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Apr 02 2015
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print publications

By Uncategorized

My print publications going back to 1981 can now be accessed online at the following link.

http://michaelfergusonpublications.blogspot.com/

Topics include:

J.D. Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye

Alan Turing

Was Abraham Lincoln Gay?

Janusz Szuber, They Carry a Promise

William Carlos Williams

Jeffery Beam

John Rechy, City of Night

Kobo Abe, The Face of Another

Heinz Kohut, The Two Analyses of Mr. Z

Yves Saint Laurent

Poetry

Portraiture and Art

Photography as cultural history

Psychoanalysis as a Scientific Discipline

Adolph Grünbaum

Psychoanalytic Theory of Male Homosexuality

Multiple Personality and Hypnosis

History of sex laws in the United States

Gays in the U.S. military

Religion and sexual culture

Christianity and sexuality

The concept of sexual orientation

Masculinity

Lesbianism

Gender identity, cross dressing, and transsexuals or intersex

Japanese sexual culture

Arab sexual culture

Sexual culture of American Indian tribes

Gun control

Mar 31 2015
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Successful Sold-Out Performance of “Fiddler on the Roof” at NTC

By Flora Lynn Isaacson

Novato Theater Company brings Tevye’s Russian village, Anatevka, to life with an outstanding cast, great choreography by Kate Kenyon, and excellent directing by award-winning Director Pat Nims and Musical Director, Carl Oser.  The cast includes 24 actors and 5 musicians.

One of the most popular musicals in history, Fiddler on the Roof was written in 1964 with Book by Joseph Stein, Music by Jerry Bock, and Lyrics by Sheldon Harnick.

Fiddler on the Roof is the story of family, love, change and tradition.  Its defining statement is spoken by the philosophizing milkman Tevye at the end of the first song “Tradition”: “Without our traditions, our lives would be as shaky as a fiddler on the roof!”  Based on the stories of Sholem Aleichem, who himself had to flee the tumultuous times of early 20th century Imperial Russia, Fiddler captures the heart of a people seemingly forced to be on the move.  Set in 1905, Fiddler brings Aleichem’s tales to life.

Michael Walraven stars as Tevye the milkman and carries the show with an outstanding performance. He is given able assistance by wife Golde (Paula Gianetti).  Both must cope with the strong-willed actions of their three older daughters and each of their miss-choice for a husband.  Tevye tries to arrange a marriage for his first daughter Tzeitel (Bouket Fingerhut) to the wealthy butcher Lazar Wolf (Patrick Barr) which he must undo when Tzeitel professes her love for the poor tailor Motel (James Gregory).  When Tevye’s second daughter Hodel (Gina Madory), falls in love with the poor student revolutionary Perchik (Ben Knoll), Tevye loses his dream again.  As each of his daughters depart from their culture’s long-time traditions, with the mild Tzeitel marrying for love to the severe Chava (played by Bessie Zolno) falling in love with a non-Jewish Russian Fyedka (Nicholas Moore), Tevye loses his dream yet again.  Michael Walraven has some wonderful scenes as he talks to G-d about his dilemma.

From the first sweet notes of “Tradition” through the hearty “To Life To Life LeChaim” to the poignant spirit of “Anatevka,” Musical Director Carl Oser handles these famous songs with pleasing finesse.  Director Pat Nims and Choreographer Kate Kenyon recreate the rough grace and exciting energy with gliding circles and boisterous folk dances.

Amy Dietz is a capable, bothersome Yente – the matchmaker – and Patrick Barr is a reasonably solid Lazar Wolf, but it’s the daughters who challenge and erode Tevye’s treasured traditions and who provide the chief dramatic and musical joys, edging the shtetl’s inhabitants into a new world.

The daughters’ “Matchmaker, Matchmaker” is a delight; “To Life To Life…” and “Wedding Dance” explode with energy, and the swell of “Tradition” and “Sabbath Prayer” and “Sunrise and Sunset” work with unusual charm.

Fiddler on the Roof will run at the Novato Theater Company Playhouse from March 27th through April 26th. Performances are Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm, with Sunday Matinees at 2pm.  There will be one Thursday show on April 23rd at 8pm.

For tickets, call 415-883-4498 or go online at www.novatotheatercompany.org

Coming up next at Novato Theater Company will be Unnecessary Farce by Paul Slade Smith, with Director Billie Cox, from May 21 through June 14, 2015.

FLORA LYNN ISAACSON

Photos by Mark Clark

Mar 29 2015
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The Wrecking Crew — Film Review

By Joe Cillo

The Wrecking Crew

Directed by Denny Tedesco

This is a fascinating look at the West Coast music industry of the 1960 and 70s.  There are many intimate interviews with many of the insiders who made the hit records happen time and time again.  The film was made by Denny Tedesco, the son of Tommy Tedesco, one of the lead guitarists in the group.  The real story that this film seeks to lift up is the musicians who played on those records and who were a large part of the creative input on those records, but who never got a visible credit and whose names are unknown to the public.  It was the same small, tight group of high quality musicians that played behind a diverse group of front bands that included The Beach Boys, The Mamas and the Papas, The Monkees, The Fifth Dimension, The Association, The Ronettes, John Denver, Nancy Sinatra, and many many others.  These were the studio musicians who played on the records that were played on the radio and sold in record stores.  They also played on popular commercials and theme music for television programs such as Hawaii Five-O.  They did not tour with the bands.  They did not play in stadiums and concert halls.  They were the invisible musical force behind the scenes that gave this music its power and appeal.  For anyone born before 1960 it is a must see, but anyone who listens to the music from that era and is interested in the cultural history of the United States at that time will find much that is of great interest.

What Tedesco has exhibited is the raw material of a documentary, but I think he needs to work on it.  Tedesco is not Ken Burns, but he needs to take some lessons from him.  This material needs some thematic organization, some historical and cultural context, some chronological definition.  This film has no center of gravity.  It lacks a narrative line that would unify it and weave these disparate pieces together into a continuous whole.  As it is, it’s a bit of a hodgepodge, a bunch of very interesting, provocative clips strung together, and each person and each interview is interesting in and of itself, so you cannot fail to be captivated by the content of this film.  I wish Tedesco had a broader and deeper concept of his task.  I think it should be about four times as long.  He should present more background, not only on the individual musicians, but on the entire music phenomenon of the 1960s rock and roll scene.  I would like to see a much more complete catalog of the groups, the albums, and the songs that The Wrecking Crew worked on, as well as a contrast with the groups that did not use the studio musicians from the Wrecking Crew.  Was there discourse between them?  Occasional collaborations and crossovers?  I also wasn’t satisfied with his account of the demise of the Wrecking Crew and how the recording industry changed in the latter half of the 1970s.

In the question and answer session afterwards he said the film is finished, but at the same time he told us he did an interview with Michael Nesmith of the Monkees that very morning.  I hope he will continue to go forward with the project, expand it, and forge a real historical documentary that will become the definitive statement on the period.  He certainly has a priceless trove of material and I could see in the question session that he has much more in his head than he could convey in the film.  I congratulate him on a superb effort in collecting it and truly wish him well in developing it.

Mar 29 2015
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‘Jewels of Paris’ revue in San Francisco is funny, campy, bawdy

By Woody Weingarten

[Woody’s [rating: 3.5]

In “Jewels of Paris” sketch, Andrew Darling plays Cupid (center) while Kim Larsen (left) and Lisa McHenry portray his “ordinary” God-parents, Jupiter and Venus. Photo by David Wilson.

A sex-tet performs a mock can-can in “Jewels of Paris.”

Steven Satyricon (left) and Andrew Darling perform a unique duet in “Jewels of Paris.” Photo by David Wilson.

Birdie-Bob Watt portrays the famed sad clown, Pierrot, in “Jewels of Paris.” Photo by David Wilson.

I left “Jewels of Paris” with lingering thoughts of flashy costuming and fleshy lack of costuming.

But that doesn’t mean I overlooked the new revue’s substantial, silly satire.

Or its clever songs. Or unadulterated bawdiness.

Or copious kitsch.

My afterthoughts insisted on zoning in on a couple of dangling participles and more than a few dangling body parts.

“Jewels of Paris,” a new musical revue presented by the Thrillpeddlers at the Hypnodrome in San Francisco, is clearly a throwback — first by comically reconstructing for me the City of Lights and the artistic revolution that exploded there in the Roaring Twenties, then by jerking me back to old-timey burlesque and shocking campus musicals.

Spoofed effectively along the way are Gertrude Stein, Pablo Picasso, Josephine Baker, Pierrot (the sad clown of Commedia dell’Arte fame) and — yes, after all it is France — Marie Antoinette.

Yet never would I think this revue might draw audiences from an umpteenth touring company of  “Chicago.”

It’s way too South of Market for that.

“Jewels of Paris” will surely pull in exactly what it aims for: mainly gay audiences (in and out of leather), and heterosexuals interested in a funny show that revisits the kind of original Scrumbly Koldewyn melodies he composed for the legendary Cockettes, the psychedelic, chiefly drag theater troupe he co-founded.

Here Koldewyn puts his fresh musical and lyrical jewels on display, so to speak.

As well as his talents as musical director and piano- and synthesizer-playing accompanist — all the while managing to keep the nostalgic jazzy rhythms alive without becoming overly redundant.

He also contributes to the book (sketches that are also credited to Rob Keefe, Alex Kinney and Andy Wenger).

Just for giggles, naturally.

Lyrics can be amazingly droll. Consider lines such as “They see me as savage and shoeless, but I’m just a flapper from St. Louis” or “Wait — I’ll torture you with my metaphors.”

Noah Haydon, meanwhile, is responsible for the choreography, ensuring each movement (ranging from a mock can-can to simulated sex) be precise enough so none of the 16-member cast (many of whom play multiple roles) stumbles into another on the small stage.

The campy revue’s so professionally staged on a set that’s seamlessly moved piecemeal by the actors undergoing myriad wig and costume changes, in fact, there’s not a single “oopsie” moment.

In addition, extraordinary solo performances are proffered by drag queen Noah Haydon torch-singing “Singer in a Café,” Kim Larsen crooning “Oh What a World,” and Birdie-Bob Watt lamenting “Chic and Tragic” as Pierrot.

Russell Blackwood, the production’s director, induces a well-paced balance between farce and music — and safeguards the overriding theme that human differences must be acceptable.

The ensemble cast raises diversity to new heights.

Actor-singers are white, black and Asian; male, female and possibly other; skinny and fat, tall and short, hunky and frumpy.

But don’t look for a plot. It’s absent.

And direct links to France tend to disappear during the second act of the two-hour performance.

Thrillpeddlers, their website informed me, “have been performing authentic Grand Guignol horror plays, outrageous Theatre of the Ridiculous musicals, and spine-tingling lights-out spookshows in San Francisco for nearly 20 years.”

Guess which of those categories “Jewels of Paris” fits into.

Here, however, is a mammoth red flag.

I recommend you stay far away if you’re turned off by nudity (male and female, frontal and backal), by straight and gay postures that don’t demand an advanced degree in gymnastics but do require open-mindedness, by cross-dressing and other gender-bending, by the mere idea of S&M, or ridiculing depictions of a bearded lady and a hunch-backed “Quasi-homo.”

If you’re adventurous, however, it’s a one-of-a-kind San Francisco treat that could tingle your pleasure palate vastly better than Rice-A-Roni.

Because the back-of-an-alley theater holds only 45 people, with first-come, first-served seating except for a handful of higher-priced boxes in which you can recline (or otherwise unbend), I’d recommended that tickets be purchased in advance.

My wife and I chanced to sit in the Hell box, with its fiery red seat covers and wall mirror at genitalia level.

Perhaps because we enjoy the unfamiliar and rare, it and the show were heavenly.

“Jewels of Paris” runs through May 2 at the Hypnodrome, 575 10th St., San Francisco. Performances are Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m.  Tickets: $30-$35. Information: 1-415-377-4202 or www.thrillpeddlers.com

Contact Woody Weingarten at voodee@sbcglobal.net or at www.vitalitypress.com

Mar 29 2015
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Public art in Marin County can be fun to see — or climb on

By Woody Weingarten

Writer’s granddaughter bear-hugs Bufano bear in front of Ross Town Hall. Photo by Woody Weingarten.

Charming, playful mural adorns outer wall of Bolinas Avenue store in Fairfax. Photo by Woody Weingarten.

Colorful obelisk adorns Ross Valley Fire Department in downtown San Anselmo. Photo by Woody Weingarten.

“Public art,” country music singer and visual artist Terry Allen once decreed, “is for the birds.”

Well, yes ‘n’ no.

“Our fine-feathered friends may be great fans of artwork, for a good reason,” I find myself countering, “but even when they blitz it with their white bombs, it’s still art that human beings can appreciate.”

In case you haven’t guessed, I’m among those humans.

I periodically meander into places not far from my Ross Valley home to re-appreciate stuff I’ve treasured before.

My 8-year-old granddaughter often tags along.

I just like looking. Hannah’s favorites are those she can climb.

So, naturally, she’s long been partial to Sugarfoot, the antlered stag that stands tall on the lawn outside San Anselmo’s Town Hall.

She’s been climbing on the anatomically correct metallic critter ever since she was 3 — so her rump has greatly added to the sheen of the sculpture’s back.

She originally decided Sugarfoot was a lost Santa reindeer who’d chosen my adopted hometown as his.

And was magical.

Now she just considers him a handy place from which she can hang upside down.

Hannah has also enjoyed caressing the abstract marble Bufano bear that stands on a pedestal in front of the Ross Town Hall, a gift from residents Jerry and Peggy Flax.

I, too, like the bear — and most of the work by San Francisco sculptor Benny Bufano.

But I also relish that he was a blunt-speaking peacenik.

He reportedly, after an accident severed it, sent half his “trigger finger” to Woodrow Wilson in protest of World War I.

Years later, after Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy had been assassinated, he sculpted “St. Francis of the Guns” out of melted-down weapons turned in by citizens.

I’m pretty sure his Ross bear bears no political statement, though.

The artist, in a tale that might be apocryphal, purportedly advised the town on the animal’s care and feeding, including an admonition to “polish regularly with Carnauba auto wax.”

Early this year, Ross hired a contractor to repair cracks and other damage in the marble. Since then, the town’s prohibited kids from scaling it, even for photos.

Before the fixes, however, we managed to snap a couple of Hannah giving it, logically, a big bear hug.

Since she’s a consummate animal freak (no surprise — her abode, where a barnload of horses used to board, is now home to a dog, a cat, two goats and two pet lizards), she also adores Al Guibara’s bronze statue of Blackie the horse on a Tiburon pasture.

She loves, too, hanging out in Imagination Park — land of a gadzillion selfies, adjacent to San Anselmo’s town hall — with the Lawrence Noble pop-art bronze statues of film characters Yoda and Indiana Jones.

Both are life-sized, although Indy’s about 6-foot-3 and Yoda merely 2-1/2 feet high.

Marin’s most famed artwork, in my view, is the Civic Center, an imaginative structure in San Rafael built after the death of Frank Lloyd Wright, who designed it.

The golden spired, sky-blue roofed tourist attraction — a location for the sci-fi movie “Gattaca” and Lucas’ first feature-length film, “THX” — was Wright’s last commission and is somehow still avant-garde today, 53 years after the first section was completed.

I cherish it.

Almost as much as I hate most monochromatic oils hanging in museums that demand I take a wild guess at what bizarre sense of beauty an artist had in mind while slapping paint onto a canvas.

The truth is, virtually any art is problematic for me because it can’t be attached to my refrigerator with a magnet like Hannah’s hand-drawn thingies.

Still, she and I often jointly enjoy examining the charming, playful murals in Fairfax that adorn the tall outer wall of a Bolinas Avenue store or the short wall at the nearby baseball field, as well as the colorful obelisk in front of the Ross Valley Fire Station in downtown San Anselmo.

Not to mention the sky paintings made by jet planes or shifting clouds or blinking stars.

Humorist Dave Barry once defined public art as that which “is purchased by experts who are not spending their own personal money.”

He may be right.

But writer Oscar Wilde was definitely wrong when he proclaimed, “All art is quite useless.”

It’s fun.

Contact Woody Weingarten at voodee@sbcglobal.net or check out his blog at www.vitalitypress.com/

Mar 25 2015
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Turgenev’s Moving 1848 Comedy “A Month in the Country” at RVP

By Flora Lynn Isaacson

We are greeted with the sounds of birds chirping in the wings of Ken Rowland’s lovely outdoor set, which quickly converts to an inner living room and dining room.  The play begins with the entire cast offering themselves to the audience with what Director James Nelson terms as their outstretched hands inviting the audience to come with them on the journey of their story.

We are about to see Brian Friel’s adaptation of Turgenev’s 1848 classic A Month in the Country.  The setting we have just seen is the Estate of Arkady Islayev in Russia.

Natalya (Shannon Veon Kase) is married to Arkady (Tom Hudgens), a rich land-owner 7-years her senior.  Bored with life, she welcomes the attention of Michel (Ben Ortega) as her devoted but resentful admirer, without ever letting their friendship ever develop into a love affair.

Shannon Veon Kase, Zach Stewart

The arrival of the handsome 21-year-old student Alexsey (Zach Stewart) as a tutor to her son ends Natalya’s boredom.  She falls in love with Alexsey and so does her ward Vera (Emily Ludlow), the Islayev’s 17-year-old foster daughter.  To rid herself of her rival, Natalya proposes that Vera should marry a rich old neighbor, but the rivalry remains unresolved.  Michel struggles with his love for Natalya as she wrestles with hers for Alexsey, while Vera and Alexsey draw closer. 

Misunderstandings arise, and after Michel begins to have his suspicions, both Michel and Alexsey are obliged to leave.  As other members of the household drift off to their own world, Natalya’s life returns to a state of boredom.

Both servants, Matvey (Johnny DeBernard) and Katya (Jocelyn Roddie), did an excellent job of adding some good physical comedy and romance to the story, as well.

Secondary characters include Arkady’s mother Anna (Kim Bromley), her companion Lizaveta (Robyn Wiley), a neighbor Bolshintsov (Frederick Lein), Dr. Shpigelsky (Wood Lockhart) and a German tutor Herr Schaaf (Mark Shepard).

Michael A. Berg’s costumes are right on target as is the effective lighting design by Frank Sarrubi which added much to the play’s atmosphere.  Director James Nelson was largely successful in finding 12 actors skilled in playing comedy.

According to Director Nelson, A Month in the Country is a play about the “destructive and incendiary nature of desire.”  There is a web of romantic pursuit involving every one of the 12 characters, and we see offers, rejections, dismissals, and evasions of love at every turn, providing a fiery contrast to the calm, polite setting of an isolated Russian country estate.

 

A Month in the Country runs from March 13 through April 12, 2015, with performances on

Thursdays 7:30 pm on March 12, 19, and 26; April 2 and 9

Fridays 8:00 pm on March 13, 20, and 27; April 3 and 10

Saturdays 8:00 pm on March 14, 21, and 28

(Saturday, April 11: 2:00 pm Matinee and 8:00 pm)

Sundays 2:00 pm on March 22, 29, and April 12

 

All performances take place at The Barn Theatre, home of the Ross Valley Players, 30 Sir Francis Drake Blvd. in Ross CA.  To order tickets, telephone 415-456-9555 ext. 1, or online at www.rossvalleyplayers.com

Coming up next at Ross Valley Players is The Clean House by Sarah Ruhl and Directed by JoAnne Winter from May 15 through June 14, 2015.

Flora Lynn Isaacson

 

 

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 24 2015
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Stupid F**king Bird at SF Playhouse a meta-theatrical mash-up

By Kedar K. Adour

Ensemble cast of Stupid F**cking Bird at SF Playhouse

STUPID F**KING BIRD: Drama by Aaron Posner. Sort of adapted from Chekhov’s The Seagull. Directed by Susi Damilano. San Francisco Playhouse, 490 Post Street (2nd Floor of Kensington Park Hotel,  San Francisco. (415) 677-9596. www.sfplayhouse.org. March 17 to May 2, 2015

Stupid F**king Bird at SF Playhouse a meta-theatrical mash-up [rating:3]

A former Professor of Drama at San Francisco State College began his playwriting class by displaying three posters for an upcoming play asking the students which of the three they would go to see. After selection by each member, it was hardly a universal selection; our professor announced that the posters displayed different names for the same play.

That brings up the well-known and oft repeated question, “What’s in a name. . ?” (Romeo and Juliet (II, ii, 1-2)). Although it is a Shakespearean truism/question it is appropriate as reference to San Francisco Playhouse’s marvelously stage version of Aaron Posner’s revision/adaptation/rip-off of Chekhov’s masterpiece The Seagull. Four mature friends turned down an opportunity to attend opening performance after being told the title. Their decision may have been wise choices but they did miss a well-staged, marvelously acted ‘performance piece’. The raucous opening night audience did not enhance the show and I would suggest that alcohol not be allowed in the theater.

If you attend, it most probably will be available for half-price soon; being familiar with Chekhov’s The Seagull will enhance your ‘enjoyment’ of this two hour and 20 minute (including intermission) play.

It all begins with an obtuse play within the play written and directed by a main character Con (superb Adam Magill) with the ingénue Nina (Martha Brigham ) in the lead. Posner blatantly gives her lines glorifying the beauty and freedom of the soaring sea gulls that become a metaphysical force at the beginning, middle and end of the evening. Director Susi Damilino has Nina dressed in all white costume with gull like lace wings. Author and noted director Posner probably identifies with Con who in the penultimate scene asserts that there are no new art (playwriting) forms and we should be content with making the old ones better.

There is a bit of confusion about relationships early on in the play that are made mostly clear as the evening progresses. Time and place are not identified by Posner but it is the present in a country home (estate?) near a symbolic lake. The estate is owned (or rented?) by successful actress Emma (Carrie Paff) who is there with her lover Trig (Johnny Moreno) a semi-famous author.  Con is Emma’s son and Sorn (Charles Shaw Robinson), a doctor, is her older brother.  The backgrounds for Mash (El Beh) and Dev (Joseph Estlack) are not defined but if you know The Seagull you may surmise their lineage. It is the relationships that are cogent.

Con loves Nina who eventually loves Trig. Dev loves Mash who loves Con. There are extended passages about the meaning of love and art that are shared with the audience both in monologs and directing questioning by individuals and at times with the entire cast. It is a very effective directorial device but occasionally seems indulgent.

Director Damilano is to be commended for staging that is tender to offset the dramatic dynamics of the tangled relationships. Modern songs with irreverent lyrics by Posner are played on a ukulele by Mash throughout the evening. One wonders if having the character Sorn plaintively play clarinet is written into the script or is a brilliant Damilano conceit. She uses Bill English’s fantastic set that includes a lake-side pier with a single rope swing on stage right and a traditional swing on stage left to great advantage. The piece-de-resistance is the wooden home (dacha) on center stage that revolves to become a fully functional kitchen in the second act.

The cast performs brilliantly in individual scenes and are a dynamic force as an ensemble. Despite the title, there is much to like about this production but as heard on departing the theater, “You shouldn’t f—k with Chekhov.

CAST: El Beh (Mash), Martha Brigham ( Nina ), Joseph Estlack ( Dev ), Adam Magill (Con), Johnny Moreno (Trig), Carrie Paff ( Emma), Charles Shaw Robinson ( Sorn).

CREATIVE TEAAM: Abra Berman ( Costume Designer ), Susi Damilano ( Director ), Bill English ( Set Design ), Lauren English ( Casting Director); Tatjana Genser ( Production/Stage Manager ), Mark Hueske (Lighting Design), Maggie Koch ( Production Manager ), Steve Schoenbeck ( Sound Design ), Jacquelyn Scott ( Props Artisan ), Sarah Selig(  Production Assistant ), Zach Sigman ( Technical Theatre Manager),

Kedar K. Adour, MD

Courtesy of www.theatreworldinternetmagazine.com

 

Mar 22 2015
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Moliere’s TARTUFFE a solid hit at Berkeley Rep

By Kedar K. Adour

(l to r) Steven Epp (Tartuffe), Nathan Keepers (Laurent), and Sofia Jean Gomez (Elmire) perform in a provocative revival of Molière’s Tartuffe, a dark comedy about religious hypocrisy. Photo courtesy of kevinberne.com

TARTUFFE: Written by Molière. Adapted by David Ball, Directed by Dominique Serrand. Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Roda Theatre, 2015 Addison Street @ Shattuck, Berkeley, CA 94704. (510) 647-2949 or  www.berkeleyrep.org. March 13 – April 12, 2015

Moliere’s TARTUFFE a solid hit at Berkeley Rep [rating:5]

The standing ovation on opening night of Moliere’s Tartuffe was totally earned by this latest incarnation of this 17th century comedy that was originally banned after its 1664 opening at the Palace of Versailles for the court of Louis XIV. It earned its banishment from the stage for its irreverent treatment of the Catholic Church, and the scathing commentary on pious hypocrisy in general. There have been numerous adaptations and revisions of the play in the intervening years.

The most widely used script is the translation into English verse by Richard Wilber that was locally staged by Berkeley Rep in 1984 and the Santa Rosa 6th Street Playhouse in 2010. The present latest adaptation by David Ball was first performed by the South Coast Repertory under the direction the legendary Dominique Serrand and staring the inimitable Steven Epp. They have been artistic cohorts for 25 years beginning with the famous, now defunct, Theatre Lejune of Minneapolis that “was known for its visually rich, highly physical style of theatre, derived from clown, mime, dance and opera. The theatre’s reputation also stemmed from their reinvented classics and their productions of highly ambitious original work.” They have worked together numerous times and this latest collaboration equals or surpasses their previous outings.

“The play’s the thing” aphorism takes second place to the stylized acting and staging that incorporates comedy, farce, commedia dell’arte techniques, tableaus and broad acting on a magnificent set with minimal furniture that is adroitly moved by the cast seamlessly changing scenes without interrupting the flow of the story.

Do not be misled, Moliere’s story is as fresh and cogent today as it was in 1664 but in our permissive society no censorship would be forthcoming.  Tartuffe  is a moralistic attack on religious hypocrisy and its potential disastrous effect on those who embrace it. Originally written in five acts, the two hours and 20 minute running time (two acts with intermission) seems like much less and the opening night audience thoroughly enjoyed it.

A capsule summary: Tartuffe (Steven Epp) is the story of a man who ingratiates himself into Orgon’s (Luverne Seifert) rich family by appearing saintly. Orgon is on the verge of marrying off his daughter Marianne (Lenne Klingaman), who is in love with young handsome Valère (Christopher Carley) to Tartuffe the holier-then-thou hypocritical fake. Orgon even gives away his house and fortune to Tartuffe, disowns his son his son Damis (Brian Hostenske), disregards this level-headed  his brother-in-law Cleante (Gregory Linington), and doubts that the Tartuffe attempted to seduce his wife Elmira (Sofia Jean Gomez).  He also silences  Dorine (Suzanne Warmanen) housemaid and confidant of Marianne who attempts to intercede. Alas, knowledge comes too late, but never fear before the end of the play, royal intervention solves all the problems.

Great story but it is the acting and directing that is magnificent. Even though Steven Epp gets, and earns, top billing the other main characters are superb. The always inventive director Serrand has provided Tartuffe with two servants,  rather than one, who silently provide and move props and are used to execute hilarious tableaus. 

(l to r) Steven Epp (Tartuffe), Nathan Keepers (Laurent), and Sofia Jean Gomez (Elmire) perform in a provocative revival of Molière’s Tartuffe, a dark comedy about religious hypocrisy. Photo courtesy of kevinberne.com

Tartuffe makes his entrance late in the play and Suzanne Warmanen  as Dorine and Luverne Seifert triumphantly dominate the first act.  Sofia Jean Gomez exudes sexually excitement in her seduction scene with Tartuffe  and beautiful ingenue Lenne Klingaman milks the touching break-up scene with her true love Valere to perfection. Christopher Carley, dressed in a flower-patterned suit (costumes by Sonya Berlovitz ) brings the house down with his display of thwarted love. One cannot say enough about the superlative performing of Steven Epp. He seductively rolls on the floor, exuding sexual innuendo yet feels perfectly at home being stretched on a wooden cross.

This performance should not be missed.

CAST: Christopher Carley (Valere), Steven Epp (Tartuffe), Sofia Jean Gomez (Elmire), Brian Hostenske (Damis), Nathan Keepers (Laurent), Michael Uy Kelly (Ensemble), Lenne Klingaman (Mariane), Maria A Leigh (Ensemble), Gregory Linington (Cleante), Becca Lustgarten (Ensemble), Michael Manuel (Madame Pernelle/Officer), Todd Pivetti (Ensemble), Luverne Seifert (Orgon), and Suzanne Warmanen (Dorine).

CREATIVE TEAM: Tom Buderwitz (co-scenic designer), Sonya Berlovitz (costume designer), Marcus Dilliard (lighting designer), Michael Suenkel (stage manager)and Corinne Carrillo (sound designer).

Kedar K. Adour, MD

Courtesy of www.theathreworldinternetmagazine.com

 

Mar 20 2015
Love0

[Title of Show] by Jeff Bowen and Hunter Bell, Belrose Theatre, San Rafael CA

By Greg & Suzanne Angeo

Reviewed by Suzanne and Greg Angeo

Members, San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle

Phillip Percy Williams, Abbey Lee, Amanda Morando, Fernando Siu

More Fun Than a Barrel of Monkeys in Speedboats

The intimate space at the historic Belrose Theatre has seen many productions in its 50-plus years, but [Title of Show], produced by Marin Onstage, is quite possibly one of the best. Not your typical showbiz insider tale, this engaging, lively musical is a show all about itself, a true story about the quest for theatrical fame and glory.

Jeff, Hunter, Heidi and Susan – they’re all friends who share a love of theater, especially musical theater. They decide to write an original musical about themselves writing an original musical and submit it to The New York Musical Theatre Festival for consideration. Much to their amazement, they are selected. It premiered at the 2004 Festival and went on to a run off-Broadway and finally, to Broadway in 2008 and a Tony Award nomination.

It’s a pleasure to see talent that’s bigger than the stage it’s presented on. At the Belrose, each cast member is stand-alone star material: Phillip Percy Williams as Hunter, Fernando Siu as Jeff, Amanda Morando as Heidi (who also provides excellent music direction) and Abbey Lee as Susan. Piano player/accompanist Larry is played with joyful exuberance by Justin Pyne.

The high point of the show: a jazzy but sobering number, “Die Vampire Die!” explains that anything or anyone that says “you’re not good enough” are vampires that drain your creativity, but the biggest vampire of them all is the vampire of despair, the one inside your head. Truly moving stuff. “Find a Way Back to Then” is beautifully sung by Morando, a gentle ballad about returning to what really matters.

While director Carl Jordan was doing online research for a cabaret act, he happened across some songs from [Title…] and fell in love with the show; he knew he had to do it. He hand-picked the cast and turned down some really good people in his search. He was looking for, and found, four triple-threat performers with the skill to be leads and still have the ability to blend as an ensemble. Jordan’s meticulous direction leaves nowhere to catch your breath, with every moment filled with action.

Clockwise, top left-Phillip Percy Williams, Fernando Siu, Amanda Morando, Abbey Lee

The cast is chock-full of recent award-winners: Williams is fresh off his recent San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle Award for Best Principal Actor in a Musical for “Return to the Forbidden Planet”; Morando was featured in the ensemble. It was also directed by Jordan, who won the SFBATCC Award himself for Best Overall Production for that show. Another SFBATCC award-winner is Lee, who was recognized as Best Featured Actress for her gloriously spicy turn in “Victor/Victoria”. In a neat tie-in, Belrose Theatre founder and local legend Margie Belrose has also just received the SFBATCC Jerry Friedman Award for Lifetime Achievement.

Original video projections and vivid, animated graphics created by Robert Nelson contribute to the offbeat humor and keep the momentum building. Over the twelve briskly-paced scenes there are nice bits of off-script business. It’s an innovative, fast-moving and entertaining production. Each individual performer harmonizes beautifully; the well balanced arrangements are absolutely marvelous. The presentation shows true devotion to the actor’s craft, an honest presentation of a real-life story in song and dance.

Where: Belrose Theatre

1415 5th Ave., San Rafael CA 94901

(415) 448-6152 – Marin Onstage

www.marinonstage.org

When: Now Through March 28, 2015

Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m., Saturday Matinee at 2 p.m.

Tickets: $10 – $25