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Nov 01 2012
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ACT’s “Elektra” features Augesen, Dukakis

By Judy Richter

By Judy Richter

Echoes of the Trojan War and the generation-to-generation woes of Greece’s House of Atreus reverberate in Sophocles’ “Elektra,” presented by American Conservatory Theater in a translation and adaptation by playwright-scholar Timberlake Wertenbaker.

In brief, the title character, played by René Augesen, is still lamenting the murder of her father by her mother and her mother’s lover several years earlier. Elektra is hoping that her brother will return to Mycenae to avenge their father’s death. Because of her loud, unending mourning, Elektra has become something of an outcast in her own home and may be teetering on the brink of insanity.

In a tense confrontation between mother and daughter, the steely Clytemnestra (Caroline Lagerfelt) tells Elektra that she had killed Agamemnon to avenge his sacrificial murder of Elektra’s sister Iphigenia. Therefore, Clytemnestra felt her actions had been justified. ACT program notes go into further detail about all of the background leading up to this play, but Wertenbaker’s accessible translation provides basic background information clearly and simply.

Running 90 minutes without intermission, ACT’s production is directed by artistic director Carey Perloff, now in her 20th season with the company. Unlike many other classical Greek dramas, which use a Chorus of several people to comment on the action and serve as a kind of jury, this adaptation uses only one person, Olympia Dukakis, 81, to fill that role. With her silvery hair and dignified stage presence, Dukakis’s Chorus Leader serves as a voice of reason and a welcome counterpoint to Elektra’s rage. The Chorus Leader also helps the audience to explore the play’s key questions about the nature of justice.

Augesen, an ACT associate artist, has the daunting challenge of sustaining Elektra’s rage, grief and the frustration of being a powerless woman. She meets that challenge successfully even though her character’s extremes can be a bit much to take at times.

Lagerfelt’s Clytemnestra evokes little sympathy in her treatment of Elektra, yet she makes a persuasive argument for why she was so aggrieved by her husband. Nick Steen as Orestes, Elektra’s brother, brings an aura of strength, resolve and heroism as he returns and fulfills what he and Elektra see as his duty to avenge their father’s death.

Their sister, Chrysothemis, well played by Allegra Rose Edwards, has curried favor with their mother as a way of going along to get along, but Elektra wins her over. Among the other supporting characters, Anthony Fusco as Orestes’ Tutor has a standout scene when he gives a vivid (but fictional) description of Orestes’ death in a chariot race. Steven Anthony Jones as Aegisthus, Clytemnestra’s lover, and Titus Tompkins as Pylades, Orestes’ cousin and companion, complete the cast.

Ralph Funicello’s set foreshadows the play’s mood as the audience enters and sees a chain link fence topped by barbed wire stretching across the stage. Lighting by Nancy Schertler reveals the grimly black palace behind the fence and later uses red to symbolize the bloodshed within.

Costumes by Candice Donnelly run the gamut from, as Perloff says, ancient Greece to haute couture. The latter is seen in Chrysothemis, whose prissy white outfit evokes the mod mode of the late ’60s or early ’70s. Sound by Cliff Caruthers completes the play’s design components..

Another key element in this production is provided by composer David Lang’s haunting score, played and sometimes sung by cellist Theresa Wong, who sits on one side of the stage.

Because of its near-unrelenting keening, “Elektra” may be hard for some observers to take, but the acting and design elements are all outstanding.

“Elektra” will continue at American Conservatory Theater, 415 Mason St., San Francisco, through Nov. 18. For tickets and information call (415) 749-2228 or visit www.act-sf.org.

Nov 01 2012
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Mourning does not become ELEKTRA at ACT.

By Kedar K. Adour

 

L to R: René Augesen as Elektra, Olympia Dukakis as the Chorus Leader, and Allegra Rose Edwards as Chrysothemis in Sophocles’ Elektra. Photo by Kevin Berne.

ELEKTRA: Sophocles’ Greek Tragedy. A new translation by Olivier Award–winning playwright Timberlake Wertenbaker. Directed by Carey Perloff, American Conservatory Theatre (ACT), A.C.T.’s Geary Theater, 415 Geary Street, San Francisco. 415-749-2228 or www.act-sf.org. October 25 – November 18, 2012

Mourning does not become ELEKTRA at ACT.

The Greeks have invaded both sides of Bay Bridge with Berkeley Rep extending their run of the brilliant An Iliad and American Conservatory Theatre (ACT) mounting an adaptation of Sophocles’s Elektra that had its world premiere in 2010 at the Getty Villa outdoor theater in Los Angeles. ACT artistic director Carey Perloff directed the world premiere and has redirected the present staging bringing along local favorite Olympia Dukakis from the LA production.

The connection between Homer’s Iliad and Sophocles’ and Elektra is temporal. The Greek king Agamemnon has sacrificed his youngest daughter Iphigenia to the gods in exchange for a favorable wind to bring back his ships from the siege of Troy. His wife Clytemnestra (Caroline Lagerfelt) and her lover Aegisthus (Steven Anthony Jones) have murdered Agamemnon. The young son Orestes (Nick Steen), who would be a threat to the throne that Aegisthus has usurped, has been sent away to safety with his Tutor (Anthony Fusco). Elektra (Renee Augesen) and her sister Chrysothemis (Allegra Rose Edwards) have remained with their increasingly paranoid mother Clytemnestra. Whereas Chrysothemis is resigned to her fate, Elektra openly and often mourns the death of her father and seeks revenge.

Years have intervened but revenge remains paramount in the minds of Orestes, his best friend Pylades (Titus Tompkins) and the Tutor. The trio plan to arrive in disguise to kill Clytemnestra and Aegisthus. The deed gets done. End of play.

Although a few of the audience spontaneously arose to applaud the actors, the majority remained seated politely applauding and on exit did not exhibit the usual enthusiasm after seeing an Olympia Dukakis performance. The chorus in a Greek drama is extremely important since they unite the past, present and predict an ominous future. Dukakis makes her entrance from the aisle, to spend the major portion of the evening standing around while the action proceeds. She does not demonstrate her usual command of the stage and much of the time used excessive arm flaying.

Then too, the superb multitalented Augesen seemed to be emoting rather than acting as she groveled much of the time on the floor. Her quality acting did not project and this probably was the fault of the directing, translation and adaptation. For this concept production the set (Ralph Funicello) was a city slum area with a metal chain-link fence, topped with barbed wire extending across the full length of the stage with debris scattered about.

Caroline Lagerfelt & Rene Augesen

The finest performance is given by Caroline Lagerfelt. Her depiction of the arrogant paranoid Clytemnestra was regal and chilling conveying the treachery that is her undoing. Anthony Fusco gives a quality performance as the Tutor and Steven Anthony Jones’ brief entrance is powerful. Running time 90 minutes without intermission.

Kedar K. Adour, MD

Courtesy of www.theatreworldinternetmagazine.com

 

 

 

Oct 29 2012
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SO NICE TO COME HOME TO at Cinnabar is an asperous but appealing musical.

By Kedar K. Adour

SO NICE TO COME HOME TO: A World War II Musical. Music by Richard B. Evens, Lyrics by Kate Hancock, Book by Evans and Hancock. Suggested by two plays by J. M. Barrie. Cinnabar Theater, Petaluma, CA 707-763-8920 or www.cinnabartheater.org. October 26 – November 11.

SO NICE TO COME HOME TO at Cinnabar is an asperous but appealing musical.

Jan Klebe, founder of the often acclaimed Cinnabar Theatre commissioned a musical to have its world premiere in their Petaluma Theater. The result of that commission opened last night under an almost full moon on an exceptional balmy evening with the mostly mature audience anticipating an evening of nostalgia. They were not disappointed as nostalgia sang/rang from the rafters as the music and story crossed the stage apron.

For those of us who lived through the mid-forties when the world was at war and U.S. Bond drives were part of our existence, the nostalgia should have been more compelling. As noted, the subtitle of the play proclaims the “A World War II Musical” and the creators have not led us astray. The play takes place in New York City from Friday September 1 through Sunday through September 3, and a final scene on December 24th 1944. A lot can happen in New York in 3 days and it certainly does in this contemplative musical.

Based on James M. Barrie’s plays The Old Lady Shows Her Medals and The Twelve Pound Look the authors have cleverly interwoven the stories, given it a 1940s look, created songs in the style of that era and selected a very competent local cast. They were also fortunate to have Equity singer and actor Michael McGurk, a seasoned Broadway and roadshow veteran to bolster the cast.

After a rousing opening chorus, via radio, of “We’ll Never Give Up” the story begins. During those turbulent war years every parent, although having serious misgivings, were proud to have a son in the service of our country. Like the Lady in Barrie’s play, childless Kate Downey (Elly Lichenstein), has invented a son serving in Europe and shares her fantasy with her friend Jean (Valentine Osinski) with “He’s Such a Wonderful Boy” and “”My War Too.”

Another friend Al O’Donahu (Stephen Walsh) who entertains at the famous New York Stage Door Canteen has accidently ‘discovered’ 2nd Lt. Kenneth Dowling (Michael McGurk)erroneously assuming he is Kate’s son. When Al brings Kenneth, a Silver Star war hero, to Kate’s apartment the self-deception is compounded (“What Have We Got to Lose?”) for reasons that are made clear later in the play.

The secondary ‘twelve pound look’ plot is introduced when Kate completely by chance meets her former rich husband Harry Sims (powerful baritone Bill Neely) and his new trophy wife Eleanore ( you won’t recognize Valentine Osinski in this dual role). They have an aged butler named Tombs (Michael Van Why) that has been added for humor but to this reviewer is a misstep by the authors. However, when Michael Van Why struts his stuff as “Carmen Miranda” and “Rosie the Riveter” at the Stage Door Canteen he brings the house down. He has to share accolades with scene stealing, full bodied baritone Stephen Walsh as an emcee at the canteen. Another show stopper is an authentic Andrew Sisters style “Uncle Sam Wants You” belted out by the trio of Walsh, Osinski and Van Why.

The story follows a pedestrian course into the second act and Kenneth is given a plaintive solo of what “Heroes” are made of. Kate and Kenneth go on a tour of New York City beginning with “What’s So Great About New York City” before reality kicks in with “Happy Endings”, “I will Come Home to You” and “Empty Spaces.”

The two hour evening, including an intermission, is laudable but has the feeling of a work in progress.

Kedar K. Adour, MD

Courtesy of www.theatreworldinternetmagazine.com

Oct 26 2012
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Fringe of Marin: Advance Review Fall 2012

By David Hirzel

The season hasn’t started yet, so don’t look here for reviews of what you will or will not see.  But of course, you will have to go to Meadowlands Hall at Dominican University in San Rafael, to see the plays for yourself.  Then, should you be inspired, you can write your own reviews.

I can say this.  In all the Fringes I have attended (and we are going on eight or nine now), there is at least one play, and often more, that will astound you with a deft script, sensitive direction, and superb acting.  You will be, as I have often been, amazed at the dynamic confluence of all these appearing on stage before you.

These are all one-act plays, by unknown or little-known playwrights, having their world premiere right in front of you. You could (and in fact probably are) watching the incubation of the next Harold Pinter or David Mamet (or Eugene O’Neill—everybody starts somewhere).  That stage is literally no more than twenty feet in front of you, so close that you are no longer an audience separated from the action by the supposed fourth wall.  You are, and sometimes quite literally, a part of the action.

This is not to promise that every play at the Fringe will deliver a memorable theatrical experience.  With thirteen plays produced twice a year for lo! these thirty seasons, that is a standard impossible to keep up.

I can promise that you will see something you have never seen before.   And if you attend both Programs, something that will leave you thinking and talking to your friends for days afterward.  This is the best bargain in small theatre you can find.  There are only five performances of each Program, starting November 2.  Don’t miss it.

Fringe of Marin website for Program and Performance Schedule: http://fringeofmarin.com

by David Hirzel www.davidhirzel.net

Oct 26 2012
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“Memphis” returns to Silicon Valley roots

By Judy Richter

By Judy Richter

It was 8 1/2 years ago that TheatreWorks presented the world premiere of “Memphis” in Mountain View. My review at the time concluded, “The show does need some work, … but it’s very close to being ready to move on to bigger venues, especially with this dynamite cast, exciting music and first-rate creative team. It’s a feel-good show that casts light on a little-known aspect of American musical history.”

After becoming a smash on Broadway with several of its TheatreWorks cast members, a touring production of the show has returned to its Silicon Valley roots to open Broadway San Jose’s fourth season. With it comes an array of 2010 awards, including Tonys for Best Musical, Best Original Score (David Bryan and Joe DiPietro), Best Book (DiPietro) and Best Orchestrations (Bryan and Daryl Waters). The cast and designers are totally different from the original, and the show has undergone substantial revisions. Only about half of its original songs remain, but the basic story, based on a concept by Geroge W. George, is the same.

As implied by the title, the show is set in Memphis during the 1950s, when segregation was still deeply embedded in the South. The central character, Huey Calhoun (Bryan Fenkart), is based on DJ Dewey Phillips, who is credited with introducing rock ‘n’ roll to the American mainstream.

Huey, a white high school dropout who can’t read, happens to hear the music emanating from a downstairs black nightclub on Beale Street in Memphis. He’s so taken with it that he decides it needs wider exposure. The story takes him from the record counter of a department store to a radio station where he manages to play so-called race music. At each place, his bosses are ready to fire him, but the public response, especially from white teenagers, is so great that he goes on to become one of the city’s most popular DJs.

Along the way, he also falls in love with the nightclub’s star singer, Felicia Farrell (Felicia Boswell), sister of its owner, Delray Jones (Horace V. Rogers). Neither the protective Delray nor Huey’s mother, Gladys Calhoun (Julie Johnson), approves of their relationship. Neither do some rednecks who see them together in public and attack them. Still, thanks in large part to Huey, Felicia becomes a famous singer in her own right, leading to a chance to go to New York. She wants Huey to join her, but he’s too tied to Memphis to leave.

The music and the singing, especially by Boswell, are terrific. Director Christopher Ashley keeps the action flowing smoothly. The choreography by Sergio Trujillo is both inventive and energetic, well executed by the ensemble cast, starting with the opening number, “Underground.” The onstage band is led by Darryl Archibald on keyboard. The sets are by David Gallo, with costumes by Paul Tazewell, lighting by Howard Binkley and sound by Ken Travis.

The acting also is noteworthy, especially by Boswell, George and Johnson. Fenkart’s Huey is more problematic. Even though Huey is supposed to a bit of a wild man, Fenkart’s portrayal is too manic, making him less sympathetic than he should be.

Still, there’s no denying the overall power of this show, thanks in large part to its music and dancing.

“Memphis” will continue at the San Jose Center for the Performing Arts through Oct. 28. Call (408) 792-4111 or visit www.broadwaysanjose.com.

Oct 24 2012
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THE UNDERPANTS a raucous/ribald/romp at Center Rep.

By Kedar K. Adour


THE UNDERPANTS: Comedy by Steve Martin. Adapted from the1910 German farce Die Hose by Carl Sternheim. Directed by Michael Butler. Center REPertory Company, 1601 Civic Drive, Walnut Creek, CA . 925-295-1413 or www.centerrep.org. October 23 – November 17, 2012

THE UNDERPANTS a raucous/ribald/romp at Center Rep.

The Center Rep’s production of The Underpants that is Steve Martin’s adaptation of the 1910 German Farce Die Hose is by far the most original staging of the four that this reviewer has seen. This includes the two directed by the highly regarded Jon Jory at San Jose Rep and seasoned Robert Currier at Ross Valley Players. But leave it to Artistic Director Michael Butler to put his personal stamp on the show and in doing so grabs the brass ring for ingenuity and it is hilarious. The three “R”s of ‘Reading, wRiting and aRithmatic are perverted in this production to a Raucous, Ribald, Romp that now includes Riotous.

The words in The Underpants belong to the multitalented Steve Martin via the German expressionist play by Carl Sternheim. The core of Expressionism emphasized that the basic primal instinct is sex and the uninhibited sexuality of Bohemian lifestyle was de rigueur. Women are the polar opposite of men whose only purpose is to nurture the men. Maybe so in 1910 but this is the 21st century and things have been turned topsy-turvy especially on the stage at Center Rep. That being so, we can give this version of the play (thanks to director Butler) a PG-13 rating and four stars for being vastly entertaining with a modicum of social didactics thrown in.

Consider the improbability of it all. Theo (Keith Pinto) and Louise (Lyndsy Kail) Maske are a respectable, cash strapped German couple. To balance the budget and earn enough money to afford a baby, have placed a “Room for Rent” sign in their window without takers. No takers, until Louise has unintentionally (??), dropped and retrieved her underpants while standing in a crowd waiting to see the King appear in a downtown parade. How quickly she retrieved the fateful piece of clothing becomes suspect when a “parade” of would be renters appear.

Frank Verati (Ben Johnson) an unpublished poet arrives complete with black cape, and we later learn dyed hair. The underpants have stimulated his creative juices , among other things (“I want to go to sleep with you. It will only take a minute.”). Gertude (AJ Jamie Jones) the sensual, full-bodied, red-headed neighbor has heard the goings on. Her visceral juices flow thinking about what Versati and Louise could be doing. She does her damnedest to aid Louise in getting the dastardly deed done.

Next to enter is the smitten Cohen (Cassidy Brown), “Jewish?” Theo asks. “No. It’s Cohn. . . with a K.” “OK.” Theo splits the room in two and rents to both, thus setting up the competition between Cohn and Versati to get another look at the underpants . . . or is to get into her underpants? The gentle Cohen becomes Louise’s protector.

Later, but not lastly, Klingehoff (Evan Boomer) a professorial type arrives and adds a bit of humor with his naivety that misses the mark due to the one directorial misstep by Butler. The last arrival will surprise you.

Keith Pinto controls center stage when it his turn to emote. He plays the man of the house with stogy humorous veracity that even makes him likeable. Petite attractive Lyndsy Kail is absolutely charming as she progresses from the put-upon wife, to the woman desirous of an affair and finally the controller of her own destiny with the admonition, [I will do it] “In my own time!” Scene stealer Jamie Jones in her bright red wig exudes repressed sexuality as her pheromones boil over and she overhears that “Water still runs in rusty pipes” when it is her turn to be the object of desire. Ben Johnson plays the egocentric Verati as if he were born to the role. My favorite is Cassidy Brown playing Cohen (with a K) who recognizes vanity and jealously of it all and receives applause when he finally declares to Theo “That’s Cohen with a C!”

Steve Martin will have to step aside since this is Michael Butler’s play. He uses all the six doors on stage, he adds deft directorial touches to his almost slap-stick direction and throws in music, dance and light to this fanciful not to be missed evening. The set is a marvel (Nina Ball) being a huge gilded bird cage populated by distinctive characters dressed in outrageous Victoria Livingston-Hall costumes with wigs to die for by Judy Disbrow. Running time about 90 minutes without intermission.

Kedar K. Adour, MD

Courtesy of www.theatreworldinternetmagazne.com

Oct 24 2012
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Freud’s Last Session

By Joe Cillo

San Jose Rep presents….

FREUD’S LAST SESSION

By Mark St. Germain

Directed by Stephen Wrentmore

Starring Ben Evett & J. Michael Flynn

To be an atheist requires an indefinitely greater measure of faith

Than to receive all the great truths which atheism would deny.

Joseph Addison

This play is an imaginary glimpse into the minds of two great thinkers, C. S. Lewis and Dr. Sigmund Freud in a conversation the day before England enters World War II and two weeks before Freud, dying of oral cancer ends his own life.  The two men discuss love, sex and the existence of God and debate the value and impact of all three on the human condition.

 

Kent Dorsey’s magnificent set recreates Freud’s study and sets the mood for the 90 minute discussion between the two men.  Director Stephen Wrentmore manages to keep the play moving by making use of the entire stage.  The characters move from the tea table, to the couch to the radio to listen to the news proclaiming the imminence of war.  Somehow, the combination of excellent direction and superb acting keeps the dialogue from descending into a tiresome recitation of two men’s conflicting philosophies.

 

C. S. Lewis ((Ben Evett) has recently embraced religion and Freud (J. Michael Flynn) says, “I want to learn why a man of your intellect would abandon truth and embrace a lie.”  The remaining 90 minutes is spent hearing the reason Lewis knows that God exists and Freud is equally sure religion is a myth.

 

Freud points out that the very existence of Hitler proves that there is no supreme being watching over us and Lewis disagrees.  “Hitler’s actions reinforce the opposite,” he says. “We have to accept that there is a moral law.” And he goes on to say, “The wish that God doesn’t exist can be stronger than the wish that God does.

 

Freud counters with “Theologians hide behind their ignorance;” and as the discussion continues he says, “I always find what people don’t tell me is less important than what they do.”    Lewis sees that Freud is dying and he says, “How can a man of your intelligence think the end is the end?   When you are faced with death, then what?”

 

Indeed, through the endless back and forth discussion whether God exists or if He is a product of our imagination, the arguments presented were the same l ones religious leaders and atheist have been tossing back and forth every since religion began.  It was Michael Bakunin who said, “All religions, with their gods, their demi-gods, and their prophets, their messiahs and their saints, were created by the prejudiced fancy of men who had not attained the full development and full possession of their faculties.”

 

In contrast Calvin Coolidge said, “It is hard to see how a great man can be an atheist. Without the sustaining influence of faith in a divine power we could have little faith in ourselves. We need to feel that behind us is intelligence and love.”

 

The debate we heard on the San José Repertory’s stage was the one that has been going on for centuries.  There were no shocking revelations, no new lights cast on the eternal conflict between religion and its opponents.  The play is saved by the virtuosity of the actors moving across an amazing set that recreates the time the play is taking place and the pace of the production.  You won’t hear anything new in this play, nor will the ideas presented convince you that your own belief is invalid.  I doubt that either argument presented in the script will be innovative or strong enough to convert a believer and convince one who does not.  The virtue of this production is in the acting and direction and for that alone it is well worth the price of admission.

 

 

 

FREUD’S LAST SESSION continues through  November 4, 2012

San Jose Repertory theatre

101 Paseo de San Antonio

San Jose

Tickets $29-$74 408 367 7255 or www. Sjrep.com

           

Oct 23 2012
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Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson: Rock Musical Launches SF Playhouse To A New Home

By Flora Lynn Isaacson

President Jackson ponders a difficult decision on how to deal with Indians (Ashkon Davaran & Michael Barrett Austin)

The SF Playhouse’s 10th season gets off to an energetic start in a new theatre at 450 Post Street known as Theatre On the Square. Perfect for an election year, Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson has a book by Alex Timbers who was nominated for a Tony. The music and lyrics are by Michael Friedman.  Ashkon Davaran, who made a splash with his rendition of “Don’t Stop Believin'” during the Giants 2010 World Series game leads the cast as Andrew Jackson.

Alex Timbers’ book re-imagines and reinvents the life of President Andrew Jackson, and Michael Friedman sets it to an infectious rock score.  Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson tells the story of the pioneer of humble stock–known as “Old Hickory” who invented the Democratic Party, moved the Indians west and rose to the highest office in the land as our 7th President.  The show also tracks his humble beginnings on the Tennessee frontier to his days as a Populist Commander-In-Chief where he wrestles political power away from the elite.

Ashkon Davaran is dynamic as Andrew Jackson.  He is the only one in the cast portraying only one character.  The eleven person ensemble that also doubles as the band includes Michael Barrett Austin whose Martin Van Buren is a bundle of laughs, El Beh who acts, sings, dances, plays the cello and brings down the house with her “Ten Little Indians,” Angel Burgess in a moving performance as Jackson’s wife, William Elsman’s outstanding John C. Calhoun, Jonathan Fadner, the Bandleader, Safiya Fredericks who does double duty as Henry Clay and Black Fox, Lucas Hatton as James Monroe, Ann Hopkins who is delightful as the Storyteller and Olive Mitra as John Quincy Adams.

Jon Tracy’s direction is in your face and energetic.  Nina Ball’s set is an impressive outline of the capitol dome, a perfect environment for what amounts to a musical in the form of a rock concert with flashy lighting design by Kurt Landisman.  This is presentational theatre, not representational theatre.

According to Artistic Director Bill English, “We’ll never look at a twenty dollar bill quite the same way again.”

Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson runs through November 24, 2012. Performances are at 7 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday; 8 p.m. Friday-Saturday; and 3 p.m. Saturday.  Performances are held at 450 Post Street (2nd floor of Kensington Park Hotel b/n Powell and Mason), San Francisco.  For tickets, call 415-677-9596 or go online at www.sfplayhouse.org.

Coming up next at SF Playhouse is Bell, Book and Candle by John Van Druten and directed by Bill English opening December 8, 2012.

Flora Lynn Isaacson

 

Oct 22 2012
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Cash is going away!!!

By Joe Cillo

WHAT WILL THE TOOTH FAIRY DO?

Lynn Ruth Miller

 

Most people can’t even think what to hope for

 When they throw a penny in a fountain.
Barbara Kingsolver

There is talk on this side of the pond, of getting rid of money. “Today, only 7% of all transactions in the United States are done with cash, and most of those transactions involve very small amounts of money.“ says the internet blog, The Economic Collapse. “Our financial system is dramatically changing, and cash is rapidly becoming a thing of the past.”

 

These days, it costs more than it’s worth to manufacture the cash we stuff into our wallets and bulging coin purses. In America, it costs 11.18 cents to mint a 5 cent piece and a penny costs 2.41 cents.  It isn’t much better in Britain.  Although the Royal Mint will not reveal how much it costs to mint 1p, rumor has it that the cost from manufacture to distribution is approximately £3.

 

That doesn’t make sense.

 

Besides the cost to make them, there is the threat to our health and well being.  Coins and bills land in thousands of pockets, are touched by millions of hands and no one ever cleans them up.  The bills are tattered and full of germs; the coins are not only cumbersome but they create embarrassing bulges that aren’t what you think they are.

 

When coins were first invented, everyone thought it was the greatest idea since the fig leaf.  Coins didn’t rot or die on you.  Their value didn’t deteriorate with time.  You could stick them in the bank and they would be there for years and still have value. You used them to reward children and toss in fountains.  You stuck them under pillows when children lost their baby teeth and you put them in your shoe for good luck.

 

What will happen to the Piggy Bank when pennies are no more? When I was a child, this was the time of year when I began stuffing pennies in the little ceramic pig I got for Christmas last year so I could buy my Mama a present for Christmas this year.  Every day, I would put in a penny I had earned for helping her bring in the groceries or drying the dishes (now you know how old I am) and by December first, my little pig was bulging with the hard earned cash I had fed him. I would go to the jewelry store, hand the clerk my piggy bank and say, “What can I buy my mother with this?”  She and I would smash the bank and pile the pennies into columns of ten and then tabulate the results.  One year, I was able to buy my mother a silver candle snuffer and another time, I bought her a lapel pin with a little blue stone in the middle…all with the money I earned doing chores.

 

Children these days would either have to type in a code on their cell phones or swipe a credit card to pay for that special something they want to buy for their parents.  It just couldn’t give them the same sense of accomplishment.  Every penny I gave that saleslady had a story behind it. All a credit card has is an APR.

Say good-by to wallets when cash is no more.  You can keep all your credit information on your cell phone or slip your credit card in your pocket.   Profiles will be slimmer and, because seeing the cash, made you realize how much you were actually spending, expenditures will go up.  But who cares?  It’s all just numbers and as every politician knows you can make numbers say anything you want.

 

The good news is if you keep your pennies stashed away in a bureau drawer, they will become valuable relics from another time, like vinyl records and rotary dial phones.   Your heirs can sell your stash for at least 500% of their face value.  That should pay for your casket!

When I was young I thought that money

Was the most important thing in life;

Now that I am old, I know that it is.
Oscar Wilde

 

Oct 22 2012
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Thrills, chills aplenty in “Deathtrap”

By Judy Richter

By Judy Richter

Despite the rotary dial phone and manual typewriter, Ira Levin’s “Deathtrap” remains as fresh and surprising as it was when it became a Broadway smash in 1978. Celebrating its 72nd season, Hillbarn Theatre makes this point abundantly clear in its production of the classic thriller.

The play is set in the comfortable Westport, Conn., home of Sidney Bruhl (Paul Stout) and his wife, Myra (Paige Cook ), who has health problems. Sidney is a well-known playwright who has written a number of wildly successful thrillers, but his recent works have flopped. Moreover, his finances are running low.

We meet him as he sits at his desk reading a play sent to him by a young man who attended one of Sidney’s playwriting seminars. Sidney immediately realizes that this play could be a sure-fire Broadway hit. He’s also quite jealous.

Thus the central question of “Deathtrap” emerges: How far will Sidney go for this script? To say any more would spoil the fun as the plot takes one unexpected, sometimes shocking, twist after another.

As directed by Karen Byrnes, this production works well on the surprise level, but the acting is uneven. Stout’s portrayal of Sidney is so smug that it’s off-putting right from the start. He also tends to overact. Cook’s Myra is one-dimensional, resorting to too much hand-wringing as she becomes more nervous about Sidney’s intentions.

On the other hand, Adam Magill is convincing as the young playwright, Clifford Anderson, who’s in awe of Sidney. Monica Cappuccini has fun with the play’s most outsized character, Helga Ten Dorp, a famous Dutch psychic who is temporarily living next door and who comes by to warn the Bruhls of dire doings. Richard Albert completes the cast as Porter Milgrim, Sidney’s level-headed friend and attorney.

The handsome set is by R. Dutch Fritz, while the effective sound and lighting are by Valerie Clear. The costumes are by Mae Matos. Durand Garcia served as fight choreographer.

Although this isn’t a perfect production, the play itself is so well written that the audience is in for a big treat.

“Deathtrap” will continue at Hillbarn Theatre, 1285 E. Hillsdale Blvd., Foster City, through Nov. 4. Call (650) 349-6411 or visit www.hillbarntheatre.org.