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Jul 27 2013
Love0

DAMN YANKEES hits a three-bagger at Foothill Summer Musicals

By Kedar K. Adour

Washington Senators coach “Van Buren” (left, Richard Lewis) with the Washington Senators in DAMN YANKEES at Foothill Music Theatre,
playing July 26 – Aug 18, 2013 in the  Smithwick Theatre, Foothill College. Photo by David Allen

DAMN YANKEES: Musical.  Book by George Abbott and Douglass Wallop.  Music and lyrics by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross and based on the novel “The Year the Yankees Lost the Pennant” by Douglass Wallop.  Directed by Tom Gough.  Foothill Music Theatre and the Foothill College Theatre Arts Department.  Smithwick Theatre,  Foothill College 12345 El Monte Road, Los Altos Hills, CA 94022.  650-949-7360 or  www.foothillmusicals.com .   Through August 18, 2013.

DAMN YANKEES hits a three-bagger at Foothill Summer Musicals

Last year the era of Jay Manley summer musicals at Foothill College came to a close as he moved on to helm the Mountain Musical and other venues.  His departure left a gap. With this year’s production of Damn Yankees, using a baseball term, that gap has been ably filled by experienced director Tom Gough assisted by a talented artistic and technical staff.

Damn Yankees is a fun show that ran for over 1000 performances on Broadway in 1955. In the intervening years it has had many professional mountings and has become a mainstay for local theatres around the country.  It has a breezy dynamic script with rousing songs interspersed with love ballads; vivacious Bob Fosse directed dance numbers and a plethora of humor. In the original production Ray Walston as “Mr. Applegate” and Gwen Verdon as “Lola” put their individual stamp on their roles and the show went on to win seven Tony Awards.

The story is fantasy fun with a delightful twist on the Faust legend. Aging baseball fanatic Joe Boyd (fine baritone Matt Tipton) is upset that his favorite team, the Washington Senators, is not in contention to win their division that includes the hated (Damn) Yankees. His avid addiction is verified when faithful wife Meg (Mary Melnick) and the ensemble sing “Six Months Out of Every Year” to throw in the first pitch to start the evening. What would Joe do to have his team win the pennant? He sells his soul to the devil Mr. Applegate (Jeff Clarke) and becomes a star all-around player Joe Hardy (Daniel Mitchell).  Apple gate, against his better judgment gives Joe an opt-out clause. Old Joe and young Joe sing a charming duet “Goodbye Old Girl” to Meg before a quick scene change to the baseball locker room.

If you don’t have the ability of being a top notch team what do you need? You need “Heart” and full bodied manager Benny Van Buren (absolutely perfect Richard Lewis) leads the male ensemble making them believers. They become more believing when Joe Hardy enters hitting the practice balls out of the park.   Contentious news reporter Gloria Thorpe (professional voiced Caitlin Lawrence-Papp) labels Joe as “Shoeless Joe from Hannibal, MO.”  And the Senators are off to the races climbing toward first place.

Hey there has got to be conflict and that shows up after Joe reflects in song “A Man Doesn’t Know” what he has until he’s lost it.  Applegate summons up the 150 year old Lola (Jen Wheatonfox) who was the ugliest girl in Rhode Island and has sold her soul for sexual beauty. With her powers of “A Little Brains, A Little Talent” (with an emphasis on the latter) she takes on the job of seducing our hero Joe Hardy singing and dancing “Whatever Lola Wants.”

The first act ends with the rousing dance by Lola and Dance Corps giving their all in “Who’s Got the Pain?”

It is a long first act with a 20 minute intermission before the ballplayers return for another hilarious ensemble number “The Game.”  Jeff Clarke nails his irreverent solo number “Those Were the Good Old Days” backed up by the ensemble dancers in front of a flaming red silk backdrop. Shortly after the applause dies down choreographer Katie O’Brien gets to show her ability using classic Fosse dance moves in the stunning production number “Two Lost Souls.”

The production numbers interspersed throughout the story are classic musical comedy fare and director Gough keeps the action moving

The devil Mr. Applegate (Jeff Clarke) calls in his sexy siren Lola (Jen Wheatonfox)

despite some technical glitches that include problems with the amplification. Daniel Mitchell with the physical appearance and strong tenor voice is almost perfect for the part of Joe Hardy. Wheatonfox is beautiful, has a grand interpretive soprano voice, but lacks the physical stature and dancing ability to carry-off the demanding role of Lola. She is further undercut by atrocious costumes (Janis Bergmann). For this reason, Damn Yankee’s just misses a home run. Running time 2 hours and 40 minutes including the intermission.

Kedar K. Adour, MD

Courtesy of www.theatreinternetmagazine.com

 

Jul 25 2013
Love0

National Theatre, London & Punchdrunk

By Jo Tomalin
Above: Laure Bachelot (Mary). Photo by Pari

Review by Jo Tomalin

Laure Bachelot (Mary) and Omar Gordon (William).
Photo by Pari

  The Drowned Man: A Hollywood Fable – London’s Cult Hit

The Drowned Man: A Hollywood Fable is the latest cult hit sweeping London. This creative play is co-produced by the award-winning Punchdrunk, a company known for its immersive theatre, and Britain’s renowned world-class National Theatre. Directed by Felix Barrett and Maxine Doyle, the run started in June 2013, gathered momentum fast and will continue to the end of December, 2013, so you can still catch it if you visit London.

Inspired by Büchner’s fractured masterpiece Woyzeck, the story follows a couple (Wendy and Marshall)  through their imagination of a desolate Hollywood movie set in the Temple Studios, located near Paddington Station.

Fionn Cox-Davies (Marshall) and Sophie Bortolussi (Wendy).
Photo by Pari

This is a promenade performance where the audience is part of the event walking around as actors appear in fleeting moments of dramatic emotion and disappear just as fast. What is different in this production is that every audience member has to wear a gray Venetian style mask throughout the two to three hour evening – only permitted to take it off as they enter the bar for a break or when they exit the studios. This is unusual and it not only makes a natural separation between the actors playing characters, but it also looks eerily daunting as you look out at the sea of masked faces watching emotive scenes voyeuristically.

Jane Leaney (Dolores Grey).
Photo by Pari

Punchdrunk’s Temple Studios inhabit four immense floors of a now disused warehouse in Paddington. Each floor is a vast set that transcends into a netherworld-like environment that engulfs, surprises, jolts and excites. The lower floors are more like abstract art installations with eerie lighting design by Mike Gunning, vibrant pulsating soundscapes by Magnus Fiennes and Stephen Dobbie, and various objets and materials. Walking through the many doors, alleys then crossing large dark expanses on the lower levels is unnerving at first, yet the upper floors are full of remarkably designed and derelect movie sets to explore. Throughout the floors of Temple Studios the large cast of multi-talented actors are living their characters’ visceral, mortal moments on these retro movie sets, beautifully costumed by Jack Galloway.

Among the painstakingly detailed sets designed by Livi Vaughan and Beatrice Minns are small airstream shape caravans/actor trailers, abandoned production offices, a costumer’s studio with an unhappy actress, memorabilia, seedy motel rooms, a barber shop, a café, a bar with a male singer in sequined drag, a chapel, and a desert.

Sophie Bortolussi (Wendy).
Photo by Pari

While there is no set schedule of scenes to see, the deal is to be free to explore at will – alone – “to make your own movie” and when you find a character or two, observe and follow to see what they do next – or not. Most of the excellent fine tuned action is silent, physical or danced (choreography by Maxine Doyle), peppered with a rare song or spoken dialogue.

As the audience wanders around they may witness a happy couple, a visceral love triangle, deceit, sadness and more – however, the evening ends on an exhilarating tone with a clever twist.

This production is unique and brilliant. The moments experienced by participants often stay for days – but do not expect a linear story. In fact, if you go forget all of this, take the advice of Felix Barrett, Punchdrunk’s founder and separate from your friends to discover your own movie.

Don’t project or expect what may happen – or you will be disappointed. Just go and be, explore, enter every door – and like the actors at Temple Studios, live in the moment.

 

More information:

Trailer: The Drowned Man: A Hollywood Fable
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZKNNMombV8

Punchdrunk Company: http://punchdrunk.com

National Theatre, London: http://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/

  

Jo Tomalin Reviews: Dance & Theatre Performances

Jo Tomalin, Ph.D.
More Reviews by Jo Tomalin
TWITTER @JoTomalin

Jul 25 2013
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50 SHADES! The Musical redefines the three Rs.

By Kedar K. Adour

ADDED NOTE:  Kendell Hinds replaces Victor Sho for this performance and the following week.

50 SHADES! THE MUSICAL (The Original Parody of the “50 Shades of Grey” phenomenon). Marines’ Memorial Theatre, 609 Sutter Street, San Francisco, CA. For tickets visit www.shnsf.com or call SHN Audience Services at 888-746-1799.

Plays through July 28,2013 with ADDED PERFORMANCES due to popular demand Saturdays at 3 p.m. and Sundays at 6:30 p.m.

50 SHADES! The Musical redefines the three Rs.

In the days of one room school houses (meaning gentler times) the three Rs refer to Reading, (w)Righting and (a)Rithmatic.  For the three Rs to describe the musical 50 Shades! The Musical you must use Raunchy, Risqué and Ribald and for good measure you could add Trashy and Tacky. The dialog, songs and dances fit all those adjectives but the uproarious response of the opening night audience suggests it is wonderful. All the seats remained filled after the intermission.

The show is a parody of the novel “50 Shades of Grey” written by E. L. James that describes in explicit detail BDSM (Bondage, Dominance, Sadism and Masochism) practices through the exploits of Christian Grey (Chris Grace), a rich, handsome well hung tycoon, and Anastasia Steele (Amber Nicole Petty), an innocent virginal college student. Whips, chains and handcuffs play a prominent role in their dominant-submissive relationship.

In this parody the whips, chains and handcuffs are all there but Christian in this show a rotund, short Asian with a wicked sense of timing, a great singing voice but the red spandex wrestling outfit reveals less than gigantic private parts. A cod piece would have helped but that would have diluted the parody?

It all begins with a trio of women (Jessica Kemock, Emily Eden and Spencer Rose) at their book club meeting finally deciding ton review “50 Shades of Grey.” As they discuss passages from the book the characters come to life in song and dance. The nine member cast, with the exception of Christian and Anastasia double in other roles. One of the funniest is Nick Semar as Jose the sexy and persistent Mexican who is hot for Anastasia’s body.  The dance group of Matthew Nolan, Caroline Reade and Victor Sho do not have much to do but they do it with energy. They are the ‘eye candy’ with beautiful bodies especially Reade as the “Inner Goddess” dominatrix, bare chested Kendell Hinds (replacing Nigerian Victor Sho for one week) with six-pack abs and tall handsome ladies’ man Mathew Nolan.

The lyrics are bawdy and delicious with the music being played by an onstage three piece band of electric-piano, guitar and drums. The song titles are only partially suggestive of their “mommy porn” but you will get the idea what they convey especially “There is a Hole in Me” (that has to be filled), “Red Room of Pain” and “How Much Can I Take?” Not content with parody of ‘the’ book, the authors also take swipes at “Phantom of the Opera” (“Follow Me Into the Night) and “Le Miz” (“50 Shades”).

The finale combining “How Much Can I Take” and “Hole Inside of Me” and riotous curtain call led to an uproar of appreciation from the audience. All this compressed into  90 minutes including the 15 minute intermission to allow the audience to visit the refreshment bar and point out to each other this point or that just in case they missed the innuendos. Actually innuendos were few and far between with in-your-face dialog and lyrics.

It may not be for the couple from Des Moines or the residents of San Francisco Retirement Home but the denizens of San Francisco will flock to the show.Kedar K. Adour, MD

Courtesy of www.theatreworldinternetmagazine.com.

Jul 24 2013
Love0

Raunchy spoof of ’50 Shades of Grey’ vibrates with laughs

By Woody Weingarten

 

Their fantasies come alive as three female book club members scrutinize “50 Shades.” Photo: Clifford Roles.

Seconds after the musical comedy’s second tune ignited, I was positive I wasn’t the show’s target demographic.

I was decades too ancient and absolutely the wrong gender to get off on the sophomoric parody, “50 Shades! The Musical!”

Clearly I wasn’t a 20- or 30-something woman with a hyperactive libido given to shrieks of joy and raucous laughter at the less than subtle, salacious lyrics and text of the cartoonish show.

(I’d pre-assessed what was ahead by seeing a theater crowd unusual for San Francisco: heterosexual, mostly female.)

To make matters worse, I hadn’t read Word One of the runaway best-selling E L James novel, “Fifty Shades of Grey,” which the production was burlesquing.

Yet, despite my apparent mismatch with both characters and audience, I found the show funny more often than not.The book  — 32 million copies sold in the United States, and counting — and its two sequels center on sexual novice Anastasia Steele’s erogenous explorations with super-wealthy Christian Grey, a “beautiful, brilliant and intimidating” man “tormented by demons and consumed by the need to control.”

“50 Shades! The Musical!” — written in effect by a “committee” of half a dozen men and women — focuses on what three ladies reading the first novel fantasize about.

It’s somewhat more than a revue, less than a full-blown musical.And considering that the concoction is aimed at the so-called weaker sex, it’s surprising comic Chris Grace, as a pot-bellied Grey, steals the show through exaggerated gestures and body movements (and an over-the-top rendition of “I Don’t Make Love”).

Amber Petty, as the virginal Anastasia Steele, and seven others ably reinforce his labors.

(Petty, not incidentally, can hold a note with the best of ‘em, and draws thunderous applause early on for “There’s a Hole Inside of Me.”)

Director Al Samuels deserves major plaudits for successfully integrating tons of slapstick with outrageous mock-eroticism.

Choreographers Joanna Greer and Brad Landers merit praise as well, their spoofs being the antithesis of what theatergoers normally expect.A robust three-piece band, featuring musical director/pianist Dan Reitz, bassist Christopher Ditton and drummer Douglas Levin, keeps everything amped up.No one gets credit for the set, and that’s a good thing because there really isn’t one — a makeshift couch and end table are basically it.

The opening night audience was oddly noisy before the show, but quickly channeled their energy into hoots, hollers and howls — and frequent laughter. But the musical presented me with a problem because of what goes on (simulated, ad infinitum sex acts and voluminous use of vulgar language).It leaves me with nothing to quote.

Promotional materials insist the musical “is not for those under the age of 19, but does not cross boundaries that would make general audiences squirm.”

I didn’t see anyone squirming, cringing or leaving the theater.

But one befuddled male could be heard to comment, “I don’t get it. It’s midway between pure raunchiness and pure porno.”A movie based on the book will be released in about a year. That guy may skip it.

But hordes of women most likely will turn it into a box-office smash.

“50 Shades! The Musical” runs at the Marines’ Memorial Theatre, 609 Sutter St., San Francisco, through July 28. Performances: Wednesday and Thursday, 8 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 6:30 and 9:30 p.m.; Sunday, 6:30 p.m. Matinees, Saturday and Sunday, 3 p.m. Tickets: $30 to $65, (888) 746-1799 or www.shnsf.com. Info: www.50ShadesMusical.com.

Jul 23 2013
Love0

Swimming Through Life Together—The Dixie Swim Club at RVP

By Flora Lynn Isaacson

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

Jayme Catalano as Jeri Neal, Pamela Ciochetti as Dinah, Stephanie Ahlberg as Sheree, Hilda Roe as Lexie in The Dixie Swim Club

For their sixth and final production of the 2012-2013 season, Ross Valley Players presents The Dixie Swim Club, a comedy about friendship between women that lasts a lifetime. The play was written by Jessie Jones, Nicholas Hope and Jamie Wooten, (the writer and producer for many seasons for “The Golden Girls”) and is directed by long time RVP member, Linda Dunn.

The Dixie Swim Club tells the story of five southern women whose friendship began many years ago on their high school swim team.  Every August, they get together for a long weekend to renew those relationships.  Free from husbands, kids and jobs, they meet at the same beach cottage on North Carolina’s Outer Banks to do what girlfriends do best—laugh, gossip and snoop into each other’s lives.  The story focuses on four of those weekends spanning 33 years.

The characters include Sheree (Stephanie Saunders Ahlberg), the spunky team captain; Dinah (Pamela Ciochetti), the wisecracking over achiever; Lexie (Hilda L. Roe), a pampered, outspoken southern belle determined to hold onto her looks and youth as long as possible—she appears with a different style hairdo every time we see her and she enjoys being married over and over again; the self deprecating and bitter Vernadette (Floriana Alessandria) who brings down the house with laughter at each appearance; and finally, Jeri Neal (Jayme Catalano), the naïve, eager to please member whose change in direction takes the group by surprise early on in the play.

Linda Dunn, serving as director, strikes the perfect tone with The Dixie Swim Club giving each cast member the freedom to relax a little bit on stage and truly realize the character they are playing.

The audience will enjoy eavesdropping on these unforgettable women as they advance in years and seeing how the friendship evolves. The Dixie Swim Club runs July 19-August 18, 2013, Thursday at 7:30 p.m.; Friday-Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday matinees at 2 p.m. All performances take place at the Barn Theatre, home of the Ross Valley Players, 30 Sir Francis Drake Blvd., Ross. Buy tickets online at rossvalleyplayers.com or call 415-456-9555.

Coming up next at Ross Valley Players to begin their 84th season will be Chapter Two by Neil Simon and directed by James Nelson, September 13-October 13, 2013.

Flora Lynn Isaacson

 

 

Jul 22 2013
Love0

CAMELOT rides into San Francisco on Harley motorcycles!

By Kedar K. Adour

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

Lancelot (Wilson Jermaine Heredia*), King Arthur (Johnny Moreno*) and Guenevere (Monique Hafen*) at Knighting Ceremony Photos by Jessica Palopoli.

CAMELOT: Musical. Book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner.Music by Frederick Loewe. Based on “Once and Future King” by T.H. White. Directed by Bill English. Music director Dave Dobrusky. July 16 – September 14, 2013.

CAMELOT rides into San Francisco on Harley motorcycles!

We aficionados (with synonyms of connoisseurs, devotees, enthusiasts, fanatics) of the SF Playhouse are mostly inured to seeing volatile productions of the under-belly of society parade the boards of their theatre. They have done it again with an ‘in your face’ staging of the musical Camelot. If any of their productions can be summarized with Harold Ross’s 1925 quote from “The New Yorker”, “It has announced that it is not edited [produced] for the old lady in Dubuque” , this staging of the once (and hopefully future) uplifting King Arthur/Round Table/Camelot story is it.

Last year Bill English’s re-imagination of My Fair Lady at their former intimate Sutter Street Theatre was a success and played to substantial crowds throughout the summer. It seems that the “summer musical” has become a standard for SF Playhouse to catch the vacation crowds that swarm San Francisco. This year they are in the substantially larger venue (up from 99 to 265 seats) that has a huge stage with a plethora of technical equipment. For Camelot Nina Ball has created a massive set using two or three turntables, an integrated rear stage screen for impressive projects and to hide the (count them) eight piece orchestra under SF favorite Dave Dobrusky. The well-known and acclaimed title of Camelot will surely attract crowds.

Those crowds will be overwhelmed with the colossal staging but they will not be humming the charming tunes associated with the musical but rather be shaking their heads as many were on opening night. Although there was appreciative applause at the curtain, the usual spontaneous standing ovation was absent.

Wilson Jermaine Heredia* as Lancelot prepares to battle knights

It was absent for good reason despite a spectacular performance by Wilson Jermaine Heredia as Lancelot. Heredia is a Tony and Oliver Award winner for his role as Angel in the Broadway and London productions of Rent.  Director English, using some of  his own words, has created knights in the mold of grungy (costumes by Abra Berman) bikers (Ken Brill, Rudy Guerrero, Robert Moreno, George P. Scott), Guenevere (Monique Hafen) as an angry Goth princess, King Arthur (Johnny Moreno) as a day-dreaming dolt and Mordred as a potential to play Richard III. Charles Dean a Bay Area favorite who brought the house down with his role as Doolittle in My Fair Lady is cast as both the magician Merlyn and Arthur’s confidant Pelinore.  Sadly, the only distinction in those characterizations is a change of costume.

There is much to like about this twisted version of what should be a romantic escapist evening that includes excellent singing voices (with exception of Johnny Moreno’s limited range), eye-catching projections, energetic acting and exuberant fight scenes staged by Heredia. The marvelous score and lyrics are still enchanting and include “Camelot”, “Follow Me”, “The lusty Month of May”, “How to Handle a Woman”, “Before I gaze at You Again”, “If Ever I Should Leave You”,  and “I loved You Once In Silence.”

Running time 2 hours and 40 minutes including the intermission.

Kedar K. Adour, MD

Courtesy of  www.theatreworldinternetmagaine.com    

 

Jul 21 2013
Love0

Stanford’s ‘Earnest’ a polished gem

By Judy Richter

The incomparable wit of Oscar Wilde takes center stage in Stanford Summer Theater’s production of his ever-popular “The Importance of Being Earnest.” Wilde delighted in skewering English society with one bon mot after another.

Most ably directed by Lynne Soffer, a veteran Bay Area actress who does double duty as dialect coach, this polished gem features Stanford theater students as four would-be lovers and four more experienced actors as their elders.

Taking place in 1895, the play features Austin Caldwell as Algernon Moncrieff, a dapper bachelor who lives in theLondonflat where the first act is set. His friend, Jack Worthing (David Raymond), is in love with Algerenon’s cousin, Gwendolen Fairfax (Ruth Marks). When inLondon, Jack calls himself Earnest, but he goes by Jack at his manor house in the country. Gwendolen wants to marry him because she’s always wanted to be with an Earnest. Of course, there is no Earnest.

Another obstacle is Gwendolen’s mother, Lady Bracknell (the imperious, formidable Courtney Walsh), who opposes the marriage because Earnest (actually Jack) apparently is an orphan.

Jack’s pert ward, Cecily Cardew (Jessica Waldman) lives in his manor house. She believes that when Jack goes toLondon, he’s trying to get his brother, Earnest, out of scrapes.

When Algernon hears about Cecily, he goes to Jack’s home pretending to be Earnest. It’s love at first sight between him and Cecily until Jack shows up in mourning for the death of Earnest. Much confusion ensues, but eventually everything works out to everyone’s satisfaction.

Besides Lady Bracknell, the older generation includes Miss Prism (Kay Kostopoulos), Cecily’s governess and tutor; and the Rev. Canon Chasyble (Marty Pistone). Don DeMico plays both Lane, Algernon’s manservant, and Merriman, Jack’s butler, with unflappable dignity despite all the goings-on.

Besides the actors’ skill, this production is notable for outstanding production values, starting with Erik Flatmo’s set design, which is especially stunning for Algernon’s flat with its elaborate Chinese motifs. Dressed like servants, a three-person student stage crew smoothly accomplishes set changes during the two intermissions.

Connie Strayer’s costume designs are elegant for all of the women and the two younger men. The hats for Lady Bracknell and Gwendolen are works of art in themselves. Lighting is by Michael Ramsaur and sound by Michael St. Clair.

“”The Importance of Being Earnest” is part of Stanford Summer Theater’s 15th season, whose theme is “He’s Funny That Way: Wilde and Beckett.” The Samuel Beckett offering is “Happy Days,” which runs Aug. 15 to 25 in Stanford’s Nitery Theater.The season also includes free film comedies and a symposium. A continuing studies course began earlier in the summer.

For information and tickets, call (650) 725-5838 or visit http://sst.stanford.edu  

 

Jul 21 2013
Love0

Clothes speak volumes in ‘Love, Loss and What I Wore’

By Judy Richter

By Judy Richter

It’s said that clothes make the man, but in many ways, clothes are even more important to a woman.

This becomes abundantly clear in the hilarious “Love, Loss, and What I Wore,” directed by Karen Carpenter and presented by San Jose Repertory Theatre by special arrangement with Daryl Roth.

Two sisters, Delia Ephron and the late Nora Ephron, based the show on the book by Ilene Beckerman and then added some flourishes of their own.

The format is simple: Five actresses, each in black, sit on bar chairs lined up downstage and read from scripts placed on music stands in front of them. During the course of about 100 minutes without intermission, they become various characters who have 28 stories to tell about how clothing played a role in important parts of their lives.

In this production, Dawn Wells plays Ginger, or Gingy, who serves as narrator and who describes her outfits starting with a Brownie uniform and continuing until her 4-year-old granddaughter has fun trying on Grandma’s dresses and shoes. During that span of time, Gingy loses her mother at an early age, gets married and divorced several times and suffers the loss of a child.

Wells is joined onstage by Dee Hoty, Sandra Tsing Loh, Ashley Austin Morris and Zuzanna Szadkowski, who represent different ages and body types.

Szadkowski, a gifted comedienne, provides one of the evening’s highlights with her monologue about purses. Starting with “I hate my purse,” she describes how it has become the repository for necessities as well as flotsam and jetsam like lipstick tubes without tops, spilled Tic Tacs, old receipts and more. Of course, her purse is so stuffed with stuff that she can never find what she’s looking for. But shopping for a new purse is a traumatic ordeal. By the time she had finished her monologue, every woman in the audience was roaring with laughter of recognition.

Other segments involve the women going to their closets to discover they have nothing to wear. Trying on new clothes in a dressing room is another ordeal. Morris, another gifted comedienne, talks about shoes. High heels look great, but they hurt her feet so much that she can’t think. Choosing between looking good and thinking isn’t easy, as she learns.

All five women chime in on their experiences with bras, especially their first bras, a right of passage every woman must endure. Then there’s the ritual of choosing a prom dress.

Hoty has a moving story about a woman who is diagnosed with breast cancer, undergoes reconstructive surgery and gets a strategically placed tattoo to celebrate her recovery.

Loh and Morris team up to talk about two California women choosing wedding attire, a touching segment that ends with them marrying each other.

This 2009 play has been presented throughout the country with the same format. In many cases, one team of star actresses will appear for a short run, followed by another team and so on.

The reason for its success is obvious. Through comedy and poignancy, clothing becomes a metaphor for women’s lives. Women recognize themselves and can laugh at themselves. Men in the audience can enjoy the show, too, because they’ve seen women through some of these experiences.

It’s a great way to laugh long and loud.

It will continue at San Jose Repertory Theatre, 101 Paseo de San Antonio, San Jose, through July 28. For tickets and information, call (408) 367-7255 or visit www.sjrep.com.

 

Jul 20 2013
Love0

THE DIXIE SWIM CLUB at Ross Valley Players

By Kedar K. Adour

Jayme Catalano as Jeri Neal, Pamela Ciochetti as Dinah, Stephanie Ahlberg as Sheree, Hilda Roe as Lexie. Photos by Robin Jackson

THE DIXIE SWIM CLUB: Comedy by Jessie Jones, Nicholas Hope and Jamie Wooten. Directed by Linda Dunn. Ross Valley Players Barn Theatre at the Marin Art & Garden Center, 30 Sir Francis Drake Blvd. in Ross. For tickets, call 415-456-9555 or go to www.rossvalleyplayers.com.

July 19 – August 18, 2013

THE GOLDEN GIRLS GO TO THE BEACH

Before the virtual curtain rose on Ross Valley Player’s sixth and final production of their 2012-2013 season the group enjoying the pre-theater buffet of mostly Southern comfort food were overheard making speculative remarks about RVP’s judgment for selecting an all women show.  Veteran director Linda Dunn assured the group that the play would be almost equally appreciated by the male members of the audience. She was mostly right.

If you are an aficionado of the long running TV serial comedy The Golden Girls (GG) RVP’s production of The Dixie Swim Club (DSC) is your cup of tea and you will find a couple of doppelgangers from that show gracing the Barn Theatre stage. This is understandable since James Wooten a former member of the writing team for GG, is a member of the triumvirate who wrote the DSC show. They are often listed as Jones Hope Wooten and it is easy to visualize them creating ‘laughter on the 23rd floor.”  (Apologies to Neil Simon).

The play, like most TV sitcoms is formulaic with the laughs coming in bursts, minor conflict progressing to serious disagreement, and crisis appearing two thirds of the way into the script followed by a poignant denouement. Yes, the story line has all that but RVP’s cast under Linda Dunn’s tight direction makes it a winner.

Five Southern women, members of their college swim team whose motto is “The faster you swim, the faster you win” have maintained contact and friendship throughout the years. When the play opens it is 22 years since graduation and they are meeting for their yearly reunion in a rented cottage (terrific set by Ron Krempetz) on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. They have set aside a long August weekend each year when they get together without family to relive their personal experiences and rekindle their camaraderie.

The characters are diverse and each actor’s performance nails their part with distinction. It is a true ensemble work with each getting their chance to shine while integrating their roles into the whole. Lexie (Hilda L. Roe) is the many times married and divorced sexpot (think Rue McClanahan as Blanche Devereaux in GG) who is obsessed with remaining young.

Sheree (Stephanie Saunders Ahlberg), the team swim captain tries to keep things organized, is a health nut whose ‘healthy hors d’oeuvres’ of mung bean paste in herring oil end up in the flower pot or out the window. 

Dinah (Pamela Ciochetti ) martini swilling successful lawyer but with a frustrating social life is a stabilizing influence when conflict arises within the group.

Floriana Alessandria as Vernadette

Vernadette (Fioriana Alessandria) who always has to pee when she arrives and always has an injury. She has a deadbeat husband, criminal children and a front bumper on her truck held on with duct tape. She is the one who stirs up the trouble with her caustic but cogent remarks. (Think Estelle Getty as Sophia Petrillo from GG). 

Last but not least is Jeri Neal (Jayme Catalano) a former nun who is pregnant by artificial insemination after deciding that motherhood is for her after holding the baby of a homeless woman. The first scene ends with Jeri giving birth . . . off stage of course.

The play is constructed in two acts and four scenes and the stage crew deftly moves the props on and off the set while appropriate musical interludes captures the feeling of the era being depicted. There is a 5 year gap between scenes two and three and 23 years later for the final scene. They mature from age 44 to age 77 with appropriate costume and adroit personality changes. The one line zingers abound in the first three scenes and the tenor of the play changes for the poignant ending. Running time a little over 2 hours including an intermission.

Kedar Adour, MD

Courtesy of www.theatreworldinternetmagazine.com

 

Jul 17 2013
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‘Becky’s New Car’ goes on a fun ride

By Judy Richter

By Judy Richter

If left uncorrected, little misunderstandings can lead to big trouble. That’s what happens in “Becky’s New Car,” presented by Dragon Productions.

In this 2008 comedy by Steven Dietz, Rebecca Foster, or Becky, (Mary Lou Torre) works as the office manager in a luxury car dealership. She and her husband, Joe (Ben Ortega), a successful roofer, have been married 28 years and have a 26-year-old son, Chris (Sam Bertken), a psychology major who still lives at home.

Becky’s life has become humdrum until late one afternoon when a wealthy widower, Walter Flood (Kevin Copps), shows up and buys nine cars to give to his employees the next day. He mistakenly assumes that she’s widowed, too, and she doesn’t correct him.

One thing leads to another, and then she’s attending a party at his posh home on an island nearSeattle, where she meets Walter’s adult daughter, Kensington, or Kenni, (Roneet Aliza Rahamim). Soon she’s spending more time there while trying to keep Joe unaware of her activities.

Thanks to a conversation with Steve (Jim Johnson), a salesman at the car dealership, Joe learns what’s happening. That knowledge and a subsequent event put their marriage and commitment to a tough test.

It’s probably no coincidence that Walter and Steve are still grieving for their late wives, though in different ways. Steve is both ridiculous and hilarious as he describes how his wife met her death on a hike with him.

The play’s other middle-aged character, Ginger (Helena G. Clarkson), a friend of Walter, is dealing with her own loss now that her substantial inheritance has evaporated, leaving her impoverished with no employable skills.

At the end, though, Walter, Steve and Ginger all find ways to forge ahead with their lives. Likewise, Joe and Becky manage to deal with the tests their marriage has undergone.

As directed by James Nelson, all of this transpires with laughs and insight. Torre is outstanding as Becky goes through a range of emotions while being onstage for most of the two-act play’s two hours. Thus she provides the glue that holds everything together. Acting by the rest of the cast is somewhat uneven, but not enough to detract from the show’s enjoyment.

Julia Sussner’s set, complemented by Will Poulin’s lighting, works well in the intimate space. The costumes are by Scarlett Kellum, the ambient sound by Lance Huntley.

With its dark and absurdist undertones, “Becky’s New Car” is a fun ride.

It continues at the Dragon Theatre, 2120 Broadway St., Redwood City, through Aug. 4. For tickets and information, call (650) 493-2006 or visit www.dragonproductions.net.