Skip to main content
Sep 20 2014
Love0

Farce forlornly fumbles foolishness on fairway

By Woody Weingarten

Woody’s [rating:2]

Filling center stage in “The Fox on the Fairway” are (from left) Javier Alarcon as Dickie, Louis Schilling as Bingham, Eileen Fisher as Pamela, Derek Jepson as Justin, and Sumi Narendran as Muriel. Photo by Robin Jackson.

Justin (Derek Jepson) pleads with his bride-to-be, Louise (Lydia Singleton), in “The Fox on the Fairway” as Bingham (Louis Schilling) and Pamela (Eileen Fisher) look on. Photo by Robin Jackson.

You can be sure when a critic emphasizes costumes and set early in a review, giant imperfections stifle the production.

That being said, let me state unequivocally that costumes designed by Michael A. Berg in “The Fox on the Fairway,” the Ross Valley Players’ latest production, are first rate.

They instantly differentiate the characters.

And the 19th-hole set — including frequently swinging doors that become a focal point of the farce — accomplishes precisely what designer Ken Rowland intends.

Acting by each member of the six-person cast is admirable as well.

And director Julianna Rees keeps the pace so frenetic that the 100-minute show whizzes by.

The night I went, the RVP audience showed appreciation with sporadic laughter and vigorous applause at the end.

Yet the script of “Fox” is riddled with holes (and I’m not talking about the cups golf balls fall into) and predicable bits of business.

With cliché heaped on cliché.

Credulity in farces is often strained, but here it’s stretched as thin as a piece of limp Swiss cheese left too long in the sun.

Lightweight playwright Ken Ludwig, whom many once believed would be an appropriate successor to Neil Simon as the theatrical world’s comedy king, has become a master of playing it safe.

Perhaps that’s why his work has been seen in 30 countries in more than 20 languages, often in community theaters similar to that of the RVP.

Yes, his original “Lend Me a Tenor” and his adaptation of “Twentieth Century” did provide amusement (both were staged by the RVP). And  “Leading Ladies” (the Novato Theatre just did it) was enjoyable to watch.

But “The Fox on the Fairway” relies on old saws such as endless malapropisms and precious sexual innuendos, a lost engagement ring, the threatened destruction of a valuable vase, continued links between ex-spouses, a melodramatic revelation about parentage, and, of course, the making of a 90-foot putt.

All that and I’m still not sure who or what the fox is.

I do know, however, that the convoluted plot twists, as most farces are wont to do, come fast and furiously.

The president of the Quail Valley Country Club, Henry Bingham (played by Louis Schilling with suitable bluster) learns the golfer he thought could deliver a grudge match victory over Dickie Bell (Javier Alarcon), who heads the rival Crouching Squirrel facility and wears one ugly sweater after another, has switched loyalties.

Bingham, who’s made a six-figure bet he can’t afford, recruits Justin (an appropriately wide-eyed and awkward Derek Jepsen), a newly hired assistant, and engineers his club membership.

The hotshot, unfortunately, breaks his arm after building up a nine-stroke lead, so…

And while a non-logical frenzy swirls about everyone, Jepsen as a befuddled almost-hero, Eileen Fisher as a lust-laden Pamela and Sumi Narendran as a testosterone-oozing Muriel turn in exceptional performances.

“Fox,” first staged in 2010, was written in reverence to the English farces that began in the 1880s and flourished in the ‘20s, ‘30s and ‘40s.

Maybe that’s why it sometimes feels as if its use-before date has passed.

“The Fox on the Fairway“ will run at The Barn, Marin Art & Garden Center, 30 Sir Francis Drake Blvd., Ross, through Oct. 12. Night performances, Thursdays at 7:30, Fridays and Saturdays at 8; matinees, Sundays at 2. Tickets: $14-$29. Information: www.rossvalleyplayers.comor (415) 456-9555.

Sep 19 2014
Love0

ACT opens 47th season with funny-poignant ‘Old Hats’

By Judy Richter

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.

 

Sep 19 2014
Love0

OLD HATS flies high at A.C.T.

By Kedar K. Adour

OLD HATS: A Modern Vaudeville Event. Created, performed and featuring Bill Irwin and David Shiner with Shaina Taub. Directed by Tina Landau. American Conservatory Theater (ACT), 415 Geary St., San Francisco, CA. (415) 749-2228 or www.act-sf.org. September 17- October 12, 2014.

OLD HATS flies high at A.C.T.  [rating:5]

There are times when a theatre production has every quality one could desire in a live performance. In 1998 Bill Irwin and David Shiner, two baggy pants vaudevillian comedians gave such a performance with their hysterical, eye-popping Fool Moon. That staging was so well received that they were brought back in 2001 for a reprieve that was equally successful. Now they are back to open A.C.T.’s 2014-2015 season with a standing ovation quality show Old Hats that received rave reviews when it was produced in 2013 at the Signature Theatre in New York.

The raves are still attached to the show that opened last evening and it is even better than remembered. They have brought aboard Tina Landau as director, added spectacular visual and auditory graphics plus a charismatic four piece band lead by the incomparable singer Shaina Taub who wrote the music and lyrics and gets to perform a production number with Irwin and Shiner before the evening ends.

After the band arrives late and is chastised (non-verbally, of course) for their entrance, the fun begins with the duo being chased from the back of the stage by a graphic of a huge ball stolen from the movie Raiders of the Lost Ark.( Digital video projections by Wendall K. Harrington)

Now that the ball has rolled it is time to get on with the show. What better way than a debate between two candidates running for office. Each has a podium with hidden tricks that show up with infrequent regularity. Yes, infrequent regularity is correct because you never know when they will appear. The debate progresses with slapstick galore and the proverbial clown large mallet to bang a head or two. The visual indicators on the back screen go wild as each candidate earns an edge with the voters.

There are eight scenes and a finale in the two hour running time including the intermission and as our intrepid pair change costumes between scenes Shaina Taub sings and the band moves back and forth from their station on stage right to the front of the stage apron in close proximity to the audience.

Members of the audience are dragged into the act in two of the skits and perform admirably adding to the fun. First up is a young lady chosen by Shiner, playing the reluctant slightly reliable female assistant, to take part in Irwin’s Magic Show. He is very adept at slight hand maneuvers and adroitly severs the lady, now in a box, into two halves. Never fear, after a few false starts, receiving approbation and physical abuse by Shiner he puts her back together.

The modern technical digital age puts Irwin into a dither when he finds himself inside his Ipad and does battle with his alter ego. The digital effects are absolutely superb and you might think twice before using an Ipad. You too may be dragged into digital cloud.

Shiner gets his solo turn upon the stage as a lonesome hobo searching through a trash can looking for a relationship. Hilarity abounds as each object he extracts from the can could come for your trash. When he creates a woman (well sort of a woman) from the detritus and waltzes off stage spontaneous applause erupts.

To this reviewer, the most intricate, most hysterical part of the evening was Shiner as the silent film director shooting a western. It is a variation on a similar scene from Fool Moon but four times more fun made so by the four cooperative (sort of) members of the audience. Another rehash from their previous show that seems as fresh as remembered has Irwin dealing with a pot of spaghetti that has a mind of its own

Not to be forgotten is “The Encounter” with Irwin and Shiner adding baggy suit coats to the ubiquitous baggy pants standing on hidden stilts carrying umbrellas and newspapers waiting for a train. Before the train arrives they go up and down in stature as they share pills for their various ailments.

(From L to R) Bill Irwin, singer/songwriter Shaina Taub, and David Shiner in the finale.

A new twist has been added with our intrepid duo competing for the love of femme fatale Shaina in the final scene when they actually sing. Never fear a woman will never come between them and they return to their silent ways as the audience erupts to the standing ovation mentioned in the opening paragraph.

Created, performed and featuring Bill Irwin and David Shiner with Shaina Taub.

Creative Team: Directed by Tina Landau; Music and Lyrics by Shaina Taub; Set and Costume Design by G. W. Mercier; Lighting Design by Scott Zielinski; Sound Design by John Gromada; Projection Design by Erik Pearson and Wendall K. Harrington; Video Production by Erik Pearson; Musicians Mike Brun,  Jacob Cohn Cohen, Mike Dobson and Justin Smith

Kedar K. Adour, MD

Courtesy of www.theatreworldintenetmagazine.com

Photo by Kevin Berne.

 

Sep 18 2014
Love0

Slaughter House -Five a hit at Custom Made

By Kedar K. Adour

Alien abduction by the Tralfamadorians

Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse-Five, or The Children’s Crusade: Adapted by Eric Simonson. Directed by Brian Katz. Custom Made Theatre Company, Gough Street Playouse,1620 Gough St. (at Bush), San Francisco, CA 94109. Gough Street Playhouse is attached to the historic Trinity Episcopal Church 510-207-5774; www.custommade.org. September 16 –October 12, 2014

Slaughter House -Five a hit at Custom Made.   [rating:4]

Kurt Vonnegut’s fame as a writer and social commentator on the futility and horror of war is well deserved. That fame was burnished when it was published in 1969 when the youth of the United States were rebelling against the futility of the Vietnam War that began in 1954 and became the burden of the U.S.A. in 1964. His writing captured the frustration of the populous and is labeled metafictional, where fact is intertwined with fiction forcing the reader to intellectually recognize the dichotomy and appreciate both.

Slaughterhouse-Five is a satirical novel following a soldier named Billy Pilgrim through actual World War II experiences intermingled with his travel to the mythical world of Tralfamador where death (“And so it goes.”) is an extension life. Vonnegut also takes us into forays of the minds depicting the hallucinations of his characters.  If you have read the book you will marvel at Custom Made’s adventurous staging and almost fully understand the multiple scenes that are simplistically, adroitly and powerfully staged by Brian Katz, one of the Bay Area’s best directors.  For those who are unfamiliar with the novel be advised to stay alert and the multiple non-linear scenes will coalesce.

Vonnegut’s experiences in World War II were the impetus for the novel with special reference to being a prisoner of war is Dresden when the city was fire-bombed by the Allies.  The only reason he lived through that nightmare was that he and other prisoners were housed in a concrete building labeled Schlachthof Fünf (Slaughterhouse #5).  He did not see the fire-bombing: “The attack didn’t sound like a hell of a lot. . .Whump. . . When we came up the city was gone.” The before and after of that incident is a significant thread throughout the novel.

The journey of the novel to a stage play begins with an adaption by Vince Foxall produced in London. Eric Simonson adapted and directed a new version for Chicago’s famed Steppenwolf group using many technical gimmicks. Simonson’s final adaptation appeared Off Broadway in 2008 and it is this version used by Custom Made. Following the storyline of the book the play maintains its non-linear structure and Katz has elected to abandon physical props relying on fast paced scenes and computer generated projections to buttress the dialog.  

Most, if not all, of the characters are there beginning with a narrator called

Dave Sikula as Man

Man (Dave Sikula) who is a stand-in for the author. Sikula is perfect for the role. Recognizing individual actors would require an extended review. It is a true ensemble production with each actor adding a quality performance to the whole doing justice to Vonnegut’s most popular work. Running time is one hour and 50 minutes without intermission.  Recommendation: Intriguing. A should see and will stimulate you to read the novel.

 

Cast: Ryan Hayes- Billy Pilgrim; Brian Martin- Young Billy Pilgrim; Dave Sikula – Man; Alun Anderman /Myles Cence – Billy Boy (alternating performances); Stephanie Ann Foster -Valencia/Derby/Ensemble; Sal Mattos -Weary/Rosewater/Ensemble; Chris Morrell – Chetwynde/Campbell/Ensemble; Jessica Jade Rudholm – Barbara/Tralafamadorian/Ensemble; Carina Lastimos Salazar – Montana Wildhack/Dotty/Ensemble; Paul Stout* -Kilgore Trout/Reggie/Ensemble; Sam Tillis – Lazzaro/Rumfoord/Ensemble

Production Crew: Brian Katz, Director; Cat Howser, Stage Manager; Christine Keating, Asst. Director; Sarah Phykitt, Scenic Designer; Maxx Kurzunski, Lighting Design
Karina Chavarin;  Costume Design Rebecca Longworth, Video Design Liz Ryder;  Sound Design; Daunielle Rasmussen;  Movement Stewart Lyle, Technical Director; Perry Aliado; Dramaturge.

Kedar K. Adour, MD

Sep 18 2014
Love0

2 clowns at A.C.T. entice laughs via old hats, new bits

By Woody Weingarten

Bill Irwin (in drag) and David Shiner stylishly exaggerate the norm in “The Magic Act,” one of the segments of “Old Hats.” Photo by Joan Marcus.

Bill Irwin (left) and David Shiner comically confront each other in a segment of “Old Hats.” Photo by Kevin Berne.

 Woody’s [rating:3.5]

“Fool Moon,” a Tony Award-winning show with Bill Irwin and David Shiner clowning up a comedic storm, made me blissfully happy.

So I impatiently waited for an encore  — for 16 years.

Finally, the baggy-pants pair is back, in a mostly non-verbal collaboration at the American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco, “Old Hats.”

Though Irwin and Shiner are no longer chronologically young (they might be called middle-aged if they plan to live to 120), their bodies seem as rubbery, as lissome and acrobatic as ever.

And their inventiveness is nearly as agile.

They easily, and almost continuously, induce laughter with old-style chapeaus and new-style bits.

With a slew of newfangled technology tossed in.

This production, in conjunction with New York’s Signature Theatre, is quite different from their first go-‘round: Original musical interludes (heavy on country rock) by singer-songwriter-pianist Shaina Taub separate, and then overlap with, the twosome’s individual and dual segments.

Irwin and Shiner are, in effect, theatrical Renaissance Men.

They create hilarious comedy and prickly poignancy, they invent silent but sympathetic characters, they dance and play instruments and sing, they improvise and they inveigle audience members to play along fully with slapstick shtick.

I saw Pickle Family Circus co-founder Irwin not that long ago at the San Francisco Opera House, where he stole the show in a presentation of “Showboat.” I’d also thoroughly enjoyed his work in A.C.T.’s “Endgame” in 2012.

As for Shiner, a grad of Cirque du Soleil, he also starred as The Cat in the Hat in Broadway’s “Seussical: The Musical.”

Both are masters at the characters they assume — Irwin the good-natured schlub, Shiner the darker, more aggressive onstage persona.

Their 105-minute show is somewhat uneven, but its high points are extraordinary.

• Such as “Mr. Business,” spotlighting Irwin’s exquisitely timed playfulness with his own images on a tablet (my writing about it can’t compare to my joy watching it).

• Such as Shiner’s goading and mimicking four audience members in an extended bit about filming a mute old-fashioned Western, the side-splittingly funny “Cowboy Cinema.”

• Such as the opening number, “Old Hats,” which features projections that envelop the two spotlight-craving clowns as they flee an explosion in space.

• Such as “The Encounter,” with two guys waiting for a train initially badgering each other in highly amusing ways, then finding commonality via the sharing of pills.

• Such as an excursion into the sublime, similar to a lightning-fast riff by the late Robin Williams, when they break their silence barrier and convulsively swap lines from “Who’s on First” and “Over the Rainbow,” with a couple of quotes from Shakespeare added to the mix.

Alas, not everything is a 10.

Shiner’s “Hobo Puppet Waltz,” a solo set piece that finds a tramp getting more and more depressed as he jerks a predicable series of broken items from a trash bin can’t be saved by his imaginative creation of a woman companion from a white fabric.

And “The Debate,” a sketch about a political face-off, is filled with all-too-familiar lowbrow humor and standard pot shots.

But, overall, director Tina Landau ensured that “Old Hats” was an evening’s entertainment that kept me smiling.

And she proved that old clowns never die — they just slip into baggier pants.

“Old Hats” plays at the American Conservatory Theater, 415 Geary St., San Francisco, through Oct. 12. Performances Wednesdays through Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Tuesdays, 7 or 8 p.m.; matinees, Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays, 2 p.m. Tickets: $20 to $120. Information: (415) 749-2228 or www.act-sf.org.

 

Sep 18 2014
Love0

Inside Stax and Memphis Music: “Take Me to the River” at the Rafael

By David Hirzel

You can see the music emerge from the first riffs, watch it evolve into an elaborate tapestry woven from drum intros, rhythm riffs, bass lines into a foundation for some compelling vocals. You watch it happen live in the studio, or in Mavis Staples’ living room, and you get the sense that this is how it happens whether or not there is a camera in the room taking note of everything going on. And, believe, me, there is a lot going on.

Take Me to the River is one of those movies that has you dancing as you leave the theater for the street, still dancing to Ms. Staples powerful rendition of the gospel song “Wish I Had Answered.” A movie that lets you watch music being made, watch the color lines disappear into the music, watch seemingly unconscious creation arising from a collaboration of artists in the same room, and boy is that exciting. It’s not all about the music, though. This movie takes you into the heyday of  Stax Records recording studio in Memphis, the hope of Martin Luther King’s oratory and the tragedy of his assassination and the following riots that devastated the city. Stax was devastated too, fell into bankruptcy, and disappeared into an abandoned storefront on a graffiti-disgraced street. Co-owner Al Bell refused to have his enterprise subsumed into the vast wasteland of corporate music that followed.

But mostly it’s about the music. Today’s—live in the studio, some of it in the distinctly low-rent Royal studios in Memphis, with blankets thrown over frames and rolls of insulation hanging from the ceiling over the backup singers’ balcony. Yesterday’s—grainy live footage of these older musicians on stage fifty years ago, juxtaposed with today’s live footage of Booker T. Jones, Charlie Musselwhite. Charlie “Skip” Pitts, talking the creative process then and now. The real joy is watching that creative process across the generations—the youngest performer is Li’l P-Nut (age about ten at the filming)—working with Bobby “Blue” Bland in his last studio outing.

This movie is a must-see for every young person who dreams of a career in music and thinks it can be accomplished by rapping to drum-beats and samples. “If we keep sampling,” said singer Bobby Rush, “we’ll run out of things to sample.” It’s the live music that is exciting, but it’s the intimacy of this movie that makes it memorable.  For those of us coming of age in the 1960s, much of the soundtrack for those years came right out of Memphis, right out of Stax Records and in this movie you’ll hear it again, some of it made anew by the original performers.

Stax lives on today as a music academy training young people in the art of music creation. Seventy-five percent of the proceeds from your watching this movie go to the support the Stax Music Academy and other music-related charities.

Now playing at your local art-house movie theater, but not for long. Don’t wait for the DVD; this is one for the big screen, and more importantly the theatrical sound system that has it all over the one in your living room. And in this case, it’s all about the music.

Through September 25, 2014 at the Rafael Theater in San Rafael CA

415.454.5813 Main Office or 415.454.1222 Info-Line for Showtimes
Website: rafaeltheater@cafilm.org

Review by David Hirzel. www.davidhirzel.net

Sep 16 2014
Love0

‘An Evening With Meow Meow’ isn’t for everyone

By Judy Richter

 

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.

 

Sep 15 2014
Love0

Palo Alto Players stages West Coast premiere of ‘Big Fish’

By Judy Richter

“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.

 

Sep 15 2014
Love0

An Audience with Meow Meow at BerkeleyRep earns her reputation.

By Kedar K. Adour

An Audience with Meow Meow: A Musical Play. Arrangements by Lance Horne.  Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Rhoda Stage, 2015 Addison St., Berkeley. (510) 647-2949. www.berkeleyrep.org.  September 5 – October 19, 2014.

An Audience with Meow Meow at BerkeleyRep earns her reputation.

 [rating:3]

There are a myriad of laudatory reviews about the entertainer Meow Meow whose given name is Melissa Madden Gray. She is an Australian-born actress, dancer and cabaret performer who tours internationally. Most of her time has been spent in in the UK where she has earned plaudits for the musical adaptation of The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, appeared in La Clique at Roundhouse, created the role of Maîtresse  in the West End at the Gielgud and earned the Edinburgh International Festival Fringe Prize. In 2011 she wowed audiences in her premiere of Meow Meow in Concert. This time around she has teamed up with Emma Rice, my favorite director from the Kneehigh group who brought Brief Encounter to San Francisco before a triumphal run on Broadway.

At the risk of being labeled as contemning or an elitist old fogy this reviewer had not heard of Meow Meow nor seen a performance by Lady Gaga and the definition of a person being a “post-post-modern” phenomenon escapes me. Also, a performer who condescends to give me an “audience” seems pretentious.

In fairness to Meow Meow she is a superb performer and “an audience with” could be a simple reference to the fact that much (most?) of the show is with audience participation. After a spectacular opening with Meow Meow in a fantastic costume (Neil Murray), amidst brilliant lighting (Alexander V. Nichols), suspended high on the stage she is winched down to stage level for an Apache type dance with tuxedo clad dancers Michael Balderrama and Bob Gaynor (Choreographed by Tiger Martina). The dance humorously degenerates into a series of debilitating miscues for the male dancers forcing them to the wings.

She is now on stage level, devoid of garish costume, and the “down to earth’ portion of the evening begins as audience participation kicks in. The outstanding quartet of onstage musicians playing eight instruments never misses a beat even when they are required to accompany Meow Meow in her wide range of songs from every genre.  Her ability to interpret the many songs is phenomenal, even while rolling of the floor singing to a stand-up stage microphone. She is on the floor quite often especially when she entices audience members to the stage and intertwines her lithe body between them. It is very, very clever and brings much laughter. Since this part of the act worked well with three audience members why not try it with four, or was it five, chosen at random from the front rows? It works again and earns accolades.

Meow Meow earns her much admired reputation but her method of receiving a “standing  ovation” is suspect. She mosh pitted the audience and left them standing for the final song. Running time 90 minutes without intermission.

CAST: Meow Meow; Michael Balderrama as Dancer Sergei Romanov/ a Dark Prince of the Stage; Bob Gaynor as Dancer Jonathan Spooner/ a Dark Prince of the Stage; Band,Russ Gold (drums & percussion), Lance Horne (conductor & piano), Jessica Ivry (cello), and Pat Moran (bass, guitar, mandolin & trombone).

ARTISTIC STAFF: Written and starring Meow Meow; Choreograph by Tiger Martina; Music Supervision by Lance Horne; Adapted and directed by Emma Rice.

PRODUCTION STAFF: Musical Arrangements, Lance Horne; Additional Arrangements, Martin Lowe; Scenic & Costume Design, Neil Murray; Lighting Design, Alexander V. Nichols; Sound Design, Simon Baker; Physical Comedy Consultant, Geoff Hoyle; StageManager, Michael Suenkel; Dramaturg, Robert Egan; Assistant Stage Manager, Leslie M. Radin.

Kedar K. Adour, MD

Courtesy of www.theatreworldinternetmagazine.com.

 

Sep 14 2014
Love0

COCK (Fight) given a “should see” performance at NCTC

By Kedar K. Adour

COCK: Drama. Written by Michael Bartlett. Directed by Stephen RupschNew Conservatory Theatre Center (NCTC), Walker Theatre, 25 Van Ness Ave @Market, San Francisco, CA 94102. 415-861-8972, boxoffice@nctcsf.org.

September 5 – October 12, 2014 

COCK (Fight) given a “should see” performance at NCTC . [rating:4]

When you attend New Conservatory Theatre Center’s latest show you will be in for four rewards and one disappointment. The four rewards are a first look at the new marvelous configuration of the intimate Walker Theatre, an extremely well written/thoughtful play, fine acting by an attractive cast and simplistic/ingenious direction. It is an engrossing 90 minute evening that is marred by failure of the actors to project thus many of the lines never leave center stage. That fact has been relayed to Artistic Director Ed Decker by members of the audience and will certainly be corrected.

 First, disregard the salacious street vernacular of the title Cock. With even a little bit of imagination that meaning could be worked into the discussion of this play since one of the characters does not have one. But that is getting ahead of the story.  Decker has allowed the resident set designer Devin Kasper, with concurrence of director Stephen Rupsch to reshape the space into a black-box with the seating on all sides. The title of the play refers to an emotional battle between the protagonists that is a bitter cock fight. The acting area is a sand covered arena for the battle.

l-r: Radhika Rao, Stephen McFarland, Matt Weimer, Todd Pivetti. Photo by Lois Tema.

That battle is between the trio of John (Stephen) and M (for male, Todd Pivetti) and W (for Woman Radhika Rao) with F (for Father Matt Weimer) thrown in as a ringer. John is having a homosexual identity crisis and might possibly be bi-sexual. John has met and sexually enjoyed a new experience with W while still professing love for M.  There are no new insights into the internal conflicts of John but author Bartlett has entwined the territorial rights of W with those of M keeping the audience interested in the outcome.

Stephen McFarland as the conflicted John turns in a superb performance with Todd Pivetti as a sounding board for the professed justifications. M is not about to give up his territorial rights. Radhika Rao handles the most difficult role of W with strength and gives a convincing portrayal earning empathy from the audience. Matt Weimer as F gives a convincing and professional performance in his brief time in the cock fighting ring.

Cast:  Stephen McFarland, Todd Pivetti, Radhika Rao, and Matt Weimer.

Production Team: Scenic design by Devin Kasper, lighting design by Christian Mejia, costume Design by Michelle Mulholland, Sound Design by James Ard, Dialect Coaching by Patricia Reynoso, Stage Management by Vanessa Ramo.

Kedar K. Adour, MD

Courtesy of www.theatreworldinternetmagazine.com.