Sep 04 2013

Good People by David Lindsay-Abaire at Marin Theatre Company, Mill Valley CA

By Suzanne Angeo Greg & Suzanne Angeo

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

Sep 03 2013

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MTC kids’ theater: Antics, music — and a laughable burp

By Woody Weingarten Woody Weingarten

I’m not the least bit objective.

Doyle Ott as The Cat in the Hat. Photo: Woody Weingarten.

I’m 129-percent convinced that Hannah, my six-year-old granddaughter, is a bright delight.

She loves to watch YouTube with me — caterpillars’ transforming into butterflies, volcanoes spewing lava, scientific marvels galore.

But she can instantly revert to a bounce-in-her-seat, giggle-out-loud little girl fascinated with Disney princesses.

Or “The Cat in the Hat,” an interactive show we just caught at the Marin Theatre Company, squeezed in a squeal-and-fun-filled Saturday between Strawberry’s In-N-Out Burger and the Presidio’s Family Day Kite Festival.

The 45-minute play was the first of a first — that is, the first of five shows aimed at kids, four of them produced by the Bay Area Children’s Theatre, in the MTC’s initial theater series for youthful audiences.

The show convinced me anew that I’m not the least bit objective: I was as impressed with it as my granddaughter — for slightly different reasons.

I know she thoroughly enjoyed the exaggerated antics from ever-so-familiar characters originally penned by Theodor Geisel (she knows him as Dr. Seuss), particularly the unmanageable juggling of The Cat and the flummoxed scurrying of the blue-haired Thing 1 and Thing 2.

At the same time, the show blew me away because it emphasized exceptionally age-appropriate, relatable action for youngsters; featured perky primary colors in both costumes and set; retained the monosyllabic sing-song rhymes expected from a Seuss story; and showcased six cast members who clowned and sang and danced with a degree of professionalism I hadn’t expected.

Especially Doyle Ott, who gleefully portrayed The Cat, a guy with both circuses and the San Francisco Shakespeare Festival in his résumé.

I reveled, too, in the perfectly timed, cartoon-like sound effects added by Beryl Baker — not to mention the brief recorded excerpts of classical music (“The William Tell Overture” and “Sabre Dance,” for example).

The production — and director Erin Merritt — happily stuck to Seuss’ text and his unwritten theme: When mom’s away, the kids (and The Cat) will play

Silly choreography by Laura Ricci added to everyone’s pleasure — as did The Cat playing golf with a black umbrella, riding a pink-wheeled unicycle, and strumming a tennis racket like a guitar and pseudo-creating lively Flamenco rhythms.

The biggest laugh, as might be expected with an age group of people all under four-feet tall, came from an outrageously loud burp.

“The Cat in the Hat” has been so well liked since being created in 1954 that the book’s been translated into a dozen languages. It has more than 11 million copies in print.

The staged version can only build on that popularity.

If the remainder of the Theater for Young Audiences season can come anywhere near the gusto of The Cat, I can guarantee matinee happiness.

Check out “A Year with Frog & Toad,” starting Jan. 11; “Mercy Watson to the Rescue,” beginning March 8, and “Ladybug Girl and Bumblbee Boy” in May. Or MTC’s own production, “Rapunzel,” a Nov. 2-10 show that focuses on “taking risks and overcoming fear rather than being the subject of a witch’s petty grudges and a prince’s daring deeds.”

Theater for Young Audiences tickets at the Marin Theatre Company, 397 Miller Ave., Mill Valley, cost $15 for children under 14; $20 for adults; $17 for seniors 65 and above. Information: (415) 388-5208 or marintheatre.org.

Sep 02 2013

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NTC Opens 2013-2014 Season with The Lion In Winter

By FloraLynnIsaacson Flora Lynn Isaacson, Uncategorized

Maxine Sattizahn (Eleanor), Craig Christansen (King Henry II) and Brandice Thompson (Alais) in The Lion In Winter at NTC

There is an underlying problem with James Goldman’s The Lion In Winter. Either it is a play of historical significance and you have to believe you’re looking at the 12^th century King of England and the former Queen of France or, it is a satire, a spoof with a mirror basis in history. Award winning Director Kris Neely interprets it as “a comedy in two acts.” He felt the cast needed to understand and convey the humor Mr. Goldman wrote into his play. They worked intently to reveal all the comedy that lives in this amazing script.

The Lion In Winter, written in 1966 by James Goldman, depicts the personal and political conflicts of Henry II of England (Craig Christansen), his wife Eleanor of Aquitaine (Maxine Sattizahn), their children and their guests during Christmas, 1183. The entire story takes place within the walls of the Chateau de Chinon, a castle on the banks of France’s Vienne River.

The play opens with the arrival of Henry’s wife, Eleanor whom he has imprisoned since 1173. The story concerns the gamesmanship between Henry, Eleanor, their three surviving sons, Richard the Lionheart, the oldest son, (Jeffrey Taylor), Geoffrey, the middle son (Kurt Gundersen) and John, youngest son to Henry (Yver Northum). Also involved is Philip II, King of France (Christopher C. Wright), who was the son of Eleanor’s ex-husband, Louis VII by his third wife Adelaide and Philip’s half-sister Alais Capet who has been at Court since she was betrothed to Richard at age 8, but has since become Henry’s mistress (Brandice Thompson). A silent character who is always around is Matilda, their eldest daughter (Hannah Jester).

Kris Neely has assembled a fine cast, particularly Craig Christansen as Henry. Though aging, he portrays him as vital as he ever was. His manipulation of family and others are portrayed as spontaneous and emotional. Maxine Sattizahn plays Eleanor with great temperament and presence. Yver Northum as John is sulky and sullen with a boyish outlook. Kent Gundersen’s Geoffrey is a man of energy and action. He is charming and the “brains” of the family. Jeffrey Taylor plays Richard the Lionheart—he is attractive, graceful and impressive. He is easily the strongest and toughest of the three sons. Brandice Thompson’s Alais (the beautiful mistress of Henry) is initially innocent, but by the end of the play, she has acquired a ruthless streak of her own. Christopher C. Wright, as Philip is both impressive and handsome. Dressing it all up in beautiful 12^th century costumes is the talent of Costume Designers Janice Deneau and John Clancy.

To witness this play in live performance, to experience the underlying emotional savagery in the plot and spoken word, in the intimacy of Novato’s new theater, as presented by a cast of exceptionally strong actors—is a somewhat intense experience even though we are comfortable laughing out loud at Kris Neely’s exploration of all the comedy which is present in this amazing script.

The Lion In Winter runs at Novato Theater Company August 30-September 22, 2013. The theater is located at 5420 Nave Drive, Suite C, Novato. Performances are Friday-Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. Additional performances are Thursday, September 5, 12 and 19 at 8 p.m. For tickets, call the box office at 415-883-4498 or go to www.novatotheatercompany.org.

Coming up next at NTC will be Gypsy with lyrics by Stephen Sondheim; music by Julie Styne and book by Arthur Laurents, October 18-November 10, 2013.

Flora Lynn Isaacson

Sep 02 2013

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Rancor reigns in ‘And Miss Reardon Drinks a Little’

By Judy Richter Judy Richter

By Judy Richter

The title character in “And Miss Reardon Drinks a Little” does indeed drink, not just a little but a lot.

That’s apparent in the opening moments at Dragon Theatre in Redwood City as Catherine Reardon (Sheila Ellam) pours two bottles of alcohol into an ice bucket, briefly holds a third (presumably vermouth) over it, and then fills a tumbler for herself.

She refreshes that drink throughout Paul Zindel’s two-act play as rancor and craziness fill the apartment that she shares with her younger sister, Anna (Lessa Bouchard).

Soon to join Catherine and Anna for dinner in their late mother’s apartment is their married sister, Ceil Adams (Kelly Rinehart). Ceil, the superintendent of a Staten Islandschool district, wants to persuade Catherine, an assistant principal in that district, to have Anna committed to a mental hospital.

Anna, who teaches high school chemistry in the same district, has been deteriorating emotionally ever since she and Catherine traveled to Italy, where Anna was bitten by a stray cat. Despite evidence to the contrary, Anna believes that she contracted rabies from the bite.

Her irrational behavior has recently led her into an inappropriate encounter with a male student.

Anna also has become a vegetarian, making zucchini and fruit smoothies the dietary staples for both herself and Catherine. In fact, Anna abhors all animal products, leading her to shriek and jump onto the sofa when she sees them.

Those reactions are caused by the unexpected arrival of Fleur Stein (Mary Lou Torre), a guidance counselor at Anna’s school, and her husband, Bob (Kyle Wood). Anna first sees Fleur’s fur wrap, followed by the fur-lined leather gloves that Anna’s colleagues have given her as a get-well gift.

Repeatedly ignoring hints and then requests that they leave, Fleur and Bob bicker with each other and with the sisters.

The couple become so obnoxious that they trigger a rare display of unity among the sisters, who gleefully forgo their sibling rivalry and come up with an extreme way to get the invaders to go.

While Ellam’s sarcastic Catherine is casually neat, Bouchard’s Anna — her long, red curls unfettered — is disheveled.

Ceil is a stark contrast to both with her tailored business suit (costumes by Kimberly Davis), prim hair style and no-nonsense glasses. Her attire reflects her uptight persona. Her sisters’ outfits are similarly reflective of what they’re like.

Because it’s a dark comedy with generally unlikable characters and themes, “Miss Reardon” requires skillful directing and acting to bring out subtleties.

In this case, director Shareen Merriam and her cast fall short of that goal, resulting in mostly one-dimensional characters and emotional excesses leading to screaming matches. On the other hand, this play is not as well written as Zindel’s earlier Pulitzer- and Obie-winner, “The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds.”

‘Miss Reardon’ will continue at Dragon Theatre, 2120 Broadway St., Redwood City, through Sept. 22. For tickets and information, call (650) 493-2006 or visit www.dragonproductions.net.

Sep 01 2013

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BONNIE AND CLYDE a fanciful take on the last night of an infamous duo

By Kedar Adour Kedar K. Adour

BONNIE AND CLYDE by Adam Peck. Directed by Mark Jackson. Shotgun Players at the Ashby Stage, 1901 Ashby Ave., Berkeley. www.shotgunplayers.org. Through September 29, 2013

BONNIE AND CLYDE a fanciful take on the last night of an infamous duo

It is 89 years since infamous Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow were gunned down in a fusillade of 130 bullets on a rural road in a Louisiana Parish. It is not a historic milestone that deserves remembrance yet auteur Mark Jackson and the Shotgun Players have produced a realistic and mythical montage of the last night of their lives all compressed into a taut 80 minutes.

Knowing the work of Mark Jackson you are assured to see a theatrical event when he is at the helm. So it is with the play Bonnie and Clyde that was written by Adam Peck a respected English playwright and produced in 2010. By including obscure stage directions the author expected every future director to be original in their staging.

Jackson certainly has taken note of Peck’s desires and has created a mixture of dramatic action, thoughtful inner monologs, fanciful interludes with stunning visual projections and sound. The locale is a barn where the robbers/murders/lovers Bonnie and Clyde (Joe Estlack and Megan Trout) have taken refuge. The evening begins with Clyde reading excerpts from Bonnie’s poem “The Trail’s End” with prophetic lines “That Death is the wages of sin” and “Some day they’ll go down together . . . to few it’ll be grief . . . but it’s death for Bonnie and Clyde.” The ominous sound effects include barking dogs and gun shots with a recurring video of a spinning car wheel and a black bird/vulture(?) circling overhead.

It is the time of the Great Depression and the era of the Dust Bowl and our duo fancies themselves as the Robin Hoods of their time. The play strongly suggests that they are simply normal people fashioned by the time in which they lived. Many who followed their exploits in newspapers are envious and admiring. The published articles are ego building, especially to Bonnie who wants “show time for Bonnie Parker.”

Bonnie’s caring side becomes evident when Clyde may or may not have killed a pet mouse and she confronts Clyde with a shotgun insisting “That is the worst thing you have ever done!” Really?

Jackson dovetails their loving relationship with dance numbers (think of the play Chicago,) games of Hopscotch and a “let’s pretend wedding.” If the action and visuals were not so intense they would certainly qualify as tongue-in-cheek vignettes.

It is a taut, superbly acted two-hander with a top-notch production crew that predictable ends with a gut-wrenching visual of their ambush. As a white-wash of Bonnie and Clyde’s personalities it misses the mark but it is a tour-de-force of a Mark Jackson abilities.

Kedar K. Adour, MD

Courtesy of www.theatreworldinternetmagazone.com

BONNIE AND CLYDE by Adam Peck. Directed by Mark Jackson. Shotgun Players at the Ashby Stage, 1901 Ashby Ave., Berkeley. www.shotgunplayers.org.

BONNIE AND CLYDE a fanciful take on the last night of an infamous duo

Jackson certainly has taken note of Peck’s desires and has created a mixture of dramatic action, thoughtful inner monologs, fanciful interludes with stunning visual projections and sound. The locale is a barn where the robbers/murders/lovers Bonnie and Clyde (Joe Estlack and Megan Tout) have taken refuge. The evening begins with Clyde reading excerpts from Bonnie’s poem “The Trail’s End” with prophetic lines “That Death is the wages of sin” and “Some day they’ll go down together . . . to few it’ll be grief . . . but it’s death for Bonnie and Clyde.” The ominous sound effects include barking dogs and gun shots with a recurring video of a spinning car wheel and a black bird/vulture(?) circling overhead.

Bonnie’s caring side becomes evident when Clyde may or may not have killed a pet mouse and she confronts Clyde with a shotgun insisting “That is the worst thing you have ever done!” Really?

Kedar K. Adour, MD

Courtesy of www.theatreworldinternetmagazone.com

Aug 31 2013

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Marin explores meaning of ‘Good People’

By Judy Richter Judy Richter

By Judy Richter

Margaret “Margie” Walsh, the central character in Marin Theatre Company’s production of David Lindsay-Abaire’s “Good People,” has had a tough life. She grew up in and still lives in a rough, impoverished Boston neighborhood.

The single mother of a severely disabled adult daughter, she has just been fired from her job as a dollar store cashier. Desperate for work, she turns to a former high school boyfriend who’s now a successful fertility doctor. She hopes he’ll give her a job or steer her to someone who will hire a woman who has few skills and no high school diploma but who is willing to work hard.

Thus the playwright paves the way for what becomes tense confrontations between Amy Resnick as Margie and Mark Anderson Phillips as Mike, the doctor. The conflict reaches its climax in Act 2 when Margie shows up unexpectedly at the posh home that Mike shares with his younger, black wife, Kate (ZZ Moor), and their young daughter.

Kate is eager to hear more about Mike’s youth in South Boston’s Lower End, where he lived until he left for college, thanks to scholarships and his father’s guidance. Mike isn’t eager to relive those days, especially the time he beat up a boy from a rival neighborhood.

Adroitly directed by Tracy Young, this 2011 play looks at emotionally fraught issues of class, poverty and racism, but leavens it with splashes of humor. Much of it comes from Margie’s longtime friend Jean (Jamie Jones), who’s both cynical and outspoken. More comes from Margie’s none-too-bright landlady, Dottie (Anne Darragh), who looks after Margie’s daughter. Dottie can be selfish, causing problems for Margie.

The play’s other character is Stevie (Ben Euphrat), Margie’s boss at the dollar store and a patron of the bingo games attended by Margie and her two friends.

With her characteristic blend of vulnerability and grit, Resnick has the audience rooting for Margie most of the way, but some of Margie’s actions, whether motivated by desperation or by anger, show her to be a flawed person, just like everyone else in the play.

Likewise, Phillips shows Mike to be a less than totally moral person despite his professional success. As Kate, Mike’s wife, Moor comes across as polished and sophisticated, but underlying tensions between Kate and Mike surface, and she turns antagonistic toward Margie as the latter’s visit nears its end.

The other three actors balance the play nicely and play important roles in Margie’s life, though in different ways.

Scenic designer Nina Ball allows for fluid transitions between scenes thanks to self-contained sets that slide into place. Costumes by Heidi Leigh Hanson reflect class differences. The lighting is by Gabe Maxson, while Chris Houston designed the sound and composed the music.

This play causes one to ponder what constitutes a “good” person. Most people probably consider themselves good, but they can commit less than good acts because of circumstances as well as character flaws. All these factors come into play in “Good People.”

It continues at Marin Theatre Company, 397 Miller Ave., MillValley, through Sept. 15. For tickets and information, call (415) 388-5208 or visit www.marintheatre.org.

Aug 31 2013

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Bay Area Premiere of Good People by David Lindsay-Abaire at MTC

By FloraLynnIsaacson Flora Lynn Isaacson

Amy Resnick as Margie and Mark Anderson Phillips as Mike in the Good People at Marin Theatre Company through September 15th.

Marin Theatre Company opens its 2013/2014 season with the Bay Area and National Premiere of the hit play Good People by Pulitzer Prize winning playwright David Lindsay-Abaire. According to Artistic Director Jasson Minadakis, “It’s an insightful look at the difficult choices good people are forced to make when the well being of their family is threatened.”

Good People is full of interesting characters and sharply written scenes which combine to paint an indelible portrait of the economically deprived blue-collar culture of Boston’s South End.

Tracy Young, an Oregon Shakespeare Festival regular directs this play with intelligence and sensitivity, eliciting top-notch performances from a powerhouse cast.

Margie Walsh (Amy Resnick), a lifelong resident of Southie, a blue collar Boston neighborhood, is fired due to tardiness at her cashier job at a dollar store. A single mother, and knowing that she and her handicapped adult daughter, Joyce, supposedly born premature before Margie’s husband left her, are only a single pay check away from a desperate situation. Looking for employment, Margie goes to her old high school boyfriend Mike (Mark Anderson Phillips) now a doctor, but formerly from her neighborhood. Margie shames Mike into inviting her (however reluctantly) to his birthday party in Chestnut Hill. She is looking forward to the party because she views it as a chance to meet potential employers. Her friends Dottie (Anne Darragh) and Jean (Jamie Jones) encourage her to tell Mike that her daughter Joyce was not born premature, but is his, in hopes of getting support from Mike. When Mike calls to tell her his party is cancelled, Margie assumes that he is dis-inviting her because he’s embarrassed to have her mix with his doctor friends. She decides to go to his house anyway with the intent of crashing the party.

At the beginning of Act II, Margie arrives at Mike’s house only to discover the party has been cancelled. Mike’s elegant young African-American wife, Kate (ZZ Moor) at first, mistakes Margie for a caterer. Once the misunderstanding is resolved, Kate invites Margie to stay and reminisce about Mike’s past. A discussion begins and Mike tells Margie her current financial problems are her own fault for not trying hard enough and Margie tries to explain to Mike that he had a lucky break which most people from Southie did not.

Later, Margie’s landlady receives an envelope containing Margie’s rent. Thinking Mike sent it, Margie intends to return it to him. At bingo, it is revealed that the envelope is from Stevie (Ben Euphrat), her former boss at the dollar store. Upon learning this, Margie accepts the money as an indefinite loan and Stevie agrees to help her find a new job.

This is Amy Resnick’s show as Margie and she grabs it and doesn’t let go. Mark Anderson Phillips gives his affable Mike a wary demeanor around Margie which suggests his unease with this woman from a world he escaped long ago. ZZ Moor depicts the accomplished Kate with a crisp air and blinding smile. Jamie Jones undercuts her cozy appearance as a Southie neighbor with a sardonic edge. Ann Darragh is delightfully funny as Margie’s landlady. Ben Euphrat smartly stresses Stevie’s decency. This fine ensemble brings a sense of warm humanity to David Lindsay-Abaire’s affecting story of haves and mostly have-nots.

Good People runs at Marin Theatre Company, 397 Miller Avenue, Mill Valley, August 22-September 15, 2013. Performance days are Tuesday and Thursday-Saturday at 8 p.m.; Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 7 p.m. Matinees are every Sunday at 2 p.m. with extra performances on September 14 at 2 p.m. and Thursday, September 5 at 1 p.m. For tickets, call the box office at 415-388-5208 or go to www.marintheatre.org.

Coming up next at Marin Theatre Company will be the World Premiere of I and You by Lauren Gunderson and directed by Sarah Rasmussen, October 10-November 3, 2013.

Flora Lynn Isaacson

Aug 31 2013

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“Noises Off!” Pacifica Spindrift’s Spot-On New Production

By David Hirzel David Hirzel

Noises Off! It’s been called the funniest comedy ever written, but it takes the hand of a wise director and the clock-work timing of a very talented cast to make Pacifica Spindrift’s new production of Michael Frayn’s play the laugh-out-loud hit of the season.

Veering between vaudeville, slapstick, and satire, this backstage look into play within a play (there are two playbills, one for the Spindrift production of Noises Off! and one for the spurious Nothing On), staged on a stage of the home of a pair of British tax-exiles. The characters of Nothing On include a befuddled housekeeper, a lecherous rental agent with a potential client, a playwright and his wife, a director and his crew. The characters of Noises Off! are the cast of the fictitious play. Confused? Don’t be. Come and see this new production, and all will make complete sense, or nonsense.

The key to the comedy is the seamless flow of rapid-fire verbal exchanges, seasoned with exquisite comedic choreography—remember this: “doors and sardines; getting on, getting off”—elevated to a high art. An ensemble piece like this demands a lot of everyone involved, in equal measure, and the entire cast is up to the task. Even though I know it’s work, they make it look like fun.

The first act sets the stage for what will happen next, and each actor has a chance to shine on stage and oil the gears for everything is to follow. The laughs are genuine and frequent, with well-done physical comedy and witty repartee; the plot thickens as more and more people enter the house, unknown to each other.

The set has two sides, and we get to see them both, in the ingenious constructions of master carpenter Mike Calderaro. The second act set shows us the backstage Nothing On, now in performance on the road and falling apart as we watch. This is where the choreography really shows; you’ll have to go see the play to know what I mean. We the audience loved every minute of it. Take special note of the individual performances going on simultaneously, while the play plays out before us on on the other side of this backstage set.

The third act turns the stage around again, and Nothing On, now as polished as it’s every likely to be, continues into its inevitable dissolution. This production has got to be the funniest thing I’ve ever seen on stage, or anywhere, for that matter. I complimented director Debi Durst after the show, and she of course gave all credit to her cast and crew, who really worked hard to make this show work so well. It was a challenge for all, with the temporary closing of the Spindrift Theater and the subsequent scramble to find rehearsal and this performance space at Serramonte del Rey, 699 Serramonte Blvd., Daly City CA. Everyone—and I mean everyone—in this show gets a rave review for an all-out effort, but my personal favorites are Dominic J. Falletti’s Garry Lejeune and Dianna Collett’s PoppyNorton-Taylor.

This new temporary performance space has plenty of room, and you won’t find a better theater experience anywhere, so come on down to see this run of Noises Off! before it ends September 15.

As for me, I’ll never think of sardines in the same way again.

Box Office: 650-359-8002

Website: Pacifica Spindrift Players

David Hirzel: www.davidhirzel.net

Aug 29 2013

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AMERICAN DREAM a worthy world premiere at New Conservatory Theatre Center.

By Kedar Adour Kedar K. Adour

(L-R) Will Giammona, Ulises Toledo

American Dream: Sueño del Otro Lado: By Brad Erickson. Directed by Dennis Lickteig. New Conservatory Theatre Center, 25 Van Ness Ave., S.F. (415) 861-8972 or www.nctcsf.org.

Through September 15, 2013.

AMERICAN DREAM a worthy world premiere at New Conservatory Theatre Center.

World premiere plays by emerging playwrights can be problematic for many reasons including the tedious process of multiple staged readings and allowing subsequent outside input to change text, construction and purpose. Brad Erickson’s American Dream: El Sueno del Otro Lado was developed by several groups, with staged readings at the Throckmorton Theatre in Mill Valley, New Conservatory Theatre Center (NCTC), and Winding Road Theatre Ensemble in Tucson. In its world premiere at NCTC there is a suggestion that it has been put together by committee.

As a political drama it covers the hot-button issues of gay marriage (the Defense of Marriage Act), immigration and personal policy-making agendas. As a love story with complications it is very touching if not believable due to plot twists that are questionable. These presumed flaw by this reviewer does not detract from the professional production and competent acting by the cast of seven.

Architect Tom (William Giammona) now divorced from Cara (Dana Zook) after 20 years of marriage due to his acknowledging that he is gay. They have a 16 year old daughter Julie (Katherine Roberts). Even though they are separated an enduring family bond exists and Dan’s minimal homosexual behavior is accepted. Complications arise when 42 year old Dan takes a trip to San Miguel de Allende in Mexico and falls in love with Salvador (Ulises A. Toledo) his 28 year old Spanish teacher. In a 17 scene first act the Erickson builds layer on layer of dialog without action defining relationships between the major characters and introducing Minutemen border guards (Dale Albright and Justin Gillman) that express their general and specific reasons to keep out illegal immigrants from the U.S. In the characterization process he also explores the social attitudes of Mexicans toward homosexuality in general and the intense personal bonding of Dan and Salvador. In touching final first act scene, director Dennis Lickteig cleverly stages Cara down-stage right, Dan upstage center and Salvador mid-stage left expressing their individual love and angst.

In the year since the divorce Cara has become sexually but not emotionally involved with Richard (Jeffery Hoffman) an influential, politically astute Republican lawyer who for his own personal reasons concocts a scenario for Dan and Salvador to marry then sneak Salvador through the border fence out of Mexico. This leads to the only bit of action in the play and as staged is extremely dramatic.

The almost denouement that Erickson creates in the final scene is very touching with all the major characters on stage and each having their say. Accolades go to Giammona, Robbins, Toledo and Zook for their understated and understanding portrayals, to Justin Gillman for the ferocity of his diatribes and quiet republicanism of Jeffery Hoffman.

Lickeig’s deliberate pacing does not do justice to the script but his movement of the characters on the Kuo-Hao Lo’s ingenious surrealistic utilitarian set lighted by Christian Mejia is meritorious.

Kedar K. Adour, MD

Courtesy of www.theatreworldinternetmagazine.com

Will Giammona, Ulises Toledo

Aug 29 2013

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GOOD PEOPLE another winner at Marin Theatre Company.

By Kedar Adour Kedar K. Adour

ZZ Moor (Kate), Amy Resnick (Margie) and Mark Anderson Phillips (Mike) in the Bay Area premiere of David Lindsay-Abaire’s Good People at Marin Theatre Company, now through September 15. Limited engagement! Photo by Ed Smith

GOOD PEOPLE by David Lindsay-Abaire. Directed by Tracy Young. Marin Theatre Company, 397 Miller Avenue, Mill Valley, CA 94941.(415) 388-5208 or www.marintheatre.org.

August 22 – September 15, 2013

GOOD PEOPLE another winner at Marin Theatre Company.

It has been an auspicious four days for theatre goers in the Bay Area with two stunning productions of plays with strong women lighting up the stages, first at TheatreWorks and last night at the Marin Theatre Company (MTC). The social milieus depicted in each play are as far apart as the 50 miles that separates the two venues. In Other Desert Cities by Jon Robin Baitz we share a slice of life of the intellectual and affluent while in David Lindsay-Abaire’S Good People we are transported to the struggling less educated blue-collar class in South Boston. The play opened in New York to rave reviews in 2011 and has gone on to become the most produced play of 2012-13 seasons in the United States. MTC’s staging is the West Coast premiere and should not be missed.

Although not semi-autobiographical, David Lindsay-Albaire the 2007 Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Rabbit Hole was born in South Boston, struggled to become successful and the verisimilitudes of his characters is genuine. Margie (brilliant Amy Resnick) is a single mother with an adult mentally and physically disabled daughter who requires full time care causing her to be consistently late for work as a cashier in a Dollar Store. This leads to her being fired by the manager Stevie (Ben Euphart) whose mother was a friend to Margie as well as a local loveable though eccentric character whose exploits provided many laughs for the denizens of the neighborhood.

We discover the depth of Margie’s plight in a tightly constructed second scene when she is sharing a cup of coffee with her two best friends Dottie (Anne Darragh) and Jean (Jami Jones). The interaction between these three top-notch actors is a study in how ensemble acting should be staged. It helps that Lindsay-Albaire is a master at writing colloquial dialog that defines character and carries the plot forward. Margie’s main concern is finding another job to afford paying for the rent and her daughters care.

A local newspaper has published an article about a former schoolmate and boyfriend Mike (Mark Anderson Phillips) who has become a successful doctor living in upscale Chestnut Hill. Dottie and Jean encourage Margie to approach Mike to seek a job. She does and after an uncomfortable exchange of pleasantries and coercion, Mike reluctantly offers Maggie an invitation to his birthday party.

Back at the church Bingo parlor, the trio of Maggie, Dottie and Jean, with a bingo addict Stevie an uninvited player, the discussion about Margie’s up coming trip to the party is interrupted by a telephone call. It is Mike calling to say his daughter is ill and the party has been canceled. The women are not winners at Bingo but Stevie is. This leads to an explosively humorous curtain line for the end of Act one.

At the home of Mike and his black wife Kate (a stunning ZZ Moor) they are discussing appointments for professional marriage counseling when Margie arrives into their “lace curtain Irish” home. Slowly with intricate sub-rosa dialog and climactic confrontation between the three Margie’s revelations, that may be true or false, threatens Kate and Mike’s family life. Kate becomes a tiger at that threat and ZZ Moor lights up the stage with her ferocity. You will not learn more in this review other than to say the definition of “good people” takes a beating. It is in a final scene, a true epilog, that “good people” is given a spoken definition.

Anne Darragh (Dottie), Amy Resnick (Margie), Jamie Jones (Jean) and Ben Euphrat (Stevie)

Although Amy Resnick and Mark Anderson Phillips are the featured actors and deliver outstanding performances, the supporting cast adds depth to the evening with solid acting. One wonders why ZZ Moor not been seen more often in the Bay Area. Her performance, although limited to the second act, is absolutely memorable.

Director Tracy Young keeps a tight rein on the cast and Running time is about 2 hours and a 15 minute intermission

Kedar K. Adour, MD

Courtesy of www.theatreworldinternetmagazine.com