloquent lectures about Christian socialism.

His wife is Candida (Sharon Rietkerk), who returns home with 18-year-old poet Eugene Marchbanks (Tim Homsley) after being gone for a while. Initially quite shy, the idealistic Eugenes oon declares his love for Candida and challenges the practical James to ask her to choose between them.

Like many other Shaw heroines, Candida can be regarded as an early feminist, a woman who has a strong sense of herself and easily asserts herself. She also has a deep understanding of James and their marriage.

Set in an English parsonage in 1894, the show includes two other characters, the Rev. Alexander “Lexy” Mill (Jarrod Zimmerman), a young curate who’s James’s assistant; and Miss Proserpine “Prossy” Garnett (Liz Baltes), James’s efficient secretary. This musical version of the play omits a sixth character, Candida’s father.

Conceived and directed by Michael Halberstam, the show has melodic music by Joshua Schmidt, sometimes repetitious lyrics by Jan Levy Tranen and a strong book by Austin Pendleton.

In general, it follows the play closely and incorporates some of Shaw’s dialogue, yet manages to consolidate everything into 95 minutes with no intermission.

The band also is consolidated with musical director Dolores Duran-Cefalu conducting a violin, cello and bass clarinet from the piano. The musicians sit upstage in Collette Pollard’s elaborate drawing room set (lit by David Lee Cuthbert). 

Everyone in the cast sings and acts well. However, Homsley’s foppishEugeneslumps, cowers or glares throughout most of the show, in sharp contrast to James’s forceful bearing. This difference alone could determine Candida’s decision.

Overall, though, it’s a pleasant, enjoyable production.

“A Minister’s Wife” continues at San Jose Repertory Theatre, 101 Paseo de San Antonio, San Jose, through July 14. For tickets and information, call (408) 367-7255 or visit www.sjrep.com.

Judy Richter

forallevents.com/reviews/

A husband who deeply loves his wife and who believes his marriage is secure finds his belief shaken by a much younger man who also professes to love his wife. That’s the premise of  “A Minister’s Wife,” a 2011 musical based on “Candida,” a relatively early play by George Bernard Shaw.

In this West Coast premiere presented by San Jose Repertory Theatre, the husband is the 30-something Rev. James Morell (Christopher Vettel), who has become renowned for his eloquent lectures about Christian socialism.

His wife is Candida (Sharon Rietkerk), who returns home with 18-year-old poet Eugene Marchbanks (Tim Homsley) after being gone for a while. Initially quite shy, the idealistic Eugenesoon declares his love for Candida and challenges the practical James to ask her to choose between them.

Like many other Shaw heroines, Candida can be regarded as an early feminist, a woman who has a strong sense of herself and easily asserts herself. She also has a deep understanding of James and their marriage.

Set in an English parsonage in 1894, the show includes two other characters, the Rev. Alexander “Lexy” Mill (Jarrod Zimmerman), a young curate who’s James’s assistant; and Miss Proserpine “Prossy” Garnett (Liz Baltes), James’s efficient secretary. This musical version of the play omits a sixth character, Candida’s father.

Conceived and directed by Michael Halberstam, the show has melodic music by Joshua Schmidt, sometimes repetitious lyrics by Jan Levy Tranen and a strong book by Austin Pendleton. In general, it follows the play closely and incorporates some of Shaw’s dialogue, yet manages to consolidate everything into 95 minutes with no intermission.

The band also is consolidated with musical director Dolores Duran-Cefalu conducting a violin, cello and bass clarinet from the piano. The musicians sit upstage in Collette Pollard’s elaborate drawing room set (lit by David Lee Cuthbert). Costumes are by Brandin Barón with sound by Steve Schoenbeck.

Everyone in the cast sings and acts well. However, Homsley’s foppish Eugenes lumps, cowers or glares throughout the show, in sharp contrast to James’s forceful bearing. This difference alone could determine Candida’s decision.

Overall, though, it’s a pleasant, enjoyable production.

“A Minister’s Wife” continues at San Jose Repertory Theatre, 101 Paseo de San Antonio, San Jose, through July 14. For tickets and information, call (408) 367-7255 or visit www.sjrep.com.

Judy Richter

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By Judy Richter

“We’re in for a bumpy ride,” the housekeeper says at the end of Act 1 of “Boeing Boeing,” Marc Camoletti’s hilarious, Tony-winning farce presented by Palo Alto Players. That’s an understatement.

It starts smoothly enough as Bernard (Michael Rhone), an American architect living in Paris, deftly juggles his engagements to three glamorous stewardesses, each working for a different airline.

The key to his success, he smugly says to the visiting Robert (Evan Michael Schumacher), is to make sure that no two or three of them are in town at the same time. It’s all in knowing the timetables, he tells his old school chum.

Then circumstances conspire against him. Between inclement weather and faster jets, schedules change. Soon Bernard, aided by his housekeeper, Berthe (Mary Moore), and Robert, is frantically trying to keep the stewardesses from discovering each other in his flat near the airport.

When Robert first arrives, he comes across as a Wisconsin rube, but as the play continues, he becomes the comic center of the action. He also finds himself attracted to the German woman, Gretchen (Robyn Winslow), and tries to fend off the attentions of Gloria (Damaris Divito), an American; and Gabriella (Nicole Martin), an Italian.

Schumacher’s expressive face and eyes carry much of the play’s comic momentum as Robert reacts to quickly changing circumstances and tries to help Bernard while trying not to succumb to his growing attraction to Gretchen.

Playing Berthe, Moore adds another dimension of comedy to the goings-on as she shifts from deadpan reactions to disbelief to resignation. Both she and Schumacher prove to be masterful comic actors.

Rhone’s Bernard is suave and self-assured until things start to unravel. Then he becomes ever more frantic as he tries to protect his deceptions.

 Divito, Martin and Winslow are all suitably attractive as the stewardesses, but Winslow’s Gretchen can be too strident.

Director Jeanie K. Smith deftly orchestrates all the madcap action with precise timing for every entrance and exit. She also keeps most of the hysteria under control, not an easy task in farce.

A farce would hardly be a farce without many doors. Patrick Klein meets this criterion with seven doors as part of the Mondrian-inspired decor of his set.

Shannon Maxham’s costumes, which feature sexy teddies for the stewardesses, are character-specific and suitable for the year, 1965. However, Robert wears his jacket and vest throughout the show, making him work up a sweat in this physically demanding role.

Running two and a half hours with one intermission, the show is lightweight but highly entertaining, just right for early summer.

“Boeing Boeing” continues at the Lucie Stern Theatre, 1305 Middlefield Road, Palo Alto, through June 30. For tickets and information, call (650) 329-0891 or visit www.paplayers.org.

Judy Richter

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By Judy Richter

How much more would George Gershwin have accomplished if he hadn’t died of a brain tumor in 1937 at the age of 38?

One asks that question after seeing playwright-performer Hershey Felder’s “George Gershwin Alone” at Berkeley Repertory Theatre’s intimate Thrust Stage.

In this engrossing one-man show, the multi-talented Felder sings, plays piano and spins the fascinating story of one  of America’s greatest, most original composers.

Felder goes into stories behind works like 1924’s “Rhapsody in Blue,” which was inspired in part by the rhythm of a train. He touches upon some aspects of composition such as the change from a minor to a major key in “Swanee,” his early hit song sung by Al Jolson.

He describes some milestones of Gershwin’s life such as his first musical job as a rehearsal pianist for the Ziegfeld Follies at the age of 19.

Dissecting songs like “I Loves You, Porgy” and “Summertime,” he spends quite a bit of time on “”Porgy and Bess,” 1935’s landmark full-length work that was such a departure from musical theater of the time yet not quite like opera. Though highly regarded today, it wasn’t well received by the major critics then.

Gershwin and his older brother, Ira, were close collaborators, with George writing the music and Ira writing the lyrics. Ironically, the last song that George wrote was “Love Is Here to Stay,” with Ira writing the lyrics after George’s death.

Directed by Joel Zwick, Felder presents all of this information in a highly entertaining fashion. He plays the Steinway grand piano well and sings in a pleasant baritone.

One highlight of this show comes when Felder reverently displays the original annotated score for “Porgy.” On a more dissonant note, he recites a diatribe against Jewish musicians, especially Gershwin, in a publication backed by Henry Ford.

Although the show itself runs about 90 minutes without intermission, it goes on for another half-hour as Felder chats with the audience, leads singalongs and, at opening night, invites a man in the audience to imitate Ethel Merman singing “I Got Rhythm.” Also at opening night he introduced Mike Strunsky ofS an Francisco, Ira’s nephew and the trustee and executor of Ira’s musical estate.

Felder, who also has created shows about Beethoven, Chopin and Bernstein, premiered “George Gershwin Alone” in 2000. He said that this run, a scant two weeks, might be its last. It’s not to be missed.

It runs through June 23 in Berkeley Repertory Theatre’s Thrust Stage, 2025 Addison St., Berkeley. For tickets and information, call (510) 647-2949 or go to www.berkeleyrep.org.

Judy Richter

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By Judy  Richter

Not everyone deals with grief in the same way. Take Gil, for example.

In Colman Domingo’s “Wild With Happy” Gil is a black, gay, 40-ish actor in New York who returns to his hometown of Philadelphi aafter his mother’s death.

Short of money and somewhat paralyzed by grief, he opts for cremation rather than a traditional funeral — much to his aunt’s distress. What happens eventually is a road trip to Disney World.

What happens in the meantime is laugh after laugh as Gil, played by the playwright, deals with his maternal Aunt Glo (Sharon Washington). He also has memories of phone calls from his mother,Adelaide (also played byWashington).

He’s attracted to Terry (Richard Prioleau), the funeral director, and gets moral support of sorts from his flamboyant young friend Mo (Duane Boutté) in this West Coast premiere by TheatreWorks.

As Mo and Gil head for Disney World with Adelaide’s ashes, Terry and Glo follow them. Disney World is where Adelaide was happiest during a visit with Gil. In the end, it’s where Gil and the others find some resolution.

Washington’s performance as Adelaid eand Aunt Glo goes a long way in making the play so hilarious. Some of  Terry’s and Mo’s actions can seem a bit outrageous, too. Often Gil reacts with incredulity, as if he can’t believe or doesn’t want to accept what he’s seeing or hearing, thereby ignoring the feelings of others, especially his mother and aunt.

Director Danny Scheie stresses the play’s comedic and campy aspects, sometimes at the cost of its more serious aspects. Hence, the play and Domingo’s reactions as Gil might come across as superficial in spots.

There’s no denying how funny it is, though, especially in the motor-mouth speeches byAdelaide and Aunt Glo. Adelaide seems adept at laying guilt trips, some well deserved, on Gil, while Aunt Glo spouts some choice malapropisms and mixed metaphors.

Despite the similarities between the sisters, Washington clearly delineates between them. However, Aunt Glo frequently takes what appear to be prescription pills, which aren’t explained except once when she mentions high blood pressure. Otherwise, she seems to pop pills like candy.

Erik Flatmo designed a set with a proscenium, red velvet curtains and footlights. Some scenes take place in front of the curtains, allowing for seamless set changes in this 95-minute, intermissionless work. The lighting and media are designed by David Lee Cuthbert with costumes by Brandin Barón and sound by Brendan Aanes.

“Wild With Happy” audiences are in for a wild ride on the way to a touching conclusion.

It continues at the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts, 500 Castro St., Mountain View, through June 30. For tickets and information, call (650) 463-1960 or visit www.theatreworks.org.

Judy Richter

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By Judy Richter

On the eve of his test for American citizenship, a legal Mexican immigrant has fantastical dreams in “American Night: The Ballad of Juan José” by Richard Montoya.

Juan, well played by Sean San José for California Shakespeare Theater, has been studying American history. He sees portions of it in a dream, starting in the early 19th century with the Lewis and Clark expedition and continuing to the present. Thus, he meets some little-known heroes as well as more familiar figures.

San José is the only actor in the cast of six men and three women who portrays one character. Everyone else fills multiple roles, giving costume designer Martin Schnellinger and the uncredited wig designer major challenges that they meet successfully.

One of Margo Hall’s memorable characters is Viola Pettus, a black nurse who cared for Spanish flu victims — be they Mexican, Ku Klux Klan or otherwise — in 1918 in West Texas. Dan Hiatt is the Klansman as well as labor leader Harry Bridges and a Mormon who assists Juan in his waking hours.

Dena Martinez is seen as Juan’s wife, whom he left in Mexico with their infant son, as well as Sacagewea, Lewis and Clark’s Indian guide. She displays her musical talents as Joan Baez at Woodstock.

Others in this versatile cast, directed by Jonathan Moscone, are Sharon Lockwood, Todd Nakagawa, Brian Rivera, Richard Ruiz and Tyee Tilghman.

“American Night” premiered at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in 2010 as a commission in its American history series.

There’s a segment about Japanese Americans in the Manzanar internment camp during World War II. Later, a young techie brags about being a Stanford grad, only to lose his job when it’s outsourced toIndia.

As a co-founder of Culture Clash, a 30-year-old Chicano troupe known for “politically sharp sketch comedy and ‘slapstick-erudite sociology,’ ” according to CST dramaturg Philippa Kelly, Montoya liberally laces the play with those qualities.

However, some segments are too long. They include Manzanar and negotiation of the treaty that ended the Mexican American War in 1848 and ceded California and other Western lands to the United States.

Erik Flatmo’s set serves the play well, but lighting designer Tyler Micoleau directs blinding spotlights into the audience several times. Likewise, Cliff Caruthers over amplifies sounds of gunfire.

Running an hour and 45 minutes without intermission, the play holds one’s attention because of its cast and its portrayal of prejudice against immigrants and minorities through the decades. All that — and the opening night of the season was unusually warm in this beautiful outdoor venue, which can be quite chilly.

“American Night” continues at CST’s Bruns Memorial Amphitheater, 100 California Shakespeare Theater Way, Orinda, through June 23. For tickets and information, including on-site dining and the BART shuttle, call (510) 548-9666 or visit www.calshakes.org.

Judy Richter

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By Judy Richter

Robert Lowell and Elizabeth Bishop were major 20th century American poets whose 30-year professional and personal friendship was chronicled by extensive correspondence between the two.

Playwright Sarah Ruhl skillfully encapsulates this friendship in her 2012 “Dear Elizabeth,” presented by Berkeley Repertory Theatre in its West Coast premiere.

The friendship started in 1947 and continued until Lowell’s death in 1977. During that time, the two lived quite different lives, but the respect and affection they had for each other surmounted all that.

Bishop, played by Mary Beth Fisher, lived with a succession of female lovers in Florida, Brazil and elsewhere for a number of years while struggling with alcoholism.

Lowell, played by Tom Nelis, spent most of his life in the Eastern United States, was married three times and was manic-depressive, resulting in several hospitalizations.

They shared many details of their lives in their letters, and they gave each other valuable feedback on their poems.

Although the idea of back-and-forth letters might sound dramatically dull, Ruhl and director Les Waters make “Dear Elizabeth” lively and engaging. The two actors personify their characters’ keen intelligence and wit as well as their emotional ups and downs. It’s an altogether captivating production.

The only misstep comes at the end of Act 1, when a torrent of water pours onto the stage. While an earlier downpour quickly drained, this one didn’t, leading to the distraction of the actors slogging through 2 or 3 inches of water before exiting.

Then the stage crew had to spend the 15-minute intermission mopping the stage and drying every inch of the floor, furniture and walls.

Otherwise, it’s a beautifully conceived and executed play, aided by Annie Smart’s set, Maria Hooper’s costumes, Russell Champa’s lighting and Bray Poor’s sound. Bray co-wrote the music with Jonathan Bell.

“Dear Elizabeth” continues in Berkeley Repertory Theatre’s Roda Theatre through July 7. For tickets and information, call (510) 647-2900 or visit www.berkeleyrep.org.

Judy Richter

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By Judy Richter

In “The Beauty Queen of Leenane,” a mother and daughter are caught in a web of dependence, distrust, manipulation and antipathy.

The Marin Theatre Company production catches most of those undertones in this 1996 drama by Irish playwright Martin McDonagh. It also undermines several other aspects of what should be a riveting play.

The action takes place during the mid-1990s in a rundown cottage in the Irish village of Leenane. The mother is 70-year-old Mag (Joy Carlin), who recites a litany of physical ailments both real and imagined.

Her spinster daughter is 40-year-old Maureen (Beth Wilmurt). Mag is controlling yet dependent on Maureen, who seems to have no other options in their economically distressed town.

Her fortunes appear to brighten when she and a neighbor, Pato Dooley (Rod Gnapp), connect romantically. He affectionately calls her the beauty queen of Leenane, but her dreams are dashed when Mag intervenes, leading to a tragic ending.

Carlin effectively portrays Mag’s wiliness, neediness and approaching dementia. For the most part, Wilmurt conveys Maureen’s emotional roller coaster as well as her underlying mental instability, but some of the character’s vulnerability is missing.

Gnapp does well as Pato, the play’s most decent, likable character. His monologue that opens Act 2 captures those qualities in a letter that he writes to Maureen fromEngland, where he has gone to work in construction.

The play’s weakest link is Joseph Salazar as Pato’s younger brother, Ray, a selfish, boorish lout who taunts Mag and Maureen. As directed by Mark Jackson, however, he talks so fast in his Irish accent that he’s often unintelligible.

That’s a problem because Ray plays an important, though unwitting role in the play’s outcome. Salazar also looks too clean-cut for the character.

The cottage set by Nina Ball dilutes some of the play’s power because its back wall is open, minimizing the claustrophobic atmosphere that’s so integral in the Mag-Maureen relationship.

Bay Area theatergoers who didn’t see Berkeley Repertory Theatre’s brilliant 1999 production or San Jose Stage Company’s excellent 2002 production might underestimate the power of McDonagh’s award-winning play mainly because of some of director Jackson’s choices. That’s unfortunate.

“The Beauty Queen of Leenane” continues through June 16 at Marin Theatre Company, 397 Miller Ave., MillValley. For tickets and information, call (415) 388-5208 or visit www.marintheatre.org.

Judy Richter

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