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May 25 2013
Love0

Stoppard’s abstruse ARCADIA is beautifully staged by A.C.T.

By Kedar K. Adour

Rebekah Brockman (Thomasina Coverly) and Jack Cutmore-Scott (Septimus Hodge) in A.C.T.’s production of Tom Stoppard’s Arcadia, directed by Carey Perloff. Photo by Kevin Berne.

ARCADIA: Drama. By Tom Stoppard. Directed by Carey Perloff. American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.), 415 Geary Street, San Francisco. (415) 749-2228 or www.act-sf.org. Through June 9, 2013.

Stoppard’s abstruse ARCADIA is beautifully staged by A.C.T.

The love affair between artistic director Carey Perloff and Tom Stoppard continues with a stunning staging of the esoteric Arcadia that is considered Stoppard’s masterpiece. A.C.T.’s first go around with Stoppard began in 1969 with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead and continued with Jumpers, Travesties, Night and Day, The Real Thing, Hapgood, Arcadia I(1995), Indian Ink U.S. Premiere), The Invention of Love (U.S. Premiere), and lastly Rock ‘n Roll.  With the exception of Arcadia this reviewer had seen all of the plays listed and was impressed.

It behooves those of us who have never seen nor read Arcadia to do research about the concepts discussed in the two acts, seven scene, and three hour play before going to the theatre. Even then there will be difficulty understanding the interaction of two generations one who has lived and the other living 200 years later in a very large country house in Derbyshire, England. The scenes shift from1809 to the present with the final scene a confusion as Stoppard has taken a page from Alan Ayckbourn’s How the Other Half Loves having the two families, although in different eras, sharing the same space. The first scene is a joy to watch with fine actors romping about and capturing the audience with its self-contained storyline wrapped in humor with marvelous tongue-and-cheek direction.

It is 1809 and the place is a room on the garden front of the mansion. Intellectually precocious 13 year old Thomasina Coverly (Rebekah Brockman) is studying mathematics with her tutor Septimus Hodge (Jack  Cutmore-Scott). She is trying to prove Fermat’s last theorem but she is

Jack Cutmore-Scott (Septimus Hodge) and Nicholas Pelczar (Ezra Chater)

more interested in having a definition of “carnal embrace” since the word has spread that Septimus was seen in the gazebo having such an embrace with Mrs. Chater married to second-rate poet Ezra Chater (Nicholas Pelczar).  Ezra, with Captain Brice (Nick Gabriel) as his second is attempting to induce Septimus into a duel.  Pelczar plays the role of Ezra with flamboyant indignation while Cutmore-Scott’s Septimus parries with brilliant delicious aplomb and flattery that wins the day. It helps that San Francisco icon Ken Ruta plays the role of Jellaby the butler.

From this point on, Stoppard indulges in his trademark intellectual banter with each major character getting his turn to emote and carry the storyline as the time frame shifts between 1809 and the present. To Stoppard’s credit and Perloff’s direction the relationship between the family characters becomes understandable and the unraveling of who did what to whom is plausible.

Lord Byron is introduced into the mystery of what happened to Ezra Chater. Did Byron have a fling with Chater’s wife and did he kill Ezra in a duel? This allows Stoppard to introduce Bernard Nightingale (dynamic Andy Murray) a present day literary critic and chronicler of Lord Byron’s life into the mix. Murray’s time upon the stage adds greatly to the humor and his parrying with Gretchen Egolf playing author Hannah Jarvis whose book has been belittled by Nightingale is first rate theatre.

Interspersed with the individual gems of acting are longwinded stretches of dialog where Stoppard is conveying to us the dictum that he is an intellectual giant. That may be so, but with almost hours of running time Arcadia is not for everyone.

Kedar K. Adour, MD

Courtesy of www.theatreworldinternetmagazine.com.

 

May 24 2013
Love0

Much to savor in ‘Sweet Charity’

By Judy Richter

The title character in “Sweet Charity” is Charity Hope Valentine, a hopeful yet hapless dance hall hostess who’s just looking for love. As played by Molly Bell for Center REPertory Company in Walnut Creek, she’s lovable and irrepressible.

She’s also a terrific singer, dancer and actress as Charity finds herself in some unusual situations. Director Timothy Near has surrounded her with a cast of triple-threat performers who deliver songs by composer Cy Coleman and lyricist Dorothy Fields with high energy and precision dancing, thanks to choreographer Jennifer Perry.

Much of Perry’s choreography reflects the influence of the late Bob Fosse, who conceived, staged and choreographed the original 1966 Broadway production starring Gwen Verdon. He also directed and choreographed the 1969 film starring Shirley MacLaine.

This stage production is more satisfying than the film in part because Bell has an air of naivete that’s more suited for the title role and in part because the final scenes are clearer about the motivation of Charity’s latest boyfriend, Oscar (Keith Pinto).

Moreover, the film feels bloated at times, whereas everything in this stage production stems logically from the characters and Neil Simon’s book.

The first act introduces Charity as a sunny but overly generous young woman who is literally dumped by a boyfriend.

Next comes the memorable “Big Spender,” performed by Charity’s jaded dance hall colleagues, including her two best friends, Helene (Brittany Danielle and Nickie (Alison Ewing).

The entire company is featured in production numbers like “Rich Man’s Frug” and “The Rhythm of Life,” the latter featuring James Monroe Iglehart as religious leader Daddy Brubeck.

Some of Bell’s more memorable moments come in “If My Friends Could See Me Now” and “Where Am I Going.”

Bell, Danielle and Ewing team up for the emphatic “There’s Gotta Be Something Better Than This.”

Other featured performers are Colin Thomson as Herman, the dance hall boss, and Noel Anthony as Vittorio, an Italian movie star.

Complemented by Kurt Landisman’s lighting, Annie Smart’s set design helps to keep the action flowing smoothly. Christine Crook designed the eye-catching costumes.

All elements of this show add up to a thoroughly entertaining evening that’s well worth the trip to Walnut Creek.

“Sweet Charity” continues at the Lesher Center for the Arts, 1601 Civic Drive, Walnut Creek, through June 22. For tickets and information, call (925) 943-7469 or visit www.CenterREP.org.

 

May 24 2013
Love0

PRELUDE TO A KISS at CustomMade charming but flawed

By Kedar K. Adour

Nick Trengove as Peter in Prelude to a Kiss

PRELUDE TO A KISS: Comedy/Fantasy by Craig Lucas. Directed by Stuart Bousel. CustomMade Theatre Company, Gough Street Playhouse, 1622 Gough Street, San Francisco. 415-798-2682 or www.customMade.org. May 21- June 16, 2013

PRELUDE TO A KISS at CustomMade charming but flawed

The intimate CustomMade three sided stage is awash with blue clouds and a symbolic tree of life anchored with a full set of roots soaring to the full height of the theatre in front of a screen for projection of moving clouds. It is a perfect setting for Craig Lucas’s 1988 Pulitzer Prize finalist Prelude to a Kiss. The title is taken from a Duke Ellington torch song and is an affirmation of life for the young and old. You will leave the theatre with a warm glow.

Protagonist; Peter (Nick Trengove) must share that classification with his true love(s) Rita (Allison Page) and Old Man (adorable leprechaun like Richard Wensel).  Peter is working in the digital world in a dead-end job of converting microfilm to miniscule discs. Rita is a bar-tender and a political socialist who is afraid of life and has no desire to bring children into the world. The adage is “opposites attract” and so it is with Lucas’s lovers. After a three month whirlwind affair they marry. At the wedding a strange Old Man purloins a kiss from the bride and they have an ethereal exchange of their souls.

The fateful Kiss of Rita and the Old Man

Peter kisses Old Man/ who has Rita’s inner soul

On their honeymoon in the Caribbean the formerly reticent Rita has a complete change of personality and now espouses living life to the fullest “Just take things as they come and enjoy them – that’s what life is for.”  She now has a great desire to bear children. Peter wondering what has happened finally deduces that the kiss from the Old Man was responsible. When he tracks down the Old Man who now has all the inner traits of his beloved Rita, he falls in love again. It is Lucas, who is openly gay, is telling us that love can bloom no matter what the physical forms of the lovers are. He emphasizes that point with a passionate kiss between the Old Man/Rita and Peter.

In act 1 the relationship between much too voluble and one-dimensional Nick Trengove and Allison Page in the lead roles does not ignite the spark necessary to do justice to Lucas’s dialog. That being said, the quality of their acting in the second act had sufficiently improved to give a warm ending to the evening. The supporting cast of Will Leschber, Charles Lewis III, Jan Carty Marsh, Elena Ruggiero and Dave Sikula were competent with Leschber’s small part deserving accolades. Running time under two hours with intermission.

Kedar K. Adour, MD

Courtesy of  www.theatreworldinternetmagazine.com

May 24 2013
Love0

“The Sound of Music” — Magic on Mt. Tam

By Judith Wilson

An enthusiastic audience celebrated the opening of the Mountain Play’s 100th season on Sunday, May 19, with a production that fills the hills with the sound of music and provides playgoers with a supremely satisfying experience.

The von Trapp children sing for Maria. (Photo: Robin & Chelsea McNally)

“The Sound of Music,” is one of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II’s most popular musicals, and the Mountain Play does justice to the Tony-Award-winning Broadway hit, with crowd-pleasing songs, engaging characters and a mountainside setting that makes it easy to get into the spirit of the show, which includes a love story, memorable music and the looming threat of the Nazis as they make inroads into Austria in the late 1930s.

Most members of the audience will be more familiar with the award-winning film from 1965, which starred Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer, than the Broadway show that preceded it, premiering in 1959 with Mary Martin and Theodore Bikel in the lead roles. The Mountain Play, however, follows the stage production more closely and includes less familiar songs that were part of its playlist but didn’t make it into the film, so anyone who hasn’t heard the original soundtrack can expect some surprises.

The show opens with the nuns at the Nonnberg Abbey assembling for evening prayers, but someone is missing. Maria Rainer, portrayed by Heather Buck, is a postulant and a dreamer, who has lingered outdoors to enjoy the evening on the mountain, expressing her appreciation for the alpine environment in the signature song, “The Sound of Music.”

The nuns don’t know what to make of Maria, and so the Mother Abbess decides she needs a change and a chance to reflect on God’s plan for her, so she sends Maria to serve as governess to the seven von Trapp family children, who have lost their mother. Maria is enchanted with the children, and they quickly develop a bond through music, in songs such as ‘Do-Re-Mi” and “My Favorite Things.”

Buck captures Maria’s evolution deftly, as she makes the transformation from being a confused girl who is unsure of herself to woman who is decisive and confident as she takes action to save her family from danger. Meanwhile, Ryan Drummond as Captain Georg von Trapp goes from authoritarian to gentle as he gradually recognizes Maria’s beneficial effect on his children and eventually falls in love with her, while his fiancée Elsa Schraeder, ably played by Mountain Play favorite Susan Zelinsky, observes Maria with a wary eye.

The children are delightful, from Liesl (high-school senior Emily Libresco), the oldest, to Gretl (Elena Gnatek), the youngest. Claire Lentz, 12, has an important role as Brigitta, who never lies and whose perceptions are more astute than those of the adults. Chas Conacher as Rolf Gruber gets cheers from the audience for a heroic gesture, even as he espouses the Nazi party line.

Mother Abbess (Hope Briggs, left) inspires Maria with her advice in “Climb Ev’ry Mountain.” (Photo: Robin and Chelsea McNally)

Hope Briggs as the Mother Abbess is a standout in “Climb Ev’ry Mountain.”

The ensemble of actors and dancers, musical director Deborah Chambliss and a 16-piece orchestra behind the stage, costume design by Patricia Polen and choreography by Dottie Lester-White all contribute to the overall effect.

Whereas film is fixed, every stage production is a different interpretation of the original, with its own characteristics to make it unique. That is demonstrated most obviously in the work of Ken Rowland, whose scenic design captures the time and place with clever revolving sets (with chairs attached) that make quick work of scene changes from the abbey to the von Trapp home to the Katzburg Festival’s concert hall.

Director Jay Manley adds his own special touches—the addition of brothers from a nearby monastery among them— and makes good use of the environment, so Mt. Tamalpais itself becomes part of the show, as Maria and Georg look to it in planning their escape over the mountain to Switzerland.

“The Sound of Music” is based on Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse’s book documenting the real-life von Trapp’s family’s flight from the Nazis, and that aspect of the story takes the production into some serious territory. The menace was real, and beyond the uplifting songs, the story is about the courage of one’s convictions and standing up for what is right. “I will not be heiled,” says Georg, after Leisl’s friend Rolf gives him the Nazi salute.

The Mountain Play’s endurance is a result of the quality of its production values and the loyalty of its supporters, and in its centennial season, “The Sound of Music” shows just how far it has come. It’s another fine chapter in a Marin tradition.

Performances are every Sunday through June 16 and on Saturday, June 8. Tickets range from $20 to $40 general admission, and children under 3 are free. Reserved seating, with cushions, starts at $56.

The free Mountain Play Express run shuttles from Tamalpais High School and the Manzanita parking lot every 15 minutes from 10 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. and takes playgoers back down the mountain after the show.

For more information, go to www.mountainplay.org.

 

May 24 2013
Love0

“All My Sons” — A Moral Dilemma

By Judith Wilson

Family is everything to Joe Keller in “All Our Sons.” It’s the way he defines his place in the world and motivates many of his actions. But money also affects his decisions, and the two aren’t mutually exclusive, so when he takes a risk, everyone feels the repercussions.

Conflicting values and the morality involved are at the heart of Arthur Miller’s “All Our Sons,” the Ross Valley Players’ fifth production of the season, which opened at the Barn Theatre at the Marin Art & Garden Center in Ross on Friday, May 19. The play, set in the 1940s following World War II, captures one family’s unraveling in the course of one long day, as secrets come spilling out, shattering the fragile reality each of its members has built.

As the first act opens, we see a backyard that suggests a comfortable life—roses growing on a fence, a rocking chair on the porch, a basket of apples on the steps. The scene looks pleasant enough, but something is amiss. On one side, a tree—a sapling really—is broken, and we learn that Joe and Kate planted the tree in honor of their son Larry, who disappeared during World War II and whose memory casts a shadow over their lives as words go unspoken.

Bert (Elliot Clyde, left) and Joe (Craig Christiansen) enjoy a lighthearted moment as Chris (Francis Serpa) looks on. (Photo: Robin Jackson)

Joe’s wife, Kate, refuses to believe that Larry is dead, creating a dilemma for the Keller’s surviving son Chris, who is convinced his brother is dead and wants to marry his fiancée, Ann Deever. While Joe and Kate welcome Ann into their home, her presence also makes them uncomfortable, partly because she was engaged to Larry, but also because her father, Steve, is in prison after being convicted of supplying defective airplane parts to the military, resulting in the death of 21 pilots. Joe is the owner of the plant that manufactured the parts and thus Steve’s employer, and although Joe was absolved of any complicity in the case, doubts linger.

The story gets intense when Ann’s brother George (Philip Goleman) arrives for a visit, setting into motion action that leads to an argument and a slip of the tongue that unleashes revelations and culminates in a searing conclusion.

Caroline Altman’s direction, with brisk pacing, makes the production absorbing, as does a strong cast. Craig Christianson, as Joe, brings anger and passion to his role, showing a range of emotions. He undoubtedly believes Larry is dead, but supports Kate’s belief that their son will return, saying that newspaper reports, “Every month, someone shows up out of nowhere.” In contrast, accusations that Steve is a murderer make him angry, and he defends his former employee in an outburst that seems inexplicably excessive.

Kristine Ann Lowry is masterful as Kate, portraying a mother’s anguish as she tries to maintain the status quo, often conveying her feelings in heartfelt facial expressions without saying a word as she insists her son will reappear and at the same tries to protect her husband.

Kate Keller (Kristine Ann Lowry, left) listens to words of advice from Dr. Jim Bayliss (Javier Alarcón). (Photo: Robin Jackson)

Amber Collins Crane, who portrays Ann, manages to convey a kind of innocence mixed with experience as a young woman who possesses a devastating secret. As Chris, Francis Serpa shows the frustration of a man who has experienced war and wants to do the right thing, but is torn between his parents and the woman he loves.

The supporting characters, from Javier Alarcón as Dr. Jim Bayliss, who delivers a message about conflict and comprise, to 10-year-old Elliot Clyde as Bert, who holds a key to the play’s conclusion, deliver performances that round out the story and keep the audience engaged.

Ken Rowland’s set designs, Michael A. Berg’s costumes and an attention to historical detail capture life in America after World War II and place it firmly in time, and yet the play doesn’t seem dated.

Miller wrote “All Our Sons” in 1947, and the story is based on a real-life wartime case in which a manufacturer knowingly shipped faulty airplane parts to the military, causing several pilots to crash and die. The incident is central to the play, which debuted in New York at a time when the memories and trauma of war were still fresh. The themes—family, money, betrayal, conscience—are universal, however and go beyond the limits of time. Miller’s plays tend to be topical, but they work on two levels, both telling a story and reflecting on society, and this time capitalism and its pros and cons are in the spotlight, as well as the meaning of family.

Director Caroline Altman says the play makes her think of shadows, and we can perceive memories of past decisions hanging like shadows over the characters as they struggle to contain their secrets in the face of love and loss. “All Our Sons” is a snapshot of one family’s experience, but the conflict is timeless.

“All Our Sons” runs at the Barn Theatre at the Marin Art & Garden Center, 30 Sir Francis Drake Boulevard, Ross, through June 9. Performances are at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, 8 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. on Sunday. Post-show talkbacks with the director and actors take place Sunday, May 26, and Sunday, June 9.

Tickets are $26 general admission and $22 for seniors 62 and over and students 18 and under. To order tickets, call 415-456-9555, ext. 1 or www.rossvalleyplayers.com.

May 24 2013
Love0

WHO NEEDS PROZAK?

By Joe Cillo

DRUG-ADDLED FISH

Tell me what you eat, and
I will tell you what you are.
Anthelme Brillat-Savarin

I am very careful about the food I eat because I know that what is in it goes into me.  I will not eat red meat because I was a huge fan of Elsie the Cow, Porky the Pig and Mary’s three little lambs.  However, since I never had an aquarium or cuddled something aquatic, I have been relying on fish as a staple to my diet.

I am amazed to learn that the reason I feel so relaxed and at peace with the world after a salmon dinner is that the fish on our planet are all becoming junkies. We are dumping our medications into the landfill helter-skelter and our Prozac, Vicodin and Demerol are being transmitted from the fish in the sea into my bloodstream.

I find this excellent news.  It has the potential to save me an immense amount of money when I am moved to escape my current reality. If I eat my perch and dine on cod I will be calm and collected, if a bit loopy, when disaster strikes.  I will not panic…I will be properly tranquilized by my dinner.

There is more good news to come.  Evidently, all that drug consumption has made our fishy friends sterile. The morning after pills we didn’t need and the birth control pills we discard are affecting the reproductive powers of our aquatic friends.   This is bad for the food supply I admit and terrible information for the pharmaceutical companies.  We no longer need rely on the pill or the morning-after remedies (some of which are disgustingly unpleasant) to take care of any repercussions from a night of pleasure.  All we need do is eat a generous helping of plaice for dinner.  (You can even deep-fry it and it will still fix you up). If you decide you would like to have a family, forget estrogen or in-vitrio fertilization.  Eat meat.

Ah, how times have changed.  Back in the uninformed early fifties, I had two exquisite Siamese Fighting Fish: Herbert and Tarrington.  They were lovely to watch, swimming from one side of their little bowl to the other, munching on algae and sparking in the sun.  But one day Herbert got into a snit and ate poor timid Tarrington. He digested him whole and didn’t even spit out the bones.  Had he lived in this knowledgeable century of ours, I would have scooped up some water for the nearest stream and cured his inappropriate behavior just like that.

Of course there are times when you do not want to dull your senses.  You long to heighten your awareness of life around you.  No need to waste hard-earned cash on speed, cocaine or ecstasy. Just run to the nearest fish grotto, pig out on sea bass and you are ready to party!

The only ones deprived of this safe avenue to contentment are vegetarians. They will have to rely on prescription medicines for their highs.  The poor among them will reproduce like bunnies if they don’t give up sex entirely.  It doesn’t seem fair does it?  They have already given up so much that makes life delicious.

Fish, to taste right, must swim three times –
in water, in butter and in wine.
Polish Proverb

 

May 23 2013
Love0

RVP’s All My Sons–A Morality Tale by Arthur Miller

By Flora Lynn Isaacson

Amber Collins Crane as Ann Deever & Francis Serpa as Chris Keller in All My Sons. Photo by Robin Jackson.

 

On opening night of All My Sons, May 17, 2013, Set Designer Ken Rowland, was presented the Life Achievement Award by Cris Cassell, President of Ross Valley Players. His wonderful backyard set in Ross Valley Players’ current production shows that he is well deserving of his fine honor.

All My Sons, the 5th show of RVP’s 83rd season, is directed by multi-talented Caroline Altman.

All My Sons takes place in the backyard of the Keller home in the outskirts of an American town in August, 1947. This play is true to the three unities of modern drama popularized by Henrik Ibsen; time, place and action.

All My Sons tells the story of Joe Keller (Craig Christiansen), a self-made businessman who lives a comfortable life with his wife Kate (Kristine Ann Lowry) and returning war veteran son Chris (Francis Serpa), in a suburban, middle-class American neighborhood. They have only one sadness in their lives–the loss of their younger son, Larry who was reported missing in World War II. While Kate still believes Larry is coming back, Chris believes otherwise and would like her to give up that hope so he can marry Ann (Amber Collins Crane), Larry’s former fiancee and the daughter of Steve Deever, Joe’s former business partner who went to prison for selling cracked cylinder heads to the Air Force, causing 21 planes to crash. While Joe’s name is cleared, he falsely places the entire blame on Steve.

Caroline Altman makes one realize that Miller’s play is a portrait of a society as well as a flawed individual as she explores our ever-changing sense of family, social responsibility and values.

Craig Christiansen is a strong Joe Keller. He charms and jokes his neighbors and plays the beaming patriarch. Kristine Ann Lowry is no less astonishing as Joe’s wife. She is as swashed in pretense as her husband, but the difference is that she knows it. There is fine support from Francis Serpa as Chris, the impossibly idealistic surviving son and from Amber Collins Crane as Ann, the tenacious fiancee. Javier Alarcon lends weight to his performance a neighboring doctor who sacrificed his happiness. This production is blessed with a fine ensemble to give life to Miller’s well developed secondary characters. Siobhan O’Brien is particularly good as Sue Bayliss, the wife of the doctor who would rather do research than general medicine.

Caroline Altman’s highly stylized staging in many ways suits the play’s intensely melodramatic plot and makes a welcome addition to this season’s challenging line up of plays.

All My Sons plays through June 16, 2013. Performances are Thursday at 7:30 p.m.; Friday-Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. All performances take place at the Barn Theatre, home of the Ross Valley Players, 30 Sir Francis Drake Blvd., Ross, CA. To order tickets, call 415-456-9555, ext. 1 or visit www.rossvalleyplayers.com

Coming up next at Ross Valley Players will be the Dixie Swim Club by Jessie Jones Nicholas Hope and Jamie Wooten and directed by Linda Dunn, July 19-August 18, 2013.

Flora Lynn Isaacson

 

 

 

May 22 2013
Love0

SWEET CHARITY at CenterRep is a dynamite MUST SEE show.

By Kedar K. Adour

Girls of the Fandango Ballroom

Pictured: Calia Johnson, Brittany Danielle*, Katie Pogue Jaime, Molly Bell*, Amanda Denison, Nicole Helfer, Alison Ewing*, Tielle Baker

SWEET CHARITY:Musical. Book by Neil Simon. Music by Cy Coleman. Lyrics by Dorothy Fields. Based on an original screenplay by Federico Fellini, Tullio Pinelli and Ennio Flaiano. Conceived, staged and choreographed by Bob Fosse. Directed by Timothy Near. Center REPertory Company 1601 Civic Drive in downtown Walnut Creek. 925.943.7469 or www.CenterREP.org. May 17 –June 22, 2013.

SWEET CHARITY at CenterRep is a dynamite MUST SEE show.

The “must see” in the headline is intentionally in capital letters to emphasize the quality of Center Rep’s stunning production. Neil Simon should put Timothy Near on his payroll to direct his plays. A year ago Timothy Near directed Simon’s comedy/farce Rumors for Center Rep and it was a total winner. Yes, Neil Simon is credited with the book for Sweet Charity but he was aided and abetted by Cy Colman and Dorothy Fields’ music and lyrics that fit like a glove into the story line.

Although the storyline was lifted from the black and white Fellini film Nights of Cabiria, Simon and cohorts cleaned it up a bit making the main character a dance-hall hostess rather than a woman of the streets. When it opened on Broadway it starred Bob Fosse’s wife Gwen Verdon as the poor put upon ever hopeful Charity. Gwen Verdon put her stamp on the role when Sweet Charity opened on Broadway in 1966 (47 years ago!!) and now the multi-talented Molly Bell can add her name to the short list of those who were great in the part.

From the simply but classily staged opening number with only a flowering tree and green park bench for props, Charity Hope Valentine sashays to footlight telling us the wonderful things her present amoretti Charlie will say to her in “You Should See Yourself” before he dumps her into the lake and takes off with all of her money.

After being sort of rescued by a park policeman she heads to her job at the Fandango Ballroom. Charity defends Charlie but Nickie (Allison Ewing) tells her “you run your heart like a hotel — you’ve always got people checking in and checking out.” Fandango boss Herman (local favorite Colin Thomson) tells them to break it up and get to work. Boy and do they go to work as they carry a railing made of two pipes to center stage dressed in garishly gorgeous costumes bringing applause from the audience with the hysterical and hysterically danced “Big Spender.” Choreographer Jennifer Perry wisely keeps the “Fosse touch” to the dancing and the ensemble responds with exuberance and precision and you will get exhausted watching them do the “Rich Man’s Frug.”

Charity’s next encounter with screen star Vittorio Vidal (Noel Anthony) ends up as a disappointment but before that happens director Near puts her stamp on the hilarious scene that leads to a tour de force bit for Molly/Charity with “If My Friends Could See Me Now” using only a autographed photo, top hat and cane. Noel Anthony is a perfect foil for

Charity “If You could see me now!”

Molly Bell and plays his role with a straight face and gets to sing “Too Many Tomorrows” before he shoves her into his closet when his true love Ursala (Brittany Danielle) shows up. Charity’s time in the closet brings out some extremely funny stage action not to be revealed here.

Before the first act ends Charity gets stuck in an elevator with nice-guy Oscar (Kieth Pinto) who is claustrophobic and she sort of rescues him with the assurance “I’m the Bravest Individual” before the lights go out. End of Act I.

What do the writer’s have up their sleeves for a second act opening? They come up with a winner with the “Rhythm of Life” song and dance to end all hippie dances. Center rep has imported full body sized James Monroe Iglehart to play Daddy Brubeck and he is an absolute marvel in voice and dance bringing the house down with his actions. It helps that the entire cast gives him support.

You get the idea of the kind of fun you are in for when, not if, you go to see Timothy Near’s opus. The staging sets, rotating lights, orchestra and lighting are marvels. Although Anthony, Iglehart, Pinto and Colin Thompson hold their own, this show belongs to the ladies. Two standouts are Alison Ewing and Brittany Danielle who get two spots in the show to displa

Alison Ewing*, Brittany Danielle

y their talents as singers and dancers. They are ready to take on the lead roles as Roxie Hart and Velma Kelly whenever the musical Chicagorolls around. Running time 2 hours and 20 minutes but it races by and be assured you will never look at your watch.

Kedar K. Adour, MD

Courtesy of www.theatreworldinternetmagazine.com

 

Photos by: www.kevinberne.com

 

May 22 2013
Love0

MOUNTAIN PLAY: The Sound of Music

By Kedar K. Adour


 MOUNTAIN PLAY: The Sound of Music. Music by Richard Rogers. Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. Book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. Suggested by”The Trapp Family Singers” by Maria Augusta Trapp. Directed by Jay Manley. Musical direction by Debra Chambliss. Choreography by Dottie Lester-White. Cushing Memorial Amphitheatre on Mt. Tamalpais, Mill Valley, CA. 415-383-1100 or www.MountainPlay.org. 2013 Season Performance Dates: May 19, May 26, June 2, June 8 (Saturday)June 9 and June 16. All shows start at 2:00 pm.

Would you believe that the Mountain Play has reached its 100th birthday? Believe it and selecting The Sound of Music for this momentous occasion was perfect since the first song after the liturgical “Preludium” sung by the nuns of the Abbey and the Brothers of the Monastery, the opening number fills the amphitheatre with lyrics including “the hills are alive with the sound of music.” Award winning director Jay Manley who is making his debut on the mountain has cleverly directed the heroine Maria to sing those lyrics as she descends the stairs from the rear of the 3500 seat amphitheater 2000 feet up on Mt. Tamalpais on a beautiful sunny day.

The always imaginative Jay Manley has taken liberties with the script adding a group of Benedictine Brothers. He also writes: “And for this production of The Sound of Music, we have inter­polated two songs written especially for the film version, and retained a couple from the original stage musical that may be unfamiliar to your ears. With these and other touches, I hope we are putting a fresh face on this musical classic.”

This Mountain Play version certainly has a fresh face with an excellent cast performing on a marvelous set with rotating sections that keep the time intervals between scenes to a minimum. This is set designer Ken Roland’s 26th year with the Mountain Play and he has come up with another beauty.

Most of you must be familiar the musical story of vivacious Maria (Heather Buck), a postulant at Nonnberg Abbey who does not seem to be cut out for a life as a nun in 1938 Austria. The Mother Abbess (Hope Briggs) sends Maria out to experience the outside world before committing her vows. She becomes the governess to the seven von Trapp children of the widowed Captain Georg von Trapp (Ryan Drummond). He has regimented the children but their shenanigans have driven away previous governesses. Marie wins them over teaching them to appreciate music starting with the charming “Do-Re-Mi.” In doing so, love blooms between the Captain and Maria that eventually leads to marriage. All this happens when Nazi Germany is taking over Austria prior to WW II. The Captain politically disagrees with Nazism and is forced to abandon his homeland with his wife and children.

Heather Buck as Maria is a joy to observe and her strong yet dulcet toned singing voice is pitched perfect. Ryan Drummond conveys the stern nature of the Captain and his voice almost matches the quality of Heather Buck. Hope Brigg’s powerful operatic voice brings down the house with her rendition of “Climb Ev’ry Mountain” at the end of act one. It was W.C. Fields that warned against playing on stage opposite children. That dictum may hold true since the seven von Trapp children from sixteen year old Liesl (Emily Libresco) down to the diminutive Gretl (Elana Gnatek)hold their own (and even steal a scene or two) with the adults. In the Broadway production the entire children’s cast was nominated for Best Featured Actress category as a single nominee, even though two children were boys. They earn a Tony in this year’s Mountain Play.

L to R: Elena Gnatek (Gretl von Trapp), Brigid O’Brien (Marta von Trapp), Claire Lentz (Brigitta von Trapp), August Mesarchik (Kurt von Trapp), Jenna Herz (Louisa von Trapp), Dillon DeVille (Friedrich von Trapp), Emily Libresco (Liesl von Trapp), and Heather Buck (Maria Rainer).

There are many accolades to shower on this production of The Sound of Music from the terrific score beginning with the title and continuing with “Maria”, “Do-Re-Mi”, “Sixteen Going on Seventeen”, “My Favorite Things”, “How Can Love Survive?” “So Long, Farewell”, “The Lonely Goatherd” and “Edelweiss” that has almost become the national anthem of Austria!

All that beautifully directed music (Debra Chambliss) is complimented by the multiple costumes (Patricia Polen) and energetic choreography (Dottie Lester-White). At the risk of overusing a cliché, the air on top of Mt Talamapias is filled with music. Grab the kids, pack a lunch and “climb the mountain.” Running time about 2 hours and 30 minutes including the 20 minute intermission. (Top photo by www.cynthiapepper.com. Lower photo by Robin and Chelsea McNally)

Kedar K. Adour, MD

Courtesy of www.theatreworldinternetmagazine.com

 

May 21 2013
Love0

“Beach Blanket Babylon” stays fresh through the years

By Judy Richter

Although it has been running for 39 years and although its theater is 100 years old, “Beach Blanket Babylon” remains as fresh as today’s  headlines. It’s also very funny as it parodies pop celebrities, politicians and royalty.

It does all this through an energetic, talented cast of 10 performers who don outrageous costumes, exaggerated wigs and — the show’s trademark — hats that seem to grow bigger and more complex as the 90-minute show reaches its conclusion.

Originally created by the late Steve Silver and now produced by his widow, Jo Schuman Silver, “BBB” has followed a similar plot for the past several years: Snow White (Rena Wilson in the reviewed performance), who lives in San Francisco, is looking for love, but she’s not having any luck.  Guided by a good witch (Renée Lubin in this performance), she undertakes a wider search that takes her to Rome and Paris. Eventually she returns toSan Francisco, having met the man of her dreams. During her journey, she encounters a variety of characters who sing and dance their way through songs whose lyrics have been adapted to their situation.

The show opens with one of its longest-running characters, Mr. Peanut, but he’s become quite hip, sporting an iPhone 5. The Beatles show up next, followed by several “Hair” songs sung by hippies. Snow White meets Oprah Winfrey, the Clintons, and a leather-clad, motorcycle-riding Nancy Pelosi, among many others, including the Obamas.

When she arrives inParis, she’s met by a trio of singing, dancing poodles, Coco Chanel and King Louis XIV. Several scenes later, she’s serenaded by a trio of San Francisco Giants showing off their 2012 World Series trophy.

Octomom shows up, as do several English royals, including a drag Queen Elizabeth. A pudgy New Jersy Gov. Chris Christie sings about his weight-loss surgery during songs from “Les Miserables.” Snow White transforms into a flying Madonna singing “Defying Gravity” from “Wicked,” then meets none other than Elvis Presley. These are just a few examples of the inventive ways that “BBB” keeps audiences smiling and laughing.

Because the show is so demanding of its performers, the cast can change from day to day. Two of the mainstays, though, Lubin and Tammy Nelson, were featured in the reviewed performance.

Director-choreographer Kenny Mazlow, another “BBB” stalwart, keeps the show moving at a fast clip. He and Schuman Silver also write the show. Bill Keck serves as musical director and conductor.

Because it’s so hilarious and so well done, it’s a must-see for out-of-town guests. Locals can enjoy it again and again because it keeps changing as new targets for parody make news. And even though it lampoons people in the public eye and can be a touch naughty, it never descends into bad taste or crudeness. It’s just lots of clever fun.

“Beach Blanket Babylon” plays at 678 Beach Blanket Blvd.(aka Green St.), San Francisco. For tickets and information, call (415) 421-4222 or visit www.beachblanketbabylon.com.