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Sep 01 2012
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Second Time Director

By Guest Review

I would not by any stretch consider myself a “director” of theatre, no matter how small.  My own experience is very small, but I must confess I have felt it grow this afternoon in ways I would not have anticipated.  The call came from a friend, an amateur playwright who had penned a two-acter some years ago, based on true events in her own life.  This was to be “readers’ theatre” by non-actors in a community centers, with three rehearsals (and I would have to miss the first) one week apart before curtain.  As I was the only one among her circle of friends who had any directorial experience (see above), I was tapped and with a few misgivings and prequalifications, accepted.

As noted, I missed the first rehearsal.  At the second, two of the eight actors arrived without their scripts.  All but one had NO acting experience.  Neither a good sign.  But things improved by the third.  As “director” I must make do with what I had in hand, and hope for the best.  By the end of the dress rehearsal—lost scripts, missed cues, a general dearth of relevant emotion given the incipient deaths of three of the characters and the actual deaths of two, a different actor each time for the role of  “the stranger,” all compounded by the complete ineptitude of the “director”—it seemed clear that only the most modest of aspirations were likely to be met.

The audience would be shanghaied from among those departing community center lunch in the early afternoon.  Not likely to be terribly critical, if they were at least mildly entertained.

And here is what happened:  All of the “readers” became by miraculous osmosis “actors,” and assumed that wonderful generosity arises when cues are missed, props fail, actors don’t show up, pages are missing from the script.  We had a full house who caught all the humor in the playwright’s lines and the cast’s delivery and laughed all the way through it.  By any measure except box office, the show was a huge success.

And here is what else happened:  One of the cast came up to the director, and thanked me for all that she had learned from me.  I found out it was the other way around.

[Special thanks to Anna Boothe, playwright (Six Months to Live) and stage manager, and to: Tom Sullivan, Lydia Benetiz, Gus Tjgaard, Joyce Sorce, Jeanne Angle, Karim Kiram, Manuel Sequeria, Dick Moody, and Camincha, and Janice at the Pacifica Community Center]

by David Hirzel   http://davidhirzel.net/

 

Aug 31 2012
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‘Chinglish’ is a two-act, double-barreled comic winner

By Woody Weingarten

Michelle Krusiec and Alex Moggridge star in “Chinglish,” a comedy at the Berkeley Rep. Photo, courtesy kevinberne.com

 

It’s fast-paced.

It’s a clever dismemberment of East-West cultural differences and the mind-muddles created by shoddy translation.

And it’s consistently funny.

The laughter starts even before “Chinglish” — a two-act bilingual comedy at the Berkeley Rep — begins.

Humdrum theater messages about shutting off cell phones and finding exits in case of emergency become a gigglefest by being simulcast incomprehensibly in Mandarin and English.

Mostly, the show’s hilarity doesn’t translate well in a review — the best lines just don’t work on paper.

On stage and in context, though, hilarity is guaranteed.

I guess you have to be there.

As the play unfolds, playwright David Henry Hwang and director Leigh Silverman rarely wait for one chuckle to subside before beckoning the next. I sometimes felt as if I were witnessing a stand-up’s jackhammer delivery rather than a two-hour production.

Supertitle projections of mangled English translations — readable white letters against a gray backdrop — added a steady stream of chortles.

The story, which underscores cultural, political and relationship gaps between citizens of the United States and China, focuses on an ineffectual American salesman and ex-Enron lackey (Daniel Cavanaugh, portrayed exquisitely by Alex Moggridge) who has traveled to Asia to lock up a game-changing contract for his family’s sign-making business.

He quickly becomes entangled with a sexy bureaucrat (Michelle Krusiec as Xi Yan), a British teacher masquerading as a consultant (Brian Nishii playing Peter), and a Communist minister trapped in a futile attempt to save face and freedom (Larry Lei Zhang as Cai).

Krusiec foreshadows the verbal shenanigans that lie ahead when, following a torrent of English words, she declares in Mandarin, “I didn’t catch a word.”

He later offers a perfect parallel to define the farce: “I don’t have a clue what’s really going on around here.”

One set piece, in which the enigmatic phrase “through the back door” repeatedly jumps out, is particularly engaging. Even more sidesplitting is an intercultural jumbled-word exchange reminiscent of the classic Abbott & Costello “Who’s on First” routine.

I also enjoyed watching Moggridge and Krusiec banter at length with a zero-sum understanding until, exhausted, they seemingly agree on a lone point and gleefully high-five each other.

Massive miscommunications tend to retain a vise-like grip on the audience’s funnybone. Such as when Moggridge tries to mumble “I love you” in Mandarin but it comes out, the third time around, as “Frog loves to pee.”

The more serious shades of “Chinglish” brought to my mind the real-life scandal revolving around Gu Kailai, wife of deposed political leader Bo Xilai. She was just given a two-year reprieve from the death penalty imposed for murdering a British businessman, and that is likely to be reduced to a life sentence.

For the record, there’s no reference in this play — which was written before the scandal erupted — to murder.

But the 55-year-old, Los Angeles-born Hwang, who won a Tony for “M. Butterfly” and an Obie for “Yellow Face,” obviously can “kill” at the box office. He just received a $200,000 Steinberg Distinguished Playwright Award for his body of solo work covering a 32-year span.

For “Chinglish,” on the other hand, he worked closely with a translator — because Hwang speaks only English.

The show, a co-production with the South Coast Repertory, had a four-month Broadway run starting in October 2011. After playing in Costa Mesa next January, it will go to Hong Kong, where it will be a March festival entry.

In Berkeley, revolving, beautifully designed sets by David Korins prove how rapidly locales can be switched.

And basic-black, we-mean-business costumes by Anita Yavich are impeccably functional. Brilliantly contrasting is her outlandish garb for a male Chinese translator: white shoes and ostentatious argyle sweater.

Sound by Darron L. West (particularly effective between scenes) and lighting by Brian MacDevitt (stretching from subtle to blinding) are both executed seamlessly and augment theatergoers’ pleasure.

“Chinglish” has time to play with only a few of the 10,000 Chinese calligraphy characters that comprise the language. Despite that, the show’s clearly a double-barreled winner.

With that appraisal in mind, I’m convinced you should seriously consider seeing it — twice, perhaps.

“Chinglish” plays at the Berkeley Repertory Theatre‘s Roda Theatre, 2015 Addison St., Berkeley, through Oct. 21. Night performances, Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Wednesdays and Sundays, 7 p.m. Matinees, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays, 2 p.m. Tickets: $14.50 to $99, subject to change, (510) 647-2949 or www.berkeleyrep.org.

Aug 31 2012
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PRECIOUS LITTLE at Shotgun Players is flawed but intriguing.

By Kedar K. Adour

PRECIOUS LITTLE by Madeleine George and directed by Marissa Wolf. Shotgun Players, The Ashby Stage, 1901 Ashby Avenue, Berkeley, 510-841-6500 or www.shotgunpllayers.org.

August 18 – September 9

PRECIOUS LITTLE at Shotgun Players is flawed but intriguing.

Shotgun Players are noted for their undertakings that are often provocative but never dull. A plethora of synonyms include challenging, disturbing, exciting and often stimulating. Their present staging of Precious Little by 13P playwright Marissa Wolf is all of those with added description of being more than somewhat offensive to this reviewer. It did not have to be and if the author had utilized the benefit of a few more readings it could have been avoided.

The problem starts with the fact that she was one of 13 mid-career playwrights who founded the group Thirteen Playwrights ( www.13p.org) in 2003 who objected to “the trend of endless readings and new play development programs” that affected “the texture and ambition of new American plays” and decided to ignore that process. They put on full productions of each new play with the author as artistic director. If this play was scrutinized (subjected to?) the rigors of development the perceived flaw could have easily been avoided.

The fine cast of Zehra Berkman, Nancy Carlin and Rami Margron give superlative performances playing a total of eight parts with Carlin giving a Tony Award winning performance as the Ape.

Nancy Carlin (the Ape), Zehra Berkman (Brodie), Rami Margron (Zoo Goers); Photo by Pak Han

With an opening scene of the Ape elegantly eating a celery stick, sticking out her tongue and puckering her lips and telling us she can do so, while the Zoo Goer(s) (the multitalented Rami Margron) mouthing inane comments looks on grabs the audience’s attention.

It is the next scene where the protagonist Brodie (Zehra Berkman) a 42 year old linguist who has had artificial insemination and undergoes an amniocentesis to determine if the baby will have genetic defects is being advised of the possible problem by a neophyte interviewer (Margron) who is completely inept in the art of counseling. The scene generates laughs and is an insult to the medical profession. The fact that there is evidence of abnormal chromosomes will force a Brodie to make a life altering choice. To amplify the turmoil, sonograms of the uterus and fetus are projected on the back wall.

Thrown into the decision making is the unnecessary fact that Brodie is a lesbian and her lover (Margon again) encourages an abortion. Brodie’s turmoil is compounded when she learns the fetus is a girl. The remainder of the play emphasizes the use of language and Carlin becomes an elderly mid-European widow, Dorothy Cleva, who is one of the few able to speak an archaic language and Brodie is recording her speech patterns for posterity. Sadly, the process of recording unconnected words triggers horrendous past memories and throws the widow into panic depression.

Precious Little is a splendid production with the fine acting, adept staging and multiple levels of interest compressed into 80 minutes without intermission. Shotgun does not disappoint but the play needs work.

Kedar K. Adour, MD

Courtesy of www.theatreworldinternetmagazine.com

Aug 31 2012
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Arthur Miller’s ALL OF MY SONS holds up very well at the Masquers Theatre

By Kedar K. Adour

ALL MY SONS: Drama by Arthur Miller, directed by Dennis Lickteig. Masquers Playhouse, Highway 580 (Richmond Parkway exit) at 105 Park Place, Point Richmond across from the Hotel Mac. www.masquers.org or (510) 232-4031 August 24 – September 29, 2012.

Arthur Miller’s ALL OF MY SONS holds up very well at the Masquers Theatre

Many of us sometime have surely wondered the consequences of ‘what if’ a series of events had or had not occurred. In the case of Arthur Miller one could wonder ‘what if’ his 1941 play All of My Sons” was not a hit on Broadway. It was of course, winning him his first Tony Award for best author and wiping out the stigma of his first commercial venture of “The Man Who Had All the Luck” that lasted only four performances.  He went on to be a giant in the theatre garnering a Pulitzer Prize for his Death of a Salesman.

Miller is known for portraying characters who are reaching for the American Dream and so it is with the Keller family in general and the patriarch Joe in particular.  It is based on a factual incident of a woman who informed on her father who had sold faulty parts to the U.S. military during World War II. Joe Keller who grew up in poverty and now owns a profitable parts manufacturing plant, shipped out defective P-40 cylinder heads to the U.S. Air Force that resulted in the crash of 21 planes and the death of their pilots.

The play is tightly constructed in the Aristotelian concept of the three Unities of Time, Place and Action. It takes place in the backyard of the Keller’s home in a Midwestern town from early Sunday morning in August to early morning the next day. The back story took place three and half years earlier when Joe and his partner/neighbor Steve Deever allowed the defective parts to be shipped. Both were convicted but Joe through a lie was exonerated and Steve remains in jail. At about the same time eldest son Larry Keller was listed as killed in action when his plane crashed in China. His mother Kate refuses to believe he is dead and is certain that Larry will return even though they have planted a ‘memorial tree’ in the back yard. Steve Deever’s children Ann and George who lived next door have moved away in disgrace from the house next door now owned by doctor Jim Bayliss and wife Sue.

Younger son Cris Keller has returned from the war and is the idol of his father and to those men who have known him. Two of these men are Dr. Bayliss and George Deever. Chris has been writing to Ann Deever. That relationship has blossomed and they are on the verge of marriage even though they have not seen each other in three years. Kate will have none of this and insists Ann is ‘Larry’s girl’ and she should be waiting for him to return. Kate and the town know of Joe’s duplicity but Joe is in denial, assured that he is well liked in the community.

At the opening of the play there has been a storm and Larry’s memorial tree has been blown down. Kate suggests that this is an omen that Larry will return.  Ann at Chris’s behest returns and the conflict begins. When is it appropriate to tell Kate of their intentions? Kate’s unreasonableness escalates throwing the family into turmoil and after an expository first act there is an explosion of temperament and Ann reveals a devastating letter from Larry that decimates all and leads to a proof of the fact that Joe was guilty of allowing the defective parts to be sent out.

Director Lickteig has taken liberties with the script, deleting the role of Bert a little neighbor boy who frequently visits the Keller’s yard to play “jail” with Joe. He has also diluted the role of two other characters Frank Lubey and wife Lydia cutting some very cogent lines.

The cast gives very uneven performances with the exception of Marilyn Hughes as Kate as she gives a performance to match her stellar role as the mother in Broadway Bound. The remainder of the cast includes Reuben Alvear II, Jacqui Herrera, Joseph Hirsch, David Irving, Steph Peek, Carina Lastimosa Salazar and Louis Schilling.

Kedar K. Adour, MD

Courtesy of www.theatreworldinternetmagazine.com

 

Aug 31 2012
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Time Stands Still at TheatreWorks has great acting

By Kedar K. Adour

TIME STANDS STILL: Drama. By Donald Margulies. Directed by Leslie Martinson. TheatreWorks, Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts, 500 Castro St., Mountain View. 650-463-1960, www.theatreworks.org. August 25- September 16, 2012

Time Stands Still at TheatreWorks has great acting

War is hell and journalists and photo-journalists have been recording the devastation and atrocities for decades with the Vietnam War being the first to record those events in actual time through the media of television. In areas where TV crews do not have access to the ongoing destruction, written reports are documented by actual photos. In those photographs ‘time stands still’ hence the play’s title. Have you ever wondered about the personalities of those who devote a goodly portion of their lives doing the recording?

In Donald Margulies 2010 Tony nominated play Time Stands Still receiving its regional premiere at TheatreWorks his main characters are two such professionals. Although the actors perform admirably and often brilliantly, motivation is only partially addressed and the play sort of fizzles out rather than stimulate discussion. As always, the production values at TheatreWorks are superb with Eric Flatmo’s perfect artist loft scenic design, complemented by the costume design of Anna Oliver, lighting design by Mike Palumbo, and sound design by Greg Robinson. Rebecca Dines in the lead role gets better each year displaying the complexities of any character she undertakes. Local favorite Mark Phillip Anderson performs admirably and makes the overwritten part believable.

Sarah (Rebecca Dines) is a photojournalist and James (Mark Phillip Anderson) reporters who have lived together for 8 years and have had near death experiences covering a Middle-East war. James has departed from the war zone months earlier after witnessing a female suicide bomber at close range and having a psychological meltdown. Sarah has been seriously injured from a roadside bomb and spent weeks in a coma in a military hospital.

The damaged Sarah with full left leg cast, immobilized left arm and shrapnel pockmarked face is brought home to their Brooklyn loft to recuperate and reassess their lives. To round out the story line James’s best friend, middle-aged Richard (Rolf Saxon), who is also Sarah’s editor, and former lover, arrives with Mandy (Sarah Moser), a charming, loquacious young lady who brings “Get Well” balloons to Sarah. Mandy assures Sarah that even though “I’m not religious, I have been saying prayers for you” and demonstrates.

Margulies, a Pulitzer Prize winner for Dinner With Friends is a master at displaying the interaction of couples. Whereas Sarah and James are reevaluating their relationship, so too are Frank and Mandy. Frank insists is it is more than a May-September romance. Margulies has taken a page from Shakespeare and given the apparent bimbo (read jester) Mandy some very incisive human nature truisms that conflict with Sarah’s defensive posture. Wouldn’t it be better to feed the child, or help the injured woman rather than record the carnage? Sarah’s only equivocal answer is, “It is what I do.”

The time frame stretches over about one and half to two years, allowing time for Sarah to recuperate, Frank and Mandy to marry and have a child and for James and Sarah to decide that they should marry. And what a marriage it is catered by Mandy the events planner! Rather than being a happy occasion it brings up old emotional wounds involving Sarah’s love for her native interpreter who was killed in the blast that crippled her. The marriage is emotionally over the day of the wedding. After this penultimate scene there is a brief addendum that takes place six months later with James having a new live-in and Sarah steps to the stage apron and snaps a picture. . . thus indicating that ‘time stands still’ at this very moment? Maybe so but it is a far stretch.

Kedar K. Adour, MD

Courtesy of www.theatreworldinternetmagazine.com.

 

Aug 31 2012
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The Liar–Fun Filled French Farce at Marin Shakespeare

By Flora Lynn Isaacson

Cat Thompson as Clarice and Darren Bridgett as Dorante in The Liar.

Marin Shakespeare Company is currently presenting The Liar by David Ives, adapted from the comedy of Pierre Corneille and directed by Robert Currier.  Featuring rhyming couplets, high energy and comic timing, playwright David Ives’ clever adaptation of this 17th century French farce was heralded as “a true comic gem” when commissioned and presented by Washington D.C.’s Shakespeare Theatre in 2010.  “It is neither a translation nor an adaptation,” according to Ives, “It is what I call a translaptation.  The play is partly a social satire about how lies work within a society, within love, how lies are woven into the fabric of things.  It shows how lies can feed love and actually create love.”

When the first few lines of Marin Shakespeare’s production of The Liar were spoken, Stephen Muterspaugh, who delightfully plays the role of Cliton, Dorante’s servant, begins the play in iambic pentameter, reminding the audience to turn off their brains and announcing the next two hours of the play will be in rhyme.

The Liar starts out with Dorante (Darren Bridgett), a young man just arrived in Paris who meets two women in the Tuileries in Paris whose names are Clarice (Cat Thompson) and Lucrece (Elena Wright).  He impresses them with his claim to have returned recently from the wars in Germany and boasts of the vital role he played.  After they leave, he decides to court Clarice mistakenly thinking her name to be that of her friend, Lucrece.  These two women have identical twin maids (both brilliantly played by Natasha Noel). One is a saucy promiscuous wench and the other, a straight laced puritan.

Geronte (Jarion Monroe), Dorante’s father, announces to his son that he has found a girl for him to marry (Clarice).  Dorante, wrongly believing that the girl he likes is Lucrece, concocts an outrageous lie that he is already married in order to avoid having to marry Clarice.

After more fabrications and complications, Dorante reveals that his “wife” is pregnant, and Geronte is infuriated to discover he was lied to.  Dorante eventually tells the truth and the play is resolved happily.

Robert Currier’s robust staging of The Liar whips past at high speed.  The whole cast is outstanding.  James Hiser as Alsippe, Clarice’s secret fiance, gets a well deserved applause for each of his scenes and Scott Coopwood, as Philiste, Alsippe’s friend, stalks about at various times carrying a book with various plays by Shakespeare, from Anthony and Cleopatra to Othello, Hamlet and As You Like It, during which times, the actors involved will be quoting lines from the plays.

The sets designed by Mark Robinson which take place in the Tuileries Place Royal and the Bois de Boulange are charming with square trees and have a pop-out book sensibility.  Award-winning Costume Designer Abra Berman has produced beautiful costumes from the Restoration era.  Billie Cox has composed original Parisian music to put us in the mood and Ellen Brooks’ lighting design is perfection.

To sum up The Liar boasts a sense of playfulness throughout and Currier has directed his expert ensemble cast with a great deal of style.  Go see The Liar, you’ll laugh and have a great time!

The Liar plays August 25-September 3, 2012.  Performances are at 8 p.m. Friday-Saturday and 4 p.m. Sunday at Forest Meadows Amphitheatre, 890 Belle Avenue, Dominican University of California, San Rafael.  For tickets, call 499-4488 or go to www.marinshakespeare.org.

Flora Lynn Isaacson

Aug 31 2012
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CHINGLISH at Berkeley Rep a marvelous multi-cultural farce.

By Kedar K. Adour

(l to r) Michelle Krusiec and Alex Moggridge star in Berkeley Rep’s production of Chinglish, a new comedy from David Henry Hwang which heads for Hong Kong after having its West Coast premiere here. Photo courtesy of kevinberne.com

CHINGLISH by David Henry Hwang. Directed by Leigh Silverman. Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Roda Theatre, 2015 Addison Street @ Shattuck, Berkeley, CA 94704. (510) 647-2949 or berkeleyrep.org. August 24 – October 7, 2012

CHINGLISH at Berkeley Rep a marvelous multi-cultural farce.

To open their 2012-2013 season the innovative, multi-award winning Berkeley Rep has come up with another sparkling production from the pen of David Henry Hwang whose M Butterfly won the Tony Award in 1988 and gained further fame with Yellow Face earning a Pulitzer Prize nomination in 2008. This time around Chinglish took Chicago by storm in its world premiere in 2011 before heading off to Broadway. The Rep, in conjunction with the South Coast Repertory Theatre has brought the show to the Bay area keeping Leigh Silverman as director, David Korins scenic design and costumes by Anita Yavich.

Do not be deterred by the fact that great chunks of the dialog is in Mandarin since the easily read super-titles give a literal translation and that is more than half of the fun of the play. In fact it is those English definitions of Chinese phrases that have been garnering laughs as they have made the rounds on the Internet such as “Deformed Man’s Toilet” to indicate a handicapped restroom and the risqué “Don’t forget your thing” meaning do not leave your thing(s) behind.

Those skewed malapropisms is the reason why innocent abroad Daniel Cavanaugh (Alex Moggridge) is in Guiyang one of China’s lesser-known cities. The powers that be are attempting to attract more tourists and are building a cultural Arts Center with a dire need to have signs accurately translated from Chinese to English. Who better than the “Cleveland Signage Co.”, a family run business with Daniel as the C.E.O. . . . if there is such a title. More about that later.

The play is book ended by Daniel giving a speech to the local Cleveland Rotary on how to conduct business in China using his experiences of being there three years ago. Moggeridge displays his charming wit and comic timing using the super-titles hilariously showing how the meaning can be lost in translation. This humor is even more cogent with the personal misinterpretations prominently translated by the super-titles as the play progresses.

Every businessman should know that if you don’t speak the language you need a consultant. Enter Peter (Brian Nishii), a Britisher who has been teaching English in China for many years now passing himself off as an experienced consultant who he is not. Daniel is taught the subtleties of negotiations and ‘back-door’ favors since he Peter, unbeknownst to Daniel, is involved in such shenanigans that eventually are revealed and come back to bite him on the butt, not actually but significantly enough to depart his career of consulting and possible to share a cell with devious Minister Cai (Larry Lei Zhang).

The first meeting brings gales of laughter as the inept interpreter Miss Qian (Celeste Den) screws up the translation. Poor Daniel’s ‘small’ company becomes an insignificant one and these mistakes go on and on with Xi Yan (Michelle Krusiec) occasionally interceding. When all seems lost Xi Yan takes Daniel under her wing and into bed because he has a “good honest face.” Their attempts at meaningful conversation, with appropriate super titles, are both bittersweet and laugh inducing.

The laughs end when Xi Yan discovers that the Cleveland Signage Company exists only on the Internet and Daniel’s connection with the Enron scandal is revealed. Never fear the play is a farce and miscues are morphed into winners and so it is for all but Minister Cai and Peter.

The set that has been brought intact from the Chicago and Broadway productions is an absolute marvel with two revolving platforms, each with three sections that become cafes, hotel lobbies, hotel bedrooms, clinical appearing office spaces, revolving doors with the addition of remote controlled chairs that glide on and off stage. If you wish to read the cultural implications of the Chinese/American differences be my guest. My suggestion is just go and enjoy a great evening of theatre. Running time about 2 hours with and intermission.

Kedar K. Adour, MD

Courtesy of www.theatreworldinternetmagazine.com

 

Aug 30 2012
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War-weary journalists reach critical crossroads in “Time Stands Still”

By Judy Richter

Critically injured by a roadside bomb inIraq, a photojournalist returns home to herBrooklyn loft to recuperate. She’s accompanied by her longtime live-in lover, a foreign correspondent who has witnessed the horrors of combat, too. As they try to recover, they look closely at their relationship and consider the future.

Thus Donald Margulies’ “Time Stands Still” unfolds in TheatreWorks’  riveting regional premiere.

 Her left arm in a sling, her left leg braced, her right arm using a crutch and her body scarred, Rebecca Dines plays the photojournalist, Sarah Goodwin.  Mark Anderson Phillips portrays her lover, James Dodd. In her richly nuanced performance, Dines conveys Sarah’s physical and emotional pain, while Phillips slowly reveals the strains of James’s post-traumatic stress disorder.

 They’re occasionally visited by another couple, Richard Ehrlich (Rolf Saxon) and Mandy Bloom (Sarah Moser). A longtime friend of Sarah and James, Richard also is a magazine photo editor who has professional ties to them. Mandy is his new girlfriend, much younger and — initially — quite naive, even ditzy.

 Over the several months covered by the play, however, Moser shows that Mandy is a stronger, more complex woman than meets the eye. Saxon’s Richard is both tactful and caring with his two friends and loving with Mandy.

 Eventually Sarah and James reach a crossroads in their relationship, when they must decide what to do next. Both gain insight into their careers. “I live off the suffering of strangers,” Sarah laments. Nevertheless, she seems to thrive on the adventure and to believe idealistically that the images she captures can somehow make a difference.

Under the expert guidance of director Leslie Martinson, all four actors contribute to the brilliance of this fascinating play and production. Although Erik Flatmo’s high-ceilinged set swallows a few lines, it does capture the ambience of an urban loft. The costumes are by Anna R. Oliver with lighting by Michael Palumbo and sound by Gregory Robinson. The makeup artist isn’t credited but deserve kudos for Dines’s realistic-looking wounds.

 “Time Stands Still” continues at the Mountain ViewCenterfor the Performing Arts through Sept. 16. For tickets and information, call (650) 463-1960 or visit www.theatreworks.org.

Aug 28 2012
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Shakespeare and lots more in Ashland

By Judy Richter

With the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in full swing, it’s possible to spend a week in Ashland,OR, and see a total of nine plays in three theaters — two of them indoors, the other outdoors.

 

On the outdoor Elizabethan Stage (modeled on the Old Globe where William Shakespeare premiered most of his works), the lineup features the Bard’s “Henry V” and “As You Like It” plus the world premiere of Alison Carey’s “The Very Merry Wives of Windsor, Iowa,” based on the Bard’s “Merry Wives of Windsor” through the second weekend in October.

 The indoor Angus Bowmer Theatre (named after the festival’s founding artistic director) is offering four works through the first weekend in November: Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” plus “Animal Crackers” by George S. Kaufman and Morrie Ryskind; “Medea/Macbeth/Cinderella,” Tracy Young and artistic director Bill Rauch’s combination-adaptation of Euripides’ “Medea,” Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” and Rodgers and <B>Hammerstein’s “Cinderella”; and the world premiere of Robert Schenkkan’s “All the Way.”

 The smaller, more intimate New Theatre has the final two offerings: Shakespeare’s “Troilus and Cressida” and the world premiere of UNIVERSES’s “Party People.” The two shows that have already closed (the season begins in late February) are artistic director emeritus Libby Appel’s adaptation of Anton Chekhov’s “The Seagull” and the world premiere of “The White Snake,” Mary Zimmerman’s adaptation of a classic Chinese fable. The latter production will be seen as part of Berkeley Repertory Theatre’s 2012-13 season.

 While the play’s the thing in Ashland, this Southern Oregon city also has an array of restaurants from casual to white tablecloth, interesting shops, the beautiful and adjacent Lithia Park, nearby wineries and numerous outdoor recreational activities.

My most recent visit there was all too short, so I was able to see only two plays, as follows:

ALL THE WAY

As it did with “Party People,” the festival commissioned Robert Schenkkan’s “All the Way” as part of its American Revolutions: The United States History Cycle. This 10-year program of commissioning up to 37 plays aims to explore moments of change in U.S. history.

 “All the Way” focuses on the approximately 11 months between the time that Lyndon Baines Johnson became president upon the assassination of President John F. Kennedy on Nov. 22, 1963, and Johnson’s election victory in early November 1964.

 The first act concentrates on Johnson’s efforts to secure congressional passage of the landmark Civil Rights Act, while the second looks primarily at his efforts to defeat Republican Sen. Barry Goldwater ofArizonaat the polls. (The title comes from Johnson’s election slogan, “All the way with LBJ.”) There’s also a whiff of the seeds of the Vietnam War in a brief mention of the Gulf of Tonkin incident and mention of the War on Poverty, a centerpiece of Johnson’s elected term in office.

 This production features Jack Willis as LBJ. Even though he calls himself “the accidental president,” Johnson was an outsized figure who used every trick in the book — from flattery to threats — to achieve his goals. Willis embodies this temperamental, wily Texan without actually imitating him. It’s a tour de force performance.

 Others in the excellent ensemble cast play a variety of characters, most of whom were household names to those of us who remember those turbulent times. Terri McMahon plays LBJ’s long-suffering, loyal wife, Lady Bird Johnson, as well as Washington Post publisher Katherine Graham. Christopher Liam Moore is featured as another long-suffering, loyal confidante, aide Walter Jenkins, who had to resign in disgrace after being caught in a romantic encounter with another man. Ironically, the person who brought this incident to LBJ’s attention was FBI director J. Edgar Hoover (Richard Elmore), who later was outed himself.

 Also featured are Peter Frechette as Sen. Hubert Humphrey and Sen. Strom Thurmond; Mark Murphey as Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara and others; Jonathan Haugen as Alabama Gov. George Wallace and others; David Kelley as Sen. Everett Dirksen and others; Douglas Rowe as Sen. Richard Russell and others; and Erica Sullivan as Lurleen Wallace and Muriel Humphrey.

 In his efforts to pass the Civil Rights Act, LBJ tried to enlist prominent black leaders, who didn’t necessarily agree about what was being proposed. They are portrayed by Daniel T. Parker as Stanley Levison of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference; Kenajuan Bentley as the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., SCLC co-founder; Tyrone Wilson as the Rev. Ralph Abernathy, SCLC co-founder; Derrick Lee Weeden as Roy Wilkins, executive director of the NAACP; Kevin Kenerly as Bob Moses, co-director of the Council of Federated Organizations, and David Dennis, a leader of the Congress of Racial Equality; Wayne T. Carr as Stokely Carmichael, an organizer for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, and others; and Gina Daniels as Coretta Scott King and Fannie Lou Hamer, a SNCC organizer who was arrested and beaten for trying to register Southern blacks to vote.

 One prominent person who doesn’t appear in the play but who is mentioned several times is Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, the slain president’s younger brother and someone whom Johnson privately despised.

 Schenkkan packs a lot of history and people into the play’s three hours, but it all works well, especially with Willis at the center. His LBJ may come across asTexashomespun and often humorous, but he was as shrewd and effective a politician and leader as ever sat in Oval Office. Credit for this play’s success also goes to artistic director Bill Rauch, who directed it. His artistic team includes scenic designer Christopher Acebo, costume designer Deborah M. Dryden, lighting designer Mark McCullough, projections designer Shawn Sagady and composer-sound designer Paul James Prendergast.

 ANIMAL CRACKERS

 In contrast to “All the Way,” George S. Kaufman and Morrie Ryskind’s “Animal Crackers” is sheer fluff, though expertly contrived fluff. Reconceived from an adaptation by Henry Wishcamper, with music and lyrics by Bert Kalmar and Harry Ruby, “Animal Crackers” was a vehicle for the zany antics of the Marx brothers — Groucho, Zeppo,Chicoand Harpo.

 This two-act, 1928 work is set in an estate on New York’s Long Island. The plot, superfluous as it is, centers around a society matron’s efforts to honor an African explorer and to display a painting by a prominent artist, while her social rival tries to sabotage her efforts.

 The real sabotage, however, comes from the characters originally played by the Marx brothers. Mark Bedard plays the explorer, Captain Jeffrey T. Spaulding, the Groucho character, complete with thick eyebrows, mustache and trademark walk. Eddie Lopez is Horatius Jamison, the Zeppo character, and others; John Tufts (alternating with Daisuke Tsuji) plays artist Emanuel Ravelli, the Chico character; and Brent Hinkley is The Professor, the blithely silent Harpo character.

 Also featured are Jonathan Haugen as Hives the butler and Roscoe W. Chandler, an arts patron; K.T. Vogt as hostess Mrs. Rittenhouse; Mandie Jenson as Arabella Rittenhouse, her daughter; Kate Mulligan as Mrs. Whitehead, Mrs. Rittenhouse’s rival; Jeremy Peter Johnston as several characters; and Laura Griffith as two characters.<P>

Allison Narver directs this hilarious romp with a sure hand, taking the antics just to the comic edge without allowing them to get out of hand. Scenic designer Richard L. Hay’s set features a lovely Art Deco proscenium in front and a platform for a five-member onstage band in back  (David O> is musical director).

 The elegant costumes (at least for the social set) are by Shigeru Yaji, with lighting by Geoff Korf and sound by Matt Callahan. The musical stagings are by Patti Colombo.

 For tickets and information, call (800) 219-8161 or go to www.osfashland.org.

 

Aug 28 2012
Love0

RIGHTS OF PASSAGE at NCTC a visual and intellectual treat.

By Kedar K. Adour

Wayan presents the story of Puntu. (L to R) Desiree Rogers (Moon) and Jomar Tagatac* (Wayan)

 

 

 

 

 

 

The World Premiere of Rights of Passage: A multi-media drama By Ed Decker and Robert Leone. Directed by Arturo Catricala. New Conservatory Theatre Center -Decker Theatre (NCTC), 25 Van Ness Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94102. 415-861-4914 X116 or www.nctcsf.org August 17, 2012 – September 16, 2012.

RIGHTS OF PASSAGE at NCTC a visual and intellectual treat.

During the past 31 years The New Conservatory Theatre Center has mounted plays/cabaret/monologists/musicals with consideration for the Gay community under the artistic direction of Ed Decker. Because of his leadership the comfortable 100 seat main theater has been named the Decker Theatre. The honor is well deserved since he has attracted quality directors, set designers, costume designers and a multitude of technical staff. Now he can add the accolade of being a talented playwright but he must share that accolade with his life-partner and co-author Robert Leone.

Rights of Passage playing in the Decker Theatre is an absolute gem with a multi-media production that should not be missed. The concept and development of the play has been a labor of love entwined with trials and tribulations during the past two years for the authors. Staged readings with feed-back, re-writes and consultation with the Human Rights Watch and the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission has created a universality not limited to one geographic area.

Decker and Leone have spent many years enjoying the beauty and culture of Bali while becoming involved in their customs and making life long friends. Thus creating a gay Hindu Balinese male whom they have named Wayan (Jomar Tagatac) to be their protagonist is as natural as the rising sun. Only it is Moon Goddess (Desiree Rogers) who in the prolog starts the ball rolling as Wayan tells the story of Puntu a child born half male and half female who hides from the people of his village. As the story is told, back-lit silhouettes of puppets act out the scene. Puntu’s dialog with the Moon is casual banter with humorous but significant overtones as he finally accepts that he is just the natural manifestation of all of us. . . part man and part woman.

Wayan is born during a storm and his birth leads to the death of his mother. To his grandmother Made (Michaela Greeley) this is a bad omen and she does not allow Wayan’s feet to touch the ground for 6 months lest he be invested with dark demons lurking below. The play is divided into birth, childhood and adulthood as our protagonist struggles to find a way to reconcile his Hindu heritage of duty to family and community with his attraction for other males and convince his hard working taxi driver father to accept him as he is.As the story progresses the production seamlessly integrates projections, lighting, dancing and puppetry to demonstrate the problems with rights (not ‘ rites’) of passage being true to oneself. The intermingled scenes can be touching, brutal and even humorous.

Klaus writes a letter to Santa. (Puppeteers from L to R) Dazie Rustin Grego, Christopher Morrell, and Anthony Rollins-Mullens.

One of the many memorable vignettes involves a puppet as a young German boy writing a letter Santa Claus down stage right with the projection of his youthful scrawl  appearing on the scrim center-stage rear. Puppets are also used simulate the horrendous sexual abuse of young girls to “teach them what their relationship to men should be.

Malawi lovers fight to marry. (L to R) Anthony Rollins-Mullins and Dazie Rustin Grego

In contrast to this bitter sweet moment is the crushing reality of a homophobic Serb brutalizing his gay brother and the imprisonment of two men insisting their love be recognized by their community in Malawi. With the short playlettes involving other cultures the authors have been very successful in demonstrating that gay rights and problems of acceptance are universal.

When the interim stories return to United States, Dazie Rustin Grego brings the house down with his stiletto heels and skin tight drag as she/he dances up a storm in Biloxi, Mississippi. Randall Nakano is superb both as Wayan’s father and as the soft spoken Joe the Plumber who tolerates a flaming queen who works in his shop.

This review could go on and on with about a dozen more fascinating moments playing out on the Decker Stage. The set is stunning ( Kuo-Hao Lo), the costumes gorgeous (Jorge Herandez), the lighting (Christian Mejia) and soundscape (AudioZephyrus) are adjuvant to specific scenes. The puppets (designer Allison Daniel) and their handlers play their parts perfectly. Having seen many shows directed by Arturo Catricala, it is without any caveat this is the best he has done.

Three cheers for the cast (only named as ‘ensemble’): RJ Castaneda, Michaela Greely, Dazie Rustin Grego, Christopher Morrell, Randal Nakano, Anthony Rollins-Mullens, Desiree Rogers and Jomar Tagatac. Running time about two hours with one intermission.

Kedar K. Adour, MD

Courtesy of www.theatreworldinternetmagazine.com