Linda Ayres-Frederick

Love and Information by Caryl Churchill at  ACT’s is a collection of 57 self-contained scenes on the title’s subject –each lasting from five seconds to five minutes with over 140 characters played by a talented ensemble of twelve actors. Each scene contains from one to 3 actors and the entire show runs about 90 minutes. This theatrical kaleidoscope employing video and film is staged imaginatively by Director Casey Stangl in the newly opened Strand Theater at 1127 Market Street, SF.  Continuing through August 9, 2015. Tickets $40-$100 415.749.2228/ act-sf.org.

Aurora Theatre Company’s closes its 23^rd season with DETROIT by Lisa D’Amour. This Bay Area Premiere of the Obie-winning satire features Amy Resnick, Jeff Garrett, Luisa Frasconi and Patrick Kelly. Ms. Resnick is wildly funny as Mary who with her husband Ben–newly unemployed–are attempting to survive in their suburban home.  Welcoming young Sharon and Kenny who met at rehab and have just moved into the long empty house next door, the older couple’s values get threatened when the backyard barbecue turns dangerous and threatening.  Director Josh Costello keeps this dark comedy moving as we watch the social fabric of the American psyche fray strand by strand. DETROIT plays through July 19 at the Aurora Theatre in Berkeley. Tickets $32-$50 510.843.4822/ auroratheatre.org

Extended through July 5^th is Custom Made Theatre’s SF Premiere of Grey Gardens, the Musical directed by Stuart Bousel with Musical Direction by David Brown. Based on a true story and the documentary, Grey Gardens  (book by Doug Wright, music by Scott Frankel, Lyrics by Michael Korie) is a fascinating exploration of Jackie Kennedy’s aunt and cousin who in 1973 she discovered living in a squalid Long Island Mansion and hanging on to reality by a thread. The stellar cast brings to life this musical exploration of the American dream gone wrong and what it means to become a social pariah by examining both the back-story of the family and the fate they couldn’t possibly have imagined. Heather Orth and Juliana Lustenader lead the cast in spot on performances. Tickets $20-$50 www.custommade.org/tickets.

Upcoming July 9th – Aug 2^nd and back for the fifth time, don’t miss Custom Made’s longest running show in their 16 year history, the hilarious Book of Liz by David and Amy Sedaris about everyone’s favorite squeamish nun Elizabeth Donderstuck and her famous cheeseballs at Gough Street Theatre.

And as of  Sept 1^st, Custom Made will have a new home at 533 Sutter Street, 2^nd floor, between Powell and Mason. More news at www.custommade.org/tickets.

Around the corner at the Phoenix Theatre at 414 Mason Street, Off-Broadway West  just completed their run of Harold Pinter’s modern classic The Birthday Party ably directed by Richard Harder. The Birthday Party is about Stanley Webber (Adam Simpson), a one-time piano player in his 30s, who lives in a boarding house, run by Meg (Celia Maurice) and Petey Boles (Graham Cowley), in an English seaside town. Two sinister strangers, Goldberg (Keith Burkland) and McCann (James Centofanti), who arrive supposedly on his birthday and who appear to have come looking for him, turn Stanley’s apparently innocuous birthday party–organized by Meg with their saucy neighbor Lulu (Jessica Lea Risco) as a guest–into a nightmare. This is ensemble acting at its best. Sound and Lighting Design by Ian Walker create additional elements of foreboding on Bert Van Aalsburg’s believably English set. OBW’s next production will be in 2016. www.offbroadwaywest.org

For Discount tickets to many of these and other theatre events check out Goldstar.com

Linda Ayres-Frederick

It’s an engaging show, Slaughterhouse Five, especially if you are a Kurt Vonnegut fan. And given our continued involvement in war, certainly au courant raising issues about the physical and psychological destruction battle reeks and the reasons behind government decisions to continue bombing when the enemy (in this case Nazi Germany) is close to defeat.

The very precise choreographed movement throughout the play adds a visual element reminiscent of a well-trained military unit. The 90 minute play itself jumps through time and space as much as its main character Billy Pilgrim–played by several actors: Ryan Hayes, as adult Billy, Brian Martin as Young Billy, and Alun Anderman/Myles Cence alternating performances as Boy Billy.

Performed without an intermission, Slaughterhouse Five is Billy’s journey or rather several journeys in and out of Dresden, Germany before, during and after the firestorm bombing that incinerated the city that was once considered the cultural center of Northern Germany. One such journey takes Billy to the planet Tralfalmador where, unlike earth, peace is known to reign on occasion and Billy finds respite from earthly conflict. The narrator Man, presumably Vonnegut, (Dave Sikula) wanders in and out of the action much as he does in the novel itself. Adapted for stage by Eric Simonson of Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theatre, Slaughterhouse Five is directed by Custom Made Artistic Director Brian Katz who rises to the most challenging aspect of the piece–keeping the threads of the story visible, a task much like dressing an octopus.  If there is any annoying aspect in the production, it might be the blinding flashes from the upstage baton of stage lights that assault the senses of anyone sitting in the center section of the venue. One can view this as a taste of torture experienced by the American soldiers placed in the P.O.W. holding cell of the slaughterhouse after capture by the Germans or just a dramatic indicator of change in time and space.

The ensemble’s work is stellar keeping the pace moving forward continuously. Among the highlights is the intense monologue about poisoning an annoying dog delivered by Sam Tillis as Paul Lazzaro –so reminiscent of the character Jerry in Albee’s Zoo Story. Speaking of Edward Albee, next up at Custom Made is his Three Tall Woman.

Slaughterhouse Five (or the Children’s Crusade) continues Thurs-Sat 8pm; Sun. 7pm; Sunday Oct 5 & 12 3pm. at Gough Street Playhouse 1620 Gough St (at Bush) SF. Tickets: $20-$50. Discounts available for Seniors, Students & TBA members. http://www.custommade.org/slaughterhouse

by Linda Ayres-Frederick

Set in 17^th century Salem, this classic story of individuals standing up against the corruption of their society was Miller’s allegory for the witch-hunts of the 1950’s House Un-American Activities Committee led by Senator Joe McCarthy. The Crucible shows the persecution and state-sponsored murder of twenty persons by their friends and neighbors for alleged affiliations with the supernatural world. It also shows how power in the wrong hands can be wielded and opposed in any community–an issue that remains to this day.

As a work of theatre, The Crucible is one of Miller’s best examples of his mastery of subtext. And while this production as a whole is not done in a style that demonstrates Miller’s genius, there are many elements that remain praiseworthy.

It is always difficult to know whether artistic choices are directorial. One in particular is the surprising lack of subtlety in the portrayal of Deputy Governor Danforth (Paul Jennings). A man in a position of power has no need to prove it by shouting angrily. There is nothing more frightening than such a man who benevolently imparts a despicable point of view.

Equally confusing is why if both Proctor (Peter Townley) and Goody Proctor (Megan Briggs) repeatedly mention the emotional chill in their home, she would greet her husband open-heartedly with a welcoming smile. In a society where dancing is considered a sin, casual touching and shouting strike false notes, and feel completely antithetical to the culture. 

The Crucible directed by Stuart Bousel also presents challenges in the trial scenes when the young girls demonstrate hysteria. This alternates with dialogue among the judges which dialogue unnecessarily gets completely lost. Picking up cues without talking over others can build in volume to a more dramatic effect.

In the majority of scenes, the ensemble works well together keeping the action apace with notable performances by Reverend John Hale (Nicholas Trengove), Goody Putnam (Melissa Clason), Ezekiel Cheever (Vince Faso), Rebecca Nurse (Carole Swann), Francis Nurse (Richard Wenzel) Mary Warren (Alisha Ehrlich) and Giles Corey (Ron Talbot). As always at CMT the sound design (Liz Ryder) is stellar. 

Even with these reservations, The Crucible is an American classic worth seeing. Thurs-Sat 8pm Sun 7pm thru June 15. Gough Street Playhouse 1620 Gough Street, SF www.custommade.org 

Linda Ayres-Frederick

Much Ado About Nothing at African-American Shakespeare Company is definitely noteworthy. Under the expertly imaginative hand of Artistic Director L. Peter Callender, this rich plot of twists and turns that explores courting and romance gains momentum from beginning to end. Set in post WWII, the music of Ella Fitgerald enriches the sharp Shakespearean comedy. Callender’s cast is fearless dealing with the serious tones of honor and shame that are interspersed between the more exuberant aspects of love.

Nowhere will you find a more delightfully sassy Beatrice (Leontyne Mbele-Mbong) who meets her match in Benedick (Ryan Vincent Anderson). Their sparring wit contrasts the innocent puppy dog love of Claudio (Twon Marcel) and his lovely young Hero (Danielle Doyle). The story of the two pairs of lovers is enhanced by an ensemble that features solid performances from Don Pedro (Kelvyn Mitchell), Don John (Jim Gessner) and Leonato (Dwight Dean Mahabir) to name a few.  Tom Segal’s Choreography and Maureen “Mo” Stones’s Costumes add their talents to give this Much Ado even more pizzazz.

AASC is this year’s worthy recipient of the Paine-Knickerbocker Award by the SF Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle. Named for the former theatre critic of The SF Chronicle, this Award is presented to an organization that has made a continuing contribution to Bay Area Theatre.

Much Ado About Nothing completes AASC’s 2013/14 Season. With such an array of talent, their next season promises to be equally exciting.  Located at Burial Clay Theatre in the African American Art & Culture Complex, 762 Fulton Street (near Webster) in SF, an added perk is the free parking next door. Tickets for the upcoming season will be available at the Box Office or Brown Paper Tickets 1-800-838-3006. www.african-americanshakes.org.

Linda Ayres-Frederick

ARLINGTON at the Magic Theatre

Directed by Jackson Gay, Arlington is almost a solo show. Featuring Analisa Leaming as Sara Jane and Jeff Pew as piano accompanist and her occasionally speaking husband Jerry, this one hour stream of consciousness telling of Sara Jane’s attempts to remain cheerful while waiting for her soldier husband’s return is performed primarily singing with dips into Sprechstimme and brief patches of spoken monologue and dialogue. With Jeff Pew prominently placed in full view at his grand piano upstage, there is no mistaking his importance in the play as the never forgotten mate whose military judgment hovers over Sara Jane. What is not so clear is the reason why the monologue of wife Sara Jane needs to be sung or how she could just be coming to the realization that war is painful, horrific and deadly for those near or on the battlefield.

Ms. Leaming has a lovely soprano voice and manages to modulate from cheerful innocence to worried concern for her unborn male child with the implied fear that he too could be cannon fodder in a yet to be waged war. Along the way she gets to question the values of her military family, deal with a mother obsessed with facelifts, respond to a husband whose sexual fantasies about her are disquieting, be repeatedly haunted by photos of atrocities her husband has committed against women and children and more.

 Jeff Pew is equally convincing as her husband on the front and as a force that hovers over her that she can’t quite control. His skill as a pianist is exemplary as is his acting talent in the few spoken interjections he has with Sara Jane.  Here the difficulty isn’t with the performing artists themselves as with the material they are given to work with that leaves one wanting more.

 ARLINGTON written by Victor Lodato with Music by Polly Pen continues through December 8 at the Magic Theatre  www.magictheatre.org or 415.441.8822.

UNDERNEATH THE LINTEL at A.C.T.

 Academy Award nominee David Strathairn (Lincoln) easily holds our attention in Glen Berger’s captivating 90 minute solo drama Underneath the Lintel. In what could almost be considered a ghost story, an eccentric librarian finds a weather-beaten book in a return bin—and discovers that it is 113 years overdue. It is still an era where a librarian’s date stamp is his most prized possession. Sparked by a message left in its margins, he sets off on a quest to unravel the secrets of the book and the person who borrowed it. From the hallways of his library, he follows a chain of seemingly insignificant clues that spans the globe and dates back thousands of years. Obsessed with piecing the clues together, he is relieved from his post to follow his insatiable curiosity. With astonishing twists and turns, Underneath the Lintel is a magical piece of storytelling that draws us into an unforgettable odyssey. Strathairn’s riveting performance is like a master class in acting. Energetically performed, his exuberance keeps us captivated as does his vulnerability and comic timing, making this a highlight of story telling that is both emotionally moving and ultimately redemptive as well as entertaining.

Underneath the Lintel directed by Carey Perloff ran through November 23 at A.C.T. 415 Geary Street, SF, CA.

Next up: A Christmas Carol Dec 6-28^th, www.act-sfbay.org

by Linda Ayres-Frederick

 Before the show begins, the lost boy and girls of Never- Never Land ask the audience individually what they did today and then write the answers in chalk on the floor. Dressed in various colored horizontal striped pyjamas, the cast continues this energetic process until the space is as filled with writing as the walls of the theatre are. The lights then dim to begin this stripped to its bare elements version of the familiar tale of a boy who goes back to find his shadow and fly away with the girl who sews it back on to a faraway place “second star to the right and straight on ‘til morning”.

 Custom Made’s Guest Director Jeremy Bloom talks about the show: “I have been developing this project in various incarnations off and on for ten years or so. Technically longer, because the story of Peter Pan pervades our culture and minds even in ways we’re not aware of. I had read J.M. Barrie’s prose version and was newly awakened to the depth of the story and its characters. Though I had seen several productions of the play (most often the musical, but also movies and adaptations like Hook), I realized I hadn’t ever seen a play version that felt as current and exhilarating as it felt to read the book for the first time. While the story is marketed towards children, the book was clearly told from the perspective of an adult who acutely understands how fleeting youth and life are…not in a depressing way, but in a hopeful and lyrical way that just makes you want to run outside and start hugging people which of course we can’t. Peter urges Wendy to think of her happiest thought in the whole world, so that she can fly away. One passage in the book, that I remember not really seeing as a kid, is the heartbreaking journey of the parents left alone in the nursery to mourn the disappearance of their child. I wanted to stage Peter Pan with a ton of heart and to focus on the dynamics of these archetypal characters and strip the play of its iconic costumes and swinging wires, so that we could focus more on the story.

 I first work shopped the play in a garage in Illinois in front of open doors that revealed a giant parking lot complete with a Buick playing the role of the Jolly Roger and lots of major running off into the distance using text from Peter and Wendy as well as sections of The Little White Bird, also by Barrie. Later productions include Walkerspace in Soho Rep ultimately enjoying an extended run this past June at the cell theater in New York.

The Custom Made production incorporates the best discoveries of these various workshops and uses the cast of seven actors who I couldn’t love more. Most of the cast is female, except for Peter Pan, using the minimum number of people – one lost boy, one flower, one mermaid, and so on.

The text speaks so profoundly about imagination, it is only fitting to strip the elements to their simplest using super low-tech and minimal objects at a fast pace. The play is 75 minutes with music throughout and not a single blackout. I hope that this exposes the humanity of the story and the complexity of the characters.”

The ensemble includes: Tinkerbell (Anya Kazimierski), Hook & Mr. Darling (Terry Bamberger), Mrs Darling/Smee (Kim Saunders), Peter (Sam Bertken), Wendy (Elissa Beth Stebbins), A Tiger Lilly (Jessica Jade Rudholm) and  A Lost Boy/A Mermaid (Jeunee Simon) performing on Joshua Saulpaw’s and Nicola McCarthy’s multilevel Set with Lighting by Colin Johnson and Sound Design by Liz Ryder.

 Peter/Wendy plays Thurs-Sat at 8pm. Sun 7pm through Dec 15 at Gough Street Playhouse, 1620 Gough Street (at Bush), SF, CA 94109 www.custommade.org

 Next at Custom Made: The Pain and The Itch by Bruce Norris directed by Dale Albright Jan 10-Feb 9, 2014.

by Linda Ayres-Frederick

 By Linda Ayres-Frederick

The fall is here and with it the new season of theatre to enjoy from new work to older chestnuts interpreted afresh.

In the mood for a rock-musical? The Tony and Pulitzer Prize-winning Next to Normal plays at Gough Street Playhouse produced by Custom Made Theatre with a cast that brings out the best in both script and lyrics. CMT’s Artistic Director Brian Katz keeps the pace moving on Erik LaDue’s cleverly functional set, remarkably lit by Maxx Kurzunski. Stellar performances abound in the challenging emotional life of the Goodman family that Tom Kitt (Music) and Brian Yorkey (Book & Lyrics) examine. A tale of how one suburban family copes with mental illness (specifically bi-polar disorder) encompasses each family member’s coping mechanisms plus the doctors and friend involved. Life itself is the antagonist who has dealt the challenge. With Musical direction by Armando Fox assisted by Mark Dietrich, actor/singers  Lisa-Marie Newton, Danny Gould, LaMont Ridgell, Mackenzie Cala, Jordon Bridges and Perry Aliado all rise to the occasion. Next to Normal plays Thurs – Sat at 8pm Sundays at 7pm through Oct 27, 1620 Gough (at Bush) SF 94109. Up next: the West Coast Premiere of Peter/Wendy opening Nov. 19. Tickets:  www.custommade.org or info@custommade.org.

 Bay One Acts Festival 2013 has two programs playing at The Tides Theatre. Featuring the work of Bay Area Playwrights, Program One’s six plays include work of Tracy Held Potter, Sam Leichter, Daniel Hollowy, Bennett Fisher, William Bivins and a devised piece based on T.S. Eliot’s Love Song of Alfred J. Prufock by Allison Combs. Program Two (which this reviewer saw) features work by seven other playwrights. Nancy Cooper Frank’s Inexpressibly Blue takes on perennial cheer versus the darker view of aging while Ignacio Zulueta’s 3 Sisters Watching Three Sisters cleverly mirrors the Chekhov classic. Jeff Carter’s Pinteresque Break of Day shows two maternally dependent brothers faced with the challenge of what to do with their mother’s recent remains.  Daniel Hirsch’s Shooter examines the psyches of three now incarcerated perpetrators of shootings.  Lauren Gunderson’s Two Pigeons Talk Politics humorously gives two birds’ eyes views of the human dilemma.  In Michael Phillis’ Babes two Moms try their damnedest to remain politically correct giving their infant son his first lesson on procreation. Megan Cohen’s My Year takes us through the surprise party for a very reluctant Birthday celebrant.

Kudos to BOA for offering their audience different voices, perspectives and journeys that resonate no matter what time or place they are set in. For tickets and schedule playing through Oct 5 at 533 Sutter Street, SF  www.bayoneacts.org or www.brownpapertickets.com

The Magic Theatre’s revival of Sam Shepard’s Buried Child is worth the trip to Ft. Mason just to see Rod Gnapp as patriarch Dodge, Denise Balthrop Cassidy as wife Halie and Lawrence Radecker’s Father Dewis. Family secrets are revealed in this dark American classic that premiered here in 1978. Loretta Greco directs. Plays through Oct 13. www.magictheatre.org

 Coming up:

 Free Reading: Sunday, Oct 6, 7pm. Joy Cutler’s hilarious new play Pardon My Invasion at the Phoenix Theatre, 414 Mason Street, (at Geary) SF. Strong Language Advisory. www.phoenixtheatresf.org.

Shifting gears from their previous journey into absurdism in Albee’s Play About the Baby, Custom Made Theatre has entered the world of naturalistic, poignant and probing comedy with Tracy Letts’ Superior Donuts.

Set in a donut shop that has been handed down from one generation to another on Chicago’s North Side, Tracy Lett’s (August: Osage County, Killer Joe, Bug) Superior Donuts is a gentler examination of the human dilemma than appears in his later works. In the role of Arthur, the beleaguered, first generation Polish-American born, hippie donut shop owner, is a perfectly cast Don Wood. The bold, and outspoken young African-American shop assistant Franco is played by Chris Marsol. Each of them fully embodies the challenges of their roles: Arthur, as older store owner, set in his ways, with a past he can’t share with anyone but the audience, and the youthful broom-pushing employee Franco, an undiscovered novelist with visions of a better future for himself and for America in spite of his own serious gambling debts.

The show opens the morning after the shop has been broken into. The word “Pussy” is scrawled on the wall, broken glass is on the floor from the shattered door, and chairs are turned over. Officer Randy (Ariane Owens) and Officer James (Emmanuel Lee) are assessing the damage and getting the report from the next door store owner Russian émigré Max Tarasov (Dave Sikula) who had called them. Max has always had an eye to purchase the property to expand his own business. Lady Boyle (Vicki Siegel), a local homeless woman, wanders in looking for a cup of coffee and donut, neither of which are available.

In spite of the neighboring Starbucks, Superior Donuts has survived. When owner Arthur Przbyszewski arrives he is unshaken by the damage, suspecting a former disgruntled employee of being the perpetrator but unwilling to go after him. As he cleans up the mess, it becomes obvious that Officer Randy is smitten with Arthur who appears oblivious to her affections for him.

After the officers leave, Franco enters in response to an ad for an assistant. In spite of Arthur’s reluctance to deal with the issue in the wake of the break in, Franco manages to get himself hired. The two soon discover their differences. Optimist Franco wants to improve the place, add music, even make it a coffee house for poets to perform in. Arthur, who identifies himself with hopelessness as the true root of the Polish character, likes the comforts of silence and the familiar.

What we soon learn in Arthur’s monologues are the facts of his past. How he left for Canada as a conscientious objector during the Vietnam War and that the last words his father ever spoke to him were to call Arthur a coward. We also learn how Arthur never spoke much to his wife, or to his daughter, who both left him years ago. Now his ex-wife is dead and he has no idea where his 19 year-old daughter might be. In spite of his expertise about all things “donut”, his inability to express himself has kept him alone and lonely.
There is much more to savor in this show: Franco’s attempts to get Arthur and Randy together; the back and forth of employee and employer repartee that eventually rises to more serious conflict as they each face their own personal truths; and finally the confrontation of Arthur with two underworld characters Luther Flynn (Shane Fahy) and Kevin Magee (Rob Dario) who threaten Franco’s very wellbeing.

This is a richly peopled world with well-drawn characters down to the nearly silent Kiril Ivankin (Shane Rhoades) who in uttering two or three words in Russian or English can create an entire sense of empathic loyalty to those in need of support.

While this reviewer saw the last preview of the show (where pacing could use a bit more oomph), it is obvious that Superior Donuts is a production well worth seeing. With Sound Design by Cole Ferraiuolo, Costues by Khizer Iqbal and Set by Erik LaDue, Fight Choeography by Jon Bailey, Director Marilyn Langbehn’s ensemble have created a heart-warming and intimate comedy filled with humor and humanity. Superior Donuts runs through December 2 at Gough Street Playhouse, 1622 Gough Street in San Francisco. www.custommade.org.

by Linda Ayres-Frederick November 5, 2012