(l to r) Ross (Imran Sheikh) celebrates closing a sale while colleagues Vidya (Sharone Sayegh) and Giri (Ray Singh) continue to call in San Jose Rep’s West Coast premiere of Disconnect.

DISCONNECT: Comic-Drama by Anupama Chandrasekhar and directed by Rick Lombardo. San Jose Repertory Theatre (SJR), 101 Paseo de San Antonio, San Jose (Between South 2nd & 3rd Streets). 408.367.7255 or www.sjrep.com. March 27 – April 14, 2013

DISCONNECT AT SAN JOSE REP VIVID ACTING & DIRECTING

Have you ever wondered what is happening at the other end of the telephone line when you are talking to a company web site that has out-sourced its staff to India? My only exposure to Business Process Outsourcing (BPO)has been requests for technical help and the experience has been a mixture of elation and frustration. In Anupama Chandrasekhar’s depiction of the India end of the telephone line emphasizes the frustration that invades the lives of the workers. That frustration also invades the audience with the cacophony of overlapping dialog causing the vivid acting and directing to lose some of its luster.

Disconnect had its world premiere at the Royal Court theatre in London in 2009 that is also the time frame of the action and the place is a call center in the city of Chennai. This call center is named ironically True Blue and is the collection agency for bad credit card debt that has been farmed out to them by a major credit corporation.  We learn that there is great pressure to increase collections or they may lose the account to a call center in the Philippines.

In the introductory scene Jyothi (Devon Ahmed) the titular supervisor has summoned Avenish (Rajesh Bose) an older lower level manager for the New York accounts to her office. The office is adorned with smiley faces and mundane uplifting phrases. His staff has not been meeting the collection goals set for him and using every cliché reason in the books she banishes him from his cherished office with a window (even though it overlooks a garbage dump), to the smaller Illinois section on the windowless fourth floor. It is a degrading demotion that he accepts with dignity.

In India where 50 percent of the population is under 25, there are 4 million college graduates a year. These graduates have been taught English and are the source of workers for the BPOs. Speaking English without an accent is highly desirable and the workers often take English sounding names. The three young characters Chandrasekhar has created are emblematic of that group. When it is daytime in the United States it is nighttime in India thus the three callers are working at night with a disruption of their social lives.

The character that causes the major conflict is Roshan (Imran Sheikh) who has mastered the art speaking without an Indian accent using the name of Ross Adams and is the most successful in the drab office with the only color being a red nonfunctioning Coca-Cola dispenser.  His erstwhile girlfriend Vidya (Sharone Sayegh) works as Vicki Lewis and Giri (Ray Singh) became Gary Evans. Their personal interactions take up most of the conflict but it is their verbal contact with the deadbeats who are defaulting on their credit card debt on the other end of the telephone lines that drive the story.

Ross unceremoniously has dumped Vicki and fallen in love via the phone line with a Sarah who owes $23,000. This long distance psychological infatuation causes him to gain unauthorized access to the credit card data bank to erase her debt. That bit of chicanery does not go unnoticed. Vicki’s trauma derives from the suicide of one of her callers that occurs while she is on the phone with him. Gary has a problem of being over-extended on his credit card becoming one of the ‘dead beats’ he calls during working hours. Avinash is assigned to sort out the mess. All this leads to overly dramatic confrontation scenes and the penultimate scene ends on a strange note with the drab office decorated for a Fourth of July (??an American holiday) party and the cast in garish costumes. There is an epilog that leaves the audience confused with delayed clapping at the end of the one hour and 40 minutes without intermission.

Kedar K. Adour, MD

Courtesy of www.theatreworldinternetmagazine.com

Disconnect 1: (l to r) Call center supervisor Avinash (Rajesh Bose) receives feedback from his manager, Jyothi (Devon Ahmed) about his job performance in San Jose Rep’s West Coast premiere of Disconnect.

Disconnect 2: (l to r) Ross (Imran Sheikh) celebrates closing a sale while colleagues Vidya (Sharone Sayegh) and Giri (Ray Singh) continue to call in San Jose Rep’s West Coast premiere of Disconnect.

(Left)Miss Adelaide (c, Sarah Mitchell) and the Hot Box Girls (l-r, Catherine Duval Petru, Simone Olsen-Varela, Louise Barcellos) perform “A Bushel and a Peck” at the Hot Box Club.(Below) In Havana, Missionary Sarah Brown (front l, Angel Burgess) finally lets loose with Sky Masterson (front r, Carmichael J. Blankenship) after accidentally drinking a milkshake laced with rum, as onlookers (back l-r, Louise Barcellos, Lucas Brandt, Melissa Martinez, Matthew McCoy, and Leslie Waggoner) watch with amused interest.

GUYS AND DOLLS: musical Comedy. Music and Lyrics by Frank Loesser. Book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows. Based on “The Idyll of Miss Sarah Brown” and “Blood Pressure” by Damon Runyon. Directed by Jon Tracy. Musical Direction by Robert Michael. Choreography by Chris Black. Berkeley Playhouse, Julie Morgan Theatre, 2640 College Avenue, Berkeley, CA 510-845-8542×351 or www.berkeleyplayhouse.org. March 23 – April 28, 2013

GUYS AND DOLLS DISAPOINTS AT BERKELEY PLAYHOUSE

Berkeley Playhouse continues its fifth season with an energetic mounting of Guys and Dolls one of the most beloved musical comedies ever to be produced. Although there were problems for the musical that arose between the concept finally reaching Broadway in 1950, none of those behind the scene hitches were detrimental and it played for 1200 performances winning a Tony Award for Best Musical. The shows luster has not diminished in the intervening 63 years and the present production bursts from the Julie Morgan stage and appears to be a labor of love.

Jon Tracy’s style of directing in a physical upbeat manner abounds and he has taken further control of the production by creating the scenic design in partnership with the talented Nina Ball (who happens to be his wife). A bare uncluttered center stage is very appropriate since much of the show consists of dancing to complement the incredible music and lyrics that carry the story line.

That story line was based on two short stories, “The Idyll of Miss Sarah Brown” and “Blood Pressure” written by sports columnist Damon Runyon. To refresh your memory the one of the major characters Sarah Brown (Angel Burgess), the leader of the evangelical Save Your Sole Mission situated in the more seedier side of New York City that is populated with rather loveable ‘sinners’ addicted to gambling. Nathan Detroit (Michael Scott Wells) is one of those sinners responsible for setting up illegal dice games for the local denizens. He has been sort of engaged to Miss Adelaide (Sarah Mitchell) a lead singer and dancer in the Hot Box revue.  Enter Sky Masterson (Carmichael J. Blankenship), the suave inveterate gambler who would bet on anything.

The gambling denizens are mostly loveable, with the exception of Chicago hood Big Jule (Terry Rucker), include, to mention a few, Harry the Horse (Matthew McCoy), Angie the Ox (Lucas Brandt) Rusty Charlie (Aejay Mitchell) and the full bodied Nicely Nicely Johnson (Joshua Castro). The rest of the cast comes in and out of the wings without distinction.

One wonders what director Tracy’s concept for this show is and how it should be judged. He allows all the cast to over act with a great deal of mugging playing their roles for laughs. The dialog itself is loaded with laughs and does not require a blitzkrieg of physicality. There are plenty of laughs and intermittent great performances by individual cast members. Sarah Mitchell’s Miss Adelaide was obviously an audience favorite but she had to share accolades with Joshua Castro’s Nicely Nicely Johnson’s belting of “Sit Down You’re Rocking the Boat.”

Even though Blankenship and Burgess have excellent voices the acting is a bit stilted and their loves scenes seem contrived without conveying charisma. The entire show is not aided by the costumes by the usually reliable Abra Berman who has elected to dress Sarah Brown and the evangelists in all white and the Hot Box girls in ludicrous garb.

Despite the perceived onus, Guys and Dolls with its plethora of words and music(“I’ll Know[when my love comes around]”, “A Bushel and a Peck”, “Adelaide’s Lament”, “Havana”, “If I Were a Bell”, “My Time of Day”, “I’ve Never Been In Love Before”, “Take Back Your Mink”, “ More I Cannot Wish You” “Luck be a Lady”, “Sue Me”, ‘Sit Down Your’re Rockin’ the Boat and “Mary the Man Today” comes through as a great musical comedy.  Running time about a bit over two hours including an intermission.

Kedar K. Adour, MD

Courtesy of www.theatreworldinternetmagazine.com

L to R, Top Row: AvilaReese as Lotty;TweedConrad as Rose.  Seated L to R:  Anne Ripley as Mrs. Graves; Kate Fox Marcom as Lady Caroline

ENCHANTED APRIL: A romantic comedy by Matthew Barber, novel by Elizabeth Von Arnim. Directed by Cris Cassell. RossValleyPlayers (RVP) Barn Theater, MarinArt & GardenCenter, 30 Sir Francis Drake Blvd., Ross.  415-456-9555, ext. 1 or www.rossvalleyplayers.com. March 15 –April 14, 2013

ENCHANTED APRIL AT RVP IS ANOTHER HIT… Do not miss it!!

This reviewer always attempts to avoid the first person singular when writing reviews but this time I personally endorse this production of Enchanted April, a sentimental old chestnut that probably has been staged by every community theater in the country. My first experience with the play was a bare bones affair in the Redwood Grove just down the hill from the RVP barn put on by Cinnebar Theatre of Petaluma. It was a joy to see.  The second performance was by the professional Equity Center Rep in Walnut Creek with a spectacular buffo cast and second act set that earned thunderous applause. Now the RVP in its 83 continuous season comes up a winner that is best described as a cross between the previous two mentioned and probably is the best buck for your theatre allowance.

The time is 1920 and the effects of WW I are still apparent and play a role in setting the tone in the early scenes played out in front a simple gray background with sound effects of depressing rain filling the stage. The play is book ended by unhappy housewife Lotty Wilton (a superb Avila Reese) who is described by her husband Melleresh (Ron Daily) as having a “mind like a humming bird” with incessant talking.

Lotty reads an ad in the paper offering a “sunny small castle, draped with wisteria and a view of the sea” in Northern Italy for rent. With her effusive charm she cons Rose (beautifully under played by Tweed Conrad) a member of her club and an equally unhappy wife of straight laced lawyer Frederick  (a fine Tom Hudgens who almost stole the show Tuna Texas as Vera Carp) to join her in the rental.

Needing a couple more ladies to share the cost of the rental, Lotty places an ad in the paper for two others to share the castle in Italy. Next up is the beautiful sophisticated society woman Lady Caroline Bramble who is depressed with her life in the limelight seeking solitude in the sun. That role is a perfect fit for the gorgeous Kate Fox Marcom whose elegant bearing makes up for the limited dialog written for the role. Finally, there is the grumpy older Mrs. Grave (an appropriate name) played to perfection by the always professional Anne Ripley who delivers her Oscar Wilde type lines with spot on timing always getting a laugh without breaking the ensemble acting concept. Wilding (Ross Berger) is the owner of the castle and is also an artist. His role, although limited, is a minor deus ex machina needed to solve minor problems and charm Mrs. Graves out of her grumpy attitude and be a love interest for Lady Caroline Bramble.

Then there is the cook and housekeeper Costanza (Maxine Sattizan) whose dialog is entirely in Italian except for a final “Marvellous” near the end of the play that caused the audience to erupt in laughter. She absolutely ‘nails’ the role and becomes the center of attention with her entrances and exits but never upsetting the ensemble concept. Credit Cris Cassell with a directing job well done.

Conflict is never serious and often hilarious and the ending justifies the title of Enchanted April. After the drab first act set is struck a glorious sunlight patio, complete with the promised wisteria abundant flowers and a naughty statue of Cupid propped in center stage. After all, the play is a love story. This play is highly recommended with running time about two hours.

Kedar K. Adour MD

Courtesy of www.theatreworldinternetmagazine.com

Marjan as Maryam

Concetta Tomei as Oriana Fallaci

Fallaci: Drama. By Lawrence Wright.  Directed by Oskar Eustis. Berkeley Rep’s Roda Theatre, 2015 Addison St., Berkeley.  90 minutes. (510) 647-2949. www.berkeleyrep.org. Through April 21, 2013.

FALLACI A DRAMATIC ‘TWO HANDER’ AT BEREKLEY REP

If you are not familiar with the name Oriana Fallaci you are not alone. If so, plan on arriving early to read the program and discover she was an Italian journalist that became famous for her confrontational yet influential interviews of people in power as well as the famous in Hollywood. These included Quaddafi, Castro, Kissinger, Indira Gandhi, Golda Meir among others. Where journalists are expected to be factual without bias, she injected her personal views often being accused of writing self-serving articles that had more than a touch of fiction.

Pulitzer Prize winning author Lawrence Wright is himself a journalist famous for his essays in The New Yorker and best-selling books about al Qaeda and Scientology. He also writes plays and has acted in many of his own monologues. His journalistic background qualifies him to create a script where a fledgling journalist undertakes to interview Fallaci and before the evening is complete the pair is inextricably fused.

Fallaci who has been diagnosed with lung cancer has become a relative recluse in her New York apartment. Maryam (Marjan Neshat) a neophyte female New York Times reporter arrives to interview Fallaci (Concetta Tomei).

When Fallaci discovers that the purpose of the visit is to obtain data for her obituary the first conflict begins. Bit by bit Wright feeds scraps of information about each character into the play. Maryam is an Iranian and her family were resistant to the oppressive regime. Similarly Fallaci’s family were resistance fighters to the Italian fascists regime in World War II. Fallaci herself became an active fighter at the age of 14. After dropping out of medical school she became a full time reporter in Italy with an astounding career that brought her to the United States and places throughout the world. Her stint in Vietnam that reported the atrocities committed there where written after her actual visits to the front lines. She even interviewed the North Vietnamese. After the 9/11 downing of the World Trade building she wrote a scalding book denouncing Muslims that sold 500,000 copies in Italy.

The play is written in three scenes and the second scene takes place three years later. A more mature Maryam is back to confront Fallaci and we learn that Maryam had returned to Iran suffering severe indignities. The verbal exchanges between them start out as arguments about their differences but by end of the second scene their differences become shockingly similar and by the end of third scene, that is an epilog after Fallaci’s death, ends the evening on a hopeful note.

Neshat and Tomei are both superb and director Oska Eustis keeps the verbal sparring and the stage movements flowing adding emphasis to a rather strange play that will keep you thinking and may influence you to go to the Internet to find out the whole story about this tiger of a woman.

Photo: – courtesy of kevinberne.com – Marjan Neshat portrays a young woman sent to interview Fallaci – Concetta Tomei portrays legendary journalist Oriana Fallaci 

Kedar K. Adour, MD

Opera Queens Stephen and Mendy discuss records and love.L to R: Michael Sally (Mendy) and Matt Weimer (Stephen).

THE LISBON TRAVIATA by Terrence McNally. Directed by Dennis Lickteig. New Conservatory Theatre Center, (Decker Theatre), located at 25 Van Ness Avenue near Market Street in San Francisco, 94102. (415) 861-8972 or online at www.nctcsf.org.  Through March 31, 2013

McNALLY’S THE LISBON TRAVIATA HAS FINE ENSEMBLE ACTING

The multitalented Terrence McNally has many interests, two of which are opera (Maria Callas in particular) and gay relationships. He paid homage to Callas in 1995 with his Master
Class that became the award winning vehicle for many actresses including Zoe Caldwell and Patti Lapone.  His plays involving gay relationships are legendary including Love, Valor and Compassion and Lips Together, Teeth Apart that received an excellent performance at NCTC last year.

The Lisbon Traviata predates those mentioned above (1989) and became a starring vehicle for Nathan Lane who played the role of the opera devotee Mendy in San Francisco and on Broadway. It is a juicy role that Michael Sally performs with gusto and perfect timing that is reminiscent of Nathan Lane and that is good. The other three members of the cast give yeomen performances creating a unified ensemble effort.

Clever McNally creates two distinct character types, those who appreciate opera and those who do not. If you are of the former persuasion you will be more appreciative of act one where Mendy is sharing an evening of esoteric opera banter with good friend Stephen, a top-notch editor who has perfect pitch for music and a fantastic store of opera trivia. Mendy and Stephen  seem to be made for each other and there is more than a suggestion that they were intimate in the past. If Mendy had his way, they would (could?) be so again.

The title of the play derives from 1958 Callas production of La Traviata  at Teatro Nacional de Sao Carlos in Lisbon. An unauthorized recording was made of the live performance and due to the limited number of copies; it became a collector’s item. Stephen just happens to have a copy and Mendy wants to hear it now and not tomorrow. The record is in Stephen’s apartment where Mike (Philippe Gosselin) his doctor lover of eight years is having a tryst with Paul (Adam Roy) a hunky graduate student.  Apparently it is an “open” relationship and Stephen is scheduled to have an assignation with a young fledgling writer who is a waiter. That meeting never happens and Stephen stays over at Mendy’s place.

We learn a good deal about Mike who appears briefly     and Paul who never appears in act one, through conversations, telephone calls and answering machines. The banter is decidedly gay with some great zingers as Stephen and Mendy upstage each other with their individual knowledge of opera. The entire act can be described as frothy with a touch of uncertainty prescience of drama in act two.

During intermission the entire set depicting Mendy’s colorful cluttered apartment is replaced with the immaculate apartment of Mike and Stephen. It becomes apparent through subtle directorial touches that Mike is a compulsive. Licktig moves the characters about the stage creating understated apprehension and conflict. Whereas humor abounds in act one it is totally absent in act two where Stephen returns early to meet a nude Paul stepping out of the bedroom. What happens could be the basis of an opera and the outcome will not be divulged here.

Although the storyline is riveting the running time of 2 hours and 25 minutes is a bit long. However, this play is stunning and well worth seeing.

Kedar K. Adour, MD