Judy Richter

Fast-food containers, soda cans and other trash litter the filthy apartment where a nearly 600-pound man spreads over a beat up old couch supported by cinder blocks in the Marin Theatre Company production of Samuel D. Hunter’s “The Whale.”

The man, Charlie (Nicholas Pelczar), makes his living as an online tutor of expository writing for college freshmen. His only friend, and the only person he ever sees in person, is Liz (Liz Sklar).

Even though Liz is a nurse who looks after him and apparently knows better, she brings him his food, such as an entire tub of Kentucky Fried Chicken or two huge hamburgers. She has a love-hate relationship with him. Maybe she indirectly blames him for her brother’s death.

Charlie and her brother, Alan, a Mormon, had been lovers until Alan went to a service at the Mormon church in their small northern Idaho town, came home and stopped eating, thus starving himself to death. That’s when Charlie began to allow his weight to balloon.

Much to her dismay, Liz arrives one day to find Charlie listening to Elder Thomas (Adam Magill), an earnest 19-year-old Mormon missionary who had knocked on his door.

Because of his morbid obesity, Charlie’s health is rapidly declining. He suffers from extremely high blood pressure as well as congestive heart failure. When he realizes that he’s about to die, he reconnects with his 17-year-old daughter, Ellie (Cristina Oeschger), whom he hasn’t seen in 15 years. Ellie is a nasty, hate-filled girl who’s mean to everyone. Charlie bribes her to spend time with him and write for him.

The play’s fifth character is Mary (Michelle Maxson), Charlie’s former wife and Ellie’s mother, who has a relatively short but powerful scene with Charlie.

MTC artistic director Jasson Minadakis directs this Bay Area premiere with skill and sensitivity and elicits multi-layered performances from each actor.

Outfitted in a realistic-looking fat suit (costumes by Christine Crook), Pelczar delivers a tour de force as Charlie, making every move a monumental effort. As Charlie’s condition deteriorates, Pelczar has him wheezing and gasping for every breath as if it might be his last. It’s an incredible feat of acting.

The other four actors are outstanding, too, creating characters with complex motivations.

Playwright Hunter, who recently received a MacArthur Foundation genius grant, makes frequent allusions to “Moby Dick” and the biblical story of Jonah and the whale in this play. Sound designer Chris Houston reinforces this device with sounds of the sea during the blackouts between scenes. The set is by Michael Locher with lighting by Kurt Landisman.

The play runs nearly two hours without intermission, but it holds the audience rapt, thanks both to Hunter’s writing and to Pelczar’s memorable performance, one for the ages.

“The Whale” will continue at Marin Theatre Company, 397 Miller Ave., MillValley, through Oct. 26. For tickets and information, call (415) 388-5208 or visit www.marintheatre.org.

Combine a feel-good plot with an astute staging and what you come up with San Jose Stage Company’s production of “The Rainmaker.”

H. Richard Nash’s romantic comedy opened on Broadway in 1954 and is set during the Depression, but it has a contemporary feel, especially in drought-stricken California.

A western ranching family, the Currys, like many others, is coping with a prolonged drought that is taking a heavy toll on cattle. Then along comes a fast-talking con man who tries to convince them that he can produce rain within the next 24 hours if he’s given $100 in advance. Despite misgivings by two family members, he gets his money.

The family is headed by H.C. Curry (Randall King), an insightful, caring widower with three adult children. The blunt, practical Noah (Will Springhorn Jr.) manages the ranch. Jim (Brandon Leland), the youngest, is a sweet but none-too-bright dreamer. The men keep hoping that Lizzie (Allison F. Rich) will get married, but she sees herself as a plain woman who doesn’t know how to attract a man.

Her brothers and father believe that a good fit for her might be the sheriff’s deputy, File (Joe Estlack). However, File has closed himself off from companionship, even that of the puppy offered by Sheriff Thomas (Michael Bellino).

Bill Starbuck (Johnny Moreno) is indeed a con man, but he helps to bring about changes for the good, starting with Lizzie. He convinces her that she’s not plain, that she’s a beautiful woman.  She, in turn, helps to bring File out of his shell. Her brothers are changed for the better, too.

Director Jessa Brie Moreno(wife of the actor) elicits believable, likable performances from the entire cast, especially Rich as Lizzie and Moreno as Starbuck. The director and actors mine the play’s gentle good humor and allow the characters to develop naturally.

Moreno also keeps the action moving smoothly during the three-act show, done with one intermission. She’s assisted by the design team, led by Giulio Perrone, whose simple set creates a rustic ambience and allows seamless scene changes.

Californians can readily identify with the characters’ almost desperate longing for rain and lots of it, which is what con man Bill Starbuck promises — all logic aside. Perhaps another title for this play could be “Dreaming in a Time of Drought.”

“The Rainmaker” will continue at San Jose Stage Company, 490 S. First St., San Jose, through Oct. 26. For tickets and information, call (408) 283-7142 or visit www.thestage.org.

Playwright Joshua Harmon is a 31-year-old who shows great promise, as evidenced by “Bad Jews.”

Presented in its Bay Area premiere to open Magic Theatre’s 48th season, the play looks at what it means to be a Jew as seen mainly through the eyes of two antagonistic cousins, both in their 20s, as are the play’s other two characters.

It takes place in a New York City studio apartment the evening of the family patriarch’s funeral. Jonah (Kenny Toll), a college student who co-owns the apartment, and his cousin, Daphna (Rebecca Benhayon), a senior at Vassar, are staying there for the funeral and shiva.

They’re awaiting the other owner, Jonah’s brother, Liam (Max Rosenak), a University of Chicago graduate student who missed the funeral because he lost his phone while skiing at Aspen.

They’re surprised when Liam arrives with his gentile girlfriend, Melody (Riley Krull), whom he intends to marry, they learn.

Daphna and Liam have long been at odds, mainly because she’s so insistent on observing Jewish traditions, while he isn’t. Their conflict comes to a head over their grandfather’s Chai, a symbol that means “life” in Hebrew and that is sacred to Jews. Daphna wants the Chai because she believes she’s the most observant Jew of the three grandchildren.

Liam wants to give it to Melody instead of an engagement ring, just as their grandfather gave it to their grandmother when they became engaged after World War II. As revealed by Daphna, the Chai also symbolizes their grandfather’s survival of the Holocaust.

During the 90-minute, intermissionless play, both Daphna and Liam have long, vitriolic speeches expressing their disdain for each other. Unwillingly stuck in the middle, Jonah just wants to stay out of the argument, and Melody pleads for them to treat each other as human beings.

Director Ryan Guzzo Purcell paces the action well, but some of his blocking poses sight-line difficulty for people seated on the right and left sides of the stage.

However, he has chosen his actors with care. Benhayon as Daphna and Rosenak as Liam both handle their long speeches capably, while Toll as Jonah shows his character to be a man who cares more than he initially reveals. Krull embodies Melody’s sweetness and lack of artifice.

“The play begs the distinction between religion and tribe,” Magic’s producing artistic director Loretta Greco writes in the program. It’s a fascinating look at how young people today are deciding if and how they will preserve their family’s legacy and traditions.

“Bad Jews” will continue at the Magic Theatre, Building D, FortMasonCenter, San Francisco, through Oct. 5. For tickets and information, call (415) 441-8822 or visit www.magictheatre.org.

Two master clowns bring their enormous talents to American Conservatory Theater’s West Coast premiere of  “Old Hats.”

Created and performed by Bill Irwin and David Shiner, “Old Hats” is a series of sketches with musical interludes by the pert, personable Shaina Taub and four other musicians. These interludes give the two clowns and the stage crew a chance to set up for the next scene. Taub also wrote the music and lyrics. Her songs are generally upbeat and appealing, but a few of her lyrics suffer from a few four-letter words.

The two-act show, directed by Tina Landau, opens with Irwin and Shiner apparently battling and being sucked up by the cosmos. It is followed by “The Debate,” in which two politicians do everything they can to promote themselves and undermine their competitor.

Most of the scenes that follow are both poignant and hilarious. One highlight is “Mr. Business,” in which Irwin portrays a businessman totally absorbed by his tablet computer, which starts to follow its own path. Shiner follows in “Hobo Puppet Waltz,” where a down-on-his luck man rummages through a trash bin to find both trash and the means to create a puppet woman.

With Shiner as a magician (effects by Steve Cuiffo) and Irwin in drag as his assistant, they enlist a woman from the audience to take part in “The Magic Act” with hilarious results. The two return in “The Encounter,” involving two aging men in baggy pants who are waiting for a train.

Several other scenes follow. The least successful is “Cowboy Cinema.” In this scene, Shiner is a silent-movie director who drafts four audience members to take part in a Western shoot-em-up in a saloon. This one goes on too long, losing its impact.

Taub and her talented band take part in some of the concluding scenes, ending with a tap routine by Taub and the two clowns.

This production by Signature Theatre of New York City features sets and costumes by G.W. Mercier with lighting by Scott Zielinski and sound by John Gromada. The Foley design of ambient sounds is by Mike Dobson. Wendall K. Harrington and Erik Pearson designed the inventive projections.

“Old Hats” is a most enjoyable way for ACT to launch its 47th season in San Francisco.

The show will continue at American Conservatory Theater, 415 Geary St., San Francisco, through Oct. 12. For tickets and information, call (415) 749-2228 or visit www.act-sf.org.

Although “An Audience With Meow Meow” is billed as a new musical play, it’s primarily a cabaret act.

Presented by Berkeley Repertory Theatre in its world premiere, the show was written by its star, Meow Meow. She’s an Australian-born performance artist whose real name is Melissa Madden Gray.

Directed by Emma Rice, the 90-minute, intermissionless show starts with lots of glitz as Meow Meow and two male dancers, Michael Balderrama and Bob Gaynor, perform a few songs. Before long, though, she and they get into battles that end with the two men limping off stage.

Over time, stage managers tell her that she has to leave, but she refuses, insisting that she’s a professional. They gradually strip the stage of its colorful trappings and then turn off the lights. Ever resourceful, she goes up an aisle, grabs an EXIT sign off the wall and uses it to find the ghost light and provide more illumination (lighting by Alexander V. Nichols).

Meow Meow is a good singer and an acrobatic dancer (choreography by Tiger Martina), but some of her attempts at humor fall flat. The show does get better as the stage goes bare and she gets more serious.

She’s a shameless performer, doing all she can to wheedle applause. After the dancers go, she leaves the stage to recruit audience members to come up and assist with her act.

As a near-finale — after the stagehands have removed most of her costume — she orders the audience to stand and raise their arms,. She then she begins to crowd surf — allowing people to pass her from row to row.

Neil Murray’s set (he also designed the costumes) places three instrumentalists, including conductor-musical director Lance Horne on piano, on one side of the stage. The percussionist is on the other side.

Meow Meow is basically a talented performer who milks her mostly appreciative audience for all she can, but she’s not everyone’s saucer of milk.

“An Audience With Meow Meow” will continue in Berkeley Repertory Theatre’s Roda Theatre, 2015 Addison St.,  Berkeley, through Oct. 19. For tickets and information, call (510) 647-2949 or visit www.berkeleyrep.org.

“Big Fish” is the ultimately touching musical story of a father-son relationship.

Presented by Palo Alto Players in its West Coast premiere, it tells the story of Edward Bloom (Chris Janssen) and his son, Will (Danny Martin). Ever since Will was a little boy (Nic Roy Garcia), Edward has told fanciful tales about his adventures with a witch, a mermaid, a giant, a would-be assassin and others.

Now an adult and expecting a son of his own, Will wants to separate fact from fiction. This desire becomes more acute when Edward becomes terminally ill.

In going through his father’s papers, Will and his wife, Josephine (Jennifer Gregoire), discover a secret aspect of Edward’s life. Will goes back to Edward’s hometown, Ashton, Ala., to unearth the truth and comes to understand his father as never before.

Directed by artistic director Patrick Klein, the PAP production moves smoothly through its two acts (one intermission) thanks to the fluid set by Klein and projections by Nick Kumamoto. Sometimes fanciful costumes by Lisa Lutkenhouse Lowe add to the enjoyment. (The elephant is priceless.)

Good acting is a hallmark throughout the cast, especially Janssen and Martin as father and son and by Elizabeth Santana as Edward’s loving wife, Sandra. The large ensemble plays multiple roles with Vic Prosak standing out as Dr. Bennett and others.

Based on a novel by Daniel Wallace, the book by John August comes from the latter’s screenplay for Tim Burton’s movie of the same name. The music by Andrew Lippa, who also wrote the lyrics, is pleasant and helps to propel the story.

However, the musical aspects of this production sometimes fall short, starting with the orchestra led by musical director Matthew Mattei from the keyboard. Intonation problems and sour notes from the orchestra pit are too frequent, or at least they were on opening night.

Likewise, singing by a few of the performers is out of tune, as if they were chosen more for their acting than their singing. The most important exceptions are Janssen as Edward, Santana as Sandra, Gregoire as Josephine and Jessica Whittemore as Jenny Hill, Edward’s high school girlfriend.

Choreography by Jennifer Gorgulho sometimes lacks precision in the ensemble.

Despite these shortcomings, the overall performance is enjoyable because of the story. It’s a refreshing change from the darker themes seen in some contemporary musicals.

“Big Fish” will continue at the Lucie Stern Theater, 1305 Middlefield Road, Palo Alto, through Sept. 28. For tickets and information, call (650) 329-0891 or visit www.paplayers.org.

The opening scene of California Shakespeare Theater’s production of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” sets the tone for the rest of Shakespeare’s play.

It’s a down and dirty wrestling match between Theseus (Daisuke Tsuji) and Hippolyta (Erika Chong Shuch), the Amazon queen whom he has conquered and intends to marry.

This scene foreshadows even messier goings-on when four young people go to the forest outside Athens in pursuit of love. Their encounters find them losing much of their clothing, especially on the women, and slathering mud on each other.

Director Shana Cooper is responsible for this staging, along with Shuch, who, in addition to playing both Hippolyta and Titania, serves as movement director.

The dirt comes from the set by Nina Ball. It is strewn with a black ground cover similar to wood chips that sometimes stick to the costumes.

As the audience arrives, large white plastic sheeting looking like a shower curtain is arrayed across the stage. Later it rises and billows overhead like clouds (lit by Burke Brown) as it reveals the forest with its woodpiles and outlines of trees.

The production’s black, gray and white color scheme is echoed in Katherine O’Neill’s costumes until the final scene. That’s when the six tradesmen, often called the Rude Mechanicals, stage the “lamentable comedy” of “Pyramus and Thisbe” for a wedding celebration.

While this scene often comes as an afterthought to the romantic resolutions that precede it, here it’s the hilarious highlight of the production. And, as noted, it breaks the color scheme with Flute (Craig Marker, his left arm in a sling) playing Thisbe in a white dress with red high heels, red wig and red accessories. Snug (Danny Scheie) plays the lion in a glittering head piece resembling a mane.

Director Cooper seems so intent on physicality that it could take a back seat to Shakespeare’s words were it not for a first-rate cast of veteran actors. One woman in the restroom line at intermission said that she enjoyed the play most when she closed her eyes and just listened.

All of the actors do at least double duty, serving in the ensemble in addition to their named roles. Two of the young lovers are played by Dan Clegg as Lysander, who is loved by Hermia (Tristan Cunningham). However, Hermia is supposed to marry Demetrius (Nicholas Pelczar), who had previously wooed Helena (Lauren English), who still loves him.

It took their retreat to the woods and some botched but eventually successful intervention by Oberon (Tsuji) and his assistant, Puck (Scheie). This intervention also applied to Titania, who had incited Oberon’s anger. The spell that Oberon put on her made her fall madly in love with Bottom (Margo Hall), one of the Rude Mechanicals, whom Puck had transformed into an ass.

Capably completing the cast in named roles are James Carpenter as Egeus and Starveling, Catherine Castellanos as Snout and Liam Vincent as Peter Quince.

It seems that Cooper, like some other directors, wants to take a different approach and make Shakespeare more trendy. It’s as if they don’t trust the Bard or the beauty and relevance of his words. Luckily for the Cal Shakes audience, though, Cooper has excellent actors who know how to speak the lines.

“A Midsummer Night’s Dream” will continue in the Bruns Memorial Amphitheater, 100 California Shakespeare Theater Way (off Hwy. 24), Orinda. For tickets and information, call (510) 548-9666 or visit www.calshakes.org.

At its most basic, Gina Gionfriddo’s “Rapture, Blister, Burn” is a heady, often humorous examination of feminism from various points of view.

Opening Aurora Theatre Company’s 23rd season, it initially focuses on two 42-year-old women who were friends and roommates in grad school.

One, Catherine (Marilee Talkington), has become a popular author and lecturer who links pornography with violent events like 9/11. The other, Gwen (Rebecca Schweitzer), dropped out, married Catherine’s boyfriend, Don (Gabriel Marin), and has become a housewife and mother to their two sons.

When Catherine returns to their hometown after her mother suffered a heart attack, she and Gwen find themselves envious of one another. Gwen regrets that she didn’t pursue a career, while Catherine wishes she had a real home and family.

Both come to realize that the grass isn’t necessarily greener on the other side of the fence.

Helping them reach that conclusion are 21-year-old student Avery (Nicole Javier) the babysitter for Don and Gwen’s younger son, and Catherine’s mother, Alice (Lillian Bogovich), who is in her 70s.

Another contributor is Don, an unambitious, low-level dean at the local college. He, Gwen and Catherine did a lot of heavy-duty drinking and partying in their grad school days. Gwen has since quit drinking and joined AA, but the other two still indulge. Moreover, Don smokes a lot of pot and is addicted to Internet porn.

Much of the discussion of feminism comes during the seminar taught by Catherine in her mother’s home to the only two students who signed up: Gwen and Avery. After each session, Alice serves martinis (Shirley Temples for Gwen) and joins the discussion, adding her generation’s view to those of the middle-aged and younger generations. It’s interesting that the oldest and youngest women seem to be the most realistic about their lives.

As directed by Desdemona Chiang inAurora’s intimate space (set by Kate Boyd), the actions and ideas sizzle.

Talkington’s Catherine comes across as erudite in her academic persona yet fearful, impulsive and uncertain in her personal life. Schweitzer makes Gwen a shrill, bubbly yet uptight woman who’s barely holding herself together.

Marin as Don, Javier as Avery and Bogovich asAliceall create believable characters.

A Pulitzer Prize finalist, the play offers ample food for thought as many women still struggle for a balance between home and career and for equality with men.

“Rapture, Blister, Burn” will continue at Aurora Theatre Company, 2081 Addison St., Berkeley, through Sept. 28. For information and tickets, call (510) 843-4822 or visit www.auroratheatre.org.

Five years out of high school in the late ’50s, three guys are hoping to win the Big Whopper Radio contest and hit the big-time as a doo-wop singing group, Denny and the Dreamers.

That’s the plot line on which writer-director Roger Bean has hung “Life Could Be a Dream.” In actuality, it’s a way to combine some of the biggest hits from the late ’50s and early ’60s into a rollicking trip down memory lane, now at Center REPertory Company.

It’s hard to resist humming along to such tunes as the title song, a.k.a. “Sh-Boom,” as well as “Get a Job,” “Tears on My Pillow,” “Fools Fall in Love,” “Runaround Sue,” “Earth Angel,” “Only You” and “Unchained Melody.” These are just some of the songs in Act One of this two-act, two-hour show.

Some highlights of the second act include “(You’ve Got) The Magic Touch,” “The Glory of Love” and “Duke of Earl.”

All of this takes place in the basement rec room where the unemployed Denny (Ryan Drummond), the group’s leader, still lives with his mother. His two pals are Eugene (Tim Homsley) and Wally (Jerry Lee). Needing a $50 entry fee, they ask Big Stuff Auto to sponsor them, but the owner wants to check them out first.

Instead of coming himself, though, the owner sends his daughter, Lois (Sharon Rietkerk), and head mechanic, Skip (Derek Keeling). Before long, Skip becomes the group’s fourth member. He also tries to resist the mutual attraction with Lois, who’s also the object of affection for Eugene and Wally.

Naturally, complications arise, but just as naturally, all turns out well.

Bean’s staging on the detailed set by Michael Carnahan — note the wringer washer in an alcove — teams nicely with choreography by Lee Martino.

Bean also has selected an able cast, especially the three pals. Drummond’s Denny is just as persistent in his desire to do well in the contest as he is in ignoring his mother when she nags him to get a job. Lee’s Wally is appealingly sweet, while Homsley is hilarious as the inept, shy, dweebishEugene. All three are excellent singers.

Keeling’s Skip comes across as a greaser or Elvis wanna-be in his mannerisms and singing, which is off-pitch in a few spots. He plays guitar well.

Rietkerk’s Lois is tactful in her dealings with Denny, Eugene nd Wally and increasingly impulsive in her attraction to Skip. She sings well when a song is in her lower range, but her upper notes become shrill.

Also contributing to the show are musical director Brandon Adams, costume designer Bobby Pearce, sound designer Jeff Mockus and lighting designer Kurt Landisman.

Center REP and associates Bean and Jonathan Reinis reportedly hope to hone the show for Broadway. In its present form, it seems more appropriate for off-Broadway. A highly entertaining piece of fluff with enough story to keep it interesting, it’s a likely candidate for the regional theater circuit.

“Life Could Be a Dream” will continue at the Leshe rCenter for the Arts, 1601 Civic Drive, Walnut Creek, through Oct. 5. For tickets and information, call 925-943-7469 or visit www.centerrep.org.

Hillbarn Theatre has begun its 74th season with an ambitious musical undertaking, “Funny Girl.”

Loosely based on the life of comedienne Fanny Brice, the show premiered on Broadway in 1964 and became a popular film in 1968. Both starred Barbra Streisand as Fanny.

Melissa WolfKlain takes on that daunting role in this production and does it more than ample justice with her terrific singing, acting, dancing and comic timing.

Written by Isobel Lennart, the story takes place shortly before and after World War I as Fanny breaks into show business and becomes a star in the Ziegfeld Follies. During that time, she meets the handsome, charming Nick Arnstein (William Giammona), a gambler. Giammona looks the part of Nick, but his acting can be stiff, and there’s not much chemistry between him and WolfKlain.

They marry and have a daughter, but his involvement in a shady bond deal lands him in prison for 18 months and leads to the end of their marriage.

Jule Styne’s music, with lyrics by Bob Merrill, includes such favorites as “I’m the Greatest Star,” “People” and “Don’t Rain on My Parade,” all sung by Fanny.

Besides Nick, another important man in her life is her longtime, loyal friend, Eddie Ryan (Justin Travis Buchs). He’s a vaudeville dancer who coaches her early in her career and quietly carries a torch for her. Buchs is an accomplished dancer who stands out in “Cornet Man” and “Rat-tat-tat-tat.”

Other major figures are Mrs. Brice (Tracy Chiappone), Fanny’s mother; Emma (Jenifer Butler), her friend and assistant; and Florenz Ziegfeld Jr. (Dennis M. Lickteig), Follies producer.

The Hillbarn production features an outstanding ensemble of dancers executing choreography by James Zongus. Seated on a platform behind a new wall in the theater, the 17-piece orchestra is led by musical director Joe Murphy.

Hillbarn’s new executive artistic director, Dan Demers, directs the show and does his best to keep it moving smoothly. However, it has many different scenes, and Hillbarn’s stage is small. Despite the unusual use of a proscenium setting (design by Kuo-Hao Lo), the many set changes lend an episodic feeling, especially in the second act.

Costumes by Lisa Cross provide WolfKlain and the women dancers with one lovely outfit after another. Don Coluzzi’s lighting design isn’t up to his usual standards.

Fanny Brice was born in New York’s Lower East Side in 1891 and died in 1951 at the age of 59. Besides her stage and film work, she created a popular radio character, Baby Snooks.

“Funny Girl” will continue at Hillbarn Theatre, 1285 E. Hillsdale Blvd., Foster City, through Sept. 21. For tickets and information, call (650) 349-6411 or visit www.hillbarntheatre.org.