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Oct 17 2013
Love0

Exploratorium makes girl, 6, giggle and squeal with delight

By Woody Weingarten

Woody’s [rating:4.5] 

Hannah peeks through maze from the top. Photo: Woody Weingarten

My granddaughter owns a short attention span — except when she’s fascinated.

And then the 6-year-old, like most kids her age (or younger), insists on repeating whatever’s grabbed her, again and again and again. Her recent visit to the new Exploratorium is an unequaled for-instance.

She had nearly as much fun as horsing around with her new rescue puppy.

Hannah had been to the old science museum building in the Palace of Fine Arts multiple times, and loved it. But this time her squeals of delight were louder, her giggles more effervescent.

Repeatedly.

Once upon a time she raced from one exhibit to another, testing each for about half a second. But she was only 5 then. Or 4. Or 3 the first time we took her.

Now, she’s exponentially more mature.

Can the word “sophisticated” fit a first-grader? Yes, of course (though I grant a substantial bias in Hannah’s case).

Anyway, this time she lingered at exhibits. And tested each gain, again and again.

“Self-Centered Mirror” shows Hannah and her grandpa. Photo: Woody WeingartenAnyway, this time she lingered at exhibits. And tested each again, again and again.

She didn’t tire until the beginning of our fourth hour.

Like a white-haired roadie, I trailed her as if she were a rock star whose latest single had just gone viral. And I managed to experience much of her hands-on, trial-and-error experimentation from an analogous child’s-eye-view.

I left believing that had I looked close enough, I could have seen her mind expand.

The new Exploratorium, like the old, is an interactive, two-story science museum. But this one’s indoors-outdoors, a 330,000-square-foot facility with three times the space.It has 40 new exhibits and 560 carryovers, gratifying each of the senses except taste (and that craving might be satisfied at the posh 200-seat buffet-style Seaglass Restaurant or a tiny takeout café, “the seismic joint”).

Because the facility’s bigger, it doesn’t feel cramped or crowded. And it seems a bit less noisy (as well as somewhat less exciting).

But Hannah didn’t think about any of that.

She was too busy running back and forth between two displays — “Self-Excluding Mirror,” which reproduced images but somehow made the person in the center disappear, and “Self-Centered Mirror,” which replicated the viewer over and over.

Before that, near the entrance, she’d became entranced with “A Drop to Drink,” featuring a miniature hand she could manipulate robotically to fill a miniature cup with a lone drop of water, and “Black Sand,” an exhibit that showcased countless metallic pieces that stuck together magnetically. A few times during our visit she returned to both stations.

Hannah enjoyed exhibits carried over from the old building.

One favorite — where images and colors changed when we waved our arms, kicked out our legs and wiggled our torsos. Another was a screen crammed with pins that made different hand shapes and designs as she moved her fingers underneath.

Another echo came as Scott Weaver guided ping-pong balls through his panoramic view of San Francisco and vicinity made from “105,387 and a half toothpicks.” We’d seen it before, at the Marin County Fair, but loved it still.His art-piece only took 37 years to finish.

Hannah was also taken with “Tidal Memory,” its 24 columns of water representing 24 hours of tide data.

I, meanwhile, enjoyed playing “The Visible Pinball Machine,” which showed the machine’s innards. And all of us marveled at “Gyroid,” an outdoor climbing maze Hannah crawled through and atop while we watched.

Leaving, Hannah gleefully said she liked running into and out of an “orange and white spinning circus-tent thing,” spinning a plastic ball on a column of air, and changing the course of a simulated tornado.It’s truly impossible to even mention all we experienced, much less what we didn’t do (like check out the second floor and its observation center).

But we did recognize the Exploratorium features displays for virtually every age, ranging from some aimed at preschoolers to some so technical a doctorate in an esoteric scientific endeavor might help.

I think that translates, in effect, into something for everyone.All that’s required is sufficient time.

Oh, well, there’s always next time. Or the time after that. Or the one after that. Or…

The Exploratorium, Pier 15, San Francisco, is Tuesdays through Sundays, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Wednesdays, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Thursday night After Dark cash-bar event for those 18 and older, 6 to 10 p.m. Tickets: $10-$25. Information: (415) 528-4444 or www.exploratorium.edu.

Oct 17 2013
Love0

MTT evokes avant-garde 20s via ‘American in Paris’

By Woody Weingarten

Woody’s [rating:5] 

San Francisco Symphony conductor Michael Tilson-Thomas

Violin soloist James Ehnes

My wife last heard George Gershwin’s “An American in Paris” played in the flesh 49 years ago in Manhattan.

I heard it in-person much more currently — 33 years ago — also in New York.

Sadly, neither of us can remember a thing about those concerts other than we were there. But the San Francisco Symphony version we caught recently, with Michael Tilson-Thomas conducting with his usual exemplary zeal, is apt to linger in our memories a long, long time.

And not because the music stand of a musician in the last row slipped down with a clunk before the Davies Hall concert began.

But because the performance was as luscious and joyous as the first bite of a truffle.

And then some.

The audience agreed. It gave the musicians — and MTT, of course — a standing ovation.

Tilson-Thomas conducted it at a good clip, conjuring up all the vibrancy possible from Gershwin’s instrumental dialogue — aided, naturally, by the incredible finesse of San Francisco’s finest music-makers.

Together they painted a melodic portrait that evoked the same images and feelings Gershwin must have experienced in the vital, avant-garde Paris of the 1920s.

MTT didn’t settle for just Gershwin, however.

He constructed an amazing program that beguiled the audience, starting with “The Alcotts,” a six-minute rendition of an unexpectedly sweet Charles Ives movement from “A Concord Symphony” — replete with passages that hint of church hymns and Beethoven’s Fifth.

Then, soloist James Ehnes, whose lightning-fast bow was a visual blur at the same time he created stringed exactitude, drew a standing ovation for his artistry on Samuel Barber’s ”Violin Concerto, Opus 14.” Some pundits have found the explosive, ultra-fast third movement disconnected from the first more pensive two, but Ehnes made any previous criticism vanish.

My wife commented of the “Presto in moto perpetuo,” only half in jest, that “his virtuosity made Rimsky-Korsakov’s ‘The Flight of the Bumblebee’ sound like it’s flying in slow motion.”

MTT gently pushed Ehnes back on stage for an encore. Niccolò Paganini’s “Caprice No. 16” earned him another standing ovation.

Tilson-Thomas also paired George Antheil’s “A Jazz Symphony,” a multi-faceted pastiche from 1928, with the Gershwin closer, suggesting Antheil was “deliberately out there, to delight and provoke.”

He urged the crowd to “fasten your seat belts — here it goes.”

The piece, with layered textures, colors and rhythms, with musical pauses as effective as those in a Harold Pinter play, included blow-your-mind riffs from trumpeter Mark Inouye and pianist Robin Sutherland.

One muted horn segment infused its bluesy strains in my mind and heart at once. A brief clarinet segment duplicated that impact.

An ad campaign of the ‘70s and ‘80s repeatedly proclaimed that “When E.F. Hutton talks, people listen.” I suggest the slogan be updated for the 2013-14 season: “When MTT conducts, everyone listens.”

His work so inspired my spouse, in fact, she rushed home to frolic with “An American in Paris” on our Yamaha piano.

She’d never played it before but thought it “would be fun.”

It was.

For her and me.

But in good conscience I must admit the symphony did it a teensy-weensy bit better.

Maybe, dear, it was just because they’d rehearsed.

If you missed this performance, you might want to catch one of these upcoming concerts: “MTT and Jeremy Denk: Beethoven, Mozart, Copland,” Nov. 7-10; Natalie Cole and the symphony, Nov. 25; Dianne Reeves with the orchestra, Dec. 11; Burt Bacharach and the symphony, Dec. 13; “MTT and Yo-Yo Ma,” Feb. 28. Information: (415) 864-6400 or www.sfsymphony.org.

Oct 17 2013
Love0

I and You at MTC needs work

By Kedar K. Adour

Kedar [rating:2] (2/5 stars) 

Jessica Lynn Carroll (Caroline) and Devion McArthur (Anthony) in the National New Play Network Rolling World Premiere of I and You by Lauren Gunderson, running now through November 3 at Marin Theatre Company . Photo by Ed Smith

I AND YOU: Drama. By Lauren Gunderson. Directed by Sarah Rasmussen. Marin Theatre Company, 397 Miller Avenue, Mill Valley, CA 94941. (415) 388-5208 or www.marintheatre.org. October 10 – November 3, 2013. 

I and You at  MTC  needs work.

The adage “there’s trouble in River City” did come to mind when Artistic Director  Jasson Minadakis  informed the audience before the show began that this production is first of four “rolling world premieres” of  I and You and intimated that there would be changes made. Also in a local newspaper fluff piece interview of the author she admitted that during rehearsal, at the suggestion of the cast, she excised significant blocks of dialog. It might be possible that those cut are the reason there is an abrupt change in the tenor of the play that seems artificial.

Gunderson has received accolades for her other plays, three of which are playing locally, and the dialog in I and You attests that those accolades are warranted. However she must share some of that credit with Walt Whitman’s poetry.

It is a two character play with disparate teenagers thrown together in a class project to deconstruct Whitman’s poetic autobiographical “Leaves of Grass” by discussing his meaning of the pronouns “I” and “You.” It is a very blatant ploy by Gunderson to give universality to the personal relationship evolving between the protagonists.  Henri Bergson’s concept of relative time is suggested since their project is due the next morning.

Those two are chronically ill semi-recluse Caroline (Jessica Lynn Carroll) and talented basketball player Anthony (Devion McArthur). The author adroitly introduces the troubled background of the pair with believable dialog as the relationship changes from antagonistic to empathy ending with understanding in a cataclysmic ending.

Whereas Caroline who is white is immersed in her stuffed turtle doll, Elvis Presley movies and photography, African-American Anthony is a saxophonist enamored with John Coltrane and Walt Whitman.  Anthony’s unexpected arrival in Caroline’s attic bedroom is met with hostility but his patience gradually turns Caroline’s taciturn nature into an agreeable partner adding depth to their assigned project. Before that stage is reached there are the expected and unexpected serious bumps on the road to understanding. A couple of those bumps are very dramatically directed by Sarah Rasmussen but her chore is difficult because the storyline lacks cohesion.  This may change on the play’s journey through three more “rolling world premieres.”

Jessica Lynn Carroll gives a believably fine performance changing from a frightened unlikeable teenager to a compliant partner as she becomes engrossed in Whitman’s poetry and Anthony’s subtle persistence.   Devion McArthur, who was imported from the New York theatrical scene, is new to Marin Theatre Company but one would hope it will not be his last visit to the Bay Area.

Michael Locher’s magnificent set of Caroline’s attic bedroom complete with the trappings expected of a teenager is a beauty but may be superfluous overkill for this problematic 80 minute play that may be better served with a more moody ambiance to accentuate the surprise ending.

Kedar K. Adour, MD

Courtesy of www.theatreworldinternetmagazine.com.

 

Oct 17 2013
Love0

‘Zigzag Kid,’ film fest charmer, profiles a rascally teen

By Woody Weingarten

Film newcomer Thomas Simon stars in the title role of “The Zigzag Kid.”

 

Nono is an exceedingly spirited, exceedingly imaginative Dutch kid who draws attention through mischievous stunts — particularly when they don’t work.

But he can be disarming.

And so can “The Zigzag Kid,” the coming-of-age film in which Thomas Simon stars as Nono, a 13-year-old two days from his bar mitzvah.

“Zigzag,” the opening-night entry of this year’s San Francisco Jewish Film Festival, will play at the California Theater in Berkeley on Aug. 6 and at the Rafael Theatre in Marin on Aug. 12.

The movie’s storyline is deceptively simple: Nono wants to emulate his dad, whom they both steadfastly believe is the best police inspector in the world, and in the process searches for details about his mother’s death.

Adventures ensue.

Although that may not sound wholeheartedly enchanting, when you add the slickest thief in the world; the inventive secretary-girlfriend of the boy’s father; and a seductive chanteuse marvelously portrayed by Isabella Rossellini (who’s looking more and more like her mother, Ingrid Bergman, as she ages), you find yourself devouring a cinematic stew spiced to please.

The 95-minute film — a fast-paced, subtitled Dutch-Belgian detective puzzler — contains way more whimsy and fantasy than a viewer might expect.

Plus amusing umbrella hijinks. And disguises. And chases.

With a modicum of poignancy.

And that leaves no room to talk about the charming flick’s top-notch production values.

Purists may object to the movie’s blurring of good and bad, but the movie’s magic will make that mindset disappear quickly for most filmgoers.

The SFJFF, the world’s first and still largest Jewish film festival, this year — its 23rd — is screening 74 films from 26 countries in nine Bay Area venues.

Berkeley and Marin screenings both will include an outstanding documentary, “Dancing in Jaffa,” which traces a world-class dancer’s efforts to teach dance to Jewish-Israeli and Palestinian-Israeli youngsters and then pair them in competition.

Another Marin highlight, which also will be shown in Oakland, is “The Trials of Muhammad Ali,” which explores issues of race, identity, power and faith.

A total of 39SFJFF films were slated for the California Theatre, 2113 Kittredge St., Berkeley, between Aug. 2 to 8. Thirteen films will screen at the Rafael Theatre, 1118 Fourth St., San Rafael, between Aug. 10 and 12. Festival information can be found at (415) 621-0523 or www.sfjff.org.

Oct 16 2013
Love0

Money is the name of the game in ‘Warrior Class’

By Judy Richter

By Judy Richter

What does it take to be elected to Congress? To start with — money.

Money is undoubtedly the most important factor, but others stand in line, too. That’s what a promising young politician learns in Kenneth Lin’s “Warrior Class.” Presented by TheatreWorks, “Warrior Class” is a fascinating back room look at politics today.

The politician is Julius Weishan Lee (Pun Bandhu), an Asian American, New York assemblyman and decorated Marine veteran who’s viewed by some as the Republican Obama. An eloquent speech after the 9/11 attacks, in which his sister died, has thrust him into the spotlight. Now party operatives are looking into his background to make sure there are no red flags.

This vetting process is mainly undertaken by the savvy, smooth-talking Nathan Berkshire (Robert Sicular). All looks good until Nathan unearths information about unwise behavior toward a girlfriend when Julius was in college.

The ex-girlfriend, the wary Holly Eames (Delia MacDougall), contends that Julius’s behavior after their breakup caused her great mental anguish. Nathan tries to persuade her to keep quiet about the incident, but she keeps raising the stakes.

In the meantime, Nathan tries to steer Julius toward an Assembly committee that has the power to benefit one or more of the party’s major donors. Julius finally realizes that if he wants their backing, he must bow to the big money men.

In the meantime, it turns out that both Holly and Nathan have their own problems. No one looks all that great by the end of this two-act play, which runs just under two hours with intermission.

Director Leslie Martinson elicits outstanding performances from all three actors. The interchanges and conflicts between them ring true and intrigue the audience.

The action takes place in a Baltimore steak house and Julius’s home  in New York City. Erik Flatmo’s set, lit by Steven B. Mannshardt, easily accommodates the scene changes. The contemporary costumes are by Noah Marin with sound by Brendan Aanes.

The ending might leave some viewers looking for more resolution. However, it needs to be ambiguous because decisions need to be made now that all the dirt has been dished. Thus viewers are left to ponder what the characters will do after they’ve had more time to think. The main question is whether Julius will go along with the money men or stick to his principles.

One can easily imagine that many real politicians have faced, are facing or will face the same dilemma.

“Warrior Class” will continue through Nov. 3 at the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts, 500 Castro St., Mountain View. For tickets and information call (650) 463-1960 or visit www.theatreworks.org.

 

Oct 15 2013
Love0

5 star reviews explanation and samples

By Flora Lynn Isaacson

Sample code has been inserted below for you to use/change/experiment with.

Change (type over) whatever you want. Can also be no text.
– Change (type over) rating: 5 to:
rating: 2 (This creates 2 stars when you Update.)
– Change (type over) 5/5 stars to:
2/5 stars (This creates 2/5 stars when you Update.) You can also eliminate this part entirely.
– Click Update

Experiment. Here are variations.

Suzanne and Greg [rating:5] (5/5 stars)

Suzanne and Greg [rating:4.5] (4.5/5 stars)

Suzanne and Greg [rating:4.25] (4.25/5 stars)

Suzanne and Greg [rating:4] (4/5 stars)

Suzanne and Greg [rating:3.5] (3.5/5 stars)

Suzanne and Greg [rating:3] (3/5 stars)

Suzanne and Greg [rating:4]

Suzanne [rating:4]

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Suzanne [rating:4]

Suzanne [rating:4]

Suzanne and Greg [rating:5] (5/5 stars)

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Suzanne and Greg [rating:5] (5/5 stars)

ZZ Moor, Amy Resnick, Mark Anderson Phillips

 

Reviewed by Suzanne and Greg Angeo

Photos by Ed Smith

Good People is Brilliantly-Crafted, Compelling Start to MTC’s New Season

As its 2013-2014 season opener, Marin Theatre Company has chosen Good People, a Broadway hit in its Bay Area premiere. The story is provocative; the vivid characters sparkle like gems in a setting of steel.  Playwright, screenwriter and lyricist David Lindsay-Abaire has won the Pulitzer Prize (Rabbit Hole), and was nominated for a Grammy and several Tony Awards (Shrek the Musical, Rabbit Hole).  Good People opened on Broadway in 2011 and garnered him yet another Tony nod.

With humor and brutal honesty, Good People suggests that the choices we make are not always our own, and that some of us are not able to make choices that put us on the path to success, or even stability. We see Margaret, a hardscrabble single mom, struggling to hold her life together as she cares for her special-needs adult daughter in Southie, a working-class Irish section of south Boston. She’s got her neighborhood pals Jean and Dottie to lean on, but no thanks to her boss Stevie, life is tough and getting tougher by the minute. Her encounter with Mike, an old high-school boyfriend, promises to be a game-changer.

Amy Resnick as Margaret – Margie to her pals – is likeable and authentic in her role, as familiar as a favorite pair of jeans. Margie’s often given to outbursts where she ends up not-really apologizing, with trademark lines like “pardon my French” and ”I’m just bustin’ balls”. Sympathetic but confusing, she’s painfully blunt and seems to take pride in looking foolish or crude. But we soon learn that she’s reluctant to take action in simple, honest ways that could make life easier for herself and her daughter. Is she truly proud of who she is, or is she so invested in her Southie identity that she is unable or unwilling to change it?

Amy Resnick, Ben Euphrat

Mark Anderson Phillips is Mike, Margie’s former flame from the old neighborhood. In a masterful performance, Phillips shows us hints of zaniness, anarchy and fear lurking just below Mike’s smooth surface. Now a successful doctor, Mike fondly endures Margie’s digs about becoming “lace-curtain Irish”, a reference to his moving up in the world. Later on, Margie visits the home of Mike and his elegant young African-American wife Kate, played with compassionate sophistication by ZZ Moor. It ends up being a night of unraveling and uproar, with Mike showing his true colors and Kate challenging Margie’s life choices.

Margie’s best friends Dottie (Ann Darragh) and Jean (Jamie Jones) are so endearing, and offer such skillful comic relief that you wish you could have them over for the weekend. Between bingo games and swapping tales, these ladies are the heart of the story, which has a satisfying conclusion after the convoluted road it travels to get there.

An unforeseen event threatened one recent matinee performance: Ben Euphrat, who plays Stevie, got stuck in traffic from the Bay Bridge closure and missed the first scene, a crucial one with Resnick that establishes the entire storyline. Phillips covered the part, script in hand, and even though he performed well, Euphrat’s absence threw the beginning of the first act off-kilter.  He did finally arrive in time for his next scene and hit the ground running, fully recovering the momentum of the show and turning in a fine performance.

Anne Darragh, Amy Resnick, Jamie Jones

Direction by Tracy Young in her MTC debut is inventive yet efficient, keeping the cast in almost constant motion. Nina Ball’s clean and simple set design allows for effortless scene changes. Young makes use of the clever set platforms that roll backwards or forwards, sometimes while the actors are still performing. Sliding backdrop partitions come and go from the wings on either side. Thus the stage is transformed: from an alleyway to a doctor’s office to a bingo hall; from a subway platform to a high-class home. The gritty urban-rock score, used in between scenes by composer Chris Houston, keeps the energy level high throughout the show.

There are no heroes or villains in Good People. It takes us on a journey to a place where we can stand and peer into the age-old abyss between the classes. It raises questions that have no easy answers, but that need to be asked anyway.

When: now through September 15, 2013

8 p.m. Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays

7:30 p.m. Wednesdays

2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Sundays

2 p.m. Saturday, September 14

1 p.m. Thursday, September 5

Tickets: $37 to $58

Location: Marin Theatre Company

397 Miller Avenue, Mill Valley CA 94941
Phone: 415-388-5208

Website: www.marintheatre.org

Oct 15 2013
Love0

‘Rich and Famous’ a bad dream

By Judy Richter, Uncategorized

By Judy Richter

In her notes for Dragon Theatre’s production of John Guare’s 1976 “Rich and Famous,” director Meredith Hagedorn urges the audience to remember that it’s all a dream.

That’s important to keep in mind because this play falls within the realm of theater of the absurd. Therefore, it’s sometimes difficult to discern what’s happening and why.

The premise is that for the first time, Bing Ringling (Ron Talbot) one of  “the world’s oldest living promising young playwrights,” is about to see a production of one of his plays, his 844th. Bing’s dream occurs on the night of its first preview.

His dream has several different characters played by two actors: Lucinda Dobinson, the Woman, as the females; and Tom Gough, the Man, as the males. One of the female characters is Veronica, the producer of Bing’s play. Because she has successfully produced other plays, she wants this one to be a flop so that she can be hailed for a comeback with the next play she produces.

Gough is seen as the lead actor in Bing’s play, but he’s in drag as a hooker. Among other characters, he also portrays Bing’s boyhood friend who has since become a successful movie actor. He and Dobinson team up as Bing’s parents.

The action is interspersed by fine singing by the uncredited Jason Arias, who does double duty as the set designer (simple but effective) and, on opening night, the person dispensing programs. He’s also the company manager.

The two-act play clocks in at just under two hours, with the second act stronger than the first. Still, it’s a weird play that might work better if Gough’s performance weren’t so over the top in his various guises.

Talbot is solid as Bing, while Dobinson is at her best as Bing’s ex-girlfriend in the second act.

Playwright Guare is best known for the widely produced “The House of Blue Leaves” and “Six Degrees of Separation.” Both are stronger and more enjoyable than this one.

San Francisco’s American Conservatory Theater staged a rewrite of “Rich and Famous” in 2009. It was expanded to four actors and named Bing’s play, “The Etruscan Conundrum.” Despite the rewrite and ACT’s best efforts, the play still didn’t work.

Dragon Theatre is in the heart of downtown Redwood City, which has become a bustling place with a wide array of restaurants as well as the nearby multi-screen movie theater, the Fox Theatre, the old county courthouse, and convenient, inexpensive parking.

 

Oct 13 2013
Love0

Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo—An Original Drama About the Iraq War at SF Playhouse

By Flora Lynn Isaacson

Flora Lynn [rating:5] (5/5 stars)

Tiger (Will Marchetti) talks to God in SF Playhouse’s current production. Photo by Jessica Palopoli.

The San Francisco Playhouse has launched the first year of their second decade, now in a new venue, at 450 Post Street, with a Tony nominated and Pulitzer Prize finalist, Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo by Rajiv David and directed by Bill English.

This show is about a tiger (Will Marchetti) that haunts the streets of present day Baghdad seeking the meaning of life.  As he witnesses the puzzling absurdities of war, the tiger encounters Americans and Iraqis who are searching for friendship and redemption.

This tiger lives in the Baghdad zoo. He tells the audience that most of the animals have fled to “freedom” because of the Iraq invasion, only to be shot dead by soldiers.  That night United States soldiers come to guard the zoo.  The tiger, driven by fear and hunger, bites off the hand of Tom (Gabriel Marin), a soldier.  Kev (Craig Marker), another soldier shoots the tiger, mortally wounding him.

Kev finds himself haunted by the ghost of the tiger, who wanders about Baghdad.  Due to an outburst while searching an Iraqi home, Kev is sent to the hospital.  Back in Baghdad with a prosthetic hand, Tom pays a visit to Kev.  It is revealed that the gun Kev used to shoot the tiger was taken from the palace of the late Uday Hussein. Tom wants the gun back so he can start a new life in the U.S. by selling the gold plated gun. During the exchange however, the gun falls into the hands of Uday’s former gardener, Masa (Kuros Charney), who is also working as a translator for the soldiers.  He is frequently visited by Uday’s ghost (Pomme Koch).

The rest of the show involves the living characters interacting with the dead ones as the war happens around them.  Will Marchetti gives an amazing performance as the tiger (worth the price of admission) and is ably assisted by Gabriel Marin and Craig Marker as the two Marines.

Director Bill English chose this play because “it asks the biggest question of our lives—why are we here…we are all part animal, part spirit and our success at being human is defined by how we balance our contradictory nature.” In addition, English has created a fantastic set which is augmented by the imaginative lighting design of Dan Reed.

Playwright Rajiv Joseph tells us “Bengal Tiger is more of a ghost story than a war story in which we are haunted by our struggle to define guilt and responsibility—to define ourselves in relation to the universe and to find a moral compass to guide us.”

Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo runs October 1-November 16, 2013. Performances are Tuesday-Thursday at  7 p.m., Friday-Saturday at 8 p.m. plus Saturday at 3 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. SF Playhouse is located at 450 Post Street (2nd floor of Kensington Park Hotel b/n Powell and Mason). For tickets, call the box office at 415-677-9596 or go online at www.sfplayhouse.org.

Coming up next at SF Playhouse will be Store Front Church by John Patrick Shanley and directed by Bill English, November 26-January 11, 2014.

Flora Lynn Isaacson

Oct 08 2013
Love0

It’s etc…etc… SUPERMAN flies high at 42nd Street Moon

By Kedar K. Adour

Kedar [rating:5] (5/5 stars)

Superman (Lucas Coleman) defeats the Grimaldi brothers in 42nd Street Moon’s production of  IT’S A BIRD…IT’S A PLANE…IT’S SUPERMAN (All photos by Patrick O’Connor)

“IT’S A BIRD…IT’S A PLANE… IT’S SUPERMAN: Musical Comedy. Music by Charles Strouse.  Lyrics by Lee Adams. Book by David Newman & Robert Benton. Directed by Dyan McBride. 42nd Street Moon, Eureka Theatre, 215 Jackson St., San Francisco.

(415) 255-8207 or visit www.42ndStMoon.org. October 2 — October 20, 2013.

It’s etc…etc… SUPERMAN flies high at 42nd Street Moon

First of all don’t just call the marvelous show bouncing around the Eureka Theatre stage Superman. The title is, It’s a Bird…It’s a Plane…It’s Superman. That is as it should be; the long title defines the man of steel since it was 75 years ago that our hero was jettisoned from the planet Krypton becoming an icon of the comic book world.

The longevity of our comic book ‘defender of truth and justice’ overshadows the 1966 Broadway production that lasted for only 129 performances even though it listed such notables as Bob Haliday (Superman/Clark Kent), Jack Cassidy (Max Mencken), Patricia Marand (Lois Lane), Linda Lavin (Sydney) and Michael O’Sullivan (Dr. Abner Sedgwick).

With one exception (not to be mentioned here) the cast of 42nd Street Moon’s staging probably could match the Broadway cast! And they did not use any wires to send Superman flying off stage.  Tall, lean (if not muscular) handsome Lucas Coleman as Superman takes magnificent leaps on and off stage that are a hoot and a holler although he has a bit of trouble undressing in the telephone booth (yes, the booth is there on stage right).

Clark Kent’s phone booth. Lucas Coleman

The casting director for this terrific spoof had a stroke of genius turning scientist Dr. Abner Sedgwick, into a female and rounding up Bay Area favorite comedienne Darlene Popovic for that adversarial role adding a disheveled fright wig signifying her madness. When Dr. Sedgwick’s nefarious plan “A” to destroy Superman goes awry she simply shrugs, “It’s a long alphabet.”

Of course Lois Lane (Jen Brooks), star reporter who has been save 15 times [shall we try for 16?] by Superman, is there along with gossip columnist Max Mencken (Brent Schindele) and his secretary Sydney (Safiya Fredericks).  Jen Brooks plays the Lois Lane role straight (as it should be) but has her moments and is in fine voice with three memorable songs of “We Don’t Matter at All”, “What I Often Wanted” and “ I Am Not Finished Yet.”

Brent Schindele almost steals the show as a whirlwind of hot air and aggrandizement whenever he is on stage with “The Woman for the Man” and especially when he is the foil for Safiya Fredericks’ over-the-top belting of “Ooh, Do You Love You!”  Popovic and Schindele share the spotlight in their duet “You’ve Got What I Need” when non-Nobel Prize winning Dr. Sedgwick is planning “Revenge.”

 Yes there is a convoluted storyline that fits perfectly into the action of this satiric spoof gracing the art deco set (Alvin Shiu) with 1960’s costumes (Felicia Lilienthal) and tricky choreography (Staci Arriaga) at the Eureka Theater.  Veteran director Dyan McBride keeps the 16 member cast vivaciously moving on and off stage and has a great ensemble to aid her.

That ensemble includes Mama Grimaldi (Diahanna Davidson) and four “Amazing Grimaldis” played by Scott Maraj, Steven Sloan, Michael Doppe and Kyle Valentine mostly dressed in one piece tight fitting purple wrestling costumes and are whirlwinds of physical activity. They play double and triple roles with quick costume changes.

l-r: Lucas Coleman, Safiya Fredericks, Diahanna Davidson, Catherine Gloria, Nicole Renee Chapman, Ariel Leasure, Darlene Popovic, Brent Schindele, Trevor Marcom, and Jen Brooks

Then there are the “Mod Young Ladies of the Metropolis” Catherine Gloria, Nicole Renee Chapman and Ariel Leasure who are knockouts in varied brightly colored costumes to match the imaginative set as they sing and dance vivaciously.

The comic book ambiance is maintained throughout with production numbers designed around individual panels of “Meanwhile” “Suddenly” “Later” and “Finally” with ‘written’ sound effects of “Pow!”, “Bam!” and “Zonk!” and others.

This show is one of the best that 42nd Street Moon has produced and it is an auspicious start to their 21st Season. Next up is the Rogers and Hart musical I Married and Angel  playing October 30 – November 17, 2013.

Kedar K. Adour, MD

Courtesy of www.theatreworldinternetmagazine.com

 

Oct 07 2013
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A stunning but problematic Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo at San Francisco Playhouse

By Kedar K. Adour, Uncategorized

Kedar [rating:4] (4/5 stars)

Marines (Craig Marker* L, Gabriel Marin* R) guard Tiger (Will Marchetti*) in the Baghdad Zoo.

Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo: Drama by Rajiv Joseph. Directed by Bill English. San Francisco Playhouse, 450 Post St., S.F. (415) 677-9596 or www.sfplayhouse.org.

October 4 – November 16,2013

A stunning but problematic Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo at San Francisco Playhouse

Rajiv Joseph is no stranger to the Bay area where his play Animals Out of Paper was a smash hit in 2010 at the intimate 99 seat SF Playhouse and his The North Pool was equally well received at TheatreWorks in Silicon Valley in 2011. His 2011 Pulitzer Prize nominated play Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo is being mounted in the expansive new 300 seat theatre off Union Square.

This is Playhouse’s 11th season and befitting their expansion they have stretched their name to “San Francisco” Playhouse and prefer to label the 2013-2014 season as the beginning of their second decade with reassurance that they will continue to produce “gripping storytelling . . . dedicated to ‘Body and Soul’.”

Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo certainly is gripping, contemporary and thoughtful but also somewhat pretentious. The huge stage is a desert wasteland (sets by Bill English) strewn with concrete and rebar remnants of war with sand dunes projected on the rear wall.  The superb cast defuses Joseph’s pretension with sincere performances finding humor in the chaotic world that is post-war Iraq.

To make his points more universal and less personal Joseph uses anthropomorphism with the Bengal tiger being his narrator and creates ghosts returning from the recent dead to communicate with the living. He also includes a topiary garden filled with animals as a stand in for the Garden of Eden. It is a garden that has witnessed terror and Tiger assures a small disfigured child that God will not visit this place. Tiger has earlier informed us that animals are atheists.

The impact of the war in Iraq on the soldiers is a major theme as some turn into looters and others driven to insanity. There are the symbolic gold revolver and golden toilet seat ransacked from a Hussain palace playing an important symbolic role in the action and denouement. 

It also is a damnation of the war destroying Iraqi culture and subverting gentle people into abettors of the victors/invaders. One of these people is Musa (strong performance by Kuros Charney, holding his own with Marchetti, Marin and Marker) the once gentle gardener creator of the topiary animal garden and now acting as an interpreter. The horrors that he and his family have endured are ignored for the sake of survival. Set designer/director Bill English cleverly suspends the topiary animals above the stage effectively allowing the actors to roam freely among the animals.

San Francisco Playhouse’s production is the complete package with reference to the staging and acting but you too will probably leave the theatre with questions rather than answers to the complex nature of this play. Never-the-less do not miss Will Marchetti’s brilliant under-played Tiger, Craig Marker’s poignant descent into madness as Kev, Gabriel Marin’s tenacious depiction of Tom’s search for the looted gold objects and Kuros Charney’s growth from physical subservience to mental independence. Running time about 2 hours.

Kedar K. Adour, MD

Courtesy of www.theatreworldinternetmagazine.com