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Jul 29 2015
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Detroit Gets the Gears Right

By Test Review

A 2011 Pulitzer Prize finalist, Detroit is as humorous as it is sharp. With tight writing by Lisa D’Amour (Airline Highway), the critically acclaimed play skillfully tangles the lives of aseemingly responsible older couple and a younger, more careless pair. Josh Costello ably directs Aurora Theater’s production in Berkeley, which leaves some in the audience diffident at best.

A friendly BBQ serves as a façade to the wreckage ahead in this well-structured expose’ on American life that shows just how distrusting people should be of others during oppressive economic times. At the outset, Ben (Jeff Garrett) and Mary (Amy Resnick) are a sharply drawn lower-middle class couple who fire up the grill for an All-American BBQ to welcome Sharon (Luisa Frasconi) and Kenny (Patrick Jones), a couple of drifters who move into the house next door — sans furniture.

As the neighborhood foursome bonds over backyard barbecues, remembered dreams and helping hands, their neighborly connection gets personal and accelerates into unanticipated directions, which threatens to ignite more than just their friendship.

Jeff Garrett is a Dick Van Dyke clone—with loose limbs, a rubbery face, and impeccable comedic timing. Even when the play’s focus is elsewhere, his impressive and adept listening and reactionary skills command attention. While most actors simply wait for their turn to speak, Mr. Garrett has truly mastered the art of active listening. Luisa Frasconi is, well, simply an amazing talent in bloom. It takes no stretch of the imagination to say that, one day, in the not-too-distant-future, we will all be paying large sums to see this funny, gifted lady work. Patrick Jones and Amy Resnick are solid performers.

Mr. Costello’s direction takes full advantage of the intimate space that is Aurora Theater’s main stage. His stage pictures are well-chosen, and his blocking, which can be tricky in a thrust environment like Aurora’s, almost always works smoothly.

The lighting design by Kurt Landisman is precise and skillful, at times even approaching ingenious. While most of the production is set outside the house, his clever lighting effects, used to light the interior during the tumultuous conclusion, are simple but very powerful. Using light to emphasize the denouement of Detroit is a bold choice that pays off in huge dividends.

Mikiko Uesugi’s set design masterfully takes advantage of the postage stamp stage. The attractive, solid and spare set could be a lesson in space economization for other designers. Uesui’s set construction — a wholly underappreciated aspect of live theater– was professional and well done. Theater carpenters, set construction staff, and set designers: this production is a shining example of design and handiwork.

The modern-day costumes by Christine Crook are perfect for the urban setting and complement the actors and the script.

The work backstage is deftly navigated. Set changes are flawless. Special marks go to the small backstage crew who not only maneuver what must be a chaotic backstage, but also who help the actors effect costume changes in the blink-of-an-eye, and under enormous performance pressure.

Daniel Banato resists the urge, too common in contemporary theater, to present the audience with a prop-laden set. Mr. Banato’s choices are largely complementary. His top-shelf props for the iterative grilling action are creative.

As pivotal to the plot as food and drink are, the clear sight of plastic props in lieu of legitimate consumables is an eye sore. While some productions get away with fabricated food and beverage, this piece demands the consumption of real, genuine food and ditto for the beverages which figure so prominently in the story.

Cliff Caruthers deserves special note for his very personal sound design. From subtle sound effects to music he specially produced for Detroit, Caruthers gives audiences something they rarely get today in a dramatic comedy, a well thought-out, carefully-considered and crisply rendered sound design—four stars for Mr. Caruthers.

Wesley Apfel’s stage management was tight, effective, and well executed. With as many moving parts as this production has, it’s clear Apfel’s presence and skill are in demand backstage.

Detroit’s greatest strengths lie in its technical aspects. From direction and stage management to lighting and sound, and from costumes and props to set design and construction, Aurora Theater’s production is a winner. It’s a real master class in technical artistry of contemporary theater.

Detroit ends its extended run on Sunday July 26, 2015. Tickets are available by phone on (510) 843-4822, online at www.auroratheater.org, or in person at the Aurora Theater Box Office, 2081 Addison St., in Berkeley.

Mr. Kris Neely is a member of the San Francisco Bay Area Theater Critics Circle. A director who earned an SFBATCC Best Director award (2012, ‘Lend Me a Tenor’, Ross Valley Players), his commentaries are focused, primarily, on the production, direction, and technical aspects of Theater.

Jul 23 2015
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The Cici and Hyatt Brown Museum of Art in Daytona Beach, Florida

By Test Review

The Cici and Hyatt Brown Museum of Art in Daytona Beach, Florida, features oil and watercolor paintings that tell of the cultural, geographic and natural history of Florida.

A BUILDING FOR HURRICANE COUNTRY. RLF Architects of Orlando and Bomar Construction, Inc. of Ormond Beach kept the look of the museum natural to Florida, while building it to withstand the extreme weather conditions possible in Central Florida. Architect Tom DeSimone, who served as RLF’s Project Architect for the museum, said, “The Browns’ art collection was absolutely the inspiration for the design of the building; utilizing covered porches with ceiling fans and gabled metal roofs to recall the simple, yet elegant architecture of early Florida, while balancing this with a modern sensibility, safety and sustainability for the art collection itself. The building also has state of the art lighting controls to maintain optimal lighting levels (footcandles) for viewing while preserving the art from damage, so this unique collection will continue to serve to educate our community about Florida’s history for future generations.” In the event of a hurricane or other sustained loss of power, the museum has been designed to remain operational for several days, powered by its own dedicated generator, and in case of a complete power outage artwork can be transferred for storage inside the museum to prevent damage from changes in humidity or temperature.

A VISUAL VISIT TO FLORIDA’S PAST: THE COLLECTORS SHARE THEIR THOUGHTS. Commenting on their collection, the Browns said, “It is a thrill for us to be able to share what we have developed with others who will make their own bonds to these works. We know that the paintings are a visual treat, but for many who have visited or lived in the state, the subjects will renew wonderful associations with the places depicted. Additionally, since many of the images presented in the collection are 19th-century paintings of places and things that no longer exist – viewing and contemplating them is a visual visit to Florida’s historical and colorful past.”

MUSEUM PARTICULARS: The Cici and Hyatt Brown Museum of Art is located at 352 S. Nova Road, Daytona Beach, FL 32114. The museum is set within native grasses, magnolias, oaks and cypress trees which complement heritage trees that were preserved throughout the construction process and incorporated into the site’s design. More information about the museum may be found at www.moas.org/ciciandhyattbrownmuseum.html.

Museum gotta see ‘um
June 27, 2015, 05:00 AM By Susan Cohn Daily Journal

Susan Cohn is a member of the North American Travel Journalists Association, Bay Area Travel Writers, and the International Food, Wine & Travel Writers Association. She may be reached at susan@smdailyjournal.com. More of her features may be found at ifwtwa.org/author/susan-cohn.

May 29 2015
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Fear and Loathing on the English Coast in THE BIRTHDAY PARTY

By Test Review

A dirty joke, a poignant insight, an absurdist yawp, an unexpected reversal, a shocking confession and a stream of ironic badinage erupt one after another—and sometimes all at once. Full of loaded banter, veering from nail-biting confrontation to wildly cathartic caricature, Pinter’s controversial play, The Birthday Party, remains a text of unique and overwhelming power. Its unique and overwhelming power lies in this rapid oscillation; this sudden shift of mood; the abrupt embrace of tranquility and nonsense, the pleasant familiarity of cliche and the horror of senseless brutality. “Dark comedy” does not even begin to describe it.

Stanley (Adam Simpson) and Meg (Celia Maurice)

Off Broadway West Theatre Company’s performance of The Birthday Party summons this grimly ridiculous and genuinely terrifying world, a world cleverly disguised as a routine morning at a rundown boarding house in the least fashionable quarter of an English seaside town in the 1950’s, where we find British-born Graham Cowley, as Petey, munching his cornflakes in a fog, aloof.

Petey’s wife, Meg, dotes on him with unwelcome playfulness. As Meg, Celia Maurice embodies dotty sentimentality and loneliness. Ms. Maurice trained at Stanford University, with the A.C.T. Young Conservatory. In New York, she worked at the Lincoln Center with the New York City Opera, and The Birthday Party marks her debut performance with OBWTC. In this, she is magnetic: One moment, Meg is soaring away on a fantasy of escape, and, in the next, she is a dowdy husk of a human being. Humdrum chit-chat suddenly becomes brisk and riveting. This ordinary breakfast conversation, like one of our own, is now electrified—an everyday relationship catastrophically, irrationally infused with epic power struggles, violent upheavals, and dizzying bouts of confusion and regret.

At the breakfast table, still wearing his dressing gown and pajamas, the insanely demanding lodger, Stanley (Adam Simpson), heaps contempt on Meg. Later, the next-door neighbor, Lulu (played with smoldering sultriness by Jessica Lea Risco), asks Stanley, “You want to go for a walk?”
“I can’t.”
“You’re a bit of a wash-out,” she says.

Words are weapons, and, in time, they rip Stanley apart. The main drama here is his complete disintegration, from the youthful piano-playing phenom to the older and bitterly obscure lodger to… Something else entirely, something that must be seen to be believed.

Into this world drop the dapper Goldberg, and his Irish henchman, McCann. With their double-breasted suits, their black broad-brimmed hats, and smooth urban cynicism, McCann and Goldberg might as well be Martians. Keith Burkland, an OBWTC veteran, plays Goldberg. His sidekick, McCann, is played by James Centofanti, who appeared alongside Mr. Burkland last year in OBWTC’s Betrayal—another Pinter play. In this performance, their powerful chemistry crackles mercilessly, and spits sparks.
With oily, machine-like relentlessness, they advance on Stanley—and drive him to madness. McCann rips up a newspaper meticulously. For no apparent purpose. With a dead-eyed gaze, McCann regards Stanley coolly. He takes in this bizarre, overgrown boy, and says, “You’re in a bad state man.” Lulu is nothing but a “big, bouncy girl” to Goldberg. Goldberg is, himself, a London Jew, and a preachy raconteur (“You’ve always been a true Christian to me,” says McCann). Their neatly choreographed interrogations make a picture of menace.

Meg has no idea she is being ridiculed by Goldberg. Stanley’s face contorts in vexation and fury. He paces erratically, and beats his birthday drum like a maniac. The audience wonders: Is it OK to laugh at this? At the climax, in a scene like the cartoon version of the nightmare of a paranoiac, a game of “blind man’s bluff” unleashes a sinister, grasping golem; a stupid bacchanal spirals into oblivion with all the desolation of a drunken black-out; and Goldberg and McCann, once dapper sharks, are reduced to mere lecherous buffoons. Stanley is reduced to twitchy catatonia. Meg and Lulu are each reduced to a “walk of shame”. And Petey suffers more than he ever knew that he could suffer.

Goldberg (Keith Burkland) at center, with his henchman, McCann (James Centofanti)

A richly evocative sea-worn set—scarves and jackets and curtains pegged up like damp rags—renders an off-beat and dilapidated “boutique hotel” from the Fawlty Towers era. Anglophile fans of television shows like Doc Martin and QI will love the wittily suggestive back-and-forth repartee.

OBWTC’s The Birthday Party plays at San Francisco’s “The Phoenix Theatre” at 414 Mason St. (6th floor) until June 27th, 2015, with performances Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at 8pm, as well as a pair of Sunday matinees (at 3pm) on May 31st and June 14. The Birthday Party is an all-out assault — a true tour de force — and it is not to be missed!

Apr 22 2015
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The Way West: Damsels in Distress

By Test Review

On April 21, 2015, the Marin Theater Company premiered The Way West which had won Marin Theater Company’s 2013 Sky Cooper New American Play Award.   Playwright Mona Mansour was awarded the 2014 Middle East America Distinguished Playwright Award, so expectations were high. The story line revolves around the relationship of a mother and two daughters caught in the maelstrom of the financial collapse.  The mother is attempting to declare bankruptcy, while she tries to evoke hope in the two daughters with references to the Old West and the pioneers. Anne Darragh, as Mom, offers a humorous touch despite her situation, framed by the engaging, light tunes accompanying the story that she and the daughters occasionally sing as counterpoint. Mom copes, but doesn’t seem to have a clue about how she got into the mess or even appear to be concerned about it.  The youngest daughter, Meesh, played by Rosie Hallett, is as numb as her mom, and only contributes to her mother’s financial demise, without any personal recriminations.  The only hope appears to be in the older daughter, Manda, played by Kathryn Zdan, who supposedly holds a reputable job as a grant writer.  But her façade falls as she, too, is knee deep in a credit mess which she fails to recognize because she pays the sizable minimum payments each month and happily offers to open up another credit account, without any compunction.  Soon, through her own irresponsibility, she is out of a job and beset with the same prospect of being out on the street.  Three clueless ladies!

Anne Darragh (Mom), Kathryn Zdan (Manda) and Rosie Hallett (Meesh) in West Coast premiere of Mona Mansour’s The Way West, on stage at Marin Theatre Company

The other two characters in the play, Tress, played by Stacy Ross, and Manny/and the Pizza Man, played by Hugo Carbajal, offer context to the mess. Tress has borrowed money from Mom (Mom’s father’s trust?) to invest in a direst sales scam to sell glorified beauty water, which, naturally, goes belly-up. While she professes responsibility, she is equally lost. Manny, a start-up paralegal, functions as a source of hope for Mom’s bankruptcy request and Manda’s future security as a potential returning beau. Hugo reappears to play the separate role of the pizza man who delivers the message that there is just no more credit! The closest that the play comes to a climax is at the end when Manda says that her Mom is a statistic just like the folks who died on their way West—all optimism and no practicality.  The family takes no responsibility for their mess—just that that they will pack their belongings in boxes, bought on credit, and move on after the house is assumed by the bank.

All this said, the play is engaging, the story line has a relationship to our pioneering forbears who set out optimistically to face the unknown, with all their fatalistic flaws, and the actors charm the audience into believing the premise without totally buying into it. It is a modern take on an old melodrama: the anonymous villain is the credit card company; the damsels in distress are clueless. Alas! There is no hero.

It was an enjoyable evening in an intimate theater. MTC is to be commended for its pioneering spirit!

review by Linda Cederblom, For All Events reviewer

Mar 24 2015
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for colored girls… Review

By Test Review

Colorful Tales Come to Black Box Theatre
by Billy McEntee

The Lady in Orange spins onto the stage. She takes in her audience, and a moment later the Lady in Red hustles on from somewhere else. Then the Lady in Purple, glancing flirtatiously at her crowd. It makes for a nice rainbow, and even nicer staging, as soon eight young women circumvent café tables where patrons sit, almost entrancing them.

The Cast

The Bonn Studio Theater has been transformed into an underground piano bar for Boston College Theatre Department’s production of for colored girls who have considered suicide when the rainbow is enuf by Ntozake Shange. Scenic and lighting designer Ben Wilson creates this subterranean locale by having half the audience sit on the stage deck at various café tables complete with high tops, Thonet chairs, and flickering electric candles. There is no real offstage in for colored girls… and thus nowhere to hide; actresses and audience alike are always at least dimly visible. Despite the sunless atmosphere, flashes of color from Jackie Dalley’s costumes breathe light into the underground bar. So do the ladies’ vivid tales.

The eight women take turns sharing stories of sexuality and abortion, of loss and empowerment. Director John Houchin and choreographer Pam Newton have the women weave and dance around the café tables, allowing them to address their audience from different angles. The café setup almost mirrors an arena stage, characteristic of intimate shows though prone to sightline issues, but Houchin skillfully uses the open center stage and Wilson’s platforms to keep the actresses in sight and at home with their audience.

Structurally unique, Shange bills her abstract play as a “choreopoem.” There is no plot, no scene changes, and no conversation save the actresses’ direct addresses. Instead, the women from different cities and social classes congregate in a common space where they can share their poetic narratives. Houchin succeeds in creating this sense of community, both with his actresses and the audience. The ladies listen to each other’s monologues and often take on roles in other’s stories. They snap fingers in affirmation. They offer warm hands during poignant recounts. And by the play’s celebratory finale, the audience is snapping, stomping, and swaying with the eight buoyant women.

The young actresses handle Shange’s lyrical text proficiently. However when one performer soulfully connects with a monologue it makes a less focused story pale in comparison. Sydney McNeal, as the Lady in Purple, is the most consistent and grounded in her poetry. In a sold out Bonn Studio Theater volume is easily swallowed, but McNeal’s lucid diction and range of emotions easily makes the audience understand and connect with her stories of a one-night stand and a man’s porous apology.

When the other women are similarly connected, the poetry soars. Toluwase Oladapo’s story of abuse as the Lady in Green and Raven Tillman’s loss of a child as the Lady in Red are testament to this. During such heightened moments the actresses embodied their characters and let Shange’s poetry captivate, however in expository phrases words were often glazed over.

At only an 80-minute runtime, the added dancing never elongates or distracts from the story. Instead Newton’s choreography is economically used as a way to bridge monologues and let the ladies, and audience, shake off the often harrowing tales.

While dancing, the Lady in Blue (Ashlie Pruitt) contemplates what life would be like if she weren’t a woman of color. Bored by the prospect, she sarcastically proposes, “Let’s think our way outta feelin’.” She laughs, throws her arms up, and twirls, splattering the audience with her effervescent colors.

 

for colored girls… runs through March 23. Tickets are $10 for students with ID and $15 for adults. The play contains strobe lights and sexual content. For more information visit bc.edu/theatre.

Mar 17 2015
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Shining City at Main Stage West

By Test Review

Shining City, by Conor McPherson, recently received an excellent staging by Main Stage West in Sebastopol. Directed by MSW Executive Director Beth Craven, the xxx play by one of Ireland’s best-known playwrights may disappoint those who were so enthralled by MSW’s earlier production of McPherson’s The Weir. Both plays display the playwright’s extraordinary gift for dialogue, but whereas The Weir is a true play, i.e., things happen, conflicts abound, situations evolve, etc., Shining City just sits there. One actor hogs the set with a spectacularly long tale of hallucinatory grief, while three others stand by to do their annotations to the central theme. Which is? Strangely, one-night stands.