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Mar 27 2014
Love0

Of Mice & Men at Cinnabar Theater in Petaluma and Book of Matthew at Spreckels Theatre Company in Rohnert Park

By Greg & Suzanne Angeo

Of Mice and Matthew  – a Pair of Must-See Dazzlers

Reviewed by Suzanne and Greg Angeo

Members, San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle (SFBATCC)

Photos by Eric Chazankin

It’s been said that man can’t live by bread alone. Faith, love, flights of fancy and friendship all make life worth living. If you’re still not convinced, there are two important plays being presented at North Bay theaters that address these themes with great power, beauty and even humor, and they should not be missed.

Samson Hood, Keith Baker

Nobel Prize winner John Steinbeck wrote gritty and poetic stories about simple people facing common struggles in Depression-era America. Perhaps his most heart-wrenching and tender work, Of Mice and Men, is being presented at Cinnabar Theater. First published as a novella in 1937, it centers on the relationship between two drifters and has been called “an American masterpiece”. It was adapted for the stage by Steinbeck later that same year and had its world premiere in San Francisco.

The title was taken from a line in a poem by Robert Burns, “The best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry…”. They do, indeed. Brilliantly crafted characterizations are offered by Keith Baker and Samson Hood in the lead roles. Hood was born to play the simple-minded Lennie with his endearing, childlike innocence and large frame. Baker completely transforms himself yet again as George, a rough-hewn yet caring vagabond who dreams of a better life for himself and his vulnerable friend. Especially compelling performances as ranch hands by Tim Kniffin (Slim) and Dorian Lockett (Crooks) bring great depth to the story. If you have never seen Of Mice and Men in either its stage or film versions, be prepared – the story has some racially-charged moments and a shockingly tragic ending that’s impossible to forget.

Dorian Lockett

Sharp yet sensitive direction is by the wondrous Sheri Lee Miller, who had great success with her recent works: Cinnabar’s productions of Arthur Miller’s “The Price” and the smash hit“ La Cage aux Folles”, and “Annie Get Your Gun” at Spreckels Theatre Company. She employs a sense of urgency and naturalistic, overlapping dialogue which draws you into the action onstage. The shows have been selling out and the run was just extended, so be sure you make it down to Cinnabar.

Returning to the stage at Spreckels Theatre Company is  a brilliant comic drama, The Book of Matthew (Liebowitz), where we meet another type of dreamer – the snarky writer Matthew. First produced in 2009, this newest incarnation at Spreckels may be playwright/director Gene Abravaya’s best work yet and draws on his many years as a stage manager of hit TV sitcoms.

Jeff Cote, Jeffrey Weissman, Tim Setzer

Featuring an outstanding ensemble cast, the exuberant storytelling plays it mostly for laughs with vivid, well-drawn characters. in the title role, Jeff Cote rages against the disappointments of his life armed with a quiver full of wisecracks that he slings at anyone within range. Tim Setzer as his gaily flamboyant upstairs neighbor Vincent lights up the stage in one of his finest performances. An electrifying scene where he recalls the painful memory of a boyhood relationship holds the audience spellbound. Norman A Hall as Matthew’s father Howard, coping with the ravages of old age, has some of the most powerful, funny and tragic moments in the show.

The Book of Matthew is uproariously funny, heartwarming and moving by turns, with well-placed bits of magic. It’s fast-paced except for possibly one or two monologues that may drag on a bit. Every scene is thoughtful, centered and strongly defined right to the bittersweet ending. Direction by Abravaya is clear and sure – he knows these people well.

After all is said and done, Matthew makes a life-changing, joyful discovery. Like in that old Nat King Cole song, he finds “The greatest thing you’ll ever learn, is just to love and be loved in return.”

Madeleine Ashe, LC Arisman, Norman A Hall

Of Mice and Men at Cinnabar Theater

When: Now through April 13, 2014

8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays

2 p.m. Sundays

Tickets: $15 to $25

Location: Cinnabar Theater

3333 Petaluma Blvd North, Petaluma CA
Phone: 707-763-8920

Website: www.cinnabartheater.org

 

The Book of Matthew (Liebowitz) at Spreckels Theater Company

When: Now through April 13, 2013

7:30 p.m. Thursdays April 3 and April 10

8:00 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays

2:00 p.m. Sundays

Tickets: $22 to $26

Location: Bette Condiotti Theater at Spreckels Performing Arts Center

5409 Snyder Lane, Rohnert Park CA
Phone: 707-588-3400

Website: www.spreckelsonline.com

 

Mar 26 2014
Love0

WHY WE ARE SO ANGRY

By Joe Cillo

FURY

Anger is never without a reason,
But seldom a good one.
Benjamin Franklin

Whenever I go back to the San Francisco Bay Area, I am immersed in non-stop road rage.  Drivers swerve around you, hit the accelerator to get ahead of you, blast their horns to tell you to get out of their way and spew hate all over the highway.  I find myself getting just as angry as the other drivers as I try to weave my way through 6 lanes of traffic to get to my destination.  I come home exhausted, despising humanity and hating myself for succumbing to the hysteria that clogs our roads.

It is a glorious relief to come to peaceful Brighton where I walk everywhere, smile at everyone and love treading the streets. Humanity charms me when I am here and I find myself enjoying the kindly hustle and bustle on North Street.

I have always thought that road rage was so foreign to those who use public transportation in Britain, that they would sooner stage a massacre than be rude to another person.  Besides, it is not in the British personality to be rude or overbearing.  The people in this country are obsessed with being politically correct.

Or so I thought.

I just spent two weeks in London living in Stockwell and taking the tube to Leicester Square. That was when I was exposed to Tube Rage.  If I dared to try to tap my oyster card on the entrance gate during rush hour, I risked black and blue marks, mangled hips and fractured elbows.  When I approached the escalator, I was so terrified I shut my eyes and prayed to the almighty that my foot wasn’t crushed and I was not hurled down the moving staircase because I forgot to stand on the left.

It turns out that all this pushing, shoving, jostling and crushing is not due to rudeness at all.  It is the result of poor ventilation.  In fact the director of the British association of Anger Management warns that lack of oxygen is sure to cause uncontrolled acts of aggression.

What a relief!! I thought all those people shoving me around were ageist brutes who didn’t care that I am elderly and frail.  How wrong I was! When the British push you out of their way, it is a silent cry for air.

Which brings us right back to Brighton where fresh air is always swirling about us, filling our lungs with new oxygen from France.  I boarded a train at London Victoria and two people hit me in the shin in their rush to get to the coach first. One lady smashed her suitcase into my hip and another yanked my shoulder into a vertical position to reach the aisle seat.  The minute we all got off the train in Brighton, everyone was smiling, inhaling the lovely oxygenated air and loving one another.  A gentleman carried my case to the station, a lady held my arm lest I trip and two lovely young men with grandmother complexes bought me a coffee.

The oxygen cure would not work in America however.  It isn’t the air that infuriates them; it is the government.

 

 

Mar 25 2014
Love0

Nymphomania (Volume 1) — Film Review

By Joe Cillo

Nymphomania (Volume 1)

Directed by Lars von Trier

 

 

This movie goes on my all time Ten Worst List.  It is one of the most awful movies I have ever seen.  I went with a friend and I tried to get him to leave after half an hour, but he insisted on sitting it out to the bitter end.  I think in part he was punishing me because it was my idea to go see this.

The title is an outright lie.  This is not about nymphomania.  The girl portrayed in this film is depressed, detached, and probably suicidal.  If she can be labeled as anything she is probably what they call a ‘borderline’ personality.  But she is definitely not a nymphomaniac.  Furthermore, the character of the girl is not at all convincing or realistic. She comes across as some man’s fantasy of a woman, rather than a real woman.  It is, furthermore, a hostile, derogatory fantasy.  It is a negative conceptualization of female sexuality by a man who seems to know very little about women or sex.

‘Nymphomania’ is not a formal psychiatric category.  It is not in the DSM-V.  It is an informal term that refers to an unusually strong sex drive in a woman.  I dislike this term and never use it.  It has a clinical ring to it and a derogatory cast.  More generally, the practice of categorizing people according to their sexual behavior is completely wrongheaded and leads to all sorts of misunderstanding, distortions, and bigotry.  This film is a very good illustration of that.

The friend that I attended this film with is a joyously married man of many years.  He was skeptical that such a thing as a ‘nymphomaniac’ even existed.  He thought it was something like Bigfoot, where you only see the footprints, but never encounter the beast itself.  He asked me if I have ever encountered such a woman.  I have encountered at least five women that I can think of, and have heard tell of others, who could qualify for this label.  They are a rarity in American society, and our culture does everything possible to discourage this outcome of female sexual development.  I think there would be many more such women if the culture fostered them.  I don’t call them ‘nymphomaniacs,’ I call them ‘volcanoes,’ or ‘furnaces.’  It is less abstract and more evocative of the awe and wonder that such women inspire.

This filmmaker confuses promiscuity with ‘nymphomania.’  Promiscuity can be motivated by many things, and the kind of promiscuity portrayed here is driven by depression, emptiness, low self esteem, anxiety, and loneliness — and possibly, at an unconscious level, rage.  ‘Nymphomania,’ as I understand it, is an unusually strong sexual appetite coupled with a ready and strong responsiveness to sexual stimulation.  It is anything but disengaged and detached, as represented here.  It is not necessarily promiscuous, in fact, such women tend to create stable relationships with one or more partners of both sexes.  Having multiple, ongoing sexual relationships is also not the same as promiscuity.   Promiscuity is shallow and anxious.  Nymphomania tends not to be.  So the filmmaker has chosen an inappropriate title for his film, because he doesn’t understand the woman he is trying to portray and clearly does not know anything about women with exceptionally strong sexual capabilities.

You can tell right away that this film was not made in America or by Americans.  A man goes out after dark to buy something at a convenience store in his neighborhood and on his way home notices a woman lying on the sidewalk bruised and bleeding.  He helps her to her feet, takes her to his apartment and proceeds to nurse her.  This is something that would never happen in an American city.  An urban American man would never pick up a bruised, bleeding, semiconscious woman off the sidewalk and take her to his apartment.  It is unthinkable.  So right away the story takes on a fantastic quality to an American audience.

It is never explained how she came to be battered and bleeding and semiconscious on the sidewalk.  She sits there through the entire movie with her face all beaten up relating the story of her life and carrying on a wide ranging philosophical discussion with this stranger she just met, when her entire life, as she retells, it is a series of encounters with an endless parade of men of the utmost superficiality and minimal emotional connection.  Why she would suddenly open up and begin to philosophically muse over her life with this stranger under these extraordinary circumstances is hard to fathom.  The movie consists of long philosophical discussions punctuated by simulated sex scenes.  The sex is not very good and neither is the philosophy.  If you want to see pornography, don’t go to this.  There is nothing erotic about this film at all.  It is actually a downer.

The film amounts to an attack on this woman’s character and behavior led by the woman herself.  I think this is the reason she is allowed to sit there on camera with her face all beaten up through the whole movie.  The filmmaker wants to make sure she is made as unattractive and unappealing as possible.  He hates this woman.  He wants to drive it home that this beaten up, uglified face is the well deserved outcome of her character and behavior.  This film is a very conservative affirmation of marriage and monogamy.

Things get increasingly ridiculous as we go along.  There is a long highly improbable scene of a ditched wife coming to Jo’s apartment with her three kids and bitterly berating Jo at length in the presence of her husband, who has just left her, for destroying her life and wrecking her marriage.  By the time she went away bawling I couldn’t blame her husband for leaving her.  There is a discussion of the differences in polyphony between Palestrina and J.S. Bach.  There is a sequence of a chorus doing a Palestrina chorale.  There is an explanation of the Fibonacci sequence and its relationship to the Pythagorean theorem.  We see a jaguar with a young fawn in its mouth.  Sex scenes are accompanied by chorale preludes from Bach’s Little Organ Book.  All of this is supposed to have something to do with nymphomania.  It’s totally crazy.

If you fail to listen to me and make the mistake of going to see this, keep in mind that what you are seeing is not nymphomania.  ‘Nymphomania’ is a lurid title to draw you in, but this ambiguous term does not describe the character of the woman portrayed.  Jo is, in fact, at the other end of the spectrum.

I couldn’t see any redeeming qualities in this film.  There is nothing good I can say about it.  Stacy Martin’s nude body is good.  You can hardly go wrong with a good looking naked girl, but that is not enough to sustain a full length movie in this day and age.  It is not that hard to see a naked girl any more.  And the movie is rather long, or at least it seems to be.  Sorry, but this one is a total loss.

Mar 24 2014
Love0

Almost, Maine pleases at Altarena

By Kedar K. Adour

ALMOST, MAINE: Comedy by John Cariani.Directed by Carol Chacon. Altarena Playhouse, 1409 High St, Alameda, CA. (510) 523-1553 or www.altarena.org. March 14 – April 13, 2014.

ALMOST, MAINE pleases at Altarena [rating:2] (5/5 stars)

 Almost, Maine is a series of nine vignettes about the universal joys and pain of love encapsulated in the frigid mythical town of Almost, Maine. The first vignette is split into three very, very short segments comprising the Prologue for the first half of the show, an ‘Interlogue’ for the second act and an Epilogue that slyly/saccharinely suggests/enforces the platitude that absence makes the heart grow fonder and what goes around comes around.

The segments all range about 15 minutes or so and all are mostly two-handers with four competent actors playing 19 different characters. Many of the roles are similar and the cast does a creditable job giving each distinctive qualities. Author John Cariani does add specific traits to each individual but by the end of the evening (this reviewer attended a matinee) they all seem to blend into generic men and women with two or three being memorable.

Creating the mythical town of Almost, Maine gives the author leeway to inject fantasy and whimsy into everyday trials and tribulations of loving couples. First there are the glorious and mystical Northern Lights that fascinate Glory (not to subtle is it?) and later shooting stars for making wishes (beware of what you wish for) and so on. All the individual stories take place on a Friday night.

Speaking of Glory, in scene 1 entitled “Her Heart”, she carries her broken heart in a paper bag and luck/fate/kismet intervenes on her journey to view the northern lights. She meets East, a repairman and you guessed it, he ends up putting together the broken pieces of ceramic heart.

Almost, Maine has become the most produced play in the the United States by community theaters and High Schools. There have been dozens of international venues. It requires only four actors and needs minimal staging. To date there has been nearly 2000 productions.

The titles, in the order that Altarena has used are “Her Heart”, “Sad and Glad”, “This Hurts”, “Getting It Back”, “They Fell”, “Where it Went”, “Story of Hope” and “Seeing the Thing.”  You will have your own favorites. Three of mine being “That Hurts” with Steve Rhyne and Donna Turner with an ironing board being the major prop. “Getting it Back” with Emily Garcia and Stewart Lyle exploring the inequality of love given and taken and is it possible to get it back. The there are the slapstick shenanigans of Rhyne and Lyle playing two dear macho men who literally and actually fall for each other. As an afterthought, you will find out what happens when the other shoe falls and what happens when you mistakenly wish on a planet and not a real shooting star in “Where it Went.”

Running time a little over two hours with a 15 minute intermission.

Cast: Steve Rhyne (Pete, Jimmy, Steve, Chad, Daniel); Emily Garcia (Ginette, Sandrine, Gayle, Marci); Stewart Lyle (East, Lendall, Randy, Phil, Dave); Donna Turner (Glory, Waitress, Marvalyn, Hope, Rhonda ).

Production Staff: Artistic Director, Producer, Frederick L. Chacon; Director, Carol Chacon; Technical Director, Set Design/Construction, Stewart Lyle; Stage Manager, llona Herbert; Sound Design, Fred diNatale; Scenic Painter, Darrell Burson; Light Design/Construction, Frederick L. Chacon; Costume Design, Sydney Micheals; Props, Frederick and Carol Chacon; Stage Crew, Nikki Eggett, John Rivard, Nadine Paulino; House Manager, Star Valdez; Box Office Manager, Elaine Henninger; Photography, Patrick Tracy; Program, Laurel Wilton; Ushers, Bayview Women’s Club.

Kedar K. Adour, MD

Courtesy of www.theathreworldinternetmagazine.com

Mar 23 2014
Love0

Steinbeck’s OF MICE AND MEN grips the heart at Cinnabar

By Kedar K. Adour

Cinnabar Theater in Petaluma presents Steinbeck’s masterpiece Of Mice & Men, starring Keith Baker (right) and Samson Hood as the famous friends George and Lennie. (Photo by Eric Chazankin)

OF MICE AND MEN: Drama by John Steinbeck. Directed by Sheri Lee Miller. Cinnabar Theater, 3333 Petaluma Boulevard North, Petaluma, CA.  707-763-8920 or visit www.cinnabartheater.org  March 21 –April 6, 2014.

EXTENDED THROUGH APRIL 13

Steinbeck’s OF MICE AND MEN grips the heart at Cinnabar [rating: 5] (5/5 stars)

Steinbeck’s OF MICE AND MEN grips the heart at Cinnabar [rating 5] (5/5 stars)a spontaneous standing ovation after the initial shock of the expected heart tugging horrendous coup de grâce ending that had the audience riveted to their seats and brought gasps from a grown man sitting nearby. It is the kind of production Cinnabar has consistently mounted. It is visually stunning, in an earthy inelegant manner that truly reflects the time and place of action, and with great acting and taut direction that deserves full audiences during its run.

The play had its origins in Steinbeck’s first professional short stories published in 1932 under the title of “Pastures of Heaven” that chronicled the arrival of newcomers to the Salinas Valley full of hope and dreams and intertwining lives.  In 2011 California Shakespeare Company produced a theatrical adaptation of those stories by Octavio Solis and directed by Jonathan Moscone. They are classic California stories of dreams that whither and only the land endures. By 1939 Steinbeck became the champion of the disenfranchised and eventually won the Pulitzer Prize for the dust bowl saga “The Grapes of Wrath.”

In 1937, two years before writing that seminal novel he wrote the novella “Of Mice and Men” fully planning it to be a stage play. He wrote the script for the stage production, first produced on Broadway in 1937 directed by directed by George S. Kaufman. It starred Wallace Ford as George and Broderick Crawford as Lennie and ran for 207 performances. Since then there have been two or three movies, the most notable is the 1939 version starring Burgess Meredith and Lon Chaney Jr. that was faithful to play and is well worth revisiting.

The original play was written in three acts beginning with the idyllic scene along the Salinas River where George (Keith Baker) and Lennie(Samson Hood), are spending the night before continuing on to their jobs as ranch hands. Lennie is a slow witted hulk with limited recall skills. George has become his de facto protector and purveyor of the dream to own that elusive piece of land where Lennie can raise rabbits and they can live “off the fat of the land.”

On the job they buck bales of wheat 10 to 11 hours a day and share the bunk house with cowboy Slim (Tim Kniffin), insensitive Carlson (Anthony Shaw Abaté) and old kind hearted Candy (Clark Miller), who lost a hand working on the farm for which he received $250 indemnity, and Whit (Kevin Singer). All are inured to living uneventful existences of playing horseshoes, card playing, storytelling and discussion of their trips “to town.” All avoid hot-headed Curly (James Gagarin) and his unnamed wife (Ilana Niernberger). Then there is Crooks (Dorian Lockett) a black man relegated to the barn due to rampant racism.

Title of the play is taken from Robert Burns’ poem “The Mouse”: “The best laid schemes o’ mice an’ men / Gang aft agley.” (The best laid schemes of mice and men / Often go awry.) Lennie’s affinity for soft furry mice that he unintentionally kills with his powerful hands telegraphs what is to happen before the play ends.

Samson Hood’s superb interpretation of the loveable mentally challenged Lennie steals the show with his imposing stature, wide-eyed childlike innocence yet powerful demeanor worthy of a Tony award. Director Miller keeps the interaction balanced with minor exceptions that occasionally do not ring true but do not detract from over-all excellence of the staging.

Cinnabar’s’ ensemble actors bring each of the characters to life and under Sheri Lee Miller’s sensitive direction you will feel the torment of Lennie and George and the claustrophobic environment that eventual destroys all dreams. There are touching scenes that will have you reaching out to individual characters. One such scene involving the fate of Candy’s ancient dog is a heart stopper and Clark Miller handles that role with unspoken internal devastation and eventually his joy of being allowed to “buy into” Lennie’s dream is palpable. Another is when Dorian Lockett makes you feel his racist isolation and his desire to join Lennie, George and Candy to that elusive piece of land where they can be free.

Keith Baker as George has the most difficult challenge of playing opposite Samson Hood’s perfect depiction of Lennie, but with exemplary timing and under-playing the role you feel his frustration and emotional attachment to his burden that is Lennie. Ilana Niernberger playing Curley’s wife exudes the sexual nature of the roll and will have you leaning forward in the fatal scene when she asks Lennie to stroke her hair.

(l to r) Cinnabar Theater in Petaluma presents Steinbeck’s masterpiece Of Mice & Men, featuring Kevin Thomas Singer, Samson Hood, Tim Kniffin, and James Gagarin. (Photo by Eric Chazankin)

The set  is a marvel with accolade’s well deserved by scenic designer, Joe Elwick and the creative support staff. This reviewer highly recommends it as a must see production. Running time 2 hours and 20 minutes.

CAST: Keith Baker (George), Samson Hood (Lennie), Anthony Shaw Abaté (Carlson), James Gagarin (Curley), Tim Kniffin (Slim), Dorian Lockett (Crooks), Clark Miller (Candy), Ilana Niernberger (Curley’s wife), Kevin Singer (Whit), and Barton Smith (The Boss).

 

Creative Team: Director, Sheri Lee Miller; Stage Manager, Ross Tiffany Brown; Scenic Designer, Joe Elwick; Costume Designer, Pat Fitzgerald; Lighting Designer, Wayne Hovey; Sound Designer, Jim Peterson; Fight Choreographer, Barton Smith; Assistant to the Director, Lauren Heney; Production Manager, Sharlyri Klein; Photographer, Eric Chazankin.

Kedar K. Adour, MD

Courtesy of www.theatreworldinternetmagazine.com

 

Mar 22 2014
Love0

THE BOOK OF MATTHEW (Leibowitz) a standing ovation winner at Spreckles Theatre Company

By Kedar K. Adour

(l-r) Norman A. Hall as Howard Leibowitz  and Tim Setzer as Vincent Alcedo give star performances in THE BOOK OF MATTHEW (Leibowitz), at Spreckles Theatre in Rohnert Park. Photo by Eric Chazankin

THE BOOK OF MATTHEW (Leibowitz), A Comedy about the seriousness of life: by Gene Abravaya. At the Bette Condiotti Theatre, Spreckels Performing Arts Center, 5409 Snyder Lane, Rohnert Park, CA. 707-588-3400 or www.spreckelsonline.com. Thursdays at 7:30 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00 p.m., Sundays Matinees at 2:00 PM.  March 21 – April 13, 2014.

 THE BOOK OF MATTHEW (Leibowitz) a standing ovation winner at Spreckles Theatre Company

[rating:4] (5/5 stars)

 Spreckles Theatre Company is fortunate to have auteur (actor, director, playwright) Gene Abravaya as their artistic/managing director.  His enthusiasm and theatrical knowledge has brought quality productions to the North Bay making Rohnert Park a ‘destination’ locale.

For their latest endeavor he has reached into his personal repertoire restaging his first full length play The Book of Matthew that had its world premiere in the Bette Condiotti Theatre in 2009 (http://www.forallevents.info/kedaradour/2009/03/world-premiere-book-of-matthew-by-gene.html ).  He has rewritten the play with multiple changes and elected to direct it himself.

The first change is the adding of (Leibowitz) to the title that could be construed as a disclaimer for association with the “Gospel of Matthew” the first book of the New Testament. But there is the suggestion that Abravaya’s Matthew Leibowitz has similar traits to the Messiah who was rejected by Isreal but continued his teaching through his disciples.  (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gospel_of_Matthew)

Other changes include updating time references, musical selections, and making the characters typical New Yorkers. The directorial conceits, that are expertly projected by the superb cast, emphasize Jewish heritage without sacrificing universality. 

Matthew Leibowitz (Jeff Cote) is a 38 year-old writer with a stack of unpublished novels and rejection slips living in a cheap, unkempt 4th floor flat (great set by Eddy Hansen) on the “upper, upper Westside of Manhattan” (Think the mean streets of Harlem). He supports himself in two jobs as a waiter and pizza delivery man. His desire is to be a writer in the mold of Thomas Wolfe and has given up a lucrative position writing scripts for a TV soap opera in which his wife Maggie (LC Arisman) plays a pivotal character. They have split due to unwise one night sexual episode by Maggie with a hunky member of the cast.

Matthew’s closest friend is Vincent Alcedo (giving a Tony Award type performance by Tim Setzer) a flamboyant Hispanic gay actor who lives in the upper flat. His entrance and exits are through a fire escape window and he is privy to all that goes on in Matthew’s flat as the conversations drift, nay are probably amplified, through the shaft of an unused fireplace.

Matthew’s older brother Robert (exceptional Jeffery Weissman) a successful CPA with talkative wife Karen ( ebullient Madeleine Ashe) are planning a two week vacation and deliver the father Howard ( absolutely perfect Norman A. Hall) into Matthew’s care. He has become semi-catatonic after the death of his wife two years ago.

With the characters all in place Abravaya weaves an intricate plot structure with cogent dialog that his actors deliver with verisimilitude and understanding although there are stretches of exposition needed to back fill characterization. One such scene will give you a catch in the throat when Vincent spills his life story to Howard that leads to charming scene as Howard breaks his silence and a bond of friendship is created. The humor that abounds is spontaneous and never hurtful. Madeleine Ashe has a pitch perfect accent displaying Karen’s vociferous nature that makes Howard’s sly comment that there is no need for him to speak while living in her home brings spontaneous applause.

The play runs for 2 hours and 35 minutes including the 15 minute intermission and seems to lose audience attention with the re-introduction of Maggie into Matthew’s life. The excellent direction by Abravaya and the fine perforance by Jeff Cote in the lead role give added depth to  this well written and produced play.  

CAST: Matthew Leibowitz, Jeff Cote; Maggie Fitzgerald Leibowitz, LC Arisman; Vincent Alcedo, Tim Setzer; Howard Leibowitz, Norman A. Hall; Robert Leibowitz, Jeffrey Weissman / Understudy: Benjamin Privitt; Karen Leibowitz, Madeleine McGuire Ashe.

Production: Director Gene Abravaya
Set Designer: Eddy Hansen
Costume Designer: Pamela Enz
Lighting Designer: Eddy Hansen
Sound Designer: Daniel Mitchell
Stage Manager: Lyndsey Transue
Set Dresser, Prop Master, Scenic Artist : Elizabeth Bazzano

Publicist: Kim Taylor
Photographer: Eric Chazankin
Stage Crew: Jessica Johnson
Lighting Operator: Lyndsey Transue
Build Crew: Eddy Hansen

Kedar K. Adour, MD

Courtesy of www.theatreworldinternetmagazine.com.

Mar 22 2014
Love0

Shavian Comedy Arms and the Man at RVP

By Flora Lynn Isaacson

Kate Fox Marcom as Raina in Ross Valley Players production of Arms and the Man. Photo by Robin Jackson.

  [rating:3] (3/5 stars)

Ross Valley Players just opened the critically acclaimed romantic comedy, Arms and the Man by George Bernard Shaw.  This play takes place during the 1885 Serbo-Bulgarian war. It’s heroine, Raina Petkoff (Kate Fox Marcom) is a young Bulgarian woman engaged to Sergius Saranoff (Peter Warden), one of the heroes of the war who she idealizes.

One night, a Swiss mercenary soldier in the Serbian Army, Captain Bluntschli (Philip Goleman) bursts through her bedroom window and first threatens Raina, then begs her to hide him so he is not killed.  Raina complies, though she thinks the man a coward, especially when he tells her that he does not carry pistol cartridges, but chocolates.  When the battle dies down, Raina and her mother Catherine (Stephanie Saunders Ahlberg) sneak Bluntschli out of the house disguised in an old housecoat.

The war ends and Sergius returns to Raina, but also flirts with her insolent servant girl, Louka (Robyn Grahn).  Raina begins to find Sergius both foolhardy and tiresome but she hides it.  Bluntschli unexpectedly returns to bring back the old housecoat and to see Raina. Raina and her mother are shocked especially when her father, the distinguished Major Paul Petkoff (Ron Dailey) and Sergius reveal they met Bluntschli before and invite him to stay for lunch and to help them with their troop maneuvers.  Bluntschli’s return stirs several emotions in Raina and she starts to have feelings for her “chocolate cream soldier.”

Director Cris Casell has reverence for Shaw’s impressive combination of intellect, his perception of human nature, and high comedy.  On this last note, “high comedy,” she is a little over the top in her direction. Most of the cast is too much like cartoon characters with the exception of Philip Goleman as Bluntschli when she pictures him a realist. Kate Fox Marcom is appealing as Raina and Warden steals the show as Major Sergius Saranoff. Ron Dailey is impressive as Raina’s father.

High praise goes to Ken Rowland’s set design which is very colorful, Michael Berg’s costumes, Ellen Brooks’ lighting design and Billie Cox’s sound design. George Bernard Shaw gave Leopold Jacobson the rights to adapt his play into what became the 1908 operetta, The Chocolate Soldier with music by Oscar Straus.  Bluntschli is the kind of soldier who sneaks into enemy lines and into a lady’s boudoir armed with chocolates in place of cartridges.

Arms and the Man pokes satiric fun at the dangers, bravado and idealistic motives of romantic love.

Performances are held Thursday at 7:30 p.m., Friday-Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. All performances take place at the Barn Theatre, 30 Sir Francis Drake Blvd., Ross, CA.  To order tickets, call 415-456-9555 or go online at www.rossvalleyplayers.com.

Coming up next at Ross Valley Players will be Other Desert Cities a 2012 Pulitzer Prize Drama finalist, also nominated for five Tony awards written by John Robin Baitz and directed by Phoebe Moyer, May 16-June 15, 2014.

Flora Lynn Isaacson

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ross Valley Players

Mar 21 2014
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ACCIDENTAL DEATH of an ANARCHIST a hilarious must see romp at Berkeley Rep.

By Kedar K. Adour

 (l to r) Eugene Ma (Constables), Liam Craig (Superintendent), Steven Epp (Maniac), and Allen Gilmore (Pissani) star in Dario Fo’s classic comedy, Accidental Death of an Anarchist, at Berkeley Rep. Photo by Joan Marcus

Accidental Death of an Anarchist: Farce. By Dario Fo. Directed by Christopher Bayes. Berkeley Rep’s Roda Theatre, 2015 Addison St., Berkeley, CA. (510) 647-2949 or  www.berkeleyrep.org.

ACCIDENTAL DEATH of an ANARCHIST a hilarious must see romp at Berkeley Rep.[rating:5] (5/5 stars)

Late in the second act of Berkeley-Yale Repertory Theatres’ brilliant production of Dario Fo’s agitprop farce Accidental Death of an Anarchist, one or two of the commedia-del-arte type characters chastise the Maniac (Steven Epps) that he has overstepped the bounds with his manic additions/perversions to the script stating, “It’s not Dario Fo!” They are right but who cares that the authors have insinuated English/Americanisms into Fo’s Italian based political farce. Corruption in politics is not limited to the Italians.  

Nobel Prize winner Dario Fo has taken a factual event that happened in 1969 and with the use of his superb writing skills created a play about a miscarriage of justice that is still unresolved. In December of 1969 the Italians were in the throes of a power struggle between those in power and the anarchists. When the National Agricultural Bank in Milan was bombed, the government allowed the police to round up any suspects for questioning.  A lowly railroad worker was arrested  and on the third day of his interrogation he fell to his death from the fourth floor window of the police station. Initially called a suicide it eventually was ruled by the Superior Court as an “accidental death.” Fo’s starting point is the reopening of the case using satirical wit and farce to present truth through humor thus keeping himself out of detention.

There could not be better casting choices for this madcap whirlwind of theatre. Steven Epp is no Stranger to the Bay Area having graced the boards at Berkeley Rep in, A Doctor in Spite of Himself, The Miser, Figaro and Juan Giovavanni. His ability and reputation as a comic performer are legendary. He is reunited with director Christopher Bayes whom he worked with at the Tony-Award winning Theatre de la Jeune.  A union made in theatrical heaven.

Epp called simply Maniac, is brought to the lower level of the police station for impersonating a multitude professionals.  Alas the law says a maniac cannot be held responsible for his actions.  Unfortunate police officer Bertozzo (Jesse J. Perez) and unnamed Constable (Eugen Ma) are no match for the demeanor and rapid fire dialog of Epp. The laughs start early and the dialog is fortified by slapstick stage shenanigans that would make the Marx Brothers envious.

Through a series of clever visual projections the “audience” is taken by elevator (don’t ask) to the fateful fourth floor. Epp now impersonates a Superior Court Judge (amongst many other characters) and summons the Superintendent (Liam Craig) and his cohort Pissani (Allen Gilmore) to explain the discrepancy of the fateful suicide/accident that led to the anarchist going out the window.

A French farce requires a minimum of four doors but the director and cast make do with two but if you count the window that would make three. That is close enough for this play.

The set is a marvel of dishevelment and the musicians ( Aaron Halva and Travis Hendrix) on stage right are allowed to engage with the actors adding more than a modicum of interest.

Each of the male actors have individual vignettes that break the fourth wall that are too numerous to recall but bring laughter or applause from the enraptured audience that rewarded the production with a standing ovation.

Then there is Feletti (Renate Friedman) a “token female role” controlling the stage as a reporter in the last scene never playing second fiddle to her male compatriots.

Yes, this is Epp’s shining 2 hours and 15 minutes and his supporting cast work in perfect harmony even though the word harmony does not define the marvelous, hectic pace that should not to be missed evening.

FACT SHEET: ACCIDENTAL DEATH OF AN ANARCHIST WHO: Written by Dario Fo Directed by Christopher Bayes. Adapted by Gavin Richards from a translation by Gillian Hanna

CAST: Liam Craig (Superintendent), Steven Epp (Maniac), Renata Friedman (Feletti), Allen Gilmore (Pissani), Eugene Ma (Constables), and Jesse J. Perez (Bertozzo)

CREATVE TEAM: Aaron Halva (music director, composer, and musician), Travis Hendrix (musician), Kate Noll (scenic design), Elivia Bovenzi (costumes), Olivier Wason (lighting), Charles Coes (sound designer), Nathan Roberts (composer and sound designer), Michael F. Bergmann (projection designer).

Kedar K. Adour, MD

Courtesy of  www.theatreworldinternetmagazine.com.

 

Mar 21 2014
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Arms and the ManThe Play

By Guest Review

I attended the opening night of Arms and the Man on 3-14-14 at The Barn Theatre of Marin Art and Garden Center Ross Ca. directed by Ms. Chris Cassell. Cassell directed Ross Valley Players in “Night of the Iguana” and shows for S.F. Fringe Festival. The direction for “Arms and the Man” was done quite well and Cassell is a consummate professional.

The play depicted a zany comedy of love and war by playwright and author George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950). Born in Dublin Ireland and educated and worked in London. Shaw was a socialist and his views were unpopular in nationalistic and militaristic London at the time.
Arms and the Man portrays – as written by Shaw, presents a realistic view of war and not glorifying death and eradication of generations of men, families and cultures. There is an attempt at humor some may find amusing, such as hiding an enemy soldier on the heroine’s balcony and under her bed. The war was going on was between Serbia and long time rivals Austro Hungarian empire back at the turn of the eighteenth century. The good guys are supposed to be the Austro Hungarian homeland solders and the bad guys are the Serbian soldiers.

The heroine Ratina, is played by the absolutely beautiful and talented Kate Fox Marcom who hides the Serbian solder, Captain Bluntschli from the enemy or else he would be executed.. However the Serb’s enemy is her homeland’s military and king.. Now really – how many of us today can identify with one of the Austrian – Hungarian wars of the late 1880’s? I certainly can’t.
The cast consisted of seven actors and actresses whose acting skills were quite good. Even the tainted Russian and Serbian accents were almost believable. if not for being somewhat amusing.
Actress Stephanie Saunders Ahberg character (Catherine Petkoff), [The Winslow Boy, The Dresser credits] was notably believable as the protective mother of Ratina.

The other actors Ron Dailey (Major Paul Petkoff), Phillip Goldman as Cap’t Bluntschli had major parts in the play. Other notables did nice supporting roles and acceptable somewhat humorous acting skills.

On balance, if you want to see a somewhat slanted mildly humorous anti war play and you like George Bernard Shaw’s writing and plays – go see Arms and the Man otherwise you can watch Oprah on T.V.

My rating # 3.0 on five point scale.

Robert M. Chandler Events Critic For All Events
e-mail robertforallevents.com

Mar 19 2014
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TOP GIRLS at Custom Made needs directorial guidance.

By Kedar K. Adour

                     l to r) Mimu Tsujimura (Lady Nijo), Monica Cappuccini (Pope Joan), Cat Luedtke (Isabella Bird), Cary Cronholm Rose (Marlene), Carina Lastimosa Salazar (Patient Griselda), Megan Putnam (Waitress),  Katie Robbins (Dull Gret).  Photo by Claire Rice

TOP GIRLS: Comedy by Caryl Churchill. Directed  by Laura Lundy-Paine. Custom Made Theatre Company, Gough Street Playhouse, 1620 Gough St. (at Bush),  San Francisco, CA 94109. 415-798-CMTC (2682) or  www.custommade.org.  March 20 – April 13, 2014.

TOP GIRLS at Custom Made needs directorial guidance. [rating:2] (5/5 stars)

This reviewer has admired the ambition/audacity/avidity of Custom Made that might be summarized as “daring to tackle difficult to perform plays.”  Caryl Churchill’s work requires quality/intricate direction that is absent in Top Girls. Fortunately a quieter second act with the mostly competent cast playing multiple roles makes the evening almost worthwhile.

The play is non-linear, partial fantasy with throw back scenes to the Kitchen Sink dramas made famous by her contemporary Arnold Wesker. Churchill is a feminist railing against the subjugation of women in our male dominated world. As written  Top Girls first act is a doozy but, as directed , is a noisy shamble and as one critic noted at intermission “I didn’t know we were going to see a drag show!” The costumes are ludicrous (Scarlett Kellum).

Churchill has dipped into history conjuring a historical celebratory dinner party to top all dinner parties. It is being given to honor Marlene (Cary Cronholm Rose) for her promotion,  by-passing a male colleague, as the head of a modern day employment agency. There is (in order of appearance) Isabella Bird (Cat Luedtke) a Victorian era inveterate traveler, Lady Nijo (Mimu Tsujimura) a 13th –century Japanese consort who became a Buddhist nun, Pope Joan (Monica Cappuccini) a martyred female pope from the middle ages, Dull Grett (Katie Robbins) a fire and brimstone peasant warrior taken from a Flemish painting and Patient Griselda (Carina Lastimosa Salazar) a dutiful wife from the “Canterbury Tales. The cacophony that increases with their drinking is probably a put-down of male camaraderie. Is Churchill is telling us that if men can do it so can women? In the course of a verbose, boisterous evening with Churchill’s signature overlapping dialog, each guest spills the beans of their horrendous treatment by men reinforcing the fact that female subjugation is as old as time.

The play, originally written in three acts is presented as two acts. That second act salvages the evening.  In an interim scene we meet Angie (Katie Robbins) a semi-retarded “tweener”, her mother Joyce  (Cat Luedtke) and her younger playmate Kit (Megan Putnam).  With the exception of Cary Cronholm Rose  who works into the role of Marlene by act two, all the other actors play multiple roles. With two exceptions the transformations of all the actors for the act 2 are so complete you will be asking “Is that really (fill in any actor’s name) who played that historical figure in scene one?”

After the raucous dinner party the play returns to present day 1980 (the Margaret Thatcher years) taking place in the Top Girls Employment Agency office. As Marlene’s employees interview applicants for prospective jobs, there is a series of brilliant individual vignettes that are played with professional touches. Two applicants who add verisimilitude to their roles Megan Putman as Shona, an under aged applicant trying to look and act as a 29 year old and Carina Lastimosa a 47 year old who has played second fiddle to younger co-workers. You will recognize the problem that still exists today. This is not to denigrate the performance of the others since the commitment of the cast is palpable and they deserve better direction.

In the final scene, a classic kitchen sink drama, there is a reverse time shift in which younger Marlene returns to the rural neighborhood of her youth. The confrontation with her sister Joyce (Cat Luedtke) is stunning and family secrets and deep animosity surface. There is an abrupt and perfectly plausible ending as Marlene’s complete character is fleshed out.

Cast: Monica Cappuccini, Cary Cronholm Rose, Cat Luedtke, Megan Putnam, Katie Robbins, Carina Lastimosa Salazar and Mimu Tsujimura

 Production Crew: Director – Laura Lundy-Paine; Stage Manager – Jane Troja; Scenic Design – Kevin Dunning; Costume Design – Scarlett Kellum; Lighting Design – Colin Johnson; Scenic Artist – Nicola MacCarthy; Liz Ryder – Sound; Design/Score; Costume Design-Scarlett Kellum; Dialect Coach-Rebecca Castelli; Fight Choreography-Jon Bailey.

Running time 2 hours 25 minutes with an intermission.

Kedar K. Adour, MD

Courtesy of www.theatreworldinternetmagazine.com